7 tips to study less and be smarter

How to increase productivity in your study hours? Here's the answer.

Surely it has happened to all of you that during exam time, and after several hours studying, your brain says: "Enough!". You have reached your limit, and no matter how much you continue studying you are not going to memorize or learn anything. So it's time to take a break, it's time to take a break.

We tend to have the mistaken belief that by spending several hours studying, without resting, we will learn much more. Well, you can learn a lot and study less: the key is to use your time to your advantage and to have the different tools that I will provide below. This will help you to be more effective in your study.

• We recommend this article: "10 vital study techniques to learn more".

An expert's tips for studying less and learning more

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has found myself in the above situation and that, to maximize the results of your study, you have searched for a video on YouTube to learn better and in less time. Well, I want to tell you that doing a little search on this social media, I found a video that I found very interesting, but unfortunately, it was too long (at least that's what I thought when I saw it).

The video (which I leave at the end of the text) is very productive. The recording features a professor of psychology at Pierce College in Los Angeles (USA), Dr. Marty Lobdell, who, over the course of more than 50 minutes, delivers a lecture in which he gives away several a lecture in which he gives several tips on how to study less and be more productive when studying.. But so that you don't have to watch the entire audiovisual content, and for those of you who don't speak English (which I know is difficult for many of you), I have taken the trouble to write this article and extract the most important ideas, which I'm sure you will find useful.

7 tips to be more productive when studying

When learning new material, it can be overwhelming just thinking about all that we have to digest (mentally speaking) and the time we have to spend bending our elbows. To avoid unproductive hours, don't miss the following lines..

1. Study in fragmented sessions

Studying in fragmented sessions means that you should study in blocks of time. If for example you study for 3 hours, you will be more productive if you stop every "x" time. It is better to study for 2 hours with breaks than 3 hours straight without stopping. Professor Lobdell explains that a recent study concluded that the average time most people need before they start to have learning problems is about 25-30 minutes.. Therefore, to study better it is necessary to make small study sessions and then rest for 5 minutes.

At the time of taking a break it is necessary to do some fun activity or away from the study. In addition, the expert also recommends giving yourself a reward once the daily study session is over, for example, going to the movies. Positive reinforcement increases the study habit.

2. Have a specific corner set aside for study.

Having a specific study area refers to having a place where you only study. That is, you do not eat, watch television, play a game console, etc. It also means that you study there, not in bed or on the couch (except in the library). This is positive because it helps you to be more concentrated and, in addition, it allows you to leave the study space during the break.. It is about having a place and an ideal environment to be able to be more productive studying.

3. Study actively and know the difference between recognition and recall.

Dr. Lobdell explains the difference between recognition y recall. Recognition requires a stimulus that elicits the response, and that stimulus may not be present in a test. Recall has to do with learning concepts rather than data. A datum may be the word arm, while a concept may be knowing how the arm works, for example, mechanically. Studying in an active way allows memorizing concepts and, therefore, favors recall, which will always be better than learning data.which is always better than learning facts.

4. Take good notes

Find a good way to take notes to make them useful, and review them from time to time.. If when you finish class you realize that there is something in the notes you have taken that you don't fully understand, ask a classmate (or even the professor) about it. Having your notes up to date greatly facilitates further study and understanding of what you want to learn, as well as reducing study time.

5. Be prepared to teach what you have learned

You should be prepared to teach what you have learned to someone else, because it shows whether or not you understand what you have learned. it shows whether or not you understand what you have studied.. You can write a summary to see if you have understood or pretend to explain it to someone else. This will make it easier to remember and will help you to detect the aspects you have not mastered.

• Recommended article: "5 tricks to avoid nerves before an exam".

6. Read the texts effectively

The teacher advises that, in order to read texts effectively, we should use the SQ3R method, which allows us to retain information more efficiently. allows us to retain information more efficiently.But what is the SQ3R method? Well, this method is based on the following sections.

• Before reading, inspect the text: this refers to examining what you are going to read before going deeper into the content. Look at the title, chapter summaries, reminder boxes, etc.
• Ask questions while you are inspecting.
• Read actively: answer questions posed beforehand, analyze boxes, answer questions posed by the text, etc.
• Recite what you have read. For example, taking notes afterwards.
• Review, but continuously.
• If you want to know how to read faster, we invite you to read our article: "Speed reading: learn the 5 techniques to read faster".

7. Use mnemonics

Often we know the concept perfectly well but have trouble remembering the data. For example, we may know the concept of afferent and efferent neuron, but we are confused to remember which is which.. The teacher suggests the use of mnemonics, which are techniques to promote learning and memorization. One of the techniques he suggests is the use of acronyms or phrases to remember data. For example, "PaBlo CUida a CRistina A Las CiNco" can be used to remember the metal cations that are amphoteric (Lead, Copper, Chromium, Aluminum, Zinc).

Below you can watch Dr. Marty Lobdell's video: