How to be Exam Smart - Part 15

Welcome back. Today we have no advice for you. Just a fact for you to ponder and act upon. Previously we said that you should not tune in to your mp3 player while studying.

Now I'm telling you that plugging in that earphones is good. When you sleep. And obviously, listen to useful stuff and not shit. The brain, as I said before, is a very powerful component of the human body. During sleep, there are bursts of brain activity going on, thereby aiding the absorption of information. My point is that your brain is not totally inactive, so you can try to tune in to your recorded lectures while you're asleep.

Some factual acticles to prove that:

We Learn While We Sleep (Innovations Report)
Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes)

I remember myself having some friends who listen to pop music when they go to bed. And in my opinion, they sing quite well. Is it a coincidence? You judge for yourself.

How to be Exam Smart - Part 14

Many times when we see people do revision or study for exams, we see them reading their notes over and over again expecting to understand what the text means, but not catching the concept at all. Worse, they plug in their earphones listening to their mp3, expecting their pop singer to sing the answer to them. Stupid.

Tip

Know what you can do and what you should not do.

In this aspect of listening to music when you study, stop pretending to look cool and making study seem like a breeze. Males can really do it damn well when they jolly well know that they suck at multi-tasking. And my dear females, don't be too happy, cos Justin Timberlake really doesn't have the answer to your question.

In the next part, I shall tell you under what circumstances should you plug in your earphones. Until then, live your life with passion.

Book Review

Blue Ocean Strategy
How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant

I feel this is a must read for all management students. Managers should read this to get a fresh viewpoint of the business environment as well, especially in this times when everyone is killing one another by cutting cost to gain market share. They simply forgot to innovate, by adding value and not resorting to cut cost.

In this book, as like all management books, we see simplified box diagrams on creating new value curves, and their analysis is on the other end of Michael Porter's work on Five Forces analysis and generic strategy. Chan and Mauborgne calls competition the red ocean, as we know competition is really brutual.

This will prove to be an interesting read even for non-management readers as well because the language used is rather layman and the examples of companies engaging in blue ocean activities will spur you to think creatively (if you have any creativity in the first place). Some companies mentioned are Cirque du Soleil, QB House and the NYPD. You will be surprised how easy it is to make competition totally irrelevant.

Other than that, the book also covered sub topics like strategic pricing on target cost, target profit etc.


Read it

How to be Exam Smart - Part 13

Today, we shall talk abit about time management. This technique, if you apply it with discipline, I am very sure you will live a life more fulfilling.

Tip

Split that 7 days of a week into 5 focus day, 1 buffer day and 1 free day.

Once you have identified that, start planning what should constitute a focus day. These days ought to be intense and being loosened up on the buffer day. The most important day is the free day. You have to let go of work, and by that I mean you should not even engage in any thoughts about it.

This is being told to me by a well-known director in Great Eastern. And this piece of advice was given to me during our first meeting and I was really sucked in by his charisma. I don't know about you, but it works for me since the day it was introduced into my life.

How to be Exam Smart - Part 12

Last issue we talked about changing your mindset. Today we are going to change the body. More specifically, that clock in your body. This is the most simple thing that nobody thought was important, and they thought they are right by working that way.

The most common statement I hear is, "I don't sleep early cos night time more quiet to study ma," and the most absurd I've heard is, "I absorb better at night."

Let me tell you that you are so wrong. Unless your exams are in the night, there is no reason for you to stay up late at all.

Tip

It is not the length of your sleep. It is the time you go to bed every night.

My chinese physician gave me that advice, and she reminds me to sleep before 12 midnight everyday. 7 hours should be sufficient and anything less than 5 hours of sleep is bad for your concentration.

Stop burning the midnight oil. Make use of the sunlight instead.

(I am giving advice based on my experience. I hope to find scientific backing for my claims and will appreciate if anyone has the info, or would gladly prove me wrong.)

How to be Exam Smart - Part 11

Today's tip is on managing yourself. I have heard too many people telling me that they are stressed out by school or work. Usually, I ask them,

"Who is stressing you?"

To which they reply, "school work, exams, my boss, deadlines, my parents" and the stuff goes on and on and on.

It doesn't make sense to me. How can people stress you? They can only give you pressure. You are the person stressing yourself out.

Tip

Pressure does not equate to stress. Take note of where the source of your ineffectiveness comes from and eliminate it.

Some people can make pressure work to your advantage.
Stress can only come from yourself.

Similarly, inspiration does not equate to motivation. People can inspire you, but you can only motivate yourself.

Tampines 1

The anticipated mall that created some jobs amid this recession is going to open this week on 9 April!! Being a resident in Tampines, I am excited and can't believe that this neighbourhood has transformed to what it is today, creating so much value in such a short time. Three shopping malls surrounding the MRT station with so many office buildings sprouting out, there are still untapped space waiting for more change.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Tampines 1 is to be run by AsiaMalls. Looking at the existing malls managed by them (Century Square, Tiong Bahru Plaza, White Sands, the disaster goes on...), how is this going to mall leader? Will this be their saviour?

The delicious tenants line up seem to appeal to many. Myself included, I can't wait to visit Uniqlo, brought in from Japan, promising to deliver "cheap-chic" apparel. Japanese-themed food shops will feed teenagers who don't go home after school and make them more obese than before. My question is, will this last, and for how long? My guess is only till Ion Orchard opens.

And talking about ill-disciplined students studying in Tampines, they are becoming from bad to worse. So many fastfood restaurants around to stain bad influence on them, schools might consider holding their recess time in one of them as it does not make any difference at all.

Until the smell of paint fades in Tampines 1, we are in for more people visiting the second last stop in the East-West line. I will stay home during weekends and visit the malls when the kids are in school.

How to be Exam Smart - Part 10

Techniques to mind map

Today's tip is on efficient studying, using a method called mind maps. This method is made famous by Tony Buzan and there are many books by him on this subject matter. I use it and I find it very useful, especially for subjects that are heavily loaded with theories.

The basic idea of mind maps is to capture keywords and linking it effectively from one branch to the other. Many people like to link a word to a big paragraph of explanation which doesn't serve them the purpose of mind mapping, instead they had to memorise everything which doesn't make any sense to me.

A simple search over the internet would have yielded many samples of mind maps that are colourful and with pictures. Pictures that you draw act as "anchors" to better remember a keyword. The weirder it is, the more likely it will stay in your brain. Colours are good for clumping related topics. Personally I think adding colours waste quite abit of time so I do not practise it.

For me, a session of mind mapping will take quite some time but it is worth it. First, I will read my notes and textbook for understanding, then I will go back to the first page and start drafting. By the time the draft is completed, I would have read the main text two times. Usually I will stop there and go on to other subjects, coming back to it few days later to finish up the mind map. This acts as revision. Once its done, everything is already inside my mind.

Some samples of my work. Every mind map is unique to yourself.

The draft


A poorly done mindmap

Top down approach

Best piece of work so far

Feel free to take it if you want, it won't help you in any way anyway. Do share with me your work. Leave a comment and we will keep in contact. Have fun studying.