I’m sure it’s happened to all of you that during exam time, and after several hours of studying, your brain says “Enough!” . You have reached your limit, and no matter how much you continue to study, you will not memorize or learn anything. Therefore, it is time to take a break .

We often have the mistaken belief that by spending several hours studying, without rest, we will learn much more. Well, you can learn a lot and study less: the key is to use time to your advantage and to have the different tools that I will give you next . This will help you to be more effective in your study.

  • We recommend this article: “10 vital study techniques to learn more”

Expert advice for studying less and learning more

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has found himself in the above situation and who, in order to maximize the results of his study, has searched for some video on YouTube to learn better and in less time. Well, I want to tell you that doing a little search on that social media, I found a video that I found very interesting, but unfortunately was too long (at least that’s what I thought when I saw it).

The video (which I leave at the end of the text) is very productive. In the recording appears a professor of psychology from Pierce College in Los Angeles (United States), Dr. Marty Lobdell, who for over 50 minutes gives a lecture in which he gives several tips to study less and be more productive in the studio . But so that you don’t have to visualize the entire audiovisual content, and for those of you who don’t speak English (which I know many of you find difficult), I have taken the trouble to write this article and extract the most important ideas, which I am sure will be useful to you.

7 tips for being more productive in the studio

When we learn new material, it can be overwhelming just to think of all the stuff we have to digest (mentally speaking) and the time we have to spend bending over backwards. To avoid unproductive hours, don’t miss the following lines .

1. Study in fragmented sessions

Studying in fragmented sessions means that you must study in blocks of time. If you study for 3 hours, for example, you will be more productive if you stop every “x” of time. It is better to study 2 hours with breaks than 3 hours in a row without stopping. Professor Lobdell explains that a recent study concluded that the average time most people need before they start having trouble learning is about 25-30 minutes . Therefore, in order to study better, we need to have short study sessions and then rest for 5 minutes.

When taking a break, it is necessary to do something fun or away from the study. In addition, the expert also recommends giving yourself a prize once the daily study session is over, for example, going to the movies. Positive reinforcement increases study habits.

2. Have a specific study corner

Having a specific area for study refers to having a place where you just study. That is, you don’t eat, you don’t watch TV, you don’t play the console, etc. It also means that you study there, not in bed or on the couch (except in the library). This is positive because it helps you to be more concentrated and, moreover, it allows you to leave that study space during your rest . It is about having a place and an environment that is ideal for being more productive when studying.

3. Studies actively and knows the difference between recognition and memory

Dr. Lobdell explains the difference between recognition and recall . Recognition requires a stimulus that elicits response, and that stimulus may not be present in an examination. Recall has to do with learning concepts rather than data. Data can be the word arm, while a concept can be the fact of knowing how the arm works, for example, mechanically. Studying actively allows concepts to be memorized and, therefore, favors memory , which will always be better than learning data.

4. Take good notes

Find a good way to take notes that are useful to you, and review them from time to time . If, when you finish the class, you realize that there is something in the notes you have taken that you don’t quite understand, ask a classmate (and even the teacher) about it. Having your notes up to date makes it much easier to study later and to understand what you want to learn, as well as reducing your study time.

5. Be prepared to teach what you have learned

You should be prepared to teach what you have learned to someone else, because this shows whether or not you understand what you have studied . You can write a summary to find out if you have understood it or make it look like you are explaining it to someone else. This will make it easier to remember and will help you to detect the aspects you have not mastered.

6. Reads texts effectively

The teacher advises that, in order to read the texts effectively, we should use the SQ3R method, which allows us to retain the information more efficiently . But what is the SQ3R method? Well, this method is based on the following sections.

  • Before reading, inspect the text: this refers to examining what you are going to read before going deeper into the content. Look at the title, the chapter summaries, the reminder tables, etc.
  • Ask questions while you’re inspecting.
  • Read actively: answer the questions posed previously, analyze the boxes, answer the questions posed by the text, etc.
  • Recite what you’ve read. For example, by taking notes later.
  • Review, but continuously.
  • If you want to know how to read faster, we invite you to take a look at our article: “Speed reading: learn the 5 techniques to read faster”

7. Uses mnemonics

Many times we know the concept perfectly but have trouble remembering the facts. For example, we can know the concept of afferent and efferent neurons, but we get confused when we remember which is which . The teacher suggests the use of mnemics, which are techniques to favour learning and memorisation. One of the techniques he suggests is the use of acronyms or phrases to remember data. For example, “PaBlo CUida a CRistina A Las CiNco” can be used to remember the metal cations that are Amphoteric (Lead, Copper, Chrome, Aluminum, Zinc).

Below you can see Dr. Marty Lobdell’s video: