Pop Up on 9/3
Studying is not easy, but we're Here to Help
A guide to obtaining good grades, and growing good management skills
Understanding the key to maintaining consistent study efforts without slacking
How to deal with stress?
Tips on stress relief and caring for own mental wellbeing
We will be covering four topics:
Session 1:
How to take notes?
A common misconception about note taking is that you only have to care about what you drop down, but that's not true.
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Notes only work when the METHOD you choose to use to do notetaking is effective to you.
It is both a process of HOW as much as it is a WHAT
[Method of Notes]
There are a multitude of ways for notetaking, and honestly speaking, it is dependent on the person who are behind these notes to decide on which way to use. Some may come to realize that their most effective noting method is different from what is traditionally taught. And that is just fine.
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Note taking is a personalised act that varies from person to person.
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Even so, there are a few common ones that are proven to be helpful by a majority of people.
These include:
1. Cornell Notes
A note taking method that allows you to take notes in class, review them, make key takeaways, and summarize.
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For this method, leave space on top of the page to write lesson objective. Then, split the page, with more space on the right where you will be dropping down notes from class and less space on the left, where you will be picking out keywords or points to remember when you're revising. Down below, there will be space for you to summarize your readings.
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This is effective because it not only enables you to easily remember the crucial information from each of your lessons, but also enables you to get an overview of your revision so that it will be easy to recall.
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This method is most suitable for those who can normally already write neat notes in class and only need to do minor changes to notes when revising.
2. Mindmap
A note taking method that allows you to draw links from one idea to another.
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For this method, at the center of your page you will have the topic of study. Then, you will branch out from it into sub-topics, then, branch out even more on ideas or teachings under said sub-topics. Each of these will be connected by arrows, feel free to colour code them as well!
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It's effective as it visualises the relationship between different topics and allows all that you've learnt to be gathered in one place. It also trains you to omit unnecessary information that isn't needed for studying.
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This method is most suitable for those who are visual learners and are studying on topics that have a lot of interwoven information and relationships. Commonly, this method is used by history, psychology, science students.
3. Note Outlining
A note taking method that allows you to organise subject topics and learning progress.
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For this method, you write tht title of the overall topic on top and begin dividing from main topic to sub-topic to keypoints. It is recommend to stick relevant photos, diagrams, and more next to text for visualisation.
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Being the most common notetaking method out there, this is helpful in the way you can maintain all topic information in one place and have more creative freedom in the structure and order of your notes.
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This method is most suitable for those who need to do in-depth note taking and find having a drawn structure annoying.
4. Free Style
A note taking method created by you, for you
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Everyone has different note taking methods. If these three don't seem that effective to you, we encourage you to try out different styles that you may find suitable for yourself!
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This includes using study apps such as Quizlet or if you're a full visual + auditory learner then feel free to watch educational videos as the method of notetaking.
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There are no rules to notetaking, do what you think is best for you!
Session 2:
How to Manage Work?
With the abundant amount of piling school work everyday, it is hard to make sure that we meet each and every deadline while putting time into studies and extracurriculars. So, how do we do it?
1
Make a daily timetable
A timetable is essentially the schedule of your day. It includes writing down every activity and or task that you will be doing on that day, and the time frame that it occurs in.
Though it may seem like a waste of time, by spending a small amount of 5 to 10 minutes time to write up a time table, it not only allows you to acknowledge the amount and order of your work, it also allows you to know the amount of time for each of your actions so that you will notice when you overun or slack off.
It is a great way to keep track of time and making sure that you finish all that you need to do for the day.
2
Using a Year-long Schedule Book
A schedule book is a notebook that has a calender of each month in it. Most of them also come with weekly pages of each month where there will be space provided for you to write whatever you want.
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Owning a schedule book enables you to take note of all the deadlines and appointments in the future and consistently be able to look back on it when you want to. This increases your sense of time and makes it harder to miss deadlines. Additionally, it also gives you space to write down homework due dates and other details like a person's birthday date as well as days where you made plans with friends and family, thus, there will not days where plans crash and cause an sticky situation for yourself.
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Nowadays, a lot of these schedule books are compact and allows you to carry them around with little effort. It's accesibly and convenience is what makes schedulers so useful and impactful.
3
Use To-Do Apps
Want to do what I just said above but too lazy to actually physically write it up? Don't worry! With modern technology, there are a multitude of applications available for free for you to download and use while having the same effect as a time table or scheduler.
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Here are some To-Do Apps that we recommend after using and comparing them with other existing ones:
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Microsoft To Do (recommend for those who want to have a to do app both on mobile devices and laptop)
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Todoist: To-Do List & Planner (recommended for those who want a range of in-depth customisable features and functions, all to aid your time management)
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Productive - Habit Tracker (recommended for those who want to manage their extracirriculars and other work outside of school)
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Forest: Focus for Productivity (NEED TO PAY - recommended for those who want to have a scheduler that can be shared and accessed by others & want an app that is more interactive and fun)
4
Use a Timer
For everytime you work, having an countdown timer set is useful for giving yourself small time pressure so that you feel the need to get things done and not procastinate. It is also a good way for yourself to know what you have overran a task so that you can re-evaluate and plan the amount of time a available for the completion of the rest of the duties that you have been set on that day.
5
Use an Alarm
Using an alarm not only is a reminder for daily tasks, but is also a reminder to re-focus yourself if you dosed off during a working period. They may be annoying, but they are effective in making you notice your own procastination and work towards devoting your efforts back into studies.
Not all of these may work for you, but it's always worth a try if you haven't. Small changes to study habits can make a big impact when done right. It reduces the time needed for each task and makes you work more diligently and responsibly as a whole!
Session 3:
How to Study Efficiently?
Knowing how to study is the key way to increasing your efficiency in learning, yet, that alone will not be enough for you to reach your full potential. Even then, procastination, distractions, and other factors all play part in hindering your journey of reaching to where you want to be in terms of studying.
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This is a guide to learning more on what you can do to make sure you're at the level of work effort that you desire to be at.
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We've already covered how to manage and organise your time skillfully, so here are the rest:
Use Physical Methods of Studying instead of Online ones
Our devices are our main source of distraction.
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Keeping studying physical prevents us from getting carried away by notifications or end up surfing through social media or reading sites instead.
Limiting Electronics
Like the point before, eletronics are addicting, but they're easy to ignore, too.
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Setting time limits to apps is an easy way to control the amount of your screentime. If that doesn't work, putting your electronics in another room or closing it entirely will be helpful, too,
Of course, setting it to 'Do Not Disturb' would be the most convenient and accessible way out of all of them, though that will depend on the degree of self-restraint that you have.
Studying Outdoors
When studying in the comfort of our own homes, we often slack off due to the lack of obligation to work in the first place.
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By studying outside at, for example, a public library or cafe, you become more self-concious and self-aware of your surroundings. Making it harder for you to allow yourself to be lazy.
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This is especially effective for those who have loud families and a lot of siblings.
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There are a multitude of public libraries in Hong Kong that provide study rooms. You can find the list of them at the official Hong Kong Public Librarys' website.
Study with Music
Contrary to popular belief. Studying with music is actually effective! Studies show that having music with you can improve the pacing of your studies and also aid your memorisation of content.
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However, the key to this is to play songs that you fully know already. In other words, you cannot be listening to a new album or shuffling an unknown playlist. This is because having unfamiliar songs will cause your brain to have to put exra effort into processing it. Having songs that you already know will cause your brain to perceive them as background noise, thus, won't need the extra brain power to 'multi-task.
Taking Breaks
Our brains can only study for so long until it gets tired, which is why having sufficient rest is just as important for getting things done.
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Whenver you study, you should take a small break after the 25 minute interval so that your brain can regulate it's thoughts and fully absorb the content that you ahve just learnt. In this break time, avoid being in the same environment as where you studied and do something entirely differently. Such as if you were typing on your laptop before, you should go draw or read instead of going on your phone in that break. This allows your brain to disconnect with the previous setting and rejuvenize. Remember to rest your eyes too and look out of the window when you can. The depth of the outside world prevents you from being accustomed to short sighting distance.
Sleep Schedule
On average, a student should sleep at least 7 hours a day. Having sufficient rest makes you energized, and also enhances your memorization plus concentration skills.
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In fact, if one has little sleep over a long period of time, it lowers their immunity and increases their risk to getting heart attacks as well as hypertension.
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In the worst case scenario, even if you can't sleep as much, remember to keep the hours of sleep and sleeping time consistent. Having a sleep schedule that fluctuates can cause you to skyrocket in fatigue and lead to abnormal internal clock.
As students ourselves, we know first hand how stressful and challenging studying can be. Thence, we've researched and compiled a few effective stress-management techniques that will help you stay focused, motivated and productive all day long, without pressure lingering at every corner.
1: Exercising
Physical activities cause the transmission of signals that makes you 'feel good' to the brain. It also reduces the amount of stress hormones in your body.
2: Purchasing Stress-relief Products
The most apparent way that stress reveals itself is through physical changes and body language, be that the habit of biting your nails or having a sore back from sitting too long.
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Therefore, there are some objects out there targetted to resolving these. These include:
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Chewing gum or painting your nails can prevent you from biting them.
Stress balls can allow you to let go of your frustration.
And more, theres a world out there for you if you just took time to look for it
3: Journaling
Writing on a diary is one of the best ways to let off some steam. Not only does it allow yourself to regulate your intenal thoughts and emotions, it also enables you to have full privacy of what you write.
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Not to mention, there are also now a lot of digital journaling applications available, increasing accesibility.
4: Breathing Exercises
Though this method of stress relief may seem 'overrated', it is indeed, useful.
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With just less than five minutes, not only will your body relax completely, your mind also gets refreshed and becomes more concentrated. Additionally, it quells your anxiety, too.
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Building a habit of doing breathing exercises will benefit you long terms through giving enough attention and care towards your weary body and overloaded mind.
