3 Tips to Maximise Long Study Sessions

A strategic approach to improve learning efficiency during long study sessions.

Every week, I distil what really works for improving results, memory, depth of understanding, and knowledge application from over a decade of coaching into bite-sized emails.

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=== About Dr Justin Sung ===

Dr. Justin Sung is a world-renowned expert in self-regulated learning, certified teacher, research author, and former medical doctor. He has guest lectured on learning skills at Monash University for Master’s and PhD students in Education and Medicine. Over the past decade, he has empowered tens of thousands of learners worldwide to dramatically improve their academic performance, learning efficiency, and motivation.

[JustinSung]

Every week, I distil what really works for improving results, memory, depth of understanding, and knowledge application from over a decade of coaching into bite-sized emails.

[wfslswk]

#TLDR
1) Make it easier to focus: for noise distructions - use white noise in headphones. For visual - Sit facing the wall or use screens. For mobile and social media -Get your mobile phone out of sight, exit from social media apps, turn off notifications;
2) Use Layering - read fast and lazy skipping everithing too complicated, looking for key words; then read second time adding details. Then third time.
3) Save your focus and mental fuel - monitor your level of concentration and when it starts to fall do active rest or do symplier task;

[pemjoy]

I tried your method of delayed note taking and I must say, I remember 80% more, which is a lot I wasted 1 year taking notes and learning nothing .... Thank you ❣️

[heyowassup]

Use break time more effectively
keep in find what you're doing is what u should be doing
protect, increase your focus
learn sth new: break up it into layers- easy to difficult- keywords

learn sth before you're ready

[SvenAERTS]

Yes and ... listen to your brain, be friends with it, it is you and wants to help you. If it signals "tired" - it's probably that it's striatum/hippocampus = temporary memory gets overloaded and needs a couple of minutes/19 minutes of sleep to - so it can write it to more longer term memory regions and empty the striatum for another load of info.
Do a 30 seconds of intense cardio (e.g. stair climbing) x 3 sessions to produce some BDNF - Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor - which helps neural branching growth = the physical neurons making new contacts and schema from where those memories can re-emerge.

[AhmetKaan]

*To all the dreamers out there, don't ever let the world's negativity disenchant you or your spirit. If you surround yourself with love and right people, ANYTHING is possible.* 🙏🖤

[polobank]

Happy new year of 2022. This year I got lot to learn from dr. Justin. So sir plz keep uploading your brain to us!

[aleks_o]

i love watching your videos, some of the principles and strategies you teach are almost exact parallels to insights and methods I've developed for how I study. for instance, my process for soaking in a text book, ( or article, paper, etc )

prep a framework for textbook.
1. insert color coded pages in between pages and
2. a few pages at end of chapter for a summary outline.
Each color corresponding to things i will extracting

example,

WHITE - brain dump ( ADD mind ) jot down mind clutter, distractions, ideas, associations, todos

BLUE - COMPREHEND compare/ contrat with familiar, make distinctions, narrow/ articulate, mindmap, opinions, questions, rebuttals, etc, etc.

GREEN - book TERMS, definitions. sometimes, I'll copy exact sentence. like tracing a picture. then right after, I'll put it in my own words.
list down real life example ( if possible )
makes things concrete.

at first, i run through it rapidly. my brain doesn't like slow. will get fixated on trying to comprehend trivial detail. dumbs me down.

I will miss lots of information on first few cycles. that's Ok. think of a net. first I capture big shark fish. on next rounds, I catch smaller and smaller fishes ( details ). at some point curiosity passes threshold point where I engage, can attune/ hyperfocus on micro detail stuff .

use sticky notes over passage as an embededed flashcards and mini tests for next cycles/ or review. I'll write out clozes, multiple choice, draw out question in cue form

run through few cycles per session, alternating between
FOCUS mode and
DIFFUSE mode ( aka breaks; digest, integrate ).



each time I revisit book/ chapters, I refine lil notes as I re encounter them ( active learning ). this could be rephrasing wording, correcting, new insight, association, expanding on, modifying, or deleting notes if I change my mind

..dots connect

for each cycle, i read through content with refreshed eyes as if it's new all over again. though using knowledge from prior review (s) and integrate/ merge with current knowledge ( getting latest update ).



bonus fun part.
use cards to draw sequenced stories based off main ideas, like if it was a little movie.

I find this works as an instant knowledge restorer for when I haven't opened the book in months and have to restore memories that have decayed from the conscious.

i think of reviewing story pictures as a foundational layer

right after, I run down through my notes of definitions, and descriptions. words are like the secondary extracted layer ( narrowed/ articulated ) that sit on top of pictures

[pramodhsrihari]

Thank you for your videos Justin, I'm working on trying to apply this to my daily studying, your whole channel is very eye-opening, nobody else really talks about this kind of stuff. Thanks!

[johnbanda]

Happy new year family. I am thankful for all the lessons I have learnt from you sir. I am ready to learn more this year.

[framemaxxer]

such beautiful content, really helping me improve, i feel like this stuff is pretty ground-breaking...

like seriously, the whole "studying" for long period but learning literally nothing or a really disproportionate amount is so relatable, i had countless days of "grinding" where id spent 6-8 hours in the library, and getting not that much done for such a long period...

alot of it was not being ready, learning extremely linearly like following the lecture slides etc... caring too much about neatless, and not strategically taking breaks...

[samidhapise]

Each piece of knowledge you give us is so relatable thank you

[ImprovementGang]

Hiding your phone out of sight is essential for most students. When it is hidden, it restricts the need to go and open see what is there to be entertained with. This is a simple yet huge gamechanger.

[AhmetKaan]

*5 things to quit right now:*

*1. Overthinking*
*2. Trying to make everyone happy*
*3. Living in the past*
*4. Worrying*
*5. Doubting yourself*

[genesisgonzalezmarrugo]

I´m about to start med school and I´m glad that I found your channel. There out are a lot of information that actually doesn´t work at all, you´re the first one I´ve seen talking about this. Keep like this, thanks very much!

[katiesill]

Just discovered your channel, and I love your content so far about general efficiency, prioritization, etc. I've been out of school now for about 15 years, but I have always struggled with prioritization and preventing overwhelm and exhaustion at work and in life - swinging widely from super-focused hyperproductivity (like smashing a project in a few hours) to exhausted unfocused inefficient time where I either do nothing or do the wrong things. Would love to see more content about how to manage competing priorities, maintaining non-urgent maintenance systems when they aren't as exciting as the bigger projects but are just as important, making hard strategic decisions, building consistency and good habits, strengthening discipline, etc. Also how to keep track of MANY different projects and systems in an efficient way where you don't waste all your time on setting up and maintaining the organization itself (does that make sense?). Just a few ideas for content that might appeal to a wide audience. All the youtubers I have found so far seem like they haven't had to apply their techniques in the "real world" - your content feels real and evidence based, and that you've tested these techniques in a legitimately overwhelming situation to make it manageable.

[kutolitanielu]

I literally yawned right after you said "tired"😭 But good sir, these videos are a big save for us students. I just had to dig a bit deeper to find somewhere else, to really grasp an alternative technique of studying other than spaced repetition. And I am not disappointed to have found you!

[janislavbrickwell]

Thank you for all your great work!
I must admit that I often have difficulty applying the techniques and don‘t know whether I do them right. I find myself still focusing to much on Active Recall and Spaced Repetition and less on the bigger picture.

My question would be:
Do you have any tips to practice the techniques separately from the material associated with old habits?

[StephenAndrichuk]

I would suggest brown or pink noise over white noise for helping with focus. White noise is 100% random at all frequencies, where those other 2 reduce the levels of the higher frequencies of the white noise.

[frankbongio]

Hello Justin! Thanks for all your videos and happy new year! I've been applying your teachings to my studies. Especially mind mapping the right way you teach and increasing cognitive load. One of the roadblocks I've encountered was a bit in the dicipline department regarding mind maps. With what I used to do which was tons of SRS, there was an aliviation of anxiety in the sense that it was automatically given to me of what I should study. I do what the algorithm says, even if it's inefficient, and I can relax when it's done. But with mind maps and taking less notes and having less active recall I feel it's less clear to me when should I stop mind map self-testing.

I though about what you said about "combining mind maps and Spaced repetition". I numbered and catalogued each mind map I have in a notebook and made anki flashcards that say "go through your head X mind map." And then I'll try to come up with it on my mind and it does the job, though it feels a bit more weird than just answering the algorithm.Maybe it's just normal confusion though. Perhaps there are more also practical solutions/ideas on this mixture of SR and mind maps and dealing with this "when is it done for the day" feel? Thanks for everything :)