13 Essential, Science-Backed Study Tips

Hey, what is up guys? So in today's video, we're gonna be covering 13 effective study tips that are all backed by science, which you can find linked in the description down below later on if you are curious. Now, I'm doing this video right now because we are just about into final exam season. But if you're coming into this video later on, realize that these tips aren't just useful for exam review. They're general learning tips. So if you wanna study less, if you wanna spend less time reviewing, if you wanna learn more effectively, then pay attention. Tip number one, space out your review sessions. So in the field of cognitive science, there's this phenomenon known as the spacing effect, which describes how we actually learn better if we try to recall material close to the point at which we are about to forget it. Essentially, forgetting is a crucial part of the learning process, much like rest is a crucial counterpart to strength training if you wanna get physically stronger. So to take advantage of the spacing effect, you wanna study with what's called a spaced repetition, which involves adding gaps of time between your study or practice sessions that get progressively longer. And for most types of information that you're gonna find on a test, like question and answer pairs, vocab terms, really anything that could fit on a flashcard, you can actually get very specific about these gaps of time by using spaced repetition apps, which include Anki, Quizlet, and Duolingo's TinyCards. You can even do this with paper flashcards by using something called the Leitner system, which I detailed in a previous video that I'll have linked in the description down below. Now, for everything else that doesn't fit on a flashcard, just try to space out your practice sessions intelligently instead of trying to practice all in one session or following a very rigid timetable. And know that this principle works for skill practice as well. So if you practice one specific skill on Monday, then maybe wait until Wednesday or Thursday to practice that particular skill again. And in the meantime, on Tuesday, practice something else that's related. Tip number two is to use the Pomodoro technique. So research has found that studying works best when we do it in short, hyper-focused bursts rather than one long, drawn-out session. Because at a certain point, your focus and your attention really start to wane and you kinda start wasting your time. The problem with this approach, though, as you probably know well, is that you have to motivate yourself to start each and every one of these sessions. And after you do a few, well, maybe that motivation has waned a bit. So that is exactly where the Pomodoro technique comes in. It is a device that helps you to keep that motivation high and actually helps you to get into each session. So to use it, you simply set a timer for 25 minutes and pick one task to work on. And it's very important to actually set a timer. Don't just set it in your head. Use a real timer because that creates an external motivator. During that 25 minutes, work only on the task you've chosen. Don't switch to anything else. And if something distracts you, quickly write it down so you can either take care of it later on if you need to or so you can figure out how to prevent it from distracting you in the future and then get back to work. Now, once that 25-minute timer goes off, you are presented with a choice. If you feel that you're in the zone, if you feel like you're still productive, then keep working until you feel your motivation and focus start to wane. Otherwise, take a five-minute break, go for a walk, get some water, and then start a new session. Now, if you don't wanna use a physical timer for this process, then there are plenty of websites and apps out there that you can use as a substitute, including tomatotimer.com and Tide, which is my personal favorite Promodoro app and is what I use whenever I do my own sessions. Tip number three is to create your own quizzes out of your study materials and then take them later on. And this is called the quiz and recall method. Essentially, you wanna take all of your study materials, your study guide if you've been given one, your notes, maybe the slides from the class, or your textbook readings, specifically the subheadings and the bullet lists, vocab terms, and the review questions at the end of the chapter if you have them, and create your own quizzes out of them. Essentially, act like you're your teacher. Then, a couple of days later, go and take those quizzes. This practice testing method is an active method of learning and it's a lot more effective than just passively going over the material. Tip number four, which is pretty related, is to work lots and lots of problems. The more you can practice, the more mastery you're going to achieve. And the more difficult these problems are, the better off as well. The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi put it this way, The best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. Just like the muscles in your body grow stronger after being exposed to a stressful challenge, your mind becomes more capable every single time you challenge it to solve a tough problem. So the next time you're tempted to study by just letting your eyes glaze over your notes or a slide deck, remind yourself that this is basically the mental equivalent of showing up at the gym and using nothing but five pound weights. You have to stretch yourself a little bit further. Counterpoint to that though, and tip number five, when you find yourself stuck on a tough problem, try working a simpler one that uses only one of the concepts from the original. This is because the difficulty in many tough problems comes from the combination of several different concepts or ideas that you haven't yet mastered. So when you find yourself stuck for this reason, then go and find or construct a similar problem that only uses one of the concepts from the original. Master that, and then you can move back to that original, and you'll probably have a much easier time getting it done. Tip number six is to use mnemonics. And a mnemonic is basically a mental device that binds two different pieces of information together in a sort of roundabout way that your brain more naturally latches onto. This could include rhymes, acronyms, visual devices, or even stories. And a great example of that latter device is WaniKani, which is a web app that helps you to learn Japanese kanji. It does this by creating ridiculous stories that bind the way each kanji is pronounced aloud to the way that it's written. And in addition to all of those devices, you could also try to find a way to turn the information you're studying into a song or find a way to make it rhythmically interesting. For example, the main reason that I can remember the date of the Pearl Harbor attacks is the very specific way that Franklin D. Roosevelt said it in his speech about the attacks. December 7th, 1941. I usually have a pretty difficult time pulling it up directly, but I can always remember if I first go to that speech in my memory. And that line in that speech is actually the first line of the intro to Hardcore History, which is an incredibly entertaining podcast that has gotten me very interested in many different eras of history. And speaking of interest, tip number seven on our list is to find a way to get more interested in your topic. And this is because your emotional state, your emotional attachment to a topic, how much you care about it, these are all very important in how well you're going to retain the information when you're learning about it. So you wanna find a way to get more interested. Now, my favorite way to do this is to find a way to immerse myself in the topic that's a little bit more fun or interesting than your standard textbook readings or lecture slides. This could be a podcast, it could be a documentary, it could be visiting a museum, and it could even be a video game as long as that video game ties back to your topic and makes you care more about it. Tip number eight is to regularly switch between different types of problems and concepts while you're studying. This is a concept called interleaving and helps combat a problem known as overlearning, where you basically hammered away at one specific concept or problem for so long that you really kinda start wasting your time. And once again, the WaniKani app provides us with a great example of how to do this well, because when you're reviewing, the app is constantly switching between questions about radical and kanji meanings, about vocabulary terms, and about how to pronounce specific kanji. So you're constantly being asked to recall what you've learned in different ways. So when you're studying for a test, you're doing a homework assignment, you can basically replicate this by switching between concepts or different sections of a problem set at regular intervals. Tip number nine is to do at least one study session in the classroom where you're going to be tested or a very similar classroom if you can. And this tip leverages what is called context-dependent memory. Research in cognitive science has found that people are better able to recall information when they are present in the same environment in which it was encoded. So if you learn in the classroom, or at least spend some time reviewing in the classroom, then when you're sitting in that same classroom for the test, you're gonna have an easier time remembering what you studied. Additionally, if you can study in the classroom, then that makes it a more familiar place. And when you're taking the test, being in a familiar place can actually cut down on test anxiety as well. That brings us to tip number 10, which is to go for a walk after a long study session. So when you're thinking your brain uses two different types of primary neural networks, what are called highly attentive states and then resting state networks. And crucially, both of these types of networks are very important for learning effectively. In the book A Mind for Numbers, Dr. Barbara Oakley labels the use of these two networks as the focused and diffused modes of thinking respectively and notes that it's important to switch between them in order to encode new material. Now, using the focused mode is pretty straightforward as it's activated anytime you actively work on a problem. So to get over into the diffused mode, you just need to step away from that problem for a bit and let your brain process it in the background. And a great way to do that while also getting some exercise, which is in itself a great way to enhance your learning, and there's an entire book on that, is to go outside and go for a quick walk. Tip number 11 is to do at least a few of your review sessions in a group. Working in a group can not only expose you to new ideas and let you come at the problems from a different angle, but it also prevents you from getting stuck on any one problem for too long. The caveat here is that you shouldn't do all of your work in groups because it can get to the point where you start relying on other people to find the answers for you and you're not actually solving them for yourself. It's very easy to confuse recognition of the right path to the answer given to you by someone else with actual mastery of the materials. So you have to strike an optimal balance between individual problem-solving time and group work. Tip number 12 is to find the study sounds that work the best for you. And I'm very specifically using the term sounds here because ambient noises, music, and silence can all work well for studying and make you more productive. It just depends on what kind of person you are. Now, if you wanna go the route of ambient noises, a great starting resource is Noisly, which actually allows you to mix different sounds together to create your own custom soundscape, and I really like doing that. Or you can keep things simple by going with the classic Rainy Mood for rain sounds or Coffitivity, which is a website that creates coffee shop ambience. And for music, you might wanna start with my Sunday study playlist over on Spotify or my Ultimate Study Music playlist here on YouTube, both of which have a lot of similarities, but also some key differences. And if you do find a song that you really like because they are pretty eclectic, a good way to find more music like that would be to use Spotify's radio function or just find the album the song is from and put that on. Now, I do wanna mention that the science behind the link between music and productivity is pretty muddy right now. There's a lot of research that has been done, but very few concrete conclusions. So this is an area that really warrants personal experimentation. That being said, I will still be linking to some resources in the description so you can dig in and do some reading on what exists right now if you're curious. And that brings us to tip number 13, which is to protect your sleep. Now, I know this seems completely obvious, but I also know from personal experience that sleep seems to be the thing that we most readily sacrifice when we're dealing with a looming deadline. And this is a really detrimental choice that we make because sleep is crucial for keeping your brain at its optimal levels. And it's especially important for retaining the information that you've learned and being able to recall it on tests. As the Harvard Medical School puts it, when we are sleep deprived, our focus, attention, and vigilance drift, making it more difficult to receive information. Without adequate sleep and rest, overworked neurons can no longer function to coordinate information properly. And we lose our ability to access previously learned information. So no matter how tight your deadlines are, respect your body's need for sleep. Make sure you're getting enough sleep and also make sure you're keeping a consistent sleep schedule as well. Now, all the tips on this list are indeed useful, but I do wanna make a final note that it is not necessary to try to implement them all at once. If you try, you'd probably just find yourself overwhelmed. So instead, just pick one area that you know you can improve upon and focus on that during your next study session. Eventually, that will become ingrained as a habit and you can move on to something else. And if you're not sure where to start or if you often find yourself overwhelmed with huge lists of tips or just the sheer amount of options you have available to you, then you might wanna follow this video up by going and taking Brian Servino's excellent course on how to strategically set priorities. You'll find Brian's course over on Skillshare alongside more than 27,000 other classes that can help to boost your skills in a ton of different areas, including graphic design, video production, digital animation, marketing, and lots, lots more. All of Skillshare's classes embrace the principle of active learning and they all include a project, often with sample files that you can download, which can help you to start using what you're learning. Each class also has a discussion section so you can ask questions and get feedback from both the teacher and the other students as well. And best of all, Skillshare is really affordable. Their annual plan is less than 10 bucks a month and in case you haven't heard about it already, that subscription also gets you access to my hour-long productivity systems course. So if you wanna start boosting your skills, then sign up at a link in the description down below. And if you're one of the first 500 people to do so, you're gonna get a two-month free trial with unlimited learning on the platform. Big thanks goes out to Skillshare for sponsoring this video and being a big supporter of my channel. And as always, thank you guys so much for watching as well. Hopefully you enjoyed this video and if you did, maybe consider hitting that Like button and getting subscribed right there. I will also have a lot more stuff in the description so if you wanna jump off from this video into something more detailed, I've got many other videos you might wanna check out. Otherwise, you can click right there to get a free copy of my book on how to earn better grades, find one more video on this channel or listen to our latest podcast episode over here. Thanks again for watching and I will see you in the next one.