(Mewcifer, helping me study)
Recently, I've been studying for
an exam that my employer wants me to take for my job. Passing it is entirely optional unless I
prefer to remain employed.
So I gathered my five remaining
brain cells together - you know, the ones not busy keeping track of kids, pets,
and car keys - and began studying.
Reading the information was fine,
even with the subject matter being a bit on the tedious side. Still, I put in the required number of
reading hours and thought all was well.
My problems began when I
attempted to actually recall what I'd read.
As I finished each chapter and took the practice quizzes at the end, it
became clear exactly how much of what I'd read just wasn't sticking in my
brain.
Funny thing - remembering stuff
is pretty critical to passing an exam.
Considering I'm as old the
invention of the ZIP code, my learning-stuff-to-pass-an-exam days are far
behind me. Combine that with the fact
that you lose a quarter of your brain cells in childbirth*and it's easy to see
why I'm struggling. I've had three kids,
so doing the math tells me there's very little left in the way of brain
capacity to work with.
Yet here I am, trying to make the
same demands on my brain that I did when I was twenty. No wonder it laughs at me: "You want me to juggle your life AND
learn something new? At the same
time? NOT GONNA HAPPEN."
This is the same insolent brain that
allows me to walk into a room without actually clueing me in as to why I felt compelled to walk in there in the
first place. My mind can be a real jerk
at times.
To have any hope of passing this
exam, I knew I needed some new strategies - ones that don't rely on
memorization.
I decided to increase the number
of hours I sleep each night. I figure it
can't hurt, and maybe my brain will be a little more accommodating if it's not
always sleep-deprived.
Next, I'm trying to read more carefully. In this age of information overload, it's
easy to fall into the habit of skimming content instead of reading it. It's kind of like how you listen to every
word your spouse says for the first five years of marriage, and then after
that, you're lucky if you catch the fourth or fifth sentence.
My youngest son suggested that I
highlight the critical words in each question (such as "is NOT
correct," "is true EXCEPT") so that I don't miss them. Looking over my incorrect answers on the
quizzes revealed that skipping over those words is indeed something I've been
doing.
What really seems to be making a
difference is that I've also begun relating each concept I'm studying to
something I already know. I didn't make
it this far in life without experiencing a ton of things, so why not put that
hard-earned wisdom to work?
Can't remember the elements of a
contract? I'll just think back to that
rock climbing participation agreement I
had to sign so Evan could go with his class.
Not sure I can recall how loss assessment coverage works? Thinking about the Hurricane Sandy damage at
my mom's condominium will certainly jog my memory.
My five brain cells and I are
going to rock this thing. We may not be
twenty anymore, but we are wise, mighty, and determined. And that's even better.
*OK, I totally made up that
childbirth thing, but it sure feels that way!
