Post by sparkogre on Jul 7, 2009 20:20:04 GMT -5
I can send you the .doc file if you want it. It's nicer.
Goal-Setting
Writing down what you want to have accomplished in the next couple of months is a great way to actually get started on having them accomplished. So, open a word document, or get a piece of paper, and write down your goals. Realistically, what do you want to do this semester? Lose weight, gain muscle, get serious with an instrument, learn pick-up, learn to lucid dream or GET BETTER GRADES. Now, save this piece of paper somewhere you won’t forget. If you did a word file, I would recommend making a folder somewhere on your computer that is dedicated only to your goal-setting. If you’re concerned about parents finding it, then just put it in WINDOWS\system32 and give it a random name. No one will EVER fuck with that shit. Also, make sure that you delete your Recent Documents (if you care).
Write down your goals, and write down a time-frame. Now, some goals you might have a time-frame in mind. You might not have a fucking clue for other ones. And that’s okay. Write down the goal, and under it write down EXACTLY what you’re going to do to get that accomplished. EXACTLY. Lack of planning is the cause of all failures. And please, avoid those pie in the sky goals. I know, “shoot for the moon and aim for the stars,” but in real life the reality is more “shoot for the moon and die drifting in the vacuum.” A good thing I recommend doing is to print off a calendar for the current month, and on the current day, in the morning, write down the goal things that you have to do today. Check them off as you do them. Also, keep a log in your special folder, of what you do everyday, and the progress you’re making.
An important concept you should understand is that of equilibrium, which I read about in a book called Mastery, by George Leonard. Basically, he says that whenever you take a change, stuff will happen to subconsciously bring up things that will hinder your progress, and shift you back to your original state. Everybody can relate to this shit. I can’t go running, it’s raining outside. I can’t do weights today, I feel kind of tired. I can’t approach that girl, because it just won’t work. I had to drop my diet for a day, there was nothing to eat but McDonalds. I can’t practice guitar today, I can’t find a pick. All this shit happens to EVERYBODY. The people that get results are the ones that focus on the goal, and keep moving past.
Now, there are some real things that prevent you from following your goals on a given day. If you broke a string and guitar center is closed, you’re out of luck. If you live in a not-so-safe area and it’s dark outside, I understand if you don’t want to go running at 10 PM. But ask yourself, “Is this a real excuse? Or am I just being a LAZY-ASS?”
There are a lot common goals that people have, and there a lot of personal goals. Common goals tend to be the getting in shape, get better at guitar, and learn pick-up. For getting in shape, there’s a wonderful running program called Couch-to-5K from coolrunning.com. If you want to lose weight, there is a wonderful book called Burn the Muscle Feed the Fat, by Tom Venuto. If you want to learn guitar, there is a great site called justinguitar.com.
But right here, in this next section, we are going to focus on academics. “I don’t give a fuck about that!” You’ve probably never listened to your parents, or teachers telling you how important an education is in your world. I understand. Everybody tunes them out. But THEY’RE NOT FUCKING STUPID, YOU DUMB SHIT, SO START STUDYING. Nobody is going to think you’re a fag because you got an A in Geometry. And if they do, tell them they can bag your groceries.
Academics
The most important thing is to study a little bit every day. You’ve heard this a thousand times, but if you don’t believe it, you’re a dumb shit. If you spend an hour a day on homework every day, chances are you’ll get an A in all your classes. Easy concepts become hard and tricky when they are learned the day before the test. Cramming is for douchebags. A very important and easy thing to do is to keep a planner to keep track of homework and projects. If your school gives these out, then great. If not, then use a piece of paper to keep track of your homework in your classes. As of today, you now have an allotted hour to do your homework everyday. With that nifty goal-setting calendar, plan it.
Don’t cram all your papers into one binder. My suggestion is to get individual thin folders (the paper or plastic kinds) for each subject. Now, you might not really need a folder for that Art class, but you sure as hell need one for Biology.
Note-Taking
Most teachers just write what they want you to write down on the board, or otherwise make it very obvious what they want you to take notes on. If your teacher doesn’t do that, and instead just lectures, then you still have to take notes. What you do, is listen to what they’re saying. The teacher will usually emphasize what the important points are, and while you obviously can’t write down everything the teacher is saying, you can write down the main points, and bullet-point the main points. Note-taking is very simple if you don’t lose focus.
Now, I’ve found that the best way to study for most classes is to make question-answer sheets (let’s call them QAs.) To make these, take your notes, and type up questions over the information you have written down. These things are fucking magical. For example, if these are your notes:
Quantum model – Bohr (1913)
-electrons orbiting around nucleus at fixed distances
-when electron moved between orbits was the explanation for why only certain λ light is emitted. When it goes to a different orbit, it can only emit certain values of energy.
Bohr’s model only works for hydrogen:
E = 2.178 x 10-18 * (Z2/n2)
Z = nuclear charge (ionic charge)
N = integer corresponding to which orbit the electron is in (when the electron is actually removed, n = ∞, so the equation value approaches 0 (limit).
Then just read down, and the questions would be
1. Who invented the Quantum model?
2. Where are the electrons in this model?
3. What is the explanation for why only certain wavelengths of light are emitted?
4. What element does this model work for?
5. What is E?
6. What is Z?
7. What is N?
So then, in another file, go through and answer all these questions. Then review and make sure you can answer every question.
Got it? Now, if you’re a lazy-ass and don’t pay attention in class, then you can also take notes out of your textbook. But the problem with doing this is that you’re going to get an ass-load more information than your teacher actually wants you to know. If you’re taking notes out of your textbook, then:
[From Wikipedia]The nuclear force is highly attractive at very small distances, and this overwhelms the repulsion between protons which is due to the electromagnetic force, thus allowing nuclei to exist. However, because the residual strong force has a limited range because it decays quickly with distance (see Yukawa potential), only nuclei smaller than a certain size can be completely stable.
1. When is the nuclear force strong?
2. What overwhelms the repulsion between electrons?
3. Why are larger nuclei less stable?
This paragraph (like most textbooks) has a lot more information than most teachers are going to ask. What the fuck is a Yukawa Potential? I guarantee you it’s not covered in Chem. 1.
______________________________________________________________________________
There are basically 2 types of science classes in high school: math-based, and non math-based. Physics and chemistry are math-based, while biology is not. For physics and chemistry, DO ALL THE GODDAMN HOMEWORK PROBLEMS, and again, don’t do them the night before the test. A common pitfall of many people, is that they do most of the problems, and then assume that because some other problems use the same basic concepts they’ll be able to do them too. Don’t do that. Do all the assigned homework problems, there are usually harder problems that will be on the test there. And if you have problems with the basic algebra and the MATH that is tripping you up instead of the concepts, read the math section. You want to be able to spend time learning the new science, instead of the old algebra.
And don’t JUST do the homework problems for classes like chemistry. For chemistry, you need to also know some principles and laws and such (Q&A sheets), as well as the way to work the problems.
______________________________________________________________________________
So we’ve basically covered how to study for science classes (do all the problems, and make Q&A sheets). Now we’re going to cover math classes. Some people have a lot of trouble with math because they don’t have a good grasp on the fundamentals. Break it down into what you don’t understand. Can you not solve equations? Or do you just have trouble translating word problems from English to algebra? While you can Google individual problems, I think that the word problems issue is widespread enough to merit attention. The solution to your word problems issue is in a book called “Math Word Problems Demystified.” Get that book from the library or something, and go through it. It will really help your ability to translate things.
In Geometry class, make sure that you memorize all the equations, and logical forms. In other high school math classes, it has been my experience that if you can do the assigned homework problems, you’re set.
______________________________________________________________________________
English class. The most important thing in English class is TURNING YOUR HOMEWORK IN ON TIME, which you can now do, thanks to your allotted homework time and planner. But, there are still essays to worry about.
How to Get Good Grades on Essays:
1. Example.
2. Why is this important?
When you’re writing an essay, take a few minutes to outline what you’re going to say. Get all the examples you’re going to use outlined. And when you’re writing the essay, periodically STOP and ask yourself, “Does what I’m writing right now answer the question?” A lot of people will get kind of off-topic and write about stuff that is KIND OF related, but the point I’m trying to drill into your head is that EVERYTHING you write about in your essay should DIRECTLY answer the question.
Goal-Setting
Writing down what you want to have accomplished in the next couple of months is a great way to actually get started on having them accomplished. So, open a word document, or get a piece of paper, and write down your goals. Realistically, what do you want to do this semester? Lose weight, gain muscle, get serious with an instrument, learn pick-up, learn to lucid dream or GET BETTER GRADES. Now, save this piece of paper somewhere you won’t forget. If you did a word file, I would recommend making a folder somewhere on your computer that is dedicated only to your goal-setting. If you’re concerned about parents finding it, then just put it in WINDOWS\system32 and give it a random name. No one will EVER fuck with that shit. Also, make sure that you delete your Recent Documents (if you care).
Write down your goals, and write down a time-frame. Now, some goals you might have a time-frame in mind. You might not have a fucking clue for other ones. And that’s okay. Write down the goal, and under it write down EXACTLY what you’re going to do to get that accomplished. EXACTLY. Lack of planning is the cause of all failures. And please, avoid those pie in the sky goals. I know, “shoot for the moon and aim for the stars,” but in real life the reality is more “shoot for the moon and die drifting in the vacuum.” A good thing I recommend doing is to print off a calendar for the current month, and on the current day, in the morning, write down the goal things that you have to do today. Check them off as you do them. Also, keep a log in your special folder, of what you do everyday, and the progress you’re making.
An important concept you should understand is that of equilibrium, which I read about in a book called Mastery, by George Leonard. Basically, he says that whenever you take a change, stuff will happen to subconsciously bring up things that will hinder your progress, and shift you back to your original state. Everybody can relate to this shit. I can’t go running, it’s raining outside. I can’t do weights today, I feel kind of tired. I can’t approach that girl, because it just won’t work. I had to drop my diet for a day, there was nothing to eat but McDonalds. I can’t practice guitar today, I can’t find a pick. All this shit happens to EVERYBODY. The people that get results are the ones that focus on the goal, and keep moving past.
Now, there are some real things that prevent you from following your goals on a given day. If you broke a string and guitar center is closed, you’re out of luck. If you live in a not-so-safe area and it’s dark outside, I understand if you don’t want to go running at 10 PM. But ask yourself, “Is this a real excuse? Or am I just being a LAZY-ASS?”
There are a lot common goals that people have, and there a lot of personal goals. Common goals tend to be the getting in shape, get better at guitar, and learn pick-up. For getting in shape, there’s a wonderful running program called Couch-to-5K from coolrunning.com. If you want to lose weight, there is a wonderful book called Burn the Muscle Feed the Fat, by Tom Venuto. If you want to learn guitar, there is a great site called justinguitar.com.
But right here, in this next section, we are going to focus on academics. “I don’t give a fuck about that!” You’ve probably never listened to your parents, or teachers telling you how important an education is in your world. I understand. Everybody tunes them out. But THEY’RE NOT FUCKING STUPID, YOU DUMB SHIT, SO START STUDYING. Nobody is going to think you’re a fag because you got an A in Geometry. And if they do, tell them they can bag your groceries.
Academics
The most important thing is to study a little bit every day. You’ve heard this a thousand times, but if you don’t believe it, you’re a dumb shit. If you spend an hour a day on homework every day, chances are you’ll get an A in all your classes. Easy concepts become hard and tricky when they are learned the day before the test. Cramming is for douchebags. A very important and easy thing to do is to keep a planner to keep track of homework and projects. If your school gives these out, then great. If not, then use a piece of paper to keep track of your homework in your classes. As of today, you now have an allotted hour to do your homework everyday. With that nifty goal-setting calendar, plan it.
Don’t cram all your papers into one binder. My suggestion is to get individual thin folders (the paper or plastic kinds) for each subject. Now, you might not really need a folder for that Art class, but you sure as hell need one for Biology.
Note-Taking
Most teachers just write what they want you to write down on the board, or otherwise make it very obvious what they want you to take notes on. If your teacher doesn’t do that, and instead just lectures, then you still have to take notes. What you do, is listen to what they’re saying. The teacher will usually emphasize what the important points are, and while you obviously can’t write down everything the teacher is saying, you can write down the main points, and bullet-point the main points. Note-taking is very simple if you don’t lose focus.
Now, I’ve found that the best way to study for most classes is to make question-answer sheets (let’s call them QAs.) To make these, take your notes, and type up questions over the information you have written down. These things are fucking magical. For example, if these are your notes:
Quantum model – Bohr (1913)
-electrons orbiting around nucleus at fixed distances
-when electron moved between orbits was the explanation for why only certain λ light is emitted. When it goes to a different orbit, it can only emit certain values of energy.
Bohr’s model only works for hydrogen:
E = 2.178 x 10-18 * (Z2/n2)
Z = nuclear charge (ionic charge)
N = integer corresponding to which orbit the electron is in (when the electron is actually removed, n = ∞, so the equation value approaches 0 (limit).
Then just read down, and the questions would be
1. Who invented the Quantum model?
2. Where are the electrons in this model?
3. What is the explanation for why only certain wavelengths of light are emitted?
4. What element does this model work for?
5. What is E?
6. What is Z?
7. What is N?
So then, in another file, go through and answer all these questions. Then review and make sure you can answer every question.
Got it? Now, if you’re a lazy-ass and don’t pay attention in class, then you can also take notes out of your textbook. But the problem with doing this is that you’re going to get an ass-load more information than your teacher actually wants you to know. If you’re taking notes out of your textbook, then:
[From Wikipedia]The nuclear force is highly attractive at very small distances, and this overwhelms the repulsion between protons which is due to the electromagnetic force, thus allowing nuclei to exist. However, because the residual strong force has a limited range because it decays quickly with distance (see Yukawa potential), only nuclei smaller than a certain size can be completely stable.
1. When is the nuclear force strong?
2. What overwhelms the repulsion between electrons?
3. Why are larger nuclei less stable?
This paragraph (like most textbooks) has a lot more information than most teachers are going to ask. What the fuck is a Yukawa Potential? I guarantee you it’s not covered in Chem. 1.
______________________________________________________________________________
There are basically 2 types of science classes in high school: math-based, and non math-based. Physics and chemistry are math-based, while biology is not. For physics and chemistry, DO ALL THE GODDAMN HOMEWORK PROBLEMS, and again, don’t do them the night before the test. A common pitfall of many people, is that they do most of the problems, and then assume that because some other problems use the same basic concepts they’ll be able to do them too. Don’t do that. Do all the assigned homework problems, there are usually harder problems that will be on the test there. And if you have problems with the basic algebra and the MATH that is tripping you up instead of the concepts, read the math section. You want to be able to spend time learning the new science, instead of the old algebra.
And don’t JUST do the homework problems for classes like chemistry. For chemistry, you need to also know some principles and laws and such (Q&A sheets), as well as the way to work the problems.
______________________________________________________________________________
So we’ve basically covered how to study for science classes (do all the problems, and make Q&A sheets). Now we’re going to cover math classes. Some people have a lot of trouble with math because they don’t have a good grasp on the fundamentals. Break it down into what you don’t understand. Can you not solve equations? Or do you just have trouble translating word problems from English to algebra? While you can Google individual problems, I think that the word problems issue is widespread enough to merit attention. The solution to your word problems issue is in a book called “Math Word Problems Demystified.” Get that book from the library or something, and go through it. It will really help your ability to translate things.
In Geometry class, make sure that you memorize all the equations, and logical forms. In other high school math classes, it has been my experience that if you can do the assigned homework problems, you’re set.
______________________________________________________________________________
English class. The most important thing in English class is TURNING YOUR HOMEWORK IN ON TIME, which you can now do, thanks to your allotted homework time and planner. But, there are still essays to worry about.
How to Get Good Grades on Essays:
1. Example.
2. Why is this important?
When you’re writing an essay, take a few minutes to outline what you’re going to say. Get all the examples you’re going to use outlined. And when you’re writing the essay, periodically STOP and ask yourself, “Does what I’m writing right now answer the question?” A lot of people will get kind of off-topic and write about stuff that is KIND OF related, but the point I’m trying to drill into your head is that EVERYTHING you write about in your essay should DIRECTLY answer the question.