10 Tips to Study Smart and Save Time for NEET 2018

We all know that one student in the class who will say ‘I hurriedly went through the chapter last night’ just before the exam and will top the class. Does this sound like your classmate? Is this natural talent? Do they have a knack for understanding concepts, information or learning new ideas easily? What makes it easy for them to learn so quickly? Are they hiding a huge secret in their Pandora’s box? Let’s open it! 

Learning in a holistic manner is the alternative strategy to actually use these ‘building blocks’. The idea is to link concepts together and compress information so it fits the bigger picture. Below are some tips to give you a head start on your journey to study smart:

1. Use of Metaphors: Metaphors allow you to quickly link information by comparing a complex idea to a simple one. Create your own easy analogies and you’ll be surprised how much you have retained while studying. For example, make metaphors comparing parts of a brain with sections of the computer.

2. Put your senses to work: Using vivid pictures, sound and touch that relate to the information can help you trigger your brain to pick when you want to retrieve it.

3. Leave no islands: Read every single portion of your textbook. Leaving islands or parts of a chapter can cost you during the test. Who would’ve thought reading the little extra information provided in the boxes can actually be helpful while writing the exam.

4. Teach it to others: Find someone who has difficulty in understanding a topic and teach it to them. This exercise will force you to organize your skill to answer and explaining the concept can be a huge benefit for you.

5. Test your flexibility: If you’re having a tough time understanding concepts, try linking them by referencing one idea to help explain another.

Construct your Understanding

Learning is a process similar to playing with Lego blocks to build a house. Nobody will tell you where to put the blocks or feed you with the complete picture of the house that YOU want to build, because it’ll be your own creation. Similarly you have to devise your own way to LEARN and BUILD an understanding to gain the knowledge.

Listening to the teacher in the class, reading books and taking notes are the key ‘building blocks’ in this process of learning. Let’s add online class, live video classes, online tests to this list of ‘building blocks’. Most of these learning strategies fall into two categories:

1. Memorization : Instead of creating your Lego house with the ‘building blocks’ you spend time at looking at them for long duration to record its position on the building board aka your brain.
2. Formulas : This is similar to finding an interesting shaped ‘building block’ but you have no working idea of how to use it. You stumble upon these blocks but you eventually find out a way to use this block.

6. Look for patterns: Find patterns in information while reading. Information becomes easier to organize if you can identify broader patterns that are similar across different topics.

7. Use innovative resources: Watching videos, attending live classes, online paper solving, speed tests, etc. can do wonders while learning a boring subject.

8. Don’t force: Studying too much right before the exam can actually be harmful. Forcing information during the last few days is inefficient. Interlinking concepts and parts can be help you to have a quick recap.

9. Create learning models: Making mental pictures and referencing is the key here. Using mind maps, flashcards, diagrams and charts work very efficiently while studying.

10. Learning is in your head: All of these models and tips will be of waste if you have no interest in the subject. Your only goal is to understand the information so it will stick with you for assignments, tests and life. Use notes and books as a medium for learning rather than an end result of your exams alone.

Please take a moment to spread these tips with your friends. After all, Knowledge is the only thing that grows when shared!