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It looks like you're trying to jump into a bunch of things at once. That's not a bad thing - you're excited to make changes, and you're ready to take the steps you need to for them. That's great! That said, you're looking to make a lot more changes than most people can keep up with at once. So it might be a good idea to start with small steps that can make a difference.

You seem to grasp part of the solution: time management. The truth is, none of us can tell you how to manage your time. We don't know what your circumstances and priorities are. At best, we can offer suggestions about class-to-home-study ratios and how to plan your day. But anything more than that, we can only really give you some advice and tools that might help.

First, the advice: Time management is mostly about prioritization. Yes, you have to work within a schedule that might not be in your control. You have hours that are dedicated to existing responsibilities, like school, sports, clubs or church activities. But the things that you do outside these responsibilities are at least partially in your control, and that's where the prioritization starts. So here's what I think will help you:

Identify three things you'd like to prioritize in your life. This might include your grades, as you've stated above. You might want to focus on physical fitness, family togetherness, music, spending time with friends, writing, reading, learning skills like coding - that's something you need to figure out on your own. Write down these priorities in a way that speaks to you. For example, you might write "Getting good grades is a priority for me because I want to get into a good college and have scholarship opportunities." Do this for all three priorities.

Your next step is going to be to make small steps to help you show how committed you are to those priorities. You're not going to easily jump from studying 20 minutes after class ends to spending an hour every evening outlining your textbooks. But you might be able to fit in, say, another 15-30 minutes at home when you can look over your notes and check your textbooks for anything that was unclear, and then another 30 minutes to do some of your required reading. You can always add more time and activities later.

Here's where it gets tricky: motivation dries up pretty quick, and studies have shown that people have only a certain amount of willpower, and it's surprisingly consistent. You can only do things you don't want to do for so long before you get burnt out. This is where the prioritization statement I had you write above comes in. That's your willpower booster.

Every time you catch yourself slipping out of the habits you're forming to achieve your goals, you need to pull out the prioritization statements and read them, preferably aloud. Then you have to say to yourself - again, aloud is best - "I am choosing to play video games instead of study because I am not prioritizing getting good grades." This is called cognitive dissonance. The two statements are both true, but they directly contradict each other. Your brain is going to view this negatively, and you will find yourself trying to prove one of the statements false by withdrawing the statement or changing your behavior.

Having the written priority statement will help you to change the behavior instead. The written statement is tangible. You can pick it up and read it, and it won't change. The spoken statement only exists as a thought or as words in the air. Although it may not work all the time, the easiest path for your brain to take is going to be to change the statement that is not written down. You may need to consciously change it to something like "I am choosing to play video games after I review my notes from history class and biology because I am prioritizing getting good grades." This positive rephrasing is in line with your original priority statement, and you'll have an easier time following along, especially because it does not make you avoid the behavior - you're just delaying it.

Now that I've given you my advice (which you can take or leave - I'm an Internet stranger, not your parent or adviser), here are the tools I can give you:

Getting Things Done is a good book for anyone who wants help managing their workload, regardless of if it's school or work. Many libraries carry a copy because it is a popular resource.

7 Habits of Highly Effective People is another well-respected book that is good for self-improvement and habits worth cultivating. It looks like you might be younger than the target audience, so you might prefer 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, which I would have loved as a teenager.

This list of Apps/programs is useful for different tools and options that are available to help you manage your time and responsibilities. None of them is a substitute for dedication and discipline, but it's sure easier to stay motivated and disciplined when you know where to find all your stuff!

I hesitate to provide a Reddit link, as I know Reddit can be a major time suck if you get too into it, but consider checking out the top posts in /r/getdisciplined for some advice or anecdotes that may help you to stick with your plans, whatever they are.

There's more I could say here, but honestly, it's past midnight where I am now, and I need to get ready for bed. Feel free to PM me if anything in this giant essay I've written is unclear or if you want more information. I'll do my best to help you out.

Good luck! Work hard and stay dedicated.

My personal tips that help me:

1. Stay on a schedule. If your immediate thought is "but then I don't have time for homework", you're budgeting your time throughout the day improperly and need to resolve that first so that you can confidently go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning. Your body loves ritual.
   
   
2. Watch what you put in your body. Caffeine has a half-life of 6 hours, and I don't need to tell you the math for you to figure out that any after dinner is a bad idea. For a little while, eat handful of almonds and drink some water before you go to bed (google as to why) and see what helps and what doesn't and stick with what does. Finally, try melatonin.
   
   
3. Understand melatonin and light. Blue light inhibits the production of melatonin in the body. Melatonin helps regulate your sleep; Just think "Melatonin = Sleep, Blue light = no melatonin". This is why things like f.lux exist and why doctors say to stay away from bright lights (like your cell phone) before bed. Stay away from blue light for a few hours before bed and you'll naturally produce more melatonin and sleep better. Studies have shown that an adult male needs only 0.150mg of melatonin to help them sleep. You can buy them in 5g pills at the grocery store and chip off little slivers and take them about 3-4 hours before I go to bed. This fake melatonin supplement eventually gets your body producing its own extra melatonin around that time each day. Use this to get yourself on a schedule and keep yourself there.
   
   
4. Combine the above. Be cognizant of all of these factors. Hanging out with your friends, watching a movie, and drinking caffeine is actively going to hurt your sleep. Reading a book in a soft light will actively help. For me, I use an app called Sleep as Android that wakes me up when it senses I am most awake (e.g. moving around more in my sleep) within X minutes of a time. So I'm always up between 7:15 and 7:45, but I feel well rested. I purchased two Philips Lux lightbulbs (wifi/app controllable/dimmable light bulbs) that combine to 1500 lumens and put them in as the main bulbs in my bedroom. I have them start dimming in at 6:45 so that by the time my alarm goes off and wakes me up, I'm staring at 1500 lumens of lighting. My eyes have adjusted while I was sleeping so they don't hurt, the light inhibits the production of melatonin to help me wake up, and it feels like a bright sunny morning every morning as a result. I love it, and I think that (second to sticking to a schedule) these lights set up this way are one of THE best things for getting me up in the morning.
   
   
5. Stay on a schedule. Yes I'm repeating myself. Go to bed early, get up early. This is coming from someone who fought against that mentality for nearly three decades. You can screw around on the weekend, but if you are serious about school, then be serious about sleep, and stick to a good sleeping schedule. I use that Philips Hue system to dim my home lighting at set hours so I can tell what time it is, and to go all pink for a minute at 10pm so my wife and I know it is time to get ready for bed. This also turns our bedroom lights on nice and dim so we know to head in there. Do whatever it takes to stick to a schedule.

Hey. I'm Canadian so I can't comment in depth on your SAT/ACT situation, I'm sorry. BUT. I do have some words of advice for you.

Have you heard about fixed vs growth mindsets? People with fixed mindsets believe in things like innate talent and giftedness. They say things like "I'm not a math person, and I never will be." If they fail at something, it's because they aren't good enough and they won't be - so it's time to pack up and go home. On the other hand, people with growth mindsets acknowledge the value of hard work. There is no such thing as innate talent or giftedness, and you can learn anything or become good at anything if you put in enough effort. "I don't have a solid foundation in math right now, but with enough practice I can eventually learn differential equations." Here is a link for you about changing your mindset.

Here is a link I found regarding the ACT/SAT thing. You might not go to Harvard right away, but it might be in your best interests to start at a community college and transfer to a big 4 year uni after a year or two. You'll save money and probably benefit from smaller class sizes, which will help your GPA. As far as I understand, once you have so many college credits under your belt, your high school isn't taken into account anymore. I think, anyways. Do some research on that.

Ok. Look. You are very young. Your life is not over or far from salvageable. You can fix this, and achieve the things you want, but it is going to take some discipline. Pick a date when you are going to write your exams, and create a study schedule going backwards. IE. You want to write in May, you have X amount of topics to cover, figure out how long you can spend on each topic if you start next week and leave time at the end for practice exams.

First, in order to do well, you need a really good foundation. Develop good sleep hygiene, eat well, exercise once in a while, drink enough water. Meditation can help with focus. There are lots of guided meditation videos or apps available.

Other things that really helped me study are Cal Newport's blog and his red book. You want to avoid "pseudo-working" (blankly reading over your notes for long periods of time) and instead focus really, really intensely on solving problems or mapping out concepts for a short amount of time. It's hard to do which is why a lot of students shy away from it. Cal talks about this everywhere, definitely worth a read.

You're gonna be fine! Best of luck!

Previous post but I hope this helps:

With books containing chapters long and complex, I don't think the average student is capable of reading them like fiction (just get through the material once). I usually forget even major points very easily after hours of reading. If you have an exam to study for, repetition is the key and you can't always go back and read everything over and and over. This is why I do a summary. When you write with your hands and draw, you are engaging more of your brain in an effort to understand. The most important thing is asking yourself questions. Questions force you to stop, think, explain what you read. This is true learning. So close the book after a few minutes of reading, and explain back to yourself what you just learned. It is best not be be writing as you are reading because at that point you are just exercising your ability to copy down material (I have done this alot and usually feel that I ended up with very little comprehension). If it is possible at all, answer questions or solve problems from the chapter using the material you have learned as soon as possible. The struggle and the pain involved in solving problems using new information is to me like lifting weights, you will get stronger and stronger until you have mastered that level.

You could try reading the chapter 2-5 times with short breaks. You will get faster with every read and your retention eventually goes up. I saw several kids do this in med school but they were ridiculously smart...They never took notes. They just asked themselves questions as they read.

If you can find people to study with, it would be great. Apparently the #1 way our brain learns is by explaining a topic to someone else. If you had a partner to study with, you can take turns explaining each small section to each other, then quiz each other from memory. Great way to stay motivated.


Note taking while studying: http://amzn.com/0517880857.

Mind-mapping is something that is really popular to keep you engaged while reading.

How to read a book if you have any time and you are bored:http://crap.sceleris.net/HowtoReadABook.pdf

Don't forget about the [forgetting curve] (http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/topic/forgetting-curve-and-its-implications-training-delivery/162373).

After understanding the material, it is important to retain this new fragile memory. I use [Anki] (http://ankisrs.net/) for continued repetition throughout the weeks.
Hope this helps, Good luck!!

Thank you very much :)

If I can add one more thing it's that you might want to try prioritising you work better. If you say you're getting stressed over them extra 4 tasks, when they are pretty much out of your control, suggests you need to change how you think about them. You probably already do this but remember to allocate tasks for you to finish in a day. But also try and rate them in priority.

For example if you have 15 tasks to do in a week, 2 of them due each day and 5 that need to be done by the end of the week. You allocate yourself the 2 tasks that are due as the "must be done" priority each day. Then you have the one of the floaty ones as a secondary priority each day, one that you should do but it isn't necessary if you're really having a bad day. You then set an extra optional task for if you finish your tasks earlier than expected. Then you stop and I mean stop completely.

You should try and seperate your working day from the rest of your life in this fashion. If you go to a workplace to work then this is easy, you just never bring work home (this includes thoughts). If you work from home, you allocate a time to work and when that time is up you STOP.

I'm trying to get into this pattern with my studies beacuse when you don't have fixed working times or you bring it home with you you never stop thinking about it. It can really stress you out because you can be out having dinner or having a quiet moment with the family and suddenly you think about that task you have ongoing. You know, the one that's stressing your boss/team out, that you're not sure that you'll finish. The one that, maybe, just possibly, if you did some work on right now might just be a bit better... I think you can see how terrible this train of thought is. You impose both guilt on yourself and re-live the working stress and make it impossible to have fun.

But if you seperate your day properly, divide and timetable your workload, you can help get rid of those thoughts. Because you can go to the thought that you've completed your work for the day, everything is on track, I can afford to have fun. This can be scary, it's damn scary and I'm just a student, what do I know about working for my keep? (or anybody elses for that matter) But everyone I've ever talked to has recommended doing this and it definitely helps me relax. You just have to trust yourself a bit.

Remember to respect your time and remember that it is YOUR time. You and you alone choose want to spend it on, so spend it wisely and according to your values. When you spend it on work you should spend it 100% on your work and do your best. But when you're with your family you should spend it 100% with them, don't try and have a sneaky affair with work on the side. Multi-tasking is highly inefficient, as I'm sure you know. You wouldn't try and multitask with any important work, so why would you multitask with important time with your family?

Whenever work creeps into your head just find comfort in the fact that you have done your allocated tasks and put it out of your mind. This takes some practice but if you've had the patience to learn mnemonic devices I'm sure you'll learn quick. You're allowed to have fun.

I've read a few books that go into working habits ( 7 Habits of highly effective people being one I would HIGHLY recommend to EVERYONE EVER. Seriously, you can pick it up really cheap and it really is well worth a read, probably the most worthwhile book I've ever read, and I read a LOT) and talked to everyone I can. I'm quite into learning about the world and makiing sure I'm prepared and this is some of the advice I've held onto, that seems to be the most common from all sources.

I'm sorry if this sounds condescending or basic to you. I use these posts both to try and help but also to unwrap and better understand my own thoughts, so I try to keep things as simple as possible. Also of course I'm a poor student who has no experience of "real" work, so feel free to discount anything I've typed (or please add things if you feel you have something to add) if you think I'm talking out my arse.

Hope you can take something from this poorly worded... essay (I really need to learn how to use language more efficiently). I really didn't expect to write this much... :) but that you for reading it anyway

TL;DR: Thank you :). Remember to prioritise and only think about work within work time. Respect your time and remember it is YOUR time. You wouldn't multitask with important work so why would you miltitask with important time with your family.

• Keep your study area separate from your living area.
  
• Isolate yourself from distractions. Be it other people, television, video games, etc.
  
• No external noise. Get a quite place to give your complete and undivided attention to the subject at hand.
  
• A good quality pen that won't crap out on you. I recommend the Pilot Metropolitan. It's an investment, but it's the best damn pen I've ever used. Highly recommended.
  
• Stationery to organize your thoughts: index cards, highlighters, post-it notes, etc.
  
• Get a whiteboard. They're pretty cheap and really help visualize that complex idea you have in your head. Plus, you feel like a badass scribbling on it, like Russel Crowe in A Beautiful Mind. When I need to memorize reactions for organic chemistry or formulas for physics, I can keep that stuff on the board. Every time I pass by the board, I mentally revisit the concept and try to make conceptual sense of it. Really helps nail the idea in your brain.
  
• Make sure you have a desk that's big enough to support all your books/laptop/desktop as well as pen&paper so you're not shuffling around all the damn time.
  
• Preferably, keep your desk in a corner or somewhere you won't have many distractions in your peripheral.
  
  If I think of anything else, I'll add it to the list. Hope this helps!

I have these and they are great for making my notes look pretty and organized. I've long been using different colored pens (black, blue, green, red) to make my notes not look so flat (how do you find anything when all your notes are in black?) but these pens are also good for drawings/diagrams.

I use a well writing black pen for standard notes, but whenever there is something important, a vocab word, something that'll be on an exam, I'll use a bright pen color. It makes my notes fun to reread, and easy to find information when I go back. If you don't want to be that fancy, you can just get a few different colored pens and decide how you'd like to designate them (blue/green/red), for vocab, !exam!, drawings, or just routinely change the color to break up the text a little.

Hope I helped a bit :) I immensely enjoy taking the time to make my notes organized and fun to read.

/u/tuckermalc and /u/pizzzahero both have great comments. I'll add a bit. Go to /r/stoicism, read [William Irvine's book] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195374614?keywords=william%20irvine&qid=1456992251&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1), then read [Epictetus's Enchiridion] (http://www.amazon.com/Enchiridion-Dover-Thrift-Editions-Epictetus/dp/0486433595/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456992275&sr=8-1&keywords=enchiridion). follow their guidelines. Also check out /r/theXeffect. The most important thing is controlling your habits. If you're in the habit of eating healthy, getting enough sleep, going to the gym, etc. then you're set.

Now for stuff that's harder to do. Go see a therapist. Or a psychiatrist. Try to find a [therapist who can do EMDR] (http://www.emdr.com/find-a-clinician/) with you, it's a very effective technique (I saw a clinician who uses EMDR for two years, and it changed my life-- and, importantly, it's supported by strong scientific evidence, it's not quackery stuff like homeopathy or acupuncture). If you decide to go to a psychiatrist, tell them you don't want SSRIs. Look at other drugs: Wellbutrin, tricyclics, SNRIs, etc (check out selegiline in patch form, called EMSAM, as well). Seriously, go see a professional and talk to them. I have no doubt that you're wrestling with mental illness. I have been there. For me, it just felt normal. I didn't understand that other people didn't feel like I did...so it took me a long time to go get help. But it's so important to just start working through these things and getting support. That's really the most important thing you can do. It will make your life so much better. If you aren't able to get to a therapist, do Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) on yourself! [This is a brilliant program] (https://moodgym.anu.edu.au) that's widely respected. Do it over and over. Also read [Feeling Good by David Burns] (http://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Good-New-Mood-Therapy/dp/0380810336/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456992639&sr=8-1&keywords=feeling+good+david+burns). It's a book on CBT, and can help you get started. There are lots of other resources out there, but you have to begin by realizing that something is wrong.

Finally, I'll talk about college. Don't try to go to fricking Harvard or MIT. You won't get in, and those aren't even the right schools for you. There are many excellent schools out there that aren't the super super famous Ivies. Look at reputable state schools, like UMich, UMinnesota, the UC system, etc. get ["Colleges that Change Lives"] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143122304?keywords=colleges%20that%20change%20lives&qid=1456992746&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1), the [Fiske Guide to Colleges] (http://www.amazon.com/Fiske-Guide-Colleges-2016-Edward/dp/1402260660/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456992768&sr=8-1&keywords=fiske+guide), and [Debt-Free U] (http://www.amazon.com/Debt-Free-Outstanding-Education-Scholarships-Mooching/dp/1591842980/ref=pd_sim_14_15?ie=UTF8&dpID=515MwKBIpzL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR104%2C160_&refRID=1VC3C23RJP6ZMXGG5QBA). One thing I realized after college was that I would've been happy at any of the school I looked at. People are fed such a line of BS about school, like you have to go to the top Ivies or something. No way. Find a good place at which you can function, learn as much as possible, and have a good social life. Like another person said, also look at going to a community college for a year and then transferring-- my relative did this and ended up at Harvard for grad school in the end.

I'm only a high school sophomore, so I can't really help you with most of your questions, but if you want to improve your mental math, buy "Secrets of Mental Math" by Arthur Benjamin.

It's written in a way that makes sitting in your room doing mental calculations seem fun and it is very accessible. I have only gotten through 3 chapters (the addition/subtraction/multiplication chapters) and I can confidently add and subtract 3-digit numbers in seconds. I can even mentally cube two-digit numbers in a few minutes.

[Anyway, here's a link to the book] (http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Mental-Math-Mathemagicians-Calculation/dp/0307338401/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381633585&sr=1-1&keywords=mental+math)

[If you don't want to buy it, you can use this PDF version of the book] (http://www.uowm.gr/mathslife/images/fbfiles/files/Secrets_of_Mental_Math___Michael_Shermer___Arthur_Benjamin.pdf)

[And here is the author, Arthur Benjamin, performing what he likes to call "Mathemagics"] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4PTvXtz4GM)

I hope this has been helpful and you succeed in whatever uni you go to :)

Real worlder here. I'm a big fan of the Pomodoro Technique (I specifically use the Tomighty timer). It's basically 25 minutes focused work, then a 5 minute break, repeated for 4 work cycles then a long (15 minute) break. I was skeptical because it seems so stupidly simple, but it's amazingly effective, especially for those of us who either get distracted or tend to push so hard to the point of burn-out.

You can tweak the cycles and stuff however you want and it's up to you how many "pomodoros" (work cycles) you can to do (i.e., total duration of work/study time) or you can try to get through a set amount of work (e.g., a set number of chapters, completion of a certain task, etc.) in as few "pomodoros" as possible.

You can also take note of your energy levels and at what point you start feeling drained from too much concentrated work. Stopping while you're ahead is the best way to sustain yourself.

I also stongly recommend The Now Habit, which offers great ideas for techniques and psychology behind procrastination and productive work, based largely on the author's experience with doctoral candidates and professional workers.

Good luck!

What loopzooping explains is essentially how textbooks are designed to be utilized. I'm a chemistry and biology double major and I had a very rough time until I figured out how to take notes (my old way was the copy important parts of each page method--which was essentially just rewriting the book as I read it). What loopzooping mentions is a great summary of how to start taking notes. For more in depth note taking and questions you should be asking yourself as you read (to really learn the material), I highly recommend this book.

Another thing to consider is what you're studying for. Since you're studying for an exam, you should practice using the information like you would on an exam. Just recognizing the information you're writing may not be enough for the types of exams you're taking. Recalling the information will be most beneficial for test taking, particularly over just reading and writing the info. My present method of study goes like this:

• Skim headings of sections and study questions at the end of the chapter to see what I'm reading and generally what type of info I should know.
  
• Read the text for understanding all the way through.
  
• Look up things from other resources if I don't understand. YouTube videos are great for me because I'm more a visual and auditory learner, and different explanations help solidify points.
  
• Plug info into Anki sets for each chapter in each course. This gives me a daily set of cards to study based on how well I know them, to ensure I can recall the most important points come exam time.
  
  I have found for most of my classes that it's best to read the chapter for understanding before the class that will be covering that info. That way hearing the professor discuss it will be solidifying points, instead of bringing about new info. The professor has a finite amount of time to cover the material, so he/she will generally not waste time on less important stuff. This assumes that material covered in class is most important to the professor and therefore likely to be used for exams. This can then help guide you in making Anki/flash cards or in making your own notes. The book I suggested has a pretty great method of making notes that you wittle down to one page by the end of the year. It worked for me, but I prefer my Anki method (or whatever intelligent flashcard system you prefer).

Proper use of "your" would also help :P
(Honestly though, people won't read a blog that's supposed to be about academic success if the author doesn't use proper grammar/spelling).

In all seriousness, I'd read a study blog that put a big focus on scientifically backed study tips.

People tend to be fond of sexy quick-fix life-hacks. So you'll probably get a following no matter what you post, as long as it's under the guise of study tips. But if you want to set yourself apart from all the other click bait that's nothing more than someone spitballing untested ideas, thoroughly research the stuff that's been shown to work and do write ups on that.

That being said, there's nothing wrong with posting tips that haven't been tested. There may very well be plenty of tips out there that do work, but have not yet been tested. But if you do write about that stuff, I think it'd be important to disclose at the beginning of the article that there haven't been any studies done on that particular technique, and at minimum only write about untested tips if you've tried them yourself. That way there's at least some anecdotal evidence supporting it.

Make it stick is a really good source you can get started with.

I also recommend taking a page from Thomas Frank's youtube

He has some pretty high quality stuff.

I disagree.

People have their own ways of expressing information and I definitely have my own niche way of doing so. As such I will be paraphrasing instead of merely transcribing information. Anecdotally that makes typing better as I have terrible handwriting and I can not write as fast as I type my thoughts.

Secondly, managing paper and pen is difficult in being organised and staying on top of information. Course material goes back and forth - it's vital to continue expanding your knowledge so you have a firm grasp on the topic. As such inserting information between topics is easier digitally than on paper.

Additionally I'd like to note that there is a difference between note-taking and recall - hence I've added Anki to reinforce the content that I need to know. OneNote (or any note-taking style that you use) is merely a database for relevant course material and transcribed information that is ready to be added to Anki.

As much as we'd love to be idealistic and use free recall over Cloze deletions, pen and paper over digital solutions, this is getstudying - a place I imagine is composed of mainly students that have trouble with procrastinating and rather would be socialising or playing computer games..I also imagine a small subset of those people (like me) procrastinate because they are frustrated with their academic workflow which leads them to slack off with their work as the task of attacking coursework is difficult in the face of wasted time in keeping information coherent and organised, both in brain and on the computer/paper. We have to strike a balance with uptime, downtime and efficiency. For me, that would mean a digital solution over pen and paper.

This blog and also this blog has a lovely post on handwriting vs. typing and the comments are worth reading as well. Additionally, Make It Stick is a must-read for anyone that wishes to excel in their learning as the best way happens to be the least intuitive (as explored in the book).

EDIT: That is to say that I don't have a place for using pen and paper. Doing math, making diagrams, chemistry and any form of content that is more arbitrary and less structured is when I find myself using it.

> A little bit of discipline will go a long way. Focus for 1 hour a day. Just 1 single hour a day. Your ability to focus is a mental muscle. It gets stronger the more you practice.

I agree. Specially in your case, OP. You need a smooth start, establishing realistic studying goals until you make it a habit to study for longer hours.

Besides that, I'd recommend you to read this book:http://www.amazon.com/How-Become-Straight--Student-Unconventional/dp/0767922719/ref

> I have no faith that I can study at high levels, especially that I'm planing to start studying to become an engineer

Don't think like this. I know that it might sound cliché, but you need to believe in yourself. This type of mindset is crucial: https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/29/carol-dweck-mindset/

Try creating an study habit and, along the way, look for study techniques that will help you with your struggle. Searching for topics about "spaced repetition" and "active recall" in this subreddit is a good start.

Good luck!

When it comes to studying and memorization (and let's face it, 90% of most subjects is just memorizing. Sorry math, you're included too; I wouldn't be able to derive that without knowing it beforehand.) I use Anki. http://ankisrs.net/

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/jan/23/spaced-repetition-a-hack-to-make-your-brain-store-information

https://www.supermemo.com/english/princip.htm

Spaced Repetition software (SRS) is good because it is spaced through time, interleaves subjects, and most importantly it forces you to practice retrieving/remembering. It is NOT the end-all solution, but it is excellent in certain circumstances (like vocab).

I highly recommend Make It Stick https://www.amazon.com/Make-Stick-Science-Successful-Learning/dp/0674729013

You can find the audiobook in... places... put it on your phone and listen to it over time. The theory is great, and it will show you how/why Anki and other SRS works well.

Hello, xleaa.

I highly recommend you check out my books, here and here.

The first focuses on memorization techniques and the second on overall study strategy.

If you are feeling overwhelmed with terminology, mnemonics is definitely the way to go. If you have any questions about the books, or mnemotechnics, please feel free to message me directly. You can also check out my blog for more info: www.TheMemoryCity.com

Good luck!

Best regards,

Mah

https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn helped my sister.

And the book "How to become a straight A Student" is what turned things around for me.

I went from always scrambling last minute, cramming, having 0 free time and still under achieving, to having enough free time to actually be involved in things I wanted to be involved with on and off campus. For the first time I was like "Oh! so this is what college can be like..".

Organization and time management is so important it's nuts.

Edit:

Side note, stuff like depression and anxiety can be SUPER draining mentally and WILL affect the amount of willpower you have available for stuff like time management and staying organized so if you're dealing with anything like that getting it 100% under control is the absolute best thing you can do for your GPA.

In my mind, exercising will help. It gives your brain a rest, lets you get your blood moving. Being fit can help you process information better. Depending on your exercise, you can turn it into a moving meditation, so it can have other benefits also.

There have been a few studies that show that exercise helps the brain learn better by creating new neurons and signaling pathways. 'A Mind for Numbers' briefly covers the information, but I don't have the studies immediately available.

As long as you are not using it as a procrastination tool, exercise is a great thing to do during breaks!

I'm not sure exactly what your price is, but the lenovo yoga book lets you write with paper and a special pen on the keyboard and then saves those files as pdfs, here's an amazon link if you are interested. It's pretty underpowered, but I recon it would work well enough as a subsitute for a tablet.

​

https://www.amazon.ca/Lenovo-Yoga-Book-Processor-ZA150000US/dp/B01M6W1LET/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1537806809&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=lenovo+yoga+book+windows&psc=1

I'll share my reading list for the next 12 months as it's how I plan to become a better learner:


 

Learning

• Learning How To Learn - Free online course
  
• Become a Straight-A Student - Book
  
• Make it Stick - Book
  
  
  Improving Maths
  
• A Mind for Numbers - Book
  
• Secrets of Mental Math - Book
  
• Vedic Mathematics- Book
  
  
  Improving Reading Speed
  
• Breakthrough Rapid Reading - Book
  
  
  Algorithmic thinking
  
• Algorithms to Live By - Book
  
  
  Understanding the Mind
  
• How the Mind Works - Book
  
• Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow - Book
  
• The Owner's Manual for the Brain - Book
  
  
  Productivity
  
• Getting Things Done - Book
  
• The Willpower Instinct - Book
  
• Willpower Doesn't Work - Book
  
• The Chimp Paradox - Book
  
  
  
  It's an ambitious reading list for the next 12 months as there is some heavy reading in there but hopefully you can get one or two useful suggestions from it!

First, this is probably the best book out on effective studying right now:

http://www.amazon.com/Make-It-Stick-Successful-Learning/dp/0674729013/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405292638&sr=8-1&keywords=make+it+stick

I've read most of it, I'll post a few effective tips.

Retrieval practice should be your primary study strategy. This means self-quizzing, using Anki to make notecards, and doing tons of practice questions.

Rereading is not an effective study strategy. Essentially, the amount of mental effort put into something directly correlates with how much you are going to remember it. So just passively reading is just not effective when it comes to making it stick. Instead, read something for understanding, then afterwards try and explain all the main concepts back. Then wait sometime until it is barely in your memory, and once again try and explain the concepts or quiz yourself on the material. Spacing out your retrieval practice is the most effective way to commit things to long term memory.

I don't have much time right now, but there are more tips from the book that I think are really helpful I can post. I'll edit this post later tonight.

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Stick-Science-Successful-Learning/dp/0674729013

This helped me with my studies. My cognitive psychology professor had us read this and it’s changed the way I study. Super helpful. If you don’t have time to read this I’m sure you can find summaries online.

I actually just finished Make it Stick and thought it was a great distillation of the science of learning. The book explains what learning looks like and doesn't, as well as gives practical methods and tips, for students, life-long learners et cetera.

Buy What Smart Students Know, by Adam Robinson. Believe me when I say - this is the one book I wish I had when I was still in school.

This is a fairly old but really good book on the subject: The Now Habit, by Neil Fiore.

Cool. Grab a hold of Cal Newport's book called How to Become a Straight-A Student if you haven't read it already. It's a classic. You could find a free copy online but of course I would never ever recommend that.

Although it probably won't help you this term, but in the book How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less top students typically study in the mornings when their brain is freshest.

How to Become a Straight-A Student

https://www.amazon.com/How-Become-Straight-Student-Unconventional/dp/0767922719/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2LL4YEAVGNTVP&keywords=how+to+become+a+straight-a+student+by+cal+newport&qid=1563466968&s=books&sprefix=how+to+become+a+stra%2Caps%2C133&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Stick-Science-Successful-Learning/dp/0674729013/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2VIVRORI88FP0&keywords=make+it+stick&qid=1563466981&s=books&sprefix=make+it+st%2Cstripbooks%2C133&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Numbers-Science-Flunked-Algebra/dp/039916524X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=104N13CQNSD4K&keywords=a+mind+for+numbers&qid=1563466992&s=books&sprefix=mind+for+number%2Cstripbooks%2C142&sr=1-1