>>17857There are a few good threads around that address this topic, but because you posted here instead of lurking I'll link them here
>>6832 >>4166 >>12790 >>6382Regarding the attached image you can find Make it stick in this post >>34236 in /hobby/ that thread is also generally good.
I'm sure you already do half of this but I'm going to type it out again anyway.
>Your scheduleFind a calendar app for your phone, if you use google, get google calendar, or whatever software you use for email etc. Just get one. In that calendar, make repeating events for your classes and work schedule. Put in the dates of all your assignments due from the syllabus. Set 20 minute reminders before each of them so you don't have to think about it. From there you will be able to visualize what time you have left. Out of that remaining time you are going to need to sleep, eat, and travel. The remaining time then is going to be your study/family & friends/leisure time. That's all you got. When I used to do this math I based it on 3 hours a week for every 1 hour of classes and the end result was around 30 hours left over for fun, but the problem here is that you are working at the same time so it means you will need to be more careful with your time. Once you find time to actually study (i.e. big chunks of time (the little chunks can be for emails, scheduling, getting assignments together, planning)) then we move on to the next step.
>MotivationEvery class will have a textbook. The dead author trying to get information from their brain into yours. The professor is the shepherd of this. While the immediate goal is to get good grades, the only way to internally motivate yourself is by seeking knowledge. This can be knowledge for future conversation, for solving the worlds problems, for organizing, or just because you think it is neat. But any type of studying without the fundamental internal motivation will be painful and you will want to go jerk off or play bloodborne again. I would suggest doing some meditation and taking an account of all the nonfiction you have read or watched and think about why you found it engaging or not. Then attempt to connect that motivator to whatever it is that you are studying. EVERYTHING can be connected back to whatever it is. Everything has some kind of interest to it.
>MaterialAs said before, there will be a book for the class and assignments related to it. Read the entire table of contents. Now you know where your journey will take you so you won't be confused as to why you are learning one thing before another. This can be shown in how math gets more complicated and builds on itself or how a history class is taught chronologically. Then skim through the book. Don't really read it all, but flip through it. Get familiar with the territory you will be covering.
>RetentionRead make it stick. Please read make it stick. If you get one thing from this post its to read that book. The ways we have been taught to learn in school systems does not work. Memory is based off recall. That struggle to remember something. That reviewing what you missed when you couldn't remember it. Every time we tell a story we reinforce that story. Notice how you have a handful of anecdotes that come to you like lightning in a group conversation, but you couldn't remember what you had for breakfast last week. Now look up the Feynman technique. Basically, after you review material, try to write out the key concepts of that material as if you were explaining it to someone else. When finished, review the material and see how close you got. If it gets too complex, try to figure out how to explain it more simply. Sometimes a class is pure intro 101 definitions. For something like this, notecards do help. There are correct tools for the correct job. When you read something, pause and think about what you just read. Do you remember what it was or did your eyes just skim over it? This is the Feynman technique on a small scale and it forces you to engage with what you are reading. Reading is an active participatory skill that must be learned and improved on over time. You can't just watch videos and play hearthstone on your second monitor. That works for some people, but not everyone's brain is wired the same way. Another way of remembering things is the method of loci. Memory palaces. The human brain remembers geography very well. Close your eyes and imagine walking through your childhood home. You remember all the knickknacks and furniture and the whole layout. Now find an object. A lamp. A table. The point is to make objects along a path in your mind have an interesting story attached to them so you can simply recall the home and then the story. Lets say I wanted to remember that the 3rd amendment was no quartering troops. I'd imagine the couch in my living room and on that couch I would see a bunch of British solders with blood nubs for hands from playing quarters so much. This technique is good for if you have less than 2 weeks notice of remembering information. If you have more than that, spaced repetition works better.
>toolsYou need a calendar system. I then suggest you download anki for flash cards and Obsidian for note taking. Obsidian is a knowledge management system discussed in this thread
>>6832 where you can hyperlink your notes together to make a big web of information. Connections to preexisting information strengthens retention. So if you are taking an art class AND an art history class, you can take your Feynman technique notes and put them in this system and then link together the famous artists to the different techniques they used that you learned in the practical class. In undergrad your last 2 years of classes are all generally related because of your major, these classes normally have tons of overlap.
>distractionsMany people have difficulty with distractions when they finally sit down to study. Right now I am making this post instead of working. I suggest a website blocker to block shit like this. I suggest you move all your games and social media apps into a hidden folder, or even just straight up uninstall them. Of course you could always reinstall or remove the blocker, but it's about setting up systems while you are motivated to help battle the unmotivated you. Is it difficult to study at home? Well, on your calendar you could take one of those chunks of time and say you are going to the library to study or a coffee shop, or a study room, or a bench outside the cafeteria, etc. This cuts down on all the distractions except your phone and computer. You could turn off your phone. You could get a Pomodoro app or the forest app or something to make your phone a shameful object. You could get a sluggish shitty ass laptop that can't do shit other than submit assignments and type. This is all dependent on how addicted you are to your own shit. You have to figure this part out.
>gradesRemember that you are being tested to the teacher, not the material in isolation. The professor doesn't want to fail you, that looks bad on them and unless they got tenure, they want to look pretty to the deans. If you can find previous tests by the professor, find them. If your book has questions in the back. Do them. If you know students who took the class before, drill them and steal their notes. Is the class generic and can you find sample tests online? Find them. Do them. Your grade is not only a reflection of your knowledge of the material, but it is also a reflection of your ability to test. If you read make it stick you will learn that testing itself is a VERY good study tool, so it's pretty stupid that grades are based off tests and not projects. Oh well. you have to test. If you can, find every advantage possible. Do not let the test be a mystery. Don't let yourself be caught off-guard. People have had 2500 years to test Plato, you do not get to let this information be new and strange. Be the asshole in class that asks what sections the test will be over. Be the asshole that asks if it's multiple choice or essay. Then practice that method and material.
This is a very long way of saying: Read, take notes, ask questions.