Study smart simply means studying in the most efficient and effective way for you. For me, these are my way of studying smart:
1. Take personal notes.
2. The superiority of understanding over memorizing.
3. Finishing your assignments early.
4. Love your exams.
5. Manage your time.
6. Keep a Healthy Body.
1. Take personal notes.
I started to take personal notes when I was in Form Two. Did I hear you say 'but I started taking notes as soon as I learn how to write' I know, I know…. We are all used to take note (copying) from whatever the teachers write on the blackboard. That is not what I meant by taking personal notes.
Personal notes is what you write down from your own understanding of the topics presented by the teacher using your own phrases. Obviously, for you to do that, you have to understand the topic as fast as it is presented before you. This is why this method is very difficult but yet effective. Because you are taking personal notes, and you are to make you own words after understanding the concepts, you are somehow conditioned to be more attentive and more actively using your senses while listening and looking at your teacher.
Often when your personal notes are empty for a whole session, you know you did not understand a single idea of what was being presented. Other than that, this personal note is also a collection of tips, shorthand, mnemonics, unconventional formulas etc. In short, your personal notes are everything that is not available elsewhere in your textbooks or standard reference books. After a while you will see that making personal notes are not only handy but also an absolute necessary.
Initially I copied mine on a piece of paper. Soon I discovered very often that valuable piece of paper is always missing when I needed them the most. Then I started copying them in the ‘555’ notebook. As I got more enthusiastic in copying down personal note, a single 555 notebook gets filled up very quickly. Finally I bought an inch thick of hardcover notebook slightly larger than pocket size. It lasted me the whole year. In Form Three, I had to have two notebooks, one for Mathematics and one for everything else.
I first saw the benefit of doing this when I began to constantly referring to my personal notes and started to show my superiority in remembering things. The other students soon started copying what I have written down. Almost overnight it became a very precious item for me. In fact I guarded it fiercely because the possibility of it getting stolen was high. Some students actually offered to buy it from me; luckily the price was not very enticing.
Needless to mention, the notes gave me an edge in every test and exam. So much so other students also started to take their own personal notes. Of course some of them cannot differentiate personal notes and the verbatim notes (word to word copied from the teacher), thus rendering their ‘personal notes’ ineffective.
This habit of taking personal notes continued all the way to my university life. Again, I must stress, this is not a lecture notes which you copy from the board or any other form of presentation. This is your very own handwriting, words, phrases and understanding of the subjects. They are not available anywhere else. They are collection of tips, secrets, examples, parables, key points, mnemonics, shorthand etc. They are you top secret documents for success!
Write your very own personal notes. Keep it!
2. The superiority of understanding over memorizing.
(to be continued ... )
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