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!” ???

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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…

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

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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

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.

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 never 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!

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[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

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.

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

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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.

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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.