My Second Language: Study for Effect

The When of effective study is VERY important. You should calmly review your working week, on a daily basis, and set a time when you can and WILL be there to study, in your Study Place.

If you are a morning person, set your clock for 0430 and get up, shower, and be dressed for study by 0515. Then you can leave for work at 0605 and arrive glowing with the inner knowledge that you're taking active steps to improve yourself and your value to ANY enterprise, and that will buoy you through the rest of the day.

Your study times need not be long, a 20-minute study period of ACTUAL, FOCUSED STUDY is better than 55 minutes of "Where's my pencil? What'd I do with my notebook? Shouldn't I call Kathy? What does my dog need today? (yawn!) Oh, I'd better brush my teeth..." and on and on!

But you should make your study times REGULAR and OFTEN, whether morning or evening.

The Who, the Person-You-Need-to-Be, when studying effectively, needs all the above and a little more. You should be relaxed, mindful and attentive. Calm, breathing meditatively, (take yoga classes or Buddhist meditation classes to learn more about mindful breathing) so your brain-bucket gets plenty of oxygen. Strangely enough, getting oxygen to your brain can help you study, immensely!

Learn to consciously use your eyes in your study, not just to read and take notes and make Mind Maps, but use your eyes in the NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) sense, 'putting' words and concepts into their storage/memory slots according to your accessing style (see this for clarification). Just learning how to use your eyes can double the effectiveness of your study!

Use your nose. Olfactory memory is holistic, often pulling up visual images, emotional affect and remembered sounds all with one whiff. So use roses (for instance) in your Monday studies, an orange for Tuesday, banana Wednesday, mint Thursday and cheese Friday. Pleasant smells, associated with your study, can help enjoy studying AND recalling what you studied. When you take your exams, have all five scents on your shirt-cuffs, and sniff them during the test. (The author was the first ever student to ACE the anatomy midterm at his college!).

Use your ears. Listen to the Largo movements of classical European music, with a beat of 58-64 Beats per Minute (BPM). The music you want sounds like 'Mozart for Baby Geniuses' and you can put a tape or CD together by yourself or pay a little and get it all done for you. Smooth, harmonious, often slow music that helps your body synchronize with your brain/mind! This is very good stuff for learners.

Be a person who is prepared, ready to focus on study, and cheerful. Avoid long, tedious sessions in one position. If your shoulders (or neck or back) ache, get up and move for a minute, then sit down and quickly refocus! Stay playful and alert, for it is this playful, alert mindfulness that keeps your learning-window OPEN!

Follow your teacher's or professor's instructions. Don't second guess your mentor, your guide.

And finally, give all you've got. Stay away from half-hearted study-dabbling! That's lying to yourself, and you know it. You'll only reap what you're sowing if you do that, and half-hearted results stinking of mediocrity are what grow out of mediocre, half-hearted attempts at learning!

This is YOUR life! Carpe diem! Seize this moment as if you'll never have another, for in truth, you shall not! Do your best now, and you'll never regret the outcomes which follow!