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Page layout 2: practice questions, and five-minute breaksHow long should a study break be?

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The question at the end: How long should a study break be? The answer is in the notes below.

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Page layout 2: practice questions

A second layout, very similar to the first. Down the left, write practice questions about what's on screen. On the right, a box for formulae and a box for explanations, which can include imagery: draw or copy a diagram from the book if that helps you remember it.

Practice questions Q1 What is design current? Q2 … Q3 … Formulae formulas from the lesson or the book Explanation answers in your own words imagery: draw or copy a diagram Write questions about what's on the screen Watch, pause, rewind, watch again (2 to 5 times) Same A4 page, different split
Sparky's second layout: practice questions down the left, formulae top right, explanation (with a sketch if it helps) bottom right.

Example: What is design current? The explanation given is as good as there is, and it doesn't go particularly deep. Watch it, pause it, rewind it, watch it again: two or three times, four or five times if you need to.

Worth tabbing · design current (Ib) is defined in BS 7671 Part 2 (Definitions) · look it up and tab it

Five-minute breaks

If it feels like it's going in one ear and out the other, take a mini break. Not the half-hour or hour-long "I need to clear my head" break, and not "I'll come back to it in the morning". Studies show the brain needs about five minutes to reset.

Sparky's way Study 5 min Study 5 min Study Cup of tea, look out of the window, then straight back to the book. The trap Study 30 min to 1 hour break … "I'll come back to it in the morning" It takes longer and longer, panic sets in, you compare yourself to others and think about giving up.
Keep breaks to about five minutes. Long breaks make it harder to get going again.
  • Go downstairs, make a cup of tea, look out of the window for a couple of minutes, then straight back in front of the book. Five minutes, no more. It takes discipline.
  • Long breaks lead to a spiral: it takes longer and longer, you panic about when you'll get through it, you compare yourself to others who seem ahead, you think "I can't do this", and you give up.

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