Posted on by Lonwabo Makapela

Lon’s 7 study hacks!

Hi!

So, I ambitiously started writing this blog post a week before leaving the U.S. for South Africa. Little did I know that packing up my life to move back home would be such a draining emotional rollercoaster, followed by two weeks of painful jetlag once I arrived home. BUT, I had to get myself out of that rut of exhaustion and get writing because how could I miss out on such an important topic?

This week’s post is all about the study tips I found most helpful during my undergrad, and, particularly, during my honours year. I feel like that Honours was the period in which I was in my stride and was able to remain consistent throughout the academic year. June marks the midway point of the South African academic year, and I have found that the June/July holidays are an excellent time to recalibrate and remind yourself why you started this educational journey. Many of us might be in a slump, with much of the motivation we all had at the beginning of the year diminishing. This is an ideal time to ensure we revive the spirit of consistency. Half of my recommendations are relevant to undergraduate and Honours students, but I believe that a few adjustments here and there should ensure applicability to any setting that requires productivity, so keep reading. Let’s get to it.

1. Find what works best for you

One of my most vital pieces of advice is to give yourself the time and grace to try different ways of effective studying and choose what feels most natural. I have gone through my fair share of trial and error with various study methods. Trying different techniques and strategies taught me a lot about my working habits and how to optimise my life. Additionally, I began paying attention to my personality and behavioural traits, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, to figure out what works best for me. As an example to shed some light on why this is key, I began sitting in the front row during lectures because it allowed me to participate in class without feeling too self-conscious. After all, I felt like I was having a more direct conversation with the lecturer. Over and above that, I felt obligated to always have my work done by regularly participating in class because now the lecturers knew me. All this played perfectly into my personality and need for accountability.

2. Eat your breakfast

This tip is one that I can’t take much credit for because it is something my dad would repeat time and time again. Now I say this as someone who is not much of a breakfast person, but the brain uses up so much of our energy. So, once I began prioritising a bowl of oats in the morning, I started noticing that it would give me just enough energy to get through the first half of the day.

3. Schedule everything

Every hat you wear deserves its own proportion of your time, and writing down everything you need to get done keeps you on track with your time management. Many productivity YouTubers have coined this method as time blocking. I schedule everything down to my naps and replying to emails. I also limit the time allocated towards each task per Parkinson’s law which states that ‘work will expand to fill the time allotted for its completion.’ To keep track of this, I use the Pomodoro technique, which encourages you to work with the time you are given through a time management app based on 25-minute stretches of focused work broken by five-minute breaks.

4. Note-taking

Weekdays were usually too packed and busy to consolidate my lecture notes. Therefore, I would use Saturday mornings to finalise my summaries. In taking notes, I would colour code my notes according to each module, primarily because I am a visual person. This was very helpful because my brain would associate a particular colour with that module, making memorisation more effective.

5. Have a study spot

A space associated with study and work, particularly at home, is a good strategy. This helps condition your brain to know that work needs to be done once you move into that space. I tend to have stricter rules regarding my study space, such as not eating and not having my phone once I sit down to maintain my brain’s association with that area.

Two notes about this: 1) While using the Pomodoro technique, once my 25 minutes of work are done, I get up, grab my phone and sit elsewhere during my 5-minute break. 2) Similarly, when I have to eat, I get up from that area, sit elsewhere in the house and eat. When I still lived in a student residence, I would get up from my desk and sit on my bed.

6. Create a reward system

An academic term or semester is too long to expect your brain to remain motivated until the release of your final grades. So, creating a reward system towards the small wins helps maintain motivation. Moreover, it is essential to prioritise the need to fuel, recharge, and nourish your well-being as a human. Therefore, I would incorporate the two by using any fuel source as a reward. For example, at the end of each day, once my tasks are completed, I would meet up with a friend, walk, catch up on some YouTube content, go shopping, or whatever I felt like. The key is understanding what a day-to-day reward is like for you tangibly.

7. Weekly accountability check-in

I typically do this on Sunday evening, checking whether I have met my weekly goals and tasks. This is an excellent time to reflect, take stock of what has happened during the past week, and set a new plan and related tasks for the week. Achieving such functions during the week adds to the bigger goals you are working towards. This has been a great way of keeping me accountable and in alignment with my goals for the year.

To be honest, once my studies became research-centric, I struggled to integrate some of these study hacks, but as mentioned in tip no.1, you have to keep trying new methods and strategies and incorporate different habits into your routine to find what works best for you. Do that and cultivate consistency by practising how to ‘make yourself do what you should do when you should do it whether you feel like it or not’, and you will be well on your way. All the best!

Posted on by johanne_marais

Study tips and self-guided learning techniques by praxis

What do your moods, behaviours, motivation, memories, and emotions have in common?

These are processed in the same brain region called the limbic system! The word limbic means on the border, here describing the border of the cerebral cortex; the characteristically ‘iconic’ portion of the brain.

Part of the limbic system which is specifically important for learning and memory is called the hippocampus.

On the topic of learning and memory…

I took two gap years after matric. By the time I began my undergraduate degree (after being situated in the role of an active worker and a passive student) I had completely lost touch with how I preferred to consume knowledge. If I travelled back in time (and I absolutely can time-travel, of course. I simply choose not to), I would begin by prompting my younger self with three reflective questions:

  • What kind of learner am I?

I now know that I learn best through a multi-modal approach – combining note taking; watching videos; listening to lectures; reading books; drawing images; touching structures; practicing techniques; using colourful pens… Understanding the mode in which you best absorb specific information is a very important first step.

  • Where do my interests lie?

Interest-based learning is a tactic that appreciates how easily our minds take in information that feels relevant to us, and relatable to our lives. Studying is about more than simply remembering information for a test. It’s about gaining understanding and feeling excited about what you can learn! Curiosity and intrigue will encourage you to get through your coursework effortlessly.

  • How do I want to engage with what I learn?

Perhaps it’s a consequence of studying the microscopic world of proteins and ion exchange and cellular interaction, but keeping the bigger picture in mind can be a flaw in my learning process. I combat this using mind-maps. The brain often harnesses association and imagery to improve memory retention and recall. By drawing a mind-map, I connect specific concepts to areas on an A3 page and can emphasize this with drawings or bold mnemonics that remind me of the central theme.

The RSVP to active learnership promises a perpetual feast on an intellectual snack platter; a byte-size buffet of your selection.

However, if the intention is not only to absorb and regurgitate knowledge, but to take a bite; taste it; experience the textures… flavours… and say “I don’t like this” or “Oooh, yummy, I would eat that again”, then the takeaway tips to all students everywhere are these:

  1. Become that ‘first row’ student.

Dissolve the idea that you need to maintain a coolness factor by not participating in your own acquisition of knowledge. There is no shame in asking questions. It’s cool to pay attention.

2. Learn by both listening and teaching.

Good learning techniques start with acute listening skills. By explaining to someone what you have learned, and allowing them the chance to ask questions, you will see knowledge gaps in your description or think about how you could better understand the information you are sharing. Do not harbour knowledge for yourself.

3. Think critically about the source of your information.

There are both implicit and explicit bias in every bit of knowledge you gain and share. Are you learning about the history of South Africa through a book written by a privileged, older man with high socio-economic status? Are you being told that homosexuality is a sin by a theology lecturer? Are you checking multiple sources before you decide “Yes! This is objectively true!”?

4. Have a plan and plan to take breaks!

Consistency is my key to maximizing memorability and motivation, while avoiding overwhelm and burnout. Detailing a study plan helps me hold myself accountable to realistic daily targets. My plan often includes studying across topics, like a study trifle, so that I can keep my interest up and my “information-saturation” down. I cannot emphasize enough how necessary it is to plan for rest, too.

5. Repeat steps one to four.

Repetition helps to consolidate short term memory to long term memory.

Since you’ve come to the end of this blog, I wonder if you could teach someone else the answers to these questions:

  • What is the role of the hippocampus?
  • Where in the brain is it situated?
  • What do your moods, behaviours, motivation, memories and emotions have in common?