Archive for the 'Study Mistakes To Avoid' Category

Having trouble focusing while studying?

Published on November 13, 2011 in Exam Stress and Anxiety, Exams, Memory Skills, Speed Learning, Study Mistakes To Avoid, Study Tips and YouTube Videos. 2 Comments Tags: ART, Attention Restoration Theory, cram for exam, Cramming Tip, Exam Study Tip.

If you’re trying to cram for an exam or otherwise trying to get a lot of studying done or reviewing a lot of notes in a short period of time and losing focus, you might want to stare out the window – or even better, take a walk outside.

Seriously, if there are trees out there, it might just help.

According to Attention Restoration Theory (ART) people can concentrate better after spending time in nature, or even looking at scenes of nature. Natural environments abound with “soft fascinations” which a person can reflect upon in “effortless attention”, such as clouds moving across the sky, leaves rustling in a breeze or water bubbling over rocks in a stream. The theory was developed by Rachel and Stephen Kaplan in the 1980s in their book The experience of nature: A psychological perspective and has since been found by others to hold true in medical outcomes as well as intellectual task attention.

If you don’t have direct access to nature, researchers seem to agree that WATCHING VIDEOS might be the next best thing.

I did a quick YouTube search and found this video – I am sure some of you can find a better one that we can share… Please post the YouTube URL as a comment and I’ll publish the best ones!

The key is to envelop your visual sense in the experience…

You only need a few minutes of involuntary ‘effortless’ attention to then return to your task and have full concentration and focus.

Why my study tips work

Published on August 20, 2011 in Better Grades, Exam Stress and Anxiety, Exams, Mature Students, Memory Skills, Note Taking, Special Students, Speed Learning, Study Habits, Study Less, Study Mistakes To Avoid, Study Psychology and Study Tips. 2 Comments Tags: Exam tips, Study Habits, Study Strategies, Study Techniques.

I think you should watch this video, it’s only 3 minutes long and explains…

How and why my study techniques work

Students Social NOTworking

Published on August 13, 2011 in Better Grades, Exam Stress and Anxiety, Exams, Parents Of Students, Study Habits and Study Mistakes To Avoid. 2 Comments Tags: Social Networking And Students, Social NOTworking, Students And The Internet.

Today’s post is quick and to the point because The Economist Magazine recently reported that 75% of student time is used for socialising, recreation and sleeping and only 7% for studying.

It’s no mystery why so many students are struggling to get good grades.

Stop reading this and get back to your books!!!!

Frustrated With School?

Published on July 23, 2011 in Better Grades, General, Positive Mindset, Study Habits, Study Mistakes To Avoid, Study Psychology and Study Tips. 4 Comments Tags: Discipline, Excitement, Excuses, Making Excuses, Passion, Procrastination, Reasons Or Results.

One of the ironies of the world is that in under developed countries, young people are dying to get to school – in some cases that’s literally true. I don’t want to get on a political soap box because that’s not what this blog is about. Others can do a much better job of promoting that agenda than I can.

I, however, can change the world one student at a time.

If you’re frustrated with school, ask yourself why. I mean really ask yourself the question honestly. Is it because you’re lazy? Tired? Bored? Scared (being bullied)? Not doing as well as you’d like? Not in the popular crowd/group?

Ask yourself the question until YOU KNOW the real reason.

When you do know the absolute real REASON, deal with it.

Deal with it because it’s what’s preventing you from getting the RESULTS you want and dream about.

We’re REASON or we’re RESULTS.

It’s as simple as that.

It’s as complicated as that.

Complicated because UNLESS you’re honest with yourself, you’ll never deal with the #1 obstacle in your path. That means you’ll never achieve your true/ultimate destiny.

That’s enough for you to think about for today, or not.

Most people won’t give much thought, but then again most people (as many as 80% of 8 out 10) end up unhappy in their lives as adults, with regrets.

Regrets that go all the way back to their school days when they KNOW they could have made a shift that would have changed their lives forever.

If only they had know then what they know now.

Well guess what?

You are young enough NOW to make the change.

Make it and I guarantee you that in 20 years from now, you’ll remember this blog post when you meet someone who has regrets and is unhappy. You’ll realise that YOU made the effort when it counted… RIGHT NOW.

And they didn’t.

Don’t be that person — I know too many of them.

Lives lost and ruined because of lack of discipline, self esteem and self worth.

But also pure, sheer laziness and lack of will.

You can achieve ANYTHING you want in life (or school), you just need to WANT IT BAD ENOUGH and then do WHATEVER it takes to make it happen.

I know -

  • I have 5 university degrees, including an Engineering degree, MBA, Law and PhD degrees.
  • I can solve a Rubik’s cube in less than 4 minutes
  • I am a top 20 world-ranked squash player
  • I speak 2 languages fluently and understand a 3rd conversationally
  • I retired from the rat race at age 42
  • I’ve been to 36 different countries
  • I’ve had 6 BMWs, 2 of them convertibles
  • I’ve been in the same committed relationship for more than 27 years
  • I haven’t had a sick day in more than 20 years
  • I can speed read 1,800+ words/minute

I’m not superman – I just have great strategies, but most important of all, I have passion and drive to make things happen.

Bad study habits – you need to change them

Published on March 19, 2011 in Better Grades, General, Study Mistakes To Avoid and Study Tips. 6 Comments Tags: ADD, ADHD, college study skills, how to study in college, Study Habits.

We all have bad habits, but bad study habits can kill your grades faster than anything else. I could go on and on, but you know what I’m talking about.

  • Procrastinating, putting things off until the last minute.
  • Not paying attention in class.
  • Not doing the reading (at all let alone BEFORE the lecture).
  • Trying to learn everything on your own without a MasterMind Group.
  • Not taking enough notes.
  • Reading slowly when you know you could learn speed reading.
  • Getting stressed during exams and tests.

Perfect Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

Get your hands on my bestselling study book – it’s been sold to thousands of students from more than 29 countries and has been translated into 4 languages. Proven and guaranteed to work, you have 8 full weeks to make sure the study strategies and tips I will reveal to you work, or you’ll get your money back, no questions asked.

Go from getting Ds to As THIS semester

Published on March 5, 2011 in Better Grades, Exam Stress and Anxiety, Exams, Note Taking, Study Habits, Study Less, Study Mistakes To Avoid and Study Tips. 6 Comments
Get Better Grades THIS Semester

Get Better Grades THIS Semester

When you buy my study book… In chapter 1, I am going to show you HOW you learn so that you can INSTANTLY improve your grades as of your next test, quiz or exam.

With a 100% Money-Back-Guarantee, you have nothing to lose except the A or B on your next test or exam.

I’d like to make it harder and more complicated, but the reality is that it’s quite simple and straightforward – When you know WHAT to do and HOW to do it. It’s all revealed in my study book.

How To Study For Your SAT, LSAT or GMAT

Published on February 5, 2011 in Exam Stress and Anxiety, Exams, Mature Students, Study Mistakes To Avoid and Study Tips. 6 Comments Tags: Exam Strategy, GMAT, LSAT, SAT, Standardised Tests, Standardized Tests.

If you are studying for your SAT, LSAT or GMAT, here is the best advice I can give you.

Step #1: Buy all the preparation material from the original standardized testing service / organisation. They want you to succeed and are going to be straight with you. Read it all and FOLLOW the recommendations. They created and administer the test. They don’t have any tricks up their sleeves. They have to follow strict protocols and procedures.

Step #2: Only buy a prep program that you know from someone who has used it successfully. Too many of these companies prey on your lack of confidence and exploit you accordingly. First with a pre-set programs and THEN individual tutoring often at exorbitant cost. Let’s face it – if you need tutoring for the test, you have bigger problems…

Step #3: This is the important one. SIMULATE the test as often as time permits. All of these tests have TIME RESTRICTIONS and the key to succeeding is going through it over and over and over again, so that by the time you write the test that counts, you’ve got the PROCESS down pat. I did this to rank in the top percentiles of the GMAT and LSAT tests with LESS stress and better results than my classmates. Success is all about preparation and practice. As a minimum, you want to simulate the test 3 times.

Ideally, you go to the exam room (or one like it) to really put you in the mood. Yes, as you would expect, that’s what I did. I did it in the evening when the classrooms were available, uninterrupted. I think I simulated the tests 4 or 5 times (at 3 hours/test, that’s a BIG commitment, but keep reading why the payoff might be BIGGER than you thought!)

When I suggest simulation, I mean doing it LIKE THE REAL THING. Start and stop ON TIME. Grade yourself and gauge where you lost time and what you can improve. You know from my study book how to do this… This is just a SPECIFIC TASK that you want to PERFECT.

The reason is that standardized testing is important – it can mean the difference between getting in to the school you want or not. (When I placed in the top percentiles, I received invitations from top schools to apply… Imagine that – having THEM chase you! If you didn’t know, the top schools get access to the top students and try to woo them…

That’s why this is so important!

Why most students struggle in school

Published on January 22, 2011 in Better Grades, Memory Skills, Parents Of Students, Special Students, Study Habits, Study Mistakes To Avoid and Study Psychology. 2 Comments Tags: Memory Problems, Struggling In School, Student Problems.

Simply stated, most students struggle in school because they don’t know how they learn, In Chapter 1 of my worldwide bestselling study book, I explain step-by-step how you can determine what learning style you have so you can stop wasting countless hours staring at your books, frustrated because nothing’s making sense and you can’t remember anything you tried to memorise the previous day.

If you don’t know HOW you learn, you’ll keep struggling in school. Knowing your learning style can be a life-changing revelation.

Let me put it this way – if you’re one of these styles and you don’t know it, chances are, if you’ve just started high school, you probably won’t make it to college.

If you do get to college, you’ll get kicked out within the first year.

Not because you’re dumb, but because you weren’t smart enough to learn HOW you learn.

I know how harsh this sounds, but it’s better that I tell you the truth NOW when you have a chance to fix the problem once and for all.

PreMed Student Work-School Balance Tip

Published on January 2, 2011 in Better Grades, Study Habits, Study Mistakes To Avoid, Study Psychology and Study Tips. 4 Comments Tags: Student Work-Life Balance, Work-School Balance.

Pre Med Student Tance asks some great questions about how to get better grades while holding down a job.

Hello Dr. Dussault,
As a matter a fact I have read your book twice already. It is truly insightful and I am truly glad I purchased it. The only dilemma I have and I hope you can help me with this – I am currently in college, in premed, and I work a full time schedule and the only shift I can work is the midnight shift. There are many nights I feel exhausted and sometimes can’t concentrate on my studies. I need the job to support me and my wife.

The only good part is my job gives me quite a bit of money to pay for school. But do you have any suggestions as far as how I can study better with this schedule?

Thank you so much.
Tance

This is a common issue students grapple with, combining work and study. In my study book, I explain in chapter 4 a 5-step system to get everything done effortlessly. So the first suggestion is go back to that chapter and re-read the suggestions. Once that’s done, I think your challenge has more to do with stamina and endurance than time management. Continue reading ‘PreMed Student Work-School Balance Tip’

How to focus during exams

Published on December 12, 2010 in Exam Stress and Anxiety, Exams, Study Mistakes To Avoid and Study Tips. 2 Comments Tags: Improve Exam Focus, Improve Exam Performance, Reduce Exam Stress.

Today’a post is from Setimela in South Africa.

Dr Marc Dusssault,

I really appreciate the study and speed learning tips you are giving me but I have a problem losing concentration when writing a test and when doing my assignments. This results in me failing the test. This discourages me hence losing confidence. I am currently doing a part-time diploma in occupational health nursing with WITS University in South Africa. I have already written a test and I didn’t do well. Kindly assist me to pull through.

There is the famous saying we’ve all heard “practice makes perfect”, but it’s actually wrong. It should be “Perfect practice makes perfect.”

I have another blog called the Mindset Of A Champion where you’re find several posts that will help you focus for your exams. It covers topics such as Mental Toughness and deliberate practice concepts.

As a student, if you want to ace your next exam, you need to PRACTICE writing exams – literally. That means creating the same time pressure, even going to your exam room when it’s available to actually PRACTICE writing a fake exam. I know it sounds crazy, but if you actually do it, you’ll be amazed at the difference it will make.

When I did my undergraduate degree, about a handful of times, I went into the SAME (or similar) exam room to write exams on my own, when I knew there would be no one there (at night or on weekends). Sometimes I would sit the fake exam for the full 3 hours and often I would just do part of an exam for 1 hour – SAME STRESS.

It takes effort because you have to:

  • Come up with fake questions. (Ideally, you ask a friend to write them up for you)
  • Find when a room is available.
  • Go to (or stay at) school.
  • Role play seriously – even if that means panicking because you can’t answer the questions.
  • You need to grade yourself honestly after-the-fact.

If this is all too much effort – just keep freaking out during exams.

If you want to get better at anything – perfect practice makes perfect…

Of course there is the alternative which is MASTERING your subject matter – but that is a topic for another day.

Why you need to do your homework

Published on November 13, 2010 in General, Study Fun And Humour and Study Mistakes To Avoid. 3 Comments Tags: Why You Should Study.

Today’s post is funny, but then again it’s not really. I come across people everyday that can’t spell let alone put a few words together. Andrew Powell from Montreal Canada found this original article on Yahoo – America’s educational system captured in a single photo.

Well here’s something to make your old English teacher gasp in horror: A road contractor hired to paint the word “school” on a freshly paved stretch of highway near Southern Guilford High School in North Carolina rendering the traffic area in question a “shcool” lane.

But fear not for the surely confused area youth! The contractor, an area company named Traffic Markings, has already corrected the error.

This isn’t the first such mishap on record. Last year, for instance, a Miami area road crew offered the variant spelling of “scohol,” while in 2007, a Kalamazoo team managed to do the same “h” and “c” reversal.

Chalk it all up to a bad day’s wrok.

Today’s lesson – especially for high school students is this: You’re in school for a reason – to learn skills and develop aptitudes like reading, writing, math, research and now typing (properly) on a keyboard which is no longer something you can avoid. I know most high school students think a lot of what they do is a waste of time, but here’s the thing most don’t fully realise – you’ll NEVER, EVER go back to high school.

That means if you don’t pick up and DEVELOP those study skills and aptitudes, you’re #$@%#$ for the rest of your life and career. You won’t get the best promotions, job offers and certainly won’t get the biggest paychecks.

I see it every day – people who would like to write better, but just can’t. For whatever reason, when they should have learned the skills, they didn’t. It’s sad to see – because it’s a handicap. They have to hire other people to write for them. When they send email correspondence, the errors and poor grammar reflect poorly on who they are. Often, a prospect will lose confidence in them just because of that.

That’s painful to see – especially when there is NO QUICK FIX. What you DON’T learn in high school can take 10 to 20 years to learn as an adult – partially because of the lack of time, partly because adults don’t learn as quickly and mostly because trying to UNLEARN something is harder than learning it in the first place!

Anyway, those are my thoughts for the day – I am not sure why I understood this in PRIMARY SCHOOL, but I can remember vividly my classmates in high school who didn’t take it seriously and can now see the definite (wide) chasm between the successful and not-so-successful. It can all be traced backwards to high school and sometimes primary school just like CSI determining who committed a murder – all the clues are there.

The only question is – if you’re in high school or university, will you start to take the basics more seriously?

Get Better Grades Success Story

Published on October 9, 2010 in Better Grades, Exams, Positive Mindset, Study Mistakes To Avoid and Study Psychology. 1 Comment

Today’s post is a testimonial from one of my clients who bought my study book, his name is Abel.

Hi, Dr Dussault.

All I can say is wow. I’m studying ACCA (online) but my main problem was lack of motivation to study. Like you explain in your study book, what was holding me back was my comfort zone of past success with my studies. What bother me most was the fact that my constant thought was to study but in reality I wasn’t studying! The more I thought about it, the more I ended up sleeping without even reading for a minute! In a nutshell, your study program made me realize that I will never change my life until I change something I’m doing (or not doing) daily.

Now slowly but surely I’m following through. With my study to do list, I know if I follow it I’ll get better grades otherwise… I don’t even want to think about it anymore!

I hear myself now saying… “Abel bear in mind that you never plan to fail your exam but merely fail to plan to pass!”

That’s my best shot.
Regards,
Abel

Student Procrastinator

Published on May 16, 2010 in Better Grades, Positive Mindset, Study Mistakes To Avoid, Study Psychology, Study Tips and YouTube Videos. 2 Comments Tags: Avoid Procrastination, Procrastination.

Recently, Ann, a First Year University Student posted this comment on this blog…

Dear Marc Dussault:
I recently purchased your book. It has now been a week and while I agree with a lot of the suggestions in your book, I have yet to start implementing them yet.

I was a procrastinator in high school. Somehow though I managed to succeed enough to well and still get into the Engineering degree of my choice.
However the same methods don’t work anymore in university. University is so different from high school!

Yet for almost the past 5-6 years this is all I have done in order to complete my studies. I understand everything your book says and I appreciate the e-mail tips; I do the exercises and I try to eat well as well as sleep, but still… I just can’t seem to start.

What’s wrong with me? I’ve researched on the net, and apparently there are not only procrastinators but also chronic procrastinators as well. I think I may be one for sure, for I’ve been procrastinating so long I don’t really know what the meaning of “study” is anymore…

I make lists and lists of what I want to achieve. Each time changing and changing the detail or format, and hoping that I will implement it (I tried to start with this technique from your book first). But somehow I just become tired by the large amount of uni work covered in the day or even if I’m not tired I just would rather have fun things to do.

I really want to succeed and do well… that should be enough motivation… but I still can’t keep it up. I did the 8-minute technique and it seemed to work well, that I actually kept going. But the next day, I looked at the same piece of math homework and I could not bring myself to continue doing it. I literally was having a mental argument inside my head for the pros and cons of not doing the homework, that I physically felt like I was actually getting stressed.

Where do I start? And why can’t I stay motivated?

In saying all of this, I have a mathematics exam this Friday…

Sincerely requiring help………….!

Ann

First of all, Ann, you’re “owning” the label of procrastinator just a little too seriously – what that means is that you SEE YOURSELF and THINK YOU’RE a procrastinator, which means you’re going to continue to procrastinate. Let’s face it – the label of regular every day LOSER is not enough, you need an even WORSE label… “Chronic Procrastinator!” which is a TOTAL LOSER!

How does that make you feel? Because it’s true – procrastinators, especially chronic ones never achieve anything because they never get anything finished – many don’t even start – LIKE YOU!

How do you feel about being branded a LOSER?

Procrastinator sounds better doesn’t it?!?!

You’re still a LOSER…

UNLESS you are just “doing procrastination”… That means you just slipped and got into a bad habit and are in fact a winner who just slipped up…

Is that it? Are you really a WINNER who just had a lapse of judgment and discipline?

Or are you really a LOSER? If you are a LOSER, good riddance, I have no time for you – seriously.

If however you are a WINNER who just lost her way – watch this YouTube video for the cure to procrastination – it works even better for CHRONIC PROCRASTINATION!

Now seriously, how do you “Stop It!” ???

Continue reading ‘Student Procrastinator’

How To Ace Your Next Exam

Published on May 8, 2010 in Exams, Study Mistakes To Avoid, Study Tips and YouTube Videos. 2 Comments Tags: cram, Exam, Last Minute Study Tips.

I recently filmed a bonus video for people who buy my study book. It’s called “5 Minutes To Go From Panic To Passing Tomorrow’s Exam”. In fact, the introduction video is included at the end of this blog post. In the video, I explain strategies that make the most of the little bit of time you have when cramming for an exam at the last minute.

That’s when the two little guys below came to mind…

Ace Your Next Exam With Troll Power!

Ace Your Next Exam With Troll Power!

Here’s the thing that’s really important, as I explain in my video…

Continue reading ‘How To Ace Your Next Exam’

Get Better Grades

Published on April 25, 2010 in Better Grades, Exams, Note Taking, Study Mistakes To Avoid, Study Tips and YouTube Videos. 3 Comments Tags: Get Better Grades, how to study for exams, Study Tips.

Today’s post is a YouTube video that answers the most popular questions people ask me about my study book.

Get Better Grades With The Least Amount Of Effort

Don’t be a TWIT!

Published on February 13, 2010 in Study Mistakes To Avoid. 3 Comments Tags: Facebook, Media Use, Social Networking, Social NOTworking, Students, Twitter.

Yeah, you heard me, don’t be a twit! Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace… They’re GREAT, but don’t be a twit and waste your life surfing and playing on the net when life is lived in the REAL WORLD. Your school grades are determined in a CLASSROOM.

Students And Media (Over) Use

Students And Media (Over) Use

The number of media options available to kids today is having an impact on their grades – but not in a good way. If study material was as addictive as Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms, straight A’s would be rampant – but they’re not.

Ohio University conducted a study in which researchers determined college students who use Facebook spend less time studying and score lower grades than those who don’t waste time ‘poking’ their friends.

It’s not called social NOTworking for nothing…

Perhaps even more disturbing was a study done by the Straits Times that found those who were addicted to online games generally did worse in school than those who were not addicted. In fact, 14 percent of addicts reported scoring Cs  or worse, while only 6 percent of their non-addicted counterparts scored just as low. [1]

While it would be easy to quickly blame the social networking craze and even Facebook for the students’ performance, distractions from school work are nothing new. Students bent on ignoring their responsibilities don’t need Facebook or Twitter to produce poor performance; these platforms simply provide an easy excuse.

Multitask your way to Bs, Cs and Ds.

One Fox News report suggests this problem could be related to continuous partial attention, which is the state in which you multitask, but continue to be motivated by the desire to not miss anything. Studies continue to show that those who multitask do each of their tasks worse. If multitasking for students includes interacting via Facebook while studying, it’s safe to assume rote memory and concentration will be noticeably affected. [2]

Just in case you might think I’m anti social networking, I’m not. In fact, in the UK, some are taking a different approach to these latest media sensations. School curricula have been altered to include instruction for Twitter and Wikipedia. While some traditional focus will remain, students will be expected to know how to use and manipulate different sources of information and forms of communication. [3] Let’s face it, if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it efficiently and effectively!

I wonder if a university was to implement a Facebook 101 class, what would the homework actually be? How could you get an A+ if you’re on Facebook 24/7?!?!

That’s a conundrum and dilemma wrapped up in a paradox isn’t it?

Hmmmmm…. Something to tweet about!

[1] http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_460196.html?vgnmr=1

[2] http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/fox_news_says_facebook_will_ruin_your_grades.php

[3] http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/mar/25/primary-schools-twitter-curriculum

Get Better Grades And Make $82,000 More

Published on January 3, 2010 in Better Grades, Exams, Mature Students, Memory Skills, Note Taking, Positive Mindset, Special Students, Speed Learning, Speed Reading, Study Less, Study Mistakes To Avoid and Study Tips. 0 Comments

The Economist Magazine recently reported that a male university graduate will make $82,000 more in his working lifetime than his non-university graduate peer. This includes the cost of tuition, lost wages while studying as well as extra taxes paid. What this simply means is that it pays to get better grades.

But getting better grades is not just about winging it – you need to be systematic and discipline about it. My study book and this blog are great way to learn to get better grades with less effort. My study book comes with many bonus materials that will help you – go to the product page now and check it out.

5 Study Tips For A 35 Year Old Math Student

Published on October 24, 2009 in Exams, Mature Students, Study Mistakes To Avoid and Study Tips. 1 Comment Tags: Cram For Math Test, Exam Study Tips, How To Pass A Math Test, Math Exam, Math Exam Tips, Math Study Tips.

Today’s post is from a 35 year old student struggling with math. His question is not all that uncommon.

Hello there,

My question is Math the reason that I’m struggling.  I’m 35 years old and this is my second semester in college and I’m retaking Math again because the first semester I failed and I’m about the same way this semester… Now my Teacher said that we can make corrections on the tests and get a better score now. I got a month to go in school. So my question is what is the easyest way to study for a math Test or or just to understand what the teacher is saying?

This is a great question that has several answers:

Study Tip #1: Don’t repeat the mistakes of the past

Continue reading ’5 Study Tips For A 35 Year Old Math Student’

The 80/20 Rule For Students

Published on August 23, 2009 in Better Grades, Exams, Note Taking, Speed Learning, Study Less, Study Mistakes To Avoid and Study Tips. 13 Comments Tags: 20-80, 20/80, 80-20, 80-20 Rule, 80/20, 80/20 Rule, Pareto, Pareto Principle, Study Better, Study Book, Study Tips, Waste Time.

The Pareto Principle also called the 80/20 rule is one of the most powerful study techniques I teach in my study book. Simply put, success in school is about knowing WHAT to study and WHEN. In my study book, I combine that with a concept from the 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People that takes away all the guesswork for you. It’s priceless to any student stressed about about exams, lab reports, quizzes and term papers.

Continue reading ‘The 80/20 Rule For Students’

Taking Drugs To Study Better

Published on August 9, 2009 in Study Mistakes To Avoid. 0 Comments Tags: Caffeine Pills, Drugs To Stay Awake, Pills To Stay Awake, Study Drugs, Study Mistakes, Study Pills.

I need to tell you a story about what happened to a fellow classmate back in Engineering School. But first of all, let me declare my bias. I am a coffee virgin, which means I have never consumed a cup of coffee – ever. The reason is that back in my undergraduate days, I saw my classmates drinking 8 to 12 cups/day to stay awake studying for exams… I thought, even then that consuming ANYTHING in that quantity can’t be good…

A Study Mistake To Avoid

That being said, my story takes coffee to a whole new level – caffeine pills. Back in my day, they were called ‘pick me ups’. They were sold over the counter without a prescription. Students took them INSTEAD OF or IN ADDITION to coffee – to stay up and cram for exams. Many students did this.

I did it – ONCE.

I had 3 consecutive days with 5 FINAL EXAMS, each 3 hours, worth 70 to 100% of the course final grade – Canadian Engineering Schools did this to flunk the least capable students ON PURPOSE…

Anyway – it was an ‘impossible’ schedule. So I planned it out. I would get some sleep on DAY ONE, then go straight through the other two days WITHOUT sleep to MAXIMISE every single minute in-between each 3-hour exam to memorise and review everything I could. I would go +/- 36 hours without sleep.

It worked.

Does that mean I am condoning using caffeine or drugs to study?

Not quite – keep reading.

For the next week, I was totally drained… “brain dead”… I had never hit the wall like that ever before. I promised myself “never again”. Thank God it was the END of the SEMESTER.

I was not the only one to suffer these ‘after effects’… But I was one of the few to learn the lesson.

I had a classmate – I forget his name, we’ll call him John. John did not learn the lesson. He scraped by that semester and decided that the following semester he would use the pills for the midterms AND the finals. He got addicted to a false sense of confidence and started taking them at the BEGINNING of the semester.

By the time the midterms came around, he was strung out, exhausted and barely able to focus. He failed every single one of his midterms. By the time the final exams came around, he was on his last legs. He failed those too.

The sad part is John was smart enough to be an Engineer, just not smart enough about HOW TO STUDY WITHOUT CUTTING CORNERS.

John got expelled from Engineering School and his destiny forever altered – because of caffeine pills that he thought would help.

The moral of the story is that there are two ways to try to get ahead faster- take a short cut by learning better study strategies or CUT CORNERS by trying to cheat by taking drugs or otherwise.

I taught myself HOW TO STUDY more effectively rather than spending MORE time – that is how I came about writing my study book. I became so good AT studying that people around me kept asking how I managed to get ‘it all done’ AND have a life outside of school…

I learned the lesson the FIRST TIME – I never took another caffeine pill after that – NEVER NEEDED TO.

If you find yourself in the situation where you need to take pills to stay up late at night studying – I can tell you right now – YOUR STUDY HABITS SUCK.

When I started my Engineering Degree, I was taking 4 or 5 courses per semester. In my last semester, I took a WHOPPING 7 COURSES at the same time – to finish my degree in 3 1/2 years graduating with a DOUBLE MAJOR.

All possible BECAUSE I learned HOW TO STUDY.

Whenever tempted by drugs to stay awake or HIGH CAFFEINE DRINKS – DON’T START. They are addictive drugs that will have consequences… Consequences that could rob you on the very dream you have – the REASON you are considering taking them in the first place.

Don’t do it.

Learn HOW to study instead.