This article on how to study effectively is written by Ramanuj Mukherjee, Co-founder & CEO at iPleaders.

Effective methods of studying are holy grail of every student – much needed and elusive.

Actually, it is not. Most students do not even realise there are effective ways to study. People have given too much bad advice to all of us in our childhood for us to easily realise that there are simple and effective ways to study and learn. We have been encouraged to work hard, burn the midnight oil and put in long hours into studying. No one told us to be efficient, no one advised us to spend some time figuring out what would make the task at hand easier.

Or maybe you are very lucky and someone did. Then you would already know the value of good strategies and effective habits when it comes to results. You would also know that good academic performance does not necessarily require one to study hundreds of hours and that studying a lot does not always translate into brilliant result. There are many ways to learn each and everything – and some of those ways make much more sense than others. Smart students start by searching for the easiest ways.

I did not figure out this simple truth until I was already two years into college, and that changed everything for me. I wish I thought this way while I was in school too. However, all the advice I got from parents and teachers until then was “write down everything you read” or “study every day for 10 hours”. If you are struggling to find ways to improve your academic performance – this article should be of some help. That means if you are writing CLAT or struggling with academics in a law school – you do not want to skip this article.

Understand the difference between desire, resolutions, goals and habits

Desire is a basic human emotion – and stronger the desire for success, more likely you are to succeed. However, desire is only motivation – without appropriate action, desire achieves nothing.

When it comes to studying, we tend to make resolutions. We say “this semester I will study hard” or “I will crack CLAT this year” and so on. Resolutions are unclear – they are just a statement of desire spelt out as a commitment. Usually, the commitment is quite vague – what do you mean by “study hard”? When do you say that you are studying hard? Such resolutions are not actionable. In fact, even when you study and fulfil the resolution, you may not realise or stop to celebrate it as a milestone. Studies show that resolutions which are unclear are not likely to last long. Resolutions almost exclusively depend on your will power, which of course, is a finite resource and usually cannot keep up with the resolutions.

To succeed, you need something more concrete – something that can be executed. You need something more actionable.

You need goals. Goals are better because we do not attach morality with goals – goals are good to have, and required to move ahead in life. We always look at goals more strategically. We do not rely just on our will power to reach our goals, we even ask for help from everyone we can to realise them – friends, family, government. We look for tools. We read and research. We strategize. That is how you want to go about studies too.

Habit 1#

Set a goal and use tools to develop positive habits

Instead of making hazy resolutions, set your goal. A goal that is rewarding and challenging enough to be tempting and outside your reach at the moment, but something that you can visualise yourself to be achieving.

However, a goal alone would not get your work done – you need to do it. The goal is just like a compass – while you are doing something, you should always think – “does this help me to achieve my goal?” If yes, that’s great – you are getting closer to achieving your goal. Feel it. If not, why are you wasting your time on it? It may be a good thing to do, but it is preventing you from working on your goal – so you must stop pursuing the unrelated good thing immediately and work on your immediate goal.

However, while achieving your goals – try to avoid over-dependence on will power – it doesn’t work. You need a system. You can have a coach, a mentor, alarm clocks, reminders on phones, buddy system, to do lists, Facebook blocker software – find and use tools that help you to focus, remember and stay on course to achieve your goal. Create an environment around your that reminds you of your goal. Create post-its, write them everywhere in your house and books – so that you are reminded of the goals all the time.

When you can do a certain thing consistently for 14-15 days – it will become a habit – a second nature. It will not require any willpower and you can practice such things on auto-pilot  – like brushing your teeth first thing in the morning. Habits are extremely effective. Pick the right goals, and use tools and help to build those habits which enables you to achieve those goals quickly.

Habit #2

Study only in a positive frame of mind

We all have days when we can not work. If you ever work in a big company, even on those days you will have to go to work and be on the saddle. If you are an electrician or factory worker it would not matter – since your job will not involve much mental inputs. However, if you are going to be a lawyer or a programmer, you will find that you are very unproductive on such days. There’s little you can do about it.

We all have such days – even students do. As a student, when we would have such days, someone would come along (parents/ teachers/ older siblings) and force us to study. This leads people to hate the subjects they study. For some+ people, the entire act of studying becomes something they absolutely hate. This is extremely counterproductive.

Never ever try to study when you are frustrated, tired, sad or angry – unless these mental states trigger a desire to study/ work hard in you (when I get angry I work extremely well – but that’s kind of unusual). When you are in a negative frame of mind – like anger or frustration – choose physical activities. Run, hit the gym, take it out on a punching bag – while you think of the reason for your frustration, negative feeling or anger. When you are exhausted, eat well, take rest. This should help you to transit into a positive frame of mind, due to all the good hormones and enzymes generated by your body.

Study when you are alert, in a great frame of mind and feel like taking on a challenge. Of course, you should actively try and feel like this quite often.

This one habit alone can completely transform your attitude and outlook towards studying.

Habit 3#

You can’t multitask while studying – it needs your undivided attention

No matter what you have heard about multi-tasking, it has been proven through scientific studies that normally human beings can do only one thing at a time when it comes to things that need our active attention. People who multi-task basically interrupt their work many times and get slowed down in the process.

You cannot enjoy your friend’s company and study at the same time. You cannot listen to music and study. You cannot help your mom to cook while you are studying. You can’t romance on SMS and study at the same time. It is just not possible. You are essentially interrupting your studies with all the other things – and that is why your study will not get done.

Similarly, do not try to study several subjects/chapters every day. It is much better and efficient to focus on one kind of task at a time. You should have only one goal at a time – such as “I will practice 3 mock tests by tomorrow noon” or “I will finish two chapters of analytical reasoning this evening”. But don’t  have a goal like this “By tomorrow evening I will read 3 pages of History, Geography and Book keeping” – this is a confusing goal and will lead to multitasking and consequent underachievement.

If you are serious about studying, make sure no one and nothing interrupts your studying.

Habit 4#

Transfer your learning to your active memory

Things you read in a textbook are usually abstract and often consists of material you can not relate to. However, every concept has a history, a story behind it. It also has a present – as to what is happening with respect to that concept/ theory/ issue/ law/ statute now – the latest developments.

If you are pursuing humanities, commerce or law, or just preparing for entrance tests – make sure to learn about the story of what you are learning. What is happening with respect to that concept now? Find how it applies to or used in today’s world.  If it is a theory, you are studying use the internet to find to most vocal proponents or the adversaries and challengers of the same. Understand the practical significance and real life application of everything you learn – even if they are not in the syllabus or come in the exam.

Your mind has a map that your brain uses to relate to information. If it can not relate what you just learnt to the map strongly – you forget what you learn very soon. This is why you need to contextualize what you learn. It is not restricted to social sciences, humanities or business studies – it is equally relevant to science as well – except that the ways to contextualize information for those subjects are different.

Habit 5#

Teach someone

This is the most wonderful way to remember things forever and become good at new skills. Only fools think that teaching is only for the masters. Teaching makes your brain think in creative ways about the task at hand – which does wonders to your own understanding, skill level and memory. Find someone to teach – a friend who is yet to study that subject, or a younger person – or maybe your aunt. Teaching is not to be taken lightly, it is not to be done for formality – the other person should actually be able to learn and apply what you are teaching. When your student hits learning hurdles, and you have to put in the extra effort to explain/ teach – that is when you learn your own lessons best.