Study Hero is a comprehensive program designed to help you

improve your study habits and academic performance in 4 key

areas:
1. Overcoming procrastination and motivation issues, and figuring out how to consistently
sit down, focus, and get quality work done
2. Taking control of your time management and prioritization so that you can learn
effectively without spending hours and hours each week
3. Upgrading your learning skills so that you can get more out of the time you do spend in
class and studying, while understanding the material more deeply
4. Figuring out how to get the grades you want by overcoming test anxiety, and translating
what you do know into the practical problem-solving ability you need for your exams

1. Problems that are manageable (not too easy, not too hard)
This generates interest and curiosity. If a new big hairy topic (e.g. quantum physics) is too
intimidating and unfamiliar, our motivation to learn gets shut off immediately.

Hence my problem: ignoring the lecture with material I had no inkling of a grasp of, in favor of the
crossword puzzle - something that was somewhat challenging (for me at least), but that I could
work my way through and see some level of success with.

This is what I call The Goldilocks Principle of learning motivation, and it's super important.

2. Putting new material in context.

I never looked at the syllabus.

I would just show up to class and think "okay teach - what boring-ass thing are you going to shove
my way today?"

I had no context for the material I was about to see.

They say that learning only occurs when you can connect new concepts with ones that you already
have present in your brain. So that means you need to have a framework already established - some
kernel of what the subject you're about the learn is all about - before doing a deep dive into the nitty
gritty.

I had nothing close to this.

3. Sleeeeeepppppp!!! And more generally: rest and recovery

Learning new material is one of the most energy-intensive things you can force yourself to do.
The brain doesn't want to do this.

It wants to CONSERVE energy. It's sole focus is on SURVIVAL. That is, until it knows that energy is
abundant and you're in a safe environment.

In this way, the grip of your survival instinct loosens as your available energy increases. So if you
have an abundance of energy, your brain is more likely to be willing to explore - to let you use it for
something not necessarily related to proliferating your genes.

Because of this, rest and energy recovery is an essential piece of the puzzle.

On top of that, cognitive researchers also have concluded that sleep provides an essential function in
the learning process - with the different stages of sleep consolidating different types of memory.

So just like after you lift weights you have to give your body time to respond and rebuild before
going again, each time you put in a big learning effort, it must necessarily be followed by a rest
cycle so all of that hard work you put in can actually become realized.

So therein lies my biggest mistake: staying up so late so that I had barely enough energy to make it
to class, let alone stress my neurons with solving time-dilation relativity problems.

4. Preparing your brain for work.

Have you ever tried to sprint with no warmup? What happens?

Yes that's right it feels like you are being stabbed, suffocated, and your limbs are being pulled apart
all at the same time. Pain.

The same things goes for your head-piece.

If you roll out of bed and just barely drag yourself to the equivalent of a mental 8 x 100 meter track
workout, what result can you possibly expect?

So preparation here is just as important. The mental juices need to be flowing before class starts in
order to have any chance of accepting the firehose of information that's about to fly your way.

Action Steps
Okay, so now that we've covered a little bit about some core elements of priming your "system" for
learning most effectively, your action step for Day 1 is to sketch out a routine.

Step 1: Use your calendar program of choice (I prefer Google Calendar), and put in
your weekly lecture schedule.

If you have you syllabus already, don't just block off time for your class (e.g. ENME201 Lecture)
but actually specify what topic you'll be covering according to the syllabus (e.g. ENME 201
Lecture: Newton-Raphson Method). This doesn't have to be perfect, but should be at least a basic
guiding framework for you as you move through the semester of what you'll be covering and when.

Step 2: Set a bedtime alarm.

Yes, I know, I know. But think about it - a morning alarm is only half the equation. If getting your
7-9 hours is so essential to the learning process (which it is), then why only cap it at the end of your
sleep period and leave it up to chance when you actually decide to go to sleep. I'm a friggin grown
adult, but I still to this day struggle to get myself to go to sleep when I need to to get my 8 hours.
There are just too many things I want to get done. So, during the week, figure out when you need to
get up for your first class (or to go exercise - see the BONUS section below), and back-calculate 8
hours. Set your alarm for 30 minutes before that (to wind-down and get ready for sleep) and
BOOM! - you now have a framework for supercharging your mental powers.

Now, weekends are tricky here, especially in college. As a general guideline you want to keep your
sleep/wake cycle as consistent as possible to promote deep restful sleep. But practically speaking,
Friday and Saturday nights are always going to be late, and you're going to sleep in on Saturday and
Sunday. So keep the weekday schedule consistent, and then try your best to keep the weekends
within 3 hours of your weekday schedule.

Step 3: Brain preparation. Two things to test here.

(1) Priming your brain with a new topic before sleep. I call this the 10-Question Jump Start, and
it's exactly how it sounds. Before you go to sleep, pull up your calendar from Step 1, do a quick
Wikipedia or Youtube search, and spend 5-10 minutes generating 10 questions about the topic (e.g.
What does this mean? How do I do this? How does this relate to X? Why do I do X when Y? etc.).

(2) Get to class 5 minutes early and do a brain dump. Write down on a blank sheet of paper
everything that comes to mind related to the lecture topic for the day. Doesn't matter if it's stupid,
just flow and write for 5 minutes - text, diagrams, equations, doodles, anything. Both of these things
prime your brain to learn, activating neural connections around the new information you're about to
consume.

Go try it now on a subject you're currently learning, or one you had trouble with last semester.

Bonus: Exercise (particularly cardio for at least 20 mins)

Exercise has been shown to boost a chemical called BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) by
10X over baseline levels. What does it do? It CREATES NEW BRAIN CELLS - i.e. the golden ticket
to learning something new.

Do this before lecture, discussion, or a study session, and you'll create a perfect storm of brain
chemicals for absorbing as much new information as possible.
Work this into your schedule if you're up for it. (Check out Spark, by John Ratey for more on this if
you're interested.)

-___________________________________________________

1. The "Get it All Down" Principle

There are probably some of you out there who don't have the issues I had, but for those of you out
there with perfectionist tendencies like me when it comes to taking notes, this principle is designed
to root that out.

Trying to take notes perfectly is a barrier to learning.

I should repeat that...

Trying to take notes perfectly is a barrier to learning.

You become so focused on keeping everything organized, that every time the professor makes a
mistake and goes back to correct it, or erases a graph before you're done copying it diligently, it
throws you off your game.

(Photo: quickmeme)

Plus you're not present in the discussion, focused on the concepts being presented - instead
spending your hour in class as a transcription robot.

This is bad news for learning... and it's a waste of your time.
Instead, you should be focused on just getting it all down.

It doesn't matter if it's messy or disorganized, just that you can read your own writing for later.

Ignore taking notes on background, history, and derivations (waste of your time), and focus intently
on copying down every step of example problem solutions, key equations, and key graphs/diagrams
(this is where the meat is).

Once you've conquered your perfectionist tendencies, and train yourself to focus only on writing
down those key elements, it frees up vast quantities of mental space to actually LEARN during
lecture. You might even find yourself *GASP* asking a QUESTION in class.

And you can do all this, because you know the organization comes later with...

(2) The Consolidation Method

This is a methodology adapted from Adam Robinson's (creator of the Princeton Review) book What
Smart Students Know. And it irons out allll of the wrinkles and imperfections in your dis-organized
notes and problem sets into a nicely organized, personalized, powerful package of concepts,
diagrams, equations, and problem-solving methods.

So, as you are taking notes each class using the "Get it All Down" Principle, you're going to start
accumulating tons of new information that you're not yet too familiar with. You'll also potentially be
taking notes independently from the textbook or online resources, and will have problem sets you're
doing in discussion and for homework.

We need a way to pull all of that jumbled mess together cohesively.

(Photo: collegeaffairs)

Step 1: Weekly consolidation

Each week (probably easiest to execute at the end of the week on Saturday or Sunday), block off 30
minutes for each subject and spend that time collecting all of your loose notes and problems
accumulated during the week.

Take those notes, spread them out on the floor or a table and start organizing them by concept
("chunking it down" as they say). There's no real science to this, but you want to try and organize
say, in Physics 1 for example, force-balance notes and examples in to one group, and acceleration
notes and problems into another group.

Once you have everything grouped in a way that makes most sense to you, then here comes the
tough part - consolidate it all onto 1 SHEET OF PAPER.

That's right.

Take everything you wrote out for the week and figure out how to represent that on 1 sheet of paper.
Use diagrams and short-hand, collect key equations and problem solving steps, and condense it all
down.

Why?

This forces you understand the information well enough that you connect and combine related
equations and concepts. I also forces you to chunk the information in ways that make the most sense
to you, creating your own "personal library" of sorts that provides quick access to complex topics.

Step 2: Pre-Exam Consolidation

Thought Step 1 was tough? Let's try taking it to the next level.

Now that you have each week on 1 sheet of paper, the next step is to take all of those weekly
summaries, and prior to your midterm or final, condense all of THAT information down to 1 sheet
of paper in the same way.

The same process applies but now you have to get REALLY creative with how you represent
different equations and concepts. It might just be one diagram with a few labels and equations that
represents what was covered for 2 full weeks of class.

Again, the organization on the paper is going to represent organization in your brain. If you can
wrap your head around getting all of the information covered over a 4-8 week period onto one sheet
of paper, it's a good bet that that information is nicely and efficiently stored in your memory as well,
allowing for quick access during exams.

Action Steps
Okay so now we're going to narrow the focus a little bit and test out a couple of these information
consumption techniques on one concept of your choice.

Step 1: Pick a technical concept

One you are currently working on, or want to learn (or better yet, had trouble learning last
semester). Whether that's definite integrals, or kinetic energy, or static equilibrium, doesn't matter.

Step 2: Find some info and take some messy notes

Spend 20 minutes and Google around to find some info on that concept. Youtube is good source for
lecture-type videos. Khan Academy is good for practice problem examples.

While watching or reading, practice the "Get It All Down" Principle, and take 2-3 pages of messy
notes, focusing only on the key equations, diagrams, and practice problem solution methods.

Step 3: Practice the Consolidation Method

Once you have your notes, set them down for a few hours to clear your head of whatever you just
learned. Then come back and spend another 10-20 minutes practicing the Consolidation Method,
and try to get those notes condensed down to ~1/3 of a page.

Bonus: Send me a picture of your before/after notes!

Now take a step back.

What do you notice about your perspective on that concept?

How is that different than how you usually feel after studying?

Okay STOP! Before you do whatever you were about to go do, go to your calendar and set a
permanent time to do this each week.

Apply this methodology each week throughout the semester, and you'll never have to "study" in the
traditional sense (reading the textbook, trying to grasp a concept, etc.) again!

Congratulations, now you're one of those people your friends hate because you don't go to the
library with them anymore to gloomily sit around and highlight textbooks.

Now, this is of course only a small part of the "study" equation. Conceptual understanding is great.
But that's not where the bulk of your grade gets determined.

-
________________________________________________________________________________
___-
The Reverse Learning Technique
Were all familiar with reverse engineering peeling back the layers from a finished product to try
to gain insights into the structure, process, and technology that underlies it.

A young engineer at work, taking apart a 1970s VCR. (Photo: Steve Jurvetson)

Reverse Learning works in much the same way. Its a technique for working backwards from the
solution to a complex homework problem or potential test question to a set of related core concepts.

Lecture and textbooks work precisely the opposite way.

The nice thing is though, this is how we learn outside the classroom in the real world anyway.

So, to demonstrate how this would work, let's look at the following example...

Suppose you work through an example problem with the TA in your discussion in which you need
to find the acceleration vector of the roller coaster cart when it has completed the first quarter of the
loop shown below.
This is a somewhat unfamiliar problem that you may not recognize requires a fairly deep
understanding of Centripetal Acceleration. Thankfully, youve diligently copied down the solution
and have it in front of you.

On the down side, it looks a bit like gibberish.

Seriously TA, you couldnt have thrown in a label or two?

Anyways, you have the solution in front of you: the acceleration is 43.20 m/s2 to the left, and 9.81
m/s2 downwards. And not only that, you have most of the math leading up to it.

Good. This is our Reverse Learning starting point. Now we start asking why.

Question 1:

Lets start with the obvious one (if youve had basic physics), why is there an acceleration
downwards of 9.81 m/s2?

Well thats gravity. As long as the Earth is down, which in this case we are assuming it is, there will
always be a downwards acceleration acting on the cart of 9.81 m/s2.

Okay Concept #1 (gravity) down. Now moving right along

Question 2:

Why is there an acceleration to the left of 43.20 m/s2?

This is a bit trickier, but lets look at our diagram and see whats happening to the cart at that point
in time.

Its halfway up the backside of that loop.

And where will it go after that? Up and to the left.

So to keep the cart from flying straight up in the air (like it was shooting off a ramp), there must be
something turning that cart to the left as it rises. Well, the only thing there is the track.

Ahh the track thats whats moving the cart to the left.

Okay, so how does the track accelerate something even though it doesnt itself move?
As you continue this process of questioning (see the full example here), without allowing yourself
to move forward without a practical answer to each of your questions, you'll probably end up
discovering that...

The Normal Force from the track must be causing the Centripetal Acceleration, which is
moving the cart up and to the left.
Centripetal Acceleration the concept we care about in this context can be produced by
one you already have familiarity with (Normal Force)
And you also know that both (1) acceleration due to Gravity and (2) Centripetal Acceleration
can interact at the same time on one object, independent of one another
Look at the ground weve covered with just a few of the most obvious questions we can ask
ourselves about this problem. And theres still 75% of the work involved in the problem that we
havent tried to explain yet.

These are the big insights you need to be able to solve tough problems in physics, math, and
engineering courses.

Action Steps
Okay, action steps for today...

Step 1: Choose a solved problem

This can be from a course you're currently taking or took last semester, that you really didn't
understand all that well. Maybe you forced your way through, and were able to get answer, but
really didn't know why you were using the equations that you did, and were confused how it related
back to the concepts you were learning.

Step 2: Spend 20 minutes working your way backwards through the problem using
the Reverse Learning Technique

Make sure that you answer each and every "why" question you come up with, and understand every
little nuance. Go slow! And work all the way back, from the final answer to the problem statement.

Bonus: Send me the problem you used and your analysis of why each problem
solving step was used and which concepts are at play

Accountability is a powerful motivator. So if you send your problem to me, I'll look at your process
and give you feedback.
This process is essential for developing a super-robust understanding of how to actually apply the
concepts you're learning about to real problems.

Work this into your schedule for each new problem type you come across in class, and you'll find
yourself surprisingly on-the-ball during discussion, quizzes, and eventually exams.
The Reverse Learning Technique

Were all familiar with reverse engineering peeling back the layers from a finished product to try
to gain insights into the structure, process, and technology that underlies it.

A young engineer at work, taking apart a 1970s VCR. (Photo: Steve Jurvetson)

Reverse Learning works in much the same way. Its a technique for working backwards from the
solution to a complex homework problem or potential test question to a set of related core concepts.

Lecture and textbooks work precisely the opposite way.

The nice thing is though, this is how we learn outside the classroom in the real world anyway.

So, to demonstrate how this would work, let's look at the following example...

Suppose you work through an example problem with the TA in your discussion in which you need
to find the acceleration vector of the roller coaster cart when it has completed the first quarter of the
loop shown below.

This is a somewhat unfamiliar problem that you may not recognize requires a fairly deep
understanding of Centripetal Acceleration. Thankfully, youve diligently copied down the solution
and have it in front of you.
On the down side, it looks a bit like gibberish.

Seriously TA, you couldnt have thrown in a label or two?

Anyways, you have the solution in front of you: the acceleration is 43.20 m/s2 to the left, and 9.81
m/s2 downwards. And not only that, you have most of the math leading up to it.

Good. This is our Reverse Learning starting point. Now we start asking why.

Question 1:

Lets start with the obvious one (if youve had basic physics), why is there an acceleration
downwards of 9.81 m/s2?

Well thats gravity. As long as the Earth is down, which in this case we are assuming it is, there will
always be a downwards acceleration acting on the cart of 9.81 m/s2.

Okay Concept #1 (gravity) down. Now moving right along

Question 2:

Why is there an acceleration to the left of 43.20 m/s2?

This is a bit trickier, but lets look at our diagram and see whats happening to the cart at that point
in time.

Its halfway up the backside of that loop.

And where will it go after that? Up and to the left.

So to keep the cart from flying straight up in the air (like it was shooting off a ramp), there must be
something turning that cart to the left as it rises. Well, the only thing there is the track.

Ahh the track thats whats moving the cart to the left.

Okay, so how does the track accelerate something even though it doesnt itself move?

As you continue this process of questioning (see the full example here), without allowing yourself
to move forward without a practical answer to each of your questions, you'll probably end up
discovering that...

The Normal Force from the track must be causing the Centripetal Acceleration, which is moving
the cart up and to the left.
Centripetal Acceleration the concept we care about in this context can be produced by one
you already have familiarity with (Normal Force)
And you also know that both (1) acceleration due to Gravity and (2) Centripetal Acceleration can
interact at the same time on one object, independent of one another

Look at the ground weve covered with just a few of the most obvious questions we can ask
ourselves about this problem. And theres still 75% of the work involved in the problem that we
havent tried to explain yet.

These are the big insights you need to be able to solve tough problems in physics, math, and
engineering courses.

Action Steps

Okay, action steps for today...

Step 1: Choose a solved problem

This can be from a course you're currently taking or took last semester, that you really didn't
understand all that well. Maybe you forced your way through, and were able to get answer, but
really didn't know why you were using the equations that you did, and were confused how it related
back to the concepts you were learning.

Step 2: Spend 20 minutes working your way backwards through the problem using the Reverse
Learning Technique

Make sure that you answer each and every "why" question you come up with, and understand every
little nuance. Go slow! And work all the way back, from the final answer to the problem statement.

Bonus: Send me the problem you used and your analysis of why each problem solving step was
used and which concepts are at play

Accountability is a powerful motivator. So if you send your problem to me, I'll look at your process
and give you feedback.

This process is essential for developing a super-robust understanding of how to actually apply the
concepts you're learning about to real problems.

Work this into your schedule for each new problem type you come across in class, and you'll find
yourself surprisingly on-the-ball during discussion, quizzes, and eventually exams.

They call this the Fluency Illusion by the way: thinking that just because you can understand
someone solving a problem, you can actually solve that problem yourself when left to your own
devices (not true - anyone who watches cooking shows knows this).

Or maybe we just think it's stupid to have to "drill" problems when we already "know how to do it."
And as a result, don't spend enough time really engraining the problem solving procedures into our
memory banks.

So how do we fix this problem?

How do you get yourself to the point where I was in Statics: able to comfortably stare an exam
problem statement in the face, calmly dissect it, solve it, and get full credit for a perfect solution?

Now, yesterday we worked through some solved problems in reverse. This builds up your mental
flexibility around the new concepts you're working with, understanding how the different equations
and principles interplay when actually working through a problem.

But this is just the "aha" moment when it comes to practice problems - the baseline understanding
you need in order to actually be able to solve them. The real gains happen when you then take that
new mental framework you developed using Reverse Learning, and apply it to a diverse set of
problems.

Active Recall
This is what we call Active Recall: solving problems from scratch, all the way through, without
any supporting materials.

And it's the opposite of the passive review we constantly find ourselves doing (e.g. watching the TA
solve problems on the board, watching Youtube videos of problem solutions, doing homework with
the book open to the example problems, etc.).

Here's how you do it:

1. Once you feel comfortable that you understand the fundamentals of how to solve a particular
type of problem, find a set of of those problems you haven't solved before (and have the
full solution on hand for later).
2. Then, start your session with a problem statement only - NO SOLUTION. Don't peek,
and don't study right beforehand - we want to work on your ability to conjure this stuff up
off the top of your head.
3. As you work through the problem, try to come up with the solution method and steps off
the top of your head, without any supporting materials. Do the best you can and even
guess if you have to. It's important to push yourself to get as far as you can without any
support (this is what it's like on an exam). Write down what you can and take a stab at a final
answer.
4. Then, once you're finally done, go back and verify whether you were correct with the
provided solution. And we're not just checking here, you want to...
5. Actually dig in to each and every mistake you made and break it down. What did I do
wrong? What should I have done instead? How can I make it so that I do this every time?
Then simply rinse and repeat.

That's the process for deeply engraining different types of problem solving procedures into your
memory.
Active Recall Pomodoros

Ever heard of the Pomodoro Technique. Well that fits PERFECTLY with active recall practice.

Because it's such mentally intensive work to solve problems from scratch in this way, you get
drained very quickly if you work at it for an hour straight.

So do this practice in 25 minute cycles, followed by 5 minutes of break, either resting, doing some
deep breathing, or doing something menial (like doing the dishes).

Action Steps
Okay, so your action step for today is:

Step 1: Choose a problem, and practice Active Recall

Choose a new problem similar to the one you broke down yesterday, and solve it from scratch using
the Active Recall Pomodoro framework.

Step 2: Review and break down your mistakes

Then go back and see where you went wrong, and where your understanding may have broken
down.

Bonus: Analyze what you noticed during your session

How did you feel while solving the problem? Did you try and look at your notes? How competent
did you feel solving problems this way vs. using your notes and textbook as a reference?

Write out your observations and send them to me.

That's it.

Once you get to this point, it's all about practice. And if you really focus, and make your Active
Recall sessions count, you'll find yourself having to spend less and less time going back, relearning
things, looking at your notes...

And you'll also feel your confidence building, feeling more and more prepared as the semester goes
on.

Tomorrow, for our 5th and final day, we'll talk about how to pull it all together when it counts on
test day.

-_______________________________________________________________________________

Exam Rehearsals
Step 1: Create practice exams

First, go back through the material covered for the exam and start pulling together practice
problems you might reasonably expect to see on the exam. You can also get super advanced and go
find old exams from your EXACT CLASS on a site like koofers.com.

You want to have a pretty diverse set of problems (with solutions provided for when you go back
and review your mistakes), and then put together AT LEAST 2 practice exams which you'll use in
your test prep.

Step 2: Take practice exam 1

A week or 2 out from the exam take your first practice exam.

Now here's where we seriously diverge from what most students do. Here's what to do:

Do not look up how to do the problems beforehand

Do not use your notes or textbook
Set a timer for the exact amount of time you'll be allowed on the exam itself
Put yourself in an environment that replicates what you'll see on the exam (you can even go
do it in the classroom itself if it's open)
Start the timer and work through the exam, pretending like you're doing it for realz. Don't stop at
any point. Work through the entire exam as best as you can, and then when time is up "turn it in" to
yourself.

This is super important because of...

Step 3: Review your mistakes

Once you've finished your exam, and have gone back and scored it, you now have a "lay of the
land" in terms of your strengths and weaknesses. You can go back and examine what types of
problems you got stuck on, which ones you might need to spend some additional practice time on,
and even some where you might have NO CLUE what's going on and have to go back and review
the concepts from scratch.

This is hugely valuable. You get to shake out the jitters, get used to working through problems
under pressure, AND identify a game plan of what you need to work on for the week leading up to
the exam.

Spend the time to go through each mistake in painstaking detail.

Didn't know what to do? Go back to the problem statement and find out which clues you
missed, or which equations you forgot about.
Used the wrong equation? Ask yourself why you chose that equation and which assumptions
you might have missed.
Plugged in wrong? Figure out why it happened and what you could have done to make your
work more clear.
This will direct your next efforts in the most efficient way possible.

Step 4: Repeat Reverse Learning and Active Recall as needed

Go back to the techniques we covered of the past 2 days and employ them as needed on the
problems you had most difficulty with.

Break down solved problems when you might have not understood which concepts were being
applied or what the correct solution methodology was.

Solve problems from scratch if you feel like you "knew how to do it" but just blanked when you
saw the problem statement.

Step 5: Take practice exam 2

Once you've done your additional preparation, take your second practice exam (one with a
completely new set of questions) in the same way you took exam 1.

This should be ~2 days before the actual exam, and is more focused on building your confidence,
smoothing out any rough edges, and solidifying the additional learning and practice you've done
over the past week.

Again go back and score your exam, and review mistakes as before.

Step 6: Relax, then take your actual exam

After all that, you should be pretty much ready to go (or as ready as you can be given the time you
had to prepare).
If you've followed this methodology properly (i.e. the material we covered over the past 4 days),
there isn't really much more work to be done, and especially over the final 24 hours, you're going to
be best served by putting in some good R&R, at least with that particular subject.

Do all of the above, and compared to how you usually feel during big exams, it'll be like you have
ICE in your veins. The material will feel much more comfortable and more familiar than usual.

You might even find that "Hey! My exam grade ACTUALLY kind of reflects the work I put in."

Action Steps
Okay - final day's action steps...

Step 1: Create a practice exam

Create a practice exam from the type of problems you covered during Day 3 and Day 4 and solve it
under a 50-minute time limit, using the Exam Rehearsal procedure above.

Step 2: Check in with your mental state

Once you've taken and scored the exam, ask yourself:

What did you notice the added time pressure and isolation from supporting materials did to your
psychology?

What did you find out about what you thought you knew vs. what you actually were able to do?

What do you need to go back and work on?

Final Bonus: Send me your finished and graded exam along with answers to the
questions above.

I'll read and respond to every one I get.

And that's all folks...

You now have the basic tools to crush it on your next exam!

Although we've covered a HUGE amount of ground, these past 5 days were designed to be a well-
intentioned shock to the system, hopefully pulling you out of a rut, or turning around a mediocre
semester, or even taking your "pretty good" skills to the next level.

Take this with you, and return to it as you continue to refine your process - you'll find new insights
each time you come back. And stay tuned, because this is just the beginning.