How do I study 17 hours a day with full concentration?

Say Keng Lee, Knowledge Adventurer & Technology Explorer in Optimum Performance
Technologies
Written Dec 24, 2015
I'm afraid I have to give you the bad news first:

You have got it all wrong.What you are doing is counter-productive.

The "secret" to studying efficiently and effectively is not putting in long hours a day.

It's the use and application of a slew of smart study strategies, including test/exam
preparation, as proven by peak-performing students in Singapore.

The optimal study period in one continuous stretch is 2 hours, but this has to be broken
down into four equal segments of 25 minutes of studying and 5 minutes of taking a
break, allocated for each time segment.

The scientific rationale behind this initiative as illustrated is to garner higher incidence
of what learning psychologists called 'Primacy Effect' and 'Recency Effect'.

In layman terms, they mean, as learners, we tend to remember well what's in the
beginning and what's at the end of the endeavour.

In the event you need to extend the 2-hours stretch, you can have another 2-hours block
schedule to follow, but make sure you have an extended break of say 20 minutes or so.

But more importantly, you need first to understand the following categorisation:

Academic subjects can be generally classified as:

- concept-driven/memory-dependent subjects, like Biology, History, Geography, etc ; [In

Singapore, we call them "mugging" subjects, as one needs to "mug up" in order to master
them, as there are helluva lot of stuff to remember.]

- problem-solving subjects, like Math, Physics, etc.

- interpretation- and/or prediction-based subjects, e.g. English Literature;

Some subjects may straddle more than one category, e.g. Physics, and Chemistry, which
have a lot of problem solving elements, notwithstanding lab experiments;

So, if your first 2-hour block is dedicated to studying say Biology, your next 2-hour
option should be Math or Physics, at best.

By doing so, you are allowing your brain to do its natural consolidation cycle.

Meanwhile, I'm sad to say that students of today are still stuck with archaic study
methods of the 18th century and applying them in the 21st century.

They don't realise that the best studying strategy is to study smart, by incorporating new
and better ways of studying.
Given a choice, this is what I would do, in order to study smart:

1) Learn and practise proven efficient and effective study tools like SQ5R and Cornell
Notes.

Go to the net and download information on SQ5R and Cornell Notes:

i) SQ5R reading/studying strategy:

It's a structured system [SQ5R is an acronym for SURVEY, QUESTIONS, READ,

RECORD, RECITE, REVIEW, REFLECT], but it equips you with efficient and
effective ways to navigate academic materials, especially the intellectually-intense ones,
with ease and expediency.

ii) Cornell Notes:

It's a far more superior system that the conventional outline method, known to most
students in schools, college and universities.

It's latent power comes from its simple and yet elegant three-column spatial
configuration for taking notes and making notes.

The "cue" column is the most powerful system I have ever known, as it facilitates - and
expedites - your memory retention/recall via self-testing.

2) Before you proceed to study/revise each academic subject, learn to categorise them
into what I have already outlined in the foregoing, so that you can do a mix-up during
lesson revision at home, and also to allow you to be more energy-efficient, as explained
earlier.

3) Preview your new lesson the night before class, by preparing preliminary notes.

This is because, when you are learning something new in class, your prior knowledge will
always come into play to make connections and create linkages.

More schema, more understanding!

4) Make sure that you thoroughly understand the content of all your class lectures; if not,
you have to ask for clarification or elucidation from your lecturers or professors.

To me, the acid test for understanding something new is your ability to explain the new
concept to someone else, like your kid brother or even your grandma. No puns intended;

5) At the end of a class lecture, always do a quick Recap, Review and Reinforce,
preferably with mnemonics - I call this the 3R's strategy.

Science says 80% of your information intake is lost if you do not execute this initiative
within 24 hours;

6) At least for every semester quarter, or a couple of weeks prior to your final test/exam
time, spend time and effort to prepare global consolidated and summarised study notes,
as part of your final test/exam prep, by incorporating:

- preliminary notes from your textbook reading, the night before class;
- notes taken and made during the lecture;

- notes taken and made from lecture handouts, if any;

- notes taken and made from class discussions or group-work, if any;

- notes from lab reports and/or field work;

- other notes, e.g. from research at the library, or from the Internet search;

Rewriting and re-consolidating your notes is also part of what is known as "Repetition is
the Mother of Learning".

7) Also, with the aid of your subject syllabus as well as exam syllabus, learn to identify
and segregate "core material" from "elaborative material".

- "core material" = important concepts, principles, theories, definitions, terminologies,

nomenclatures, important diagrams or graphs, etc.;

- "elaborative material" = illustrations, examples, anecdotes, etc.;

Drawing on Pareto's Law:

About 80% of your exam questions are likely to come from your "core material", and so
you know what and where to focus first.

This is not to say "elaborative material" is not important, but once you have the
intellectual grasp of "core material" in the first instance, "elaborative material" will
naturally falls into place - in your memory banks;

Transcribe "core material" into 4x3 index cards for their pocket portability, using the
proven Index Card Strategy, for "learning-on-the-go": commuting and/or waiting in
queue, as this facilitates random self-quizzing;

8) Review your learned class lesson within 24 hours, and then prepare a systematic
spaced and distributed practice of revision/rehearsal, next 30 days/next 60 days/ next
90 days till test/exam time;

This initiative helps you to circumvent the deadly impact of the infamous Ebbinghaus
Effect, or better known as the Forgetting Curve;

9) Master the 100+ Test Verbs, often used by examiners in test/exam questions;

10) Always remember [I hate to say this, but it's a harsh reality], tests/exams are a form
of game, and you got to learn to be an excellent game player.

First of all, a test/exam is always a game of PRECISION and SPEED.

No matter how you look at it, examiners are only interested in your ability to answer
questions PRECISELY and EXPEDIENTLY, all within the prescribed time limits.

So, to beat them in the game, you got to learn to master the technique of doing a
"surgical cut" of the exam questions at first glance, no matter how they are phrased.

That's why (9) is critical here.

For your strategy to win the game, learn and practice the Question Dissection Protocol
(*), a powerful technique for dissecting test/exam questions, developed by award-
winning educator Doug Buehl from Madison, Wisconsin;

I have already written extensively about this technique on Quora. You can search their
archives.

11) Spend time and make concerted effort to tackle the past exam series, under simulated
test/exam conditions;

12) If you are familiar with the graphical methods of note-taking and note-making, like
idea-mapping, cluster diagramming and/or graphic organising, apply what I call a
'Divide and Conquer' strategy by creating a global idea map for each of your subject
matter, using the tapestry of contents of your textbook as branching ideas; alternatively,
you can also use the core ideas captured in (7);

13) I have in fact written an extended piece on final test/exam preparation, entitled:

THE ART & DISCIPLINE OF REVISION STRATEGY

Here's the link:

THE ART & DISCIPLINE OF REVISION STRATEGY by Say Keng Lee on OPTIMUM
PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGIES

14) Last but not least, especially if you are interested, acquire a copy of Adam Robinson's
'What Smart Students Know' and Ronald Gross' 'Peak Learning', and do your best to
read as well as digest them.

Definitely, you will be amply rewarded!

So, my end analysis: it's not the total number of hours you are going to spend; it's the
right strategy you are going to use purposefully, meaningfully and productively in your
academic pursuit.

I take this opportunity to wish you a pleasant and successful academic journey, and may
all your fondest dreams come true.