3 min read ⌚ 

The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less

Do you want to know “How to Become a Straight-A Student?”

Then read Cal Newport’s book.

About Cal Newport

Cal Newport is an author, and an assistant professor of computer science at Georgetown University, holding a PhD from MIT.

“How to Become a Straight-A Student Summary”

Some people consider their college years to beat the best time of their lives.

For those people, college is a time of partying exploration and finding themselves.

Other people, on the other hand, think of college with a feeling of anxiety and stress.

This makes perfect sense, says the GPA students get doing their studies shape their entire future periods

We bring you some good news.

It is no longer a problem if you had a hard time studying.  We will show you what steps you can take in order to study more efficiently.

In other words, studying longer does not mean that you are studying better.

Instead, we want you to adopt the new stance. We want you to study smart.

First, you have to understand the nature of people.

Most people waste their time working in a distracting environment with low intensity.  After long hours of learning your concentration drops, which also means that you engage in a low-intensity learning.

A much better way to focus your thoughts and your time are to work in short chunks of time with high intensity.

Studies show that the optimal length of a learning period is around 50 minutes.

This means that it is much more productive to spend 50 minutes concentrating fully and then giving yourself a break, then just spending a few hours working or studying in a low concentration mode without any break.

However, you need to make sure that you actually spend the short bursts of time actively working.

And to do that you have to learn how to manage your time.

Most people leave their work for the evening. If you are one of those people, you are doing it all wrong.

Your body is preparing for rest when the sun goes down, so your concentration levels are much lower than in the morning.

Let’s not forget that the evenings are full of social events and temptations that can lure you into giving in, and not finishing up your tasks on time.

To avoid all that, study early, and study in isolation.

Stay away from distractions, be it friends or a comfortable space to lie down.

Just do whatever you can to be on the top of your game during those small chunks of time you have decided to be devoted to learning.

Key Lessons from “How to Become a Straight-A Student”

1.      Beating Procrastination
2.      How to Study Wise
3.      The Study Process

Beating Procrastination

We all suffer from procrastination.

It is impressive to notice how many reasons one may find not to do the tasks one needs to do.

However, then again, some people successfully resist procrastination and actually do their work on time.

How do they manage to do that?

Well, there are a few ways to beat procrastination, one of them being a progress journal.

How to Study Wise

• • Do not skip classes

• • Study early

• • Study in isolation

• Keep your energy levels high

The Study Process

• • Define precisely what you need to learn

• • Focus on important details

• Quiz yourself until you are completely satisfied

Like this summary? We’d Like to invite you to download our free 12 min app, for more amazing summaries and audiobooks.

“How to Become a Straight-A Student” Quotes