What’s the point in studying faster?
The main reason that I prioritise fast study is because study is not my life. I’ve got many responsibilities, and study is only one of them! On top of that, the faster you can get through your studying – the more free time you have to do whatever you like. With my free time, I spend time with my family, go out to socialise and spend time writing on my blog.
Why should you trust my advice?
As a student with an extraordinarily busy life, it’s been so important for me to prioritise effective ways to study quickly.
Over the course of my degree, I’ve worked, I’ve been the primary carer for my school age son and I’ve given birth! Despite all of this, I’ve managed to achieve great results in all my exams and tests. It’s fair to say I’ve got a fair bit of experience with making a good use of the limited time I have available.
Here’s how I do it.
The study fast method
There’s a big secret in the world of study, and it seems to be that only the high academic achievers know it.
There is no reason to make notes.
When I discovered this, I was mind blown. Back at school, I used to spend hours making aesthetic beautiful notes. I’d feel so productive, if I spent 5 hours making notes (which I sometimes did!), then in my own mind I’d made 5 hours of progress. In reality, I’d made exactly 0 progress.
So if not making beautiful notes, how are we supposed to spend our time?
The answer is practising exam style questions. I recommend practising open book style.
This method of studying faster is so useful to students for one main reason, because it delegates the act of note making to somebody else. Whether it be a textbook, an online blog, your own university or schools notes or whatever else. The point is, you haven’t wasted your time creating resources for yourself that already exist.
Knowing this changed my entire way of thinking, I know students that only write notes all year – even for their cram revision!
What does it look like in practise?
When you finish your classes or lectures for the day, you’ll likely be given homework or practise questions. If not – find some! You’ll be able to find a plethora of resources online including practise questions for any topic imaginable.
When you get to your allocated personal study time, this is when you’ll find some notes, and answer your questions. The key word being: find. Search online for the topic your class was on and just find some notes. Often, lecturers or professors will upload their class and sometimes along with extra notes.
This has cut all of the effort and time out from actually taking time to write or type out what you went over in class, and straight to the part of studying which will actually keep information in your brain. Active learning.
What is active learning?
Active learning simply means for a student to engage with material rather than just reading it. Note taking is not a part of active learning, since it is just copying / condensing / rearranging information.
Active learning means to put information into a practical use, in this instance, straight into exam style questions. For most students this is truly the end goal, to ace their exams.
By actively engaging with material, you can develop a much deeper understanding of the content rather than just reading it. Imagine reading the chapter of Harry Potter when he arrives at Hogwarts, now imagine walking into Hogwarts yourself. Which experience would you remember for the rest of your life? Reading about it or actually doing it?
Example use case
For example, in math – let’s say I have had a class today all about Pythagoras’ Theorem. My teacher has given me homework, but no hand out with notes. What do I do now?
The answer is simple: Google. Run a quick search “Pythagoras theorem notes” and you may come across an article like this: Pythagoras’ Theorem – Free Printable Poster!
Now you work through your homework, using this as a guide to answer your questions. You find something you don’t understand? Google it!
You’ll find that reflecting and going over information from your classes is so much more effective for saving time than sitting and copying out everything your professor said.
Conclusion
Studying faster is not something that you need to practise, it can be implemented right away from your next study session! If you want to find out more about this method of studying, I’d highly recommend looking at productivity content from this website: Ali Abdaal.
If you’re studying math and need notes, check out my guides to learning all of high school math here!
