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Permalink Reply by David F. on February 11, 2013 at 8:40am

Schedule your days with a planner and mark off your progress.

Learn how you best load information into your long term memory.

Mostly it is a matter of learning how you load it in.  For most it is the act of writing it down.  The act of preparing flashcards is of greater value then using them if you hand write them.  At least for me.

Then schedule for refreshers after a week and then a month.

The key areas for this would be your math and science classes.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Shelton on February 11, 2013 at 12:53pm

Achieving Goals:

Almost everyone has difficulty achieving their goals. The question is why. The answer, I think is simple, you need to be able to postpone your satisfaction or delay your gratification. It is easier to play video games than it is to study or go to work and the gratification is almost immediate. Learn to delay the gratification and learn to like the anticipation of the achievement of your goals. Break down large goals into smaller goals, milestones if you will. By doing this you get more immediate satisfaction of achieving those milestones as well as the satisfaction of progress towards the final end result.

Getting good grades:

When I was an instructor in the Navy we taught the "See, Say, and Do" method. Basically as the teacher is teaching the subject in class you take notes, when you get home you review the notes and you try to explain them to someone else (it helps if you have a study group), you then do the problems in the chapter or homework. In advanced math I went to study-hall and read the chapter until I understood what the process for solution was and why.

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Permalink Reply by Paul_of_TX on February 11, 2013 at 2:56pm

Flash cards were extremely helpful when I was studying. I only wish I had started using them before my 3rd year of college. It is surprising how helpful it can be just preparing the flash cards.

With goals you also need to make goals that are small and are easily measurable. Getting better in math is not so easily measured so not a very good goal. Having a well defined goal makes a lot of difference. I'm going to get a B in math is very easy to define and measure your success.

While you are in school try to structure your day like you are working in an office. I wish I had done this sooner and more than I actually did. Get up early and prepare for the day then go to your classes. Class are over around 3:30 but spend the next two hours or so doing homework and studying. Hopefully you can get everything done and be finished by 5:00 or 6:00 and you get the evening to do what you want. In college you will have an abundance of time so spend it working during the daytime working hours instead of napping, watching TV or just wasting time.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Shelton on February 11, 2013 at 3:18pm

I agree, definable, measurable goals; otherwise you can't track progress.

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