learn how to learn
There are three techniques that when used in conjunction with each other will yield amazing results . You are welcome to ignore this, but strongly recommend you read this because most of the techniques were put to test by me . So if it can work on an average person like me , it will for sure work for you . If you feel you are not making any progress with this method please stop and try other techniques.
Learning is basically information flowing from a neuron to another using synapses and there are millions of these synapses in your brain so you are not going to run out of memory, your brain will create more synapses to accommodate for more information.
One might wonder how to combat this issue ?. Why do you need to recall , there is a layer of fat covering our neurons called myelin. It basically acts like insulation to help electrical signals travel longer distances the more you try to recall ,more myelin will be produced and neurons will have thicker insulation. Now let us look at the action item which most of the so-called “motivational speakers” forget about. Although we need recognition memory, it is a shallow form of memory. So we need to recall information ,there is no learning without recalling.So here is the action item. The next time you read a book depending on the density of the book ,read a few pages or paragraphs,close the book and try to recall what you just read question the information, connect this information to something similar in your,struggle with this information ,this is called adding memory hooks to the information ,now that information becomes a part of your brain. Now write about what you just recalled ,by doing this you have instantiated that information. Recollection is the spontaneous act of remembering something. So to practise remembering you must practise recall. Now this is all good ,but we are human beings after all we cannot store the information in “our hard drive” and pretend we will never lose it.
It is human nature to forget ,unless you have acquired savant syndrome . The next day after reading the information , you lose 50% of it . The next day it is 25% ,after 6 days u may have completely forgotten about what u just read . Inorder to stay around the 80-90 mark , we have to use spaced repetition
Spaced repetition is a technique where you re-learn the information over a certain interval of time.The interval of time is unique for everyone, so experiment at your own pace. Spaced repetition is usually performed with flash-cards. We do not have to worry about making our own flashcards as there are many apps (Anki is one of my personal favourites) that implement spaced repetition . As you grow more experienced you will eventually forget about this method .But during the initial stages of learning this method is very crucial.
This is probably more important than the previous methods. Now I am pretty sure everyone knows the importance of good sleep habits and how it affects your circadian rhythm .So i will talk about the effects of sleep on studying .Sleep has a role in the consolidation of memory, which is essential for learning new information. Sleeping actually gives a chance for your brain to clear out metabolic toxins ,these metabolic toxins if not cleared will lead to neurological disorders like alzeheimers. Research has proven that having sleep deprivation decreases our alertness by 7.5%
.It also affects our decision making skills . Now let us talk about the action items ,do not drink coffee before going to sleep ,half life of caffeine is 6 hours. Keep your bedroom dark and use breathing techniques to ease the anxiety. Hope these techniques help,do know that everyone is different and if it does not help ,do think you failed .Think that this technique does not help and try something else. There are more scientific research paper I wanted cite and also help fight procrastination.That will be topic for another day