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Study Hacks Blog

4 Weeks to a 4.0: Streamline Your Notes

4 Weeks to a 4.0 is a four-part series to help you transform into an efficient student. Each Monday between 3/30 and 4/20 I’ll post a new weekly assignment to aid your transformation.

Welcome to Week 2Time to Change

This is the second post in our four-part series 4 Weeks to a 4.0. Last week, I asked you to start an autopilot schedule and adopt a Sunday ritual. If you’re like me, you’re probably having some trouble making this schedule work. That’s okay! Just keep adjusting; it takes some practice to work out the kinks. This week I want to move from the big picture issue of scheduling to something more tactical: notetaking in class.

Week 2 Assignment: Smart Notes

This week we’re focusing on taking notes in class. To better target my advice, I’ve identified three major types of classes: non-technical (history, english, etc.); technical without math (biology, psychology, etc.); and technical with math (calculus, macroeconomics, etc.). Below, I’ve provided a specific notetaking strategy for each of these three types. This week, I want you to adopt the appropriate strategy for each of your courses.

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Using Fitness “Algorithms” to Stay in Shape Without a Rigid Workout Plan

The Fitness Guru ReturnsAdam Gilbert

Way back in the early days of Study Hacks, I introduced you to fitness guru Adam Gilbert. I was drawn to his story because he had left his high-prestige job at Ernst & Young to start My Body Tutor, a web-based company that has Adam, and his team of trainers, work daily with clients to help them stick to their fitness plan. I like stories of young people following innovative paths, and Adam’s path was certainly fascinating.

Since then, Adam has become my go-to guy for fitness advice. I recently asked him to help me put together an article I’ve long envisioned: a collection of simple fitness algorithms that can help a college student stay in shape without requiring a rigid schedule or complicated, finely-tuned workout. I was inspired in these efforts by Michael Pollan’s famous simplification of eating advice: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Adam came through. Below are his simple fitness algorithms. (Of course, if you like what you hear, or are interested in becoming more serious about fitness or weight loss, check out Adam’s site.)

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4 Weeks to a 4.0: Adopt an Autopilot Schedule and a Sunday Ritual

4 Weeks to a 4.0 is a four-part series to help you transform into an efficient student. Each Monday between 3/30 and 4/20 I’ll post a new weekly assignment to aid your transformation.

Welcome to Week 1Time to Change

This is the first post in a new four-part series I’m calling 4 Weeks to a 4.0. Each Monday, for the next month, I’ll be posting a new weekly assignment. I can’t guarantee that you’ll immediately earn a 4.0 if you finish all four assignments, but your grades will definitely improve and your stress will definitely plummet. If you want to overhaul your study habits, but feel overwhelmed by all the changes this requires, then this series is for you. Your first assignment, presented below, covers some scheduling basics.

Week 1 Assignment: Autopilots and Rituals

The goal of this first week’s assignment is to help you reclaim your schedule. I don’t want to overwhelm you, so we’ll start small with two easy ideas: starting an autopilot schedule and initiating a Sunday ritual. Your assignment for this week is to adopt these strategies, which I detail below.

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How to Go From College to an Extraordinary Life (and Bank Account)

Meet RamitRamit Sethi

My friend Ramit Sethi lives an extraordinary life. Like me, he graduated college in 2004. While a student he consulted for big companies, and then, after graduating, co-founded a hot technology start-up and launched a writing career. Today, his full time job is running the web site I Will Teach You To Be Rich, which offers no-bullshit personal finance advice for young people.

His path is a great example of lifestyle-centric planning. He knew what he wanted his life to be like — flexible, financially sound, engaging, based in a big city — and then started making moves to make it happen.

Learn From the Master

I’m telling you about Ramit for two reasons. First, his new book, I Will Teach You to Be Rich, was just published. I review it later in this post, but let me give you a spoiler: buy this book if you want to save a lot of stress in your life over the next 10 years.

Second, Ramit and I recorded an hour-long podcast about his story and his advice for students looking to go from college to an extraordinary life. Among other topics, we cover a simple trick for guaranteeing admission to graduate school, cultivating great mentors, picking work that matters, and dominating your peers.

Here’s our offer: if you buy Ramit’s new book within the next 48 hours and forward your Amazon receipt to studyhacks@iwillteachyoutoberich.com, he’ll send you a link for downloading this interview.

My full review of his book continues below…

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The Notebook Method: How Pen and Paper Can Transform You Into a Star Student

From Good to GreatThinking by water

Unlike many hacks you read here, the strategy I want to describe today is not designed to reduce your study time (though I don’t think it will add much to your schedule either). Instead, its purpose is to help you transform from a good student into an exceptional student.

It starts with the simplest possible tools…pen and paper.

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Do College Students Need Laptops in the Age of Netbooks?

The Zen LaptopHp Mini

In the current issue of Wired magazine, Clive Thompson gushes over the rapid rise of the netbook: inexpensive, low-powered, small laptops optimized for simple tasks like web surfing. Clive compares the existing PC industry to “a car company selling SUVs,” noting that they have been pushing “absurdly powerful machines” even though most consumers just need something that gets them to the grocery store.

For some people, the full power of a desktop or laptop is crucial. For example, those who edit movies or play high-end games. But for most college students, these needs aren’t relevant. In fact, 99% of what we do is writing, e-mailing, and web-surfing with the occasional romp through the land of Powerpoint: exactly what a netbook is optimized to perform. And unlike a full-powered laptop, a netbook costs only $300 – $400 and has a battery that can last over six hours per charge.

After mulling these facts I began to ask myself an interesting question: Do colleges students need a laptop in the age of netbooks?

I spent the last month putting this question to the test.

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