Study Tips

What’s The Best Way To Get Ahead of Your Classmates

How much of an advantage would you have over your classmates if you have learned the material three times before they have even learned it once?

This technique allows you to do just that. P, TN, R stands for preview, take notes, and review.

Preview the material before class. Many teachers will give you access to lecture notes beforehand. Read over the slides to get a general overview of the structure and material to be presented. If any questions come up during this time, write it down. If anything in the slide contradicts what you thought, write it down. You can also skim over the corresponding pages in the textbook to get an even better background understanding. Most students usually neglect looking at the slide beforehand and come to class unprepared and clueless. By previewing, you’ll be a head start because you’ll know what to expect during class. Number of times learning the material.

You: 1. Regular student: 0.

Pay attention and take detailed notes during class. You already have a basic understanding of the material because you have previewed. You already have a sense of what is the most important point. Build on that by writing down notes that are related to those main points. The key during the class is to pay attention. If you bring a laptop to class, don’t be watching cat videos on Youtube or checking your Facebook. A lot of students go to class, but they don’t learn. Many end up getting distracted or falling asleep. By paying attention and taking notes, you’ll continue to build on your lead. Number of times learning the material.

You: 2. Regular stuent: 0.5, maybe 1.

Review the material as soon as you can after class, ideally immediately. Look over your notes, and then summarize the key points of the class. It is crucial to review as soon as you can because you are cementing what you learned into from short term into long term memory. Most students fail to review asap and don’t look at their notes again until the week before exams. Number of times learning the material.

You: 3. Regular student: 0.5, maybe 1.

Because of the long entry, this may seem like a lot of additional work, but in reality, it really isn’t. Reading the slides and skimming the maybe may take half an hour tops. You’re already in class so you might as well pay attention and take notes. Reviewing may only take another ten minutes. All together, you may be spending an additional forty minutes at most, but you’ll be saving yourself hours down the road where most students have to relearn the material because they never adequately learned it the first time.

The One Principle that Allows You To “Hack” Chemistry

If you’ve never heard about Pareto’s Principle, your life is about to be changed.

Pareto was an Italian economist who observed that 80% of the land inItalywas owned by 20% of the population. Why is this relevant at all? Well, the 80/20 principle doesn’t only apply in economics. It applies in almost everything we do.

Roughly 80% of our results come from 20% of our effort. For sales representatives, 80% of successful closes come from 20% of the customers. Likewise for us students, 80% of our grades come from 20% of our effort.

In other words, 80% of our effort only account for 20% of our grade, which mean most students spend the majority on their time on assignment or work that determine a small fraction of their grade.

So how can Pareto’s principle help you get better grades with less studying? The key is to find the highest leverage activities, find the 20% of work/ assignments that are accounting for 80% of your grade. Then spend more time on those work/ assignment and less time on the majority that only account for 20% of your grade.

How to Get 4+ Hours of Work Done in Two Hours

Our body functions in cycles. For example, our circadian rhythm dictates when we sleep. Likewise, our brains also work in cycles. The human mind can only focus so long before it fatigues. It is much smarter to follow the natural Ultradian rhythm instead of going against it.

Follow the 50-10-50-30 rule.

Work on one subject uninterrupted for fifty minutes. I recommend the built in stopwatch app in your smartphone. You can always use online stopwatches or buy one for really cheap. Turn off all distraction. No cell phones, no laptops, no disruptions. Set the timer to fifty minutes then begin working.

You’ll find that after the first twenty minutes or so, you’ll enter a flow state.

After the fifty minute is up, set the timer for ten minutes and relax completely. Watch videos, go on FB, talk with friends, etc.

Then work for another fifty minute block period. Again, no distractions. It is best to work on the same subject if you haven’t finished since your mind is still in that state.

After those fifty minutes are up, relax completely for thirty minutes. Get up and move around, eat a meal, or take a nap. Allow your brain to recharge.

I usually finish all my homework / studying after one 50-10-50-30 period.  But if you don’t, you can do another 50-10-50-30 period. If you choose to implement just one study tip, implement this one! It take some discipline, but if you really follow the time guideline and work with interruptions, you’ll be two or three times more efficient. You’ll get more done in two hours than you could have ever imagined.

Get Better Grades With These Chemistry Study Tips

Learn material the first time around 

Learn the material the first time it is presented. If you run into something you don’t understand while reading or during class, write down questions or make a note of what you don’t understand. Then commit yourself to learning that concept as soon as you can, preferably in the same day. Re-read the book, attend office hours, search online, ask a tutor, but learn it no matter what. The concepts in chemistry build upon each other. If you fail to grasp one concept, then you’re going to fail to understand all the subsequent concepts that build upon that concept, creating a snowball effect of “I don’t know’s.” Don’t let your “don’t know’s” pile up and try to learn everything the week before exams. Learn the material the first time around and save yourself time and headaches later.

Always keep the big picture in mind 

All the topics in chemistry are interconnected although it can seem very unrelated at times. When you are studying for an exam, keep the big topic in mind. For example, when you’re studying for the thermodynamics midterm, ask yourself how all the information is related to each other. Also build connections between concepts. This way, you’re not just memorizing a bunch of random facts. Almost everything you learn can be supported / explained by something you’ve learned before.

Dedicate a specific amount of time to chemistry outside of class 

This is another tip that can skyrocket your productivity and prevent hours of wasted time, especially if combined with 50-10-50-30 rule. Dedicate a specific time period to studying chemistry outside of class.

Tell yourself, “I’m going to spend X amount of hours on chem everyday.” Unless something unexpected comes up, spend no more and no less than the determined time period on chem. There are two benefits. First, it’ll speed up your work. If you know you only have X amount of time to study, you’re going to study faster so you can get your work done in time. Second, it’ll keep you on track and prevent you from falling behind.

Most of the time, your specified time period will allow you to finish right in time. Other times, you might finish that day’s homework a bit earlier. Remember, you still have to spend the determined time period on chem. So in the latter scenario, review your notes for past lectures, work on something that isn’t due for a week, do some practice problems. Be proactive with your time.

Warning: This tip only works if you actually spend the entire dedicated time period working. Don’t say you’re going to spend two hours of chem, then spend 45 of those 120 minutes on Facebook. Also, dedicate a reasonable time period. I don’t think anyone can get everything done in fifty or thirty minutes.