The Art of Studying

Studying. Without it, we as humans may never be able to fully understand a topic. When we are born, the first thing that occurs is learning. Everything is taken in, experienced, felt, etc. As a child ages, he or she begins to study subjects in order to pass classes in school. We are hardwired to study things in order to better remember them. Hasn't anyone noticed that when it comes to grade school, a student will study a few nights before a quiz or test, but as soon as the quiz or test is taken, all the memory and knowledge goes away. It's as if the mind makes room on its own by removing what was needed at the moment. The mind assumes that we won't need that information, so it gets rid of it. Studying ties into memory like eating to food. You need to study to remember, you need food to eat. It's interesting because two forms of memory exist, short term and long term. In order for someone to better their long term memory, it is recommended that they study what they wish to know, several times over a period of time. This assures the subject is stored in long term memory and it lets the brain know that the particular subject is important. According to psychology, the brain functions based on its own decisions. Short term memory is only needed for the moment, so it is constantly learning and dumping. Say, for example, you go for an interview and when you walk into the room, you shake the hands of the interviewer and you exchange names. You sit down ready to tackle any questions the interviewer may have and suddenly you realize you forgot their name. This is proof that short term memory is limited and may have errors. The mind may be focused on preparing to answer questions that it shortens short term memory and prepares information to be taken from long term memory storage. After all, no one talks about themselves from short term memory, their characteristics, views, and personality are information that is stored in long term memory, in order to prevent forgetting who you are. But, enough about memory, let's get back to studying. There are various forms of studying, each person over some time should figure out what works best for them. This can range from study styles, locations, or even the general environment. Why is it one person can study in a loud "Starbucks environment" and another person (like myself) has to study in a quiet library setting? It all has to do with your level of focus and comfort. A person used to a loud environment won't feel inspired in a quiet area, they may have trouble focusing because there is no motivation around them, or worse they may fall asleep. A person who thrives in a library may do miserably in a coffee shop environment because there is just too much noise, it's hard to focus. Aside from learning environments, humans vary in studying styles. One student uses flashcards and another student may have to stare at a screen or a piece of paper. From experience, as you age and leave grade school, study guides are no longer filled out for you, and bullet points with broad topics are as good as it gets. Why is this the case? Perhaps the school system believes that the older you get, the more experienced you are, and by the time you enter college you should know what your study style and habits are. Studying habits are linked to procrastination. We will discuss procrastination in a future blog, but these two ideas work opposite of each other. You are either doing the work or you are not. 

My recommendation: While there is no particular form or style of studying that works for everybody, a particularly useful technique that I have found is the Feynman Technique. I encourage you to Google it and do some research. It is only a few steps but the essence of it is brilliant. It uses the concept of studying and expands it to teaching, assuming a person who teaches must know what they are talking about. The concept works because if you can teach a subject, then you are knowledgeable about it. If you are forced to teach the subject, then you will begin to figure out how to teach it, thus making you understand the subject better by taking additional time to figure it out yourself. 

Study smart and study strong...

Expressed by: Oscar Mendieta