[Study Method 2] The cruel lie that 'effort never betrays you.' Are you swimming to Okinawa when you should be going to Hokkaido? The 'shortest path' answer polished within government offices

Hello there!
From a corner of a government office, with love, it's your 'Professional'—the [Son of Tokiyu] 🦍🌈!

There is a warm saying, 'Effort never betrays you,' which feels as comforting as the rice sent by your mother back home.

However, I have some unfortunate news.

In the world of studying, this saying often transforms into a cruel lie.

If your destination is Hokkaido, but you are swimming with all your might toward Okinawa while shouting, 'It's all about spirit and guts!', that effort won't just betray you—it will push you into the abyss with everything it's got.

As a professional, I have seen countless people who were too earnest and never saw any rewards.

They all start by sitting upright and reading thick reference books from the very first page.

Then, they pour all their energy into the 'Introduction' or 'History' in Chapter 1, only to burn out and collapse with their eyes rolled back by the time they reach the crucial Chapter 5.

Meanwhile, appearing like a comet, is a colleague of mine who makes you want to suspect a 'design flaw in humanity'.

He graduated from the University of Tokyo and joined the same government ministry as I did.

After that, he passed a medical school entrance exam and gracefully resigned from his post.

When we colleagues were talking about 'how he managed to study during that turbulent first year,' before we knew it, he had passed the bar exam and is now a lawyer.

I acknowledge that his brain is a supercomputer, but that is not what I want to focus on.

What he practices is a reverse-engineered strategy that solves everything through design, rather than trying to solve it with the 'guts' that ordinary people rely on.

This time, let's dig deep into the 'cunningly smart mindset' to graduate from meaningless effort and snatch a passing grade via the shortest path.

1. Throw away the 'shackles' called perfectionism

It is a Japanese virtue to 'do everything perfectly from start to finish,' but in exam preparation, this is the biggest 'failure flag'.

What I want to say loudly is, 'Please save aiming for a perfect score for school tests.'

~The 'Aesthetics of Compromise' known as the passing line~

For most certification and civil service exams, you pass if you get about 70 percent.

In other words, it is as if you have been given a get-out-of-jail-free card that says it is okay to get 30% wrong from the very beginning.

Yet, many learners are afflicted by the disease of 'feeling anxious unless I know every single detail.'

If you aim for a perfect score to resolve this anxiety, the amount of study required increases exponentially.

With 'reverse-engineering' thinking, you first focus all your energy on 'how to efficiently snatch 70 points.'

The decisiveness to say, 'I don't know this. I'm not interested. If it shows up, I'll treat it as an accident and give up' on the remaining 30 points is what actually draws success to you.

Alternatively, there is also a charm you can use: 'snatch points using professional secret techniques (see the article at the bottom)' 🦍🌈

~ 'Going through it once' is now a sport ~

The common trait among people who give up halfway through a textbook is that they stop at parts they don't understand.

'I don't understand the meaning of this formula...'

'I can't accept this interpretation of the law...'.

I understand.

That inquisitive spirit is wonderful.

But stopping there is like sitting down in the middle of a marathon to observe a rare flower blooming on the side of the road.

Even if your understanding is insufficient, please proceed with the attitude of someone listening to a relative's boastful story for the first time, thinking, 'Huh, I see. There are strange things in this world, too.'

First, grasp the overall picture.

This sense of speed—'just rushing through to the end'—gives your brain the peace of mind that 'oh, this thing actually has a finish line,' preventing you from giving up before it happens.

2. Past exam questions are not a 'map,' but a 'book of prophecy' that knows the future

Many people believe without a doubt that studying follows the order of 'input (memorization)' → 'output (practice).'

However, the recent logical study method, 'reverse-engineering,' goes in the exact opposite direction.

It is 'starting with past exam questions immediately.'

~Do not sharpen your weapons without knowing the face of your enemy~

Imagine this. You are about to head out on a hunt.

If you don't even know if your opponent is a giant mammoth or a swift bird, would you think, 'I'll just practice my karate chops 10,000 times for now'?

If the opponent forces you into an underwater battle, that practice becomes meaningless.

The same applies to exams.

Reading a reference book without looking at past exam questions is like walking into a desert without a map.

First, open the 'past exam questions' and confirm from what angle and with what weight the enemy will launch their attacks.

~The magic activates just by looking~

I can hear the screams of, 'I haven't studied anything yet, so I can't solve past exam questions!' but that is perfectly fine.

You don't have to solve them.

Just 'look' at them.

• 'Oh, I saw this term on the previous page too' (= high importance)

• 'This calculation problem appears at the end every time' (= source of points)

• 'This historical background only appears once every 10 years' (= trash bin material)

Just by performing this 'guessing' task, an 'information selection filter' will be installed in your brain.

When you read a reference book with this filter in place, only the important parts will start to shine brightly.

This is the true identity of the 'magic' that can cut your study time in half.

3. The '5-Step Reverse Calculation Method' that incorporates failure into the design

The reverse calculation approach is a systematic one that eliminates emotion.

Following this, I have organized what specifically needs to be done into five steps.

1. Know your goal and expose the specific 'minimum passing score'

First, expose the true nature of your enemy.

What is the passing score?

Which subjects have the highest point allocation?

'Trying hard at everything' is not a strategy.

Everything begins with identifying the 'breadwinners' with the highest point allocations.

2. Face your 'current location' and despair

Admit how ignorant you are right now.

Confirm the realistic gap: 'I have zero points now. I need 70 more points to pass. How will this gap be bridged?'

Getting depressed and thinking 'I'm no good' here is a waste of time.

You are simply measuring a numerical distance.

3. 'Shatter' what you need to do into pieces

List the reference books and problem sets you need to conquer.

Then, break them down into monthly, weekly, and daily units.

Instead of 'I'll work hard on Constitutional Law today,' say 'Today I will read 15 pages of Chapter 3 of the reference book and solve 5 past exam questions'.

Only when you make it this specific can your brain move without hesitation.

4. Build a 'buffer' into your schedule

Humans are not designed to follow plans perfectly.

Sudden drinking parties, unexpected illness, or the irresistible urge to 'just watch a video of my favorite idol.'

Anticipating these, set aside one day a week as a 'do-nothing day (or a day to catch up on lost time).'

The secret to finishing a long-distance run is having the flexibility to laugh off unexpected situations with a 'whoops' and make adjustments.

5. High-speed rotation of practice and adjustment (PDCA)

A plan is not finished once you have created it.

If you actually try it and realize, 'This subject takes more time than I thought,' you should rewrite your plan immediately.

Incorporate the act of continuously cycling through PDCA into your routine itself.

4. The 'Trunk, Branch, and Leaf' sorting technique to achieve brain energy conservation

The human brain's memory is much weaker than we think.

If you try to treat all information equally, it will immediately throw an 'insufficient capacity' error.

Therefore, you need to sort knowledge into three ranks from the perspective of 'metacognition (objective viewing)'.

~Rank 1: 'Trunk'~

This is the 'foundation' without which all other knowledge will collapse.

This is the most important point that must be firmly grasped from the very first pass.

In reality, this 'trunk' portion accounts for 80% of the exam's scoring weight.

~Rank 2: 'Branch (Peripheral Knowledge)'~

This is slightly more detailed knowledge that grows from the 'trunk'.

Learning this will stabilize your source of points.

It is sufficient to skim through this on the first pass and solidify it on the second and third passes.

~Rank 3: 'Leaf (Maniac Knowledge)'~

This belongs to the category of so-called 'difficult questions' or 'bizarre questions'.

These are annotations like those written in small print in the corner of a textbook.

Let me, as a professional, state this clearly.

This is 'foliage you can discard.'

Successful candidates discard this.

Conversely, unsuccessful candidates try hard to memorize this and forget the essential 'trunk'.

Only those who possess this 'courage to discard' can snatch success in a short period of time.

By discarding the leaves, the trunk becomes stronger.

In investment terms, cutting losses is a necessary expense.

5. Do not trust the power of will; build a cage called a 'system'

Finally, I will talk about 'creating an environment' to support your mindset.

The phrase 'I'll get motivated starting tomorrow' is one of the least fulfilled promises in the world.

Do not entrust your life to something as fickle as the weather, like motivation.

~The 'surgical operation' of splitting up textbooks~

A thick textbook creates a mental barrier just by being 'a hassle to open'.

If so, let's physically cut it apart with a utility knife.

If you divide it into thin sections every few chapters, you'll think, 'Oh, I can look at this,' even during the few seconds of waiting for a commuter train.

'Lower the hurdle for studying until it's buried in the ground'.

This is the essence of systemization.

~The reverse way of thinking: solving problems for the sake of input~

Do not 'solve problems after understanding,' but 'solve problems in order to understand.'

It's fine to look at the answers while you do it.

While reading the explanations, confirm, 'Ah, this is a point (flag) that will appear on the exam.'

Then, the next time you read the text, that spot will seem to shine.

Switch your brain from 'passive reading mode' to 'active exploration mode'.

~Reducing routines to the level of 'brushing your teeth'~

Thinking 'I have to study' itself consumes brain energy.

'When it's lunch break, solve three problems before eating curry.' 'When you get out of the bath, look at five vocabulary words while drying your hair.'

By making studying parasitic on your daily routine, you create a state where your hands move automatically without you even thinking about it.

How was it?

The idea that you can pass if you just increase your study time is half right and half a big mistake.

'Work backward from the goal, strip away the waste, and bind yourself with a system.'

This cold, strategic thinking is the source that produces overwhelming results.

Of course, I am not saying you should 'do all of this starting tomorrow!'

However, starting today, you should be able to discard a little bit of 'perfectionism' and try starting by 'looking at past exam questions.'

As long as the 'direction of your effort' is correct, all that's left is to keep moving your feet.

I am confident that that one step will lead you to the goal by the shortest distance.