15d (edited) • 🧠 Study Skills
Study Hack If You’re Using Textbooks
One of the biggest study traps is defaulting to what feels comfortable. You sit down with good intentions, but you end up doing the same type of question again and again because it’s familiar, easy to start, and gives quick wins.
You do 10 similar problems in a row.
You get faster.
You feel productive.
But after the first few, you’re not really thinking anymore. You’re just following a pattern you already recognize.
A better approach is to mix things up.
Let’s say you’re studying Chapter 5 and it has Exercise A, B, and C.
Instead of finishing all of 5A, then all of 5B, then all of 5C, get the hang of all three then do this:
- Solve 2–3 questions from 5A
- Switch to 2–3 questions from 5B
- Then 2–3 questions from 5C
- Loop back to 5A → 5B → 5C
Repeat the loop until the chapter is covered.
This also mimics real exams.
In an exam, questions aren’t grouped by exercise or topic. One question might feel like 5A, the next like 5C, then back to something like 5B. You’re constantly switching your thinking before you even start solving.
Interleaved practice trains that exact skill.
Short, mixed sessions usually work better than long sessions locked onto one exercise. Once you understand a concept, move on and come back to it later multiple times. That return is where the learning actually sticks.
It’ll feel harder.
It’ll feel slower.
That’s usually a sign you’re studying in a way that actually prepares you for exams.
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Study Hack If You’re Using Textbooks
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