If you are like many students, your time is limited so it is important to get the most educational value out of the time you have. Speed of learning is not the only important factor, however. Becoming an effective and efficient student is not something that happens overnight, but putting a few of these tips into daily practice can help you get more out of your study time.

One useful way to become a more effective learner is to simply keep learning. In one article published in Nature, it was reported that people who learned how to juggle（玩杂耍）increased the amount of gray matter, which is associated with visual memory. When these individuals stopped practicing their new skill, this gray matter disappeared. So, if you are learning a new language, it is important to keep practicing the language in order to maintain the improvement you have achieved. If you want the new information you just learned to stay put, keep practicing and rehearsing（默诵）it.

Another one of the best ways to learn is to focus on learning in more than one way. Find different ways to rehearse the information. This might involve describing what you learned to a friend, taking notes, or drawing a mind map By learning in more than one way, you're further strengthening the knowledge in your mind. According to researcher Judy Willis, "The more regions of the brain that store data about a subject, the more interconnection there is. And this interconnection of data means we have learned, rather than just memorized."

While it may seem that spending more time studying is one of the best ways of effective learning, research has proved that taking tests actually helps you better remember what you've learned, even if it isn't covered by the tests. The study showed that students who studied and were then tested had better long-term recall of the materials, even of information that was not covered by the tests. Students who had extra time to study but were not tested had significantly lower recall of the materials.

“Digital Hoarding” Could Be an Increasing Problem

As data storage has become more accessible than ever, the amount of digital “stuff” we all have put aside is on the rise, too.

In a recent paper published in the journal Information & Management, we have investigated a rising phenomenon called “digital hoarding”, which happens when an individual constantly acquires digital content, feels difficulty in getting rid of it, and gradually gets more and more digital content without an intended purpose.

Digital hoarding can quickly increase out of control, too — perhaps even more quickly than in the physical world, due to several reasons. First, the digital hoarder is less likely to notice the space limitations in the digital world. While the boundaries of a physical space are clear, such boundaries are less noticeable in digital spaces. Second, hoarding of physical objects happens in fixed boundaries, while digital spaces are “expandable” — you can get additional digital storage with minimum effort at very little or zero cost. Third, to hoard physical items, a person needs to expend some effort, such as purchasing them. By contrast, most digital contents are either self-created, free, or available on a subscription (订阅) basis. Fourth, compared with physical stuff, digital contents can be multiplied, for example, by making copies, with very minimal effort.

In the modern world, it is unavoidable that digital content plays an important role in our lives. Therefore, the potential of serious mental health impacts from digital hoarding is a real possibility.

If you think you’re holding onto too much digital content, you can try cleaning your digital footprint, reducing unnecessary digital content, coming up with simple methods to organize your files, pictures and videos. What’s more, reassess the importance of many social networks, including groups in many communication apps, and keep only those essential to you.