Currently I am studying, on my own, multivariate calculus, math statistical analysis, and physics. My question is, when you personally study multiple math and physics subjects, do you study a little bit of each one everyday, or do you use some other method? I ask, because I am considering modifying my study habits.
Studying Schedule
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0Sorry that I didn't specify: I am in college, wanting to study mathematics and physics. – 2012-12-17
2 Answers
I think there is no magic answer to such a question, it seems quite subjective. Personally, when I was studying math and physics in undergraduate I would work on one subject until I either completed the work I had to do, or I got to a point where I would get stuck. I would use my other classes as a distraction from where I got stuck, and this often helped me progess further upon return to the material.
Whether you do multiple classes per day I think is up to you, and what you are most comfortable with but if you are trying to get a lot done at the same time try using other classes as ways of getting your mind off of things that get you caught up, for a while.
Despite this, I hope it goes without saying that there is a strict limit to such a technique, if you find yourself going back and forth between all classes multiple times perhaps a real break is required. sometimes chess or similar games are great for that so that your mind still stays working but you get to forget about the topic for a tad.
good luck
I'm sure many people will give different answers to this question, since it is very much a matter of personal preference and inclination. I myself usually self-study just one subject at a time; when I say I am self-studying "multiple subjects," what I really mean is I have a sequence of subjects that I am studying one after the other. My preference is to sit down with a book and go through it line by line for several hours per day, to the exclusion of other subjects. I prefer this since it lets me give my undivided attention to the subject.
Of course, part of it is that I don't really have a choice anymore - I once spent five hours taking notes on six pages of Brezis's Functional Analysis. There comes a point where spending an hour on a single page becomes the norm. Not that the proofs were hard to follow - Brezis is a very clear expositor - but seeing functional analysis for the first time and filling in the gaps in the arguments took a lot of time. When you need to spend thirty minutes to an hour to get through a single page of the book, if you want to get anything done that day there's no choice but to stick to that book for the rest of the day.