In this first session I want to introduce you to a very simple but effective study strategy.
We will revisit this strategy throughout the year, but for now I just want to quickly introduce it to you so you can give it a try.
The 10 minute review session ...
The purpose of this exercise is to get you to experience short, fast review sessions, that require very little time or effort.
Often, we imagine revision and study as a huge chore that seems too much hard work and as a result we never do it.
When you start to experience short, fast-paced review sessions you will actually start to realise that you can complete shorter, and more focused sessions of study, more regularly.
That doesn't mean your revision sessions should all be 10 minutes. I just want to give you the experience of a highly focused session so you can see how to apply it more often in your study.
Follow these instructions at pace ... Move quickly as you get organised for this session ... run if you have to! This will reinforce the necessity to review at pace. Focus ALL your attention on the process. Imagine your eyes are like a laser - totally concentrated and focused on what you are about to scan.
1. Start with a subject that you are relatively comfortable with, that you find quite easy. For this first exercise don't start with a subject that you think is hard or boring (I am sure there's one!). You can apply it to these other subjects later but it's better to start with a subject that you feel OK about.
2. Put yourself in a room, free of noise distractions like TV, radio and other people, if possible.
3. Gather your class notes and teacher handouts for the entire term in that subject.
4. Put your mobile phone on silent and put it in another room.
5. Make sure you have a watch or clock handy. When you are all organised, start the 10 minutes.
6. Quickly start to scan read your notes, focusing on headings, diagrams, key words. Read out aloud anything important that grabs your attention. Move your eyes at speed.
7. Don't worry if you don't understand something ... just continue to scan your eyes over the words and diagrams, reading aloud any keywords that grab your attention. FOCUS ALL YOUR ATTENTION ON THE PAGE.
8. If you get stuck on a page ... turn the page.
9. Get through as many pages as possible in the 10 minutes you have.
10. When 10 minutes of this scanning is up, then stop ... even if you are tempted to go on further. Remember the purpose is to experience a short, faced-pace session.
11. Get up, put on some of your favourite music. Congratulations!
I strongly suggest you do this exercise right NOW ... remember it's just 10 minutes of revision.
Please be careful not to assume that there's little learning value in the 10 minutes you spent on this exercise - even if you found it hard, or thought you remembered nothing of what you scanned ...
As you start to regularly expose your attention to this material, it builds up layers of memory that you will not be directly aware of, but happen nonetheless. Most importantly, it keeps fresh in your mind the understanding you already have for this material.
The important point here is to complete this exercise within 10 minutes and then to move on to something you like doing. Schedule another session for tomorrow, and then repeat the process with another subject.
Throughout the term you can experiment with more of these short bursts of study, repeating the content you have already scanned.
Just give it a try ... it's painless and if you bring the right frame of mind to it, can become almost enjoyable.
That's it for now ... but please, if you haven't done it already, do the above exercise now.
It's important that you start to personally experience the benefits of these simple strategies that I am sharing with you. It might not seem like much but I promise that as you practise these strategies you will start to experience over time, an increased ability to learn rapidly.
Next week I will share with you the fuel that drives motivation. Master this one technique and you can create outstanding results, not just in your study, but in any area of your life that you wish.
Until our next communication ..
All the best
Geoff Peterson
StudyPass
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