How to Concentrate During Your Study Time

Study time is an essential factor in learning your lessons. It requires you to concentrate and focus your mind.Concentration is very important because without this you cannot absorb what you are reading. But in reality many of us while trying to concentrate are occupied with some other thoughts. It could be the latest movie, a basketball game or even your personal life. Sometimes problems could also interfere with our concentration.

To free yourself with the aforesaid distractions, it is a must for you to acquire a skill of discipline and self-control. Remember it is you who has the power to make things or to make it not happen. Hence when its time to study, you must take charge of the things around you or in the place where you study. This means you should have a study table, enough lightning and a peaceful environment. If you manage to have this in your place, it could help you focus on your study.

Another important point you should consider to ensure concentration on your study time is to think first of what you need to learn and accomplish. Make an outline then give yourself a break to recharge your energy. Once you have accomplished your study goal for the day give yourself a reward like eating your favourite dessert.

How To Memorize Things Quicker Than Other People

People like to joke that the only thing you really “learn” in school is how to memorize. As it turns out, that’s not even the case for most of us. If you go around the room and ask a handful of people how to memorize things quickly, most of them will probably tell you repetition.

That is so far from the truth, it’s running for office. If you want to memorize something quickly and thoroughly, repetition won’t cut it; however, recalling something will. The problem is that recalling something requires learning, and we all learn in different ways. Below are some universal steps to mastering the art of recalling so that you can start memorizing a ton of data in a short amount of time.

Step 1: Preparation
To optimize your memorization session, pay close attention to which environment you choose. For most people, this means choosing an area with few distractions, though some people do thrive off of learning in public areas. Figure out what is most conducive to your learning so that you can get started.

Next, start drinking some tea. I could link you to mounds of scientific studies that confirm green tea as a natural catalyst for improving memory. Mechanically speaking, our ability to recall information comes down to the strength between neurons in our mind, which are connected by synapses. The more you exercise the synapse (repetition), the stronger it is, resulting in the ability to memorize.

Step 2: Record What You’re Memorizing

This is especially useful if you’re trying to memorize information from a lecture. Use a tape recorder to track all of the acquired facts being spoken and listen to it. If you’re trying to memorize a speech, record yourself reading the speech aloud and listen to yourself speaking. Obviously, this is most helpful for auditory learners, but it’s also handy because it ensures that you’re getting more context from a lecture that will help you learn the information faster.

Step 3: Write Everything Down

Before you start trying to recall everything from memory, write and re-write the information. This will help you become more familiar with what you’re trying to memorize. Doing this while listening to your tape recorder can also help you retain a lot of the data. This is most useful for experiential learners.

Step 4: Section your notes

Now that you have everything written down in one set of notes, separate them into sections. This is ideal for visual learners, especially if you use color coding to differentiate between subjects. This will help you break everything down and start compartmentalizing the information being recorded in your brain.

Step 5: Apply repetition to cumulative memorization

For each line of text, repeat it a few times and try to recall it without looking. As you memorize each set of text, be cumulative by adding the new information to what you’ve just learned. This will keep everything within your short-term memory from fading. Keep doing this until you have memorized that section and you are able to recall the entire thing. Do not move on to another section until you have memorized that one completely. This is mostly visual learning, but if you are speaking aloud, then you are also applying auditory.

Step 6: Write it down from memory

Now that you can recall entire sections, write everything down from memory. This will reinforce everything you just have just learned by applying it experientially.

Step 7: Teach it to someone (or yourself)

The most effective method for me when I was in school was to teach the information to someone else. You can do this in a variety of ways. You can lecture the knowledge to someone sitting right in front of you (or the mirror, if you can’t convince anyone to sit through it) and explain everything extemporaneously. If what you’ve learned needs to be recited verbatim, then do this in front of someone as well in order to get a feel for what it will be like to recite the text to the intended audience.

Step 8: Listen to the recordings continuously

While doing unrelated tasks like laundry or driving, go over the information again by listening to your tape recordings. This is certainly auditory learning, but it will still supplement everything you’ve shoved into your short-term memory.

Step 9: Take a break

Finally, let your mind breathe. Go for a short time without thinking about what you just learned and come back to it later on. You’ll find out what you really know, of course, and this will help you focus on the sections you might be weakest at.

Tips For Networking at Events

These days we learn more about networking on social media than we do networking in real life situations. Here John Corcoran of Dumb Little Man and former Clinton White House Writer shares five tips for face-to-face networking at events:

Social media is hot. Everyone is talking about Facebook, Twitter, and every other social media site under the sun. These are great tools for building and maintaining relationships. But they aren’t everything. When it comes to developing powerful relationships, social media is still no substitute for old-fashioned, face-to-face networking.

In-person networking is simply one of the best activities you can engage in for your career or your business, hands down. Anyone who thinks they can stay behind their computer, holed away at home, relying 100% on social media for meeting people and developing key relationships is fooling themselves.

In fact, the most effective networking approach today is twofold: one part online, and one part old-fashioned, face-to-face, in-person networking. They are two sides of the same coin. A good networking plan does not rely too much on either online or offline networking, but does include aspects of both.

How Face-to-Face Networking Is Different

Face-to-face networking is very different from social networking. For starters, you’ll actually need to put on pants. Sorry, but this is a mandatory requirement. If you work from home, that means you may need to change out of your pajamas (hopefully it’s not the first time in days).

I recognize that networking at in-person events is more difficult for those who are shy or introverted. However, there are many little “hacks” you can use to make face-to-face networking easier on yourself, whether you are introverted or not.

Here are a 4 killer hacks for networking effectively at old-fashioned, in-person events:

1. Commit Yourself to Helping Others.
2. Make An Introduction.
3. Connect with People Over their Families.
4. If You Are Shy or Introverted, Focus on Others

People spend too much time trying to meet new people and too little time following up with and nurturing relationships with people they already know.

This in turn will lead to meeting new people because people who you already know are more likely to be a gateway for you to their friends and connections.

After all, you have already spent time and energy getting to know people in your network and they have already (presumably) grown to know, like and trust you.

So be sure to spend time and energy networking with people who are in your network already.

The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Brains

Let’s review some good lifestyle options we can fol­low to main­tain, and improve, our vibrant brains.

• Learn what is the “It” in “Use It or Lose It”. A basic under­stand­ing will serve you well to appre­ci­ate your brain’s beauty as a liv­ing and constantly-developing dense for­est with bil­lions of neu­rons and synapses.
• Take care of your nutri­tion. Did you know that the brain only weighs 2% of body mass but consumes good brain food over 20% of the oxy­gen and nutri­ents we intake? As a gen­eral rule, you don’t need expen­sive ultra-sophisticated nutri­tional sup­ple­ments, just make sure you don’t stuff your­self with the “bad stuff”.
• Remem­ber that the brain is part of the body. Things that exer­cise your body can also help sharpen your brain: phys­i­cal exer­cise enhances neurogenesis.
• Prac­tice pos­i­tive, future-oriented thoughts until they become your default mind­set and you look for­ward to every new day in a con­struc­tive way. 
• Stress and anx­i­ety, no mat­ter whether induced by exter­nal events or by your own thoughts, actu­ally kills neu­rons and pre­vent the cre­ation of new ones. physical exercise for brain healthYou can think of chronic stress as the oppo­site of exer­cise: it pre­vents the cre­ation of new neurons.
• Thrive on Learn­ing and Men­tal Chal­lenges. The point of hav­ing a brain is pre­cisely to learn and to adapt to chal­leng­ing new envi­ron­ments. Once new neu­rons appear in your brain, where they stay in your brain and how long they sur­vive depends on how you use them. “Use It or Lose It” does not mean “do cross­word puz­zle num­ber 1,234,567″. It means, “chal­lenge your brain often with fun­da­men­tally new activities”.
• We are (as far as we know) the only self-directed organ­isms in this planet. Aim high. Once you grad­u­ate from col­lege, keep learn­ing. The brain keeps devel­op­ing, no mat­ter your age, and it reflects what you do with it.
• Explore, travel. Adapt­ing to new loca­tions forces you to pay more atten­tion to your envi­ron­ment. Make new deci­sions, use your brain.
• Don’t Out­source Your Brain. Not to media per­son­al­i­ties, not to politi­cians, not to your smart neigh­bour… Make your own deci­sions, and mis­takes. And learn from them. That way, you are train­ing your brain, not your neighbour’s.
• Develop and main­tain stim­u­lat­ing friend­ships. We are “social ani­mals”, and need social inter­ac­tion. Which, by the way, is why ‘Baby Ein­stein’ has been shown not to be the panacea for chil­dren development.
• Laugh. Often. Espe­cially to cog­ni­tively com­plex humor, full of twists and sur­prises. Bet­ter, try to become the next Jon Stewart.

Now, remem­ber that what counts is not read­ing this article-or any other-, but prac­tic­ing a bit every day until small steps snow­ball into unstop­pable, inter­nal­ized habits…so, pick your next bat­tle and try to start improv­ing at least one of these 10 habits today. Revisit the habit above that really grabbed your atten­tion.

Manav Rachna International University bags NZQA accreditation

Manav Rachna International University (MRIU) is the first Indian University to be accredited by the New Zealand Qualification Authority (NZQA) an autonomous agency of Ministry of Education, Govt. of New Zealand to offer degrees affiliated to Auckland Institute of Studies (AIS), New Zealand, in India. The University now offers a dual degree for two programs namely BBA-Global International Business and B.Sc. Information Technology (IT). The students can now avail the opportunity to procure a foreign as well as an Indian University degree having studied in India. With this global recognition, the students enrolled in BBA-Global International Business and B.Sc IT at MRIU will now be entitled for 100% credit transfers if they choose to migrate to AIS, New Zealand after completion of any year through lateral entry. The academic fee for these courses BBA-Global International Business is roughly 9 lakh per year if a student studies in AIS, New Zealand. But now Indian students can avail the same degree at academic fee of Rs. 1.5 L per year if they study at MRIU.

“We are committed to provide the best of exposure through various means to our students so that they develop as pioneers”, said Dr. NC Wadhwa, Vice-Chancellor-MRIU. This accreditation also entitles the MRIU students to get additional academic credentials in the form of Diploma in International Business/IT (Level 5/First Yr), Diploma in International Business/IT (Level 6/Second Yr), by AIS, New Zealand duly recognized by NZQA and is accepted all over the globe. “We are pleased to announce our association with AIS, New Zealand through NZQA and will be utilizing this platform to enrich our curriculum through information and faculty exchange programs”, said Dr. Anil Sarin, Dean Faculty of International Program (FIP), MRIU. NZQA award to Manav Rachna International University has opened new vistas for the students enrolled in the BBA Global – IB and B.Sc IT programs. Additionally, MRIU and AIS- New Zealand have signed an agreement for Faculty and Student Exchange and Joint Research Projects, to be able to provide global exposure to students.

The Power of Good Habits

If you've ever learned to play a sport or taken up a new personal interest, you'll know how satisfying it can feel to reach a significant goal. As well as learning something new, you've changed yourself for the better. That's an empowering thought!

Good habits lie behind many of these positive changes. The repeated actions – attending a weekly sports practice, for example – help you to build the change into your daily life. In this article, we'll discuss how good habits can help you grow, personally and professionally.

How Goals Affect Habits

You are more likely to achieve worthwhile goals if you have good habits.

Illustrating this, a 2007 study suggested that we're not motivated by goals alone. In fact, once we've decided upon a goal, we're more motivated – on a day-by-day basis – by the habits that we have set up to reach it, than by the goal itself. We're also motivated by reflecting on our progress towards our goals. A 2010 study reinforced this: here, researchers monitored people who were trying to form better eating habits. They found that those who were encouraged to reflect on how they were doing, and who adjusted their habits accordingly, were ultimately more successful.

Creating Good Habits

Follow these steps to develop good habits in your daily life, and to kick-start positive change.

1. Identify What you Want to Achieve

First, note down your personal and professional goals. You'll need to develop new habits to achieve these goals, so it's important that you're clear about what they are.

Now choose one goal, and think about the habits that you'll need to incorporate into your schedule to reach it. What do you need to start doing every day to make this vision a reality?

Example: Swati has always wanted to live in France. Her goal is to learn to speak French, so that she can apply for a role in her company's Paris office. She decides to spend 30 minutes each day learning French.

2. Build Good Habits into Your Routine

Find ways to build your new habit into your routine. Block out a regular time for it in your schedule, so that you can give your positive habit your full attention.

Tip:

It's much easier to establish good habits if they fall during your most productive time of day.

Example:

Swati knows that she's at her best earlier in the day. She also knows that she's usually too tired to focus on learning after work.

She decides that early morning will be the best time to learn French. She resolves to go to bed by 10:00 p.m. each night so she can wake up at 6:00 a.m. In the evening, she lays out her clothes for work, prepares the coffee machine, and makes her lunch for the next day. She also loads some French learning podcasts onto her laptop in the kitchen.

When she wakes in the morning, she turns on the coffee machine and starts listening to the podcasts as she waits for her coffee to brew.

3. Reflect on Your Habits

As you progress with your new habit, reflect on how it's working for you. If you're struggling to stick to it, think about why this is. Were you too ambitious? If so, consider setting a more manageable short-term goal to remotivate yourself.

Or, if your new habit isn't delivering the change that you expected, reflect on what's gone wrong. You may need to tweak your habit to make sure that it's delivering real change.

Example:

After listening to her French podcasts for three weeks, Swati realizes that she's forgetting some of the words that she's learning. She knows that she remembers more when she makes notes, so she starts writing new words and their meanings down in a notebook.

4. Develop Self-Discipline

A 2012 study showed that it can take up to 66 days to form a new habit. That makes self-discipline essential.

One way to strengthen your self-discipline is to create a Treasure Map: a collage or visual representation of what you want to achieve. This will remind you why your new positive habit is so important to you. This can be just what you need to get motivated on days when your enthusiasm is waning.

Example:

Swati creates a Treasure Map the night before she begins to learn French. She creates a collage full of pictures of Paris. She feels excited about the opportunities ahead.

After two weeks of getting up early, she starts thinking about sleeping in. However, when she looks at her Treasure Map, she is reminded of her goal and she remembers how excited she feels about it. This goal is too important to give up on, and she can always sleep in at the weekends. She recommits to her morning learning.

5. Get Support

It can be hard to stick to a new habit when you're on your own. So share your goals with colleagues or friends, and ask them to support you. For example, you could ask them to call you check on your progress. Or, if they share your goal, you could meet them each week to support one another and maintain progress.

Example:

After Swati tells a colleague about her goal, he agrees to talk French with her over lunch one day each week. Swati feels more energized about reaching her goal now that her colleague is supporting her, and she has a new opportunity to practice what she's learning. In return, Swati helps her colleague towards his goal, which is to improve his English.

Key Points

Habits are powerful. They bring about change one step at a time, and they help you ensure that these changes become part of your life.

However, you're far more likely to reach your goal if you make your new habits part of your regular routine. Follow these steps to make good habits stick:

1.     Identify what you want to achieve.

2.     Build good habits into your routine.

3.     Reflect on your habits.

4.     Develop self-discipline.

5.     Get support.

When you decide to establish new habits in your life, focus on one at a time. If you try to overhaul your entire schedule at once, you'll likely get overwhelmed and quickly revert to old behaviors.

How to retain 90% of everything you learn

Imagine if you had a bucket of water. And every time you attempted to fill the bucket, 90% of the water would leak out instantly. Every time, all you’d retain was a measly 10%. How many times would you keep filling the bucket? 

The answer is simple: just once.

The first time you noticed the leak, you’d take action

You’d either fix the bucket or you’d get another bucket, wouldn’t you?

Yet that’s not at all the way we learn.

Almost all of us waste 90% of our time, resources and learning time, because we don’t understand a simple concept called the Learning Pyramid. The Learning Pyramid was developed way back in the 1960s by the NTL Institute in Bethel, Maine. And if you look at the pyramid you’ll see something really weird.

That weird thing is that you’re wasting time. You’re wasting resources. You’re just doing everything you can to prevent learning. And here’s why.

To summarize the numbers (which sometimes get cited differently) learners retain approximately:

90% of what they learn when they teach someone else/use immediately.

75% of what they learn when they practice what they learned.

50% of what they learn when engaged in a group discussion.

30% of what they learn when they see a demonstration.

20% of what they learn from audio-visual.

10% of what they learn when they’ve learned from reading.

5% of what they learn when they’ve learned from lecture.

So why do you retain 90% when you teach someone else or when you implement it immediately?

There’s a good reason why. When you implement or teach, you instantly make mistakes. Try it for yourself. (In this article for instance, after I’d read the information, I cited the loss rate as 95% instead of 90% to begin with. I had to go back and correct myself. Then I found three more errors, which I had to fix. These were factual errors that required copy and paste, but I still made the errors).

So as soon as you run into difficulty and start to make mistakes, you have to learn how to correct the mistake. This forces your brain to concentrate.

But surely your brain is concentrating in a lecture or while reading

Sure it is, but it’s not making any mistakes. What your brain hears or sees is simply an abstract concept. And no matter how clearly the steps are outlined, there is no way you’re going to retain the information. There are two reasons why.

Reason 1: Your brain gets stuck at the first obstacle.

Reason 2: Your brain needs to make the mistake first hand.

Reason 1: Your brain gets stuck at the first obstacle.

Yes it does. And the only way to understand this concept is to pick up a book, watch a video, or listen to audio. Any book, any video, any audio. And you’ll find you’ve missed out at least two or three concepts in just the first few minutes. It’s hard to believe at first, but as you keep reading the same chapter over and over, you’ll find you’re finding more and more that you’ve missed.

This is because the brain gets stuck at the first new concept/obstacle. It stops and tries to apply the concept but struggles to do so. But you continue to read the book, watch the video or listen to the speaker. The brain got stuck at the first point, but more points keep coming. And of course, without complete information, you have ‘incomplete information’.

Incomplete information can easily be fixed by making the mistake first hand.

Reason 2: Your brain needs to make the mistake first hand

No matter how good the explanation, you will not get it right the first time. You must make the mistake. And this is because your interpretation varies from the writer/speaker. You think you’ve heard or read what you’ve heard/read. But the reality is different. You’ve only interpreted what they’ve said, and more often than not, the interpretation is not quite correct. You can only find out how much off the mark you are by trying to implement or teach the concept.

So how do you avoid losing 90% of what you’ve learned?

Well, do what I do. I learn something. I write it down in a mindmap. I talk to my wife or clients about the concept. I write an article about it. I do an audio. And so it goes. A simple concept is never just learned. It needs to be discussed, talked, written, felt etc. (I wrote this article, ten minutes after reading these statistics online).

The next time you pick up a book or watch a video, remember this.

Listening or reading something is just listening or reading.

It’s not real learning.

Real learning comes from making mistakes.

And mistakes come from implementation.

And that’s how you retain 90% of everything you learn.

Which is why most of the people you meet are always going around in circles.

They refuse to make mistakes. So they don’t learn.

They’d rather read a book instead. Or watch a video. Or listen to an audio.

Their bucket is leaking 90% of the time.

But they don’t care.

The question is: Do you?