Study Hacks

Eat Alone Twice a Day

During busy periods: Choose one meal each day to eat with friends. Take your time with the experience. Catch-up. Relax. For the other two meals, however, eat alone and eat fast. Minimize the time wasted.

This sounds draconian. But, surprisingly, it will actually make your social life richer.

Allow me to explain…

The Work Momentum

Work requires focus. Once you enter a flow state, you can go for hours, knocking off one chunk after another. When you sit down for a social meal, on the other hand, two things happen. First, time is wasted. Typically, well over an hour will transpire from when you first head off to the dining hall until you head back to the books.

Second, and more important, your flow is demolished. Your mind switches from work mode back to relaxation mode. Even if you plan to diligently return to the library after your long lunch, your effort might be for naught. You’ve lost your momentum, and procrastination has gained the high-ground in the battle of work versus slack.

Focus Your Relaxation

Have breakfast alone. Your friends are too tired to be much company. If it’s possible to get most of your work done in the morning, afternoon, and early evening, then have a quick working lunch to keep your momentum alive. Try to finish everything before dinner. Then, when you head down to the dining hall, you can fully relax. Invite your friends. Unwind. Your work is done. Time to kick off a night of socializing.

If, on the other hand, your day is jammed with classes and meetings, and you need to work at night, then make your lunch social. You don’t need daytime momentum because you’re attending appointments more than working. Kick-off your evening of productive work with a quick, energy-boosting, solo dinner. Hopefully, your leisurely lunch will stave of feelings off social withdraw.

Conclusion

A key to consistently getting things done is having a good set of mindless habits that you can automatically rely on to structure your work flow. This tip is simple, but it’s effect is powerful. A little more separation between work and play can go a long way toward becoming an efficient academic.

This is the first entry in a new semi-regular series I’m calling: The Unconventional Scholar. In the style of my first book, How to Win at College, this series features unexpected (but surprisingly effective) tips for getting more out of college.

The Mystery Number

In my last couple years as a college student, I looked up my GPA on only two occasions that I can remember. The first was in the fall of my senior year. I had to put it down on my grad school applications. The second was in the late spring. I wanted to see if I was in the running to be Salutatorian. (Fortunately, I wasn’t — my GPA remained a healthy 0.025 points away from being competitive — so I was saved the stress of thinking about giving a speech.)

Outside of these isolated occurrences, me and my cumulative GPA lived separate lives. We had no interest in knowing about each other. I suggest you do the same.

Here’s why…

GPA Breeds Stress

There is no good reason to know your cumulative GPA. It can only serve one purpose: stress. If you’re a GPA addict, then as you study for exams, you can’t help but think about how different grades in the class will affect your overall standing. This makes you nervous. It makes you more upset when you score lower than you wanted. And it shifts your focus away from discovering the most efficient possible way to embrace the material and toward a paranoia about avoiding GPA-busting mistakes.

Ignorance is Bliss

Here’s what you should do instead: ignore your GPA. In most classes, your professor will tell you your grade at the end of the semester. There is no reason to look at the grade report that arrives in the mail, and comes emblazoned with your GPA. Do what I did, and simply throw out this envelope without opening it.

(In fact, earlier this year I ordered a copy of my transcript for use in a promotion for Straight-A, and was shocked to find a collection of citations from professors that I never knew about; I had missed them at the time because I never read the grade reports in which they were originally sent.)

Focus On Performance, Not GPA

Smart students treat each class like an individual challenge. Your goal should be to find the most efficient possible way to really learn the material. You might not always get this right. Sometimes, you’ll make stupid mistakes on a test or bet on the wrong thesis, but that’s okay. So long as you’re getting better at being a student, over time, most (not all) of your grades will be great. By ignoring your GPA, you’re simply cutting out a lot of stress along this journey.