General Discussion

Absorption method:

• open textbook

• place forehead on paper

• fall asleep

• absorb information while unconscious

I was the top of my class during college and I wouldn't be without my study group. I got all the concepts easier than them, but having to force myself to explain it to them and take care that they understood it really cement the concepts. I'm doing an online MBA now, and I struggled during the first months because I had no study group, fortunately an extrovert adopted me into her chat group and with them I was able to come back to my Feynman method of study.

I don't see the manic-panic-cram it technique listed here.

Supplementary tips:

• Study under similar conditions as you will be tested (mimic lighting florescent/LED/Incandescent? Dim/Bright?, ideally study in the same room or in similar seats/room, sitting ofc, if you drink alcohol studying, drink for the test too - bad idea tho), ever leave a room and forget what you're doing? This effect applies for studying too
• avoid listening to music with lyrics (or anything with talking in it except study partners/TTS Textbooks etc.), significantly hampers brain efforts
• Associate your studies with a scent (ie: a cologne you only use for this purpose) and have that scent on you when you are being tested, scent is primal portion of brain strongly associated with memory
• be gratuitously friendly just before studying and writing a test (pay someone a compliment that makes them smile, hug a friend or willing colleague, etc...) this reduces stress and allow your brain to be less fight or flighty
• similar to previous, avoid caffeine. Ideally you should be well rested for both study sessions and the test, but if you insist (I understand completely if you do trust me) use it for both per the first point.
• be well hydrated for both studying and the test (don't forget to urinate before it begins though :P)

misstakes

I don't usually point out spelling errors but I'm enjoying the casual irony

Be cool if y’all did an ADHD version.

The peer review technique: try to cram it all the day before, fall miserably, use your sharp sense of observation to poll what others are answering. Also know as the Linguee protocol.

I use a combination of all of these and Anki-fy whatever makes sense to do so.

A bit dated descriptions FYI. The Flashcards should follow time based boxes and Pomodoro technique shouldn't be time based but goal based - interrupting mid chapter is worse than not taking a break.

That being said both flashcards and pomodoro breaks are still some of the best control techniques when done correctly! Been working remotely for almost 20 years now - tried everything :)

Another strategy: don't write notes during class. Actually listen super intently to the instructor, and always ask questions when something isn't clear. Sit near the front. Notetaking can be a distraction, even though it might feel productive at the time. It's mentally exhausting if you're in classes back to back, but I found that really intently focusing on what they're saying and realizing when you get lost helps a ton. Because once you get lost, the rest of the lesson becomes a lot less helpful and you have to spend time studying by yourself or in a group later without the ingrained context of the rest of the subject when it was originally presented.

Obviously doesn't work if the instructor is bad at teaching or you're in a really huge class.

I'm kinda old-fashioned, I just remember things.