Have you ever found yourself in a situation when you wished you were a little bit smarter? For example, had that annoying feeling when something was on a tip of your tongue, but you still failed to recall it, although there has not been much time since you have read it, or maybe felt anxious because you have a paper to hand over soon and you just wished you ordered essay help earlier? These things surely occasionally happen to everyone, and there is nothing shameful about it. However, there are many tips that can help you learn things faster and more effective, and consequently, feel more confident.
Where to start?
First of all, ask yourself, what is an intellectual person? It is important to determine what exactly you wish to improve, as learning for the sake of learning itself would not have the same impact as deliberate and consistent development of chosen skills.
Build habits
When you’ll have a clear vision of what your goals are, think of what you can do on everyday basis to achieve these goals. It is a common known fact that it takes about 21 days to gain a habit. Therefore, you should think of small tasks that would fit into your daily schedule and help you become more intelligent.
Use your time wisely
Some might think that they simply don’t have that much time. Of course, sometimes it can be quite challenging to find a free minute, but at most times you should just reconsider the way you moderate your time. Even if it turns out that you’re busy almost 24/7 you can still find opportunities to elaborate intelligent thinking and develop new skills. For instance, you can listen to educational podcasts while you are on your way somewhere, or while you’re cooking. The time that was referred to as “wasted” before, can now be used with greater benefit: you can learn some new foreign words while you’re waiting in line in a supermarket.
Avoid procrastination
Easier said than done, but in terms of how to be intelligent, it is a crucial skill. Procrastinating is probably the most common of problems faced by students at school and there are numerous reasons for it. Some students feel intimidated by the amount of work they have to deal with constantly, others experience the “perfectionist paralysis” – a phenomenon when a person can’t start working because one is scared that the results of the work will never be perfect. It can be helpful to plan the forthcoming work thoroughly, as it will give you the feeling of satisfaction because the first step is done and you’ll know exactly what are your next steps.
Develop effective studying skills
Effective education for students is never about time spent studying, it is about effort. You can spend hours in vague attempts to remember the information you need by reading it over and over again, but the results would still be disappointing. Try to visualize the necessary data then retell it to someone, or find a video or a podcast to match your topic and listen to it. Maybe the problem is not in the complexity of the subject, but in the approach you’re using to understand and remember it.
Read and write
This may sound as an obvious advice to all the book-lovers, but the number of people who neglect it is still quite significant, and unfortunately, tends to increase even more due to temptations of the digital era. Reading fiction expands your imagination and boosts creativity, it also enriches vocabulary and literacy so it is beneficial to make it an essential part of your everyday life. Reading non-fiction can be challenging, but modern education is still impossible without it. Luckily, humanity has come up with some tips on how to make it more efficient. For instance, the SQ3R technique: survey, question, read, recite and review. This method suggests that before you start reading, you look through the text to understand its structure, then try to anticipate the main topics and only then proceed with reading. After that, you need to retell the text and write down the main ideas, and last but not least thing to do is to revise the contents of the text based on your notes.
Ask questions
Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you’re struggling with understanding something. Wise people say that it is better to ask a question and look silly for one moment, rather than keep silence, and stay silly forever. Some also say that in order to make friends with someone you can ask them for a little favor, thus when you overcome your fear of looking silly, you will be able to communicate with peers with no effort. Speaking in public seems to be another one of academic challenges for students, however, if you think that the majority of people in the audience are actually friendly and understanding, you’ll feel less stressed about your speech.
Find a hobby
If you are still in search of a hobby, encourage your curiosity towards new things and stay open-minded. Such search can greatly contribute to your overall erudition, and consequently you’ll find out that you’ll never have to start exploring new subjects from scratch. Once you have a hobby though, devote your time to it regularly and maintain your fascination with it, as people who are truly engaged in what they do are the best ones to talk to.
Save time for yourself
When you get used to this new lifestyle, full of communication and new discoveries, it is important to stay alone and organize your thoughts every once in a while. Once you rest in silence and solitude, think of the progress you have already made and set new ambitious goals.
Guest article written by: Oliver Swanson, aspiring journalist from Toronto. Dedicated learner, enthusiastic reader and constant contributor to pro-papers.com blog.