Learning is a lifelong skill. From birth and throughout life, a person goes on a journey of acquiring knowledge. How this knowledge is gained varies from one individual to another because each one is created unique. There are some people who make little or no effort to learn and yet they do well in school. Others spend endless hours over their books but do not excel at all. Genes may have something to do with this, but more than the hereditary factor, it is the attitude towards learning that increases one’s ability to perform well. How one efficiently studies makes a capable learner. Here are a few tips to make the most out of learning:
1. Take care of your health
People, like machines, also need downtimes. Stress and fatigue due to studying for long periods of time render the brain less effective to absorb data. Hence, adequate rest should be taken. A healthy mind needs a healthy body - see to it that proper nutrition and regular exercise is always maintained.
2. Develop a passion for learning
One should have a thirst for knowledge in order for learning to take place. Attending classes every day, reading and studying for hours, and accomplishing assignments do not guarantee positive results if you do not have that craving or focus to learn. Self-esteem somehow triggers this passion. The higher your self-confidence is, the more challenged you will become to learn faster.
3. Find a study environment that is conducive
Elements in the environment play an important role in one’s quest for learning. A specific study area with ample lighting, privacy, and complete supplies and reference materials are but some essentials for a smooth and stress-free study time. A set routine should also be imposed. Assign a specific time during the day for study. Don’t just "fit it in" your schedule or else you’ll have no time at all.
4. Set goals and targets
In order for each learning experience to be realistic, it is wise to set goals for yourself - goals that are measurable, achievable, time-bound, and flexible. Prepare weekly schedules, taking note of deadlines. For example, to get high grades, extra effort must be taken in studying and preparing for exams.
5. Take breaks in between study sessions
The brain needs to be recharged once in a while as this is when it absorbs all data obtained from studying. Overexertion causes it to repel information and makes studying futile. Do not go on a study marathon. Instead, study in short but frequent sessions and take breathers in between.
6. Engage in study groups
Two heads are better than one Рso goes the clich̩. Learning with a group is synergetic. You get to share your opinions, ideas, and views, and at the same time it is a venue for clarifying mind-boggling matters. It is also more interesting and challenging because you gain different perspectives or outlooks.
7. Understand concepts instead of memorizing details
Most of the time, students pass exams and quizzes with flying colors. But after a while, their knowledge of the subject matter would already slip their minds. This is mainly due to a wrong approach to learning – that of memorization. Memorization is only short-term "disguised learning". If one develops the habit of understanding concepts rather than focusing on details, the learning process will flow smoothly and will have a long-term impact.
8. Use shortcuts
Applying shortcuts to your study habits maximize your learning skills. You accomplish more when you abbreviate in note-taking, when you focus your notes around ideas instead of taking them down verbatim, and when you put everything straight into your computer. In this day and age, we need to pack a lot of information into a very limited timeframe.
9. Manage your time wisely
Learning is an ongoing skill. Hand in hand with your goal-setting is allotting and managing your time for things to be done – projects to work on, homework to finish, and term papers and theses to submit. Time properly managed is time well spent. Even your time for socializing should be taken into consideration. Remember – all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!
10. Reward yourself
It is important to make the learning experience enjoyable whenever possible. Try out things that may spark that craving within you to learn – listening to music, perhaps, or engaging in a delightful snack – whatever may inspire you. Continuous hours of studying will not only make you weary but also make you lose interest. The above tips show that devoting long hours to study does not necessarily yield productive results. Studying efficiently and effectively are the key factors to learning better. ------------------------------------------------ This is an excerpt from Mark Patterson's award-winning book "Secrets of LazySmart Students" - every student's guide to getting better marks by working smarter instead of harder. Mark's book will give you incredible tips for time management, self-motivation, will teach you how to kick the procrastination habit and doing great in any exam or written assignment. For more detailed information on what you have read, check out his book now at: https://paydotcom.com/r/9770/BTS50/1062923/
Showing posts with label creative thinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creative thinking. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
Mind Building
All exercise for the mind does not need to be boring. Going away from the how to lists we find many times hobbies can help us improve. One of the more productive hobbies is mind puzzles. Mind puzzles can be fun to solve but also rewarding. Often times they encourage and challenge you to look for new ways to solve problems.
There are various types of puzzles including some of them to help you build your vocabulary. Vocabulary puzzles can be built in several ways but remember as you start a puzzle, your mind will naturally start to look at all angles of a problem to find solutions. The puzzle should be used to break away from preconceptions that stop us.
Using the same grid of letters we’ll start with a simple puzzle and move onto a more difficult aspect of the same puzzle. Look at the puzzle below and create a list of words. Notice that the first set of letters is the English alphabet. You will probably be able to find words like, wet – much – honk – me – take – we – can – make – go – time – by – fine – your – Tim – and – the - pie, easily enough.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Z Y O R V U T S R Q P O N M L K J I H O B C
C K F A W Y C K A E I O U C K R W E T P I O
H O F N T O E O M U C H C T O U C H C O E F
H ON K C H M E I O U I M U T O T A K E A E F
W E C AN M A K E G O U D T I M E B Y F I N E
T A K E Y O U R T I M A N D S O L V T H E P I E
Now to make it slightly more interesting the words you are looking for make the sentence ‘She drank too much coffee’
You should have found at least one of the words already. Expand your thinking so you are not only looking for the letters to be on the same line. After you find the complete sentence in the puzzle, keep building your vocabulary by searching through the puzzle. Now continue farther by trying to find some longer words. Searching at all angles until you feel that you have found enough words.
Vocabulary building puzzles encourage you to solve mysteries, finish stories, or build a list of words. Regardless of the type of puzzle you participate in, they will bring you rewards. They help you to have the ability to solve problems effectively. When you participate in mind puzzles often your memory, IQ and other abilities will be enhanced. Do not expect to do a puzzle and then wait a month to do another. Mind puzzles will help you develop healthy skills only if you use them frequently.
There are various types of puzzles including some of them to help you build your vocabulary. Vocabulary puzzles can be built in several ways but remember as you start a puzzle, your mind will naturally start to look at all angles of a problem to find solutions. The puzzle should be used to break away from preconceptions that stop us.
Using the same grid of letters we’ll start with a simple puzzle and move onto a more difficult aspect of the same puzzle. Look at the puzzle below and create a list of words. Notice that the first set of letters is the English alphabet. You will probably be able to find words like, wet – much – honk – me – take – we – can – make – go – time – by – fine – your – Tim – and – the - pie, easily enough.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Z Y O R V U T S R Q P O N M L K J I H O B C
C K F A W Y C K A E I O U C K R W E T P I O
H O F N T O E O M U C H C T O U C H C O E F
H ON K C H M E I O U I M U T O T A K E A E F
W E C AN M A K E G O U D T I M E B Y F I N E
T A K E Y O U R T I M A N D S O L V T H E P I E
Now to make it slightly more interesting the words you are looking for make the sentence ‘She drank too much coffee’
You should have found at least one of the words already. Expand your thinking so you are not only looking for the letters to be on the same line. After you find the complete sentence in the puzzle, keep building your vocabulary by searching through the puzzle. Now continue farther by trying to find some longer words. Searching at all angles until you feel that you have found enough words.
Vocabulary building puzzles encourage you to solve mysteries, finish stories, or build a list of words. Regardless of the type of puzzle you participate in, they will bring you rewards. They help you to have the ability to solve problems effectively. When you participate in mind puzzles often your memory, IQ and other abilities will be enhanced. Do not expect to do a puzzle and then wait a month to do another. Mind puzzles will help you develop healthy skills only if you use them frequently.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Creative Notions
People seem to have the misconception that only a select few are able to unleash a steady flow of creative genius. The fact is, creativity is very much like a muscle that needs to be exercised in order to consistently give out great results. If you don't practice harnessing creative thinking, this skill will very much atrophy into inexistence. But keep working and this skill can come to anyone.
So how do you unleash your creative thinking? Well, the first thing is to become a human leech. No, we're not talking about just sucking the blood out of every living being available, we're saying that you should take in as much knowledge and learning you can find. Read everything available (good and bad), and keep your mind open to the infinite possibilities of the universe. The more you know, the more you'll want to know, and the more your faculty of wonder will be exercised. Prepare to be amazed at little facts that add a bit of color into your life.
Focus on a creative activity everyday. Yes, it's an effort. Even doodling is a creative activity. Don't let anything hinder you. Mindlessness may be a creative activity, but for people who are just starting out; to unleash a little bit of creative thinking in their lives, it is helpful and encouraging to have concrete evidence, that, "hey, what I'm doing is getting somewhere." So why don't you try it: practice drawing for a couple of minutes each day, bring out your old camera and start snapping photos like crazy, or keep a journal and make a point to write in it religiously. Another idea is to write describing something you have experienced with your five senses. Try to avoid vague adjectives like "marvelous," "amazing," and "delicious." Before you know it, you'll have built yourself a tiny portfolio, and you'll be amazed at the growth you've undertaken after amassing all those works of art. Pretty soon those things will become a part of you and you'll be addicted to these creative exercises. You might actually take to liking those things you do everyday.
Think out of the box -- or don't. Sometimes, constraints are actually a good thing. Limitations enable you to be more resourceful and discipline you to work within your means. Creative freedom is great, but limitations enforce discipline.
Try something new everyday and let your experiences broaden your perspective. Explore a new district in your neighborhood. Spend an afternoon in a museum to which you've never been before. Open up to the people around you. As you thrust yourself out of your comfort zone more and more each day, your sense of adventure grows and so does your zest for life. Think about it. When was the last time you did something for the first time? If it's been a while, I tell you, you've been missing out on a whole lot of experiences that could've added to your growth, emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually. Why don't you try bungee jumping today? Not only will you learn, but you will also have plenty of stories to share, enabling you to practice your storytelling skills and making you the life of the party.
Embrace insanity. No, not to the point of practically admitting yourself into the mental ward. As John Russell once said, "Sanity calms, but madness is more interesting." Exactly! Every creative thought was once deemed insanity by other "normal" people at one time or another. Luckily, that didn't stop the creative geniuses from standing by them. The thing is, sanity or being normal confines people to think... well, normally. Withink limits. Creativity is essentially breaking through barriers. Yes, this includes the bizzarre and the downright strange. I'm not saying that you yourself should develop a creative personality. That might go haywire. An example of a creative personality would be George Washington, who often rode into battle naked, or James Joyce, who wrote "Dubliners" with beetle juice for an intense fear of ink, or Albert Einstein, who thought his cat was a spy sent by his rival (or in thinking creatively in this case, the term could probably be "archnemesis.") It's important that your creativity doesn't get you detached from the real world completely.
I hope this article has inspired you to start thinking beyond your "limits." If you follow these steps pretty soon you'll be living a life full of interesting adventures. Unleashing your creative thinking will bring about a new zest for living life.
So how do you unleash your creative thinking? Well, the first thing is to become a human leech. No, we're not talking about just sucking the blood out of every living being available, we're saying that you should take in as much knowledge and learning you can find. Read everything available (good and bad), and keep your mind open to the infinite possibilities of the universe. The more you know, the more you'll want to know, and the more your faculty of wonder will be exercised. Prepare to be amazed at little facts that add a bit of color into your life.
Focus on a creative activity everyday. Yes, it's an effort. Even doodling is a creative activity. Don't let anything hinder you. Mindlessness may be a creative activity, but for people who are just starting out; to unleash a little bit of creative thinking in their lives, it is helpful and encouraging to have concrete evidence, that, "hey, what I'm doing is getting somewhere." So why don't you try it: practice drawing for a couple of minutes each day, bring out your old camera and start snapping photos like crazy, or keep a journal and make a point to write in it religiously. Another idea is to write describing something you have experienced with your five senses. Try to avoid vague adjectives like "marvelous," "amazing," and "delicious." Before you know it, you'll have built yourself a tiny portfolio, and you'll be amazed at the growth you've undertaken after amassing all those works of art. Pretty soon those things will become a part of you and you'll be addicted to these creative exercises. You might actually take to liking those things you do everyday.
Think out of the box -- or don't. Sometimes, constraints are actually a good thing. Limitations enable you to be more resourceful and discipline you to work within your means. Creative freedom is great, but limitations enforce discipline.
Try something new everyday and let your experiences broaden your perspective. Explore a new district in your neighborhood. Spend an afternoon in a museum to which you've never been before. Open up to the people around you. As you thrust yourself out of your comfort zone more and more each day, your sense of adventure grows and so does your zest for life. Think about it. When was the last time you did something for the first time? If it's been a while, I tell you, you've been missing out on a whole lot of experiences that could've added to your growth, emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually. Why don't you try bungee jumping today? Not only will you learn, but you will also have plenty of stories to share, enabling you to practice your storytelling skills and making you the life of the party.
Embrace insanity. No, not to the point of practically admitting yourself into the mental ward. As John Russell once said, "Sanity calms, but madness is more interesting." Exactly! Every creative thought was once deemed insanity by other "normal" people at one time or another. Luckily, that didn't stop the creative geniuses from standing by them. The thing is, sanity or being normal confines people to think... well, normally. Withink limits. Creativity is essentially breaking through barriers. Yes, this includes the bizzarre and the downright strange. I'm not saying that you yourself should develop a creative personality. That might go haywire. An example of a creative personality would be George Washington, who often rode into battle naked, or James Joyce, who wrote "Dubliners" with beetle juice for an intense fear of ink, or Albert Einstein, who thought his cat was a spy sent by his rival (or in thinking creatively in this case, the term could probably be "archnemesis.") It's important that your creativity doesn't get you detached from the real world completely.
I hope this article has inspired you to start thinking beyond your "limits." If you follow these steps pretty soon you'll be living a life full of interesting adventures. Unleashing your creative thinking will bring about a new zest for living life.
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