Best Study Methods That works for Everyone

I talk a lot about study techniques and methods on this blog, but I’ve never ranked them in terms of which methods are the most efficient and worth using and which maybe aren’t so effective. So, I’m going to go through the 10 most common study methods. I chose the 10 most common study methods because there’s a good chance that you guys use some of them. I’ll give you my own opinion on whether or not they work for me.

Now, this is an article based on my personal preferences, and we all study and memorize information in different ways. So let me know in the comments which study methods you put in the ‘STA’ and which you put in the ‘DT.’

Feynman Technique

The Feynman Technique is a method of memorization where you learn a more complex concept, then you break it down into simple terminology, and then you teach it to someone who knows nothing about the subject. The idea is that if you can explain a very complex concept so that essentially a 5-year-old can understand it, then it probably means that you understand it on a good enough level to answer any exam questions that might come up on it. Also, the idea of teaching someone something will allow you to learn the information on a deeper level.

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How effective is it for me?

It was extremely effective. A lot of the time at university, I would be asked quite often to explain some concepts that some of my friends maybe didn’t understand. So unintentionally, I used the Feynman Technique quite a lot, and because it was so effective, I put it as an A-tier study method. There are some incredibly effective study methods on this list, more so than the Feynman Technique, which I explained later on in this article. So I can’t quite put this as an STA study method, but if you’ve never tried this method of studying, it can be super effective. So definitely give it a go. It’s actually a kind of fun too; explaining to someone and communicating with someone while studying is far more engaging and fun than reading a thick black-and-white textbook.

Past Papers:

Earlier, I said that some study methods are more effective than the Feynman Technique, and this is one of them: using past papers.

Although this method is so effective, it was surprising, at least to me, how many students didn’t use exam papers to study for their exams. In my opinion, that was a massive mistake.

There are so many reasons why you should be using exam past papers to revise if you have access to them. Firstly, it allows you to get used to the structure of the exam paper. The language that they use and the types of questions that might be asked. You’ll also understand better that subjects’ exam papers tend to have the same exam structure. Finally, going through a paper in exam conditions helps you work on your time management, so when it does come to the real exam, you know roughly how long you have for each section. If you mark your answers yourself using the marking criteria, you could analyze them to see any gaps in your knowledge. You can then focus on revising those specific areas.

Also Read:- Why high-performance students Follow these 7 habits?

YouTube Videos:

The easy study support on the shelf is YouTube videos.

YouTube is an amazing resource for studying, and I think it’s quite an underutilized resource. I don’t think enough people know just how powerful YouTube can be for exam revision.

So YouTube can be used for revision in several ways. Firstly, study motivation videos: they’re great if you’re feeling unmotivated or tired and you just need that extra push. Secondly, if you’re having problems understanding any key concepts in your course, or maybe you don’t understand something your lecture talks about, or maybe you want to dive deeper into a particular topic, YouTube is a great resource.

There are videos on YouTube about pretty much anything and everything. Finally, the third way YouTube is really helpful for study tips, and it’s probably why you’re watching this video right now. You can learn how to study more efficiently, how to achieve higher grades, and how to keep yourself disciplined and motivated. It is a ridiculously useful resource. So I’m going to put it as an A-tier resource. And there are two main reasons why it doesn’t quite reach the S-tier.

Firstly, the YouTube algorithm does everything it can do to keep you on the platform. So while you’re watching educational videos, it’s really easy to click on something not so educational, and before you know it, you’re procrastinating again. And the second reason is because YouTube is a passive form of content consumption.

How many times have you watched a YouTube video on how to be productive, but then you clicked off the video and continued to procrastinate? Or how many times have you watched a video on effective study methods, but you’ve never actually implemented those methods? Because it’s a passive form of content consumption. So that’s why it’s an A-tier rather than an S-tier.

Rote Learning:

So all the study methods so far have been either A, S, or D-tier. Rote learning unfortunately has to go in the D-tier itself because rote learning is a memorization technique based on repetition. The idea is that the more you repeat the material, the better you’ll be able to understand it and remember it. The problem I have with this study method is that it’s just not efficient. I talk often about why it’s important to study hard but also to study smart.

When you’re reading over the same information again and again and again, it can be incredibly tedious. So you get bored, and therefore, you don’t process the information. And that’s the problem right there. You learn and memorize things by processing the information and then recalling it at a later date. Now, rote learning has its place. If you’re using this method, then make sure that you’re actively thinking about what you’re learning. Ask yourself questions about the material. Why does this happen? Why does that happen? As long as you’re asking yourself questions constantly and thinking about what you’re reading, then you could be bumped up to the C or even the B-tier. But rote learning by itself, just repeating the material over and over, definitely on the D-tier shelf.

Mind Maps:

I’m sure most of you know what mind maps are. They’re graphical ways to represent ideas and concepts that help you think visually. And they also help structure information to better analyze and understand it. Now, I’ll be honest with you. I didn’t use mind maps that much in university. I’ll tell you why. I’m not much of a visual learner, and mind mapping presents information visually. So it’s a great study method for people who learn and memorize things visually. But I never used them that much. As a result, I’m gonna put it as a C-tier study method. But remember, this is just what personally works for me. I know people who swear by mind maps, and for them, it would go straight to the S-tier.

Social Learning:

By social learning, I mean studying with friends, either with just one friend or in a small study group. Now, this is a difficult one. I was going to put it as a B-tier study method because discussing and engaging with other students on more complex concepts or even just explaining to another student some of the material you’re inadvertently implementing the Feynman Technique too, which is a great study method in of itself. And if you have any questions, you can ask the other students in the group, which can save you hours of time rather than spending hours stuck on a problem when you’re studying by yourself.

Active Recall:

It’s a method of memorizing information by first reading it, then closing your eyes and trying to recall it without looking it up. If you can successfully do so, then you have just used active recall. But if not, look it up and learn it, and then try again. And like I mentioned earlier in the video, just reading a textbook passively or watching a video passively or attending a lecture or sitting there passively listening, is not an efficient way of learning. It’s not studying smart.

An active recall forces you to process the information before it helps move the material you’re learning from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. According to a study carried out by researchers Dunlosky et al. in 2013, active recall is the quickest, most efficient, and most effective way to study written material. At least for factual and problem-solving tests. It has also been found to be more effective than mind mapping and note-taking for memorization. So even when you’re just reading a boring textbook or reading any book, I think it’s incredibly important to be using active recall throughout to make sure that you’re not just reading it passively, but you’re reading it actively and soaking in the information.

The Pomodoro Technique:

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. It’s basically where you set the Pomodoro timer for 25 minutes and you study for that 25 minutes. Then when that 25 minutes is up, you take a 5-minute break. So it encourages you to study in 25-minute chunks with 5-minute breaks in between. I like this study method because it’s good if you don’t want to study. But 25 minutes of studying doesn’t sound that intimidating.

So it’s good to actually get you to sit down and study in the first place. And the fact that it even encourages breaks too, because the human brain can only stay fully focused for 25 to 45 minutes at a time, depending on which study you read. So if you’re studying for 8 to 9 to 10 hours that day, that is important to take regular breaks so you can keep studying for longer. However, there are some disadvantages. When I study, I enter into a state of flow where I’m completely 100% focused on what I’m studying. And then when the timer goes off after 25 minutes, the timer forces me to take a break, so I lose my focus. So I used to use the Pomodoro Technique quite a lot, but these days I don’t use it so much for exactly that reason.

The Method of Loci:

The Loci study technique is a method of memorizing material that uses visualization of familiar environments to better recall information. For example, you might imagine yourself placing items around the room, such as on the sofa, next to the bed, or on top of the TV. Then, to recall each item, you visually walk around the room and either pick up or pass each item that you placed. This triggers your recall for the material you’re learning.

Now, as I mentioned before, I’m not much of a visual learner. I’ve tried to use this method, but personally, it’s not that effective for me. It is an incredibly powerful memorization technique. Some world champions of the World Memory Championship use this method. If they’re using it, then it must work. However, I’m going to have to put this on the back shelf because that’s just my personal preference. Let me know in the comments if you use this study method and if it’s useful for you.

Flashcards

I think every student on the planet has used flashcards in some way or another to study for their exams, and I’m no exception. I use flashcards a lot. They can be used in various ways, but how I use them is I write down a question on the front of the card and the answer on the back. Flashcards can also contain important pieces of information, such as historical dates, formulas, or any subject matter. I’m going to put flashcards as an A+ study method because, for me, flashcards were incredibly useful during the revision process.

So, this is all about the methods I use while studying. You can try these methods too and can let me know which has worked more for you through comments.

Thankyou