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“Hi Celes, I’ve enjoyed reading PE since my undergraduate days and your tips on becoming a dean’s lister helped me get on that elusive list for 2 consecutive years! Many thanks :)

Now that I have graduated, I have two options: 

1. My dream job which I’ve always wanted since university: great earning potential that comes with passing exams and great working environment. Got a job offer but it came only half a year after graduation due to the high barriers to entry.
2. To embark on a PhD program. It was actually a back-up plan of sorts, since I couldn’t nail my dream job for half a year. I’ve actually done preparation for it (e.g. doing GMAT and requesting for recommendation letters). My family and I like the prospect of doing a PhD, but job security may be an issue after PhD since research is a very competitive arena.

Every day, I’m stuck in the conundrum of these two options, thinking about which path to follow and it is mentally draining. I have read your article: How To Make Life’s Hardest Decisions: 3 Decision Making Methods.

But, how do I choose between two options where the risks and rewards seem to be really similar? Or would you recommend that I take option #1 and use option #2 as a backup? Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks in advance. :)” — Mo

Dear Mo, congratulations on getting onto the Dean’s List!! Kudos to you for taking the lead in your studies and excelling in them. :D

It’s awesome that you have read my decision making article because it contains my three best methods for breaking out of any conundrum.

In your case, method #2 “Ideal Vision” seems the most appropriate. When you are trapped in a situation with clear-cut options but you are unclear of the path to take, gain clarity by (a) first identifying where you want to be X (say five) years from now, then (b) identifying the path which will bring you there. This path may be Path A, Path B, a combination of Path A and B, or something new altogether.

My Pick: Option #1, to Work

Personally, I recommend that you go with option #1: go for your dream job right away.

I was once in a similar scenario, contemplating between (a) staying on in school for an additional year for an honors degree and (b) graduating right after my bachelor’s degree to work. At that time I was in my second year of university and had already secured my job offer with P&G after my internship with them.

While I could have studied for my honors and still join the company after graduation, I opted to graduate right after my bachelor’s degree and start work.

Why?

Why? Because personal growth is a big thing for me. I experienced — first hand during my internship — how I could grow by leaps and bounds by being on the job. As a reference, I learned more in two months of my internship with the company than I did in two years of my university degree. I was pushed in more intense, stress-inducing situations in those two months than I did in two decades of my life. And I mean it in a good way, because stress is a sign that we are not able to handle something (yet) it’s a stimulus to growth.

It was painfully obvious to me at that time how I would be “wasting” time by continuing an extra year of study over work. This was why I chose to work right away, even though I could have studied for my honors and then join my ex-company after graduation.

In my case, it also happened that having an honors degree literally had no impact to my path. Apparently, that’s the case for most private-sector career paths: While some may get a higher starting pay with an honors degree (not for my ex-company though; there was no difference in pay between honors and bachelor’s degree holders), this is a short-term difference. What you gain in a few months or a year on the job will quickly supersede whatever edge you may have had with an honors at first.

Here I’m assuming that you will be working in a high-performance job that will maximize your growth vs. a job where you idle your time away (you mentioned it’s your dream job, so I’m sure it comes with great prospects and growth-opportunities). If it’s the latter — a low-to-no-responsibility job — furthering your studies will obviously be a better choice since you would be experiencing minimal growth in such a job. It’s precisely because both of your current options are great that you’re having such a dilemma right now.

Not to worry though, as every dilemma can be worked through. :)

Four Questions To Consider

Here are some questions to consider:

1. Will your job still be around after your PhD? Is the company willing to leave a position open for you at the time of your PhD graduation?
2. What is your personal life vision five years from now (in reference to my question in the opening)? Which path is more aligned to that vision: studying PhD, going for your dream job, or something else altogether?
3. Are there significant differences in which a PhD will bring to your career path? Sure, there will probably be differences or benefits which a PhD would bring (otherwise why would people study for?!), but are these differences significant? More importantly, do these differences matter to you? 
4. Beyond Q3: does a PhD offer significant benefits over the work experience you can potentially gain in the same time working (in your dream job)? If yes, then PhD will be the better choice; if not, then your dream job will be the better pick.

Re: Q1, from my experience in the professional world, most companies do not pre-commit to job placements with candidates beyond one year (unless (a) you such have a distinctive profile and experience that they absolutely need you, (b) you are in an industry which has a definite need for new recruits every year like accountancy, or (c) you are in a scholarship bond with the company which isn’t the case here). This is especially so in today’s market, where many companies are undergoing restructuring and resizing.

Even if the companies do promise a vacancy, things can always change. Some companies undergo headcount freezes or downsizing in the blink of an eye once management issues a decision. I know someone who was offered his dream role before graduating but his placement got retracted later on due to market changes, leaving him jobless and seeking a job in the months after his graduation.

On Q3, if the differences don’t matter to you, then there’s really little point in considering them. And whether these differences matter to you will be a function of what your personal life vision is (re: Q2).

For example, having an honors vs. a bachelor’s degree has its differences for sure. There’s a slight level of prestige and distinction an honors-degree holder have over a bachelor’s-degree-only holder. Some companies give a slightly higher pay for honors graduates vs. non-honors graduates. And having an honors is important in the public sector in Singapore.

However, none of these were relevant for me. Or rather, the differences that mattered at that point would be irrelevant three, five, or ten years from then. I didn’t care about the distinction an honors-degree holder would have because I was going to gain much more from working in a growth-intensive job. The pay advantage for having an honors degree didn’t apply to the company I was joining, much less a few years later when I would have a few years of solid, relevant work experience. I was never planning to work in the public sector, so it didn’t matter to me the importance of honors in this sector.

This was what I thought then: If I really want to further my studies next time or if having an honors proves to be important, I can always return to studying after a few years of work. School will always be there for me. This job may not be. And given the great learning and strong edge I can get from being on the job, I don’t want to spend more time studying. It’s time to graduate and create my path outside of school.

It Boils Down To You and Your Vision

At the end of the day, the decision is up to you, and I’m just here to offer my perspective. What is your personal vision for yourself? (As I mentioned in Q2.) Which is the path that works best in achieving the vision? Think over it, pick the option, then don’t look back after that.

Even if you are not 100% clear of your personal vision (most aren’t even so at the age of 30, 40, or even 50, so there’s little reason to expect yourself to be 100% clear at your age), a broad-based idea would work too.

For example, I didn’t know with precision that I wanted to be a coach, trainer, or even blogger when I was 21 (at the point of graduation). However, I knew that (a) I am passionate about growth and I want to harness my maximum growth potential, and (b) I want to create the most impact with my life. based on theses broad directions, I realized that proceeding to work immediately in my then-dream-job was the key. I would then quit once I felt that I had learned enough to pursue my path. The rest was history.

While what you’re facing may seem that this is a huge decision at this point (and it is, no doubt), but you will look back ten years later and realize that this is merely one of the many mini-thought moments in your life which got you thinking about what you truly want in life and how to best get there. At the end of the day, how you soar and excel in life isn’t going to weigh independently on just one decision you make. It’s really a result of your attitude towards life, your work ethic, and the little decisions you make every day, along the way.

Good luck Mo, and keep us posted on the path you pick in the end. :D Many hugs to you. *hugs*

Here are some related pieces:

1. How To Know What You Want To Do In Life
2. How To Discover Your Ideal Career: Your Message and Your Medium
3. Can Everyone Be Successful in Starting Their Business?

In this survey of more than 1300 participants, 96% said they feel anxious about exams.

This high percentage isn’t surprising, but it still raises questions about whether the education system is overly competitive and stressful.

I firmly believe that education should be about much more than exam grades. But schools aren’t going to get rid of exams any time soon, so students might as well learn to deal with exams as calmly and effectively as possible.

I’ve come up with the following five ways for you to improve your exam performance:

1. Develop a plan.

Most of the students I work with don’t plan for how they’ll prepare for an exam. They just tell themselves that they’ll study as much as possible—then they’ll “hope for the best.”

This isn’t a wise approach. Preparing for an exam is like taking on an important project.

Would you start building a bridge without first coming up with a plan? Would you just begin construction and “hope for the best”? I doubt it.

In a similar way, it’s important to outline, in writing, a strategy for how you’ll get ready for an exam.

Here are some questions to consider as you devise your plan:

• When will you start studying?
• How many hours each week will you block out to study?
• Which topics do you need further clarification on?
• Which homework assignments will you review?
• How many practice exams will you do?
• How many times will you review your notes and your textbook readings?
• What distractions are you likely to face, and how will you overcome them?

As the saying goes, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” So make sure you have a plan for every exam you take.

2. Get on a sleep schedule at least one week before the exam.

Many exams are scheduled for early in the morning—a time when students don’t usually feel very awake.

If you’ll be taking a morning exam, start sleeping earlier at least one week before so that your body will have time to adjust. If not, your mind won’t be in an optimal state to take the exam.

In general, it’s also a good idea to get eight hours of sleep each night. Getting enough sleep is vital if you want to improve your memory and mental focus.

It’s tempting to stay up late, or even pull a few all-nighters, in the days and weeks leading up to the exam, but this is counter-productive. You’ll do better on the exam if you get adequate rest.

3. Don’t do any last-minute studying right before the exam.

It’s common for students to spend the 10 minutes before an exam doing some last-minute studying. This may provide some psychological comfort, but overall it does more harm than good.

10 minutes before an exam, you either know the required information or you don’t. If you frantically review facts or equations during this time, you’ll become more stressed and anxious. This will negatively affect your performance.

Instead, make use of the time before the start of the exam to relax. Visualize yourself answering the questions correctly, and imagine yourself in a state of peace and confidence.

Take a deep breath. Inhale for four seconds, then exhale for four seconds. Repeat this as many times as necessary to calm down.

4. Turn your focus towards the process and away from the outcome.

When professional athletes perform in crunch time—for example, when they hit the buzzer-beating, game-winning shot—it’s interesting to note their response when journalists ask them, “What was going through your mind when you took that shot?”

You might expect them to say something like “I thought about how the crowd would react if I missed the shot” or “I focused on how much time was left in the game” or “I thought about how I didn’t want to disappoint my teammates.”

But I’ve observed that they rarely say anything along those lines.

I’ve noticed that this is their most common reply: “I just took the shot the same way I’ve taken it thousands of times before in practice.”

It’s this focus on the process, rather than the outcome, that ironically allows professional athletes to achieve better outcomes.

This means that if you focus primarily on the outcome (for instance, repeatedly thinking to yourself: “I must ace this exam. I must ace this exam. I must ace this exam.”), you’re probably not going to ace the exam.

If you want to ace the exam, you should, instead, concentrate on staying calm, on thinking through each question carefully, and on analyzing what each question is really asking.

5. Make use of exam-taking techniques.

We like to think that exams are an objective measure of learning, but they’re really not. You might know the information like the back of your hand, but if you’re not equipped with the necessary exam-taking skills, you won’t get the grades you’re hoping for.

Here are some basic exam-taking principles and techniques:

Be familiar with the structure of the exam.

It’s important to know the answers to these questions:

• How many sections will the exam have?
• What are the differences between the sections?
• Will there be multiple-choice questions, open-ended questions, or both?
• How many points will there be in total?

Use a stopwatch.

During an exam, every second counts. Using a stopwatch will help you to keep track of the time more accurately.

Look through the entire exam at the beginning.

When the exam starts, don’t jump straight in and start answering the questions. Instead, take a minute or two to skim all of the questions.

Get a feel for how challenging the exam is overall, and take note of which questions will be especially time-consuming. Set aside more time to tackle those questions.

Know how much time you should spend on each question.

Based on how long the exam is and how many points there are in total, you’ll know roughly how much time to spend on each question.

For example, if you have 50 minutes to complete a 50-point exam, you have one minute per point. So, for a 10-point question, you should spend approximately 10 minutes answering it.

If, after 10 minutes, you’re still not done with the question, it’s time to speed up.

If you get stuck, move on.

If you’re unable to solve a problem, maintain your composure and go on to the next one. Time is ticking. When you’ve completed the rest of the exam, come back to the unfinished problems.

In closing…

No matter how much you hate (or love) exams, they’re part and parcel of student life.

By following the five tips listed above, I hope that the next exam you take will be an enjoyable experience with a happy outcome!

Be sure to check out:

• How To Score a GPA of 3.98/4.00 (video), an interview how to achieve a top GPA and create a purposeful education experience for yourself
• How To Get on the Dean’s List (3-part series), series on how to excel in your schooling years and emerge as a dean’s lister (an honor awarded to top students).

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About the Author: Daniel Wong is the author of “The Happy Student: 5 Steps to Academic Fulfillment and Success.” He writes about education and career at www.daniel-wong.com.

“Put your notes away. It’s time to take the test,” says your teacher.

You feel paralyzed by fear.

Your stomach tightens.

Your palms get sweaty.

As your teacher places the test paper on your table, your mind goes blank.

Sound familiar?

Through my work, I’ve had the privilege of interacting with thousands of students.

Many students tell me that the words “test” and “exam” strike terror in their hearts. They say things like:

• “I can’t afford to do badly on this test!”
• “I’ll cry if I fail.”
• “I’ll be so disappointed if I don’t get an ‘A’.”

It’s important to assess students’ learning, but surely tests and exams shouldn’t elicit so many negative feelings?

Education today isn’t characterized by a sense of discovery and exploration. Neither is it characterized by a spirit of curiosity.

Why is education scary?

Instead, it’s characterized by fear.

Fear of losing out. Fear of exams. Fear of disappointment. Fear of failure.

This is understandable. After all, we live in a society that places a heavy emphasis on performance and achievement, so parents have high expectations of their children.

But teachers have a role to play too.

“The fear of failure begins in the teacher”

Please don’t get me wrong; I greatly admire the work that teachers do.

My friends who are teachers are some of the most generous, kind and conscientious people I know.

Personally, I don’t have what it takes to do a teacher’s job.

To all of you teachers out there who are reading this: Keep up your excellent work!

Some months ago, a good friend of mine who’s a high school teacher wrote a message to me:

“… the fear of failure begins in the teacher. That’s the root of the issue in our education system. One of the indicators to measure a teacher’s performance is the student’s grades.

More often than not, the teacher is blinded to the student’s fear of failure because it is more daunting to come to terms with the fact that the fear stems from us [teachers].

When we deny our own condition, we fail to see what is happening in the student because it reminds us of who we really are.“

Powerfully written.

Teaching is a noble calling, but—based on my friend’s observations—teachers do have a significant part to play in causing students to fear failure.

Is your life meaningless if you don’t have a university degree?

I recently spoke to a teacher (I’ll call him Michael) who spent several years teaching at a high school where the students weren’t academically inclined.

In relating his experience to me, Michael remarked, “Most of my students never made it to university. Their lives will never amount to much.”

Their lives will never amount to much.

It bothered me that those words came out of Michael’s mouth so naturally, so effortlessly, so smoothly.

Michael spoke as if he was proclaiming a gospel truth: If you’re not a university graduate, your life will never amount to much.

I don’t believe this to be true at all.

Each of us is running a race, but the goal shouldn’t be to finish first. Rather, the goal should be to finish well, to lead a meaningful life that you can be proud of and to make a difference in the lives of others.

I wonder how many teachers share Michael’s sentiments?

I’m concerned that the teachers who do might just give up on their students who don’t demonstrate an aptitude for academic subjects, even though these same students might be gifted in other areas like art, athletics, music or dance.

Fish aren’t good at climbing trees

Teachers who believe that education is mainly about accumulating certificates, diplomas and degrees are going to instill in their students a fear of tests and exams.

Eventually, their students will fear learning, because learning has become so closely linked to those terrifying exams.

Albert Einstein once remarked: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

Truly, all of us are worth so much more than the educational qualifications that we write down on our résumé.

Overcoming the fear of failure: Progressing through the 3 stages

In order to overcome our fear of failure, we first need to realize that there are three stages in the journey: Approval, Acceptance and Adventure.

It should be our goal to make it through to Stage 3 and to remain there.

Below are descriptions of each stage, and what you’ll need to do to continually progress.

Stage 1: Approval

At this stage, students seek the approval of their parents and teachers.

Students try to do well in school primarily to make other people happy. They’re afraid of doing badly because they worry about disappointing their parents and teachers.

For most of my life as a student, I was at Stage 1. I didn’t see any meaning in education, but I enjoyed winning academic awards and honors. I studied hard just to try and wow others with my achievements.

I now see how unhealthy this approach towards education was!

I made it from Stage 1 to Stage 2 only when I realized that I wasn’t defined by my grades and achievements. I was a whole human being, so my role as a student was merely one of many roles I had.

If you’re at Stage 1, ask yourself why it’s important to you that you gain the approval of others.

Do you have insecurities you need to deal with?

What’s the root cause of those insecurities?

Do you have any unhealthy thought patterns?

Are you committed to changing those thought patterns?

Who can you talk to about these issues?

As writer Anna Quindlen said, “If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all.”

When you move from Stage 1 to Stage 2, you’ll experience the freedom of taking full responsibility for your life, instead of trying to live up to other people’s expectations.

Stage 2: Acceptance

Stage 2 is where students begin to accept themselves fully—their strengths, talents, shortcomings and inadequacies. They become more purpose-driven in their pursuits, and aren’t so fixated on their performance.

To continue to make progress towards overcoming your fear of failure, declare to yourself daily that—even though your academics are important—your identity isn’t based on how many accomplishments you rack up.

Instead, your identity is found in who you’re becoming as a person, and in the decisions you make.

At Stage 2, it’s crucial that you surround yourself with encouraging people. Don’t hesitate to ask your family and people close to you to support you.

I also encourage you to develop your own personal definition of success, and write it down. Refer to it daily and ask yourself how you can lead a life of both success and significance.

Stage 3: Adventure

When students begin to see education as an adventure of discovery, they become intrinsically motivated. They work hard to be the best they can be, instead of trying to be better than their peers.

At Stage 3, students see failure not as something to be feared, but rather as something to be embraced. They understand that failure is an integral part of the success journey.

Given that we live in a stressful, competitive society, it’s easy to regress from Stage 3 to Stage 2, or even Stage 1.

Thus, when you reach Stage 3, it becomes even more important to surround yourself with like-minded people.

Stage 3 is about becoming a lifelong learner.

Set a rule for yourself of learning at least one new fact a day or reading one book a month. You could make it a habit to try out a new hobby every three months, or watch one educational TV program a week (no, MTV doesn’t count).

Get creative and don’t confine yourself to learning only things that are “in the syllabus.”

When you do these things, school will become more fun and interesting too, because you’ll see more clearly the beauty of this amazing world we live in.

In closing…

The fear of failure is something we all struggle with. It’s a battle that begins at a young age, and it’s one that will probably last a lifetime.

But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t equip ourselves with the skills and mindset necessary to fight a winning battle.

Let’s feel the fear but face it bravely anyway.

Whenever we talk about education, let’s not forget that students’ well-being is at stake. Lives are at stake. The future of our country and our world is at stake.

So let’s get to work on this thrilling journey of conquering our fear of failure.

If not now, then when?

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About the Author: Daniel Wong is the author of “The Happy Student: 5 Steps to Academic Fulfillment and Success.” He writes about education and career at www.daniel-wong.com.

If you’re a student, do you ever feel like what you’re learning in school isn’t relevant to the “real world”?

Or if you’ve already completed your formal education, did you have to unlearn some things from school in order to adapt to life after school?

I spend a lot of time working with students, parents and educators. I’ve observed that there’s a disconnect between what goes on in school and what goes on in the “real world.”

Please don’t get me wrong; you’ll learn plenty of useful things in school, but you’ll need to unlearn some things as well.

After all, you’ll probably spend 12 years or more in the school system. That’s a long time! During this time, it’s possible that you might pick up bad habits and incorrect ways of looking at the world.

I’ve come up with six things you’ll need to unlearn if you want to find long-term success.

1. Failure is disastrous

As a student, my biggest fear was failing a test or an exam. I even had nightmares about it.

What would my teachers say if I failed?

Would I have the guts to show my parents my report card?

Would I be able to make it to the next grade?

My fear of failure made me insecure and low in self-esteem. Many students I work with go through a similar experience.

But, in life, failure is seldom disastrous. In fact, given how complex the world is today, failure is often necessary if you want to succeed.

In my opinion, the highest aim of education is to teach students to fail intelligently. This means that schools should encourage students to dare to fail, to overcome obstacles, to surmount challenges, and to go at it again.

It’s through intelligent failure that students set themselves up for greater success in the future.

2. It’s better to work alone

Don’t you hate it when your teacher assigns a group project? There are plenty of reasons why many students dislike group projects:

• The grading is subjective
• Even if you try your best, you might not get an ‘A’
• You might get stuck with one or more lazy group members (who will probably get the same grade as you, the hardworking one!)
• It’s difficult to coordinate group members’ schedules
• Interpersonal conflicts can arise

As such, students generally prefer to work alone. This applies to writing papers, completing homework assignments, and preparing for tests and exams.

In the real world, however, you can’t accomplish much on your own. If you’re working on a complicated assignment, building a business, or raising a family, you’ll need to function as part of a team.

It’s impossible to know or do everything, so you’ll be forced to work with others.

Schools should teach students how to get along with others, criticize constructively, disagree productively, and be a team player.

Equipping students with these skills will ensure that they’re prepared to face the demands and realities of life after school.

3. There’s always a right answer

Students like “model answers.” They believe that if they’re equipped with the perfect answers, they’re sure to do well on the exam.

But in life there’s almost never just one right answer. You can adopt numerous approaches to the same problem.

Just think about how different Yahoo! and Google are as search engines, yet they both serve the same function in different ways—and they both have millions of users.

In the real world, model answers don’t exist. Instead, you’ll need to conduct repeated experiments. You’ll need to experiment in order to determine if your assumptions, your business, your branding, your product, and your skill set are viable.

The unfortunate fact: When you experiment often, you’ll be wrong often.

But that’s completely okay, as long as you take precautions to guarantee that a failed experiment won’t result in a catastrophe.

4. Someone will tell you what you need to know

As students spend more time in school, they tend to become passive participants in their own learning.

Most students wait to be told what homework to do, what projects to work on, and what to study.

But this isn’t the way to achieve success in the real world. Being compliant and obedient can only get you so far. If you want to add value to your community or organization, you’ll need to take the initiative.

You’ll need to ask questions, not just follow instructions. You’ll need to go beyond what you’re expected to. You’ll need to do more than you’re paid to.

5. Education only happens in school

Just 10 or 20 years ago, if you wanted to get an education, you had to go to school. There were few alternative options.

But that’s no longer the case.

Today, there’s so much information available on the Internet—just at the click of a mouse button—that you can get an education outside of school.

School isn’t where you go to get an education. Instead, school should just be part of your education.

If you want to learn about a specific topic, develop a particular skill, or pick up a certain hobby, you can.

There’s sure to be a blog, online forum or YouTube video you can look up to get the information you need.

When you start to see that learning can take place anywhere, and that just about anyone can be your teacher, you’re on your way to becoming a truly educated person.

6. Only what’s in the syllabus is important

The school system emphasizes exam performance. This can cause students to associate learning with exams, and nothing else.

If it’s not going to be tested, why bother learning it, right?

But, in the real world, there are hardly any formal exams. Neither is there a “syllabus” that outlines the knowledge and skills you simply must possess.

Because of the mindset that only what’s in the syllabus is important, many people don’t read (I’m referring to books, not Tweets or Facebook status updates) after they leave school. This approach, however, won’t lead to success in the long run.

Whether you’re a homemaker, engineer, mechanic, nurse, teacher or CEO, there are always new things to learn and new skills to acquire.

If you want to be world-class at anything, it’s essential that you familiarize yourself even with content that’s “outside the syllabus.”

In closing…

Even if you’ve completed your formal education, your learning journey isn’t over.

As Alvin Toffler noted, “The illiterate of the 21^st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

Heeding this advice, let’s learn the important, unlearn the redundant, and relearn the essential.

Our future—both as individuals and as a society—depends on it.

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About the Author: Daniel Wong is the author of “The Happy Student: 5 Steps to Academic Fulfillment and Success.” He writes about education and career at www.daniel-wong.com.

How would you answer this question:

“When are you going to do your Social Studies assignment that’s due next week?”

I’m pretty sure your answer isn’t “right now.” It’s more likely that your answer is “maybe tomorrow.”

Why complete the assignment today when it’s only due next week, right?

At some level, though, you know it’s a bad idea to procrastinate. When you wait until your assignments, papers and projects become urgent, that’s when life becomes stressful.

You sleep less.

You eat junk food.

Your friends think you’ve gone MIA.

You become anxious.

The list goes on.

A few years ago, I had this powerful realization: Stress is a fact of life, but it should never become a way of life.

Yes, it’s inevitable that—on occasion—you’ll have to work extra hard and sacrifice sleep. But if this happens frequently and becomes a way of life, it’s a sure sign that you need to change your habits.

Are you a Quadrant 2 person?

The principle that lies at the foundation of overcoming procrastination is something I learned from Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: As far as possible, keep everything important but not urgent.

Allow me to explain. There are four quadrants of tasks (as per the Time Management Matrix, which you can read more in Put First Things First):

• Quadrant 1: Important and urgent (e.g. last-minute assignments and projects)
• Quadrant 2: Important but not urgent (e.g. spending time with your family or exercising)
• Quadrant 3: Not important but urgent (e.g. some phone calls and text messages)
• Quadrant 4: Not important and not urgent (e.g. watching YouTube videos or going on Facebook)

If you want to be an effective student, your goal should be to spend at least 80% of your time on Quadrant 2 tasks; ideally 100%.

Why we struggle to complete important tasks

It takes willpower and discipline to focus primarily on Quadrant 2 tasks, because the consequences of not doing those tasks aren’t immediate.

For example, if you don’t exercise today, it’s not as if you’re going to die tomorrow. But if you don’t exercise for the next six months, your health will suffer.

Similarly, if you don’t spend time with your family this weekend, it’s not the end of the world. If you continually prioritize other things over family time, however, you’ll eventually realize that your family relationships aren’t as strong as you’d like.

Therein lies the struggle of focusing on important tasks instead of urgent ones: Nothing catastrophic will happen immediately if you don’t complete a Quadrant 2 task.

But if you keep putting off a Quadrant 2 task, such as working on a homework assignment or group project, you’ll regret it later when you get stressed and when you don’t get as good a grade as you’d hoped.

I’ve come up with five surefire ways for you to become a Quadrant 2 student who’s able to fight off procrastination. Here they are:

1. Set the timer for five minutes at the beginning of your study session.

If you’re like most people, the hardest thing about getting through a study session is simply getting started.

If you tell yourself that you’re going to study for the next 30 minutes or one hour, you might feel unmotivated. 30 minutes or one hour seems so long!

The solution is to set a countdown timer for five minutes—and get to work. You can tell yourself that you’re going to study for just five minutes, and that if you don’t feel like continuing beyond those five minutes, you can choose not to.

In all likelihood, when those five minutes are up, you’ll probably want to carry on, because you would have gotten into the flow of the study session.

2. Make an “event” out of an assignment.

Say that you need to write a six-page history paper. That sounds like a lot of work, right?

Instead of procrastinating and waiting for sudden inspiration (which almost never comes), I suggest that you make an “event” out of that history paper.

For example, you could make a special trip to a coffee joint with the sole purpose of writing the paper. Don’t leave the coffee joint until you’re done writing the draft.

Make sure that you celebrate the completion of the assignment. You could watch an episode of your favorite TV show, or chill out with your friends. Your “event” went well, so reward yourself.

3. Make an appointment with yourself.

When you need to attend an important family event or social gathering, do you make a note of it in your calendar? You probably do.

Are your study sessions important to you? I’m guessing they are. (Or, at least, it’s important to you that you do well in school, even if you don’t particularly enjoy studying.)

When an appointment is “officially” scheduled in your calendar, it’s more likely that you’ll respect the appointment and not let other events take its place.

For example, if you want to work on your math homework for an hour on Wednesday, don’t just tell yourself, “I’m going to finish my math homework on Wednesday.” Instead, make an appointment with yourself (it doesn’t matter whether you use Google calendar or any other kind of calendar system):

Wednesday, 3 to 4pm: Finish math homework

If, all of a sudden, your friends ask you to watch a movie with them at 3:30pm on Wednesday, you’ll be able to say, “I’m sorry, I have an appointment at that time.”

And it’s completely true: You do have an important appointment with yourself from 3 to 4pm.

(Of course, there’s always room to be flexible with your schedule if it’s possible to move your appointments around.)

When you get into the habit of making appointments with yourself, you’ll spend more time on Quadrant 2 tasks.

4. Turn every item on your to-do list into an appointment.

This is an extension of Tip #3. I recommend that you keep a to-do list that encompasses all areas of your life. This includes your group projects, homework assignments, errands you need to run, and other responsibilities.

Write down all of these tasks in a notebook (or in a note-taking app on your phone, if you prefer).

Your list might look something like this:

3^rd May (Friday)

• Write outline for English essay (by 17^th May)
• Buy birthday card for Jessie (by 19^th May)
• Write thank-you note to Mark (by 8^th May)
• Finish science homework (by 9^th May)
• Do research for history paper (by 8^th May)

Once a day, turn each of those tasks into an appointment in your calendar. I recommend doing this right when you get home from school.

Schedule each appointment at least a few days before the task is due for completion. This way, you’ll ensure that it’s a Quadrant 2 task.

Based on the tasks listed above, here’s what they might look like in your calendar after you’ve converted them into appointments:

• 8^th May, 2 – 3pm: Write outline for English essay
• 12^th May, 1pm (right after lunch): Buy birthday card for Jessie
• 3^rd May, 4 – 4.15pm: Write thank-you note to Mark
• 4^th May, 4 – 5pm: Finish science homework
• 3^rd May, 4:30 – 5:30pm: Do research for history paper

Notice how the appointments are scheduled well in advance of their due dates.

Once the tasks have all been “transferred” to your calendar, you don’t need to refer to your to-do list any more until the next day, unless you suddenly think of more tasks to be added to the list.

In summary, you’ll write down every task you need to complete on your to-do list. Once a day, you’ll convert those tasks into appointments in your calendar. You’ll then periodically refer to your calendar to see exactly what you should be working on at each time during the day.

This system will only take you a few minutes a day to use, but it’s guaranteed to make your life much more organized and productive.

5. On a sheet of paper, write down what you’re supposed to be working on at the moment.

Ever had the experience of starting a study session, only to find yourself—just 10 minutes later—derailed by a funny video or a series of text messages? We all have.

One technique you can use is to write down, on a large sheet of paper, the task you’re currently working on. (An A4 or US letter size sheet of paper would work fine; use big, bold handwriting.)

For instance, if you’re about to start work on your physics assignment, write “PHYSICS ASSIGNMENT” on a sheet of paper and put it on your study table in a prominent location. This piece of paper will serve as a constant reminder to you to stay focused on the work at hand.

I’ve tried this out for myself, and it works!

If you’re concerned about being kind to the environment by not wasting paper, you could write in pencil so that you can reuse the same piece of paper multiple times.

This simple tip will help you to fight off distractions and procrastination by reminding you to stay on task.

What you want now vs. what you want most

To be an effective student (and an effective worker too), we need to be clear about what we want now, and what we want most.

What we want now is to go on Facebook and YouTube, to watch TV, or to play video games.

What we want most is to become disciplined and motivated, to learn and to grow, and to pursue excellence.

Let’s not allow what we want now to prevent us from getting what we want most.

In closing, procrastination is a lifelong battle for all of us. But by using these five techniques, I trust that we’ll be fighting a winning battle. :)

Be sure to read How To Overcome Procrastination (6-part series), where you learn how to tackle procrastination permanently by identifying and addressing its root cause(s).

Also, check out these related posts on time management on PE:

• Become the Master of Your Time
• Put First Things First
• 8 Habits of Highly Productive People
• The Best Productivity System There Is
• Day 8: Evaluate Your To-Do List in Live a Better Life in 30 Days

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About the Author: Daniel Wong is the author of “The Happy Student: 5 Steps to Academic Fulfillment and Success.” He writes about education and career at www.daniel-wong.com.

Does this sound familiar?

You have a big exam coming up next week, so you know it’s time to hit the books.

You sit down at your study table and start reviewing your notes.

Five minutes later, your phone goes off. It’s a text message from your cousin, Lily. She’s asking about the family trip that you’re going on after your exam.

After exchanging six text messages with Lily, you look at the time. 15 minutes have gone by!

You put your phone aside and get back to reading your notes. 10 minutes later, you get the sudden, overwhelming urge to check your Facebook news feed.

You only intend to spend a few minutes on Facebook, but you end up browsing through three photo albums, commenting on four statuses, and watching two videos.

You decide to update your own status: “Life dilemma: Study for exam or check Facebook. Facebook wins.” All of this takes you another 20 minutes.

I’m sure something like this has happened to you before. It happened to me when I was a student, and most of the students I work with tell me that it happens to them far too often.

But there’s hope. There are simple techniques you can use to win the war against distractions.

Here are six tips for you:

1. Put your phone on silent mode and place it at the other end of the room.

If you own a smartphone, you know how distracting it can be. Facebook, Twitter, email, text messaging and yes, the entire Internet, are at your fingertips.

Even a non-smartphone can be extremely distracting!

As such, I recommend that—at the start of your study session—you put your phone on silent mode and place it far away from you. Preferably, you should place it at the other end of the room.

This way, you won’t be interrupted by phone calls or text messages while you’re studying. You can always check your phone every 30 or 45 minutes when you take a break.

If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit that few of the text messages and phone calls you receive require an immediate response, so it’s reasonable to get back to the other person when you’re taking a break.

2. Turn off your Internet access.

You might intend to use your computer for work, but you can easily find yourself on Facebook or YouTube instead. (You know what I mean. :) )

When you’re using your computer, the World Wide Web is literally just a click away. Don’t trust yourself to resist that temptation. Turn off your Internet access before you begin your study session.

If you need to access certain online resources, then download all of the necessary information at the start of your session before you turn off your Internet access.

The Internet is tool that has the power to both entertain and educate. By turning off your Internet access when it’s time to focus, you’re harnessing the power of the Internet effectively.

3. Take a deep breath when you’re about to get distracted.

Distractions come in waves. The urge to watch TV, clear your room (I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels like clearing my room when it’s time to be productive, right?) and check your phone attacks you suddenly—and it can often be overwhelming.

But these intense urges only last for a short while. If you’re able to resist that initial wave, you’ll be able to carry on studying instead of succumbing to temptation.

Here’s how to fight off the urge when it hits you: Close your eyes. Breathe in for two seconds, then breathe out for two seconds. If the urge still persists, repeat until it goes away.

Using this simple technique, you’ll spend four to eight seconds breathing deeply, after which you’ll get back to work. If you don’t use this technique, you’ll probably end up getting distracted for 15 minutes, or even longer.

4. Ask people to give you privacy.

I’m sure that something like this has happened to you before while you were studying:

• Your mom came by to ask you about your day
• Your friend dropped by to chat
• Your younger brother asked you for help with his homework
• Your sister asked you for advice

The list goes on.

Don’t get me wrong; relationships are important. I firmly believe that, in many ways, the quality of your relationships determines the quality of your life.

But when you’re studying, interruptions can be especially disruptive.

Just before you begin your study session, I recommend that you go up to the people who are most likely to disturb you and say something like this: “I have an exam coming up next week, so I need to focus. Would you please give me some privacy for the next two hours and not interrupt, unless it’s something really urgent?”

When you make such an intentional effort to ask others to respect your privacy and your commitment to academic excellence, they’re likely to show you that respect.

5. Get eight hours of sleep every night.

As a student, it seems almost impossible to get enough sleep. There’s always so much homework to do, so many projects to work on, so many activities to participate in, so many friends to hang out with, and so many parties to go to.

Compared to all of these things, sleep seems so unimportant!

But sleep is vital if you want to perform well academically. It’s an established scientific fact that sleep affects your memory, concentration and brain function. If you’re not sleeping enough, you’re not setting yourself up for success in your student life.

When you’re sleep-deprived, you’ll also be easily distracted.

Here are some ways to help you get to bed earlier:

• Have a nightly bedtime routine
• Wind down at the end of the day by reading a book
• Don’t drink caffeine after 3pm
• Go to bed at the same time every day
• Set a nightly alarm to tell you it’s time to go to bed (this has been exceptionally helpful for me!)

6. Use a tool like Asana.com to help you prioritize your tasks.

(Asana.com didn’t pay me to say this, I promise.)

Asana.com is a web-based tool that allows you to conveniently manage projects and prioritize tasks.

I started using Asana.com half a year ago, and I’ve found it to be beneficial in keeping my life organized.

Students often get distracted when they think about all the other tasks they need to accomplish. They start to wonder if they should be working on another assignment or studying for another test instead. This hinders them from focusing on the task at hand.

By using a tool like Asana.com, you’ll be able to stay on top of all of your assignments, projects and other commitments. With a systematic approach towards task management, you’ll make the most of every study session.

In closing…

In our increasingly connected world of smartphones, tablets, laptops and high-speed Internet, distractions are everywhere.

You’ll need to make a deliberate and committed effort to stay on task. I hope these six tips will help you in your quest to become a happy and successful student!

(Image: Andy.Schultz)

About the Author: Daniel Wong is the author of “The Happy Student: 5 Steps to Academic Fulfillment and Success.” He writes about education and career at www.daniel-wong.com.

• When Daniel started pursuing Straight-As
• Why achieving his Straight-As did not make Daniel happy, and what eventually did
• How Daniel rediscovered meaning in education and his personal life
• How to be the top student in school (Strategies which Daniel used while studying that eventually led him to achieve a GPA of 3.98/4.00!)
• Useful websites which will enrich your learning
• One simple tip to beat distraction when studying
• What the “Forgetting Curve” is and the best days you should review your material to ensure maximum information retention
• Learn about the “Cone of Learning” and how you should learn to increase maximum information takeaway
• Other simple yet effective “hacks” to increase information retention
• Whether Daniel set himself out to achieve his 3.98/4.00 GPA and how he went about achieving it
• The importance of running your own race vs. the race others want you to run

• [A GIVEAWAY SPECIAL] Win an AUTOGRAPHED version of Daniel’s Book, The Happy Student by following two simple steps!! There are two copies for giveaway. Watch the video till the end for more details! Update: Contest has ended but you are still welcome to share your answers on the Youtube video page! :)

For Non-Students as Well

Do you want to learn faster than anyone else? Do you want to retain the key information from every book you read, every class you attend, every podcast you listen, and every conversation you are a part of?

How to Increase Your Learning Multifold

If you truly want to learn more and learn faster than anyone else, here’s one simple yet crucial learning hack I have for you:

When learning, instead of passive receiving the information like most people would, take on the role of an active learner.

That means, whenever you read a book/article, attend a class/course/workshop, listen to a podcast, or listen to a conversation…

1. Share, engage, and discuss the material with other people. This is especially true if it’s a class or conversation.
2. Identify the lessons from the content that is being shared.
3. Create your action steps where you apply those lessons onto your life.
4. Act on those steps, right away.
5. Transit from being a learner to a teacher. Share what you have learned with others who were not part of the original learning experience. Enable them to apply those lessons.

Whatever it is, don’t just receive the information passively and do nothing about it—that’s no different than being a self-help junkie. Not only does the information not get retained, it gets lost as fast as the time you spent reading or listening to it. It’s almost like not having been exposed to the material to begin with.

My Learning Experience

Back when I was in university, I was on the Dean’s List every academic year. (The Dean’s List is an honor roll for top students in the faculty. If you’re still studying, learn how you can get on the Dean’s List as well: How To Get on the Dean’s List (series))

To be honest, I didn’t study as hard as one might think is needed to get onto the Dean’s List. I barely studied when I was out of the school campus. I spent quite a large chunk of time playing games and being occupied with my core-curriculum activities, my graphic design business, and giving tuition to kids (I had three separate tutees then). When it came to exams, I would only start revision one to two weeks before, sometimes just a couple of days.

What was enabled me to score well then? Several factors, with an active approach towards learning being one of them. Each time I attended a class, I would read the required material and do the assignment beforehand. This way, I would pick up new insights from the professor during class rather than playing catch-up on ideas that were already in the textbook. When in class, I would participate actively, from taking down notes, to asking questions, to answering questions.

Because of my active learning approach, I retained much of the information that was taught; sometimes nearly 100% of it. I often got away with minimal, last minute revisions and would still be one of the top scorers at the end of the day. Active learning is clearly a 80/20 route (i.e. a highly effective route that helps me achieve great results with minimal effort).

Cone of Experience (often referred to as Cone of Learning)

I later came across this learning model by Edgar Dale, called “Cone of Experience” (it’s often wrongly referred to as “Cone of Learning”). (Edgar Dale (1900–1985) was an American educationist at Ohio State University.)

With the “Cone of Experience”, Dale attempted to illustrate the different extents to which people retain information after an activity, based on their method of learning. See below:

Here is the model translated into words:

1. When you learn by only reading (such as reading a book or an article), you will remember only 10% of what you read.
2. When you learn by only listening (such as listening to a podcast, a lecture, or a conversation), you will remember only 20% of what you hear.
3. When you learn by only viewing images or watching videos, you will remember only 30% of what you see/hear.
4. When you learn by attending exhibits or watching a demonstration,  you will remember only 50% of what you see/hear.
5. When you learn by participating in workshops (sharing what you know and being an active part of the discussion) or designing collaborative lessons (where you process what you learn and package it to help others), you will remember up to 70% of what you write/say.
6. When you learn by simulating a lesson or performing a presentation (where you transit from being a learner to a teacher), you will remember a whooping 90% of what you do!

While these figures have since been disputed (they were not in Dale’s original model and were only added after he died), the fact remains that learning by active means (e.g. sharing, discussion, engagement, and application) enables someone to retain more information and understand more of the material than passive learning (e.g. reading, watching, or listening without attempting to assimilate the information).

Most Active Participants = Participants Who Gain The Most

For this same reason, I often encourage my course participants to participate actively. “Share your answers (to the exercises),” I always say. “Let me know what’s on your mind,” I always urge. “Ask me any questions you want,” I always iterate. These are things I say over and over again in every course I run, be it in Live a Better Life Program, Be a Better Me Program, or the most recent How To Stop Stress Eating Course.

I have found that my most active participants are often the ones who get the most breakthroughs and achieve the most results by the end of the course. I don’t think it’s a case of them wanting to learn any more than the other participants actually; I think everyone who (paid money and) signed up have an equal desire to learn and improve on the subject in question.

It’s just that:

1. When these participants actively share their answers with everyone, they get to review their answers in the process and see those answers in a different light. This lets them refine their thoughts further.
2. Sharing their answers allows them to receive feedback from other participants, which in turn opens them to perspectives they may have never considered. Blind spots get revealed and new learning opportunities are uncovered.
3. Sharing their answers also means they get to receive feedback from me. As the person who designed the course and the exercises, it lets me know whether they are on the right track. I can then guide them accordingly, such that they get the maximum results from the course.
4. Since every course is a combination of theory and participant sharing, when participants share, part of the course becomes centered around them. My coaching is naturally directed at these participants. (I can’t coach those who do not wish to share.) Other participants often build on these participants’ examples as well. This is especially true for small group coaching courses, which are heavily centered on discussion and application, than seminars, which are more content and theory-based.

If we take this discussion beyond just courses, you will find that the same trend applies. 

• My most active one-to-one coaching clients, the ones who actively ask questions and are engaged during the coaching sessions, tend to achieve the most results after the sessions. 
• The most active PE forum members, the ones who leverage on the forum platform to journal about their goals, benefit greatly because they become more accountable to their goals, not to mention the positive feedback and support they receive from other members. 
• My most active readers, the ones who actively share their thoughts and experiences on the topics that relate to them, benefit from the sharing because they get to share their thoughts with an audience (which is a step towards leadership, believe it or not), work through their thoughts (hence gaining a new level of clarity), and at times receive useful opinions from other readers (sometimes myself too).

Stop Limiting Your Learning

Here is a question to ask yourself: Whenever you read an article, attend a course, listen to a podcast, or listen to a conversation, do you take the role of the passive receiver or do you take the role of an active learner?

Most people are passive receivers. Some people try to participate to some extent, but they are still passive receivers at the end of the day, because they fail to actively integrate the wealth of knowledge they have received with their lives. Very, very, few people (probably less than 0.1%) can claim to be active learners.

How active are you when it comes to learning? Have you been unknowingly limiting your learning? How can you start applying the five steps (highlighted at the start of the article), starting with this article, as you switch from the role of a passive receiver to an active learner?

(Images: Cass Sculpture Foundation, Wikipedia)

(Click image for larger version)

Based on the popular How To Get on the Dean’s List 3-part series that I wrote in 2010:

• Part 1: What is the Dean’s List and 6 Benefits of Getting On the Dean’s List
• Part 2: How To Get On the Dean’s List: Tips #1 – #6
• Part 3: How To Get On the Dean’s List: Tips #7 – #13

Feel free to print it, put it on your fridge, at your work desk, or wherever you like. Check out my other manifestos in the manifestos section.

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Commencement speeches have become outlets for sharing some of the most important life lessons ever. After listening to Steve Jobs‘ Stanford commencement speech, I was inspired to round up the best graduation speeches of all time, so all of you can enjoy the rich insights of the speakers.

You’ll probably recognize most of the speakers, who are prominent people in their fields – people like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Oprah, Ellen, Randy Pausch, JK Rowling, and so on. I think the schools couldn’t have picked better speakers than them, because the most important inspiration anyone can ever get is someone who his living by example. I’ve picked these 10 speeches because they share important wisdom that are applicable to anyone in any time, beyond just graduating students.

The 10 speeches are not ranked in any order. I have included videos and transcripts (where available) as well as my thoughts with each speech. My personal favorites are the ones by Steve Jobs, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Randy Pausch.

1) Steve Jobs, Stanford University, 2005

(Read the transcript)

“Remembering you’re going to die, is the best way I know, to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” — Steve Jobs

Whenever people talk about inspiring graduation speeches, Steve Job’s speech instantly comes up. In this speech, Steve shares his life lessons via 3 stories in his life. His birth, when he got fired from Apple, and when he found out about his cancer. These 3 stories were extremely inspiring – most people knew Steve as the hot-tempered yet charismatic CEO who heads Apple, but who would have known that his birth parents gave him up for adoption? That he quit college because his college fees were sucking up his parents’ savings? That he was once fired from the very company he founded? And that he diagnosed in cancer in 2004, and by a stroke of fate, survived it?

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Steve reminds us that in life, there is really nothing we have to lose, because we were born with nothing to begin with. This is what I alluded to in my article How To Overcome Fear and Pursue Your Dreams. Eventually one day, all of us will die. Everything that we’ve come to see as important, will lose significance on that day. What would you wish you could have done then? How would you rather have lived your life? Take that and start living true to that today. Don’t live your life in regret, because life is not meant to be lived in regret. It’s meant to be live in passion, with love, with fire, conviction, and purpose. Don’t ever settle for what you don’t want; keep fighting for what you believe in.

Update Oct 7 ’11: Steve Jobs has since passed away on Oct 5 ’11, at the age of 56. I’ve written a tribute for him in remembrance of how boldly he had led his life, and the life lessons we can learn from him: In Remembrance of Steve Jobs: 11 Life Lessons We Can Learn From Him

2) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emory University, 2010

“You’re going to find naysayers in every turn that you make. Don’t listen. Just visualize your goal, know exactly where you want to go. Trust yourself. Get out there and work like hell. Break some of the rules and never ever be afraid of failure.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold is an international movie star (Conan, Terminator, Commando) and the 3eighth Governor of California. I found his speech very inspiring – he’s living proof of how one can overcome all odds to achieve one’s dreams, as long as you set your heart and mind to it. Arnie shared how important it is to not be afraid of failure. He shared his personal stories of how he overcame resistances from everyone and achieved his dreams, one after another, by first having that crystal clear vision of what he wanted, then going all out to achieve them. Truly, there’s no such thing as “can’t be done”. If you really want to achieve your dreams, they will be yours for the taking.

3) Randy Pausch, Carnegie Mellon University, 2008

Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon. He was best known for The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, and also co-author of the book with the same name, which became a New York Times best-seller. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was told in Aug 2007 that he only had 3-6 months to live. When he gave this speech at Carnegie Mellon, it was the 9th month. He passed away 2 months after that.

Even though Randy’s speech was the shortest of the commencement speeches in this list (less than 6 minutes), it is in no way any less impactful. Randy’s reminder to all of us is the importance of living true to our dreams and pursuing them. That life isn’t about how long we live, but about how we live. His passion in living, teaching, and his relationship with his wife really shows through in his speech.

“We don’t beat the reaper by living longer. We beat the reaper by living well and living fully. For the reaper is always going to come for all of us. The question is: What do we do between the time we are born, and the time he shows up? Because when he shows up, it’s too late to do all the things that you’re always gona, kinda get around to.”

4) Michael Dell, University of Texas at Austin, 2003

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(Read the transcript. Unfortunately there’s no video version of this speech.)

“[Now] it’s time for you to move on to what’s next. But you must not let anything deter you from taking those first steps. [D]on’t spend so much time trying to choose the perfect opportunity, that you miss the right opportunity. Recognize that there will be failures, and acknowledge that there will be obstacles. But you will learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others, for there is very little learning in success.”

Michael Dell is the owner of Dell and one of the richest people in the world with a net worth of $14 billion. Michael studied in University of Texas at Austin (UT) but never graduated – he founded Dell when he was 19 and it became successful enough that he decided to drop out of UT to run it.

I found Dell’s speech extremely inspiring. It was filled with concrete, sound and extremely wise advice. He urges us to pursue our dreams, to listen to our heart, and to create our journey. Choose what you must, and embark on it right away. Don’t fall into the trap of analysis paralysis, because otherwise you’ll just be living a life of regret. At the same time, the journey is one of exploration and self-discovery:

“Then, as you start your journey, the first thing you should do is throw away that store-bought map and begin to draw your own. When Dell got started, it didn’t come with a manual on how to become number 1 in the world. We had to figure that out every step of the way. And with each new product and new market, the industry “experts” said we’d fail. Through the chorus of naysayers, we emerged as a world leader in servers, and we continue to gain momentum.”

Has there ever been a time when you’re not sure what you should do, when people give you conflicting advice, when you feel oppressed to do things that you don’t want? Remember, it’s up to you to take the step and identify what works best for you and what doesn’t, then adjust accordingly. At the end of the day, as long as you keep striving for the best that you can be, and learn every step of the way, you’ll never veer into the wrong track.

5) Bono, University of Pennsylvania, 2004

“For four years you’ve been buying, trading, and selling everything you’ve got in this marketplace of ideas. The intellectual hustle. Your pockets are full, even if your parents’ are empty, and — and now you’ve got to figure out what to spend it on. … So my question I suppose is: What’s the big idea? What’s your big idea? What are you willing to spend your moral capital, your intellectual capital, your cash, your sweat equity in pursuing outside […]?” — Bono

Bono is the lead singer in the famous rock band U2 and extremely well-known for his activism work in Africa. In his humorous yet passionate speech, he first urges everyone to find a cause to fight for, then shares the plights and injustice that people in Africa are facing. While the problems like extreme poverty and AIDs are deeply rooted and not going to be changed overnight, there are things that everyone of us can start doing immediately to alleviate the issue.

“… The world is more malleable than you think and it’s waiting for you to hammer it into shape. … We can’t fix every problem — corruption, natural calamities are part of the picture here — but the ones we can we must. And because we can, we must. Because we can, we must. Amen!”

The biggest takeaway I got from Bono’s speech is that it’s up to each of us to find a cause we’re passionate to fight for. What’s your cause? I’m most passionate about helping others grow. I hate it when I see people who are stifling their true selves and not living to who they can be; subsequently this is my life purpose that drives me endlessly. How about you? What are you most passionate about? What makes you come alive?  Find it, then go and make it happen. Use your skills, your knowledge, everything you’ve learned, and make real, meaningful change with them. That’s when you come alive, and that’s when you make the world come alive.

6) JK Rowling, Harvard, 2008

Part 1 (10 min)

Part 2 (5:16 min)

Part 3 (5 min)

(Read the transcript)

“You might never fail on the scale I did. But some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all. In which case, you fail by default.” — JK Rowling

JK Rowling is the famous author of the highly successful Harry Potter series, and is also well known for her rags-to-riches story, where she grew from living in poverty to a multi-millionaire in 5 years. Today her net worth is estimated to be at least $1 billion. In this speech, she shares her story of how she fell to the rock bottom when she was 27. Her marriage had failed after just 1 year, she was a single parent, she was extremely poor, and she was jobless. It was at her lowest point in her life, and she contemplated suicide.

Yet this failure had given her the solid foundation to build her life. Because she had failed on such an epic scale, there was nothing else there. It helped her to cut away the inessential, see beyond the unimportant and focus on the important – which was (a) her daughter, and (b) writing her fantasy novel (the Harry Potter series, which would later propel her to success). What matters the most to you in life? Are you pursuing that? Or are you letting the fear of failure prevent you from doing what you love?

We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.

Rowling also shared about her experience working at Amnesty International, where she witnessed the darkest as well as the best sides of humanity. The biggest magic we have is the ability to touch others’ lives, and it’s something that we already have the power to do. If you’re reading this, that means you’re more privileged than a big part of the world out there, who have difficulty even getting the bare essentials to live. Will you waste away this power? Or will you use this power to a better cause? The power of choice lies in us.

7) Ellen DeGeneres, Tulane University, 2009

If you don’t know Ellen, she is one of the most famous talk show hosts in the world (right up there with Oprah). She started out as a stand-up comedian and had her own TV sitcoms back in the 1990s to early 200s. Her show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, has won 12 Emmys. It’s incredibly inspiring to see her amazing work and how she has influenced millions of lives around the world.

(Update: This post was written before the issues regarding The Ellen Show’s toxic workplace environment came to light in 2020.)

Ellen’s speech is filled with her trademark characteristics — her wit, humor as well as her dancing (at the end).

“Really when I look back at it I wouldn’t change a thing. I mean it was so important to me to lose everything because I found out what the most important thing is – To be true to yourself. Ultimately that’s what’s gotten me to this place. I don’t live in fear, I’m free, I have no secrets, I know I’ll always be okay because no matter what, I know who I am.” — Ellen

While Ellen’s speech was humorous, she also weaved in important lessons from her life. She talked how she had no direction and no ambition when she was young, and it wasn’t until a tragic event that things changed. Her girlfriend (Ellen is gay) died in a car accident when she was 21, and for a while after that she did some deep soul searching, and realizing how fragile life was. She decided she wanted to do stand-up (comedy) afterward, and set out to be the first woman to be on Johnny Carson’s show (the biggest comedian at that time). Several years later it happened, and her TV career took off, only to come crashing down when she came out in 1997 that she was gay. For 3 whole years, she did not get booked for any jobs, and in the end she rebuilt her career to be bigger and better than it ever is.

The key message in Ellen’s speech is to be true to yourself. Find your inner self, know who he/she is, and embrace him/her. Be free, have no secrets, and be who you want to be, because life is too beautiful to be experienced otherwise. Live with integrity, and be an honest and compassionate person. If you are true to yourself and follow your passion, nothing can ever stop you in your way.

8) Bill Gates, Harvard, 2007

(Read the transcript)

Bill Gates needs no introduction – he’s one of the wealthiest men in the world (second wealthiest as of 2010, right after Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim Helu). He owns Microsoft, which earns $62 billion a year, and is also a highly influential philanthropist, having donated billions to health causes through his foundation Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“If you believe that every life has equal value, it’s revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not. We said to ourselves: “This can’t be true. But if it is true, it deserves to be the priority of our giving.” ” — Bill Gates

In his heartfelt speech, he shared his passion about the inequities of the world – referring to the injustices and unfairness, such as poverty, suffering in third world countries, diseases, lack of healthcare support, etc. I applaud Bill Gates for making this the topic of his commencement speech and bringing awareness to the issue of inequities, because (a) It’s not what one would expect in a commencement speech. Most were probably looking for advice on achieving success in life. (b) He took the risk of boring the audience, since it was not a topic most people were interested in. I had a deeper respect for him after reading his speech.

“Even with the advent of the Internet and 24-hour news, it is still a complex enterprise to get people to truly see the problems. When an airplane crashes, officials immediately call a press conference. They promise to investigate, determine the cause, and prevent similar crashes in the future.

But if the officials were brutally honest, they would say: “Of all the people in the world who died today from preventable causes, one half of one percent of them were on this plane. We’re determined to do everything possible to solve the problem that took the lives of the one half of one percent.”

The bigger problem is not the plane crash, but the millions of preventable deaths.”

The media today dramatizes on specific incidents and events – which are just a fraction of what’s occurring around the world today. Stop using media as the filter to our world, and instead look out there to understand what’s happening around. Then pick a cause that you’re most passionate about, and pursue that in full throttle. That’s how we start making that difference.

9) Oprah Winfrey, Stanford University, 2008

(Read the transcript)

“I consider the world, this Earth, to be like a school. And our life, the classrooms, and sometimes on this planet Earth school, the lessons often come dressed up as detours, or roadblocks, and sometimes, as full blown crises. And the secret I’ve learned to getting ahead, is being open to the lessons – lessons from the grandest universe of all, that is the universe itself.” — Oprah Winfrey

Everyone knows Oprah – She’s arguably the most influential woman in the world, and owner of the most successful TV talkshow in the world, The Oprah Winfrey Show. In Oprah’s speech, she shares 3 powerful lessons from her life (If you want to skip straight to Oprah’s speech, fast forward to 3:24min in the video). The first is about the importance of being true to who we are. When she started her TV career at 22, she never felt she was at home. She tried to emulate Barbara Walters (another TV host). There were differing expectations from her manager and her father on what she should be. Her news director wanted to change her name to “Susie” because “Oprah” didn’t seem marketable.

In the end she decided to stay true to who she was, and just be herself. Her feelings became her GPS in assessing whether a decision was right or wrong. She learned to listen to her intuition and tune out what others around her were asking her to do. It turned out to be the best thing she could ever do. If you ever feel that you’re at a loss of what to do, get still, “very still”, and the answer will come to you eventually.

“Don’t react against a bad situation; Merge with that situation instead. And the solution will arise from the challenge. Because surrendering yourself doesn’t mean giving up, it means acting with responsibility.” — Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth

The second lesson is to learn lessons from failure. Every failure, every experience is there to teach you something. In Oprah’s case, she was starting a new school in Africa, and was very focused on creating a beautiful environment for the kids, until one day she was told that one of the girls was sexually abused. She broke down, and rather than let the incident take over her, she thought about what there was to learn from the situation. She learned that she had been focusing on the wrong things – trying to build the school from outside in, rather than inside out, and this led her to change her approach from there on. If you lose yourself with the bad situations that hit you, you’d have lost there and then. But if you take a lesson, at least one lesson with every experience, you’d have emerged a stronger and better person.

The third lesson is on finding happiness. What makes you happy? In Oprah’s speech, she shared that happiness is achieved when you give something back to others. Did you know how Stanford came to be? The university was founded in 1885 when the Stanfords lost their child a year earlier, and decided in their grief to build a school, and treat the children in the school as theirs. Because of their kindness, they have forever changed ten thousands of lives directly, and millions as a corollary to that. For me happiness is when I help others to achieve their highest potentials and live their best lives. This is why I dedicated my life to this cause, and I know I’m happiest than I’ve ever been just doing this.

However, I believe that service is not necessarily everyone’s calling, and it’s most important to do what makes you happy, vs. blindly serving others just because that’s what other people say. That’s no different from an unconscious life. Think about what makes you happy – In your ideal life, what will you be doing? What’s your passion? Pursue that, because it’s the most important thing you can ever do in your life.

In the first week of Live a Better Life in 30 Days, we envision our ideal life, set our ideal life goals, design our life map, and create our action plan to achieve our goals.

10) Larry Page, University of Michigan, 2009

(Read the transcript)

Larry Page is the co-founder of Google, the #1 search engine in the world. He’s part of the reason why all of us get such seamless web searching experience today :D. In his heartfelt speech, he shared how he created Google. It all started out with a dream – literally, a dream while he was sleeping. When he woke up in the middle of the night, he had a sudden idea to download the web. He immediately wrote down the idea and approached his advisor later. From there, Google was born. He had a dream, and rather than brush it aside, he took action on it.

“I think it is often easier to make progress on mega-ambitious dreams. I know that sounds completely nuts. But, since no one else is crazy enough to do it, you have little competition. There are so few people this crazy that I feel like I know them all by first name. They all travel as if they are pack dogs and stick to each other like glue. The best people want to work the big challenges.” — Larry Page

Larry also shared the importance of treasuring our families and friends. He lost his dad to polio when he was 23, which left him devastated. Where are your families and friends? How’s your relationships with them? While we’re pursuing our dreams and ambitions, don’t forget our relationships. As I wrote in the Life Wheel, our life is made up of 11 segments, including family, social and love. Our lives can never truly the best if we neglect any one segment, so make sure you use the wheel as your guide every step of the way.

Share With Others

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This is part of the Inspiration & Motivation series. Check out the other articles in the series:

• 10 Powerful Graduation Speeches You Don’t Want To Miss
• 13 Meaningful Movies With Life Lessons To Learn
• 20 Amazing Commercials To Inspire the Greatness in You
• 56 Most Inspirational Songs of All Time
• 15 Beautiful Inspirational Wallpapers For Your Desktop
• 15 Beautiful Wallpapers With Positive Affirmations
• 101 Inspiring Quotes of All Time
• 101 Things To Do Before You Die
• 101 Ways To Be a Better Person
• 101 Ways To Live Your Life To The Fullest
• 101 Important Questions To Ask Yourself in Life
• 101 Life Principles to Live By Daily

• Part 1: What is the Dean’s List and 6 Benefits of Being on the Dean’s List
• Part 2: How To Get On the Dean’s List: Tips #1-6
• Part 3: How To Get On the Dean’s List: Tips #7-13

7. Master your time

Some students may feel bogged down by work, lamenting about the heavy workload and lack of time. Honestly speaking, it’s not about the workload nor the lack of time. It’s about how you manage yourself.

Even though I participated in more things in university than I did in junior college or secondary school, I felt freer during university. I had engagements like client work for my web design business, my core curricular activities, case competition involvement, and giving private tuition to 3 separate students. Studies-wise, Business modules are project intensive. There is usually a group project and 2 individual assignment per module. Group projects often take up a lot of coordination and discussion. Some modules even have 2 group projects.

Yet, I had no problem getting things done and still had time for myself. Online games were a daily staple. I was playing games like Gunbound, Ragnarok Online, Maple Story, and Warcraft 3 almost every day with my friends. I also often went out with my girlfriends.

So is it really about the time? The way I see it is that all students have the same amount of time. All students of a module have the same workload, have the same teachers, and are evaluated on the same criteria. All students have their personal commitments and responsibilities. It’s about how you manage your schedule. The plus side of being a university student is that you have full flexibility and full rein over how you map out your timetable (see tip #2 on planning your modules in advance).

Some tips on how I optimized my time in university:

1. Don’t attend classes if they don’t add value. There were several modules where I didn’t attend any lectures at all (save for the first lecture). If I didn’t see any value in the lecture, I wouldn’t attend. For example, if the lecturer spent a lot of time talking about irrelevant content or if the material taught could be extracted from the textbook, I would stop attending. Sometimes if the lecture looked like it was going nowhere, I would get out of the lecture hall and go to the computer lab to do my stuff. The time I freed up from not attending lectures was spent doing other more valuable activities to me (such as resting, doing project work, and doing assignments).
2. Use time pockets. My bus ride to school was about 45 minutes. Multiply it by 2 and it’s about 1.5 hours. I usually used the time to read my books, study my notes or even do my assignments. Similarly when waiting for the next class to start, I would use the time to work on projects or catch up on past materials. Hence, I never had to spend much time studying during my free time.
3. Understand the content the first time it is taught. This minimizes rework later on. See tip #5.
4. Maximize webcast lectures. If modules have webcast lectures, I would skip the actual lectures. Webcast lectures are just as good, if not better, than the real thing. You can skip past a segment if it is irrelevant or replay sections where needed. You can also catch up on multiple lectures at one go, which is more effective.
5. Do your tutorials during the lecture itself. Tutorial classes on a topic usually commence 1-2 weeks after the lecture is taught. By doing the tutorial assignment immediately during the lecture (of the same topic), you (1) get the most out of the lectures as you are testing your understanding of the concepts, (2) save yourself time from having to recall what you learned before, and (3) don’t have to take out time to do the tutorial assignments later on.
6. Use study techniques to speed up learning. See tip #8 below.

More articles on time management: Become the Master of Your Time, Put First Things First, and 50 Ways To Boost Your Productivity

8. Use study techniques to speed up learning

The normal way to study is to read the textbook from cover to cover and do questions to test your understanding. Then over time, reread to strengthen your understanding. When the exams are here, you repeat this as you revise. This method takes up a lot of time and is hardly effective.

There are study techniques to learn faster, with the same or better output. Here are some of them:

• Speed reading. It’s inevitable to do a lot of reading in an academic course. Hence, learning to read faster will make the learning process a lot faster. Resource to speed up your reading: Speed Reading
• Mind maps. Mind maps were my trusted ally during my varsity years — they helped me grasp the big picture and see interlinking concepts easily. I would draw a mind map for the important or information intensive chapters. My mind map also served as a chapter index — I would list the textbook page numbers beside each concept.
• Pick the 80/20. 80% of the value in your textbook can be found in 20% of the content (usually the formulas, summary notes, definitions). Pick out the 20% highlight and spend your time understanding them. Read the other 80% if you need to understand something, but don’t read for the sake of reading. You don’t learn much that way.
• Writing notes. I only read my textbooks once. After that, I would refer to my mind maps, since I had laid out the information in a much more understandable and intuitive manner. I would refer to the textbooks only when I wanted specific details after reading my mind map.
• Active learning through participation. See tip #9.
• Association. Linking similar ideas in your mind, so that it strengthens your understanding of the new concept. I often looked for common themes across my different modules and mentally linked them together. This had a synergistic effect in my learning.
• Start with questions first. Read with an objective. If you start off doing questions first (whether in tutorial or in the textbook), it gives you an idea of what you should be learning. This is learning with a purpose.
• Photo reading is a reading technique that helps you increase reading speed and value extraction. I haven’t tried it before, but I have a friend who tried it and said that it works. Based on what I’ve read about photo reading, it sounds similar to certain things I do intuitively (over the years) to maximize my reading, so I’m not surprised to hear about its effectiveness. Learn more about photo reading here.
  

More resources for your reading:

• Memory Improvement Techniques @ MindTools
  
• Memory Techniques @ Academic Tips

9. Speak up. Ask questions.

In NUS Business School, participation is often a component in the module’s grades, contributing to 5-15% of the final grade. It was the professors’ way of getting the students to speak up. In my culture and generation, Asian students tend to clam up in group settings. I reckon this isn’t a problem in Western cultures.

However, the reason you should speak up in class is beyond getting participation points. Speaking up is a great way to clarify your thoughts on the subject. It also lets you know whether you know your stuff or you have your concepts wrong. It gets you thinking and increases your learning from the class. In general, we learn much more and much faster when we actively participate vs. if we passively read/listen. Active learning is more powerful than passive learning.

Speaking up also makes classes more fun and exciting. I can’t imagine sitting in a class and listening the whole time. That would be really boring.

So speak more. Share your thoughts. Expand your mind. Ask questions. But don’t talk so much that you dominate the class. I had a classmate who had a tendency to turn the class into a dialogue session between him and the tutor. That isn’t being polite to the other students. Contribute to the class in a meaningful manner that helps all other students to learn too.

10. Leverage on your professors

Your professors are there to help you. After all, they have been teaching the subject for years and they are the ones evaluating your performance, so they are the best people to help you in your studies. If you don’t understand a concept or you need help, approach them. Whenever I had questions, I would email my professors to clarify the questions. If I had more things to discuss, I would set up consultation sessions with them. It saved me a lot of time than just trying to figure things out and not being sure whether the answer was right. It was a great way to know them on a personal level too.

11. Get good project mates

This applies if you have group project work in your modules. I’m not sure about other faculties, but project work is a staple in business courses. It’s important to get good teammates, because this affects the group dynamics and subsequently the output. Ever watched The Apprentice before? The kind of teammates you have directly affects your team’s results. The best team is one where the total output is more than the sum of what the individual members can achieve.

A common woe among students is project work hell due to bad teammates. What determines a good teammate? Generally (1) Attitude and (2) Knowledge, where (1) is more important than (2). During my early years, I had project mates who were less than committed. They saw project work as a liability, and only did the bare minimal required. Some produced shoddy work and it made the project development process painful. Most of the time, the stronger members in the team would step in to fill in the gaps so as not to affect the final grade. While this solves the problem, it’s hardly a long-term solution.

The best way is to grab good teammates you have worked with, then arrange to take the same modules and be in the same project group for the next semester. If you are a strong teammate, they would want to work with you as well. If you are a freshman, this would be hard, but it shouldn’t matter much as everyone is starting on the same ground. Always be on the lookout for the best people to form your dream project team.

After my first year, I had a network of friends who were strong project mates. We would make it a point to take the same modules and be in the same project groups. Subsequently, we always scored A or A+ in all our projects. It was always a great experience working together, and this was part of what made university fun too. :D

12. Consult people who took the class before

It doesn’t hurt to get advice from people who have taken the class before. Since you choose when you want to take a module, sometimes your peers may have taken the module before you do. This is a great chance to consult them on what to expect, what the class is like, and how you can prepare and do well in the module. If possible, get their materials and notes too. Of course in return, help them out in the other modules they are taking. As with the golden rule, treat others as you would like to be treated.

13. Consistency pays off

As with everything in life, don’t leave things to the last minute. Getting the best grades is like running a marathon. Plan out your resources carefully and pace yourself. Just like no one finishes a marathon in 10 minutes, you shouldn’t expect to ace your exams with one day of studying IF you have never studied the materials, done a single tutorial, or attended any classes.

Do your tutorials on a timely basis (see tip #6 on preparing for your tutorials), participate actively in class (tip #9), and consult your professors regularly when you have questions (Tip #10). Follow the other tips in this series. Because I was consistent in my work, when the exams came I never had to spend much time revising. Whereas my peers would be very fearful during the exam period and spend the pre-exam weeks mugging away, I continued with my usual activities of gaming, leisure, and giving private tuition (as a side income). Before my exams, I just needed to quickly review my materials, and I was ready to go.

A lot of students fear the exams. To be honest, I don’t think it’s the exams they are fearing. What they really fear is what the exams represent — the moment of truth that reveals their performance in the semester. If you understood the content when they are taught, you are prepared for your tutorial classes, and you revise your stuff, there isn’t anything to fear at all. The ones who fear the exams are those who subconsciously know they have not been consistent. Be consistent with your work, and you will reap the fruits of your labor come exams and when you get your results.

Final Note

To all students out there, I hope you find these tips useful. Even if you are working now, you may return to school for further studies (there is never an end to learning after all). This Dean’s List series will come in handy then. :D Feel free to share this with your friends in school so that they can benefit from it too.

Get the manifesto version of this series: How To Get on the Dean’s List [Manifesto]

This is the last part of a 3-part series on how to get on the Dean’s List and score top academic results.

• Part 1: What is the Dean’s List and 6 Benefits of Being on the Dean’s List
• Part 2: How To Get On the Dean’s List: Tips #1-6
• Part 3: How To Get On the Dean’s List: Tips #7-13

• Part 1: What is the Dean’s List and 6 Benefits of Being on the Dean’s List
• Part 2: How To Get On the Dean’s List: Tips #1-6
• Part 3: How To Get On the Dean’s List: Tips #7-13

So how do you get on the Dean’s List? Here I’ll share my tips on how I got on the Dean’s List. Since the tips are quite long (almost 5,000 words), I have split them into two parts. This part will feature the first 6 tips. :D

1. Aim to be the best

Rather than think about “how to get on the Dean’s List,” think in terms of getting the top results. That’s because the Dean’s List is but an effect of achieving the top results, and the cut-off for this list fluctuates every semester based on the performance of the overall cohort. This means the cut-off is only determined after the exams, when results are tabulated. In an average semester, 4.5 or 4.6 out of a 5.0 score (4.5 is A-, while 5.0 is A or A+) gets you onto the list.

However, in a semester when all the students do extremely well, the cut-off may be as high as 4.7 or above. So if you start the semester aiming for 4.5 score (average A-), you might not get into the list if everyone does very well.

It’s much easier to aim for the top and end up within the top 1-5%, rather than to aim to be the top 5% which is a very subjective goal. How do you calculate 5% of the cohort anyway? How would you know who’s getting what grades? How are you supposed to set your target if the context is hazy to begin with? And does it even matter? The most important thing is to aim for your best target.

If aiming to be the top is a little hard to stomach for you, then just focus on being the top student for each module you take. That isn’t so hard, is it? From my experience, if you get your coursework in place, understand the materials thoroughly, and do your best, being the top performer is an inevitable outcome.

2. Plan your modules in advance

What I love about being in university is you are now in charge of what you want to study, right down to the modules for each semester. This also means that you are responsible for your timetable and for planning your workload across your 3-4 years of study. Some students like to have a heavier workload in the first 2 years of their study, leaving more room for other activities in their last year. Some students even out their course work throughout their semesters. I belong to the latter group. Ultimately it’s up to you and what you prefer. There’s no right or wrong way. You just have to make sure you are able to commit to the workload you have planned.

It’s not just about selecting what’s available when planning your modules. Take note of:

• Who’s teaching what. Some modules are taught by different lecturers each semester, who have different styles of teaching. Subsequently, the materials and exam standards are different. Some lecturers have open book exams, some have closed book exams, while some don’t have any exams. These information are usually available on the university site. You can also consult seniors or peers who have taken the modules.
• Course workload. Each module has its own workload. Some require heavy commitment (I took a Japanese module which probably had a heavier workload than any of my Business modules), while some can be breezed through. You can get some indication from the course description.
• Who’s taking the module. Some modules are prerequisites for a higher level module. This means that in a particular semester, there will be a lot more seniors taking it to clear their prerequisites.
• Lesson timing. You need this to plan out your time table.
• Exam dates. Different subjects have different exam dates. The dates can be any date during a 2-3 week exam period.

This means:

• If the module has multiple lecturers, take the modules in the semester with the better lecturer and when the style of teaching is more suited to you. Personally I hate rote learning (learning through memorization and without understanding of the topic), so I would pick modules during semesters with open book exams, where students are tested more for their understanding of the subject. If there’s no exams, that’s even better :D. I find that it’s easier to manage your grades through projects/assignments, which are products of consistent work than exams, which is essentially your performance during 2-3 hours. I’m also a big fan of webcast lectures, since I can skip lectures and study when I feel like it.
• Get an even playing field. If you are a junior and many seniors are taking this class that semester (to satisfy a prerequisite for their higher level module), take other modules if you can. Firstly, your seniors will have an advantage over you in terms of their baseline knowledge. Secondly, students tend to work harder in their second and third years of study, because the reality of graduation is sinking in and the importance of getting a high GPA (for their resume, employment) hits them. Some of my third year modules were intensive, and if a junior tried to take that module during their second year, they would have been squashed by the seniors. Taking modules with peers evens out the playing field.
• Plan your timetable well. Strategically planning out your time table gives you time for other activities, whether for non-school activities, for studying, or for leisure. I always arranged my classes such than I only needed to be in school for 3 days. If I had webcast modules where I would skip the lectures, sometimes I would just have 2-day school weeks. That saved me a lot of commuting time since it took me almost an hour to get to school, and another hour to get back. I could use this time for other stuff, such as project work, sleep, or leisure.
• Space exam dates apart (where possible). I always made sure to space my exam dates apart. Sometimes, just having an extra day for revision can be crucial. The further you can space them apart, the better (you can use the time in between to relax). I would have 3-4 exams spread out in a 1.5 week period (some of my modules had no exams).
• Have modules that balance out. Unless your schedule permits, don’t pick all 5 modules with heavy workloads. If a module you are taking is extremely intensive, pick lighter modules to go with it.
• Pick modules with content synergy. This is more of a bonus tip. If you see modules with similar themes, take them so that you can cross apply what you learn. Since I was a marketing major, I took this technopreneur module from a different faculty, which was about marketing, technology, and entrepreneurship. It was a great opportunity to apply what I learned in my major. Subsequently I scored well in the module.

3. Know what you are evaluated on

Each module is graded on different components. Some possible components are

• Exams and tests – By far the most common component
• Project work – Group projects. A staple in university, especially in Business school.
• Assignments – Individual assignments
• Lab work – For Science modules
• Presentation – Presentation skills and how well you handle Q&A
• Participation – Your contribution to class discussions, sometimes online forums for the class
• Attendance – Rare. I only had this for a Japanese module. It seems that the Japanese are particular about punctuality, attendance, and timely submission of work.

The components are given a weightage. A sample allocation can be 40% for exams, 30% for project work, 20% for assignments, and 10% for participation. All this information should be available on your university site or given out by your course coordinator. If not, someone is slacking on their job. Please ask for it from your university office.

Knowing what you are evaluated on tells you what you should focus your effort on. Some of my coursemates spent a lot of time studying, when exams only contributed to 30% of the grade (the rest being project work, tutorials, and participation). On the other hand, they never spent as much time on the other components. They don’t participate in class, don’t do much for their projects, and finish their assignments at the last minute. Perhaps it’s because the evaluation method in secondary school and junior colleges was always 100% exams.

However, things are different in university. Coursework and participation matter. Speak up in class, build a relationship with your teachers, and apply your knowledge. If there is a participation score, then speak up more. If projects have a high score, then pay more attention to projects. Reading textbooks is overrated. I have classes where I barely touched my textbook and I scored an A or A+. Read to have enough knowledge to understand and apply, but don’t get stuck with theory. Most of the times I read the text once to understand, and that’s about it. (Unless it’s a closed-book exam where memorization is needed.)

If your module assigns 10% for assignment, 30% for group project work, and 70% for exams, then allocate your effort in that manner. Don’t spend 80% of your time doing your assignment, 20% on your group project, and 0% studying for your exams. You don’t get extra marks for spending more time on a small component. The 80/20 principle applies in studies too.

4. Don’t hold back

Remember back in elementary school where it’s normal to get full marks for your tests? Well it’s no different in university. If you want to, it’s possible to score full marks, whether for your project work or your exams. Why not? After all, if your work warrants it, there’s no reason why the professors wouldn’t give you the best mark.

I didn’t start university aiming to be the top student in my modules, but halfway through the semester I realized that I was the top student in some of my modules, and it wasn’t as hard as one would think. I was just doing my own thing and getting my act together. No hard-core mugging, no magic tricks, or anything like that. In fact I was busy with my core-curricular activities, running my web design business, and giving private tuition, and had time to play games and go out with friends.

I suspect a lot of beliefs about how difficult it is to score well in university are self-created. I knew the other students who did well too, and they are real people like you and me. Just focus on putting your best foot forward, and everything else will fall into place.

So don’t hold back. With every component you are evaluated on, aim to get the best marks. It is possible, but first you have to set that as a goal first. If you subconsciously place a mental limitation on what you can achieve, you’ll only reach that height because you are holding yourself back. But if you recognize that you can indeed get full marks, you will set yourself to achieve that.

5. Learn the content once it is taught

If you are taught a new concept on the day, then understand it before the class ends. Finish reading the materials before packing up. If you don’t know what the teacher is talking about, then ask your friends. Better yet, consult your teacher. There is no better way to learn than from the source. Make sure you know what he/she is talking about before you leave. Don’t leave it hanging on your mind.

This is important because otherwise, you create extra work for yourself. Some of us may say we will study later when we get home, but how many of us actually do that? I know I wouldn’t. I would just hit the sack or play games. At home, there are a lot more distractions, compared to in the school where the environment is conducive for studying. You have to overcome a lot more just to study at home. What’s more, even if you do overcome the distractions and study, what’s to say you will understand the materials fully? The professor isn’t there, your friends aren’t around, and it’s a drag to wait for another time to consult them. All this work can be prevented if you learn the content right when it’s taught, with the resources at your disposal.

The burden of not understanding the content will weigh on your mind. It may not seem significant, but imagine this weight compounding over the semester. As the burden becomes bigger, you build up a large resistance towards studying this module. Whereas the initial thought on your mind is “I don’t understand this concept in the module”, it will eventually turn to “I don’t know this module well,” to “I’m not good in this module,” to “There’s no point in studying since I’m not good in this.” While you keep saying that you will catch up on the work when you go home, you never do because the weight of the work overwhelms you. All this while, it’s just the mental fear that’s built up in your head. And you waste so much energy trying to overcome this mental fear, just to study — when you could have simply studied and understood the concept right when it was taught in class, when the environment was the most conducive for learning. There’s a thin line that separates the strong performers and those who lag behind, and this is the difference. Learning the things as they are taught, rather than deferring to an infinite future.

During lectures and tutorials, whenever there was something I didn’t understand, I would clarify them on the spot. I would get all the issues ironed immediately so that I didn’t have to deal with them later. Consequently, I rarely needed to study in my free time. I find that many seemingly complicated questions could always be easily addressed on the spot. In fact, the complications are more in the mind than anything else. Some of my coursemates often lamented about the chapters they needed to catch up on. They would say the same thing week after week, saying that they would read up on it, but never doing so since the thought of catching up on the materials overwhelmed them. They would procrastinate on studying, and then they would anguish over their procrastination. All this, when it could have been avoided at the onset.

Don’t create unnecessary problems for yourself. Get your stuff right the first time, and you spare yourself a whole lot of pain later on.

6. Prepare for your tutorials

Lectures are meant for theoretical understanding, while tutorials are meant for in-depth discussion and application. If you go to your tutorials unprepared, you are going to lag behind. Not only that, but you can’t fully benefit from the class discussion. Make sure you study and do your tutorials before going to the tutorial sessions. It will go a very long way.

Back in university, I was almost always prepared for my tutorials. Because of that, I was able to gain maximum learning during the short 1-hour sessions. Subsequently, I never had to revise much after class. I had a module where I participated actively during class, but didn’t read the textbook. I only read the text for the first time on the night before the exams, and even then I skimped through the text. I eventually scored an A+ for the module. (The exams were 40% of the final grade.)

How much you prepare for your tutorials and how much of the content you understand during tutorial classes are an good indication of how you will perform for the exams. The exam questions are usually similar to what’s discussed during the tutorial classes too. If you prepare well for your tutorials, that’s already more than half the battle won. The remainder is doing well for your project work and occasionally revising to keep the content fresh in your mind.

Continue on to the next part, where I share tips #7-13 to get on the Dean’s List. Read: How To Get On the Dean’s List — Part 3

This is part 2 of a 3-part series on how to get on the Dean’s List and score top academic results.

• Part 1: What is the Dean’s List and 6 Benefits of Being on the Dean’s List
• Part 2: How To Get On the Dean’s List: Tips #1-6
• Part 3: How To Get On the Dean’s List: Tips #7-13