studyfture-blog

[studyfture-blog]

Hey! How are you? I have a lot of trouble to memorize things, so I was thinking that you could have some tips to help me? Thank you, I really hope you can help me :)

hellooo i’m good love, thank you for asking. And yes i can help u!! (in advance, this got so much longer than i had ever thought wow enjoy & read slowly)

To memorize I use the Spaced Repetition method.

It’s based on the spacing effect, wich basically means learning is more effective when the studying is spread out over a period of time. This is weird but it has actually been proven in different studies with different memory experiments, as old as the 1800-s. 

It’s all about changing the time periods in wich you are trying to memorize something, using them as intelligently as possible. Basically, just spacing your studying through a long period of time.

So, for example, instead of reviewing a previously learned material for 2 hours in just one day, spread that same period of time in a week. This will exploit the spacing effect.

Ok so practically, this means that if you learn something one day, even if you learnt it during a big period of time (aka 4-6 hours followed), you will forget about it very quickly if you never touch it again.

However, the Spaced Repetition method proved that if you review the material the next day, and then after 3 days, then the week after that, even for just 5-10 minutes, it will take you much longer to forget it.

The decline of your memory retention is shown in something we call the “The Forgetting Curve”.

In other words, your Forgetting Curve gets longer and longer if you consciously review the learned material over a long period of time, since it takes you longer to forget things.

You can see in the graphic down bellow in the black curve that if you learn something in Day 1 and never touch it again, your memory will go from 100% to very close to 10% in just one week. However, you can see in yellow that if you took 10 minutes to review the material in Day 2 and 5 minutes in Day 7, etc. your memory will stay close to 100% whenever you need it, so that reviewing before a test for 2-4 minutes would be enough.

You can also see that it takes you progressively less time to review the exact same material.

Imagine that Day 30 would be test day. If you hadn’t reviewed, your Forgetting Curve would get you close to 5% in Day 28-29 (black curve), so you would have to review a lot more time than 2-4 minutes to recall everything that you learnt in Day 1 to get to 100% again, and maybe you wouldn’t even be able to reach it.

(Keep in mind that the speed of forgetting depends on a number of factors such as the difficulty of the learned material and physiological factors such as stress and sleep, though the Spaced Repetition method still applies. Also it might take you more or less than 10 minutes to review your material - it’s an example - though your review time will decrease during the spaced repetition reviews just the same.)

Now, if you do want to follow the Spaced Repetition method and decide to review your material in increasingly big periods of time, what you do in those chuncks of time that you are investing does matter. You can do whatever you want but questioning through flashcards is by far the most effective way to memorize, since they promote active recall practice.

Wich is why I am going to explain how to study through flashcards following the SR method bellow. :)

Practically, it means that if you have to memorize something, you will build one or more questions about it and quiz yourself on some particular days.

e.g: you have to memorize the Krebs cycle. You will build direct questions such as: ‘what is the second step of the Krebs cycle?’, ‘what are the products of the Krebs cycle?’, ‘where does the Krebs cycle take place in?’ ‘how many ATPs are produced in the Krebs cycle?’ These work well for memorizing specific details.

You can also ask yourself less direct questions such as ‘explain how the Krebs cycle works?’, if you’re trying to get yourself to talk more through the whole material without looking, though these aren’t as effective as the more direct ones.

You can also play a little and let the questions be affirmations with open spaces to complete, such as ‘The Krebs Cycle, also known as the ______, takes place in the ______ and produces ___ ATPs.’

Or you can draw schemes with open spaces to complete. These work well for visualizing the big picture and fitting stuff in the total process. Mixing these visual clues in your flashcards can be essencial to consolidate what you have to memorize.

You can do physical flashcards or digital flaschards.

You can study with paper flashcards and apply the Spaced Repetion method through the Leitner System. 

Get 5 numbered boxes (or anything that resemblances one) where you are going to place your flashcards.

Review the flashcards in box number 1 every single day.

Review the flashcards in box number 2 three times a week.

In box number 3 once per week.

In box number 4 once bi-weekly.

In box number 5 once every three weeks, for example.

The time periods and number of boxes can change, just make sure each group has a longer period of time than the previous one before you are required to revisit the cards.

Everytime you get a card right, the flashcard is sent to the immediate next group (from 1 to 2, from 2 to 3, etc.), so you’ll see it less often.

However, if you get one wrong, it goes directly to box number 1, no matter where it was.

This is a simple way to implement the Spaced Repetition method: your cards are reviewed at increasing periods of time and you are studying the ones that you need the most.

Also it’s really darn cute.

You can study with digital flashcards and apply the Spaced Repetion method as well through apps (on your phone, tablet or even on your laptop, pc, mac) based on the Leitner System but with more advanced algorithms, wich can provide you some benefits.

Normally a spaced repetition app lets you make your own flashcards and review them but, most importantly, lets you grade your answers by difficulty, from ‘Easy’ to ‘Fail’, so the algorithm shows you a card more times than others if you failed them.

And that’s it. The algorithm does it for you, you just have to click review.

Other benefits: you can add pictures on your cards and different colours, wich makes them very nice for visual learners.

You can easily review your flashcards whenever you want as well, since they are so portable. I normally review mine on my way to school on the train, or when I walk, or cycle in my stationery bike.

It allows you to use shared flashcards from other users, even though I wouldn’t recommend.

Allows you to create decks to organize your flashcards. 

Here are some spaced repetition flashcards apps I know are good, in case you are interested:

Anki, it’s free everywhere except for the iphone. (android / ios / windows, mac, linux) 

I use AnkiApp Flaschards, a different version from the above I believe, but I like this one better: it has a much better design & organization and offers the same features in mpov, even Cloud. For me it’s perfect. And you can get for free even on the iphone. (android / ios / windows 10, mac, kindle)

There are more out there I’m sure- Quizlet - and others I am not aware of rn. Look them up accordingly to your preferences and devices. Choose one where you are more efficient in.

Another thing I want to mention is that you can incorporate in your flashcards mnemonics, wich you’ve probably heard of everywhere, and that I detailed in my ‘study less study smart’ post but they really really work. So check those out.

The ammount of details you have to memorize will reflect on the ammount of flashcards you are going to study. 

In the practice of active recall it’s normal, even important, the act of forgetting. You will forget but it will become easier and easier to remember. That’s the most important part. So don’t stop training until it’s really easy, it’s how your brain works.

CONCLUSION:

The bottom line is: memorizing details is maximized by exploiting the Spaced Repetition method, wich can be done by studying flashcards with questions on the details immediately after learning the material for the first time, and then a couple more times after, but progressively with longer periods of time in between.

So, if you learn something in class that you need to memorize, you should make flashcards in the same day and start studying the next so you maximize your memory on it. Review the day after learning in class (so Day 2). Then review on Day 4, then on Day 7, then on Day 10, etc. for 5-20 minutes, as much as you’d like, and keep going until the day of the test.

This method is to be used to memorize stuff for a long period of time, not cram. 

So repeat, repeat, repeat those questions and you’ll get that stuff inside your head!

Alrighty. If any part of this is confusing, I would encourage you to go back and read again or try this video from Thomas Frank wich also explains a lot of what I just said, or just straight up ask me.

(this really does work but you have to actually implement it. you can’t cheat yourself. in real life we always find excuses, so don’t! good luck boo!)

[studyfture-blog]

A MIND MAP ABOUT MIND-MAPPING

If you know me, you’d know that I am a highly visual person. I love learning from images and layouts, and my spatial intelligence is probably my strongest type of intelligence. Because of this, I often use mind maps to study, and so do a lot of other people. However, there are people who don’t really know how to make and utilize a mind map effectively. That’s what this post is for! Here’s how you can make your mind maps more effective and thus enable you to retain more information. (P.S. you might wanna zoom in)

By no means am I an expert in mind-mapping; these are just some habits I have when making a mind map that successfully does its job of helping me remember the topics I’m studying.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop an ask!

xx jo

[studyfture-blog]

Ways to ensure you’ll have a productive study session

1. Turn off your phone, and either put it in your desk drawer or in an old pencil case and put that in a different room. Don’t just leave it face down next to you, or turn off do not disturb, just bloody do it I promise you’re not missing out on anything.

2. If you’re revising for a long time, studying without some sort of background music or ambience tends to make you antsy. So if you’re into music, check out the Imitation Game soundtrack on both youtube and spotify, the Theory of Everything Soundtrack, the Harry Potter Soundtrack, Electronic Concentration on Spotify and on Youtube. If you’re not into music, head to ambientmixer.com and find your hogwarts house common room one, and

3. If you’re using your laptop, grab a sticky note and scribble down the main three things you absolutely need to get done during that study session and stick it next to your keyboard so you’re constantly reminded of the fact that you should be doing work. 4. Strongly separate your work time and your chill out time. Figure out how long you can stay focused, and take a break that is lowkey productive and most importantly has its own cutoff point. For example, working out for 15 minutes is a good break because not only are you taking care of your body but the workout will end at some point, especially if you follow along a workout on YouTube or something. And once it’s ended, you’re more likely to actually go back to work.

[studyfture-blog]

Popular apps perfect for students

Staying on top of all your to-dos, errands, tasks and due dates can get complicated but luckily there is an app for everything! If you’re looking for app to wake you up in a morning, manage your priorities or soothe your anxiety, you’ve come to the right place. Here is a list of all the top apps that students are using:

Organisation

Wunderlist

Planner Pro

24me

Remember The Milk

Google Calendar

Pocket Schedule - Class Schedule, Homework Planner

AwesomeNote2 - All in One Organiser

AnyList

The Homework App - Your Class Assignment & Timetable Schedule Planner

My Study Life

Calendars by Readdle - Event and Task Manager

Class Timetable

Countdown+

Due - Reminders, Countdown Timers

Do! - The Best of Simple To Do Lists

Workflow: Powerful Automation Made Simple

Glass Planner

Day One Journal

iStudiez Pro

Awesome Note 2

Grammarly

Konmari

Productivity

RescueTime

Streaks

Forest

ToDoIst

Tide - Stay focused, be peaceful

Focus Keeper

Habitica

Productive habits and daily goal tracker

HabitBull (recommend by @ravn-studies)

BrainFocus (recommend by @ravn-studies)

Toggle Time Tracker (recommend by @ravn-studies)

Self Control

Jot - Notes Widget

Swipes - To Do List

ClearFocus: Productivity Timer

Noisli

Binaural beats

Lanes

Note taking

Microsoft OneNote

Evernote

Quizlet

Notability

Byword

Flashcards+

Goodnotes

Outline

Boximize - Structured notetaking, personal database, form builder, manager and organiser

INKredible (recommend by @lottestudiesphysics)

RefME - Referencing Made Easy

Bear (recommended by @revisionsandcoffee​)

InkFlow Visual Notebook

Studying

Quizlet

Flashcards+

Duolingo

Khan Academy

Xmind

Writer

Studyblue

Coffitivity

Prezi

MindMeister

Hemingway Editor

StudyStack

Crashcourse

Shmoop

Beelinguapp

Brightstorm

Coggle mindmaps

Mindly

AnkiApp

Sleeping

Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock

Sleep Genius

Rain Rain

Pillow: The sleep cycle alarm clock for sleep tracking

Sleepytime Sleep Scheduler

Mental health and self care

Headspace

Stop, Breathe & Think: Meditation and Mindfulness

Pacifica - Anxiety, Stress, & Depression relief

Centered

Buddhify

Calm: Meditation techniques for stress reduction

Moodnotes - Thought Journal/Mood Diary

Colorfy

7 Cups Anxiety, Stress & Depression Chat & Therapy

Companion 

Smiling Mind

Bsafe

Circle of 6

Health and fitness

Sweat with Kayla - Fitness & Bikini Body Workouts

Yoga Work Out

Freeletics

7-minutes workout

Waterlogged - Drink More Water, Daily Water Intake Tracker and Hydration Reminders

Sworkit (recommend by @leviosa-studies)

Medisafe pill reminder

Plant Nanny Water Reminder

Mealboard

Finance

UNiDAYS

Pocketbook Personal Finance Expense Tracker

Splitwise - Split bills and expenses the easy way

Pocket Expense - Personal Finance Assistant

Daily Budget Original Pro - Saving Is Fun!

Fudget: Budget planner and personal finance tracker

MoneyBrilliant - Personal Finance

Mvelopes

PocketGuard

Mint

The Coupons App

Groupon

Ebates

Hope this helps! x

[studyfture-blog]

Revamped - Overcoming the Curve of Forgetting Printable

featuring 4 header options handlettered by me

A redone version of this printable! Check out this post for information about how to use this printable.

Download on my printables page!

[studyfture-blog]

[studyfture-blog]

[studyfture-blog]

Below is a list of things that can help you to focus + stop procrastinating.

Apps for blocking distractions

SelfControl (for computers and laptops)

StayFocused (chrome extension)

LeechBlock (firefox)

Forest (google play / itunes)

Concentrate (for mac) - stepped up the game of blocking distractions (by launching the apps + sites you need; and play your messages + turning ur status to away), except you have to pay for it after the 60-day trial

Promodoro clock

FocusBooster - list all your tasks + track your time and productivity, generates report (15-day free trial only)

TeamViz - clear list of tasks + small clock when working

Promodoro Time - available on mac, iphone and ipad

Taking breaks

Time Out (for mac) - provides “a “Normal” break and a “Micro” break

Coffee Break (for mac)

Tracking apps

RescueTime (for computer and mobile devices)

TrackTime (for mac) - track the time you use on your computer)

Manictime

Tasks and Organisations

Nozbe (all devices)

Wunderlist

Bullet Journal

Planners

Background sound (also check this out)

Brain Wave Study Smart (highly recommend)

Coffitivity 

Ambience

my study music tag

For writers

Natational Velocity - organises all your notes + sync with Simplenote or WriteRoom on iPhone

FocusWriter - distraction-free writing

Scents for improving productivity

Rosemary, peppermint, lemon (source)

Lemon, lavender, jasmine, rosemary, cinnamon, peppermint (source)

Food that can boost your concentration (source)

Oatmeal - low in calories and help you to focus longer 

Dark Chocolate - boosts serotonin and endorphin levels

Water - remember thirst and dehydration can cause fatigue

Blueberries - energy booster

Salmon - rich in amino acids which are essential for boosting focus

Green Tea - contains theanine that improves mental alertness and focus

Beets - promote better memory, focused concentration and overall cognition

Bananas - highlight potassium, which is an essential mineral crucial for keeping your brain, nerves, and heart in tip-top shape

Spinach - brain food

Eggs - dense source of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA (favours memory and mood)

#12 || Link to my Study Tips Series - I post once a week here! (strive-for-da-best)

[studyfture-blog]

I low key wish I was pretty. Like really pretty. Like gorgeous. The kind of good looks that have everyone wanting to know who you are and where you came from and wondering how you ended up in the same space as them.

[studyfture-blog]

Flashcard Mistakes

Mistake #1: Not Making your Own Cards

The actual process of creating flashcards is important.

Your deck of flashcards should not just be “dictionary definitions.” Turning knowledge into cards is valuable for the same reasons it’s important to not take word-for-word notes: when you try to express information in your own words, you process the information. When you process it, you have to recreate the ideas in a way that makes sense to you. The process of retrieving and reorganizing the information actually strengthens the memory.

When you study flashcards which you created, you’ll remember the context in which you created them. If you’re studying a word in a foreign language, for example, you can include an example of a sentence that gives you trouble or some hint at the subtleties of the words which you’d miss by just writing a dictionary definition. In short, you can customize the card in a way that captures the exact challenges you face with that bit of information.

Mistake #2: Studying in One Big Session

If you sit down for one massive “cram session” with your cards, you’re hurting your learning.

The best way to use flashcards is as a quick impromptu study session. 15 minutes at the bus stop and 30 minutes between classes is better than hours and hours of continuous study at the end of the day, thanks to the rules of perfect practice. If you graph your progress, like I love to do, you’ll quickly discover that most of your progress seem to happen in between study sessions.

Here’s a surprising truth:

The goal of flashcards isn’t to get them right.

It’s to remind yourself of knowledge you’ve forgotten.

Researchers who have studied memorization developed a technique called “spaced repetition” for this reason. The major insight that they had, as a result of analyzing thousands of hours of study, is that you want to prompt recall just as something is about to be forgotten.

Mistake #3: Practicing Mindlessly

Do you know every fact in your deck equally well?

Certainly not. So you shouldn’t be lumping them all together into one big pile.

If you’re “zoning out” or going into a “robotic” mode when you use your flashcards, you’re wasting time. You should think about each card. Use the word in a sentence, remember some places you’ve heard it, say it aloud to yourself, etc. Engage with the content, don’t just say “yes, I know it” or “no, I don’t.” In fact, the spaced repetition concept from above would even suggest that you rate how well you know the card on a scale of 1-4. Then you sort the cards based upon how well you know them and study the ones you struggle with the most first before coming back to the ones you know better.

If all of this sounds hard to manage, there’s a better way.

So if you really want to improve your learning with flashcards:

Study it whenever you have a few minutes to kill. Embrace the small minutes of downtime you’d normally use to check social media.

Engage in the content. Say the words to  yourself, use them for an example, and don’t rush through the cards.

Source

[studyfture-blog]

tfw when you’re reading an exciting part of your book and your eyes keep jumping ahead and skimming paragraphs bc you’re so desperate to know what happens and you’re like hey self, calm down, take it easy and enjoy the ride.

[studyfture-blog]

2:46 AM || 7.3.15 got inspired to try all of the fonts and banners by raindrop-valley’s post on different font and banners to practice! Still needs a lot of work but I guess it’s a good start and that’s what this summer is for right?

[studyfture-blog]

hi everyone! since the holidays are over for most of us, i thought i’d make an inspirational and motivational masterpost all about notes! upgrading your notes by changing the layout, adding doodles, banners, using sticky notes, changing your handwriting etc. motivates me personally to study! 

out with the sloppy last minute notes and in with the new!

handwriting

how to write in cursive

some fonts to try out

how to improve your handwriting

note taking systems

study methods summed up

stationery to make it all happen

sticker printables to jazz it up

notes

how to take lecture notes

how to annotate books

taking notes from a textbook - studyign

note taking system - theorganisedstudent

note taking system - emmastudies

another note taking system - academicmind

another note taking system - wonderfullifee

the 2 notebook method

note taking with highlighters and post its

pretty timelines

note taking printables

plot summary with sticky notes

20 uses of sticky notes

colour code your notes

method with columns 

the cornell note taking system

the cornell note taking system using onenote

in class notes

another in class note taking format

what are sketchnotes?

online whiteboard

flashcards

how to make flashcards

another how to make flashcards

an example

another example (with sticky notes)

and another example (biology)

8 ways to improve your flashcards

make  and test flashcards online

alternative to flashcards - studyign

print onto flashcards

mindmaps

how to mindmap (1)

how to mindmap (2)

some examples

apps

notability

banners

simple banner

more banners

it’s a banner party over here

banners (shown how to draw in gifs)

illustrate your notes

how to illustrate your notes - reviseordie

sketchnote tips (banners, lettering, doodles)

more sketchnote tips

even more sketchnote tips

how to make your notes pretty - theorganisedstudent

how to make your notes pretty - studyspoinspo

how to make your notes pretty - booksflowersandtea

what is visual note taking?

a visual alphabet

note taking printables

dot grid 

note outline printables

lined cornell method printable

grid cornell method printable

hope you all had a good rest and are ready for a new year of studying!

xoxo lou

[studyfture-blog]

for the anon asking about my flashcards, this is how I make them ^_^ (it’s kind of time consuming if you have a lot of vocabulary so I recommend you do a bit every day) ⭐︎  First I cut a plain flashcard, then make borders of different colors to differentiate between the Japanese and the English meaning, and last I write the words! ⭐︎ I like to play by spreading the tiny flashcards on a table and then matching the Japanese word with its English meaning. ⭐︎ Also, I have a small notebook where I keep the vocabulary, as well as normal flashcards with lists of words. Hope it helps!!! 

[studyfture-blog]

How to Make Flashcards

Hey everyone! I got a lovely ask a few days ago asking how I made the flashcards you saw in this post here, so I thought I’d share the process with you all just in case you were curious.

Continuar lendo

[studyfture-blog]

Summarising books is a great skill to have when studying, as it will help you avoid having to read them over and over. Writing down the content of the book helps you to retain the information long after the first read, and creating sheets such as these will let you glance over the content quickly. At the same time, this method lets you record the content of each section of the book within the book itself, so when you come to look for particular events or details they’re easy to find. This is how I summarise novels and plays for English literature, but similar methods could be used for non fiction text books if you summarise by chapter or section.

If you can, read the book once through without worrying about summarising, for your own enjoyment. If you’re short of time and the book is complex, maybe read a summary online first so you’re aware of the plot.

Split the book into sections. For plays, split it into scenes; for novels, chapters or key events both work well. Read the first section, then write a couple of bullet points/sentences on what has happened in the story on a sticky note. Stick the note onto a sheet of paper.

Repeat this with each section until the whole text is summarised. Then, photocopy (or take photos of) the page. These copies will be your summary sheets.

Finally, place the sticky notes into the book at the start of each section, so you have sections labeled with their content. If you like, add a flag style sticky note to mark the start of each section, to help you skim through them quickly.

Hope this is helpful to anyone with summer reading to do! Good luck :)

[studyfture-blog]

I have previously posted a summary on taking lecture notes using notability, talking about different aspect of taking lecture notes + introducing the note-taking format using cornell and outline method.

Cornell and Outline method are great since it:

gives clear notes for revision

encourages active reading (since you have to apply SQ3R through using cornell note taking method)

helps you to be concise (thus you have to look for the key points during lecture, or in the readings)

Note-taking printables by strive-for-da-best​

These are three printables pages and formats I use for taking article/reading notes, lecture notes as well as outline notes for textbooks. They are nothing fancy, again, but it has a very clear format for note-taking and makes everything easier to read and more organised.

You can download the pdf of the printables here (you will be linked to my google drive):

Article summary

Lecture notes

Outline notes

Both lecture notes and outline notes involve four pdf pages:

the page that is shown in the preview above

a page without the summary box (can be the first page)

a page without both the topic box and summary box (can be the pages in the middle)

a page without the topic box (can be the last page of your notes)

And here are some extra tips when taking notes (source)

Start each new lecture on a new page, and date and number each page. 

Write on one side of the paper only. You can set them out side-by-side for easier reviewing when studying for an exam.

Leave blank spaces. This allows you to add comments or note questions later. (and this is where cornell method can help you)

Make your notes as brief as possible. “Never use a sentence when you can use a phrase, or a phrase when you can use a word” (Berkeley). 

Develop a system of abbreviations and symbols you can use wherever possible.

Note all unfamiliar vocabulary or concepts you don’t understand. This reminds you to look them up later.

For more of my printables (strive-for-da-best)