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Hello Fellow Students!
The new semester is quickly approaching and I have gotten an email from a student who has asked me for some advice on preparation for the new semester. I wrote him a pretty in depth email and thought I’d just repost it here. Enjoy!
There are in my opinion four fundamental things you must prepare yourself for to be not just a successful student but a successful university participant.
Prepare a strong study skills plan
Get a plan on how to achieve college success and analyze it. The best laid plans are sometimes doomed to failure from the start if you don’t analyze your plan for weak points and shore them up. As a perfect example if you plan on studying 4 hours a day, is that realistic when you only studied 4 hours a week last year? How are you going to stay accountable to your new plan? (hint hire a tutor, which this student already did) What are the consequences when you don’t meet your study plan?
Stay in shape, eat healthy and don’t drink in excess this semester
Get some exercise at least three times a week. What I define as exercise is actual sweating for 30+ minutes. Eat a plate of live vegetables and drink a liter of water before consuming any junk food. Have 2-4 drinks during an evening and try not to drink more than 3 nights a week, preferably only one if you can do it. Also, don’t spend all your free time running after women, this can become a huge distraction for some guys and girls! Keep yourself focused on your goal, which should be learning and getting a 4.0 GPA.
Have set college goals in place
In continuing on the goal theme, it is important to have a focused set of goals with specific dates. Make these goals simple and achievable and plaster them everywhere. On your computer screensaver, daily email reminders, on your ceiling and anywhere else you usually lose focus. Also give your tutor a set of these goals and make sure to tell him/her that you want to be reminded of these goals regularly and should be asked for updates on how your goals are going.
Plan to do something extraordinary this semester
Plan to do something that you’ve always wanted to do. This needn’t be expensive, just something ‘epic’. Jump out of a plan; get in a cage fight etc. Here are some examples of extraordinary things I’ve done: When I spent a semester in Italy, I had to goal of getting in a fight with an Italian, which I accomplished within my first week. I wrote an article that was published in a journal in third year. I’m planning to go on a retreat within the next six months and become a Buddhist monk for a month. I feel like many students get caught up with school and you should always try to pepper in a little extraordinary in the mix, something you can tell your friends about for years to come.
Hope this helps
Liam McIvor Martin
If anyone is interested in my program producing a complete study skills program for you, please check out our online tutoring program.
