1 00:00:04,559 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 1: Hello everybody. I'm Jemma Spake and welcome back to the 2 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 1: Psychology of Your Twenties, the podcast where we talk through 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: the biggest changes, moments, and transitions of our twenties and 4 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:27,000 Speaker 1: what they mean for our psychology. Hello everybody, Welcome back 5 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: to the show. Welcome back to the podcast. It is 6 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 1: so great to have you here, back for another episode 7 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:37,879 Speaker 1: as we, of course break down the psychology of our twenties. Today, Guys, 8 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:41,600 Speaker 1: I'm going back to UNI. I'm going back to the 9 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 1: time when I was a full time student. I'm taking 10 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:49,560 Speaker 1: a trip down memory lane to talk about the academic 11 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 1: and study tips that I absolutely swore by when I 12 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: was a student, that I would use again if I 13 00:00:57,480 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: was back there, or if I wanted straight a's, if 14 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: I wanted to be valued ictorian, if I wanted my 15 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: transcript to be the best it could be by the 16 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: end of the year. I'm honestly surprised I've never done 17 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:12,839 Speaker 1: an episode like this, because when I was still getting 18 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 1: my degrees, I genuinely loved the art of studying. Also, 19 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:20,559 Speaker 1: I know there are so many of you who are 20 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 1: getting their diplomas, getting their undergrad degrees, getting their masters. 21 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: Some of you are even getting your PhDs, and you 22 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:32,559 Speaker 1: are still trying to find the most time cost effective 23 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: and successful study tips to become the academic weapon you 24 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:42,039 Speaker 1: always dreamed of being. So this episode feels very necessary. 25 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:47,320 Speaker 1: These tips aren't going to be boring. I'm not going 26 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: to tell you to use flash cards or to read 27 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: the lecture notes or the Pomodoro technique. We know that 28 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: those are tried and true. We are talking instead the 29 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: really strange things I would do based on research. Because 30 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,919 Speaker 1: when you understand the psychology of how to study, well, 31 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: everything changes. You end up studying less, you have more 32 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:13,839 Speaker 1: time for you, you get better grades because you essentially understand 33 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: how to tune your brain to absorb knowledge efficiently. If 34 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: you just take notes in class and you highlight them, 35 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: and you know you repeat them to yourself, that's level one. 36 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 1: I want to take you to level ten of the 37 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:34,360 Speaker 1: study game using the science. So I have I think 38 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: six tips for you today, things that the exact things 39 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: I did to be high school valedictorian, to get a 40 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: national merit scholarship, to maintain a near perfect GPA when 41 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 1: I was at Uni. I know these work. I have 42 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: the evidence to back it up. So without further Ado, 43 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 1: let's get into the best psychology hacks for studying. Stay 44 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: with us. So, when you're studying, whatever the subject is, 45 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: the ultimate goal is to convert information from your short 46 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: term or working memory to your long term memory. And 47 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: then I always like to think of another layer of this, 48 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: which is your application memory, not just being able to recite, 49 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: but to integrate into everyday experiences. Seems like a simple formula, right, 50 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:31,800 Speaker 1: But getting it to that long term application storage basically 51 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: requires integrating the information in a significant way. And what 52 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: I mean by a significant way is that you have 53 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: to show your brain this information is important and worth remembering, 54 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 1: either through repetition, recall, a practical application, applying it to 55 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: your personal circumstances, or any number of techniques that you 56 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: may have used in the past or still do use. 57 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: Your brain receives hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of 58 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: pieces of information every day, So your brain needs a 59 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: signal for what is important, and that signal is a 60 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: deliberate behavior like study methods, like repetition, like any of 61 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: those things that is saying to your brain, hey, this 62 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: is something we care about. We want to learn this. 63 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 1: The thing is, there is a hierarchy here, and the 64 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:23,599 Speaker 1: more personal significance you can apply to new information, the better, 65 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: and the further up the hierarchy. The method will be 66 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 1: basically recall like repetition is pretty low, but when you 67 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:36,240 Speaker 1: start to apply personal information to what you are learning, 68 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:39,279 Speaker 1: you start to move up the ladder. In fact, a 69 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 1: twenty twenty four study from Rice University titled Why People 70 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:48,480 Speaker 1: Remember found that information that has emotional significance and personal 71 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 1: significance has a longer essentially like memory shelf life. And 72 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:57,360 Speaker 1: that makes sense. You don't forget. You don't forget your 73 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:00,119 Speaker 1: dog's name. You don't forget the girls who bullied you 74 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: in the fifth grade, or your favorite songs. You don't 75 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:05,839 Speaker 1: forget the lyrics to those because those memories are often 76 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: encoded differently. This hack, the hack is encoding the information 77 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:15,200 Speaker 1: you're studying in the same way as that personally significant 78 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: information so that you can recall it easier. Most people 79 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: again will do the following. They will take notes, they 80 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:24,480 Speaker 1: will read those notes, they will highlight those notes, they 81 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: will repeat the information in the same form as much 82 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:29,840 Speaker 1: as possible, and they will hope that they will remember 83 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 1: it and they will probably get a nice seventy five 84 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:39,800 Speaker 1: on the test. Here's the technique that I would use instead. First, obviously, 85 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:43,920 Speaker 1: still take notes, but take notes as if you are 86 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:49,640 Speaker 1: writing the textbook yourself, with chapters, with headings, with formulas, 87 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: with visuals, and keep it all in the same document 88 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:56,279 Speaker 1: on your computer. Pretend you are literally the author. Someone 89 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:58,440 Speaker 1: is going to Your notes are going to be what 90 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 1: informs the next cohort. So you want to make it 91 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 1: look good. You want to make it very not complex, 92 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: but in depth, and you want to structure it so 93 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:13,480 Speaker 1: that it's coherent when it comes time to study for 94 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: an exam or midterm, whatever it is. Up the font 95 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:20,320 Speaker 1: size of that document to sixteen double space the whole document. 96 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,280 Speaker 1: Print out those notes, staple them together or bind them 97 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 1: as if they are a book. This is what I 98 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,159 Speaker 1: always did. I wish that I had like a picture 99 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:30,719 Speaker 1: of what this looks like. I just feel like it 100 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: looks so much better visually so you can understand it. 101 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:37,040 Speaker 1: But your notes should almost look like a movie manuscript, 102 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: like a big bound book. Now, we're still going to 103 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: use those tried and true recall or study methods. Step 104 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:48,560 Speaker 1: one obviously, like you have to go through and highlight 105 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:51,080 Speaker 1: and I know I said, that's not an effective method. 106 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:54,200 Speaker 1: I know, but it's just stage one of integration. You 107 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: obviously just need to know what information is crucial. Stage two. 108 00:06:57,880 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: I want you to go through and in those lines, 109 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:02,680 Speaker 1: because you've double fonted it, in those margins. I want 110 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:07,680 Speaker 1: you to write texts, interesting tidbits, facts underline, draw pictures 111 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:12,920 Speaker 1: around your notes, make them really personal. Step three, read 112 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,160 Speaker 1: through your notes again and tell yourself the story of 113 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 1: what you're reading by applying it to something you see 114 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,800 Speaker 1: in your own life or in the world. For example, 115 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 1: if you are studying I don't know psychopathology and the 116 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 1: section you are reviewing is on schizophrenia, write out the 117 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 1: symptoms like you're describing a movie character, or you're telling 118 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:42,480 Speaker 1: the story of someone's behavior that you know, or somebody 119 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 1: in the news, or somebody or a character in a movie. 120 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: If you're studying systems of voting or politics, and you 121 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: have a big chunk of notes that are all very 122 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 1: theoretical about voting systems, imagine your friends as candidates in 123 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: each of those voting systems. Any kind of personal association 124 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 1: is going to work amazingly. The final step is to 125 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: take your notes, take your research, and do one of 126 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: three things. Either explain it to someone else in your life, 127 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:21,240 Speaker 1: or prepare like essentially a small lecture on your topics. 128 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:25,040 Speaker 1: This is known as the Fenman technique. Research has shown 129 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:27,680 Speaker 1: it's one of the most effective study techniques you can use. 130 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 1: When you can teach it back to somebody else. You 131 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:32,600 Speaker 1: know it at a depth that it's hard to come 132 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:35,600 Speaker 1: by because it asks you to almost be the expert. 133 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: It asks you to adopt the skills and knowledge you'd 134 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 1: need to be an expert. So teach it to somebody 135 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:44,760 Speaker 1: else to turn it into something creative. I used to 136 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:48,319 Speaker 1: do these big mind maps and like diagrams and doodles 137 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:50,199 Speaker 1: on it. I used to actually get like a massive 138 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:54,319 Speaker 1: post board to remember psychology concepts back at UNI, and 139 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:57,200 Speaker 1: I would make like this poster. In high school, I 140 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:00,640 Speaker 1: would get a whiteboard marker and I would write my 141 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 1: notes and I would like draw diagrams and all that 142 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:06,680 Speaker 1: stuff on my windows and on my mirrors. So process 143 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:11,840 Speaker 1: it creatively, or write down your notes as personal questions 144 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:15,079 Speaker 1: and do at least twenty of them and answer them. 145 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 1: So questions like if I had to choose the biology 146 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:21,920 Speaker 1: concept I knew the least about from this year, what 147 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: would it be, and then describe that concept, or like, 148 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 1: what's another one, like what term did I find most interesting? 149 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:33,480 Speaker 1: What applies most to my life? What area am I 150 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 1: most fascinated by? Like make the questions personally relevant, then 151 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:39,679 Speaker 1: answer them again. All these methods work because we are 152 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 1: trying to encode on a deeper, more specific, personally relevant level. 153 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:48,520 Speaker 1: It's like when you do this, when you adopt one 154 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,439 Speaker 1: of those final three methods, on top of those other methods, 155 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,360 Speaker 1: you are solidifying an idea in concrete, not in paper. 156 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:59,160 Speaker 1: Another element to this is to understand your learning style. 157 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:04,120 Speaker 1: Research says there's eight learning stars, and each of these 158 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: learning stars was adapted from Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. 159 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:12,720 Speaker 1: So basically he developed this idea back in the eighties 160 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:15,800 Speaker 1: to essentially argue that IQ is just one specific type 161 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:20,480 Speaker 1: of intelligence. It's a general intelligence, but real intelligence comes 162 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 1: in many different forms. There's many different understandings, and your 163 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: natural inclination for a specific form is what's going to 164 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:32,080 Speaker 1: help you excel in a certain area. Basically, people are 165 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 1: smart at different things. People are good at different things, 166 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:39,120 Speaker 1: but these forms are visual or spatial, So some people 167 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 1: have a visual or spatial learning type that's a preference 168 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:44,480 Speaker 1: for things laid out in maps, laid out in graphs, 169 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:49,680 Speaker 1: laid out in charts, auditory like an auditory learning style. 170 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:54,439 Speaker 1: So you like to absorb knowledge through sound, song, rhythm, beat, 171 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:59,680 Speaker 1: kinesthetic learning through movement, having a I guess a natural 172 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,560 Speaker 1: intelligence for how your body moves and what it does 173 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: in space and what it can do. Verbal the use 174 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 1: of speech and speaking concepts or ideas allowed. This is 175 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 1: my learning style. Obviously, no surprise, I run a podcast. 176 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:19,320 Speaker 1: But another one is logical. There are people who really 177 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:24,080 Speaker 1: enjoy learning or absorbing information by laying them down in 178 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:29,480 Speaker 1: a very mathematical and logical format. Interpersonal and interpersonal two 179 00:11:29,559 --> 00:11:36,960 Speaker 1: different ones. Interpersonal learning through collaboration, conversation, connection, intra personal 180 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:43,640 Speaker 1: learning through reflection alone, time, deep devotion, solitude, and then 181 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:50,719 Speaker 1: finally naturalistic learning through the world by seeing patterns by 182 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 1: connecting things to one's surroundings. Hopefully you got all those, 183 00:11:55,559 --> 00:11:59,360 Speaker 1: but there's eight. And the theory goes that this also 184 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:03,040 Speaker 1: aligns not just to how you best process information, but 185 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:05,880 Speaker 1: also what job might suit you best. We don't have 186 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:08,120 Speaker 1: time to get into that because that theory is very 187 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 1: wild and wacky, but I think again, It's important to 188 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:18,680 Speaker 1: know your preference and tune into how you can better 189 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:23,520 Speaker 1: absorb information based on how your brain best sees information. 190 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: And when you can do that, it becomes so much easier. 191 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:30,760 Speaker 1: I feel like it's like falling into a stream. It's 192 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,200 Speaker 1: hard to explain, but when you start learning and absorbing 193 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:36,720 Speaker 1: information in your brains one of your brain's preferred ways, 194 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:41,240 Speaker 1: there is just so much less cognitive friction. Here is 195 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 1: how to figure out what yours is? Because I feel 196 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:44,880 Speaker 1: like I gave you all of that and I didn't 197 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:49,319 Speaker 1: give you the answer to how to find out Four questions. 198 00:12:49,559 --> 00:12:53,000 Speaker 1: When you have to explain something you care about to someone, 199 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 1: how do you prefer doing it? Do you immediately grab 200 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:00,680 Speaker 1: a pen? Do you draw them a map? Do you 201 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:04,600 Speaker 1: connect it to a personal experience? Do you use your body? 202 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:07,480 Speaker 1: Do you use your hands? Do you work through the 203 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:12,559 Speaker 1: logic with them? Question two. When someone explains a complex 204 00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:16,080 Speaker 1: idea to you, what makes it click for you? Is 205 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:20,040 Speaker 1: it examples? Is it metaphors, discussion? Is it seeing it 206 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:22,200 Speaker 1: in action? Is it getting to just sit and just 207 00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 1: process it and wiki it and research it? Third question, 208 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:30,760 Speaker 1: think back now to your school or UNI days. If 209 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:33,520 Speaker 1: you are not still in those places. What kind of 210 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 1: classes felt easiest to stay engaged in even when the 211 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:42,199 Speaker 1: content wasn't that interesting? That's another clue. And finally, if 212 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:46,240 Speaker 1: you had unlimited time to learn something purely for enjoyment, 213 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:49,720 Speaker 1: what would that learning environment look like? How would you 214 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:52,320 Speaker 1: want to learn about the thing you are choosing to 215 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:57,560 Speaker 1: learn about? Now? The thing to know. Our style isn't 216 00:13:57,559 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 1: always consistent, and there's not just one or you like, 217 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:04,320 Speaker 1: there's often quite a few or as in like they're interchangeable. 218 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:06,880 Speaker 1: I feel like I've been giving the impression there's like 219 00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:10,559 Speaker 1: one specific one. You can have multiple and everybody can 220 00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:14,079 Speaker 1: in some way learn through each of those things. There 221 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:17,880 Speaker 1: was a recent University of Michigan article that called into 222 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:21,600 Speaker 1: question the legitimacy of learning styles altogether, because the idea 223 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 1: that we can only learn in one way is kind 224 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:27,920 Speaker 1: of preposterous. But the psychology does provide heaps of evidence 225 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:31,080 Speaker 1: for this fact. When you enjoy the methods you are 226 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:35,400 Speaker 1: using to learn, you engage more, you absorb more. Therefore, 227 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:39,800 Speaker 1: you develop an enjoyable method for studying and enjoy the 228 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:44,280 Speaker 1: studying in itself, even if it looks weird, even if 229 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:47,840 Speaker 1: you feel like nobody understands it. Having a method that 230 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:50,960 Speaker 1: relates to you personally and that you enjoy is always 231 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:54,160 Speaker 1: going to be more effective than a traditional method that 232 00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:00,040 Speaker 1: bores you or doesn't interest you. There's kind of it 233 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:05,400 Speaker 1: brings me to my next tip, which is use unconventional 234 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:09,960 Speaker 1: ways of learning, because I guess the more novel, the 235 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:14,000 Speaker 1: more memorable, and the more likely you are to integrate 236 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 1: the information. The one I loved the most, which I'm 237 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 1: now thinking about, and I'm realizing this has a lot 238 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 1: to say about me. But I used to record my 239 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 1: notes as a voice note on my laptop, and I 240 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,320 Speaker 1: would convert it into an MP three part MP three 241 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:37,160 Speaker 1: file for my phone so I could listen to the 242 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:41,080 Speaker 1: concepts as a podcast. How I did not realize this 243 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 1: was going to be my career, I do not know. 244 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:46,760 Speaker 1: I cannot tell you that was obviously a sign, but 245 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 1: that was really effective for me. And I also put 246 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,160 Speaker 1: classical music behind it. Sometimes I used to play it 247 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:55,000 Speaker 1: to fall asleep because and this has no evidence for it. 248 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:57,000 Speaker 1: Let me just say there's no evidence for this, but 249 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:00,560 Speaker 1: I used to be like, oh, yeah, if I listened 250 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 1: to it while I'm sleeping, that's more time for it 251 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:05,800 Speaker 1: to be absorbed into my memory, Like over now it's 252 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:09,120 Speaker 1: going to like infuse into my mind. That didn't work, 253 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:12,480 Speaker 1: I can tell you that now. But novelty of any kind, 254 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:17,280 Speaker 1: any method, primes your brain to learn. There's evidence for this. 255 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:20,120 Speaker 1: There was a twenty twenty study done with a bunch 256 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:24,200 Speaker 1: of high school students in Argentina that put students either 257 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:28,360 Speaker 1: in a novel environment or their school environment and showed 258 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:33,760 Speaker 1: them a geometrical shape, a geometrical object, a really random object, 259 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:36,960 Speaker 1: and asked them to memorize. Well, the researchers asked them 260 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 1: to memorize it, and then they asked them forty five 261 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:42,360 Speaker 1: days later, if they remembered it, they asked them to 262 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:46,640 Speaker 1: draw the shape, and those in the novel situations had 263 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:53,600 Speaker 1: much better recall. Study in new locations, use different colored pens, 264 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:58,800 Speaker 1: have a unique playlist for each subject, tie new concepts 265 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:04,600 Speaker 1: to a new flavor of gum. Anything that's again going 266 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:07,600 Speaker 1: to give a concept another dimension means it's going to 267 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:13,879 Speaker 1: be integrated differently and better. I guess okay, we are 268 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:18,000 Speaker 1: going to take a short break here before getting into 269 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:27,960 Speaker 1: my four final tips for studying effectively. Stay with us. 270 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:32,280 Speaker 1: So this is a tip I wish, I wish I 271 00:17:32,359 --> 00:17:35,120 Speaker 1: learned sooner, but only kind of grasped. I would say, 272 00:17:35,119 --> 00:17:39,400 Speaker 1: in like my last two years of university, not all 273 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:44,880 Speaker 1: times are good times for studying. Your peak productivity hours 274 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:47,640 Speaker 1: may not be the same as others, or the same 275 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:51,960 Speaker 1: as the even the typical workday, which is based around 276 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:55,720 Speaker 1: what we are like a human circadian rhythm. Yes, we 277 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,879 Speaker 1: might all have the same Cicadian structures, but your peak 278 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:03,879 Speaker 1: productivity depends on your individual biology and it depends on 279 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:06,680 Speaker 1: your individual rhythm. When I was in like the early 280 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:10,680 Speaker 1: days of university, I remember going to this I don't 281 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:12,760 Speaker 1: know what it was, like a module or like a lecture. 282 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:16,879 Speaker 1: It was like on studying effectively, and in it the 283 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:19,360 Speaker 1: lecture of like the person leading it was like your 284 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:22,400 Speaker 1: best study time is nine am to twelve pm and 285 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:25,720 Speaker 1: three pm to seven pm. I don't know where she 286 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:27,879 Speaker 1: got that from. And I tried to stick with that 287 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:30,399 Speaker 1: for ages. I'd be like, no, I need to study 288 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:32,879 Speaker 1: nine am. I got to be at the library until 289 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:35,240 Speaker 1: I realized, like I was not getting a single thing 290 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 1: done during that whole time, like I'm a night out. 291 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:41,920 Speaker 1: I like working, I like studying, I like writing and 292 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: creating after seven pm, When after seven pm I can 293 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:47,880 Speaker 1: focus for hours. I know my mom is the same. 294 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:51,600 Speaker 1: And we were actually having this conversation recently where I 295 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:54,840 Speaker 1: was like, how did you get so much work done 296 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:58,320 Speaker 1: when we were kids? Like she had three kids and 297 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:01,119 Speaker 1: she was working like multiple jobs, and she was telling 298 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:05,879 Speaker 1: me how her peak performance hours were always for her 299 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,879 Speaker 1: like ten pm to two am, so she would be 300 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:12,720 Speaker 1: working when we were asleep. And I was like, huh, 301 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 1: that's where I get it. But there's another name for 302 00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:18,600 Speaker 1: a person like this, obviously, a night ow in comparison 303 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:21,840 Speaker 1: to those like five am club early birds. And I 304 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:24,040 Speaker 1: just feel like if I tried to do those five 305 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:26,720 Speaker 1: am wake ups, I could never get anything done. That's 306 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:30,120 Speaker 1: not how I am programmed. You have to figure out 307 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:33,920 Speaker 1: how you were programmed. Researchers in twenty twenty one tested 308 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:37,720 Speaker 1: participants on this with a series of cognitive tasks, and 309 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:43,840 Speaker 1: they found that learning, memory, attention, they were all significantly 310 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:48,920 Speaker 1: better when people worked during their preferred time of day. 311 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:53,679 Speaker 1: A separate meta analysis looked at over seven thousand evening 312 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 1: people and warning people, and they also looked at what 313 00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:00,679 Speaker 1: they called their diurnal preferences. And a diurnal preference is 314 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:03,000 Speaker 1: basically when you prefer to be awake versus a sleep, 315 00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:06,399 Speaker 1: And what they found was that when they let people 316 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:11,160 Speaker 1: naturally work during their preferred time, their cognitive ability, their 317 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:15,400 Speaker 1: academic achievement, their memory, their problem solving all improved, even 318 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:19,080 Speaker 1: in school children, even in little tiny school children. This 319 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 1: study even actually it has a self report questionnaire. You 320 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:26,440 Speaker 1: can take what is the study called, I think it's 321 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:33,040 Speaker 1: called chron Chronotype Cognitive Abilities and Academic Achievement from twenty 322 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:35,920 Speaker 1: to eleven if you want to look it up, and 323 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:38,480 Speaker 1: in the appendix they'll have this so you can figure 324 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:42,520 Speaker 1: out what your diurnal preference is. When the best time 325 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 1: of day is for you. I think you probably already know. 326 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:49,240 Speaker 1: I think it's the time when you feel least tired 327 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:53,560 Speaker 1: doing work, whether that is one am or one pm. 328 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:55,800 Speaker 1: I think a crucial step to this is also being 329 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,720 Speaker 1: okay with not being productive when everyone else is being 330 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:03,000 Speaker 1: a lot of studying at least I found was sometimes 331 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:06,520 Speaker 1: like appearance based, especially when you're like in a big college, 332 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:08,120 Speaker 1: or in a big high school or in a big UNI, 333 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:11,720 Speaker 1: and so sometimes like that there was pressure to sort 334 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:13,520 Speaker 1: of appear like you were busy even if you weren't 335 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:17,680 Speaker 1: getting anything done. So again with this like body clock, method. 336 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,480 Speaker 1: If you know you can get seven hours of work 337 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:24,600 Speaker 1: done in four hours, if you start at one am, 338 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:26,640 Speaker 1: you don't need to be studying at nine am. Take 339 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:32,960 Speaker 1: the morning off. Remember, efficiency is personal. It's not externally dictated. 340 00:21:33,119 --> 00:21:35,800 Speaker 1: It's incredibly individualized. And if your goal is to get 341 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:39,880 Speaker 1: great grades, do it when it suits you best. Here's 342 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:43,600 Speaker 1: another reason why I loved working and I love studying late, 343 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:46,320 Speaker 1: and I guess it kind of makes up Tim Nutber five. 344 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:52,159 Speaker 1: It's because it was romantic, and I believe like the 345 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:56,000 Speaker 1: more romantic or sentimental you make studying, the better you 346 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:59,720 Speaker 1: are at it. You have to romanticize study. You have 347 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:01,840 Speaker 1: to make get glamorous, you have to make it charming. 348 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,040 Speaker 1: I don't know what other episode I spoke about this, 349 00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:08,560 Speaker 1: and I'm pretty sure I did, But I loved working late, 350 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:10,879 Speaker 1: and I loved thinking about like all the other great 351 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:14,199 Speaker 1: all the other I just like thinking about like the 352 00:22:14,359 --> 00:22:19,720 Speaker 1: great thinkers and writers who who I admired, who'd be 353 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:23,360 Speaker 1: like up by the candlelight, who'd be like diligently working 354 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,119 Speaker 1: back in the day, and like that was so I 355 00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:29,200 Speaker 1: don't know. I love the intimacy of it and how 356 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 1: dedicated it felt. And I think it's important to find 357 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:37,640 Speaker 1: an image, a mental image of studying that is attractive 358 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:41,600 Speaker 1: to you and embody it when you are studying. Some 359 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:44,320 Speaker 1: other examples like I know people who like to imagine 360 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:49,040 Speaker 1: themselves as scholars, intellectuals, founders who are like working like 361 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:52,399 Speaker 1: that's a common one, who like to imagine themselves as 362 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:55,399 Speaker 1: an artist when they're up early in the morning. Whatever 363 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:57,439 Speaker 1: it takes to make you fall in love with the 364 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,679 Speaker 1: process of studying, not just the outcome, you've got to 365 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:03,640 Speaker 1: do it. And that's another psychology hack for you. It's 366 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:07,720 Speaker 1: actually called the effort paradox, fall in love with working hard. 367 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:11,800 Speaker 1: A lot of psychology will say we avoid effort because 368 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:15,480 Speaker 1: it's costly and we want to choose the path of 369 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:20,240 Speaker 1: least resistance. But the more you pursue effort, the more 370 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:24,520 Speaker 1: it feels innately valuable, and the more it actually increases 371 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:27,600 Speaker 1: the value of the thing that you are working towards. 372 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 1: People may value a goal more when they work really 373 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:36,320 Speaker 1: hard for it. It's why we like ikea furniture, It's why 374 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:38,720 Speaker 1: we because we have to work hard for it because 375 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:42,240 Speaker 1: there's a personal investment the things we put effort into. Yeah, 376 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,800 Speaker 1: like furniture. We assemble or like a cake we make ourselves. 377 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:48,800 Speaker 1: You know, it feels more meaningful and valuable than an 378 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:54,119 Speaker 1: identical thing that requires no effort. Effort creates meaning, which 379 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:58,720 Speaker 1: is more powerful than motivation. You don't start studying because 380 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:01,800 Speaker 1: you love it. You start studying because you're because you've 381 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:05,159 Speaker 1: invested effort and because that feels important, and so then 382 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:09,600 Speaker 1: the meaning follows the meaning. The motivation follows effort, not 383 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:13,879 Speaker 1: the other way around. Does that make sense? You can 384 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:16,600 Speaker 1: read the paper I think it's a just called the 385 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:20,920 Speaker 1: effort Paradox from twenty eighteen if you want to understand 386 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:25,399 Speaker 1: this better. But effort creates meaning, not motivation. It's one 387 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:28,399 Speaker 1: of the best things I read when I was studying 388 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:32,320 Speaker 1: when I was at university. It's basically another way of 389 00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:36,640 Speaker 1: saying again like fall in love with hard work and 390 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 1: pursue consistency. Basically, it's another way of saying consistency matters 391 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:46,240 Speaker 1: and consistency works, but just saying that in a different way. 392 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:48,800 Speaker 1: I guess. Let me move on to tip number seven. 393 00:24:49,119 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 1: I think this was my most unhinged study tip. I 394 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:56,040 Speaker 1: used to pay myself to study. I'm going to explain this, 395 00:24:56,119 --> 00:24:59,040 Speaker 1: but I knew from high school psychology that our brains 396 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:02,680 Speaker 1: respond to reward and regular positive enforcement. So when I 397 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,879 Speaker 1: would get paid, or specifically when I would get tips 398 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:07,679 Speaker 1: when I was working at the Hawaiian Bar, or when 399 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:10,240 Speaker 1: I was working at the Stake restaurant, I would have 400 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 1: these envelopes in my draw, like in my university death draw, 401 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:16,960 Speaker 1: and I would put like twenty dollar bills, five dollar bills, 402 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:19,560 Speaker 1: ten dollar bills in these envelopes, and I wouldn't label them. 403 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 1: I wouldn't know which had which. And every time I 404 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:25,600 Speaker 1: went to study, I would bring a single envelope with me, 405 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:29,800 Speaker 1: and only when I'd done a certain number of hours 406 00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:32,400 Speaker 1: would I be allowed to open it and I would 407 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:35,840 Speaker 1: be allowed to spend whatever money was in there or 408 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:38,680 Speaker 1: like add it to my wallet because I didn't know 409 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:41,240 Speaker 1: how much money was in there. It kind of also 410 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:46,440 Speaker 1: tapped into principles of intermittent reinforcement or random reinforcement as well. 411 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:50,600 Speaker 1: And let me just say like it worked. It truly 412 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:55,119 Speaker 1: truly worked so so well, Like I was basically bribing 413 00:25:55,119 --> 00:25:58,920 Speaker 1: myself normally, by like the time I think I'd done, 414 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:00,679 Speaker 1: I think I would give it to me myself, like 415 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 1: after three hours, normally, after like I would have done 416 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:06,720 Speaker 1: two hours and I'd be really hungry or really bored, 417 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 1: and I'd want to snack. And my university had this 418 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:12,600 Speaker 1: like little basic grocery store, and at two hours, I'd 419 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:14,919 Speaker 1: be like, I'm ready, but I would force myself to 420 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,160 Speaker 1: do that other hour because then I would get the reward. 421 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:21,880 Speaker 1: And obviously it was my money, like I could open 422 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:24,880 Speaker 1: it at any time, but it would like really motivate 423 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:28,520 Speaker 1: me to just like push to that third hour. And 424 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:30,919 Speaker 1: I would obviously have breaks in between, like I'd go 425 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:33,280 Speaker 1: to the bathroom. I wasn't like sitting there with like 426 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:36,120 Speaker 1: those metal prongs like opening my eyes. Like I would 427 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:39,440 Speaker 1: let myself get up and go around. But I wasn't 428 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:42,440 Speaker 1: allowed to leave the library or I wasn't allowed to 429 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:47,040 Speaker 1: go back to my dorm before those three hours were done. 430 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:49,000 Speaker 1: Over the next three hours after that because I couldn't 431 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:52,320 Speaker 1: open the envelope, which again super strange. I tell me, 432 00:26:52,359 --> 00:26:53,920 Speaker 1: if you do this, I don't know anybody else who 433 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:56,480 Speaker 1: does this, but it worked. Okay, I don't know what 434 00:26:56,560 --> 00:27:01,280 Speaker 1: tip we are up to here, but next, another big 435 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:05,960 Speaker 1: psychology hack that's very simple but very necessary is eliminate 436 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:09,680 Speaker 1: all distractions. Do not believe that you can study if 437 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:12,560 Speaker 1: your phone is right next to you. I used to 438 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:15,760 Speaker 1: use this self control website blocker. I think I literally 439 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:18,800 Speaker 1: still have it on my computer. I would also give 440 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:21,320 Speaker 1: me and my friends, we would give each other our 441 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:24,199 Speaker 1: phones and like put them in our bags so they 442 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:26,840 Speaker 1: couldn't access them, and give them back when we were 443 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:32,680 Speaker 1: kind of ready to go. Anything to keep a distraction 444 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:35,200 Speaker 1: away from your desk or away from your study space 445 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:38,800 Speaker 1: is crucial. I cannot stress enough how much you need 446 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:42,080 Speaker 1: to be doing this, no matter how good you think 447 00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:44,720 Speaker 1: your discipline is. We really do like to believe that 448 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:47,760 Speaker 1: discipline is like a personality trait, that some people are 449 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:51,800 Speaker 1: just more motivated or motivated enough to be able to 450 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:55,000 Speaker 1: sit there with their phone face down and not touch 451 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:59,159 Speaker 1: it and just simply not do anything with it. But 452 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:03,160 Speaker 1: psychology says that's not true. Your brain is not designed 453 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 1: to coexist peacefully with distraction. Every notification, every open tab, 454 00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:13,560 Speaker 1: every buzzing phone noise triggers what is called attentional capture. 455 00:28:14,119 --> 00:28:16,760 Speaker 1: Even if you don't consciously check it, a part of 456 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:19,960 Speaker 1: you is still oh aware that something's going on. Just 457 00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:23,320 Speaker 1: knowing your phone is nearby is actually enough to reduce 458 00:28:23,359 --> 00:28:27,480 Speaker 1: your working memory and cognitive capacity. There is literal research 459 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:31,600 Speaker 1: showing that performance improves simply by putting your phone in 460 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,919 Speaker 1: another room, simply by giving it to somebody else, not 461 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 1: putting it on silent, not putting it face down, gone 462 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:43,959 Speaker 1: putting it away. This is why externalizing self control works 463 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:49,600 Speaker 1: so well. Website blockers, app limits a friend. It's not 464 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:51,959 Speaker 1: a sign that you have weak discipline, like there are 465 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:56,680 Speaker 1: signs of psychological intelligence. You are removing the need for 466 00:28:56,760 --> 00:28:59,960 Speaker 1: constant decision making and constantly needing to stop your brain 467 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,440 Speaker 1: from doing what it wants to most, which is to 468 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:08,440 Speaker 1: take the quick dopamine, which is to take the destruction. Finally, 469 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:12,320 Speaker 1: and I should have said this one earlier when I 470 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:18,880 Speaker 1: was talking about my money envelope rewards scheme, but study 471 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:22,880 Speaker 1: with other people as a reward. Now, I wouldn't do 472 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:25,480 Speaker 1: this all the time, only when I was really serious, 473 00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:29,200 Speaker 1: in like a real crunch period. But I knew that 474 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:35,000 Speaker 1: as much as money was a fantastic treat as an extrovert, 475 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:39,880 Speaker 1: as a social butterfly, especially at university, being around other 476 00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:42,840 Speaker 1: people and having a little chit chat that was a 477 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:47,560 Speaker 1: much greater reward for me. So I manipulated that. I 478 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:52,000 Speaker 1: manipulated that desire to force myself to work harder. There 479 00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:58,400 Speaker 1: is a powerful dopinogenic reward loop at play when you're 480 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:02,960 Speaker 1: studying alone. Follow by letting yourself study with other people 481 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:07,120 Speaker 1: as a treat, your brain begins to associate effort with 482 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:13,720 Speaker 1: anticipated connection, making the initial work feel more tolerable, maybe 483 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:18,240 Speaker 1: even motivating. If I knew I'd get to go sit 484 00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:20,800 Speaker 1: with my friends at the end, or like go and 485 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:23,680 Speaker 1: annoy them or hang out with them, it just made 486 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:27,520 Speaker 1: me want to work harder to get through the time. 487 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:31,360 Speaker 1: That's the whole point of of having that reward. So 488 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:34,760 Speaker 1: those are my tips. Those are my study tips that 489 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:37,000 Speaker 1: I swore by. I'm going to quickly summarize them for 490 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:39,680 Speaker 1: you now. Firstly, the biggest thing you should be doing 491 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:43,280 Speaker 1: if you're not doing anything else on this list encode 492 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:50,760 Speaker 1: information with personal significance. Use my note taking manuscript method. 493 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:55,440 Speaker 1: Figure out your preferred learning style, not your exact learning style. 494 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:57,520 Speaker 1: We know there's not a single one, but you're preferred 495 00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:04,240 Speaker 1: utilize novelty in whatever form. Study during your most productive hours, 496 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:08,120 Speaker 1: not even if they're not necessarily the socially applauded hours. 497 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:15,000 Speaker 1: Romanticize studying. Romanticize studying to activate that effort paradox that 498 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:20,120 Speaker 1: we were talking about. Pay yourself to study, eliminate distractions, 499 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:26,120 Speaker 1: use social study as a reward, and one final, one, 500 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:31,280 Speaker 1: final one. As much as you can integrate the information 501 00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:35,800 Speaker 1: into your conversations, teach other people, teach your parents, Slip 502 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:39,840 Speaker 1: it into like calls with clients, or like when you're 503 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:45,680 Speaker 1: serving somebody coffee, anyone anything. Anybody wants to listen, get 504 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:49,560 Speaker 1: them involved in your learning. This is literally, in a 505 00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:51,800 Speaker 1: small way, how this podcast started. I wanted to talk 506 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:56,080 Speaker 1: more about psychology to integrate my understanding, and I wanted 507 00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:58,120 Speaker 1: to talk about it in reference to my friend's lives 508 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:00,480 Speaker 1: and my family's lives. And that's this is how we're here. 509 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:03,680 Speaker 1: Look how that turned out. So thank you so much 510 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,160 Speaker 1: for listening. I hope these tips are helpful. Let me 511 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:07,680 Speaker 1: know if you've used any of them and if they 512 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:10,800 Speaker 1: are useful, If you have made it this far, great 513 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:14,480 Speaker 1: attentional skills. Thank you. Leave a comment down below. What 514 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:17,960 Speaker 1: is your most unhinged weird study hat? I want the 515 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:20,360 Speaker 1: weird ones. And if you pay yourself to study like 516 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:21,880 Speaker 1: I did, I want to know because I think I've 517 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:24,560 Speaker 1: only I think I know like one other person who 518 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:27,120 Speaker 1: did that, and I'm pretty sure when she said she 519 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:29,640 Speaker 1: was paying herself it was her parents. So I want 520 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:31,160 Speaker 1: to know if you do that and if it works 521 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:33,440 Speaker 1: for you. I guess people don't really use cash anymore, 522 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:37,800 Speaker 1: but yeah, those are the good times. I miss it. 523 00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:40,600 Speaker 1: I really miss studying you guys, like if you're still 524 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:43,360 Speaker 1: studying at the moment as well, like, don't take it 525 00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:45,680 Speaker 1: for granted. There was something so fun about like your 526 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:48,840 Speaker 1: only job for the evening being just like to sit 527 00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:50,800 Speaker 1: with your friends or just to like sit and learn, 528 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:56,520 Speaker 1: like genuinely dream job, dream job. So thank you again 529 00:32:56,520 --> 00:32:58,920 Speaker 1: for listening. I hope you enjoyed the episode. Make sure 530 00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:01,960 Speaker 1: that you are following us wherever you are listening right now, 531 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:05,080 Speaker 1: that you are subscribed, or that you have notifications turned 532 00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:07,200 Speaker 1: on so you know when new episodes come out. You 533 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:10,480 Speaker 1: can also follow us on Instagram at that Psychology Podcast 534 00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:12,640 Speaker 1: if you want to see behind the scenes, you want 535 00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:15,440 Speaker 1: episode summaries, you want to know when new episodes are 536 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:20,240 Speaker 1: coming out, and when we want people's listener contributions. That's 537 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:23,160 Speaker 1: a great way to get involved there. You can also 538 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:26,240 Speaker 1: follow us on substack for full episode transcripts if you 539 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:29,040 Speaker 1: are looking for those. But until next time, be safe, 540 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:32,360 Speaker 1: be kind, be gentle to yourself. We will talk very 541 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:32,840 Speaker 1: very soon.