How to study fast and effectively

 

It really doesn't matter whether you think you have a good memory or not because it's a fact that you can train your brain to remember better to learn faster and to achieve mastery in anything.

10 proven ways study easy, fast, effectively and remember it very well:

STEP 1: the sleep sandwich  

you have an important presentation and only one day to prepare how do you learn a lot of information in the least amount of time. Most people are overloaded by studying their notes or revise their lines for hours, they'll pull an all-nighter if they have to but despite all of their hard work they end up forgetting about 50% of the study in their mind. they wanted to remember most of the points that they overfilled into their head but it becoming tough because it never finds a place in their long-term memory (unconscious). You can expose your brain to countless new stimuli but it only retains a small percentage of them because you need time to store information in your memory(unconscious mind) - that's the problem with late-night overloading in your mind, you aren't giving your brain any chance to encode all the things that you need to remember. You should sleep and then study some more. A good night's sleep while your conscious goes to bed and your unconscious is actively storing all kinds of stuff in your long-term memory but when you pull an all-nighter you're preventing your brain from actually learning and retaining those memories and you're hurting your brains overall performance and tiredness leaves your brain feeling to foggy, slow and unproductive. 

STEP 2: mastery through modification 

Have you ever heard of the illusion of mastery it's a common pitfall that you might run into when learning something new. If you study for a few hours you get a handle on a few basic tricks. Example: (hey you think you're a master learning to draw) many people think of themselves as competent artists after one good sketch they see the quality of their first drawing and they assume they know everything and it feels easy boring for them but just because something feels simple doesn't mean you have mastered it. So how do you stop yourself from falling into this trap, there is a great way to learn any subject but we have to use modifications - let's say that you've gotten really good at drawing faces from the front it's starting to seem a little stale and you feel like you aren't learning anything so it's time to put yourself to the test just make a small modification to your original routine draw a face from a slightly different angle, the challenge yourself to go faster or use a different drawing tool, each one of these minor changes plays a critical role and they stop your practice from becoming boring or repetitive they help you work on your weaknesses and most importantly they keep you humble throughout the learning process.

STEP 3: weaving subjects 

In 2008 a group of researchers discovered something counter-intuitive about learning. You'll learn something faster by studying something else. In this study researchers ask people to identify certain artists based on six of their paintings half of the participants saw each artists paintings and blocks while the other half saw their paintings all scramble together (who do you think retained more information) the scrambled group performed significantly better because interweaving different styles and subjects helps solidify new information in your memory.

 STEP 4: chewing gum 

some people chew gum to freshen their breath, others just like that minty fruity taste but did you know that chewing gum could help your brain learn faster. A series of studies found that chewing gum has all kinds of cognitive benefits for starters. People, who chew gum tend to be more alert and experience less stress. 

This was first discovered by a 2011 study which had people take a number of quizzes in a distracting environment under normal circumstances. The chaotic testing room would have thrown people off, it was designed to create anxiety and significantly lower their productivity but even in that distracting environment people who were chewing gum stayed more focused and produced less stress related hormones in other words chewing gum help them stay calm and help them concentrate.

• Study in 2009 study discovered that the act of chewing makes you more vigilant and it lengthens your attention span.
• Study in 2015 another group showed that chewing gum helps you stay happy and motivated.
• Study in the early 2000s - Two more studies were found that different flavors of gum actually make your brain more receptive and flexible.

 There are dozens of studies showing the many advantages of this very simple habit. It helps you learn faster perform better and concentrate longer so the next time you sit down to work don't forget to grab a stick of gum.

STEP 5: intellectual hydration 

Study in 2012  discovered that hydration during a test can have a huge impact on your grades. In fact college students who drank water during their exams performed up to ten percent better because of a few sips of water now of course hydrating doesn't just affect your test-taking skills it helps you digest information store new memories and solve more complicated problems because water keeps your brain functioning like it's supposed to do but there is no wrong time or place to stay hydrated. Let's say you're sitting down on your couch to enjoy a book, it would only take a few extra minutes to make yourself a cup of tea but that one cup does a lot more than just keep your body hydrated.

A study in 2014 proven that it quickens your short-term memory and strengthens your long-term memory and it leaves you feeling enthusiastic about learning something new. So whenever you're studying, reading or even listening to a podcast - you can have something to drink.

STEP 6: multiple mediums

Do you study the same way every single time have you been using flashcards or study guides for every test that you've ever taken. If you have you might need to mix things up, try using multiple mediums while you study, you could use flashcards draw a diagram and say the information out loud by blending styles together.  You can activate new parts of your brain to store more detailed sensory information and you begin understanding concepts from different perspectives, so don't fall back on the same old tricks every time experiment with multiple mediums to learn more information faster.

STEP 7: speed read

The average person can read about 200 words per minute that's around 2 minutes per page, I know that seems fast but it's not as impressive as it sounds in fact that's the same speed people used to read a hundred years ago but here's the problem the total amount of information in the world is doubling every single year, so how do you keep up the simplest answer is also the best. If you can absorb information faster you can learn faster in a matter of weeks you can teach yourself to read between 700 and a thousand words per minute you won't be able to read everything. The world has to offer but you'll definitely blaze through a good chunk of it.

STEP 8: musical stress relief

Many people can't study without music in the background some people swear, it helps them to be more productive and others need music to concentrate.

Does music really help you learn faster ?

Many studies have shown that music makes your mind more receptive to new information. It also improves your memory by engaging different areas of the brain but the biggest advantage of listening to music often flies under the radar. Music is a major stress reliever it significantly reduces test anxiety and it increases overall feelings of relaxation. So you can perform at your best. In other words music boosts your mood it speeds up your cognition and it helps you think clearly that means you can be more confident and productive no matter what you're working on.

STEP 9: practice in pieces

 what happens when you read through all your notes in one sitting. How much do you really remember probably a lot less than you hope. The human brain isn't designed to store massive volumes of information at the same time we can interact with all kinds of stimuli every day, you hear thousands of sounds and see millions of shapes but your long-term memory is a lot slower that's why practicing in pieces is such an efficient way to learn instead of spending a whole day going through all your notes, just go through a few pages each day if you spend smaller chunks of time learning small chunks of information then you'll find yourself retaining all information 

STEP 10: The hard road

When you have to learn something new you probably start searching for shortcuts right everyone wants to know the fastest and easiest way to memorize things but the truth is taking the hard road is almost more efficient in the long run. Take something like handwriting in your notes it's a lot slower than typing and less convenient but those handwritten notes really stick in your memory even if it seems like a waste of time you'd have to retype your notes again and again to have the same cognitive impact.