#studynerd

Take Better Notes - Notes are just that Notes! Write down the important things, but do not write down everything. You will only waste energy and attention doing so. (Learn more about note taking here)

Re-Write the Notes - The first set of notes you write in class should be a mess. If you can barely find your way through that’s good enough. After class sit down again and re-write the Notes in a more organized, clean way. Therefore I recommend having 1 Notebook for class only (this can be for all classes) and the one separate one for every class.

Add your Learning Style to the Re-Written Notes - What kind of learner are you? Visual? Auditory? Practical? Find out so you know what will aid you best when you study. Visual Learners add Diagrams, Pictures and Graphs into your notes. Auditory Learners record your voice or the professors and keep an MP3 folder of all the said notes. Please ask them for permission first. Practical Learners find sites to practice what you’ve learned or form a Study Group. There are plenty of exercises and practice tests online and teaching others is one of the best practical ways to learn.

Study a Bit every day - Go through your Notes at least once a day starting as soon as you wrote them down. Do a little every day rather than everything at once. You know this is better; it’s time to apply it!

Keep a Separate Study Environment - Do not study in the same place you live and do not do anything other than study in the environment designated for it. Go to the library, find a secluded room or create a space that you close off other than for studying. TIP: If you study in locations where the people around you focus on mostly studying that will rub off on you. Also studying where you will have your exam increases the chances you will remember what you’ve learned (This is not always possible though).

Do not be Afraid to Mark - If you bought the book it’s *yours!*Just like your notes are yours as well! Do not be afraid to highlight, edit, underline, cut, paste, etc. The only purpose this book and these notes have is to give you great grades for an amazing future. If you really are afraid to ruin it you can always buy a second book later on.

Treat Your Classes Differently - Classes, Lectures and Seminars are not places where you learn all you need to know. They merely serve as way to ask questions and Review the information and concepts you learn. Treat them as such! Go in already having studied the material and use the Classes, Lectures and Seminars to review and ask what you do not understand. Never visit a Session without having looked at the material first.

Use your Professors - They are there to help you! That is their Job, Profession and Passion! Not even giving them the chance to help is just plain stupid. At least try; if they are too busy they will let you know.

Study for Knowledge not Memorization - There is a difference between the two that will become apparent sooner or later in life. When you study to understand the concepts you learn a different way. This may mean you have to use more outside tools (such as Google) for help, but that’s okay. It will repay you in the end.

Have Fun with it - We are all more productive when we enjoy what we do. Make sure you remember that you chose to study this. You chose this path. There was a reason for that! You can do so many things in life but you are here right now, so you might as well enjoy it!

Day (10/100) of productivity. I hit 50 followers but I’ve been getting attraction from porn bots and it really pisses me off. Other than that I had a pretty good day. Today I:

- Started and worked on a debate brief (the first photo) for beginners.

- Attempted to study for my history quiz but ended up binge watched crash course european history (which did help me a bit)

- Attempted to study biology... but ended up watching course biology (which didn’t help much).

- Studied for the PSAT and made a study schedule for it!

- I also made a workout + diet plan to try out for myself and did the workout today. Hehe

Make it as simple as possible.

A simplified decision-making process consists of 5 steps.

Step 1: Identify the problem you’re trying to solve. What will be solved when you make a decision? Take a sheet of paper or a notebook and write the problem down in one clear sentence.

Step 2: Consider possible solutions to the problem. What are potential solutions? It’s usually not a very long list, maybe in the 3–5 range and rarely goes beyond 10. Write all these solutions down.

Step 3: Make a list of pros and cons for each option. The trick is to keep your list of pros and cons short so you don’t waste time. List the top three advantages and disadvantages of each option. What would you gain or lose by selecting each one?

Step 4: Make up your mind. Here’s what can help: Reduce the number of options to two. Eliminate everything that’s unnecessary, will likely cost more time or money, or that made it on your list only for emotional reasons. Select the option that has the most pros. Give yourself extra points if that’s the option that also has the least number of cons. Trust your gut. This works best if your options rank the same i.e. they have about an equal amount of pros and cons. You can also talk to someone who’s more experienced and has been through a similar situation before. But if you go this route, remember that you’re not asking them to decide for you, only to share their thoughts and point of view if they’re helpful.

Step 5: When you make a decision, commit to it. This is very important. Don’t go back on your decision, don’t second-guess yourself, don’t redo the entire exercise. Be committed to the decision you made. It will teach you to how to trust and rely on yourself.

1. Stop pleasing everyone. Follow your own convictions, NOT what others expect from you.

2. Stop pampering yourself. Growth is found OUTSIDE your comfort zone.

3. Stop being distracted. We are the most distracted generation in history. No FOCUS, no results.

4. Stop relying on others. Your mama won’t save you anymore. NOTHING is free in life. Take accountability for your future.

5. Stop expecting instant satisfaction. Patience, PERSISTENCE and perspiration are your best friends.

6. Stop relying on motivation to act. Create the daily HABITS that will lead to achieving your goals.

7. Stop abusing your body. Eat HEALTHY, and you will look healthy, feel healthy and think healthily. Eat junk and you will feel like junk.

8. Stop surrounding yourself with negative people. We can’t change people, but we CAN change the people that we surround ourselves with.

9. Stop resisting change. Staying stuck in the past has PAINFUL consequences.

There’s a time for absorbing and analyzing new material throughout the day, just like there’s a time to let the brain sort all that new material out. The key is in understanding the importance of downtime to help the brain retain what it needs.

Why is this important? You need downtime in order to process all the inputs you’re exposed to throughout the day. Give yourself plenty of time to pause, reflect, and let your brain classify the information, make connections, and store the new inputs so they’re easier to memorize and recall at a later time.

What can you do? Go out for some exercise. It doesn’t have to be anything intense; it can be a 20–30 minute walk later in the afternoon, or a short bike ride, or a run. Getting your body active will give your brain a chance to take a back seat, unplug, and process what you’ve covered during the day.

Day 27/100 of productivity + 3rd day of October: Study set up

I finished math homework and went to speech and debate today. Overall today was a better day compared to yesterday and I’m very thankful for that.