Study Tips:
You have probably had the official 'Study Techniques' pep-talk from your teachers, official 'Department of Education' pamphlets and the internet. There is loads of great advice out there - please take it! Rather than repeat what you either already know, or point out the mind-numbingly, knee-gnawingly obvious, here are a few less well-known secrets to help you study effectively.
Wouldn't it be great if every hour of revision seemed like only ten minutes? Does this sound impossible to you? Well, if you have ever played a computer game haven't you noticed how quickly time flies? Or perhaps there have been times when you are so engrossed in a hobby or reading a book that an hour of 'clock' time seems to be only a few minutes. You have probably experienced this at some stage in your life. The fantastic news is that we can recreate the mental state necessary for time to condense like this when you are studying.
When you are absorbed in a hobby your brainwave pattern alters. The frequency at which your brain resonates electrically will slow down to between eight and twelve waves per second. This is known as the 'Theta' brainwave pattern. When you reach this state one of the side-effects is that your perception of time changes. The part of your brain which filters all in-coming information from your senses will send less and less to your conscious mind and hence you become completely absorbed, transfixed and entranced by what you are doing. Time seems to stand still.
We want to make it as easy as possible for the brain to filter out all the unnecessary incoming sensory information so that it can focus on the studying. Therefore, and here comes the BIG point, it is not a good idea to have the radio on when you are trying to get into the learning-trance state! If you are being continually distracted by your favourite song or band your brain will have a difficult job trying to filter the noise OUT! To make it easy to enter the learning state, where time seems to stand still, aim for as few distractions as possible. Avoid sitting at a window where you might be distracted by the view or the noise.
Now, I realize this may not be the most popular suggestion I have made, but don't knock it 'till you have tried it!
I think many students like to study with music on in the background because it is an unconscious anchor to good feelings associated with the music. Having your favourite radio station on is comforting and takes the 'sting' out of the arduous task of studying.
Early Bird or Night Owl?
A common question is when should you do your homework or revision. Again, there is plenty of very good advice out there. To a degree it is a personal thing - some people are morning people, others are night-owls. Something you might not have considered is - what time of day will my exam be? If your exams start at 9.00am and you are used to going to bed at 2.30am every night, you are unlikely to be in good condition to take an exam at that time in the morning.
If you can, work with your body-clock, not against it, then you are much more likely to be feeling at your best for the exam. Also, if you get a couple of hours revision completed first thing in the morning, you'll have the rest of the day with no feelings of guilt niggling away inside. Try it and see if this suits you.
Top Tips for Top Marks...
You have probably had the official 'Study Techniques' pep-talk. There is loads of great advice out there - please take it! But here are a few more less well-known secrets that I can share with you : More…
Interesting Stuff:
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