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Month: October 2020

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To form a habit, it’s important to chunk your habits into a series of smaller tasks. For example, a morning routine can be considered a habit broken up into the following series of tasks:

  1. Get up at the same time every day
  2. Go to the same bathroom
  3. Brush my teeth
  4. Wash my face
  5. Moisturize

My habit begins with getting up and ends with moisturizing. Because I am used to completing the three steps in between those, it is hard to skip them as they are part of the habit. 

So, if you want to change a habit to wake up earlier, you should chunk your habit with a series of other actions. For instance, you can wake up at the desired time every day, drink a glass of water, and read the news for five or ten minutes. If you want to study every day at a certain time, start your habit with an action-step, like heading to your favorite study spot, check your to do list, get out your study materials, start studying, and end the habit with a quick review of your study session.

In short, a new habit sticks best when you incorporate it into a series of other habits.  This is because the part of your brain that is activated when you carry out a habit is excited at the beginning and end of a habit, so if you begin a habit it, it will be very hard for you to not finish it. 

If you’re interested in reading the neuroscience behind why, here is the article I used as a reference: https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/how-to-change-bad-habits-in-the-brain-psychology?utm_source=Dartmouth+News+Today&utm_campaign=b0b78cb2dc-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_09_25&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4ae973c30b-b0b78cb2dc-292818778

 

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Stage 1: Note-taking

This stage focuses on recording information, whether it’s spoken by your teacher or read in your textbook. Below are some tips.

  • Use the Cornell note-taking method. 
  • At the top of the page, write a concept question that your notes will help you answer.
  • Write points and details on the right side of the page. 
  • Use words you can understand when you look back at your notes.
  • Use shorthand, so you can write faster.
  • Write in phrases rather than complete sentences. 
  • Leave space between the main points, so you can add more information and revise later. 
  • Indicate key ideas, concept changes, and links between information (you can do this by drawing asterisks by the key idea, underlining, or highlighting).

Stage 2: Note-making:

In this stage, you will begin to think about why you’ve written your notes down, what questions do they answer? You will also make connections, test your knowledge, and begin the review process. 

  • Write the questions that your notes answer on the left side of the page. 
  • Link key chunks of information. 
  • Exchange notes and ideas with your peers and quiz each other.
  • Review!

 Stage 3 Note-interacting:

In stage 3, you will continue to test your understanding and review, and you will condense your notes into a summary. 

  • Write a summary of your notes that answers all of the questions you’ve written. 
  • Quiz yourself by covering the right side of your paper and answering the questions on the left.
  • Review! 

Stage 4 Note-reflecting:

Focus on problem areas and continue to review before your exam!

  • Use feedback from a professor and from being quizzed by a peer or yourself to figure out what you don’t fully know or understand yet. 
  • Spend more time learning and reviewing those concepts.
  • Regularly review your notes for a unit before your exam. Spending even five minutes to review is helpful.

References

https://theconversation.com/whats-the-best-most-effective-way-to-take-notes-41961