Royane Real

By Royane Real

Author of :  “How You Can Be Smarter - Use Your Brain to Learn Faster, Remember Better and Be More Creative” 

If you are a student, you are probably very pressed for time.  You have a lot of obligations, and there will be times you feel overwhelmed with all they studying you have to do. 

Whether you are a college student preparing for exams, or a manager trying to learn facts for an upcoming presentation, you want to know your facts, and you want to have all the information at your fingertips.  But you don’t want to spend all your time studying.  You want to get the maximum amount of study effectiveness for the amount of time you spend studying.

What is the best way to structure your study time so that you can remember the material without spending too much time studying and reviewing?

Is it more effective to study a lot of material at a time?  When is the best time to review the material?  What’s the best technique and the best schedule for reviewing the material again? 

You probably already know that most people will remember better what they have studied if they review their study material several times. 

People who study the learning process have developed several different ways to schedule your learning so that you can learn effectively and efficiently.

For most people, the method that is least effective for achieving good memory, is cramming at the last minute before an exam.  This doesn't work very well, because your brain needs time to put new material into permanent storage, and this process is accomplished while you sleep.  If you have stayed up all night to study at the last minute, there won't be time for your brain to consolidate your new memories.

To improve your learning and your recall, you should be sure to spread your studying over a longer time period, with plenty of opportunities to conduct a review.  The act of reviewing material gives a signal to your brain that this material is important, and the connections between your brain cell are made stronger.

The next time you need to learn some material, try the following study schedule and see if it works for you.  Feel free to experiment with this suggested schedule for studying.  You may discover a personal method for study and review that can help you even more. 

First, schedule a time period of about 40 minutes to read and understand thoroughly what you are studying.  Don’t try to force yourself to sit at your desk for many hours without a break.

While you are studying, make notes and ask yourself questions.  You may find that making mind maps is a more effective way of taking notes than the way most people take notes.  Many people find that making mind maps is a way of note-taking that helps them to remember better and understand what they are studying.

Another way to improve your ability to remember what you are studying and learning is to talk ut loud about what you are studying.  

After you have studied the material for about forty minutes, take a break of about five to ten minutes. 

During this five or ten minute break, get away from your desk and your books or computer, and do something completely different.  Take a brisk walk, and do some deep breathing.  If you are in an office building, walk up the stairs to the next floor, and back again.  

When your ten minute break is over, go back and spend about five minutes reviewing the orginal material you just studied, and briefly look at the notes you have written. 

The next day, spend five minutes again revieving your original material and the notes you made.  Review the material and your notes again for about five minutes a week later.  Then about a month later, review it for about five minutes again.

If you need to remember the information longer, review it for five minutes after two months, and then again after six months.

This learning schedule can help you remember material effectively without spending too much time learning it and reviewing it.

When you review what you are studying and learning several times, this actually causes chemical changes in your brain.  The connections between the brain cells involved in learning become stronger when they are activitated more often.  Reviewing what you are learning several times makes it easier for the signals to move from one brain cell to the next when you need to remember what you are studing.

Try this method of studying the next time you need to prepare for an exam or a presentation.

This article is by learning expert Royane Real who has been a long time science educator.  To learn more ways to boost your brain power, get my popular book  “How You Can Be Smarter - Use Your Brain to Learn Faster, Remember Better and Be More Creative”  Download it today at  http://www.lulu.com/real 

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