How to review lecture notes effectively is a secret that I only uncovered very late in my studies.

But you don’t have to make the same mistakes that I did, and many others still do.

I wish I had known the techniques that I am about to show you much earlier.

In this video, I’ll show you 5 strategies to transform the chaos in your notebook and your mind into structured knowledge and A+ grades.

Why Revising Lectures is the Key to Success

Knowing how to review lecture notes properly is the missing piece to your puzzle. During the lecture, you collect the other pieces—facts, concepts, ideas.

In your revision, you assemble these into a meaningful whole.

This process is crucial for a deeper understanding and the long-term retention of the material.

Active learning is the key here: It’s not just about absorbing information, which you do during the lecture, but truly processing and applying it, after the lecture.

When Should you Review Your Lecture Notes?

The ideal time to revise your lecture notes is as soon as possible after attending the lecture.

Why?

Your brain processes fresh information most effectively. Based on Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve, you should ideally begin within 24 hours.

Otherwise, according to this curve, you might forget about half of the lecture material within a day.

Starting your revision right after the lecture provides the best foundation for effectively embedding the information in your long-term memory.

Additionally, instructors are generally more available during the lecture period than during the exam period, when suddenly all students come with questions.

If you still don’t understand something after reviewing the lecture, it’s best to ask the teaching staff directly or attend their next office hour.

How Much Time Should You Spend on Revising Lectures?

You might be wondering, “How long should I spend revising my lectures?”

A good rule of thumb is to allocate at least half the duration of the lecture for revision. So if the lecture was 90 minutes long, try to block about 45 minutes for review within the next 24 hours.

Remember: quality over quantity.

It’s not about grinding for hours, but truly understanding the material.

If you find a topic particularly challenging, take more time. If something is clear right away, you can go through it more quickly.

During revision, you might apply techniques like the Pomodoro Technique: 25 minutes of focused work followed by a 5-minute break. Another session, and that’s it.

This helps you stay focused and productive. It’s important that you don’t just spend your time reading the script over and over. Instead, you should actively engage with the material during your revision time.

5 Strategies for Revising Your Lecture Notes Like a Pro

#1 Clarify Uncertainties

If you noticed any uncertainties or had questions during the lecture, now is the perfect time to clear things up.

If the lecture notes aren’t enough, look into the specialized literature recommended by your instructor. Sometimes the topics there are complex but explained from a different perspective.

Look for a YouTube tutorial or ask Perplexity AI.

These sources often present the material in an understandable and beginner-friendly way. And if you still have questions, don’t hesitate to get help from others.

#2 Separate Important from Unimportant – Focus on the Exam Phase

You might be at the beginning of the semester and are just revising your notes from one of the first lectures. But this is exactly when you can be smart and keep the exam period in mind.

Examine your lecture notes closely to see where the instructor placed their focus, where they explained many examples, or referenced further readings.

All these can be clues as to what might be relevant for the exam.

It’s crucial to distinguish between central concepts and less important details to make the most of your study time.

Ask yourself which information contributes to a deeper understanding of the core topics and which is more supplementary.

This way, you can set your priorities correctly, for example, if you want to start your spaced repetition sessions early.

#3 Identifying Key Concepts and Central Ideas

The goal is to organize your lecture notes and check if they are complete. Focus on the main topics and central ideas of the lecture.

Begin by breaking down the lecture content into smaller segments.

Examine each topic or section individually and ask yourself:

• What is the main message?
• Which examples support this idea?

This analytical approach helps you understand the structure of the study material and distinguish important information from less important details.

After you have identified the central ideas, consider how they relate to each other.

• Are there connections between different topics or concepts?
• How do these pieces fit into the larger picture of the course?

Making such connections is crucial for deep understanding and helps you develop a comprehensive view of the material. Try representing these connections with a mind map.

#4 Making Your Lecture Revision Tangible

When revising your lecture notes, try to integrate examples or analogies to facilitate understanding of complex topics.

Ensure that these examples are closely linked to the study materials. Sometimes, using everyday situations can help make theoretical concepts tangible.

For instance, if you are trying to understand a specific economic principle, relate it to real-life shopping behavior in a supermarket.

Such real-life examples help you better understand and remember abstract ideas.

#5 Test Yourself

Pose questions about the study material to yourself and try to answer them without looking at your notes.

Focus on complex questions that require deeper understanding. By attempting to explain the concepts in your own words, you gain a clear picture of how well you truly understand the topic.

A combination that many have found to be key to success is using the flashcard app Anki and the principle of active recall.

Use practice problems or past exams to test your knowledge and see where you stand. If you encounter difficulties, do not hesitate to review those topics again.

Honest self-assessment is crucial. It’s easy to overestimate yourself and assume you’ve understood a topic. But the real challenge is to challenge yourself and admit where more work is needed.

Tools and Resources for Lecture Revision

Having the right tools and resources is indispensable for mastering the question of how to review lecture notes effectively.

#1 Digital Note-Taking Apps

Let’s start with digital note-taking apps like Evernote or OneNote. These digital tools are perfect for organizing your notes, making them searchable, and enhancing them with additional information such as images or audio recordings.

Pull what you need from your university’s Learning Management System, like Moodle or Canvas, and feed it into your “Second Brain.”

This way, everything is in one place.

#2 Research Tools

If you want to dive deeper into a subject, online databases like Google Scholar are invaluable.

Here you have access to a vast array of academic articles and studies. And if you prefer having complex topics explained to you, check out platforms like Khan Academy or Coursera.

They convey complex topics in simple and understandable ways.

#3 Flashcard Tools

For the study sessions itself, try apps like Quizlet or Anki. They make reviewing material with flashcards and clever memory training methods really effective by leveraging Spaced Repetion with personalized algorithms that always suggest you to study a certain topic at the right time.

#4 AI Tools

Moreover, always keep an eye out for the latest AI tools. They can assist you in all areas, from summarizing and researching to reviewing the learned material.

Browse my channel for some ideas for AI prompts you can implement in your study routine.

#5 Other People

Last but not least: don’t forget the social aspect of learning!

Study groups offer a great way to interact with your peers and learn together. Learning is often easier together, and sometimes new perspectives and solutions emerge in a group setting.

Plus, procrastinating together is more fun than alone 🙂

Are you wondering how to be productive without burning out?

Well, I might just have the solution for you.

It’s called “Slow Productivity,” the title of Georgetown Professor and bestselling author Cal Newport’s latest book.

I’ve just finished reading the book, and… I’m impressed. So much so that I can’t resist sharing with you the key lessons.

The book deeply resonates with me because for years, I have been struggling with doing too much at the same time and often feeling stressed out. A PhD, a YouTube channel, writing a book, you name it.

In this video, I’ll introduce you to the three core principles of the “Slow Productivity” philosophy and offer my insights on how you can best put them into practice—no matter whether you are doing your first job, work for yourself, or study in college.

Who is Cal Newport and why should we listen to him?

In my videos, I often draw upon ideas from Cal Newport’s earlier books on achieving success in academia and, of course, his more renowned works “Deep Work” and “Digital Minimalism.”

Cal is a professor of computer science, consistently produces bestsellers, writes columns for The New Yorker, and hosts a podcast. So, if anyone embodies objective productivity criteria, it’s him.

In “Slow Productivity,” Cal shares his latest philosophy on knowledge work productivity, and it’s quite compelling. It’s not about cramming more into less time, which eventually wears us down.

Instead, it’s about accomplishing fewer things over an extended period—but things that truly matter.

#1 Do fewer things

Knowledge work involves using our cognitive abilities to add value to the world. This covers all sorts of tasks and jobs that can be done in an office or, these days, from home. But also, studying could be seen as a type of knowledge work.

What many people overlook is that knowledge work is still influenced by the Taylorist paradigm of the second industrial revolution. This means tasks are split up based on expertise, people come together in one place, and work outputs are measured quantitatively.

The idea of working from Monday to Friday and then spending our paycheck in the city over the weekend also comes from that time.

But knowledge work is changing rapidly. Especially since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, we don’t always gather in one central place anymore. How do you even measure how productive an individual knowledge worker is?

Pseudo-Productivity

According to Newport, this is where pseudo-productivity comes into play, where productivity is measured based on visibility. What’s your level of “busy” during work? How fast do you respond to emails? How many meetings do you have per day, or how often do you participate in lectures?

All of these are metrics that employers and universities use to gauge the productivity of knowledge work.

But that’s nonsense.

True productivity isn’t achieved by merely showcasing visibility and “busyness,” but by working quietly on a few, valuable projects.

To return to this state, Newport recommends a two-tiered system for managing your active projects. Projects are knowledge tasks that can only be completed over an extended period, such as writing a term paper, launching a social media campaign, or compiling a job application portfolio.

Level 1 consists of your 3 active projects

List no more than 3 active projects. Not a single one more. Only when a project is completed does a new one take its place.

Try to work on just one of these projects per day. Mentally switching between them consumes unnecessary energy.

Level 2 is your waiting list of new projects and ideas

Whether it’s your boss, your academic advisor, your client, or yourself coming up with a new project, it goes on the waiting list along with an estimated timeframe for when you’ll get to it.

If you already have 3 active projects and 2 on the waiting list, then this project takes the 6th spot. You can even communicate this if necessary.

#2 Work at a natural pace

By following Principle Number 1 and tackling fewer but more meaningful projects, you unlock an entirely new level of productivity.

What you achieve in 3 months doesn’t matter. That’s not the benchmark. The timeframe that truly speaks volumes is what you accomplish over the next 3 years (for example, the duration of your studies).

Did you know that Isaac Newton, Copernicus, or Marie Curie spent several decades working on their groundbreaking ideas before publishing them? If you were to pick any random month in their lives, they would appear quite unproductive by today’s standards.

They spent a lot of time walking, took weeks off to vacation in the countryside, and dedicated themselves to their work at a moderate pace. Yet, these individuals profoundly influenced human history with their work. They were as productive as we may never be!

So, if you expand your time horizon wide enough, you can afford to take time for other enjoyable aspects of life and avoid short-term stress. The prerequisite, of course, is that you heed Principle Number 1 and choose projects that are meaningful and important to you, so they have the potential to make an impact over a long period.

A short-term tactic Newport recommends in this regard is ritualizing your work. Associate it with something special that inspires you.

If you’re writing a vampire novel, do it at night. If you’re working on a paper about the hotel industry, do it in the lobby of your favorite hotel. These rituals help you get into a natural flow, and the work that matters to you gets done almost effortlessly.

#3 Obsess over quality

By taking on fewer projects with Slow Productivity and only seeing results much later, you’ll inevitably have to pass up short-term opportunities and say “no” to many things.

The things you do, you do them right. And by giving yourself time, you can invest more in the quality of these things.

Examples

In my research discipline, business informatics, there are two top journals. Publishing an article in one of these journals typically takes four years. During these four years, one has to forgo small successes and appears “less productive.” However, once such an article is eventually published, it influences the discipline ten times more strongly than ten small publications one could have made in those four years.

Delaying gratification for your work for so long is incredibly difficult. But if the quality of the result is significantly better as a result, you have achieved much more “productivity.” Just slowly.

Another example is articles on Amazon. A product with 4.9 stars sells 100 times more than a product with 4.5 stars. So, even if it takes 10 times longer to bring the product to this level of quality, you still get 10 times more results than from 10 4.5-star products!

Of course, Cal Newport also has a technique to increase the quality of your projects. Simply double each of your deadlines for a project. But remember, just double. Not more. You should still feel the commitment to complete the project and put in enough work. But with the extended project timeline, you have more room to focus on quality.

But never forget that high quality also requires corresponding effort. With Slow Productivity, you shouldn’t give yourself a free pass to procrastinate. Instead, give yourself enough time to achieve true mastery in your project. Create the necessary space for creativity and the freedom to breathe, so that you can approach your work with passion.

Your results will speak for themselves. Don’t be a hamster. Be a turtle. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

What’s a Second Brain for students, you might ask?

Imagine, on your way to university today, you listened to a podcast and thought to yourself at several points, “Ahh yes, that sounds interesting and would be a great angle for my next term paper.”

Then, during your lunch break, you read an engaging blog post and watched a YouTube tutorial in the evening – but you’ve already forgotten the interesting facts from the podcast.

Darn it! You really wanted to remember them.

To manage the flood of information you’re exposed to today effectively, you need a system.

The “Second Brain” method has accompanied me through my studies, my doctoral thesis, and while building up this YouTube channel.

In this article, I’ll show you how you can better organize your thoughts and ideas to be even more successful in your studies and all other areas of life.

The Challenges of Information Overload

Do you know the feeling when you’re trying to remember something important, and it just won’t come to mind?

Or when you spend hours searching for a document you were sure you had saved somewhere?

You watch YouTube for hours every week to educate yourself, but what actually sticks?

I know this situation all too well.

The flood of information we are all exposed to today can be overwhelming. Our brain is not capable of absorbing all these details and information but can only store a limited amount of it.

But here comes the good news: You don’t have to keep everything in your head. The solution lies in outsourcing the task of remembering to technology.

The concept of the “Second Brain” allows you to store and access information in such a way that you can easily retrieve and use it later.

Then your “First Brain” is no longer so occupied with storing information but can develop more ideas and be creative.

The Basic Idea of the Second Brain Method

The Second Brain is a term popularized by author and productivity expert Tiago Forte. In his book “Building a Second Brain,” he details a four-stage approach known as the C.O.D.E system.

2.1. The C.O.D.E. System

Capture

The first step is capturing information. This process is crucial because this is where you lay the foundation for your “second brain.” It’s about being attentive and consciously capturing information you take in – whether from books, lectures, movies, or conversations.

That means you really write down the information. Of course, not every piece of information is worth noting. Focus on what truly speaks to you or stimulates your thought process.

In the context of the Second Brain method, you would have definitely noted down the interesting podcast facts from the introductory example.

Use digital tools like Notion, Evernote, or even a simple notebook to capture your thoughts and discoveries. Make notes, draw sketches, save quotes – whatever inspires you.

Organize

After capturing information, the next step is to organize it. Good organization allows you to quickly access your collected ideas and information.

Create categories to sort your notes. This way, you can quickly find everything related to “Psychology” or “Programming,” for example.

Remember: Your system should be simple and intuitive. Complicated structures often lead to frustration. In your digital system, you can also always use the search function (Ctrl+F) to find information even faster.

Distill

The third step is about filtering out the essence of your notes. It’s important to identify the core messages and summarize them in a way that is personally useful to you.

Therefore, it’s best if you don’t just copy notes from a webpage into your Second Brain, but instead process them in your own words once. This not only aids in understanding but also in truly internalizing the information.

Imagine you had to explain the most important points from your notes to someone else – how would you express it? This approach helps to pinpoint the essence of your thoughts.

Express

The final step is expression. This is about transforming your collected and processed information into something tangible – be it an essay, a blog post, a project, or a presentation.

The contents of your Second Brain are of no use if you don’t apply them. In the phases when you are not consuming but creating, you should always have your Second Brain at hand.

By internalizing the CODE system, you turn the collection and processing of information into an active, creative process. Thus, your second brain becomes a tool that can enrich your studies, your sports, or your company forever.

2.2. PARA Method

In addition to the CODE system, the PARA method is a crucial component of the “Second Brain” concept.

PARA stands for Projects, Areas, Resources, and Archive. By organizing your information according to the PARA method, you ensure that you always know exactly where to find what and how best to use the information for specific purposes.

Projects: These are short-term endeavors with a specific goal. For example, a project in your studies could be preparing for an important exam or writing a term paper.

Areas: These represent long-term responsibilities or aspects of your life that require continuous attention, such as your progress in studies or personal development.

Resources: Here, you collect information on topics that interest you or could be useful in the future, like research articles, interesting websites, or specialist books.

Archive: Everything not currently in active use but might be important later ends up here. The archive serves as a kind of memory storage that you can always refer back to. The PARA method organizes your digital information so that you always know where to find what and how to optimally use it.

In addition to his foundational book on the Second Brain approach, Tiago Forte has now also published a second book specifically on the PARA method.

It’s currently on my To-Read list. Which, by the way, is part of my Second Brain.

Tips for Implementing Your Second Brain

To conclude, here are some insights from my nearly decade-long journey with the Second Brain concept. They might serve you well.

Start Small

Don’t feel compelled to capture everything from the get-go. Taking on too much too soon can lead to quick burnout due to the overwhelming nature of extensive note-taking, marking a significant shift in routine. Start by focusing on one subject or a particular area of interest. Gather notes, ideas, and insights focused on this domain. Once this becomes a norm and feels effortless, introduce a second domain (“Area” as per the PARA method).

Leverage Technology

Tools such as Notion, Evernote, or even basic Word documents can streamline your note organization. Explore various applications to discover the most suitable option for you. My journey began with Evernote, transitioning to Notion later on. While Evernote offers simplicity, Notion demands a learning curve but presents unlimited potential. Absolute Second Brain enthusiasts swear by Obsidian, a sophisticated software that enables you to implement your own Zettelkasten method, facilitating a deep, interconnected note-taking approach.

Filter Aggressively

When assimilating new information, ponder its applicability in real-world scenarios. Storing an impactful quote is beneficial, yet its true value lies in future creative applications. Ensure that only information with a realistic potential for future application by you gets included in your Second Brain.

Reflect Regularly

Carve out dedicated time for regular review and reflection on your amassed information to enhance comprehension and connectivity. This practice not only enhances long-term memory but also aids in drawing connections across different knowledge segments. The greatest challenge I face with the Second Brain is maintaining consistent curation, pivotal for maximizing its benefits.

Share Your Knowledge

Actively engage in discussions about your ideas and insights with peers, as sharing perspectives can significantly enrich your understanding and creativity. For collaborative ventures, consider making sections of your Second Brain accessible to peers, allowing them to contribute to and enrich your repository.

The Second Brain transcends mere project utility, evolving into a companion for lifelong learning. Persisting with it over a year or two quickly makes one wonder how they ever managed without it.

Hence, the most important advice I have for you is straightforward: Just start!

Studying with ChatGPT could be the game-changer for your next exam preparation.

Are you sitting at your desk wondering how to cram all this knowledge into your head for the upcoming exam?

You could go to the library and pore over some books. Or you could start a study group, hoping to find someone who can explain the concepts to you in an understandable way.

But as you know, we’ve arrived in 2024, and it’s time to rethink exam preparation.

With the help of artificial intelligence, you can prepare for your exams in a way that has never been possible before.

In this video, I’ll show you 7 ways to make ChatGPT your personal tutor and outshine everyone else in your next exam.

#1 Achieving Your Goals with the Right Study Plan

Use ChatGPT as your personal assistant to help you organize your study material effectively. With a well-thought-out study plan, you’ll navigate your exam preparation with ChatGPT confidently.

Just tell ChatGPT what exams are coming up and what your weekly schedule looks like. Whether you’re a night owl or a morning person, ChatGPT can suggest a plan that fits your most productive hours and includes enough breaks.

Example prompt: “I have a microeconomics exam in 4 weeks and I learn best in the morning. Assign a learning topic for each week and specify which topics I should study. I have 2 hours a day to study. Include study breaks. What would my study plan look like?”

ChatGPT will then create a personalized plan for you. If you have access to ChatGPT’s Pro version, you can also send a topic overview of the subject along with it.

If you’re using the free version of ChatGPT, you could attach this overview to your prompt via copy-and-paste.

Extra tip: Once you’ve created the study plan, you can also ask ChatGPT for ideas about how to collect additional resources on the exam contents. Never settle for the study material that your professor hasn’t updated in 10 years.

#2 Mind Maps as a Study Booster

Mind maps are incredibly helpful for keeping track of complex topics. ChatGPT can assist you in creating a visual map of your study material.

Here’s how it works: Ask ChatGPT to organize the key topics of your exam into a mind map. You’ll receive a clear, visual representation of the material, showing how everything is connected. Perfect for grasping the big picture!

Example prompt: “Can you create a mind map for the main topics of microeconomics, including the connections between supply, demand, and market prices?”

The more information you provide to the AI, the better the outcome. The best result comes from using a GPT specifically adapted for creating mind maps. Look for a “Mind Map Generator” in the GPT database.

If you’re using the free version of ChatGPT, get creative and have the AI describe what the mind map should look like, then draw it using a free tool or by hand.

#3 Turning Long into Short

Your professor’s slide deck is over 100 pages long and written like in 1995.

Unfortunately, not every professor is a pedagogical genius.

However, these contents are often crucial for exams. What do you do to understand this jumble of words and formulas?

Don’t worry, if there’s one thing ChatGPT excels at, it’s summarizing large amounts of text and data.

The summaries created by the AI can be key for you to manage all the study material. Provide ChatGPT with a text or your notes and ask for a summary. The AI filters out the most important points, saving you hours of compiling.

Example prompt: “Here’s a lecture slide deck about Adam Smith’s market theories. Can you summarize the main points for me?”

The concise versions you have now are invaluable when you want to focus on the essentials and quickly get up to speed. They’re also great for quickly revisiting topics before an exam. Just save ChatGPT’s response in Notion or whatever you use as a second brain, and you can access it anytime.

Note: If you’re using ChatGPT 3.5, you’ll need to paste the content via copy and paste. Unfortunately, you can only process a limited number of words per prompt. With ChatGPT 4, it’s more convenient as ChatGPT can access entire PDF files via plugins. Alternatively, try other LLM’s such as Microsoft’s Bing AI to summarize PDF files for you.

#4 Your 24/7 Study Buddy

There are days when your study group just doesn’t cut it – whether it’s because everyone has different schedules, or because your meetings turn more into coffee chats than effective study sessions.

Then, there are those nights when you, being a night owl, learn best.

In such moments, you can turn ChatGPT into your tutor. The best part: AI can always adapt precisely to your needs.

With ChatGPT, you can dive deep into topics that give you a headache. Ask the AI for precise questions, request clear, detailed explanations, or seek support for the trickiest tasks.

You can ask ChatGPT to explain things as simply as if you were a 6-year-old – ideal for getting to the heart of complex topics.

Imagine having someone by your side who explains everything at your pace, without the pressure of a group or the constraints of a fixed schedule.

Example prompt: “I don’t understand how cross-price elasticity works. Pretend you’re a microeconomics expert. Can you explain it in a way that a third-grader would understand?”

ChatGPT provides quick feedback and helps you close gaps in your understanding. And don’t worry if you still don’t get it after the fifth follow-up question. ChatGPT is cool with you asking a ton of questions – so go for it!

#5 Mastering Past Exams

In my studies, I preferred studying with mock exams. It gives you a feel for the questions you can expect in the exam.

ChatGPT can help you understand and answer mock exam questions.

Simply give ChatGPT questions from previous or mock exams and ask the AI for sample answers. This way, you get a sense of what’s expected and how you can structure your answers.

Furthermore, ChatGPT can provide explanations and tips on how to best structure your answers. This helps you understand the mindset behind the questions and adjust your answers accordingly.

Additionally, you can ask ChatGPT to review your answers and provide feedback, helping you identify and specifically improve weaknesses in your knowledge.

Example prompt: “Here’s a question from an old microeconomics exam: ‘Describe the effects of subsidies on the market.’ Can you give me a sample answer and explain how I should structure my answer?”

#6 Question Generator for Deeper Understanding

Solving questions from previous exams is a good idea, but what if there are no mock exams available? No problem, because ChatGPT can also help you generate your own exam questions.

This method is not only a good substitute for past exams but also allows you to view topics from different perspectives and dive deeper into the material.

Extra tip: Use ChatGPT to create various scenarios or case studies. This way, you can prepare for different types of questions and ensure that you’re comprehensively equipped for the exam. Additionally, you can use ChatGPT to check your answers and get feedback, helping you identify weaknesses in your knowledge and improve them specifically.

Example prompt: “Can you give me some exam questions on price elasticity in microeconomics?”

Save the questions and answers so you can review them later, following the principles of the Spaced Repetition learning method.

#7 Creating Flashcards

Flashcards are a classic.

With ChatGPT, you can quickly and efficiently create them, perfect for reviewing the lecture contents before an exam.

Simply provide the AI with the desired content and ask it to create corresponding flashcards.

ChatGPT analyzes the main concepts of the content and develops suitable questions and answers. You can also ask it to provide the result in a specific format, such as for flashcard apps like Anki.

You can create a table with two columns: one for the questions on the front side and one for the answers on the back.

Example prompt: “Create a list of flashcard questions on market power in microeconomics with corresponding answers. Use two columns, one for the question and the other for the answer.”

Alternatively, you can copy and paste your own notes or scripts, and ChatGPT will create flashcards from them. When studying with your flashcards, remember to apply the principles of Active Recall. You can find a corresponding tutorial linked here.

Are you already feeling the stress of the exam period at the start of the semester? Has your semester break not been enough to recover from the rigors of the last term?

And do you find it frustrating that despite hours of memorizing and studying, you only managed a mediocre grade?

What do those top students know about study techniques that you don’t?

If this resonates with you, then this article is just what you need. In this article, we will go through the 8 most common mistakes that prevent you from learning any subject and achieving top grades in your studies.

#1 You Start Studying Too Late

We all know that feeling, as the exam approaches, our motivation to study really kicks in – after all, you don’t want to fail.

The pressure is a real motivator to stop procrastinating.

If you’re someone who crams right before the exam and enjoys your free time during the semester instead of sitting in the university library, you’re not alone.

This is how most students study.

However, this method of exam preparation is not really smart and is extremely stressful – this learning strategy is probably the main cause for long nights of cramming and all-nighters.

What if you spread your study hours more evenly throughout the semester?

You don’t need to study more, just more evenly distributed.

Instead of handling the entire study load at the last minute, distribute your sessions evenly over the time you have available.

This means starting early in the semester and regularly reserving time for studying. This way, you won’t panic as exams approach, because you have already laid a solid foundation.

One of the main advantages of this approach is that the number of study hours you invest throughout the semester remains consistent.

You don’t have to catch up last minute on what you typically would have missed until then. This not only leads to a deeper understanding of the material but also makes it easier to remember it.

This is also why the Spaced Repetition technique is so effective.

Determine at the beginning of the semester how many hours per day or per week you want to study and then stick to your spaced repetition schedule until the end.

Instead of fear and panic, you’ll walk into the exam with confidence.

So set yourself a goal. For some, it may be 2 hours of study a day, for others, 5. Everyone learns at a different pace. Don’t compare yourself to others. Stay true to yourself.

If you can’t imagine this strategy paying off for you, challenge yourself.

Maybe start this type of exam preparation with just one exam. After that, you’ll see whether you ever want to prepare differently again. 😉

By the way, the Spaced Repetition technique has been around for a while.

It was described as early as 1932 in the book “The Psychology of Study” by C.A. Mace and has since been found to be maximally effective in countless scientific studies.

This approach is a fundamental part of learning how to learn, as it allows for better distribution of study time and long-term memory.

#2 You Study Non-Stop

If you want to takt the learning how to learn thing serious, it’s vital to incorporate regular breaks.

To understand how important this is, think of studying similar to muscle training in the gym.

When you activate neurons and absorb new information while studying, it’s akin to your muscles being exerted during exercise.

Just as your muscles need rest periods after intense exercise to grow and recover, your brain cells also need breaks to consolidate what you’ve learned.

Studies in neuroscience and psychology have confirmed a relationship between learning and breaks and even naps.

Groups of learners who incorporated regular breaks into their study routine achieved better learning outcomes than control groups that did not take breaks.

This means that the brain has the opportunity to process and organize the absorbed information during these breaks.

If you only start studying a week before the exam, you probably have little time to take breaks.

After all, you have to cram all the material into your brain. So this gives you another reason to start right at the beginning of the semester.

Okay, but how exactly should you study now? To find the ideal learning strategy, it’s important to take a look at Bloom’s Taxonomy.

#3 You’re Not Familiar with Bloom’s Taxonomy

This framework elevates your learning how to learn strategy from simple memorization to higher-order thinking skills.

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a classification system for learning objectives, developed in 1956 by Benjamin Bloom.

It differentiates various levels of learning. In the lower levels, it’s about the learner being able to remember and understand basic course concepts.

However, the tasks of an exam or assignment are often on the higher levels of the taxonomy, where you are asked to apply, analyze, evaluate, or create new concepts.

To achieve this, you must really process information, not just memorize it. Always check during your study whether you have understood the material on a deep level.

For example, you can summarize concepts in your own words and then apply this knowledge by actively solving practice problems of varying difficulty.

These tasks should test your ability to analyze and evaluate information. When studying, ask yourself at which level you are.

• Can you solve problems?
• Are you able to critically evaluate information, compare concepts, and derive recommendations for action?

For instance, if you’re studying medicine and learn new things about the workings of the heart, you shouldn’t just limit yourself to memorizing medical facts like the function of heart valves.

Instead, you should go a step further and ask yourself how heart valve defects manifest and why they occur.

To reach the top of the pyramid and truly master a subject, teaching others and creating your own teaching materials is one of the best methods.

In doing so, you force yourself to go through the entire taxonomy, develop your own opinions, and teach others based on your own understanding.

#4 Learning How to Learn: You Don’t Enjoy the Process

Learning is supposed to be fun? Yeah, great phrase, but not really possible in reality.

Wrong!

Try to see it differently. For me, learning used to automatically mean memorizing, which I found terribly monotonous and boring.

So, one day I decided, I didn’t just want to learn economics, I wanted to really understand it.

Instead of plowing through textbooks and lecture scripts, I approached it differently.

I first familiarized myself with the subject. And that’s super easy with entertaining content on YouTube, documentaries, or podcasts.

I could hardly believe it myself, but documentaries like Inside Job, Money Never Sleeps, or the books by Ray Dalio for example not only made the subject more accessible but genuinely sparked my interest.

This new approach turned learning into an exciting adventure rather than a tedious obligation.

So, learning can indeed be fun if you find the right ways to make it engaging. And who knows, maybe you too will find an entertaining way to delve into your study topics.

#5 You Only Focus on Your Favourite Topics

Naturally, we prefer to engage with things we are already good at. It’s easier to learn new things in these areas, as it requires less effort. And of course, we prefer the easy path over climbing the mountain.

And besides, learning should be fun, as I just told you.

But unfortunately, you also have to pass subjects that are not your strong suit. To finish with good grades, you have to invest time. So challenge yourself and turn your weakness into your strength.

Believe me, economics was not my favorite subject.

I even disliked it, so I tried to make it easier for myself to access the subject. Try it out, and you might find that the topic isn’t as terribly boring as you thought – sometimes it’s really the boring professor. 😉

Challenging yourself to study less-preferred subjects is crucial for learning to learn.

#6 You Study with Flashcards

My beloved flashcards, that’s how I always used to study!

Nearly all of my fellow students also had a stack of 268 flashcards on the table in the library. Why should that be a mistake?

Let me explain.

On one side of a flashcard is the question, and on the other is the answer.

And what is the goal of flashcards?

Memorization.

And if we recall Bloom’s Taxonomy, memorization is at the lowest level. So, you are most likely not going to get an A+ in the exam using them.

Flashcards are not optimal because they focus on isolated facts and not on the overall context. Yet, it is this context that is important for comparing information, showing contrasts, and applying learned material to new situations.

These tasks are higher up on Bloom’s Taxonomy and secure you the top grade.

Move beyond flashcards and embrace Active Recall as a powerful tool in your learning how to learn arsenal.

1. You read a part of the material and then put it away.
2. Then write down everything you remember and phrase it in your own words.
3. Then read the text again and check which information you missed.

Repeat this process until you know everything.

#7 Focusing on Memorization

I’ve already hinted at it, but this point is so important that I can’t stress about it enough.

In most cases, you can actually completely save yourself from memorization techniques, apart from a few exceptions like the first semesters of a medical degree, for example.

If you start solving problems and achieve a deep understanding of the material, you’ll not only understand connections better but will also automatically remember the facts over time.

Even though it seems counterintuitive at first, if you focus on memorization, you will forget information faster than if you build relationships between facts. This way, the learned material goes not only into your short-term but also your long-term memory.

So, in exam preparation, focus on tasks that are at the application, analysis, and evaluation levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

This means you shouldn’t just passively read your notes and books. Engage with the material and don’t just highlight text in color.

Really think about what you read. Answer questions that arise while reading and research information that goes beyond the script.

#8 You Study Without Using Mock Exams

Incorporate previous or mock exams into your learning how to learn journey. Right at the beginning of the semester, you should download past exams.

Old exams provide insight into the format and style of the exams. This can help you better prepare for the specific requirements of the test.

Also, you see which topics or types of questions were more common in previous exams. This allows you to focus your preparation on the areas that are likely to be tested.

By solving old exams, you can improve your time management for the test. You can find out how much time you need for different tasks and how to divide them most efficiently.

Furthermore, by going through the old exams, you can identify your knowledge gaps and weaknesses and focus your revision on exactly these areas.

But here’s another important reminder. Don’t just memorize the answers to the old exams. It is very unlikely that the same questions will be asked again. Therefore, focus on a deep understanding and application of your knowledge.