A Two-Step Process to Stop Forgetting What You Learn
Here’s what you should and shouldn’t do when studying.
Before tests, I’ve heard many of my classmates say something like this: “I studied for so long last night, but I still don’t remember anything!”
After a few more nights of “so much studying”, they end up either bombing the test or passing by just the thinnest of hairs.
So that makes me think: what are all those hours of studying for?
If you’re studying for hours without end, but you fail to get even the slightest grasp on a topic, there can only be one explanation.
You’re probably doing something wrong.
And I think I know what it is that you’re doing wrong.
The Detrimental Desire for Comfort
As humans, our brains are wired to crave comfort and enjoyment. So, we tend to avoid the circumstances that are the opposite of comfortable.
That’s why you easily succumb to the salivating smell of fresh, sugar-loaded cinnamon buns, but you struggle to even consider eating a salad.
(They look delicious, don’t they?)
The desire for comfort is also the reason why most students choose the wrong methods to learn new things.
Let’s talk about some of those bad study tactics.
- During class, students rely on copying down the bullet points from the PowerPoint presentation, rather than trying to understand the concepts.
- At home, they rely on re-reading the textbook and the notes they copied down in class, instead of consolidating the information in their brains.
- And I haven’t even mentioned the constant distractions, like their phones, which never allow them to get into the “study zone”.
The problem is that all these “study tactics” are based on comfort, avoiding the difficult work of actually learning.
It’s easy to copy notes word-for-word, re-read the textbook, or check your bestie’s Instagram post one more time.
That’s because your brain isn’t working all that hard — you’re making no real effort to engrain the information into your brain folds.
Not working hard is easy…but it’s also addictive.
So here’s the unfortunate truth: these “easy” study habits that students have developed are simply dooming their chances for academic success.
In reality, studying isn’t easy. At least when you start out.
The good news is that if studying is hard, then you know that you must be doing the right thing — learning.
The Right Way to Learn
There are two general steps for the best way to learn — let’s call them Input and Output.
Step 1: Input
Input describes the learning stage — you input information. Reading a book, listening to a speech, or watching a video, whatever you have to do.
This sounds easy, right?
Not quite.
To learn well, you have to put 100% of your focus on the task of learning. The quality of the input has to be as high as possible.
Therefore, you have to limit, if not completely eliminate, all distractions around you.
With even the slightest distractions, your mind will run away from whatever you’re learning, and it will be very difficult to get it back on track.
If you let your mind run loose, you won’t learn or understand anything.
It might even get to the point where you’re forgetting what you just read on the previous page.
Here are three key ways to eliminate unnecessary distractions:
- Put any distracting devices, like a phone, out of your sight and reach. It’s best to give the devices to someone who will keep them away from you until you’re done studying.
- Dedicate only one or two suitable locations for studying. If you always go somewhere new, then the novelty of the new location will be a constant distraction.
- Leave your study area as little as possible so that you can keep a concentrated flow state for as long as possible. Leaving the study area is only another reason for you to find distractions.
After minimizing any distractions, start learning in the following order: understand first, then memorize.
At first, you must try to get a broad understanding of a topic.
It will be the easiest to learn, and only once you’ve mastered the fundamentals, then you can dive deeper and memorize the finer details.
Step 2: Output
Output involves taking the information that should be fresh in your mind, and using that information in some way that solidifies it in your memory.
There are numerous extremely effective ways of going about this:
- Writing summaries of concepts (without looking at the study material)
- Doing practice questions and tests
- Reviewing flashcards
- Teaching others
In all these examples, you extract the information from your brain folds before putting it somewhere outside your brain, like a piece of paper.
Called active recall, this is the sole most effective learning method because you actively use the information, instead of letting it sit around and gather dust in the attic.
Most students fail to grasp an in-depth understanding of concepts because they spend little to no time in the output phase — they don’t use what they learn.
As a result, they forget everything quickly.
After all, use it or lose it.
Because the output is so important, I’d recommend that you spend twice as much time on output as you do on input. You need to spend lots of time practicing the knowledge so that it really stays in your brain.
Just think about it.
You didn’t learn how to ride a bike by reading how to do it, did you? You learned by actually getting on the bike and trying it out.
So, start focusing more on the output to test whether you really know the information. When you do, you should see drastic improvements in your recall.
I mean, there’s a reason good teachers know so much about a topic — they spend so much time outputting what they learn.
Before you go ahead and try these effective study tactics, be warned: this can be very difficult and daunting at first.
Extracting new information from your brain and putting it onto paper or into words involves much higher focus and concentration.
That is, it involves much more effort than copying and re-reading.
With that in mind, never be discouraged when studying seems difficult — practice will make it easier.
Just don’t give up.
And don’t be afraid of working hard. The effort will pay off.
