How I Study 12 Hours a Day With 100% Focus

Summary

This video emphasizes the importance of focus and productivity in studying, contrasting average students with high-performing ones. The speaker shares personal strategies for maintaining concentration, such as the significance of the 'golden hour' after waking up and self-managing study habits. The video also advocates for creating a study plan to manage workload and reduce stress, ensuring ample time for review before exams. The speaker offers two Skillshare courses for free to help viewers study smarter, not harder.

Takeaways

• 📚 Focus is more important than the number of hours studied; being distracted can render long study sessions ineffective.
• 🕒 The first hour after waking up, known as the 'golden hour,' can significantly influence productivity for the rest of the day.
• 🏃‍♂️ High-performing students exhibit urgency in their actions, akin to being managed by a supervisor with key performance indicators.
• 🤔 Students must act as their own managers, monitoring and motivating themselves to maintain productivity.
• 🚫 Long-term, 12-hour study days are not recommended; instead, learning how to study smart is crucial.
• 🔑 Developing a sense of urgency is key to transforming grades and achieving personal goals.
• 📈 The Pareto principle should be implemented into study strategies for efficient learning.
• 📈 A well-structured study plan is essential for stress management, focus, and achieving good grades.
• 🗓️ Spreading out workload evenly and having a review period before exams can lead to better retention and higher grades.
• 👩‍🏫 The speaker's personal experience with a study plan contributed to a stress-free university life and a more enjoyable study experience.

Q & A

What is the significance of studying with 100% focus for 8-12 hours a day?

The speaker emphasizes the importance of focused study sessions, suggesting that without focus, even long hours of studying can be ineffective. They trained themselves to study with high concentration for extended periods, which was crucial during exam periods.

Why does the speaker not recommend studying for 12 hours a day as a long-term strategy?

While studying for 12 hours a day might be necessary during exam periods, the speaker suggests it's not sustainable in the long run and implies there are more efficient ways to study, which they will explain later.

What is the 'golden hour' mentioned in the script?

The 'golden hour' refers to the first hour after waking up, which the speaker believes can significantly influence the productivity of the entire day.

How does the speaker differentiate between an average student and a high-performance student?

The speaker highlights that high-performance students live with a sense of urgency, manage themselves effectively, and don't need external pressure to perform well, unlike average students who might need more guidance and oversight.

What role does the first hour of the day play in determining productivity according to the speaker?

The speaker suggests that how one spends the first hour after waking up can set the tone for the rest of the day, influencing whether it will be productive or not.

Why is it important for students to act as their own manager, as mentioned in the script?

Since students don't have a manager to monitor their performance like in a workplace, they need to self-regulate and ensure they are working efficiently and effectively.

What does the speaker mean by 'living with urgency'?

Living with urgency means approaching life with a sense of immediacy and importance, recognizing that time is valuable and should not be wasted.

How does the speaker suggest students can study smarter rather than harder?

The speaker recommends creating a study plan and learning efficient study techniques, such as those outlined in the courses they created on Skillshare.

What is the significance of the study plan created for the student in the script?

The study plan is significant because it helps distribute the workload evenly throughout the year, reduces stress, and ensures the student is prepared well in advance of exams.

Why is the review period before exams considered crucial in the script?

The review period is crucial because it allows students to reinforce their knowledge, fill in any gaps, and feel confident and prepared for the exams.

How does the speaker describe their own university experience in relation to stress and study plans?

The speaker recalls not being stressed during university, attributing this to the effectiveness of having a study plan, which provided a clear roadmap and kept them motivated.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Power of Focus and the Golden Hour

The speaker discusses their university experience, where they trained themselves to study with 100% focus for 8 hours a day, increasing to 12 hours during exams. They emphasize that while long hours are not recommended, the key is to be focused and retain information. The speaker highlights the importance of the 'golden hour' after waking up, which can set the tone for the rest of the day. They contrast a sluggish start with a productive one and explain how high-performing students live with urgency, managing themselves effectively without needing external pressure. The speaker also mentions their courses on Skillshare that teach efficient studying methods, suggesting that studying smart is more important than studying for long hours.

05:02

🗓️ Creating an Effective Study Plan

The speaker shares a coaching session experience with a student who was overwhelmed by her exam preparation. They created an annual study plan using Microsoft Excel, spreading out the workload evenly throughout the year. The plan included two assignments and two modules per month, with all assignments completed by February to allow for a focused review period before the exams in June. The speaker stresses the importance of having a study plan for stress management and staying focused, as it provides a roadmap and motivation. They reflect on their own university experience, where a study plan helped them stay on track and enjoy their studies without stress. The speaker concludes by recommending the creation of a study plan and offers additional resources for efficient studying.

Keywords

💡Focus

Focus refers to the ability to concentrate one's attention on a specific task or subject. In the context of the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of focus for effective studying, contrasting it with the inefficiency of long hours of unfocused study. The speaker shares personal experiences and strategies for improving focus, such as studying for 8 to 12 hours with high concentration during exam periods.

💡Distraction

Distraction is anything that diverts attention from the primary task at hand. The video discusses how distractions can significantly reduce the effectiveness of studying, even if one is physically present for long hours. The speaker highlights the need to minimize distractions to enhance productivity and learning retention.

💡Golden Hour

The 'Golden Hour' mentioned in the video refers to the first hour after waking up, which can set the tone for the rest of the day. The speaker argues that how one spends this time, whether productively or unproductively, can greatly influence the overall productivity of the day. This concept is used to encourage viewers to start their day with purpose and urgency.

💡Urgency

Urgency in this video is the sense of immediate importance or the need for swift action. It is contrasted with the lackadaisical approach often seen in students without external pressure. The speaker encourages adopting a sense of urgency to improve study habits and overall performance, drawing parallels to the professional world where performance is closely monitored.

💡Productivity

Productivity is the efficiency of producing desired results in a given period. The video discusses how the speaker transitioned from being easily distracted to achieving high levels of productivity through disciplined study habits and effective time management. Productivity is a central theme, with the speaker sharing insights on how to maximize it.

💡Study Plan

A study plan is a structured approach to organizing study time and materials. The video emphasizes the importance of having a study plan to manage workload, reduce stress, and enhance focus. The speaker provides an example of creating an annual study plan, which helps in spreading out assignments and studying modules evenly throughout the year.

💡Pareto Principle

The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, is mentioned in the context of studying strategies. It suggests that 80% of outcomes result from 20% of efforts. The speaker suggests incorporating this principle into study habits to maximize efficiency, although the specific application within the video's narrative is not detailed.

💡Mock Exams

Mock exams are practice examinations that simulate the conditions of actual exams. The video script mentions ensuring that all modules are learned before each mock exam, highlighting the importance of these exams as checkpoints for learning and preparation for the final exams.

💡Review Period

The review period refers to the time set aside for revisiting and reinforcing learned material before exams. The speaker in the video stresses the importance of having a dedicated review period, at least one or two months before exams, to ensure all content is fresh and to identify any knowledge gaps.

💡Skillshare

Skillshare is mentioned as a platform where the speaker has created courses to help viewers learn how to study more efficiently. The video promotes two specific courses by the speaker that are available on Skillshare, suggesting that these resources can provide further in-depth strategies for effective studying.

Highlights

The importance of studying with 100% focus for 8-12 hours a day, especially during exam periods.

The necessity of being focused and retaining study material to avoid wasting time.

The transition from struggling with focus to being able to concentrate for up to 12 hours.

The concept of the 'golden hour' and its impact on the productivity of the day.

The difference between average and high-performance students and the role of urgency.

The idea that students need to be their own managers to monitor and enhance their performance.

The significance of self-management and motivation for high-performance students.

The quote by Henry Ford emphasizing the need for change to achieve different results.

The importance of developing a sense of urgency to transform grades and life.

The advice that one doesn't need to study for 12 hours a day to achieve good grades.

The introduction of two courses on Skillshare for smart studying strategies.

The value of the Pareto Principle in studying strategies.

The necessity of a study plan for effective exam preparation and stress management.

A real-life example of creating an annual study plan to manage workload and exam preparation.

The strategy of completing assignments well before exams to focus on revision.

The importance of a review period before exams to ensure knowledge retention.

The personal experience of the speaker on how a study plan reduced stress and improved university experience.

The recommendation for students to create a study plan for a more organized and less stressful study experience.

Additional resources provided by the speaker for more study tips and strategies.

Transcripts

at university i trained myself to be

able to study with 100 focus for an

average about 8 hours a day increasing

to 12 hours a day during the exam period

although i would never recommend

studying 12 hours a day as a long-term

strategy as i'll explain later on in the

video but the problem i see often is

that you can be studying long hours the

whole day even but if you're not focused

on what you're learning and you're not

processing and retaining your study

material because you keep getting

distracted then essentially you're

wasting your time so in this video i'm

gonna go through how i went from

struggling to stay focused when studying

for even 15 minutes at a time i would

get distracted so quickly to being able

to concentrate for a full 12 hours with

just a few breaks in between this is

something that i've been thinking about

quite a lot recently the difference

between what would be called an average

student and a high performance student

and what makes an average student

average and what makes a high

performance student high performance

i've realized that the first hour of the

day what i'm going to call the golden

hour is kind of what determines how your

day will turn out so whether you have a

productive day or an unproductive day it

is influenced heavily on what you do in

the first hour of the day so let me

explain when my alarm clock goes off in

the morning but i keep hitting the

snooze button and i finally wake up and

i spend 30 minutes scrolling through

social media i then slowly go and shower

and have breakfast watch netflix for a

bit then two hours after waking up i

finally leave the house it's very likely

that that slow energy momentum will

carry on throughout the day on the other

hand let's say i wake up early i get

straight out of bed i get ready i go

straight to my task list and see what

tasks i need to complete first and i

have a very productive morning then of

course i'm likely to have a productive

day too it's this golden hour in the

morning the one hour after waking up

that often determines whether i'm going

to have a productive day or not and i

see this a lot with the students that i

coach the high performance students live

their lives with urgency they have

things to do people to see goals to

achieve and so their actions match that

it's like when you start working your

graduate job and you'll have key

performance indicators or kpis to read

you'll probably have a manager keeping

an eye on your performance so for every

hour that you work the company is

investing money in you so naturally they

want you to work at a decent speed so if

you're working slow and you're not

reaching your kpis and just your general

demeanor is slow and lethargic then it's

very likely that your manager will pull

you into their office and have a world

review and ask you to speed up the thing

about being a student is that students

don't have a manager like you would have

in a workplace right they don't have a

manager to keep track of their

performance and to apply that bit of

extra pressure to speed up their

performance so essentially you have to

be your own manager you have to be

regularly monitoring yourself and be

asking was i productive today was i

working as fast as i could have been or

did i take it easy and just let the day

slip by because i've noticed that this

is one of the main difference between

what you might call an average student

and a high performance student so a high

performance student doesn't need a

manager to be looking over their

shoulder when they're studying they can

kind of manage themselves they can

motivate themselves and once you learn

how to do this and how to manage

yourself properly it's an absolutely

indispensable skill to have not only as

a student but in the working environment

too like henry ford once said if you

always do what you've always done you'll

always get what you've always gotten you

must develop a sense of urgency in the

pursuit to transform your grades you

must step up your efforts in life if you

wish to level up and live a life that is

based on your own terms not on those

dictated by other people your dreams can

be transformed into reality only when

you put in hard work and dedication

apart from you yourself no one else can

stop you from being extraordinary if

others have done it then so can you so

you can take initiative or laser round

in bed all day you're the one who has to

make that choice and live with its

consequences if you are determined to

live with urgency you will know that you

do not have the time in your day that

you can just waste if your goal is to

stand out from those around you then you

will choose to live differently when

urgency is the driving force behind you

you look at every hour as an opportunity

to do something new to become a better

person now at the beginning of this

video i mentioned that you probably

don't need to be studying for 12 hours a

day every day in order to get really

good grades right you need to study how

to study you need to learn how to study

smart so i made two courses on

skillshare which you can access for free

going through exactly how you can do

that on how to maximize your time so

you're studying as efficiently as

possible meaning that you can

essentially study fewer hours right so i

have two one-hour 40-minute classes not

just a short 10-minute video like i have

on youtube but these are in-depth

courses going through topics such as

advanced information processing and

pareto principle and by the way if

you're not implementing the pareto

principle into your studying strategy

then you absolutely should but just in

general skillshare classes tend to be

far higher quality with better teaching

is crazy value for money considering

that you can access all of my skillshare

courses essentially for free because the

first 1000 subscribers to click on the

link in the description will get one

month free trial for skillshare i think

everyone should have a plan of the

content that they need to learn before

their exams so a study plan is so

important when it comes to achieving

decent grades but also when it comes to

things like stress management and

staying focused it's easy to kind of get

distracted when we're studying if we

don't have a plan to follow or we don't

have a schedule or an endpoint inside so

i was in a coaching call with one of my

students earlier this week and she was

panicking because she had her exams in

10 months now 10 months usually is a

relatively long time to prepare for

exams right however this student hadn't

studied much for the last few months

therefore her workload had piled up so

understandably she was feeling a little

bit stressed so on the coaching call we

spent about two hours going through

every single assignment that she had to

hand in and all the course material that

she had to learn and then the exam dates

so she gave me three pieces of

information all the materials she needs

to learn all the assignment deadlines

and all her exam dates then we plotted

this information onto a study plan this

is the annual study plan that i created

for her on microsoft excel when we're on

the call and as you can see i spread out

her workload evenly throughout the

entire year up until her exam dates so

she had four topics to study for maths

economics business and literature and

what i did was i assigned about two

assignments for her to do per month and

two modules to learn per month at the

beginning of the year now this is

suddenly more manageable right mentally

saying i have two assignments and months

to write is a lot more manageable than

saying i have 12 assignments to write in

six months and as she completes each

assignment and learns each module she

takes it off so she can see exactly what

she has left to do that month and just

as a side note there are four modules

highlighted in red these are when this

student has her mock exam so i made sure

that she had learned every module before

each mock exam now her final exams are

at the end of june so i made sure that

firstly all her assignments are

completed well before her exams because

i wanted her assignments to be

completely submitted and finished with

by february so from march she can start

focusing entirely on her exams so her

exams are in june so by may all of her

modules should be learned and

technically by may in theory she should

be ready for her exams and this part is

important because with her class it's

quite unique in that she can actually

choose when to submit her assignments as

long as they're all submitted before

june and i can bet that there are a

whole load of students that would wait

until june to submit their assignments

right but it's the worst thing that they

can do here because you don't want to be

writing your assignments at the same

time as you're having to revise for your

exams so then we have may in june which

is the review period and this is where

she needs to go through all the modules

once again and make sure that all the

information is fresh in your mind and

this is a really important period of

time the one or two months before her

exams where she can test herself and

fill in any gaps of knowledge she may

have and just generally make sure that

she's prepared now did you notice how i

made sure that she had learned all the

material for her exams two months before

her exam date and the reason for that is

twofold firstly things come up right we

get sick or we become particularly

unproductive for a month or we go on

holiday these kind of setbacks have to

be taken into account when making a

study plan so even if she falls behind

in her study plan it's okay there's

still some wiggle room in there however

to really excel in her studies i advised

her to absolutely stick to the plan

because those last two months the review

period is absolutely crucial when it

comes to getting extremely high grades

the month before an exam is usually when

most students are cramming in their

studying and trying to learn all the

material but if you have enough time for

a one or two month period to make sure

that you know 100 of the content that

can be an incredibly powerful position

to be throughout university i really

wasn't stressed at all i genuinely can't

remember a time throughout university

that i was properly stressed and i'm not

saying that to kind of brag or show off

but i just want to kind of illustrate

how effective something as simple as a

study plan can be because i wasn't

stressed so i could actually enjoy my

studying i could in some ways just take

my time and i think looking back now

it's a major factor of why i enjoyed my

studying so much at university i had a

really good experience at university

because i knew that i was on schedule i

kind of had peace of mind that an

unexpected assignment wasn't going to

spring up on me or an exam was coming

that i wasn't prepared for and chances

are when an exam came around the corner

i had been preparing for it and studying

for it for months ahead of time a study

plan helped me kind of stay focused and

know exactly what i needed to do that

day it gave me almost like a road map of

where i was heading and it kept me

motivated because i knew that if i

didn't study that day i'd probably have

twice the amount of work to cover the

next day so if you haven't created a

study plan i highly recommend you do you

might just be surprised how much it

changes your whole studying experience

and if you'd like more tips and

strategies on how to study more

efficiently i made a video seven ways i

study smart not hard you can click on

the card on the screen alternatively i

made another video on why you struggle

to stay focused on one task again you

can click on the card on the screen and

for more in-depth study training my

skillshare courses are available for

free with the one month free trial link

in the description below