You’ve either been there, you are there, or you’re going to be there. We all have to study some material, somewhere, somehow. 

Image source

Every person is unique and learns in his/her own way, and everyone has a specific study method that works for them. I am not going to convince anyone that the method they are using is wrong, but rather see this post as informative about 3 highly effective study methods.   

1. Method - The senses: 

Instead of making notes only, it is more effective to say it out loud as you write. You will then by using your hands, your eyes, your mouth and your ears. You may also want to try out your smell sense, by changing aromas in your study area for every chapter you are working on.  

The connection between smell and memory happens to be a directly physical one. The olfactory bulb in the brain is only two neuronal synapses removed from the amygdala (an area of the brain implicated in emotional memory), and three synapses away from the hippocampus (our brain’s short-term memory powerhouse). This nearness links the emotional brain to the smell receptors more closely than to any other sense. 

Quote source

2. Method - Memory:

Image source

3. Method - Mind mapping:

This is my personal favorite. 

The brain branches out during the thinking process. When you think of something, it branches to something else and in the process, it creates a thinking map that you are not even aware of. 

A simple example: You might feel hungry, then think of what you are hungry for. Once you know what you want to eat, you then think of where you will find this (either the shop or the grocery cupboard), after which you will decide to either stand up and get it or think of something else that you might have instead. In this simple thinking process, your mind have created a map like this:   

By creating mind maps of your study material, the same process is happening within your mind, and because you are creating your own mind map, the way you want to create it, it feeds your brain with more power.  By adding colors and pictures, you make it impossible for your brain to forget this information and the more you read it, you will find that when you close your eyes, you can see the map, the colors and the pictures clearly in your mind, making it as effective as it can be.  

Image source

Try to incorporate these 3 methods next time you study and let me know how it went!