Break This: Diminishing Returns on Study

I am an avid believer in the concept of diminishing returns. I really like to apply it specifically to studying for an exam. You see, right now I am working on my masters at BYU and I have come to learn throughout my college career that I reach a certain point, no matter the subject, where I cannot hold in more information. I believe that whenever a person is studying for an exam, whether the exam contains application or theoretical questions, there is only a certain amount of information your mind can hold before it can't hold anymore.

This is where diminishing returns starts to take affect. You notice that although you are studying and using the same methods and processes you know will maximize your studying efforts, there seems to be only a partial amount that sticks in your mind. So my question is this: why waste the time? I think that once you hit that speed bump, the time used to study loses value in an exponential scale. Don't spend too much time in that area of diminishing returns because after all that time and work, when you come out of the exam with a score far less than you expected you will only be that much angrier for losing that time.

So when you hit that peak and really start noticing that your "brain is getting warm" or that diminishing returns has sunk in with a vengeance I would suggest doing one of two things: Either stopping for a long period of time (if you really want to keep studying) or Just take the exam. I promise you will thank me for helping you stay sane during midterms and finals.