You have been told time and again by your parents and teachers, “Work hard.” That is a good advice. But do you know that not all the hard working people are successful in their life? If you want success in anything you do, you have to work smart. Smart work means hard work plus intelligent planning. All the successful people plan their work first and then work their plan later. They keep everything ready before they start the actual work like you prepare a blueprint before you start the construction of your house.
Do you want to follow most of what your teacher says in the class? Obviously, your answer will be, “Yes.” If so, I will ask you a few questions. Do you ever jot down important points of what your teacher teaches in the class? Do you think you can’t remember what exactly your teacher said? Your class note is a jumble and you can’t distinguish which one is more important. Is this the situation for you? Yes? Well, don’t worry. There are many strategies to help you jot down note in the class and then make your own beautiful notes by consulting your textbooks and teachers. Plan everything before you start your serious and exhaustive study.
To get you started, here are a few tips you can implement from tomorrow:
When you jot down important points in the class, attempt to use color pens and pencils. Highlight or underline those points which you feel are more important. Prepare your own notes. Don’t write directly from the textbooks. Include graphs, diagrams and charts when you make your own notes. Write summaries of your notes and enter them in a long note book. While doing so, you will come across new terms and ideas. This is equivalent to preliminary study of the topic.
The following are the benefits you will get out of your new strategy.
1. Using Color Pens and Pencils
It may not be easy for you to look for more important points if your class note is just a jumble. You will waste your valuable time searching for the points you want to include in your own notes. Suppose you use green ink for important points, blue ink for more important and black ink for less important ones. Then there is no question of wasting your time. That is why you should use color pens and pencils to note down important points in the class. When you do this on a regular basis, it will be much easier for you to scan your class notes for specific or more important points.
2. Highlighting or Underlining The Most Important Points
Highlight with transparent inks or underline the most important points which you will surely want to include in your own notes. This is very essential while taking notes. Use your creative mind and explore different methods you think useful. Some examples are ticking and circling the points with different colors. That will draw your attention easily and instantly.
3. Including Graphs, Diagrams and Charts in Your Own Notes
Your answer with graphs, diagrams and charts will impress the examiner. Wherever possible draw a graph or make a chart or a diagram. Many things are easier to draw than to write. Some concepts are easier to explain with diagrams. Use colors, shading and different text colors to make the graphs, diagrams and charts. That will make it easier for the examiner to understand what you want to express. Keep this point while making your own notes.
4. Writing Summaries of Your Notes
Write summaries of your own notes exactly in the same way as you will write in the exam. However make room for lengthening or shortening them as the questions demand. Rewrite them in a long note book. Keep note books separately for each subject. Plan everything beforehand. Start your preparation right away. Otherwise your burden will be too heavy later on.
5. Reading Before You Go To Class
Read the topic before you go to the class. This is a simple way to absorb, understand and remember the material with much less time and effort. The topic will not be new to you and the class lecture is a sort of revision for you. Your teacher may come up with new ideas and different approach. If that is so, don’t forget to jot down the new points.
When you read before going to class, look at a few sample questions. You can even make a few questions yourself to ask in the class. Then when you get into class, everything seems familiar. You are hearing everything for the second time and you begin to remember and reinforce your learning. Then you leave the class with a better understanding of the topic.
Most students go to class and hear the lecture on a topic for the first time. They may not be familiar with the new topic. So they don’t quickly understand the concept of the topic. When the class is over, some students might have understood something. But some others might not have grasped even an iota of the concept. These students have to do serious home study.
6. Doing Speed Reading and Speed Learning
Do speed reading. If you do this, your concentration will be more. A normal student read about 300 words per minute. Some brilliant students can increase their speed to 1800 words per minute. If you can increase your speed, you will come to know the benefits. I will give you an example. You know how to drive a vehicle. Drive slowly at the speed of 20 km/hour. At this speed, you don’t need to concentrate on your driving. If you drive at the speed of 90-100 km/hour, you will certainly concentrate on your driving. You will be alert and careful. So if you read faster than average, you will concentrate more on the topic and you will grasp more and understand more.
7. Beating Procrastination
We all procrastinate, but high achieving students do it much less and therefore get better grades with less efforts. They study something every day and their burden is less at the end. Overcoming procrastination requires that you know why you are procrastinating. Maybe, procrastination is your habit. You always think you will do it later. You always promise to yourself that you will start from tomorrow. But you never keep your promise. If you procrastinate, you will suffer at the end. You have to double or triple your efforts when the final exam knocks at your door.
How Will You Study Specific Subjects?
Let us take an example of how you will study Physics smarter than anyone else in your class. Your study should be broken down into smaller parts like the following:
(a) Collect and study ten years’ exam questions. There should be some pattern. You may find some questions being repeated every alternate year. (b) Rearrange your class notes, lab experiment results and other study materials. (d) Read any chapter you feel important. (c) Extract the most important points of that chapter. (e) Revise one or two of the lab experiments so far conducted by you so as to understand them better for the exam. (f) Rewrite your notes adding new points and dropping less important or unnecessary repetition of ideas. Always remember, planned actions always pay you a nice dividend.
By making things look smaller, easier and quicker to do, you will get more done with less effort. But more importantly, your confidence will increase and your stress level will decrease. Soon, you will start feeling the change. Your ability to learn and master any subject will highly improve. It will be a great feeling for you, especially when you learn to do something quickly.
To help you concentrate on your study, you should keep your table clean with only what you need. Remove unnecessary decorative pieces on your table. Make your book shelf neat and clean. Arrange everything on your shelf systematically. You should get immediately whatever you want from the shelf. Dust, clean and wash your table. If everything in the surrounding is clean, your mind will be clean. The reverse is also true. If your mind is clean, everything in your surrounding will be clean.
Many students waste a lot of time doing things that don't work. That frustrates and demotivates them. Study skill is something that can be learned and mastered. You should find out the strategy that works for you. If you are already getting good grades, why not attempt to get better grades? If you are getting better grades, why not attempt to get best grades? And why shouldn’t you do it even faster and easier? Become a Speed Reader and Speed Learner. You as a Speed Learner and Speed Reader will absorb a lot faster.
And you know what? You will be regarded as a genius by your class mates and teachers. How will you feel that time? Think about it.
Yours forever,
Rajendra Sagolsem
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