SalParadise
Don Juan
But what does this have to do with getting women?!
On the syllabus:
Motivation
Organisation
Time Management
Major Projects
80/20 Rule
Modeling
Revision Methods
Tests
Motivation: a never ending kick up the ass.
To succeed in anything, you need a burning desire that is going to carry you through and give you the motivation you need. The people who get the highest marks are the people who have a real desire and impulse towards them. These are the people who are training for certain careers, or hot to get into a certain school, or who get a lot of status from their loved ones from studying, etc.
You'll only ever get the results you absolutely intend to get, rather than the results you'd like to get. It is the same with studies as it is with women. Sit down and decide what fantastic grades will do for you, because you will need a compelling reason to push you through those tests.
Organisation
Most people see organization as a hassle. In truth, the more organized you are, the more EASY you make things for yourself.
-Write down your homework assignments clearly, with clear deadlines, and in a proper planner, not some crappy free one. You’ll respect it more if you buy it yourself.
-Ask your tutors when the key tests are coming up, and get the exact dates. This way you get to train for them properly. Write them in red pen on a wall planner you see every day.
You should constantly be trying to out-do yourself in how professional you can be in your studies. Ask yourself every day, ‘how can I be more professional & organized?’. Find the answers and you will make things a lot easier.
Time Management
What you need to do with your time is to make it work for you. The more you plan what you do in advance, the more time you’ll have for your studies and the more quality work you will get done. Keep asking yourself: ‘What is the most important thing for me to be doing right now?’.
Daily Habits
Work out everything you need to do in a day, and write it out as a to-do list. Put all your tasks in order of priority, from A-F, and work on the important stuff first.
Make a plan that has a space for every day of the week. At the start of the week, work out what you are going to need to do that week and block it in. Find a place for everything. Bear in mind other commitments or stuff you are going to do. If you don’t precisely block out time for your studies, you won’t do them to the level that you should.
Do this every day before you go to sleep
Make a to-do list for the next day.
Pack for your classes.
Plan out all the work you need to do the next day.
Time Survey
Work out how much time you’ve got. Add up how much free time you have, when you’re not in classes or asleep, in a day. Then factor in work or other commitments you can’t get out of. Then factor in the exact amount of time you need to spend in private study (outside of classes). If you have loads of free time left, maybe you should devote more to your studies. If you’ve got barely any, just revise smarter and cut down your hours (see 80/20 rule).]
Major projects
Got a project you need to complete by a deadline?
1)Work out everything you need to do.
2)Work out what’s most important.
3)Make a plan that has a space for every day you’ve got to work on the project, from now until the deadline.
4) Plan out when you will do every single thing, in order of importance! Do important stuff now.
5)Make the last week before the deadline completely free, this way you have time to fix any problems, or just chill.
Continual Revision: Tiny effort, big results.
Give ½ an hour, or an hour, one day a week to looking through your notes and reminding yourself of the key information. It’s like lifting weights – when the test comes your muscles will already be primed, when everyone else is frantically overtraining for it!
The 80/20 Rule
This remarkably accurate rule says that 20% of what you do is responsible for 80% of your results, and 80% of what you do makes up only 20% of your results.
Have you ever busted your ass revising a book-load of topics for a test, then found that only a very small part of your knowledge made up most of your marks? That’s the 80/20 rule in action. It applies to virtually everything.
Apply this to your studies and it will save you loads of time.
1) Break your subject down into it’s component parts (ie. the different topics, study areas, lessons, etc).
2) Work out the key parts of the course which are likely to get you big marks in the exam if you learn them by heart (the magic 20%).
3) Spend 80% of your time learning these key areas, and 20% of your time learning the rest of the course.
I was slogging through a huge book in English. Using the 80/20 rule, I realized that by intensely studying only a few key passages, I could get maximum marks in the exam, without having to cover the rest of the book in detail. I got full marks by concentrating on a few pages!
If you want to really kick ass with this method, 80/20 all of your subjects with the help of your tutors, and keep doing it until you know exactly which bits are really important.
Have a review
Every two weeks, go to each of your tutors and have a discussion about how you are doing. Ask them what you should be focusing on, how you could improve, and what your weak points are. You’ll get a lot of very useful feedback.
Get to the highest level
The easiest way to get to a higher grade is to ‘model’ those who are already there. Get hold of specimen papers by top achieving students, and break them down, work out how they are written. I improved by a grade in one subject just by analyzing the writing + planning style of better students, and using it.
Revising properly
Personally, I’ve always found that rewriting my notes in bullet points is the fastest way to learn. It’s boring, but it works.
Learning Styles
What is the easiest way for you to learn?
Auditory
If you’re an auditory learner, you remember stuff you hear. You should talk through your studies with your tutor, tape and listen back to your notes, and even record your classes with a Dictaphone so you can play back the important stuff to complement your notes.
Visual
If you’re a visual learner, you remember images and graphics easily. Annotate your notes with pictures, stick up revision cards around the place and associate the information with a certain area, or take dry facts and give them a visual significance (ie. imagine every detail of a war, with the date of it sliced into someone’s back. That’s how I passed History).
Kinaesthetic
If you’re a Kino learner (ha ha), then your best bet is to make everything real for yourself. You remember things that happen, that people do, things you hold in your hand, etc. Act out key passages if you’re studying a play. Revise with your friends.
Seclude!
The real key to revision, as I’ve learnt the long and hard way, is to seclude yourself in a room that is quiet and well-appointed, and get down to it! Take regular breaks and revise in 30 minute bursts. But keep focused. To get good results, you will sometimes feel like a monk. But it will be worth it!
My two favourite methods
Index cards
Break subjects down onto 3x5 index cards, with a few cards for each topic. Then number them and keep them in a folder. You can:
- Keep the cards in your wallet and look at them frequently.
- Organize them in terms of priority.
- Stick them up around the house where you will see them.
Notes on MP3
Record your notes onto computer, convert them to MP3, and stick them on your player. I listened to my notes during bus rides, chores, etc.
The Test
1.Start with exercise. Get the adrenaline going.
2.Revise your key information on index cards, but stop an hour before the test.
3.When you get in, write down key facts on a blank sheet of paper, so you aren’t struggling to remember them in the heat of battle.
4.When you get the paper, stare it in the eyes and think: ‘You’re mine’.
5.Work out exactly how much time you’ll spend on each question. Write out a plan for each one in shorthand note format. Cross out the plan at the end of the test. Spend about 25% of your time on the plan, then the writing is easy.
6.Take water and earplugs. Don’t let someone’s cough stand between you and a grade.
So there you go
Apply these ideas and you should see better results. But as with everything else, the bottom line is, you need to bust your ass a little to do well in studies. Put in the hard work, and use the ideas of this article to make sure you’re doing the right things, and get ready for that pummeling you will receive from your classmates on results day when they see your A-grades!
PS. There is more to add to this, if you guys like it I will develop it. Also, if anyone has something to add, PM me and I'll put it in.
So. This is for those of you that want to improve in your studies and make better grades. These are the ideas I used to go from the class dunce to making damn near perfect marks.
On the syllabus:
Motivation
Organisation
Time Management
Major Projects
80/20 Rule
Modeling
Revision Methods
Tests
Motivation: a never ending kick up the ass.
To succeed in anything, you need a burning desire that is going to carry you through and give you the motivation you need. The people who get the highest marks are the people who have a real desire and impulse towards them. These are the people who are training for certain careers, or hot to get into a certain school, or who get a lot of status from their loved ones from studying, etc.
You'll only ever get the results you absolutely intend to get, rather than the results you'd like to get. It is the same with studies as it is with women. Sit down and decide what fantastic grades will do for you, because you will need a compelling reason to push you through those tests.
Organisation
Most people see organization as a hassle. In truth, the more organized you are, the more EASY you make things for yourself.
-Write down your homework assignments clearly, with clear deadlines, and in a proper planner, not some crappy free one. You’ll respect it more if you buy it yourself.
-Ask your tutors when the key tests are coming up, and get the exact dates. This way you get to train for them properly. Write them in red pen on a wall planner you see every day.
You should constantly be trying to out-do yourself in how professional you can be in your studies. Ask yourself every day, ‘how can I be more professional & organized?’. Find the answers and you will make things a lot easier.
Time Management
What you need to do with your time is to make it work for you. The more you plan what you do in advance, the more time you’ll have for your studies and the more quality work you will get done. Keep asking yourself: ‘What is the most important thing for me to be doing right now?’.
Daily Habits
Work out everything you need to do in a day, and write it out as a to-do list. Put all your tasks in order of priority, from A-F, and work on the important stuff first.
Make a plan that has a space for every day of the week. At the start of the week, work out what you are going to need to do that week and block it in. Find a place for everything. Bear in mind other commitments or stuff you are going to do. If you don’t precisely block out time for your studies, you won’t do them to the level that you should.
Do this every day before you go to sleep
Make a to-do list for the next day.
Pack for your classes.
Plan out all the work you need to do the next day.
Time Survey
Work out how much time you’ve got. Add up how much free time you have, when you’re not in classes or asleep, in a day. Then factor in work or other commitments you can’t get out of. Then factor in the exact amount of time you need to spend in private study (outside of classes). If you have loads of free time left, maybe you should devote more to your studies. If you’ve got barely any, just revise smarter and cut down your hours (see 80/20 rule).]
Major projects
Got a project you need to complete by a deadline?
1)Work out everything you need to do.
2)Work out what’s most important.
3)Make a plan that has a space for every day you’ve got to work on the project, from now until the deadline.
4) Plan out when you will do every single thing, in order of importance! Do important stuff now.
5)Make the last week before the deadline completely free, this way you have time to fix any problems, or just chill.
Continual Revision: Tiny effort, big results.
Give ½ an hour, or an hour, one day a week to looking through your notes and reminding yourself of the key information. It’s like lifting weights – when the test comes your muscles will already be primed, when everyone else is frantically overtraining for it!
The 80/20 Rule
This remarkably accurate rule says that 20% of what you do is responsible for 80% of your results, and 80% of what you do makes up only 20% of your results.
Have you ever busted your ass revising a book-load of topics for a test, then found that only a very small part of your knowledge made up most of your marks? That’s the 80/20 rule in action. It applies to virtually everything.
Apply this to your studies and it will save you loads of time.
1) Break your subject down into it’s component parts (ie. the different topics, study areas, lessons, etc).
2) Work out the key parts of the course which are likely to get you big marks in the exam if you learn them by heart (the magic 20%).
3) Spend 80% of your time learning these key areas, and 20% of your time learning the rest of the course.
I was slogging through a huge book in English. Using the 80/20 rule, I realized that by intensely studying only a few key passages, I could get maximum marks in the exam, without having to cover the rest of the book in detail. I got full marks by concentrating on a few pages!
If you want to really kick ass with this method, 80/20 all of your subjects with the help of your tutors, and keep doing it until you know exactly which bits are really important.
Have a review
Every two weeks, go to each of your tutors and have a discussion about how you are doing. Ask them what you should be focusing on, how you could improve, and what your weak points are. You’ll get a lot of very useful feedback.
Get to the highest level
The easiest way to get to a higher grade is to ‘model’ those who are already there. Get hold of specimen papers by top achieving students, and break them down, work out how they are written. I improved by a grade in one subject just by analyzing the writing + planning style of better students, and using it.
Revising properly
Personally, I’ve always found that rewriting my notes in bullet points is the fastest way to learn. It’s boring, but it works.
Learning Styles
What is the easiest way for you to learn?
Auditory
If you’re an auditory learner, you remember stuff you hear. You should talk through your studies with your tutor, tape and listen back to your notes, and even record your classes with a Dictaphone so you can play back the important stuff to complement your notes.
Visual
If you’re a visual learner, you remember images and graphics easily. Annotate your notes with pictures, stick up revision cards around the place and associate the information with a certain area, or take dry facts and give them a visual significance (ie. imagine every detail of a war, with the date of it sliced into someone’s back. That’s how I passed History).
Kinaesthetic
If you’re a Kino learner (ha ha), then your best bet is to make everything real for yourself. You remember things that happen, that people do, things you hold in your hand, etc. Act out key passages if you’re studying a play. Revise with your friends.
Seclude!
The real key to revision, as I’ve learnt the long and hard way, is to seclude yourself in a room that is quiet and well-appointed, and get down to it! Take regular breaks and revise in 30 minute bursts. But keep focused. To get good results, you will sometimes feel like a monk. But it will be worth it!
My two favourite methods
Index cards
Break subjects down onto 3x5 index cards, with a few cards for each topic. Then number them and keep them in a folder. You can:
- Keep the cards in your wallet and look at them frequently.
- Organize them in terms of priority.
- Stick them up around the house where you will see them.
Notes on MP3
Record your notes onto computer, convert them to MP3, and stick them on your player. I listened to my notes during bus rides, chores, etc.
The Test
1.Start with exercise. Get the adrenaline going.
2.Revise your key information on index cards, but stop an hour before the test.
3.When you get in, write down key facts on a blank sheet of paper, so you aren’t struggling to remember them in the heat of battle.
4.When you get the paper, stare it in the eyes and think: ‘You’re mine’.
5.Work out exactly how much time you’ll spend on each question. Write out a plan for each one in shorthand note format. Cross out the plan at the end of the test. Spend about 25% of your time on the plan, then the writing is easy.
6.Take water and earplugs. Don’t let someone’s cough stand between you and a grade.
So there you go
Apply these ideas and you should see better results. But as with everything else, the bottom line is, you need to bust your ass a little to do well in studies. Put in the hard work, and use the ideas of this article to make sure you’re doing the right things, and get ready for that pummeling you will receive from your classmates on results day when they see your A-grades!
PS. There is more to add to this, if you guys like it I will develop it. Also, if anyone has something to add, PM me and I'll put it in.
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