Five Super Effective Ways to Learn More in Less Time

Effective Ways to Learn More in Less Time

Five Super Effective Ways to Learn More in Less Time

Does learning sound like a nightmare? Well, here are five simple tricks to help you retain new information.

Since there is no way to add more hours to the day, you can use the little time you have efficiently to be able to do more in less time. The following tips will help you retain more information and still have time to spend on other activities.

Review the same information in different places.

It is evident that we are able to retain information better by studying the same thing at different locations. When learning, we tend to link what we retain to our surroundings at that moment. For example, if you are studying in a coffee shop you may associate a certain memorized fact to the song currently playing or the taste of the latte you are drinking. When we have more things to relate to what we have learned, it can help trigger our memory when trying to recall facts later on.

Test out the “memory palace” technique.

This is also known as the method of loci, the memory palace technique is a type of memory enhancement dating back to the ancient Romans and Greeks. The technique teaches students to link physical locations with specific items–for example, the windows on a building’s exterior with the names of presidents. Once you are able to form a relationship between the two, it will be much easier to recall the item later when imagining the visual. It may sound a bit tricky, but anyone can do it.

Allot yourself a break every 30 to 60 minutes.

After a long time of reading or studying, your mind will start to slack. When this happens, it is advisable to take a 10-minute break. You can divide your time into 30- to 60-minute sections with short breaks in between. This will enable you to make the most of each period and avoid wasting time trying to force yourself to pay attention. Allow yourself a few minutes to relax between each learning burst so you can reboot and head into your next session mentally refreshed.

Stop scrolling and shut it down.

Mobile technology is great; but it can become such an incessant distraction. You cannot get through a page or finish a download without checking your phone. Whether you are an email addict or a social media monitor, you need to stop letting your phone be a part of the time you have dedicated to doing work. If you find it hard to ignore the notifications, try putting your phone in Airplane mode or turning it off completely.

Do not open a new tab

Every time you open a new tab, you take away some valuable time from the project at hand. Use a productivity app like StayFocusd to help you stop unnecessary browsing while learning. This Chrome extension lets you decide how much time you want to waste on Facebook or watching videos on YouTube by giving you customizable options to block specific sites or forms of content. Cut down on mindless clicking and stay on track with an app that keeps you accountable.