I Forgot How to Study

I have exams this upcoming week. There are only three of them, yet I am already working a lot more than I did last year. The main problem is that I am learning to learn all over again. 

Last year was a drought year for learning. I managed to get by doing little for school. This meant that I deliberately shifted focus to my role as treasurer, combined with consistent working out and social activities. All of these are truly valuable, but it meant my study muscles atrophied.

This year, the courses are considerably more challenging, and I am also more motivated to achieve good grades than last year. Furthermore, this year, there is also the added stress of needing to find an internship, which makes the whole situation even more complex.

During my prépa, I had no choice but to adapt my study style to the continuous exams that took place every Saturday. This meant that I had to be on top of everything all the time. This meant that I had some good systems in place, the two most important being: active recall and retrospective study timetables.

Active recall is the best way of memorising information. Instead of trying to jam information into the brain, information needs to get out of it. It is learning by doing, being proactive. This means that instead of reading over notes, I should be doing practice exams. Trying to extract the information, which in turn will create connections that can be found again later on.

This practice is best combined with retrospective study timetables. The concept is simple: I need to document the dates of study and also the questions that were answered correctly and incorrectly.

This practice is best combined with retrospective study timetables: documenting when I studied and which questions I got right or wrong. This creates a map of what needs urgent review versus what I've mastered. Done consistently, it beats the forgetting curve entirely.

This is most of what I learned about learning. Well, what I have retained of it, at least. For these 3 exams, I did not manage to put all of these systems into place. I am using active recall, but I did not make myself a retrospective timetable system, and thus, ironically, I will not be retaining all of this information long term.

That being said, I am looking to improve on that front. I need to get all of my systems up and running for the next exam sessions since it will be around 9 exams over a span of a few days in December.

And honestly? I don't regret losing that discipline. The past two years as treasurer taught me skills no other place could have offered. I can handle and understand Excel with ease, I can navigate the French administrative system without being worn out as soon as I hit a hurdle, and I learned to put the money taboo out the window in given contexts.

Discipline isn't permanent — it's a muscle that atrophies when you train other ones. Physical health, academics, professional and social skills — each requires separate training, and that's what makes it so exhausting. We are human after all, and being perfect isn't realistic.

That being said, with December looming, I need my study muscles back. Not perfect systems, not prépa-level intensity — just functional ones to get through 9 exams without crumbling.

This Week's Suggestions:

🎶 "I Knew That This Was Love" by Hedex & Maverick Sabre:

Hedex has been in my music library for a while, and with this album, he managed to surpass himself in my eyes. The variety of different types of productions, whilst staying true to his style, is impressive. Have a listen!

💡 How Did The World Get So Ugly?

This video made me think about our evolution and also how I could potentially, as an engineer, contribute to it. Very thought-provoking video!

Have a lovely week!