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If you're reading this and thinking,
“studying too much? is this guy crazy? No one studies too much!
People don't study enough,” then you're probably not going to get
too much from this article. Now, this article is awesome (I would
know. I wrote it,) but it's kind of like giving a medical student the
ability to write prescriptions for Adderall. It's asking for trouble.
If you're not a regular reader of this
blog then I recommend you start with one of these more introductory
articles:
That being said, if you're wild and
crazy enough, well, smart enough, too have started implementing some
of efficiency focused study strategies, then this article is for you.
When teaching people these study
strategies, I find that the most common problem they have is the
problem I suffered through at first too. After years of studying
long hours for tests, it's hard to get comfortable not spending those
hours studying. It's very likely that you'll feel like you're
slacking off and that you might even fail because of that “slacking.”
This feeling alone is a problem.
Extra stress will increase the chances
that you will end up failing your test. Stress is one of the most
important things you're trying to eliminate when you eliminate excess
studying. If you're going to stress out about it (consistently), you
might as well just be studying.
It gets even worse though. That stress
can lead you to start to study at the last minute to try and save
yourself. That study time will be virtually useless because it will
be rushed and highly stressed studying. When you screw up the test,
you're going to be thinking, “OH NO!! WHY WAS I STUPID ENOUGH TO
NOT STUDY FOR HOURS!” That will just help you bury yourself deeper
into your ineffective study habits.
If you're trying to reduce your
studying to improve your grades you need to be able to break your
habit fast.
Remember Efficiency
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This is something you already know but
it's something you're going to need to remind yourself every time you
cut your studying short.
How much you work isn't what's
important. The important part is the results you get. You can be the
hardest working person in the world but that won't help you succeed
if you don't have the right tools.
Efficiency is what you're really
looking for. Imagine the difference between mowing a lawn with a lawn
mower or a pair of scissors. No matter how hard the person with the
scissors works, they're still going to find it impossible to keep up
with the lawn mower. Don't be the guy with the pair of scissors
trying to mow his lawn. (For some reason, I picture him like he works
at a beauty salon with a comb in his hand. I bet he speaks with an
accent too.)
Screw working hard! Working hard is
easy. Anyone can do it. It has its place but school is where you're
supposed to be becoming intelligent. Studying less increases your
efficiency. Study after study has shown this. Once you get your
planned out minimalist style study session finished. Close the
textbook.
Discipline Through Entertainment
It can be tough to close the textbook
when you have a history of studying way too much. But this is where
you can have a little bit of fun with it. If you get the urge to
study when you're not supposed to be studying, get disciplined and
have some fun.
When you're first getting into the
habit of reducing studying, don't reduce studying just so you can be
more productive. For example, don't give up study time to put in
extra hours at work or in the gym. After you get in the habit you can
increase your productivity but while you're first developing the
habit just have fun.
Find an interest other than studying to
focus your time on. If you enjoy videogames, play videogames. If you
enjoy watching hungarian dance videos, watch hungarian dance videos.
If you like trying to bake your own Cheese puffs, well, good luck to
you and don't start a fire. Use the things you enjoy to do to help
you escape your bad study habits.
Track Everything
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I know that you're scared and I can't
blame you. As I started to reduce my studying, I was convinced my
grades would drop too. I was watching them and waiting but it never
came. In fact, the opposite happened.
If you're worried then take comfort in
tracking everything you score before and after you change your study
strategies. Instead of looking at this like the end or beginning of
your good grades, look at it like an experiment. At the very least,
you're going to learn more about the way you study than at any other
point in your life. This is going to allow you to maximize your
grades in the future, whether you choose to follow through with the
reduced study time or not.
As long as you're keeping track of your
grades, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. If you see your
grades slip below your comfort zone, you can always stop. That being
said, I recommend you allow yourself a few point range to get used to
it. I, personally, didn't see any negative change but I wouldn't
count on it for the first couple weeks.
The best part about studying less is
that over time, your grades will continue to improve. Many of the
advantages of studying less don't come from the first couple
sessions. They come after you start to adapt to studying for less
time. The more you're able to intensify your sessions, the faster
you'll be able to learn everything.
So, I know you want to pick up that
textbook and try to improve your grade but it's the wrong thing to
do. Every time you surrender to that temptation you set your brains
adaptation time back even farther. It's just going to make your life
harder in the long run.
If you're still struggling to get in
the zone then you might need to check this article out:
Don't you want to know the way that
lazy looking guy with straight A's gets his studying done? Well,
you've stumbled into the right place. Check out some of the other
articles on this site. Maybe even pick up one of my books.
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