TIPS TO STAY FOCUSED

TIPS TO STAY FOCUSED

phones: keep your phone in another room, turn it on do not disturb, make your colour scheme black and white, delete apps that have you losing focus, set time limits.

set timers: set a specific time to study for, and then reward yourself with a break. for example, study for 45 minutes and have a 10 minute break; this can be adjusted throughout the day.

during breaks: do not use any devices during your 10-15 minute long breaks. instead, walk around your house, walk outside, stretch, get your legs moving. in your longer breaks, do something fun. talk to friends, family, read a book, watch a film.

sleeping: get to sleep as early as possible and try to sleep for at least 8 hours. sleep is essential to retain memories and without sleep you're likely to not remember anything.

atmosphere: keep your desk as tidy as possible, turn on some lofi music to study with or white noise, whatever suits you best. keep water beside you at all times.

i hope this helps, and i wish you luck on your study journey!

study methods

the second brain method

this method focuses on organizing the information you learn to maximize effectiveness. a common way of doing this is through the CODE method:

capture - be quick and efficient in how you receive the information

organize - organize the information in a way that works for you

distill - break the information down to its key elements

express - apply the information you’ve learned

* there is a ton of information out there about this method. if you struggle with burnout and knowing where to start, i recommend researching this method further to figure out what works for you.

the pomodoro method

the pomodoro method is a time management method. the most common expression of this method is to pick a task, work for 25 minutes on that task, then take a break for 5 minutes. then, repeat. if you’re planning to work all day, you may up the time spent studying. for example, after a while of this, you may work for 30 minutes at a time, then 40, then 45, and so forth. this method is particularly good for when you’re feeling unmotivated or having a hard time focusing. if you’re still not feeling it after a while, you may start to take longer breaks. for example, you may study for 30 minutes, break for 15, and keep going like that.

the 5 minute rule method

this method is good for when you have to do a shorter task, but you’re procrastinating doing it. this method requires you to dedicate only 5 minutes to do your task. after that, you may stop, but chances are, once you’ve started, finishing won’t be as difficult.

the blurting method

this method is particularly good for revision. the blurting method requires you to read over the content you are learning, then put it away and write down everything you know or can remember. then, check the content and revise everything you didn’t write down.

spaced repetition

spaced repetition requires you to spread out your study reviews over the period of a few days. this has been shown to improve memory. rather than studying one thing at a time, then studying something else the next day and so on, review the information right after you’ve learned it, then recall it after a few hours, then a few days, then a few weeks, and so on. if you’re studying something you will need to remember for an extended period of time, this method would be perfect for you!

active recall

this is my absolute favorite method! it’s been shown to improve your studying immensely and so many people have benefited from practicing active recall. active recall involves retrieving information from your brain, usually done through questions. a good way to do this is to explain the concept to yourself, to someone else, or act like you’re doing a presentation on the subject. after you’ve recalled all of the information you know about the subject, go over your material again and be sure you covered everything and explained everything the best way you could. if you didn’t, review everything you did not remember or got wrong, and go again. do this until you get everything. doing this can also be referred to as the feynman technique.

the SQ3r method

survey - skim your text and identify bolded text, headers, images, etc.

question - generate questions about the text based on what you surveyed. what are the key concepts in this text? what is each paragraph about? what information do i need to take away from this text?

read - read through the entire text and answer the questions you created

recite - summarize what you learned in your own words

review - recall the key concepts and answers to your questions

Tips to Study Efficiently:

1. Gain Awareness ASAP. As soon as you get your homework, just have a glance of it so that you don't feel overwhelmed to start the homework and even make sure that you do not lack any material to do your homework.

2. Learn by doing. Just jump into the homework right away and if you are stuck on a question then, consult your book and in that way you will remember that you made this particular mistake.

3. Use the following:

1. Active Recall: Take a topic which you wish to remember, then make questions based on that topic and then solve them without consulting your book.

2. Blurting: If you want to remember/understand a chapter, then read 1 or 2 pages first and then pull out a seperate sheet of paper and write down everything that you would remember. It doesn't have to be order. (If you miss out few points then re-read them and write it down.)

4. Use the Parkinson's Law. Using Parkinson's Law can be real useful as you set a deadline for yourself and can get things done at a particular time.

5.Use Feynman Technique. The Feynman Technique was given by Richard Feynman. The main idea behind the technique is to take something that's hard to understand and try to clarify by explaining it to someone or yourself as if you were talking to a kid.

The Feynman Technique

What is the Feynman Technique?

It is a four-step process to understand any topic. In consist of:

Choose a topic: start small and be specific

Teach it (to yourself or other person): try to explain it, write/describe it with simpler words

Return to the source material if you get stuck: fill the gaps of your knowlegde

Simplify your explanations and create analogies: clarify it until it seems obvious, like if you are trying to teach it to a kid

Pros

You cant trick yourself, the method makes you encounter the holes in your reasoning and the white spaces on your knowledge

You learn and undestand it instead of memorize it (which is ten times better)

The capacity to learn increass

Symplicity is the best way of understanding

Analogies are easier to recall and explain

Cons

A basic nevel of comprehension of the source material is needed. If it is too hard or difficult, it would be more complicated to simplify it

Subjects we recommend for this method

It works well for a great amount of subjects, so if it works for you, you can apply to all of them. It is also one of the best methods for "exact subjects" such as maths, biology, physics, chemistry, etc

any suggestions on how reduce screen time and stop wasting time on social media?

a hard one (who doesnt spend a little bit too much in their phones) but a few ideas to try out

A widget on your phone about how much screen time you had. A lot of phones come with this option, it lets you know how much time you spend entirently on your phone and usually, the top 3 most used apps of the day. There is nothing that makes one feel more guilty than going to watch tiktok and next to the app there is widget that tells you you already spend 2hours and 30 minutes on it that day.

Social media feeds are made to be addictive, that's why you open the app to see a notification and end up spending 3 hours on it. If you think something like "I'm just going to see if my crush posted a story" or "I'll see how my lastest post did and then i'll do the homework" DONT. You'll open the app with the intention of only 5 minutes and we all know it isnt going to be 5 minutes.

Set alarms. Set a "goal" like, only using it for 20 minutes. Set the alarm in your phone and when it sounds, close the app.

Try other activities. We mostly go to our phones because we are bored. Go on a walk, clean you room, cook cookies, read a book, draw, talk to someone irl. Look for alternatives. Some of them will be difficult at start (social media is known for ruining attention span and things like reading requiere that), do it gradually.

Hope this helps!

-Jay

greetings my neurodivergent friends

i have found an excellent new study strategy

timing yourselves for 15 minutes at a time

it actually works for me so i hope it works for you guys too