Have a clear picture of curriculum

Some subjects are easy for you, but others are challenging
Some topics you have already mastered, but others still remain confusing

If you visit your study materials haphazardly, you won't make the most of time available to you.
Who isn't busy with other 'fun' stuff that is all around them?

If you want to save revision time, follow these simple steps:
- Make a list of ALL subjects you need to study
- Then make a list of all MAJOR topics that are important for exams
- Score each of them as EASY/ FINE/ TOUGH

Now you are clear of which topics to concentrate on & give more time
Remember,
Waste no time on EASY (what you already know) topics
Spend 2/3rd time for TOUGH topics and 1/3rd for FINE ones

Revise frequently the TOUGH topics (perhaps every week) & occasionally the FINE ones

There you go.... you will make the most of your time :-)

Learning in 5th Gear- your peak potential

Learning is much like sports- to win, you have to keep yourself in a perfect form. 

Remember that you need to pay attention to your BODY- it is a machine- keep it balanced. Too much of anything is bad for you.

• Sleep- get your daily dose of 6- 8 hours.
• Diet- watch what you eat. You are what you eat, so eat for a peak performance (need to know what? ask me)
• Exercise- increase your brain circulation. Get more out of it.
• Meditate- make your mind sharp. Think clearer.
• Positive mental attitude- think 'WIN'. (more in a later blog)
• Prevent illness- insure your success, do not fall ill during exams (read- sports match)

Thats it. This is a blue print for success in exams. 
I will elabotare on each of above. 

Only after you understand the importance of above & follow them, that you will be ready for more COOL methods to learn better. 

Learn in sleep

Can you learn while sleeping? There is no consensus of evidence on this- but some people make claims that it works. Many studies have shown that a good night's sleep assists the learning process. Sleep helps you to learn information that you have come across during the day.

Sleep may contribute to neurogenesis, the formation of new nerve cells in the brain¹.

First of all, if your ‘lifestyle’ doesn’t let you learn or memorise during the day, then you can forget learning anything in sleep.

Some people are in a state of ‘FLOW’ with a chosen task; and even in their sleep they are recalling the same thoughts. For example, when you are ‘in love’- you can help thinking or even dreaming about the person you love. You thought about this person all day & your brain has done similar activity even when you were sleeping!

Sleep-learning attempts to convey information to a sleeping person, typically by playing a sound recording to them while they sleep.

Neuroscientists say that during sleep the hippocampus (where memory is stored) becomes highly active and moves knowledge from short-term memory to long-term memory^2,3.

A midday nap can help boost your memory -, but only if you learned them well in the first place⁴.

Fact: Overscheduled people often look at sleep as wasted time. Sleep plays a crucial role in brain development and growth. We all multi-task while we’re awake- its not healthy & reduces your efficiency. At least in sleep, you should have no external distraction & let the brain reorganise the chemicals that make ‘memory’.

The body should not be viewed as a machine- all natural things follow cycles: night after day, winter after summer & so on. This is for a reason, nature wants to reset & restore the capacity of functioning for the next cycle.

Conclusion: Miracles happen only in fairy tales. 

Solution: Focus & learn while you are awake & have a sound sleep to consolidate it.

References:

1)      Guzman-Marin R, Suntsova N, Bashir T, Nienhuis R, Szymusiak R, McGinty D. Rapid eye movement sleep deprivation contributes to reduction of neurogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of the adult rat. Sleep. 2008 Feb 1;31(2):167-75. PubMed

2)      Gais S, Born J. Declarative memory consolidation: mechanisms acting during human sleep. Learn Mem. 2004 Nov-Dec;11(6):679-85. PubMed

3)      Marshall L, Helgado'ttir H, Molle M, Born J. Boosting slow oscillations during sleep potentiates memory. Nature. 2006 Nov 30;444(7119):610-3. PubMed

4)      Tucker MA, Fishbein W. Enhancement of declarative memory performance following a daytime nap is contingent on strength of initial task acquisition. Sleep. 2008 Feb 1;31(2):197-203. PubMed

Exam is a gamble

ACTIVE learning

Wake up your half-asleep brain!

You only have a limited time to study- how can you get the most out of it?

The answer is ‘ACTIVE’ learning, as opposed to a passive ‘spending time’ with the book.

The formula to activate the mind is:

1)      Preparation

 - Be clear what topic you will read about in this sitting.

- Take a blank sheet- jot down 5- 10 points that you ‘already know’ about it. (Whether you know a lot or too little- just jot down some facts)

- Solve MCQs on the topic/ try recalling the definitions, formulae, etc ( YES- before you start)

- Ask yourself what you need to clarify today.

2)      ACTIVE reading

-          Search ‘chunks’ that appear important (definitions, formulae, theories, concepts, etc)

-          Highlight these/ underline/ put stars next to them

-          Did you find answers to the questions raised earlier?

-          Finish by reading a second time- jot down 5- 10 new points you discovered today.

-          These are your revision notes- carry these on small ‘trump cards’ to look at frequently

I cannot emphasise enough the importance of the ‘PRE-PARATION’ before you read the topic.

If you stimulate yourself adequately before getting the book in hand- you will be actively searching for information, rather than reading aimlessly.

Try this method to activate the sleeping mind on a few occasions & you’ll wonder why it is taking less time to read the same chapters that felt drag previously.

Good luck

How to find motivation

If you can find this- you dont need any more tips.
I have achieved success on many occassions- whether an exam or an interview.
The biggest secret to success is first searching the 'WHY'.

If you have a big enough reason, you can even move a mountain.

There are examples of an old women who lifted a car to save her child underneath it, of people fighting with a tiger to save their loved ones; and football players who continue playing with an open wound in their legs to win the match.

What gave them so much strength & determination- it was the answer to their 'WHY' they must do it.
This is not just a wish or a dream, they decide a BIG reason to do what it takes it to do.

Now, if you have been walking for an hour on a long road for an hour & are half way to the destination- you will become a bit slowed down. Now if you meet a mad dog running towards you, you will find the energy again & more to run the fastest to save your life.

If your goal is very big, you need a BIGGER reason to work towards it- if you can find this, you will achieve the goal no matter what.

Action tip: Be clear about your goal- is it SMART?
Now write it on top of a lined paper.
write down: 'WHY do i want to get this' underneath it.
Think of every reason why you must get this SMART goal, in this time.
Write these one by one underneath, using either a bullet point or a number.

It doesnt matter how many reasons you find- but usually 5- 10 are enough. Too many will distract you.
For some, even the single most important reason is enough.

Be sure to hang this paper above your study desk & look at it many times during the day to find your motivation.


I hope this helps....I have a few more methods to find the motivation...so keep coming back.

Posture while studying

This could come as a surprise for some, but there has been research into what postures are best to study- and no its not sitting on a desk!


What researchers did: They split a class of students into 4 groups & gave then an article to memorise. The 4 groups were further instructed to take as long as they feel to memorise it.
The difference was there posture- they were asked to be either lying down, sitting on a chair, standing on a spot, or walking around in a room with the paper in hand.


Results: No surprise here, the group that was lying down took the longest time & still scored lowest marks.

The standing group did better than the sitting one. But the students who were slowly walking around in the room learnt rapidly & scored highest.

Further more, the 'lying down' group remembered better in a similar posture.

Its a different story, if you are reading a boring book at bedtime to fall asleep. However, if its an important piece of work- get upright & get going- you need it.

So think about it friends, you should decide to be active for each of the 30- 40 minute of each study session in an upright posture. Then take a small break & resume again.

What to do in the break, we shall see in a later post.