study-studymore-studyhard:Things Top Students Do1. They don’t always do all of their homework.In col
study-studymore-studyhard:Things Top Students Do1. They don’t always do all of their homework.In college, homework assignments generally make up 5-20% ofyour grade, but can be the biggest time-suck for most students. Yes, workingproblems is one of the best ways to turn new concepts into working knowledge,but a large majority of those problems that take you hours and hours to workthrough, you’ll never see on an exam.2. They never “read through” the textbook.Per time spent, reading the textbook is one of the least effective methods for learning new material. Topstudents use the examples and practice problems, but otherwise use Google,lecture notes, and old exams for study materials.3. They Google EVERYTHING.It’s like an automatic reaction. New concept = goto Google for a quick explanation. Don’t think just because your professorgives you a textbook and some examples on the blackboard that you’re limited tothat information. You have a massive free search engine at your fingertips, somake use of it.4. They test themselves frequently.Testing yourself strengthens your brain’s connections to newmaterial, and gives you immediate and clear feedback on whether you knowsomething or not. Bottom line, repeated self-testing significantly improves long-term retention of newmaterial. 5. They study in short bursts, not long marathons.Studying in short bursts tends to help you focus intenselybecause you know there is at least a short break coming.This also fits in nicely with our UltradianRhythm, the natural activity/rest cycle of our bodies, which makesstudying continuously for multiple hours on end counterproductive.6. They reverse-engineer solved problems.It’s one thing to follow and memorize a set of steps tosolve a calculus problem. It’s an entirely different thing to understand what aderivative is, be able to take derivates of complex functions, know when to usethe chain rule vs. the product rule, etc. The problem with simply following thesteps the professor provided, or the textbook outlines, is that you’re onlyachieving a surface-level knowledge of the problem. Top students, instead,takesolved problems and work backwards, from solution to question, asking“why.”Why did this get this value?Why did they simplify this expression?Why did they use that type of derivative rule?By following this process, you begin to understand theinterconnections of the concept, and how to directly apply that to a problem.This “working knowledge” of a concept is key to performing well on exams,especially on problems that you haven’t seen before.7. They don’t own a highlighter.Highlighting anything = unengaged reading. If you want tonote something that stands out, underline and write a corresponding note to goalong with it. Or better yet, write yourself a note summarizing the item inyour own words.8. They sleep–a lot.The daily routines of top performers, in any field, arecharacterized by periods of intense work (4-6 hours per day) followed by significant quantities of high-quality sleep (9hours per night). You see this trend in top violin prodigies and chesschampions, as well as elite athletes. The idea is to alternate periods of intensework with rest, so that you create tons of new connections in your nervoussystem, and then allow adequate time to assimilate those gains.9. They engage themselves by asking questions.What happens if I tell you, “Thomas Jefferson almostsingle-handedly drafted the Delcaration of Independence in 1776.”?You might say “Hmm.. that’s interesting”, try to remember itfor later, maybe even write down a note or two.But what if I ask you, “Who was Thomas Jefferson?” Whatchanges?You start searching your memory, sifting through images ofold guys, founding fathers, thinking about the Declaration of Independence. Youcome up with your own narrative, and then realize that you have gaps.When was he around again?And why was he so important?You’ll probably find yourself going to Google to fill in thegaps. Through that process your learning will be much more deeply seated inyour brain than anything your history teacher ever told you about him. That’sthe power of asking questions.10. They make the best out of lecture.Yes, your professor sucks. Yes, lectures are boring. Yes, it’s either too fastso you can’t keep up and miss all the important stuff, or it’s way too slow andyou start zoning out because you already understand everything.The best students look at this this way: I’m going tobe there no matter what, so what’s the best use of my time while I’m in theclassroom? Ask questions, bring the textbook and look stuff up, focus on theimportant practice problems to copy down in your notes, try to anticipate whatthe professor is going to say, make note of anything they put emphasis on as apotential exam topic. All of these things make the time you have to spend inlecture more productive and engaging. And that’s less time you have to spendstudying later on.11. They over-learn.School is hard enough, with the amount of studying andhomework you have to do. And on top of all of that Facebooking you have to getdone? It might seem ridiculous to suggest learning more thanyou have to.What!? Are you insane!?But this is precisely what top students do. Andparadoxically, they end up spending less time trying tounderstand how to do homework problems, andless time studying forexams because of it. Because when you “over-learn” past what’s presented inclass, you build a better framework for the subject.Think of trying to remember some details about AbrahamLincoln’s life. You try to remember the dates of the Civil War, or what he saidin the Emancipation Proclamation. You study the same facts over and over andover again… but it’s just boring, and you quickly forget. But what if you knewhis whole life’s story? About how Lincoln suffered from bouts of depression,and his relationship with his wife suffered? You start to learn that the dudewas human, and you start to relate to the things he did and the struggles hewent through. Now you’ve constructed a story in your head. And studies showthat humans learn best through stories. So yes, it’s more information, but yourbrain knows what to do with it now that all those random facts are linkedtogether. More learning, but less rote memorization and struggling to rememberrandom facts.12. They immediately study their exam mistakes.Most students get their exam grade back, flip through to seeif the professor made any mistakes they can argue about, and then promptlyshove it into their notebook, never to be seen again until the mad scramble atthe end of the semester to study for the final.Instead, top students ignore what they got right,and use their mistakes as an indicator of what to improve on.13. They’re busy with work and side projects.Yes, to do well in a course, you need to focus and put inthe hours. But like many geniuses throughout history have shown, involvement ina diverse set of subjects, activities, and skill sets keeps you active, andprovides you with a rich and diverse set of mental models to pull from.Also, as they say, “If you need to get something done, giveit to the busy person.” If you stay active in multiple areas, you don’t have timeto procrastinate, and are forced to be efficient with your study time. Thisgenerally translates into quicker learning and better performance throughoutthe semester.14. They use lecture as a detective mission.Though completely unaware of this fact, your professor hastells. Yes, like in poker. Tells during lecture will hint at particular typesof concepts and problems that will be emphasized on the midterm or final exam.The best students pay attention to topics professors spend a seemingly inordinateamount of time on and make note. Chances are you’ll see something related onthe final.15. They don’t wait for motivation to strike.Motivationcomes and goes, but studying for a degree requires persistence andconsistency. Just like Olympic athletes train even on their worst days, thebest students figure out how to get their coursework done when it’s the lastthing they want to do.16. They practice under test conditions.The old adage “practice makes perfect” isn’t totally true. Deliberatepractice under the right conditions, with the correct mindset, is more like it.Instead of reading through all of the lecture notes and redoing old homeworkproblems, top students make themselves practice exams, and rehearse their examperformance, under time pressure and in similar conditions (no notes,uncomfortable chair, quiet room, etc.) to what they’ll see on test day.17. They use old exams.Professors aren’t the most inventive folk. Along with comingup with lecture material and departmental responsibilities, they’re alsoprimarily concerned with research. So typically midterms and final exams moreor less look alike for similar courses year-to-year and even acrossuniversities. Because of this, old exams are a gold mine of opportunity forfiguring out what problems you should be able to solve and study from.18. They make their own study guides.The best students don’t simply use the study guide theteacher provides, they create their own.Creating the study guide is half the battle, requiring youto go through your notes, consolidate them, and organize them in a way that youunderstand–all valuable study activities. You’ll also be able to use yourequations sheet much more effectively on the exam itself (if allowed) becauseyou know exactly where everything is.19. They actually write on paper.Writing out notes on a laptop is efficient. Too efficient.Because it’s so easy to quickly type out exactly what the professor is saying,you don’t have to do the work of trying to figure out how to consolidate theinformation into your own shorthand. Some also believe that the act of writinghelps retain more information.20. They use the 80/20 rule.Yes, some students who get good grades do every readingassignment, finish every practice problem, and attend every study session theycan get their hands on. But these students are missing the point. There willalways be an endless amount of information you could learngiven the time and effort, but having the ability to discern what is worth learningwill truly set you apart.Top students identify the 20% of concepts they need to learndeeply, in order to determine 80% of their final grade. They focus intently onthose few things, and simply ignore the rest. This is a formula for highperformance, without hours and hours of busywork. And it translates seamlesslyinto the real world too.21. They don’t complain.Complaining simply has no place in the smart student’srepertoire. If something sucks, change it or ignore it, but don’t waste yourtime, energy, and mental state talking about it. Got a crappy professor? Eitherswitch class sections or focus on teaching yourself. Horrible textbook? Findalternate resources (Google is free in case you hadn’t heard).22. They learn by doing.Any technical subject can only truly be internalized throughuse. Just like learning a new language, learning to be fluent in algebra orcalculus requires active application of rules and formulas. Top studentsknow there is a big difference between knowledge, and applied knowledge.23. They take personal responsibility for learning thematerial.The best students understand that they, and only they aretruly responsible for their own education. So waiting to be spoon-fed by yourprofessor and doing the homework assignments will never be enough. Despite yourschool’s best intentions, they’ll never be as committed to your academicsuccess as you can be.24. Followingwhat they loveThose students you admire are passionate about what they arelearning. They have the drive to develop their learning further based on theirlove of what they are discovering. This may not always be the case and is oftenunavoidable but if you follow what interests you and cultivate a curiosity ofthis area, your motivation to learn will thrive.Not every student is the same and many top students don’tfollow the status quo. The best way to create good habits for students is totry a variety of techniques and figure out what works for you.25. Questionyour teachersThinking outside the box is a cliche but certainly a reality for students. They question everything–especially test questions they get wrong. This attitude is important because it shows a general inquisitivenessthat is essential in learning. As any parent of small children knows,questions are a way to gain knowledge. Teachers can’t be offended when astudent asks a difficult question and parents should encourage this behavior. 26. They know thebest way to study.It is important to know the best way to study for yourself.Do you need pictures? Sounds? Study better in quiet or noisy environments?Figure out what works best for you so that you can make the most out of yourstudy time.27. They play hard.We all know that a balanced lifestyle is the best way tostay mentally and physically healthy! Top students don’t spend all day in thelibrary grafting (contrary to what you might think!) Rather, they take the timeto put their studies aside and do something which is fun and exciting! Source : 1 2 3 4 -- source link