Study smarter, not just longer

Instead of rereading, close the book and pull the material out of your head. It feels harder than rereading, and that effort is what makes it stick.

1. Read one sectionThen close the book or cover your notes.
2. Write what you knowDon't copy. Get it out of your memory, even when it's hard.
3. Check yourselfCompare it with the original and fix your mistakes.
4. Repeat tomorrowTry again the next day before looking at the book.

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Based on Hermann Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve: review at growing intervals instead of all at once, so the material moves into long-term memory.

1. Turn it into questionsOne idea per card, question on one side and answer on the other.
2. Stretch the gapsReview after 1, 3, 7, 14 and 30 days.
3. Use cardsPaper works, and so do Hootly flashcards.
4. Focus on the hard onesAsk yourself what you already know less often.

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Francesco Cirillo's method: 25 minutes of focused work, then a 5-minute break. Short sprints make a big task easier to start and help you stay fresh.

1. Pick one taskOnly one for each round.
2. Set 25 minutesPhone away, notifications off. There's only the task.
3. Take 5 minutes offMove, stretch, drink water, and stay away from screens.
4. After four roundsTake a longer break of 15 to 20 minutes.

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Named after physicist Richard Feynman. Explain an idea as if to someone who knows nothing about it. Where you get stuck is what you still don't understand.

1. Pick a topicWrite one specific idea at the top of a page.
2. Teach itExplain it in simple words, as you would to a child.
3. Go back to the sourceWhen you get stuck or hide behind big words, check your notes.
4. SimplifyUse your own comparisons until the explanation is complete.

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Mix subjects or problem types instead of finishing one block at a time. It feels less smooth, but you get better at telling similar things apart.

1. Choose 2 or 3 subjectsMix a harder one with an easier one.
2. Keep blocks shortStudy in stretches of 20 to 30 minutes.
3. SwitchMove on before you have completely finished a topic.
4. Come back laterContinue the first topic an hour or two later.

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A note-taking system from Cornell University that turns one page into your review material: notes on the right, questions on the left, a summary at the bottom.

1. Divide the pageA narrow left column, a wide right column and a strip at the bottom.
2. Take notes on the rightWrite your main notes there during the lesson.
3. Add questions on the leftAfter the lesson, add questions and keywords for reviewing.
4. Summarise at the bottomWrite the main point in 2 or 3 sentences.

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Popularised by Tony Buzan: the main topic goes in the middle and ideas branch out from it, so you can see the connections as well as the facts.

1. Put the topic in the middleUse a word or a small drawing.
2. Add main branchesDraw 4 to 6 main ideas in different colours.
3. Add smaller branchesUse keywords and examples, not full sentences.
4. Add picturesSmall drawings and symbols make it easier to picture later.

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Use a place you know well and attach what you need to remember to spots along a route through it. To recall it, walk the route in your head.

1. Choose a placeSomewhere you could walk through with your eyes closed.
2. Plan a routeFix a logical path that always runs in the same direction.
3. Place the itemsMake strange, vivid pictures and leave them at points along the way.

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Francis Pleasant Robinson's reading method: Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review. You work with the text instead of just moving your eyes over it.

1. SurveySpend 2 or 3 minutes on headings, pictures and the summary.
2. QuestionTurn headings into questions.
3. ReadLook for the answers to your questions.
4. Recite and reviewSay it in your own words, then look through it again a day later.

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Based on Allan Paivio's research: you remember more when you learn something in both words and pictures, so draw diagrams and timelines next to the text.

1. Read the textFirst make sure you understand it.
2. Draw itAn ugly sketch is fine. It doesn't have to look good.
3. Connect itShow relationships with lines, arrows and colours.
4. Explain from the drawingTalk through it using only the picture.

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