Our study tips
80/20 rule
Identify topics that will create the most benefit for an upcoming exam and focus on those first. Pay attention to concepts that lecturers spend a lot of time on and common topics that appeared in past year’s papers. This is not to imply that you should ignore the rest of the materials. The key is to fully work on the crucial 20% before spending time on the rest—to secure at least 80% of the results.
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For this to work, seek to understand the material and actively revise beforehand, rather than cram everything into the eleventh hour and rely on memorising. When you develop a good understanding of the core topics, you can apply your knowledge to questions displaying things you may have never seen before. Oftentimes, you can also derive the rest of it with the little bit that you know, and you will not be as stressed for not focusing on the 80% of materials even in your last-minute studying.
pomodoro technique
The Pomodoro technique can help you study and work efficiently whilst ensuring that you get your interval breaks.
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Here’s how it works: Set a timer for 25 minutes, during which you will have full concentration on your work, then take a 5-minute rest. Do this consecutively four times, then take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes. The 5-minute break amounts to almost 20% of the total 30-minute study time in each segment, aligning with the 80/20 logic, where the 20% rest time reduces 80% of procrastination. See how everything is coming 80/20 together?
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Active recall
Active recall can be easily incorporated into your current study in a number of ways. It involves taking whatever learning resource you use—whether it be lecture slides, videos, or your own written notes—and making a list of concise questions based on the content. When you next revise that topic, go straight to the questions and answer as many as you can without reading your notes. For any questions you get wrong, return to your notes afterward until you can answer the question correctly.
Color-coding the questions based on whether you got them right (green) or wrong (red) is a helpful way of tracking progress. Online question-based resources such as Anki, Osmosis flashcards, and Picmonic can also lend a helping hand. Have a look around and see what works for you!
Feynman technique
Step 1: Choose a subject
First, clearly identify the specific area of knowledge or understanding that you wish to learn about. You can then read about it, make notes and come to your initial understanding as you might normally do so.
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Step 2: Pretend to explain this knowledge to a child
Speaking aloud, act as though you are explaining this knowledge, theory, or other idea to a child. You will have to simplify your words, perhaps come up with analogies, and be able to cover the necessary details as you go through.
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Step 3: Reflect on gaps in your understanding
The next step is to then look back at your explanation and see where the gaps in your knowledge were. Which parts did you struggle to explain? Which details did you miss? Answering these questions will reveal where you have failed to pick up on key points, so you can then return to your source material and review those key points to improve your understanding.
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Step 4: Simplify and repeat step 2
Based on your reflection in step 3 and subsequent return to the source material, you can further simplify and refine your explanation and repeat the second step. When you can create an explanation that encompasses all the elements properly, then you have succeeded.
