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Introduction to Developing Smart Study Habits

Whether we are learning at school or on the job, one thing is very clear - we need more than just effective study skills to keep us ahead of the pack, and on top of the material we are required to learn and master. Don’t get me wrong, learning effective study skills is a very important component, however, study skills alone won’t make you a great learner. Your first and primary goal - when it comes to your studies - is to develop Smart Study Habits that will naturally promote and enhance your learning experience. This post will discuss these habits in some detail and provide you with interesting tips and suggestions to assist you in gaining the most out of the study skills you utilize.

First we will take a look at setting up your ideal learning environment. We will identify the important characteristics that you MUST set into place, and provide you with effective guidelines that will naturally promote a deeper and more profound learning experience. Secondly, we will take a look at the concept of well-being and help you to understand how to improve your study regime through healthy habits that will enhance your thinking and improve your energy levels. Thirdly, we will break down the process of getting into an ideal learning state that will dramatically Accelerate Your Learning Potential. We will specifically take a look at things you MUST do and areas you should be focusing on prior to beginning your studies. Finally, we will zoom in on the benefits and process of taking regular study breaks. By the end of this discussion you should have a thorough and complete understanding of what it truly takes to create Smart Study Habits that will naturally enhance and Accelerate Your Learning Potential.

This Smart Study Habits Study Matrix / Mind Map is available as a free desktop wallpaper download at the SMX Art Store.

See more upcoming topics from this series by visiting the SMX Spotlight page.

Please note that this post is for information purposes only. Please seek the guidance of your physician before undertaking any strenuous exercise or nutritional program.

1. Creating Your Ideal Study Environment

The environment that you choose to use for study purposes is equally as important, if not more important, than any study skills you utilize to help you Accelerate Your Learning Potential. In this section of the Mind Map we will discuss some of the important characteristics of your study environment that you must attend to - and potentially improve upon - in order to create a supportive and healthy environment that will promote more effective learning. By taking the time to setup your study environment, will assist you immeasurably with developing Smart Study Habits. Here is a list of things you must begin to focus on:

• Your Environment Must… - Your study environment must in essence promote ease and relaxation, however not so much that it puts you to sleep Creating a relaxing environment involves a combination of visual, auditory, gustatory and physical objects that naturally relax and promote a deeper state of learning. Your environment should also motivate and inspire you to reach new heights and levels of learning excellence. This may involve hanging up inspiring pictures, photos or setting up your environment with tools and materials that make you more efficient and effective during your learning cycle. It doesn’t really matter how you choose to spice up your environment, as long as it helps to motivate, inspire and promote your personal growth and well-being.
  

• Environmental Characteristics - Here is a list of characteristics that you must focus on in order to create an ideal study environment that will promote relaxation, motivation, inspiration and personal growth.

Low in Stress - First of all, you must remove all stress inducing stimuli from your environment. This could be physical objects, sounds, smells and anything else that distracts you or causes feelings of stress and uneasiness. Particularly pay attention to colors. Very bright colors such as reds and yellows naturally stimulate thinking, however they can also trigger higher levels of stress on an unconscious level of awareness. Moreover, dark colors such as blacks, dark grays and browns are probably the most unwelcome colors if you seek to Accelerate Your Learning Potential and achieve high levels of study effectiveness. If the walls or objects of the room within which you conduct your studies are riddled with these colors, than it is highly recommended that you do not study within this environment, or alternatively consider a room makeover.

Authentically Pleasing - Your study environment must be authentically pleasing to your senses. Studies have shown time and again that the most ideal colors that promote prolonged learning are pastel blues and greens. These are very calming and soothing colors that will help inspire you and potentially reduce built up levels of stress. By designing your study area around these pastel colors, you will create a natural learning aura within your environment that will bring a sense of calm and creativity to your studies. Setting up an authentically pleasing study environment also goes back to the concept of motivation and inspiration. If for instance you find inspiration within the natural wonders of our mother earth, than setup your environment accordingly with pictures and paintings of beautiful panoramas, or simply purchase some indoor plants and strategically position them around your study area. Your imagination is your only limitation.

Enhances Personal Learning Style - We will be discussing personal learning styles and other advanced study skills in an upcoming SMX Spotlight Mind Map. However, for the purpose of this discussion it is important to realize and understand that you have intrinsic personal study preferences that naturally enhance and accelerate your learning. Your environment must be designed and setup in a way that naturally promotes and encourages your ability to learn through your personal learning style preferences. This involves a combination of space, tools, utilizing organization strategies and other equipment that will make learning a lot more fun and enjoyable. I won’t go into any further details here, as we will be dedicating a full SMX Spotlight Mind Map to advanced study skills in the future.

Has Adequate Amount of Ventilation, Light & Water - The air we breathe, the light we receive and the water we ingest are vital and critical components to the human species. Without these 3 essentials we cannot function and will simply cease to exist. If your study environment does not have adequate amounts of all 3 essentials than you will suffer the consequences with unproductive study time and ineffective learning habits. The ventilation or oxygen you inhale has to be of the highest quality. Sitting around in a stuffy environment will simply lead to a stuffy and foggy brain. Opening a window (even just a little bit) will go a long way towards improving your thinking. Light is another critical component to effective learning. Essentially, you are looking for natural light that comes from the sun. If this light isn’t available, than a light box will do the trick. If your environment is dark and murky it will accelerate the feelings of tiredness, procrastination and laziness. Therefore, always make sure that you have adequate natural lighting at all times. However, when it comes to sunlight, don’t misconstrue this suggestion as meaning that you must have direct sunlight shining into your study environment. This isn’t the case. Instead, adequate amounts of indirect sunlight reflecting off other external objects is probably a better alternative. Finally, don’t choke your body with caffeine or alcoholic drinks during your studies. You should in essence have a fresh jug of pure filtered water that is of room temperature on your table or desk at all times. Water is essential to counter dehydration of your brain. This is why it is very important to regularly sip water throughout your day to keep your mind fresh and active.

Organized - Spend some time organizing your environment from top to bottom in a way that will boost your effectiveness, efficiency and productivity. An unorganized environment simply makes learning more difficult. Disorganization means that you must spend valuable time searching for things that have been misplaced or thrown away accidentally. This is pretty much the essence of procrastination, a deadly trap that sneaks up on us when we least expect it. Clean up your environment today by finding a place for everything including books, stationary, materials, resources and anything else you need on hand to help improve your productivity and learning. You should essentially have all the tools you need for your studies at an arm’s reach away. Visit your local store and purchase some small containers, drawers, a file cabinet, and other small stationary materials that will dramatically improve your organization and systemization. Treat your study environment as a small business that needs to be organized from top to bottom in order for it to function effectively and promote a deeper and more profound experience of learning.

Soothing to the Ears & Nose - Your environment must promote a soothing and somewhat tranquil experience. Your clarity of thought is either enhanced or distracted through the smells and sounds that you allow to settle within your study environment. Take some time to really get to know your brain and determine what will sooth it into a deep state of learning. Also identify and find soothing music or natural environment sounds that you could potentially play in the background as you undergo your studies. Moreover, conduct some further research into the power of smells and essential oils. Some essential oils are well known for their relaxation properties and naturally calm the mind and promote clarity of thought. Organizing some essential oils and an oil burner, could well be one of the most intelligent decisions you make when it comes to creating your ideal learning environment.

Minimizing all Distractions - Sometimes it’s not so much what you add to your study environment that makes the biggest difference, it is rather what you remove from your environment that determines how successfully your study session unfolds. Your environment should essentially be a Distraction Free Zone. This means removing absolutely all people, noise, and visual movement distractions. Remove people by closing your door, or at least shading yourself away from them in someway by using a curtain or something similar that will put a line of separation between you and these distractions. Also filter out all distracting external noises as much as possible. If you cannot remove these noises than simply fill your environment with music, nature sounds or even a tricking water fountain that will dull external noises and promote a deeper and more fulfilling learning state. Finally, remove all moving distractions from your study environment. Anything that moves or shuffles around within your environment will distract you and pull you away from maintaining your ideal learning state. This could be people, pets, or even those little desk accessories that we tend to play with a little too often and too much.

Comfortable - Finally, your environment must be comfortable. For the purpose of this discussion, comfort is created in 3 distinct ways. First of all the room temperature of your study environment must be comfortable and on the slightly cool side. The higher the temperature gauge rises, the lazier your brain becomes, and the more effort it takes to achieve your ideal learning state. A solution for this is to keep the temperature slightly on the cool side, encouraging you to wear more than just a t-shirt. The second guideline to achieving comfort has to do with the clothes you wear while you are studying. Ideally your clothes should be loose, soft and smooth to the touch. If on the other hand you are wearing tight and harsh clothing, than this will likely slow down the circulation of blood to your brain and create discomfort and irritation. Finally, make sure that your desk and seat are as comfortable as possible - allowing you to study for extended periods of time without too much trouble.

2. Smart Study Habits Leading to a Greater Sense of Well-being

There is no doubting that our health and well-being are closely tied to our clarity of thought. In previous SMX Spotlight Mind Maps we have touched upon key nutritional topics that help us to promote better and clearer thinking. For this discussion we will once again take a look at this critical area as it pertains to developing Smart Study Habits. First, we will take a look at our Mental Diet, including the suppressants and stimulants that guide and transform our thinking patterns on a moment-by-moment basis. Finally, we will quickly touch upon the importance of exercise and how it can be applied to the process of developing Smart Study Habits.

• Common Thinking Suppressants - We must be very careful and aware not to fall into the habit of consuming foods and beverages that are likely to sabotage our study regime. Here is a quick look at the types of foods and beverages you should avoid at all costs, including the pitfalls of not following this advice.

Types - Within a few hours of undertaking your study regime, make sure to avoid consuming the following foods and beverages - carbohydrates, caffeine, large meals, white bread, starches, dairy, fries, sugars and alcohol.

Promote - All the above foods and beverages can sabotage your learning by promoting foggy thinking, sluggishness, limiting concentration levels, dulling your senses, and stimulating tiredness. Even though caffeine initially works as a stimulant to promote a greater clarity of thought, it however very shortly becomes a suppressant that dehydrates your body and leads you down a fatiguing spiral of ever deeper feelings of sluggishness.

• Common Thinking Stimulants - Developing Smart Study Habits requires a personal and intimate understanding of the body brain connection, which allows you to make effective decisions that will naturally promote and improve your ability to think more effectively and creatively. Likewise, these stimulants also naturally promote and enhance your Energy Levels. The following list of supplements and foods have been shown to improve thinking and encourage better concentration throughout a person’s study regime.

Supplements - Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin E, Lecithin, Sodium, Magnesium, Iron, Potassium, Chloride, Copper and Zinc, all work together to stimulate the brain and improve thinking ability. However, please be aware that moderation is the key. In the meantime please consult with your nutritionist for further information and guidelines about the supplements that you should be taking to improve your thinking.

Foods - All veggies and fruits, proteins found in salmon, beans and meats are known for their stimulating effect on the thinking processes of the brain. Studies have actually shown that by eating the protein portion of your meals first, you will naturally enhance your thinking abilities. We won’t go into any more detail about this topic here, as a future SMX Spotlight will cover the aspects of nutrition in a greater amount of detail.

• Partaking in a Regular Exercise Regime - I’m sure we have all heard experts talking about the fundamental connections between the body and brain. Essentially what this means is that whatever you do to your body will effect your brain and thinking patterns, and likewise, the thoughts that you feed your brain will influence your body in immeasurable ways. For the purpose of building Smart Study Habits, it is important to understand the importance of exercise in promoting higher energy levels and a greater clarity of thought. Exercise is an essential aspect of life that we must incorporate into our daily routine. It effectively improves your oxygen intake and releases unwanted tension and stress out of the body. Mixing up your weekly exercise routine with aerobic activity, strength training and stretching is the most sensible strategy to follow. In addition to this, you should also be exercising your brain to enhance your thinking and memory. We will delve into more detail about the topic of Exercise in a future SMX Spotlight Mind Map.

3. Finding Your Ideal Learning State

Having already setup your ideal learning environment and laid down the foundations of implementing effective well-being habits, you are now ready to delve head first into the process of developing your ideal learning state to dramatically Accelerate Your Learning Potential. Finding your ideal learning state is something that initially requires a little work, time and effort. However, once established you will be able to trigger this state in an instant and turn your mind and body into a very effective study machine. Here are some suggestions that will get you started on the right track:

• What to do Before You Begin Learning - It is very important to undertake the following steps before plunging head first into your studies. Initially these steps might feel cumbersome, however over time they will become an important and integral part of your study regime that will strengthen your resolve and enhance the learning experience.

Set Goals - Setting Smart Study Goals is always the very first place to begin your journey towards mastering any subject area. We have already discussed the process of goal setting in a previous SMX Spotlight Mind Map. We will therefore only briefly touch upon the subject here. First of all, your goals must be set by following the S.M.A.R.T. F.O.R. M.E. process of goal setting. Your goals must therefore be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timed, focused, optimistic, ready, meaningful and exciting. Following on from this, you must also put into place a rewards system that will help motivate you as you achieve the various steps of your goals successfully. Simply, reward yourself each time you move a step along your journey towards attaining your goals and objectives. However, please be careful not to allow this reward process to distract you from your goal or from the remainder of the actions you must take to bring your objectives to fruition. Once you have set your goals, it is a good idea to Future Pace the Outcome you will now be working towards. Do this by closing your eyes and seeing yourself already having achieved your goal at some point in the future. Now, gradually pace yourself back in time, slowly to the present moment while envisioning all the steps you took that allowed you to attain this goal. We will discuss this process in more detail at another time.

Calm Your Mind & Relax Your Body - You have now set your goals, and are ready to begin sinking into that ideal learning state that will effectively enhance your learning experience. The first step is to learn to relax your body and mind. You will simply never enter your ideal learning state if your body is stressed or over stimulated with thoughts and unresourceful emotions. Your best and most ideal strategy is to take some time to calm your mind and body before undertaking the learning process. Do this by playing some calming background music while you sit or lie down quietly breathing deeply and bathing yourself fully within this moment of relaxation. Move through this process for about 5 minutes before proceeding to the next stage.

The Process for Creating an Ideal Learning State - As you enjoy the bliss of this relaxed state you now find yourself in; slowly bring to mind a positive and successful learning experience that you once lived through. Make sure that this memory represents an empowering learning experience where you successfully overcome certain obstacles or challenges that eventually lead to a positive and outstanding result that made you feel intelligent, creative and in control of your destiny. Really take the time to close your eyes and visualize this experience utilizing the power of all your senses. See what it was like, hear the sounds, feel the emotions, taste the aura of the moment and smell the scent of the feelings that made this learning experience stand out in your mind. Now, take the time to intensify this experience even further by enhancing your sensory memory of this period in ways that will promote excitement and invigorate your body. When you feel that you have achieved a peak emotional learning state - a moment where you are completely and utterly bathed within this learning experience - immediately create an anchor or trigger word that you will use to instantly create these feelings of learning at a later time. An anchor is something that can be attached to your body. It is basically a place you tap or touch yourself each and every time you experience the feelings of this enhanced learning state. At the same time while you are tapping your body, utilize a word to describe this experience such as “YES” or “I am in my Zone”. Vocally shout this word or phrase as you tap or touch a part of your body - repeating for several minutes. When this process is completed successfully, you will have entered your ideal learning state, which will promote a deeper and far more accelerated process of learning. Each time you repeat this process you will enhance this memory, and eventually all you will need to do - to put yourself into this enhanced and ideal learning state - is simply trigger the anchor you originally created. The simple act of touching or tapping this specific part of your body and saying your trigger word out loud, will automatically put you into your ideal learning state. We will discuss more about anchors and state creation in a future SMX Spotlight Mind Map. For now practice this process over and over again until your ideal learning state is automatically triggered by the anchors you create.

• Prerequisites for Achieving an Ideal Learning State - Along with the process discussed above, there are also 5 other prerequisites that will assist you in getting into your ideal learning state. Here is a break down of each one of them.

Build Positive Expectations - In order to be successful with your learning, you must in essence develop a sense of positive expectation and confidence about the material you are studying. To do this you must first convince yourself that this material will be easy to learn and master. The amount of belief you develop within yourself about this process will be a key component to how effectively you learn when you begin your study regime. We will discuss more about the Belief process and setting empowering beliefs in a future SMX Spotlight Mind Map.

Build a Burning Desire - Developing an underlying burning desire that will keep you studying even when things turn sour, is a very important fundamental aspect that will help to boost your learning experience. The question you should be asking yourself here is - What will I gain from learning this material? Determining what you will gain from the subject you are about to study will keep you persisting forward when things get a little difficult or tough to handle. Simply reflect on all the areas of your life and determine how this material will help to enhance these aspects of your daily existence - today, tomorrow and moving into the future.

Build Unstoppable Motivation - Developing unstoppable motivation is closely tied to the process of building a burning desire. When it comes to enhancing your levels of motivation about a specific topic or subject area that you are about to study, begin by asking yourself - How will learning this subject benefit me personally? Again, here you are looking at both short and long-term benefits that are directly linked to your needs and wants. Take a moment to close your eyes or simply jot down on paper all the ways you will benefit from learning this information. Later on when you feel as though you are lacking in motivation, simply refer to this list and reflect on your notes seeing in your mind’s eye in vivid detail the benefits that this subject has for your current circumstances and future life experience.

Build a Sense of Anticipation - Building a sense of anticipation is a great strategy for fighting off the procrastination bug. To develop anticipation you need to ask yourself - Why is learning this material important for me? Again, make a list of all the things you can think of that make learning this subject, topic or information worth your time and effort. The more detail you put into creating this list, the greater sense of anticipation you will build over the long-term.

Build Relevance to Your Life - Finally, before undertaking your studies, you must go through the process of building up the relevance factor of this material to your life. As we go through school we usually fail to fully assimilate the information we learn because we simply do not see it as being relevant to our lives. However, by asking yourself the right kinds of questions, you can indeed build relevance, which means that the subject you are studying will be far more likely to be assimilated and integrated into your long-term memory processes. To create relevance, simply ask yourself the following questions:

What do I already know about this material I am about to study?

What don’t I know, and what questions do I have about it?

What potential skills will I acquire by taking the time to learn this material?

How will these skills benefit me, and what will they allow me to do today and in the future?

How applicable is all of this to my life?

4. The Importance of Taking Study Breaks

The final step along your journey towards creating Smart Study Habits, is to acquire an understanding of the importance of incorporating regular study breaks into your study regime. The following section will break down this process and provide you with a few suggestions that will point you in the right direction.

• Study Break Benefits - Taking regular and planned study breaks is known to relieve tiredness while improving absorption of the material you are studying. Your brain works much like a library - cataloging information into relevant categories and topics as you absorb and learn new material. This is all well and good if we are learning in small and manageable chunks. However, the moment we begin flooding our brain with too much information - at one time - is the moment when unfortunate congestion begins to occur. If you have ever experienced the feelings of overwhelm, than you know how frustrating this feeling can get - the consequences of prolonged overwhelm can lead to a lot of stress and procrastination. Did you know that your brain remembers absolutely everything that you ever see, read, hear, touch, taste, etc? Yet, most of this information is never correctly cataloged into topics and categories that make it easy to remember and recall. The major benefit of taking study breaks is that it allows the brain time to order and organize the information you are learning in small manageable chunks that can then be located and recalled at a future date.

• The Study Break Process - Here is a simplified version of the ideal study break process. You may feel at times that you do not need to take a break, or that you simply do not have time to step away from your studies. In essence, study breaks are not designed to be taken when you are feeling tired or overwhelmed. Instead, they should be taken before the feelings of overwhelm or fatigue take control of your body and mind. Study breaks are designed as a tool to keep your body and brain fresh in ways that will improve long-term memory and help better categorize the information you are learning for more effective memory recall. Here is a quick three point break down of the process:

Study for 25 minutes - Studies have shown time and again that the human brain cannot fully concentrate on a specific topic for extended periods of time over 20 to 25 minutes. Even though throughout your study regime you may feel as though you are still within your learning ZONE - you may in fact be slowly moving out of your ZONE, and therefore becoming gradually less focused and productive as the minutes tick by. However, if you chunk your study time into 25 minute blocks, you will find that your brain will be far more centered, relaxed and focused as a result. Another reason to keep your study chunks to no more than 25 minutes, is because we naturally tend to remember and recall most of the information we learn at the beginning and at the very end of our study chunks. This means, that if you extend your study chunks to over 60 minutes, that there will likely be more information within the middle of this study chunk that is likely to be misplaced or forgotten.

Take a Break for 5 minutes - Your breaks should in essence be no longer than 5 minutes. The reason for this time frame is that you want to take a break from your studies, however you don’t want to distract yourself from them. Your break must be utilized in ways that will settle your mind and effectively allow you to integrate the information you have just learned during your most recent study chunk. There are a number of effective options you could take here. The first is to simply lie down with your head slightly tilted towards the ground (this will allow for more blood to flow to your brain). In this relaxed position simply close your eyes and allow your mind to just gently drift over the material you have been learning. It is important not to try and force yourself to remember what you were studying, but rather watch your thoughts as though observing clouds passing by through the sky. Incorporating deep breathing exercises will further enhance this process and allow you to better assimilate the information you have been learning. The second option you have is to simply take a walk and remove yourself from your study environment. However, it is important not to distract yourself by watching television, listening to the radio or talking with others. Just walk quietly and gently reflect on the information you have just learned.

Conduct a Review for 5 minutes - When you get back to your studies it is critical that you do a quick 5 minute review of the material you studied during your most recent study chunk. This will further help to assimilate this subject into your long-term memory storage banks and assist you in creating strong associations to existing information within your brain. Please do not overlook the importance of this 5 minute review, as it is an absolutely critical component of the learning process. As a final thought, you should also conduct a longer 25 minute review of the material after you have successfully cycled through 5 study chunks.

In this day and age, developing Smart Study Habits is no longer a choice, it is rather a prerequisite and an essential complimentary process to effective and accelerated learning. You will gain in extraordinary ways by physically taking the time to develop these Smart Study Habits and incorporating them into your study regime. They will not only better prepare your mind for the process of learning, but will also unquestionably transform your personal approach to thinking about what you are learning.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and if you have any further thoughts, ideas, reflections or suggestions about this topic, than please feel free to comment below.

Further Reading… Recommended Free Articles and Online Resources

Here are a number of highly recommended free articles and online resources that will further help expand your understanding about this topic:

• Several Lessons to be Learned from the Finnish School System @ Open Education
• The Ultimate Student Resource List @ Lifehack
• 12 Tips to Improve Your Study Habits Next Term @ Pick the Brain

Recommended Books from Amazon

• Study Smarter, Not Harder by Kevin Paul
• What Smart Students Know: Maximum Grades, Optimum Learning, Minimum Time by Adam Robinson
• How to Study by Ron Fry

If you would like to download a copy of Smart Study Habits Mind Map, it is available as a desktop download from the SMX Art Store in standard and wide screen resolution formats. You will also find other SMX Spotlight Mind Maps under the SMX Spotlights Category within the SMX Art Store.

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