Marty Lobdell - Study Less Study Smart

Using a library, studying room, office,... will help the brain to focus. One of the most difficult things to do is to just start. Getting in a place that is meant only for studying will help a lot. Also avoid studying in the bedroom, being in the bed makes it harder to resist sleeping.

Assign a lamp to be switched on whenever you want to study, this will help teach your brain to focus whenever the lamp is on (remember the lamp must be switched off at breaks, and never be used for something other than studying)

The more active you are in your learning, the more effective. The way to learn effectively is first you have to decide what you are learning: facts or concepts? Understanding the name of a bone is a fact, but understanding what it does in the body is a concept.

Can you put the concept in your own words? If you can't; you don't really understand it. Either take the time to discover the meaning of it, or don't wast your time studying.

• Study groups are powerful.
• Read the whole thing & then reread and understand each paragraph, one by one.
• Sleep well, have a good rest for your memory.
• Write notes during the class, then relook at them right after the class to give it depth. It will not work if you do it 2 hours later.
• Active Recitation: The best way to learn is to teach somebody else. If there's no one, teach an empty chair, or write it out.

The SQ3Rs Method

SQ3R = Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review

1. Survey: a textbook is not a novel, so you can go through the entire chapter and survey it. Skim titles, look at pictures.
2. Question: you raise questions as you go through the survey, ex: what is X here? what is Y? Doing this will keep you looking for information in the text book while reading.
3. Read & Recite: mentioned before.
4. Review: give yourself enough time to review what you've studied. We usually make a mistake when we start studying shortly before the exams which leaves us with no time to review what we've studied.

There is always the repeating method (e.g. flash cards), but a better way is to use Mnemonics which consists of:

1. Acronyms: Acronyms help you remember and memorize facts, terms, and idioms.
2. Coin Sayings
3. Interactive Images: Interacting images help you understand and also connect things together and memorize facts.