Daily Motivations - STUDY SMARTER NOT HARDER - Best Study Tips To Get Straight A's

Episode Date: July 30, 2022

STUDY SMARTER NOT HARDER - Best Study Tips to Get Straight A's Studying smarter, not harder, means that you don’t have to slave over your work for it to be good. Remember that everybody works differently. Are you an early bird or a night owl? Don’t feel pressured to work a 9-5 if you don’t work as well at certain times. But be honest with yourself and your productivity. It’s important to recognize that small things, like taking breaks, aren’t bad and will make your routine much more sustainable. You can find balance by using these tips to reduce your study time and using the rest to try a new activity, meet your friends, or shower. All of these things are equally important for your university life so make sure you find balance and feel proud of your achievements. Instagram - @daily_motivationsorg     Facebook- @daily_motivationsorg Interested in sponsoring this show reach out to us via [e-mail] Speakers: Jimmy from StudyMD Keshav Bhatt Dr. Jessica Houston Grab your Ultimate Female Body Fitness Guide Ebook  copy now at an exclusive 50% off discount  https://selar.co/42zb40?currency=USD Kindly Support Us Below to sustain future episodes. Support the Show.

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Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BidMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. You're staring at the blank screen again. You can feel the stress of exams approaching again. Sometimes days, weeks go by and you're wondering wondering is this cycle ever going to end like how do you break out of it from personal experience i understand that school is a short term sacrifice that yields long-term success and that is why i believe that any time invested in education is a wise investment.

When I look at where I started, I have no doubt that education was my path to success. Education has opened many doors of opportunity for me, and I believe that it can do the same for you. First, you've got to study from the testable core materials outwards so let's say the box represents all the information that is presented to you and the star in the middle is the testable material someone who doesn't know how to study will go from top to bottom covering every single little detail and when the exam time comes they haven't covered like 20 to 30 percent of what is testable where someone who knows how to study will start from the middle you know study from the core materials that is testable and then study outwards and when the exam time comes although they haven't studied

everything they studied what is important and what is testable i know that you want to be the best student as possible i want to be the best student as possible. I want to be the best doctor as possible. So when studying, we have this tendency to try to learn everything. But we have to make this mindset shift from focusing on those long-term goals to short-term goals. And those short-term goals when you're taking courses is to pass and get good grades in every midterm and every exams that is presented before you. And then those long-term goals will take care of themselves. So how do you know what's testable or not? There are three ways of figuring that out. First is to look for practice tests or previous tests.

Sometimes the lecturers give you a couple questions at the end of their lecture to go over on. Pay attention to those. I also looked online in undergrad to figure out if there were any practice tests lying around. I asked seniors if they've taken the course out if there were any practice tests lying around. I asked seniors if they have taken the course and if they had any practice material. I asked my friend who was also taking the course, you know, you got to use your resources to figure out if there are any additional study materials that you can use.

You have to think like an examiner, not a learner. So when you're going over the material, always imagine in your mind, how can I test this in a multiple choice format? How can I test this in a short answer format? And then try to learn that way. Number two on the list is to write good, concise notes and then plan out your timing for all your midterms and all your exams, and then constantly evaluate as you're studying

so that you're not falling behind. So for example, let's say you're taking five courses and before a midterm you have to go over 10 lectures per course and then each lecture has 50 slides. That totals up to 2,500 slides that you have to go over before a midterm. So you have to write a good concise note that summarizes everything that makes it manageable for you to go over the materials before you write the midterms so that you're not overloaded. Try to write notes as concise as possible containing keywords and important information. You know that if you don't remember something from your note, you have the PowerPoint slides that you can always fall back on. Number three on the list is to use active recall when learning. I made a video on this previously that you can watch, but let me expand on that further here.

Let me start off by giving you examples of students who don't know how to study. So when presented with an information like mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, what they do is without thinking, they just write. Nothing's coming into their brains. So what I do when I'm going over my notes is I read the information, I write only the keywords, and then as opposed to looking at my notes, I look at that keyword.

For example, what is mitochondria? And then I try to think mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. Why is it the powerhouse of the cell? And then I try to supplement information from the lecture. Is it the powerhouse of the cell? Because it produces ATP. So I'm using all of my senses. I'm writing down, which is my tactile emotion. I'm saying things out, which is verbal. I'm looking at my notes previously. I'm using my

visual cues. And as I'm saying it, I'm listening. So I'm using also my auditory senses. And most often when you're actively recalling, you cannot remember all the information. And that is okay because studies have shown that just by attempting to recall, you're creating the connection between the information and your memory. And number four, I cannot emphasize this enough, reviewing is just as important as learning new information. So if I have 20 lectures to go over before midterm, for example, as opposed to going one to 20

and then going back to one to 20, what I do is I go to one to five and then I review one to five quickly and then move on to six to 10. And then once I'm done six to 10, even more quickly, I go over one to five and then I look over six to 10 and then I go on to 11 to 15.

Obviously, you have to time this correctly before a midterm so that you actually cover everything. Welcome to Daily Motivation, where you get motivated and inspired. Number five is more of a mentality thing. You have to study harder for your midterms than your final exams. You're going to obviously study hard for your final exam, but you have to study harder for your midterms than your final exams. You're going to obviously study hard for your final exam, but you have to study harder for your midterms because that sets the tone for the entire course. Let's say you got a bad mark on a midterm. Then the entire course is just a catch up game.

You're worrying the whole time, probably two to three months, worrying about whether you're going to get a good enough final mark so that you can make up for getting a bad mark on your midterms. And the first thing you need to do is go inside, not outside, for that motivation, for that drive, the energy that you need. And it starts with something you've heard many people say before. Remind yourself of why. Why are you taking that course? Why are you going to school? I know you have to.

But what is this for? Are you struggling because of school? Or are you struggling for something? One of these is a victim mindset. and one of these is a champion mindset. Emotions are an essential part of executing any plan. Knowing something isn't enough. You need to make yourself feel inspired. And that's not going to come from somebody outside.

It's not going to come from somebody outside it's not going to come from me one of the most surprising things about motivation a common misconception that we have is that it often comes after starting a behavior not before so this is the problem you're waiting for motivation to study when you need to study to get motivated You need to go inside your own mind and find the active inspiration to move you forward Your mind is ruled by two different systems The rational mind and the emotional mind And both of them compete for control. Your rational mind,

it wants to change something. It wants to study. It wants you to achieve your potential in life. The emotional mind, it loves the comfort. It loves the safety. It loves doing the fun things, the procrastinating things. every behavior has a positive intention behind it so stop waiting for motivation and ask yourself why does this matter and it doesn't have to be something noble or good it could just be i need to get a good grade so i can get into this university so i can get this job, so I can make some money. But what is it that's going to compel you to make some moves? The second thing you need to remember.

Start looking for the best environment. I promise you, it's going to be way easier and way more effective. Environment is the invisible hand that shapes your behavior. You might think that your habits are a product only of your motivation, your talent, your willpower, your effort, but your personal characteristics, your intentions sometimes get trumped by the environment around you. And this is nothing new. It's been known for 80 years. In 1936, psychologist Kurt Lewin, he wrote a simple equation that effectively summarized human behavior. And it goes like this. P equals F brackets P E.

This equation is basically saying behavior is the result of that person in an environment. So think about it. When you're sat in an exam, you're at the front of the hall or the classroom and the teacher is standing over you and 30 other students are sitting in silence writing away. Do you worry about motivation? No. Are you motivated? Yes. Do whatever you need to to design for your laziness. Go to productive environments. Structure the physical and virtual space around you so that you make good choices by default. It's not about how motivated you are. It's about being in the right place and designing for that laziness. motivation it'll find you later the next tip is state change when you have no motivation what is it like just pay attention to your body how is it moving what are your eyes focusing on how many tabs do you have open right now? How many other things are you trying to do?

What you need to do is change your emotional state. Your mind and your body, they're interconnected. When your body gets tired after a long day, your mind gets tired. When you haven't eaten, your body is craving more calories. Your mind finds it hard to focus. And an easy way to change the way that you feel in an instant so that you get motivated again is to change your physical state. Just notice what your breathing is like when you're motivated,

when you're in flow versus when you're distracted. There's several ways you can do this. The first one is go for a nine minute walk. Spend time with your loved ones. Talk about your motivation levels with someone. Do some Wim Hof breathing. Play an instrument. Take a long warm bath or shower.

Because this gets you into a relaxed state of mind, which is important to get you in the right frame of mind, the right focus. And it's only when your mind is at ease that those alpha waves start rippling through your brain. And you're more likely to look inwards, to introspect and think, this is why I need to get this done. this is why i need to get this done this is why i need to focus imagine what that would be like and you already know this is intuitively true why else do you have most of your best ideas while you're on the bus on the train when you're in the shower you have no distractions around you there's nothing you're trying to solve or fix or do. It's just one focus. Relaxing.

Ease creates and urgency destroys. I've been in the field of education for over a decade, and I've discovered that earning a degree or diploma is more about persistence and commitment than intellectual capacity. Intellectual capacity cannot replace a strong work ethic. Intellectual capacity cannot replace discipline and determination. And so I've seen students of average intelligence work hard and outperform students who were extremely intelligent. When it comes to crossing the finish line, you have to

have a no matter what attitude. Even if you find yourself in a course that is challenging or you have a professor that is challenging, you must choose to finish what you started. I've seen friends, colleagues, and very bright students say they were just going to take one term off to deal with a situation and they never returned. They didn't drop out because they weren't capable. They dropped out because of their circumstances. And so when you are committed to finishing what you started, there is no stopping you. Number two, make sure that you stand out. It's very important that you establish a relationship with each teacher. I've discovered that only a few out of many students are intentional about making a personal connection

with their teacher. Also, when you graduate, you're likely going to need a couple of reference letters and you can always go back to a former teacher that you established a good working relationship with and ask them to write a letter of recommendation for you. Number three, diluted focus will always yield diluted results. Productivity is not about doing more. It's about doing less with a laser focus. It is important that you manage your time and your energy wisely. It is also important that you prioritize and focus on what matters most first.

And once you identify and schedule your priorities, don't let anyone talk you into rearranging your schedule. Putting your priorities first is not selfish. It's called self-management. Number four, take time to get organized. For most of us, taking the time to get everything organized is not fun but being organized actually helps you to save time and you will feel better knowing where everything is instead of feeling stressed about not being able to find what you need when you need it and one strategy that will make a big difference is to add all of your assignment and exam dates to your calendar. I also recommend that you begin preparing for assignments and exams a minimum of one week in advance. By spreading out your study time, you avoid cramming, which will actually reduce your anxiety level.

And so spreading out your study time allows you to also break down a big project into manageable pieces. I recommend that you focus on what is directly in front of you instead of trying to focus on your assignment as a whole. And what you will find is that tackling one section at a time is less overwhelming. And as you focus on the step in front of you, you are actually getting closer to finishing your project. Number five, consistently submit high quality work. Going back to relationship building, good papers are less time consuming to grade. So your teacher will appreciate that you took the time to submit a well-written and well thought out paper. On the flip side, poorly written papers are very time consuming to grade. Also, if you have a grading rubric, compare your paper to the grading rubric before submitting it.

Students often lose points due to missing an entire section or not fully answering the questions. Don't try to take shortcuts. Find out what your teachers want and give them exactly what they are looking for. When you get feedback, read it. It might sting, but it will prevent you from making the same mistake when submitting your next assignment. Stay with us. We'll be right back. Hey there, fellow listeners. Stay with us. We'll be right back. designed specifically for women aiming to conquer their fitness goals. From strength training to cardio, flexibility, nutrition, and mindset, we've got you covered. Inside, you'll find expertly crafted workout routines, personalized meal plans, motivation tips, and strategies tailored to help

you reach your fitness dreams. We also tackle common challenges women encounter on their fitness journeys, offering advice on balancing exercise with life's demands and breaking free from societal norms. Don't miss out on this incredible deal of 50% off. Get your ebook now before it's too late. Choose excellence. The first step is a process that was often used in neuro-linguistic programming known as modeling excellence. To put it simply, this is the study of what works, what is excellent and copying that. There's no need to reinvent the wheel. And who better than one of the wealthiest men in the world, a guy that you all probably know called Warren Buffett. Warren is a prolific investor and has built a net worth close to almost $90 billion. And naturally, this kind of wealth has given him plenty of admirers.

So what is it that we can learn from him about overcoming laziness? And the answer is you need to be clear on what you're getting done every single day but also within your lifetime what matters and what doesn't. Warren uses a system that I like to call the 525 principle when it comes to setting these goals. I want you to write down on a piece of paper 25 life-changing and inspirational goals that you want to complete before you die. Things that if you could accomplish, you would really feel like you'd mastered your potential. Once you've done this, I want you to take a look at your list. Now your job gets more difficult choose from that

list just five that you really want to complete above all others and circle them don't just listen take action and here comes the difficult bit everything that you don't circle but those five you cross out that is now your focus for the rest of your life. Until you get them done, you don't do anything else. When inspiration comes from inside, it remains. And when inspiration comes from outside, it fades. And that's why I'm encouraging you not just to listen to my voice, but to take action based on your voice, on your inspiration. This narrowing of your focus is going to give you the kickstart that you need. Number two is a calm mind. The next method you can use is a mindful meditation practice, any that works for you.

And I say this because it's not meditation alone but the habit of meditating that builds the benefits. A 2012 study done by Italian neuroscientist G. Pagnoni found that meditation not only changes brain patterns but it also confers advantages in mental focus that may improve your cognitive performance. And Pagnoni recruited 12 zen meditators who'd been practicing for at least three years. He compared them with a control group of 12 volunteers who'd never meditated but were the same age and had the same education level as the meditators. He then put each of them into an MRI machine to measure how their brain patterns were moving and functioning. What did he find? Compared to the non-meditators, the meditators

had more stability in what's known as the VPMC, a region of your brain that's thought to be linked to spontaneous thoughts and mind-wandering. In every test that he did involving mental focus, the meditators who had a consistent habit of meditating outperformed the control group on the task. Number three is choice. Maybe you're not lazy, but you're lost. A man convinced against his will remains of the same opinion still. Did you choose to take on this work, this assignment, even if it was forced on you by

your parents, your friends, your school, college, university? Did you take some time to make that choice your own? There is a concept known in the world of psychology called the locus of control. What we refer to when we talk about a locus of control in an individual is something that dictates not just your own laziness but things like your attitude, your performance and fulfillment from life. And what it refers to is an individual's belief system regarding the causes of his or her experiences, the factors that attribute to your success or failure. There are two main types of control, the external locus of control and an internal locus of control. And if we take an honest look at your focus and procrastination today, is it based on externalized factors or internalized factors?

Which one has greater effect? Which one has greater importance? If a person has an internal locus of control, that person attributes their success to his or her own efforts and abilities. On the other hand, if you have an external locus of control, you're constantly looking out the window instead of in the mirror. You're attributing your success or your lack of it to luck, fate, and therefore it's less likely you're going to put the effort in. That's not to say that an internal locus of control is good and an external locus of control is bad. There are other variables that we have to consider. However, psychological research has found that people with an internal locus of control, they tend to be better off in life. Knowledge is only useful when it's applied. That's only when it becomes powerful. So what are

the factors in your control? How can you focus more on your internal locus of control? And be honest with yourself. Where are you letting laziness creep in again? Where are you falling victim to your external locus of control? Did you know there are people out there so good at remembering things that they compete in tournaments of learning and they are known as memory athletes. In an annual contest called the World Memory Championships, they were given 20 minutes to remember a list of 72 random words and on average they scored nearly 71 of the 72. By contrast an untrained control group could only manage 26. Another example Akira Haraguchi at 69 years old much older than most of you listening, in 2006 recited 111,700 digits of pi from memory at a public event

near Tokyo. For 16 hours he kept going and going and going. Imagine the power of having a memory like that. And starting today, I want you to imagine yourself as one of them. You're not just a student or a teenager or a grad, but you are a memory athlete. You're going to become someone with such power over your mind that you can recall pages of notes, equations, formulas that you need without the endless hours of beating information into your head. But how? Do you need an innate gift? Can you learn it? Well actually, you already have. Picture where the spoons are kept in your kitchen,

the socks in your room, the color of your toothbrush. These memory athletes use an ancient Greek technique called memory palaces and once you master this technique you too are going to dramatically improve your ability to study effectively and finally open up your dormant reserves of memory. The idea is simple you walk through an environment like your house and you place objects in specific places and then you match the things you want to learn with those objects. So when you're trying to remember that information, perhaps the notes you took that day in class, you don't just think back to your notes, you think of where those notes are in your house,

which object did you attach it to, what's the color? And you reapply this until it becomes crystal clear in your mind. This technique maps new information onto something that your brain has already evolved to do extremely well. Recall imagery in specific locations. The second technique. For thousands of years people have known that the best way to understand a concept, explain it to someone else. The second technique I want to introduce you to is also known as the protégé effect aka teach someone what you want to learn. A 2007 study looked at this. How does teaching someone impact your learning? Students in this study who are also teachers to younger students they scored higher on tests than pupils who were learning only for their own sake. Why?

Well, the researchers found when you choose to teach someone else, you have to work harder to understand the material, to recall it more accurately and apply it more effectively. Something known as depth of processing. Physicist Robert Feynman created a mental model called the Feynman technique. Now some of you may have already seen videos about this on YouTube. This technique has four steps to it Number one, write the name of a concept on the top of a blank page that you want to learn Number two, write down an explanation of the concept as if you're teaching a new student Number three, identify what's missing Go back back relearn and step four review everything make sure you're

avoiding using complicated language and try to simplify everything on the page as much as possible possible. Now this technique, it forces you to deconstruct and then reconstruct ideas. To use this method and learn how to study effectively, identify first what do you want to learn and then try to imagine you're explaining it to a five-year-old. Strive to read a book a week. I recommend that you read for personal and professional development. Reading is critical to expanding your knowledge base. You can learn in one week what it took the author a decade to learn. Reading also allows you to open your mind to a different point of view. It expands your vocabulary and it enhances your critical thinking skills.

If you want to set yourself apart from everyone else and set yourself up for success, strive to read a book a week. Number seven, schedule fun and mind breaks into your calendar. Yes, studying is important and it should be on your calendar, but having a stressed outlet is equally important. I recommend that you take at least a five-minute mental break for every hour of studying. Sometimes you can overextend yourself by studying for hours without a break and without realizing it, you are actually diminishing your performance and your productivity. So take many breaks when you are studying for long periods of time and try to have something fun scheduled to reward yourself for all of your hard work. As an added bonus, I want to encourage you to ask for help when you need it. Life can get tough for all of us and it's important that you have someone that you can lean on for support.

The key to winning is persistence. Know what your dream life looks like and don't let anyone or anything stop you from crossing the finish line.