Study Techniques — Part 2
As I promised in my previous article about Study Techniques, now I will write about a concept I call “Deep awareness” related to the time in the lecture.
As a quick introduction, it would be the most challenging part because you should not only fight against the distraction produced by your internal triggers but the external environment (I will provide some examples below). So, go on.
This stage has two parts: (1) Lock-up your electronic devices, and (2) Smart note-taking.
Lock up your electronic devices.- In other words, turn off/put in ‘aeroplane’ or ‘do not disturb’ mode all your electronic devices during the lecture. Why? Because every ’10 seconds’ distraction has an enormous impact on your concentration (Around 10–50 minutes). The more distracted you are in your lecture, the more time you will need to study after that. So, you naturally want to avoid it.
It is an essential step because your mobile/laptop/tablet is just one of the total distractions you should face during your lecture. I am talking about to-dos you suddenly remember, other people screens (who is buying tickets or clothes online, watching TikTok, writing their CV or chatting with their partner), classmates eating in the room or arriving late for the class, etc.
I know it seems difficult but think about it. If you win these 3 hours, you will be able to beat procrastination more often, making yourself more confident because you will have the superpower of concentration. Remember that the most important plans of your life take time, so the ability to stay focused during X hours is a game changer to advance towards them. If it stills look complicated to you, I proposed a quick challenge. Leave your cell phone in aeroplane mode for 3 hours. After that, ask yourself the following questions: Is any significant event happening during this time? How much time took me to catch up on all the messages/To-Do? If the answer to both is nothing, you will find another argument to try.
Smart note-taking.- It means avoid:
- Transcribe all that professor says (It drains your energy and concentration)
- Taking notes within the slides (It forces you to review all the material again after the class)
- Highlight slides (It is not equal to understanding)
- Not taking notes and just listening (For common people, memory is fragile)
On the other hand, your objectives here are the following:
- Answer the questions from your preparation.- After drafting the spine of the class and your questions (According to the previous article), you should focus your attention on those because it allows you to finish your class with a clear idea of the topics (which is your primary goal). It doesn’t mean to understand 100% because sometimes the professor goes beyond the basics when people ask questions, but this extra information may not be relevant for you.
- The terms.- The professor is a specialist in their topic, so they typically use some unknown words or maybe words you already know but in a different context. These are the terms. It is vital to take notes of these words. After all, you can study them to clarify some simple ideas that looked complicated because you did not understand the significance of the specific words. Furthermore, humans usually have a limited vocabulary. It means that if your professor is using a weird word more than once in a lecture, be sure that they will be using it again in the future.
- The right way to interpret some statements, graphs or pictures.- Usually, when you skim the material, it is unfeasible to understand all the content, so the lecture is the perfect time to catch up with it and take specific notes that help you to remember the information after.
- Timeline: The point here is to write in your notebook the specific time the professor said something that you did not understand. It will be essential if you have the recording of the class because you can review the topic you missed without losing too much time watching the entire video.
I know it was too much information. However, a lecture usually takes from 2 to 3 hours, so it is here where you will invest much of your time. The purpose of these lines is to help you to maximize the return on your investment (The Master), be more efficient(time), and create a discipline that allows you to recover your concentration. Nowadays, staying focused for 2–3 hours is a privilege that many people has lost, so you can see these practices as a first step in the process of advancing towards your plans.
In the following link, you will find some examples of my notes. Three important points:
- I apologize if they are a little messy. My handwriting skills are not so good.
- I used my Ipad for taking notes, but it is not essential. You can do the same in a notebook.
- All the contents are related to my lecture, if you see some slides, they are not mine.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lTmfJWRqf6kdVg_laA5Ngzb7xiwUcuCx?usp=sharing
Thank you for taking the time for reading. Let me know if you have any doubts.
Ricardo
