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22 Things I've Learned in 2022
108 Plays3 years ago
Hey hey! In this episode I talk about my top 22 study tips I've learned over the years, that have been most practiced in 2022.
Get your pen and paper ready, because this episode has a bucket load of tips!
What's discussed:
- The importance of sleep
- How to make the best to-do list in history (I mean it!!)
- Ways students can learn easier
- Secrets to watching lectures on a time constraint
- Delicious foods to eat while studying
- ... and so much more!
Let us know if you enjoyed the episode by rating the podcast 5 stars!
Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast and hit the notification so you'll always be in the know about how to succeed in your education.
For more study tips and tricks, check out our Instagram @allthingseducation21
Stay educated everyone!
If you enjoy listening, Support the show for a better listening experience for you.
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Transcript
Introduction to All Things Education Podcast
00:00:05
Speaker
Hey, it's Mary Coleman, your host for the All Things Education Podcast. If you don't know, I'm a student too and I'm currently studying psychology. I'm so glad you're listening today because we learn about study and lifestyle tips, chat with professional guests about a range of topics. We learn about the ins and outs of school and uni life, how to form solid friendships, actualize career aspirations, chat about relationships, moving, traveling, and so much more. We have a range of content on this podcast and it's all to help you be that much more informed about the world we live in.
00:00:34
Speaker
So let's get educated, shall we? Hello, my lovelies. How are we doing? Welcome back to another episode. What do we think of the intro? I think it was pretty cool. We're not going to lie. It was a bit funky. I was doing it today. And yeah, I don't know. Let me know what you think. Send me a message in my DMS at all things education 21 on Instagram. We'd love to hear what we think of the new intro. I've also got a cool little outro as well. So.
00:00:59
Speaker
stick around to the end of the episode to see what that sounds like. Yeah, it's pretty funky, I'd say, same music. But we got a couple more tunes in there. I wanted to change up the intro and outro music just because, don't get me wrong, I loved the last one, it was very iconic and very great. But yeah, considering we are at our one year anniversary for a studying at All Things Education podcast now, I thought I would spice up a little bit and add a bit more of a fancy tune. So there we go, what do we think? Let me
Study Tips for 2023
00:01:24
Speaker
know. Today we are gonna be talking about 22 study tips or
00:01:28
Speaker
in particular 22 things I have learned in 2022 and that will be focusing on 22 study tips that I have learned. Obviously not just in 2022, but I wanted to share them with you guys. Hopefully that you were able to take them on into 2023. Sorry that we're not releasing this episode on our usual Sunday night when I usually release the episode.
00:01:46
Speaker
I wanted to get this one done a little bit earlier before the new year, which is actually going to be on Sunday. I didn't want to release an episode about 2022 when it was already 2023. So that's that. That's my kind of that's my thought process behind why I'm releasing it on a Friday night.
Weekly Recap and Upcoming Episodes
00:02:01
Speaker
Hope you are having a good Friday night, by the way.
00:02:03
Speaker
Hopefully you're staying in and binging a Netflix show before your big Saturday night out on New Year's Eve, which is very exciting I know I'm gonna have a big night out. I'm very very keen for that. Yay. Anyways, let's jump into the weekly recap for me Let's see. What did I do this week?
00:02:19
Speaker
Well, um, obviously cleaning a lot of cleaning in my house, declustering, getting ready for the new year. Um, I guess I am very much, uh, actually I bought a new calendar. I ordered a gorgeous calendar. I'll put it up on the Instagram story at all things education 21. If you're not already following, go check that out.
00:02:37
Speaker
I'll put it up on my Instagram story when it arrives. I'm super excited. I will keep it a bit on the download because I know that it will create a bit of anticipation, a bit of excitement. It is a great brand. I cannot wait to share it with you guys. And yes, so we'll see when that arrives. Hopefully it comes super soon. It's expected to actually come by Monday.
00:02:58
Speaker
I'll have to wait until the weekend passes and it will be the new year, but that's okay. I can still get my calendar and my diary, sorry, not my calendar, my diary in the new year, which will be great. So that's a amazing start. The other thing I did this week, one of my big goals is actually to record a new intro and outro. So that was my big goal that was checked. And what else did I do this week? Yeah, there's a lot of cleaning and preparing, I guess, for the new year. I always like to declutter my room before the new year starts. I like to just go in with a clear mindset
00:03:28
Speaker
Um, I obviously just like to start practicing goals that I want to not just do in the new year, but I want to start doing it for all time. So I start all the goals that I would like to be achieved by the end, 2023. I start them now. Like literally I start the week before 2023, I would do an episode, hopefully, uh, not well. Okay. So on Sunday night, there will be the rask part two episode with Kate and Owen. So that will be.
00:03:56
Speaker
scheduled to be released. And then, um, the following Sunday night, I'm not sure what date that is. Uh, let me have a quick check. So not this Sunday, um, but next Sunday on the six, I will be releasing another episode and that's going to be talking about my 2023 goals. So yeah, get keen for that.
00:04:16
Speaker
Anyways, psychology update in terms of how uni is going for me. If you guys don't know, I am doing psychology online and I'm doing it in trimesters instead of semesters. So that means that I'm doing it in three parts of the year instead of two. So I do work over summer, which it definitely has its benefits, but also there are a couple of downfalls as well.
00:04:39
Speaker
But one of the great benefits is I have had last week and this week off because of the Christmas season, they've given us a two week break, which has just been amazing. Been really nice just to relax and also just plan a little bit of my assignments, but also just enjoy this really nice holiday season. I do jump back on to uni.
00:04:55
Speaker
Next week. So once the new year begins, so I do have to jump back on board But all my assignments are pretty much due around the end of January, which is when exams are also So it will be a busy end of January. So in terms of podcast releasing I'm not sure how it's gonna happen But yeah, just in terms of my psychology update There's not really much of an update right now because I haven't been studying for the past a week and a half
00:05:16
Speaker
Um, yeah, simply because there has been no lectures on or anything to actually do my assignments with. Um, so that's my psychology update for you.
New Segment: Book Discussion
00:05:24
Speaker
Now we have a new segment that I would love to introduce. Let's talk about my favorite book of the week.
00:05:31
Speaker
Each week, I'll give you guys updates on the book that I'm currently reading, whether that's educational, fantasy, fiction or nonfiction, you'll hear about it all. Hopefully you'll be inspired to read some of the books that I'm reading so you can be more educated in different areas of your life. Let's jump into it. My book of the week, guys, let's go first time. I love this little new segment and I hope you guys do too. I have to admit this book, I actually haven't started reading. I just bought it yesterday. It is called Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom.
00:05:57
Speaker
how online social networking will transform your life, work and world by Matthew Fraser and Sumitra Dutta or Dasa I believe. I'm just gonna read the blurb for you guys really quickly but just wanted to say I will start reading it today or I'll read it tonight and I'll give you updates about it next week. It is basically about how social networking sites are a global phenomenon which have hundreds of millions of members. It examines the powerful forces behind the social e-revolution detailing often absurd and powerful reactions to it as well as making prediction about its long-term consequences.
00:06:26
Speaker
It looks really great. It looks very easy to read. There's a lot of words per page, which I love. Not too small, not too big. It's just perfect and simple. Great book cover.
Supporting the Podcast
00:06:35
Speaker
All right. Just before we jump into the episode, I wanted to remind you guys, if you head into the podcast description, wherever you're viewing on, whether it's Apple podcast, Spotify, Google podcasts, wherever it is, if you head into the description, there is a hyperlink that says support the show. If you click on that link, I would be very, very much appreciative of that because it will take you to the go buy me a coffee.
00:06:54
Speaker
webpage, which is a system that I have set up based on the Go Buy Me Coffee platform. And you're able to donate in increments of $5 to me, the host. And I will be putting that money that I have received, putting it towards better podcasting equipment for you guys to better enhance your audio experience. So yeah, better podcasting equipment. I'll be able to run some ads on Instagram to monetize a little bit. I'll be able to do everything that will pretty much just spread the word about the All Things Education podcast.
00:07:23
Speaker
If you think about it, if you're one person that donates $5 and then, you know, 99 other people do. That's $500 I've received that will give me, you know, a pretty good microphone and that will help your audio listening. Obviously this microphone, this is great, but this is just to start a microphone. You know, it's nothing super crazy. And, um, yeah, I would really love to further this podcast, but I can't really do it without your help. So I would love that you guys, if you can spare $5, please head to the podcast description now and donate $5. All right.
00:07:52
Speaker
Let's jump into the episode.
Effective Study Techniques
00:07:54
Speaker
Tip number one is to use a study technique. Now, this is probably something that I guess many people have said before. This is probably not the most original study tip that I have just said, but yeah, it's using an app on a laptop, for example. So if you're using a particular study technique that will limit your access to certain websites. So for example, if you're
00:08:19
Speaker
You know, have a habit of playing Tetris when you start studying and, or you're in the classroom or something. There are certain apps that will shut down areas of your computer or areas of the web that you are not able to access so that you are able to focus more on your work. So, um, there's a range of apps, I guess you can probably just do your own research and find the best one for you. There are paid and free ones.
00:08:38
Speaker
Um, and there's other actual study techniques like using the Pomodoro method. I am a huge supporter of the Pomodoro method. If you haven't heard of it, I literally talk about it. I think in every single episode it's insane, but it's basically where you spend 25 minutes studying. And then after your 25 minutes, you take a five minute break and you repeat that, I think three or four times, and then you take a 15 or half an hour break. It's something along the lines of that. I pretty much use, I adapt that technique slightly. So I do 30 minute sessions and take a five minute break still.
00:09:07
Speaker
And then I do that, uh, three more times. So in total, I'm studying for two hours and taking a five to 20 minute break overall. So that after that two hour block, um, I'm doing 20 minute breaks in those sections. And then on the last break, I will do my normal five minutes plus an extra 20 minutes. So if that makes any sense. So I'm going 30 minutes and then five minutes, 30 minutes, five minutes, 30 minutes, five minutes, and then 20 minute break on top of the five minutes.
00:09:33
Speaker
So that is a great technique that I love to use. It is great because it, you're able to focus on, you know, maybe one or two tasks. Generally it's just one task of a particular assignment or whatever you need to do. And the second that time it goes off, you have to stop. And then that way you're really motivated to go back into your study session because your brain wants to finish whatever you couldn't finish. If you couldn't finish a sentence, literally, okay, actually, you know what, if you're halfway through a sentence, finish a sentence. But once you get to the end of that sentence, don't just keep writing, stop right then and there.
00:10:02
Speaker
or if you're halfway through a mathematical response, maybe to finish a mathematical question and then stop that. And yes, stop at an appropriate time, I guess, but don't continue to keep going. Don't go, oh, just five more minutes, five more minutes, five more minutes, because then it will end up being another half an hour block. And then you'll think, oh my goodness, like I have to spend another half an hour and I should have taken my five minute break. And it just messes it up. So try and be as strict as you can doing the Pomodoro method.
00:10:25
Speaker
Um, or using, yeah, an app on your laptop, an app on your phone. The great way, uh, I guess like an easy solution is just to keep your phone away from you. Keep your phone in a different room. Sometimes you tune into your phone to study for certain things. I know when I'm studying, I like to have my phone near me because I like to be listening to classical music or white or grain noise, or I like to have it for my calculator. If I don't have my calculator on hand or things like that. Or sometimes I need to message my friends to ask them for problems or
00:10:52
Speaker
record a lecture or there are so many different things I need my phone for when I'm studying. But bottom line is if you are really distracted from your phone, keep it away from you. I will talk about little ways that you can keep your phone next to you and things you can set up on your phone that are very similar to apps on the laptop in a couple of points time.
00:11:13
Speaker
The second tip is, okay, hear me out. Highlighters aren't always a good way to highlight important information. I guess, hear me out, hear me out. So, highlighters are great. I'll give you that. I love highlighters. I love using the colors. I love making my page look pretty.
00:11:29
Speaker
But I think there is a time and a place for highlighters. I particularly think in English it is great if you are given permission to write all over the book that you're currently analyzing or something like that. I like to use highlighters for different things. So for example, I'll use a yellow highlighter. I use pastel highlighters, by the way. I'll use yellow highlighters for particular quotes that I really like that I might be able to use in my assignment or I might use a pink highlighter.
00:11:53
Speaker
for a particular technique that I have found or the technique that teachers found. And I'll use green highlighter for something that might be tested in my exam or a quote that I can use in my exam, you know, things like that, right? Or if I just like a quote, I might just highlight it in a different color altogether, like blue, for example. So that's a great time and place that you can use highlighter colors and you can go crazy on it. I recently did a post on Instagram, if you aren't already following all things Education 21, definitely go check that out.
00:12:21
Speaker
But I recently did a post on Instagram where I talked about the best colors to use when writing notes and how to take your notes from just a scribble on a page or something that's actually legible, worth reading, worth reading back, and it will help you memorize things better. So obviously I use the three standard colors, blue, black and red. I use black for my title, specifically a black felt tip pen, blue for all other content and red for definitions. And I also underline things in red that might be considered a definition if I have to come back to it later and slightly change what I'm writing.
00:12:51
Speaker
So that's just kind of a system I use and then I'll choose one. It's just simply one highlighter color that I will highlight very short, like three to four word phrases or a sentence max, like literally max one line I will highlight. And just if you highlight too much, it just overtakes the page and you end up just highlighting the entire page. You know, and there's like no point in doing that. If you don't want to get a thousand colors and you're not the kind of person that likes to, is into the aesthetic and doesn't want all the colors, literally just, you know, that standard fluorescent yellow highlighter,
00:13:20
Speaker
that fluorescent green highlighter, they're great. They're great just to simply highlight the words that you need. And the highlighter is literally to highlight like a word to make it send out to you and your brain when you're revising or when you're reading them back, which is the definition of revising. I don't know why I said that. Anyway, that is tip number two. Tip number three is what I was talking about before, kind of relates to tip number one, which is to set up SOTY mode. I know that on an iPhone, I'm sorry for those who are Samsung Android,
00:13:49
Speaker
or a different kind of phone brand, I have an Apple and I love using study mode. So they've set up these focus modes recently on the new iOS update. I think it was a couple months ago.
00:14:03
Speaker
There was a great update where you were able to adapt multiple focus modes into your home screen, your lock screen, and it will basically change the view of your phone when it is in that mode. So you've got your do not disturb, your sleep mode, and there's the study mode. Study mode is great. I'm able to only let certain contacts call me or text me. So just pretty much my immediate family. And I'm able to shut down apps like Snapchat or Instagram or any sort of like apps like that that I know will be distracting me.
00:14:45
Speaker
Yeah, that game, right? I love to play it every now and then when I'm feeling extremely bored on a road trip or anything like that. And that is great. But it's a great distraction. And if my brain wants to procrastinate, they will think of literally anything to get me away from my work. And I guess Whole.io is a great app.
00:14:49
Speaker
I also shut down.
00:15:02
Speaker
for that. So yes, I definitely make sure that is closed and shut off. Obviously, study mode is quite easy just to turn off with the flick of a button, but it's quite good in the sense that it is at least a little barrier in limiting your access to your device and getting distracted. Tip number four is if you remember that you need to do something during your study session, write it down on a notepad. So right now, I literally have a notepad right next to me in a pen. And if I think of something random, I'll pause my recording, I'll quickly write it down and I'll start again.
00:15:30
Speaker
The same sort of idea can be applied to studying. If I'm currently studying, it doesn't matter what for, if I'm studying for exam and assessment, whatever I'm doing. And if I remember something randomly, oh, I need to buy eggs because mom asked me to buy eggs. I'll quickly just write it down on my to-do list or a piece of paper, which is my designated piece of paper that I write things down onto, not just a random scrap of paper that you're going to lose. Something that you'll remember and is your designated piece of paper.
00:15:53
Speaker
come back to it later, come back to it at the end of the day, whatever it is. And there's no study tip that I will say later that also will link back to that to-do list. So keep that to-do list, sorry, to-do list in mind, keep that in mind. And I'll talk about that later about what you're actually gonna do and how you're gonna put that into another to-do list or something that I like to do anyway, not that you necessarily have to do. These tips are, yes, not something that you absolutely have to do, but something that I like doing and potentially you might want to replicate
00:16:21
Speaker
adapt as well if they suit your fancy. Tip number five is deal with your emails first. I say this because your new lecturer or your teacher might have emailed you with an assignment, change of due date or anything of the like. You know, you always just check your emails. I currently have, let's see, I know I have a lot of emails, 130, ugh, I have 130 unread emails. I did just send out a massive
00:16:50
Speaker
email to I think it was like 86 people and it was a massive group email and of course everyone's on holidays so everyone has their automatic responses turned on so I got a massive influx after I sent that email to everybody I got a massive you know backlash of I'm currently on holiday sorry I'm not gonna be back until January 3rd and like all that stuff so that was probably why my email count is so high but
00:17:16
Speaker
Yes. So that is that 130 read 130 unread emails. Goodness. Okay. I'll definitely have to go through those later, but it's always good to check your emails before your study session. It's always good to check your emails at the start of the day or yet 100% before your study session, not to stress you out. If you are.
00:17:33
Speaker
try and open them and deal with a lot of them, but at least just scan your eyes over them and look at them and just make sure that there's nothing that's important that you might miss if most of them are spam or subscription emails. And don't worry about it. You know, it's always good to clear your inbox, I guess, and you can just go through them quickly. It's been five minutes deleting and opening and replying. And if some of the emails are a bit lengthier, then don't worry about replying to them just yet. But as long as you know that nothing is time critical or nothing's changed for you, then you're good. And you've dealt with the emails, so you can never use the excuse. I didn't check my email. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
00:18:02
Speaker
You have checked your emails, so you are accountable for that, and that is good, I think, because you can be in the know if a teacher's gone. Actually, your due date is gonna be tomorrow, not today, and then you don't have to stress, and there's lots of different scenarios. So yes, guys, check your emails first before your study session, before you start your day, whenever you have a good time to check them, that is a reasonable time that you can get stuff done if there is a change of due date. Tip number six actually flows hand in hand with tip number five, which is to always check your due dates before you start your study session.
00:18:31
Speaker
So again, same thing. Uh, I guess the same sort of idea applies in that you should be checking your due dates at the very start of the day, the very end of the day, literally as many times as you can. I remember in year 12, last year when I graduated in 2021, I, um, yeah, I had like so many different things. Oh my goodness. Okay. What did I have in terms of to remind me for my due dates? I had sticky notes.
00:18:58
Speaker
Um, so every time I would look up from my laptop, there would be like these bright pink sticky notes. I would say English essay on, you know, whatever, whatever I was studying, like it's due tomorrow. Like do it, do it, do it. And like, I would have all these like massive neon sticky notes, pink neon sticky notes sitting on top and I would sticky tape them to my wall. And my parents would always get mad that I was putting tape in my wall. And yeah, it was crazy, but I also had them in my phone diary. I also had them on my laptop.
00:19:25
Speaker
which syncs to my phone. And I also had them on a sticky note, sort of like an electronic sticky note on my laptop as I opened it up and it would pop up straight away. I would get reminders. The day and the day before my assignment was due, I would have them in my physical planner. I would have them next to my bedside table. I would have them in my locker. I would literally have them everywhere. We would even have them on the whiteboard in our home class or in the class that we were working on. It would say the due date's in the little corner.
00:19:51
Speaker
of whiteboard if the teachers allowed us to do that. So yeah, I could not escape my due dates. I was so over it. Like by the end of the assignment, I'm like, I know it's due today. I know it's due today. Like go away. So yeah, that was that crazy. But that was great in school. And I guess if you are still in school and you're listening to this, it's great because there's a lot of support from the teachers.
00:20:11
Speaker
they really remind you of the due dates but in uni they don't really remind you as much they'll remind you probably the week of and maybe maybe the week before if they're nice but um they kind of just expect you that you know the due date and I have to admit I have missed a well it was only like a 2% quiz weekly quiz but I did miss it because I forgot that I had to do it on the Monday instead of whenever I thought I was supposed to do it so
00:20:35
Speaker
Make sure you check your due dates before the start of your study session. Super important. If you're not studying that day, you're not planning to at least just go through your phone and just make sure nothing's changed. And that always corresponds with your emails. That's why you check your emails because you can make sure that all those dates are the same and always check with your friends as well that you guys have the same due dates. Actually, you know what? Maybe don't follow that last little tip. You can, but I am going to say something and a couple of tips down that.
00:21:00
Speaker
might contradict that. But yes, it is always good, I guess, to check with your friends about due dates and making sure that you're on the same page and make sure they know when it's due. Yeah, so tip number seven is write down your high importance goals, your medium importance goals, and your low importance goals.
00:21:17
Speaker
What do these mean, Mary? Well, I'm about to tell you. So high importance goals is anything due within the next 24 hours. So, you know, that little to do list that you're writing, you know, when you're in a study session or, you know, whenever you're recording a podcast or something, you remember something and you're writing down that to do list. So you're going to take those things and you're going to organize them and write a new to do list.
00:21:37
Speaker
And you are going to write down your high importance goals. So something that is due within the next 24 hours, literally so time critical. If you don't get it done, you're going to die. That sort of thing. Like it is high importance. Right. And you're going to draw a dash line to everything in high importance. I always wrote in red pen. I always put a checkbox next to every single to do list item I needed. If the little checkbox was embedded into the paper, then that was awesome. But sometimes I would just be using, you know, my notebook or a journal or something like that. Right.
00:22:05
Speaker
So red was my high importance goals. I would do a dashed line and then I would write the rest in blue and that would be my medium importance goals. So that next section was pretty much anything that was perhaps due in the next week. It is pretty much anything that is just not during the next 24 hours, not something that is super time critical. It's like, uh, I need to make my bed and I do not need to do that within the next 24 hours. Like I'm not going to die if it's not done, but I do need to do it, right?
00:22:31
Speaker
And then I would do another dash line and in blue pen again, I would write my low importance goals. That is something that is due perhaps within the next month. Maybe it doesn't have a timeframe of when it's due. And I would rewrite this to do list every single time all the high importance goals were complete. So once that 24 hour period was over and all those high importance goals were completed, I would then rewrite my list. The media importance goals would then become the high importance goals because that timeframe has now shortened. So I have less time to complete that.
00:23:00
Speaker
Any other goals I need to add on that I would add start filling them in and that's where you know that little that rough to do this paper That's when you start slotting in those new goals You know hiding high and medium and low Importance goals into that new piece of paper that you're rewriting every 24 hours So you sort of can see the system there and I think it is quite a working system like it works quite well I think in the sense that
00:23:25
Speaker
It helps you get things done in time and you're categorizing and you are prioritizing certain things over other things and you're making that conscious decision instead of kind of just being frantic and all over the shop and you're not quite sure what things you should do first. It's also a great way just to break it down in your mind and go, yep, so the high importance thing, I need to edit my English essay. That is due within the next two days. I need to do it within 24 hours. Um, and you kind of, you're really sort of categorizing, prioritizing that over everything else.
00:23:53
Speaker
And that helps relieve your mind because you can say it is okay if I wait to make my bed. Like it's more important that I complete this English essay over making my bed and I can do my make my bed at a later date. So that is great to follow that sort of to do list.
00:24:10
Speaker
set up I would highly recommend and if you do do it make sure you post a story about it and tag all things education21 in it that would be really really cool. Anyways tip number eight is hand write notes and do not type them or if you do type them please please please please please please rewrite the notes that are taken on the laptop. It is scientifically proven that yes writing a laptop is more efficient and it is faster but it does not go into your memory as much
00:24:39
Speaker
You forget more things if you type them on a laptop. It is so much easier to just type on a laptop and it is much more laborious to write it out. Your hand gets cramps and you have to change calls all the time. It's crazy. I do think a good alternative solution if you are really wanting to write on an electronic device is using an iPad and writing on a notes
Importance of Sleep and Stress Management
00:24:58
Speaker
app with a, you know, an Apple pen or just, you know, some sort of digital pen. That is a great alternative.
00:25:04
Speaker
I still am a strong advocate for handwriting notes. I guess you technically are handwriting notes on the iPad, but you are still looking at a electronic device and I don't know. It just doesn't sit right with me sometimes. I think you've got to look at the hard copy. You've got to look at the paper. Um, yeah, so that's that, uh, not really pretty self explanatory. I would recommend. And apparently blue pen, you are more likely memorized than black pen. So.
00:25:30
Speaker
Write in blue pen, guys. I don't know how much of a difference that is, and I don't know what study I remember that from, but I do remember reading that one time. So please write in blue pen instead of black pen, and red pen is always good for making things stand out. It is kind of like a makeshift highlighter if you don't have a highlighter on hand. Tip number nine is do not copy your lecture slide information. Just download the PowerPoint or the PDF. So this also applies if you are in school, but I guess more for those tertiary students.
00:25:58
Speaker
If you are in university or you have a lecture slide information or you have some sort of PowerPoint that your teacher is showing you, don't copy every single word for word on the PowerPoint. That is so annoying. That is so time consuming. You are not filling up that page with important information. You're just filling it up with all the information and that's not a good way. That's not a good use of time.
00:26:20
Speaker
I would recommend just downloading the PowerPoint or downloading the PDF that the teacher is using. You can read through it in your own time. You can read it over and over and over, just write the summary information on your actual page. Now, I also don't really rewrite my notes. Like I do occasionally rewrite my notes if they are super bad, but generally I can be in a class, be watching a lecture, attending a, sorry, attending a lecture and I can write neat notes as the teacher is talking.
00:26:45
Speaker
because I am choosing only specific phrases like three to four sentences max of what the teacher is saying, and I'm writing that down. I'm not trying to copy every single word that the staff member, like, sorry, staff member, the lecturer is saying. It's just, that's just a waste of time. So I would recommend, yeah, don't copy everything that they're saying. Why do it? There is no point.
00:27:08
Speaker
Now this is the tip that I was saying, tip number 10 that might contradict what I was saying before about asking your friends when the assignment is due and making sure they all are in the know about the assignment due date because a great study tip that I have utilized a lot in year 12 and a lot in first year university this year is making my assignment due two days earlier than it actually is.
00:27:29
Speaker
So for example, I always use English as an example. I have no idea why, but let's just say my English essay is due on the Friday make it due on the Wednesday. So if it's actually due on the Friday, make it two days earlier, you will honestly not regret that. And you will like, okay. So the whole point.
00:27:44
Speaker
I guess the psychology behind this is really, really making sure that you believe that it is due on the Wednesday. So do everything in your power. If someone starts talking about the due date, walk away from the conversation. Like you don't want to be a part of it because it's due Wednesday, right? And it's not due Friday. When the teacher's talking about it's due Friday, say in your head, no, no, she's wrong or he's wrong. It's due Wednesday, right? And think about that and just drill it into your head that it's due Wednesday and it's not due Friday. And surprisingly, it works. Maybe in your heart of hearts, you know, it's actually due Friday.
00:28:12
Speaker
But if you try and get it done by Wednesday and you put it in your diary as it's due Wednesday in big fat red Sharpie, it'll get done by Wednesday, trust me. It's all about the psychology. Just believe me on that, right? Psychology first year student and I already know that. So yeah, definitely make your assignment due two days earlier than it actually is. You'll thank me later. It's not even my own original thought, my own original tip, but it's something I've heard from somebody else and I've applied it myself and I can definitely attest to the fact that it is a great method to do it.
00:28:43
Speaker
Tip number 11 is to have a glass of water or a cup of tea, tea, sorry, new. So that can either be peppermint, tea, green tea, any kind of herbal tea. I love tea, literally biggest advocate as well. I'm big advocate for a lot of things. So tea or water, like a glass of, I guess room temperature water is best. Icy cold water is also good to kind of wake you up a little bit, but room temperature, I would say is the best.
00:29:11
Speaker
Tip number 12 is to eat fruit while studying. This kind of flows on from tip number 11. I love doing a rewards based system. So I will have a ball of grapes or raspberries or cherries or something, some sort of healthy fruit. And I will say every single time I finish a paragraph, I get to eat a cherry or every single time I finish two sentences, I get to eat a grape.
00:29:33
Speaker
You know, something like that. And it sounds silly, but it does work. Again, it's a little things. And for me, that is very motivating because I go, I want to eat this delicious looking fruit and I want it right now, but I have to stop myself and go, no, I have to wait till I write two sentences and they don't have to be good sentences. They just have to be two sentences and then I get to eat.
00:29:50
Speaker
The food. The other thing is, same thing as like, you know, if you want to drink your tea, you go, I can only have a sip of tea once I've done a paragraph, or you know, like, I don't know, that's a bit extreme, but something like that, you know, a rewards based system is great. If you don't want to do a rewards based system, it's always just good to have food by you anyway, like you have some cut up apples or
00:30:10
Speaker
Yeah, cherries are only sort of fruit like that. It's always nice just to. I love actually refrigerated carrots that are sliced into quarters. And you know how like they're like always presented like those cute little carrots with the hummus dip like that. Oh, that is the best meal. And that is a great little healthy. I wouldn't call it a meal actually. It's a snack. It's a healthy snack. And that's great because actually I have no idea the science behind this, but fruit is good for you obviously, but it's good for you too.
00:30:39
Speaker
think better and it's a good productivity sort of enhancer. So definitely eat fruit and veggies while studying. Tip number 13 is watch your playback lectures on 1.25 speed. Oh my goodness, the best. I listen to most of the podcast episodes, not mine, sorry. I listen to other podcasts and I listen to them on 1.2 speed. It's great because it gets the content that much more faster into my head. I don't know how fast you're listening to this right now,
00:31:08
Speaker
I talk quite quickly so I wouldn't be surprised if you're listening to this on like 0.5 speed to be honest. But yeah, I do love watching lectures playing them back on 1.25 speed.
00:31:19
Speaker
Um, it goes up in increments of 0.25. So 1.5 is just a little bit too fast for me. And it's great on 1.25 because I'm able to get the content in that much faster and my brain has to work that much hard to keep up with the information of what I'm saying. And yeah, it's great. I would recommend if you are, you need, you need people to talk the normal time, then that's fine. Like obviously no shame in that. Like it's good that you're taking the time to understand what they're saying.
00:31:43
Speaker
I have to say, maybe sometimes I'm not understanding properly when people talk quickly, but anyway, that is beside the point. Tip number 14 is to use Quizlet as much as possible. So Quizlet, if you haven't heard of it, oh my goodness, so amazing, check it out. I think it's Quizlet.com. It's pretty much a online flashcard learning system, but they have so much more than flashcards now. They just sort of started out with flashcards and a couple fun games, but now they've actually really developed more and enhanced the games that they use
00:32:13
Speaker
It's just a great way of interactive learning to memorize content and you don't have to make the flashcards yourself. You can actually search other people's content and they can use your flashcards as well. So it's kind of like, you know, an eye for an eye sort of thing. And people from your school might have even created Quizlets from five years ago and you didn't even know that they did. And you Google it on Quizlet, sorry, you search on Quizlet and yep, up it comes. And that's a great way to utilize a collective
00:32:42
Speaker
source and everyone is supporting each other there there's no I guess social aspect of it like you can't really follow friends to my extent of knowledge you can't message people on that it's not that kind of website it's more just you get to use other people's things that they have created and sometimes you can put images in there you can do fill in the blanks there's like just so many different things so yeah
00:33:02
Speaker
recommend Quizzler. I think there is a paid sort of pro membership subscription. I have never bought that. Don't think I ever will. Not that I don't recommend it. I just, I never saw the need for it. I don't really need Quizzler as much now that I'm not studying any sort of sciency sub subjects. Um, and I might use it in the future. Who knows if I do, I'll keep you updated. So tip number 15 is, Oh, I love this one. After your study session, do something active. So,
00:33:31
Speaker
Being active is great, right? We always need to be active in our lives and you're using a different part of the brain when you're active and you're taking a break from study mode. So when you finish your study session, jump up, do 10 star jumps, do 10 pushups, see how long you could hold a plane for, put some jam, like hype music on and just like do some high knees and just get really pumped and you know, like feel like you're a Lassa girl, you know, like just, just do something really, really cool, right?
00:33:54
Speaker
get yourself active go outside and just sprint you know go play with your dog for like five minutes or however long your pomodoro timer goes for you know and just have a great time and do that for like you know it doesn't have to be long it can be like for one minute a little exercise and then you go get another you get a cup of tea in between and you put the kettle on then you could go exercise and you know whatever right it's great to exercise in between you're using a different part of your brain as I said before
00:34:20
Speaker
It's great to keep yourself active. It's, it's a stimulant. So it will hype you up and it will get you more motivated and more productive ready for your next study session. Tip number 16 is to read your work aloud when reviewing. So I love to do this. It makes me feel like, I dunno, it just makes me feel really cool. I guess you can always do the playback. So, um, I know on word or just, you know, word documents, you can,
00:34:48
Speaker
jump into the accessibility tab, I think it is. And you can, oh, it's a review. I think it's a review. And there's sort of like an animated robot voice that just reads back.
00:34:57
Speaker
your Word document, whatever you've written. And that's great to find grammatical errors, but it's also good for you just to read your own work aloud when you're reviewing your work. And you can also put it into things like Grammarly, and there are so many other sites like that. Tip number 17 is to pretend you're the teacher and you have to teach whatever you're learning to a person who doesn't know anything about the subject. And another thing that you can do on top of that is do like a speech to text on your phone.
00:35:28
Speaker
or on your computer which will write down what you're saying as you're trying to explain it. So if you don't understand a concept or you don't know how to write about a concept or perhaps you don't quite fully understand the concept or you want to make sure you do understand the concept, you need to pretend you're the teacher. Well that's what I do anyway. I pretend that I am teaching this really complex thing
00:35:46
Speaker
to someone who has the same ability to understand the same like ability of knowledge as me. So they had the capacity to understand what I'm saying to the same extent that I understand it but they don't know about it yet so you have to teach it to them. So I used to do this in my maths class in year 10 because I was hopeless at maths and it was always great just to be able to
00:36:07
Speaker
explain it in a way like I was a teacher and it was great fun little I guess um like you know little not a little skit but just like a little role play where I was able just to pretend and that was great and I never really wrote down how I was explaining it but it did allow me to understand that I was explaining it more
00:36:24
Speaker
I'd also go up to my, you know, my mom or my dad or whoever. And I would say, Hey, like give me five minutes. I'm just going to pretend I'm just going to explain this to you. And sometimes they would just sit down and let me talk, which is always great. Um, even if they weren't exactly listening, it was always good to feel like I was talking to someone who, um, obviously was older than me, but maybe you wouldn't understand the concept. And I felt like I was helping them understand it. Um, and yeah, it was a great little Brewster and that definitely helped me a lot. So that was tip number 17.
00:36:50
Speaker
Tip number 18 is to study in the morning and the evening and not really in the middle of the day slash lunchtime. I mean, if you're in school, you know that the last, you know, after lunch, that last couple of periods, just they are the worst. You do not want to be doing any work then. I remember I think I used to have drama.
00:37:09
Speaker
in year 12 in the last two periods of the day. And that was great. On some days and other days I had English and that was just a struggle to drag through myself through that because my brain just wasn't working as much. And I guess it's sort of the same thing. Like your brain is most active between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. in the morning, which is why most successful people wake up between that time in the morning to do the majority of their work because that's when they're most productive. That's when generally our bodies have become, they are most productive.
00:37:36
Speaker
your body obviously can change and you can adapt it to be more productive at certain times of day or night. But I do think that your body does get a spike of energy towards the evening as well. Maybe not just before you go to bed, but I would say maybe around like five to six p.m., especially after you've eaten dinner, you get a little boost of energy and that's also a great time just to do some more work. So four to six a.m., if you ever want to wake up then, that's insane, but hats off if you do that.
00:38:03
Speaker
I used to wake up at five a.m. a couple of times, do some work, and I did feel very productive, but then it kind of shifted because I started going to bed at like 11 p.m., 12 a.m., so it didn't really work out for me to wake up that early. Tip number 19 is to study in an open space. That is great. You can either do that alone or with people. It's totally up to you. I prefer studying alone. Maybe you prefer studying with people or in a group.
00:38:30
Speaker
is yeah, each of their own. Literally however you want to study is fine. Studying in open space for me gives me an open mindset. It does leave more room for me to be prone to distraction. However,
00:38:42
Speaker
I do think that studying in an open space, yeah, it gives me that open mindset, allows me to really just feel like I can think outside the box, like literally. And I don't feel confined to being in a particular space or environment. If I am in a closed space, I feel very closed. I feel like a little bit claustrophobic and I want to escape, like physically want to leave like the little box. Like, you know, sometimes when you see all those desks and they have those barriers on the side, so you can't see the person next to them when you're in like a library or a study space.
00:39:10
Speaker
your school your uni whatever i hated those i literally couldn't sit at them sometimes it looks great if i really had to get my work done but yeah i would be so narrow-minded literally i would feel so good closed-minded when i was um you know typing for my english essay or whatever again using english as an example um tip number 20 is study with distributed practice okay distributed practice is um
00:39:34
Speaker
I guess it's studying in shorter, but like more frequent learning sessions. It's literally just the opposite of cramming. So you're using like short spaces of time to study content over a long period of time. So you might give yourself three months to study the same topic and you're doing yourself 20 minutes every single day. That is a great example of distributed practice. I would say the Pomodoro method is also a great way of doing distributed practice. It's yeah. Um, if you did the Pomodoro method, that is over a long period of time. Um, yeah.
00:40:04
Speaker
It is far more effective than cramming because you are storing things in your long-term memory instead of your short-term memory. And I guess I could, I can't really back this up with too much science because I don't know this off the top of my head, but I do know that obviously long-term memory is where you want your memories and your information that your knowledge, you want that, you want it to be there. Your short-term memory is what happens. Like when you cram, it goes into your short-term memory, which is great. Sometimes if you've got a test that's very much the next day or that morning or whatever,
00:40:33
Speaker
But, you know, when it comes to end of your exam, you're not going to remember the knowledge from when you crammed because it was in your short-term memory and distributed practice will pretty much help you succeed in your exam because it has been sorted in your long-term memory. That is that tip there. Tip number 21. Oh, we've got one more to go. Sleep is a lot more important than you think and it's totally going to help you study better. So that is, I guess, I think my most important study tip that I could ever give you guys is
00:41:03
Speaker
you need your six to eight hours of sleep. You really do. Do not ever compromise on your sleep. Like boys and girls, please, please, please, please, please do not stay up later watching one of my episode of the vampire diaries. Do not stay up binging just like that show that you've been absolutely loving.
00:41:19
Speaker
It's not worth it. It really isn't. And that is my biggest regret is I would stay up way too late and I would be so tired the next day. I would have such a bad day at school because I didn't sleep and I totally could have slept, but I didn't. And that's my fault and I had to own it, you know? So please get your beauty sleep guys. It is very important and it will help you study better. Your entire day will be better. You won't be as moody in the morning and you won't be as tired in the evening because when it hits six o'clock the next night,
00:41:44
Speaker
after you had you know four hours sleep you are 100 gonna be feeling it and you need to be studying then don't you so you know it's just not worth it i never think that a lack of sleep is worth it also just another random tip that if you are ever considering in university and you're feeling like your social life is definitely increasing and you're getting less sleep start saying no to just a couple things in your social life because social things like they come and they go like you're always going to have social events to go to in university especially so i think
00:42:11
Speaker
Sleep is a lot more important than having that night out with the girls or something like that. You know, like it obviously all depends on the circumstance. If you haven't had a night out in months, then go for it, you know, do it. But at the same time, you do need sleep. So it is kind of a matter of weighing up whether you do need your sleep because you need it, but you have a big day tomorrow or you can sleep in a lot the next day. You know, like you just have to, you just have to wait up. Anyways, my very, very last tip, probably not the best tip, but my last tip is
00:42:38
Speaker
Practice meditation or breathing techniques to calm and focus your mind. Oh, I have to say meditation and breathing techniques. I don't really do like I endorse it 100%. I know the benefits and I totally get it. But I just haven't really ever gotten into it. But it is something that I have tried.
00:42:59
Speaker
For a little bit not an extended period of time But I have been doing it when I've been very very stressed and when I'm on the verge of a panic attack I'll really just try and just breathe as much as I can then do This sort of I'll breathe in for five seconds. I hold it for seven seconds. I'll breathe out for five seconds I always have a problem like I always struggle with breathing out for five seconds. I don't know if that's just me but
00:43:20
Speaker
every single time I try and breathe out for five seconds I just can't breathe out for that long like okay anyway it doesn't matter but that is that and practicing meditation and breathing techniques it does calm and focus your mind there are so many different apps you can just you don't even need an app but you can watch a youtube video or anything and it is a little bit hard and annoying to get into and it
00:43:42
Speaker
feels like it takes a lot of time but it really doesn't and I can attest to the fact that it does calm me down and it does help me focus especially if I'm feeling really angry or frustrated or stressed anxious I'll breathe I'll just breathe I'll just focus on my breathing and if I need to or if I had the time if I'm sitting in my bedroom and I'm feeling a bit stressed
00:44:01
Speaker
i'll just go lie down on the ground and i'll relax every single part of my body so i'll sort of think to myself where am i feeling really tense are my hands clenched you know are my feet pointed to the sky why are they relaxed why are my ankles not relaxed you know are my shoulders like is my neck you know like just you know i just i think of all the things right and i go through every single part of my body and i just try and relax myself
00:44:26
Speaker
And I breathe in and I breathe out. I breathe in, I breathe out. And I just don't stop thinking about the in and the out. And I go with that rhythm and I don't make it too fast. I don't make it too slow. And I let myself relax. And that takes me two minutes. And I mean, even just then I was just feeling relaxed. I was kind of just doing it as I was talking.
00:44:43
Speaker
It's just so nice. It's such a great way just to focus myself just to make sure that I'm feeling in the right element, right head and mind to study because there is no point studying when you're angry or when you're stressed, when you're grumpy or when you're tired. You're not going to do your best work. So why bother studying?
00:45:01
Speaker
Anyways, those are my 22 things I have learned in 2022 in terms of my study tips. I hope you guys have enjoyed this episode. Yeah, that was pretty cool and kind of crazy. I'm releasing this on a Friday night instead of a Sunday night, but do not fear because I am going to be releasing the Rask Education episode.
Encouragement to Rate and Review
00:45:23
Speaker
on Sunday night, which will be very exciting. Very, very keen for that. Get keen to hear from Kate and Owen once more back on the podcast. If you guys did like this podcast, definitely please rate and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Please rate at five stars. That would be amazing. And write an honest review. If you didn't like it, you know, write a review and let me know. If you loved it, definitely go ahead and tell me all about it. I would love to hear every review you guys, because I would love your honest opinion.
00:45:50
Speaker
And please rate it whatever you think is necessary. And yeah, that's pretty much all from me today. I'm very keen to hear from you guys. So if you ever want to send me a DM at all things education 21 on Instagram, I would love to chat to you. It's always fun chatting to you guys. And if you have any content ideas or any podcast ideas, send me a DM as well. And let me know if you want to be a guest again in the link on Instagram, on my all things education 21 Instagram account.
00:46:20
Speaker
If you head to that, it will come up with, you know, first buy me a coffee where you can donate an increments of $5. And if you scroll down, there's actually a form and there's a question that says, want to be on the podcast? And you click on that, but take you to a Google forms document and you were able to fill out a form if you want to be on the podcast. That is all from me today, guys stay educated and I will see you next time.
00:46:44
Speaker
Thanks so much for listening to the All Things Education podcast. If you enjoyed the episode today, why not support the show? Head to the description of this episode and click on the support the show link to donate in increments of $5. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on your favorite platform. And remember, the advice given on this channel and on our social media is general information only. If you have any specific personal health, wellbeing and or educational issues, reach out to professionals such as your GP, school counselor and or a trusted person in your life before making any final decisions. Please do not take this episode as specific personal advice.
00:47:14
Speaker
And hopefully you now have more information about the topic you've listened to today. For more study and lifestyle content, head to our Instagram at allthingseducation21 and the link in the bio will direct you to many helpful resources. Stay educated everyone and see you next time.