This is a bullet note I take form the book 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades written by Thomas Frank.

10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades

Step 1 - Pay Better Attention in Class

  • Sit Up Front and Be Present

  • Come Prepared

  • Get Help from Your Professor (The Right Way)

  • Keep Those Hands Moving

Step 2 - Take More Effective Notes

  • Five Excellent Note-Taking Methods

    • The Outline Method
    • The Cornell Method
    • The Mind Map Method
    • The Flow Method
    • The “Write on the Slides” Method

  • Paper Notebooks vs. Laptops

Step 3 - Get More Out of Your Textbooks

  • Don’t Do All Your Assigned Reading

  • Know How You’ll Be Assessed

  • Don’t Read Textbooks Like Newspapers

  • 5 Active Reading Strategies

    • Use the Pseudo-Skimming Technique
    • Read the Chapter Backwards
    • Create Questions While You Read
    • Pay Attention to Formatting
    • Mark Up Your Book and Take Notes

  • Summarize What You Read

Step 4 - Plan Like a General

  • Planning Mode vs. Robot Mode

  • Plan Out Your Entire Education

  • Plan Your Week on Sunday

  • Understand Task Contexts

  • Create a Daily Plan

  • Try Timeboxing

  • Know Thy Fudge Ratio

  • Use the Captain America Method to Break Down Projects

Step 5 - Build Your Optimal Study Environment

  • Finding the best study location
  • Selecting great study music/noise
  • Limiting real-world distractions
  • Limiting technological distractions

Step 6 - Fight Entropy and Stay Organized

  • Organize Your Files the Right Way

  • Build a Quick Capture System

  • Get a Second Brain

  • Use a Task Manager

  • Fight Entropy

Step 7 - Defeat Procrastination

  • Get Over “I Don’t Feel Like It.”

  • Understand the Procrastination Equation

  • Build Strong Habits

  • Avoid Low-Density Fun

  • Use the Pomodoro Technique

  • When All Else Fails, Bring the Pain

Step 8 - Study Smarter

  • Replicate the Test Conditions

  • Emphasize Active Learning

  • Use Spaced Repetition

  • How to Study Math (and Similar Subjects)

Step 9 - Write Better Papers

  • Do a Brain Dump

  • Develop a Focus and Key Questions

  • Conduct Better Research

  • Write an Awful First Draft

  • Edit Ruthlessly

Step 10 - Make Group Projects Suck Less

  • Make Good Use of the First Meeting

  • Avoid the Bystander Effect

  • Solutions vs. Mixtures

  • Use Great Tools to Be More Effective