Retain what you study with these tricks

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So you’ve been burning the midnight oil trying to cram in all the information you can before the much-dreaded board exams. But are you confident about actually remembering everything you’ve learnt? To avoid overtaxing yourself and ensuring that all your efforts pay off, follow these golden rules:

Your study environment is very important. Keep your study table neat and clean and well stocked with pens, papers and whatever other material you require. Keep your books in easy reach. This will help you stay focused and avoid minor irritations.
Sleep for a minimum of five to six hours at night, and eat your meals at regular times. A routine helps in preventing anxiety from getting out of hand.
Some form of relaxation is equally important. Otherwise, you might have a cognitive breakdown such that you simply can’t take in more information.
Revising matter is essential if you wish to remember it. After you finish reading your matter, quickly write down the salient points in brief. This aids retention.
For detailed information, use mnemonic devices, like taking the first letter of every word in a sequence of points, and make a new word out of it.
Another memory trick is the “method of loci”. Visualise a series of locations from your home to college and then connect each location with a keyword from your chapter.
— The writer is a student counsellor