5 Things That Helped Me Ace My University Classes

Summary

In this video, the creator shares his journey of academic struggles due to ADHD and dyslexia and how a break from university led to a refreshed approach. He emphasizes the importance of surrounding oneself with course content through podcasts and engaging with like-minded individuals to improve learning. The video also covers strategies like gamification, tying interests to work, time management, and maintaining a balance with hobbies. The creator credits these changes for his academic turnaround and encourages viewers to apply these strategies to enhance their own learning experiences.

Takeaways

• 🎓 The speaker initially struggled with grades in university and high school, which led to a break from school to reassess interests and approach.
• 🔄 After returning to university, the speaker implemented new strategies that significantly improved academic performance.
• 🎧 A key strategy was to immerse oneself in the course content through various means such as listening to related podcasts.
• 🤝 Engaging with others interested in the subject matter, like joining clubs or participating in forums, can enhance learning and understanding.
• 🏆 Gamifying tasks by creating to-do lists and setting personal goals can make studying more engaging and productive.
• 🤸‍♂️ Incorporating personal interests into academic work can increase motivation and enjoyment, leading to better results.
• ⏰ Effective time management is crucial, including planning for tests and assignments well in advance and setting aside dedicated study periods.
• 🏋️‍♀️ Having an activity outside of school that provides a break but doesn't consume all your time is beneficial for mental health and focus.
• 🔗 The speaker credits the online learning platform 'brilliant' for helping with daily learning and problem-solving.
• 🙌 The speaker appreciates the support from patrons and sponsors, which has helped in creating content and financially supporting the channel.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial experience with grades in school?

Initially, the speaker had great grades in both high school and university, but as they became disillusioned and less interested in their school topics, their grades started to decline.

Why did the speaker decide to take a break from school?

The speaker decided to take a break from school because their grades were getting much worse, and they were questioning whether programming or the specific program they were in was right for them.

What impact did the break from school have on the speaker?

The break allowed the speaker to reflect and rethink their approach to university, leading to a different view and new strategies for learning and improving grades.

What is the first change the speaker made to improve their academic performance?

The first change the speaker made was to surround themselves with their course content, exposing themselves to the topics they were studying as much as possible.

How does the speaker suggest using podcasts to improve learning?

The speaker suggests using podcasts related to the course content to get multiple exposures to the same ideas, which can enhance understanding and provide context clues when learning new terms or concepts.

What role do clubs and forums play in the speaker's strategy for learning?

Clubs and forums play a role by providing a community of people interested in the same topics, allowing for discussions, idea exchanges, and answering questions, which can reinforce learning and expose the speaker to different perspectives.

Why does the speaker recommend trying to gamify the learning process?

The speaker recommends gamifying the learning process to increase interest and motivation. This can be done by creating to-do lists, maintaining streaks, and being competitive, which can make starting and continuing projects easier.

How does tying interests to work help in the speaker's experience?

Tying interests to work makes the learning process more enjoyable and engaging for the speaker, leading to spending more time on projects and often finishing them earlier because of the increased enjoyment and challenge.

What does the speaker emphasize about time management in university?

The speaker emphasizes the importance of time management in university by mapping out the semester, marking important dates in a calendar, and using time blocks to ensure focused work on different projects and studies.

Why is having something outside of school important according to the speaker?

Having something outside of school is important because it provides a break from academic focus, helps maintain a healthy balance, and prevents burnout. The speaker suggests finding a hobby that is engaging but not all-consuming.

What is the main takeaway from the speaker's experience that they recommend to others?

The main takeaway and recommendation from the speaker's experience is to surround oneself with the topics they are learning about, as it was the most impactful change they made to improve their academic performance.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Overcoming Academic Challenges

The speaker begins by discussing their academic journey, highlighting a transition from high school to university where they initially excelled but later faced a decline in grades due to a loss of interest. This led to a break from school, during which they reconsidered their approach to learning. Upon returning, they implemented new strategies that significantly improved their academic performance. The speaker also discloses having ADHD and dyslexia, suggesting that the strategies they'll share could be particularly beneficial for others with similar challenges.

05:01

📚 Surrounding Yourself with Learning

The speaker emphasizes the importance of immersing oneself in the subject matter, suggesting that multiple exposures to a topic can enhance understanding. They recommend using podcasts as a tool for passive learning, which can provide exposure to new terms and concepts. The speaker also suggests engaging with like-minded individuals through clubs or online forums, and using platforms like Discord or Reddit to discuss and learn from others. They highlight the value of answering questions as a method of solidifying one's own knowledge.

10:02

🏋️‍♂️ Balancing School with Personal Interests

The speaker discusses the significance of having activities outside of school that can provide a healthy break and prevent burnout. They share their personal experience of transitioning from video games to sports, which not only improved their health but also allowed them to maintain focus when returning to academic work. The speaker suggests finding hobbies that can be engaging without consuming all of one's time, thus fostering a balanced lifestyle that supports effective learning.

Keywords

💡Surrounding oneself with course content

This concept refers to immersing oneself in the subject matter outside of formal study sessions. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of being constantly exposed to the topics being studied, which can enhance learning and understanding. For instance, the speaker mentions listening to podcasts related to their courses, which provides repeated exposure to new terms and ideas, aiding in the grasping of these concepts more effectively when encountered in a formal educational setting.

💡ADHD and dyslexia

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia are neurodevelopmental conditions that can affect learning and focus. The speaker discloses having both, which influences the strategies they adopt for studying. These strategies are tailored to accommodate their specific learning needs, suggesting that individuals with similar conditions might benefit from personalized approaches to learning.

💡Gamification

Gamification is the application of game-design elements and principles in non-game contexts, such as education, to encourage engagement and motivation. The speaker uses this concept by creating to-do lists and setting personal goals, which adds a competitive and game-like aspect to their learning process. This strategy is intended to make tasks more appealing and to maintain a higher level of interest and commitment.

💡Time management

Time management is the ability to effectively organize and plan the limited time available to increase productivity and reduce stress. In the context of the video, the speaker highlights the importance of planning and scheduling study time, assignment work, and breaks to balance academic responsibilities with other life aspects. This is crucial for success in university, especially when juggling multiple commitments.

💡Programming

Programming refers to the process of writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. The speaker discusses their journey with programming, which is central to their academic and professional interests. They share strategies for enhancing programming skills, such as engaging with programming-related podcasts and participating in coding communities, which are key to their success in university courses.

💡Podcast

A podcast is a digital audio file made available for downloading to a computer or mobile device, so it can be listened to at the user's convenience. In the video, the speaker advocates for the use of podcasts as a learning tool, particularly for gaining exposure to new concepts and terminology in an informal and accessible manner. Podcasts allow for learning on the go, which can complement and enhance formal education.

💡Discord

Discord is a VoIP, instant messaging, and digital distribution platform that the speaker mentions as a place to connect with others who share similar academic interests. It serves as a community hub where individuals can discuss topics, ask questions, and learn from one another in real-time. The speaker suggests that engaging in such communities can provide additional perspectives and deepen understanding of the subject matter.

💡Functional programming

Functional programming is a programming paradigm that treats computation as the evaluation of mathematical functions and avoids changing-state and mutable data. The speaker brings up their interest in functional programming as a way to make their database assignments more interesting by applying this paradigm. This illustrates how integrating personal interests into academic work can enhance engagement and motivation.

💡Streak

A streak, in the context of the video, refers to a continuous series of actions or achievements. The speaker mentions maintaining a streak of activity on GitHub, which serves as a motivational tool to keep working consistently. This concept is related to gamification and is used to instill discipline and a sense of accomplishment in the learning process.

💡Hobby

A hobby is a regular activity done for pleasure. The speaker advises finding a hobby that provides a break from academic pressures without becoming all-consuming. This is important for maintaining a healthy balance between schoolwork and personal life. The speaker's shift from video games to sports illustrates the value of a hobby in promoting well-being and providing a focused break from study.

Highlights

The speaker discusses their journey from struggling with grades to acing courses after taking a break from university.

Mentions having ADHD and dyslexia, and how strategies were tailored to these conditions.

Emphasizes the importance of surrounding oneself with course content for better learning outcomes.

Suggests multiple exposures to ideas can significantly enhance learning.

Recommends listening to podcasts related to one's field of study for passive learning.

Advocates for joining clubs or forums to engage with others interested in the same topics.

Explains how answering questions on forums can reinforce one's own learning.

Introduces 'brilliant.org' as a tool for daily learning and problem-solving.

Talks about gamifying tasks by creating to-do lists and maintaining a streak of activity.

Encourages competitiveness as a motivator for completing projects and assignments.

Advises tying personal interests to academic work to make it more engaging.

Stresses the importance of time management in university with the use of calendars and time blocking.

Suggests having an outside hobby that provides a break from academic focus but doesn't consume all time.

Expresses gratitude to supporters and sponsors for their contributions to the channel.

Invites feedback from viewers and promises to read and respond to comments.

Transcripts

how is it going you guys we are back

here in my humble kitchen to talk to you

a bit about school so for those of you

guys that have been uh in touch with me

and talk to me on Discord some of you

might have noticed that not too long ago

I was a student in University I faced

quite a bit of interesting uh States

when it comes to my grades uh at the

start as well as in high school I had

pretty great grades but as I became

disillusioned and less interested in my

Topics in school I found that my grad

started to s

and in general I started to get much

much worse grades as things were going

on this got so bad that I decided to

kind of take a break from school I

thought maybe programming wasn't for me

or exactly the program that I was in but

eventually I ended up coming back to

University and that little break there

gave me an opportunity to reflect and

kind of rethink my approach to

University and I came back at it with a

much different View and a lot of

different strategies for going to

University learning and uh getting the

most out of my grades so in this video I

want to talk about the changes that I

made and what took me from those nearly

failing in some cases actually failing

grades to acing a lot of the courses I

was taking at University now before we

get too far into this video I should

preface that I have ADHD and dyslexia

and so a lot of these trategies were

kind of built around that I think pretty

much anyone can learn from these a lot

of the people that I've actually talked

to about this and had them give some of

this a try have gotten really far with

it so I really figure I should make this

video and I think I should make it

available for everybody else to kind of

learn from and also learn from some of

the things that I originally didn't do

and mistakes that I made earlier on that

uh I reflected on and helped me change

my grades in my approach to learning so

let's go ahead and get into the first

thing that I changed and this was

probably the most impactful of all of my

changes and that is surrounding myself

in my course content and so what do I

mean by surrounding myself in it well

what I mean is trying to give myself as

much exposure to the topic that I'm

working on in a course or maybe that

semester or even just in school in

general um if there isn't anything

particular in mind that I need to work

on and the big reason for this is

getting multiple exposures to the same

ideas there's been lots of studies that

have shown that while exposure the first

time to something can help you get a lot

more use out of the second exposure so

if you can expose yourself to say a new

term that you're going to learn in

University before you even learn it in

school you're going to have a much

better time actually learning it the

second time even if you never got it the

first time even if you have no idea what

they were talking about in the first

place you'll be able to get a lot more

context clues and understand it and

Define that word in your head a lot

better um and as far as those studies

I'll link one of those down in the

description those you guys interested

now how exactly would you go about doing

this well there's a few different ways

one of the ways that I did it was

getting into podcasts so for example in

my algorithms class I listen to a lot of

algorithms related podcasts for my C++

and advanced memory management

performance sort of course that I took I

got into a C++ podcast that I started

listening to there's a ton of different

podcasts there's a podcast on basically

everything these days and if you guys

are needing to work on learning

something you need to become familiar

with the terminology which I find

personally to be very difficult and even

getting like an intuition of things then

I highly recommend the podcast route

because you can just listen to a podcast

on your way to University or maybe when

you're commuting between classes and you

get a little bit of learning in without

really having to think about it too much

and I find that a lot of the time this

made a huge impact on just being able to

have an intuition for different things

in school and it's also really great for

just general learning you can pick up a

lot of stuff that you won't learn in

class just by listening to a lot of

these podcasts obviously it helps to go

for the more you know focused podcasts

Maybe a bit less of uh just like you

know random humor sort of stuff

obviously trying to go for something a

bit more focused on your class content

but at the same time do try to find a

podcast that you enjoy listening to

because the more you enjoy it the more

you'll actually listen to it so don't

feel like you need to be listening to I

don't know somebody reading from a

textbook for hours another way to

surround yourself with a topic is

getting involved with people that are

actually interested in it so if there's

a club related to it at your University

maybe try to sit in on those clubs

activities maybe try to get some know

some people that are interested in it so

that way you have them maybe bounce some

ideas off of just chat about the topic

to try and like you know kind of get

yourself more familiar with it um or

even going on forums so for example

going onto something like Discord or

maybe there's a subreddit specific to

the topic that you're learning about any

of those to be able to ask questions as

well as looking at things and trying to

answer questions um there's a lot of

power in also answering questions

obviously this is not um specific to

what I was saying before when it comes

to learning the terminology but

sometimes the best way to learn

something is to practice teaching it

because it kind of opens up these holes

in your knowledge where maybe you don't

know the whole answer and you can start

answering something and somebody could

reply to your own answer correcting

something and you could learn something

in the process in addition to that if

you guys are doing programming obviously

be sure to check out stack exchange

stack Overflow stuff um obviously that's

super helpful whatever it takes for you

to get involved in the topic there is a

ton that you can learn and a ton that

you can get away from these people as

well as that they can learn from you

even if you're not the most familiar

with the topic there's a lot of things

that this crossover is going to expose

you to that maybe they're not exposed to

and then it kind of helps everybody

learn in the process surrounding

yourself and what you're learning I find

to be extremely important and is one of

the most important points from today one

thing that really helps me do this is

our sponsor for today's video brilliant

brilliant is an online learning platform

that I find to be especially powerful

when it comes to applying this K concept

that we talked about before of

surrounding yourself in learning because

it allows you to pick up and play and

learn new Concepts day-to-day with a

daily habits and learning new skills

every single day I find it to be a very

efficient way to learn in fact I find it

to be one of the more efficient ways to

learn from what I've been using it for

which is daytoday using it on the bus

picking up and continuing from where I

left off kind of similar to how we

talked about using podcasts since

brilliant gives you the opportunity to

problem solve and apply your skills as

you learn I find it to be a bit more

engaging than podcasts and especially

helpful if you guys are say for example

taking the bus or maybe you've just got

a spare few minutes during the day if

you guys are new to University or just

programming in general I would highly

recommend having a look at the excellent

course programming in Python it can be

used as both a great refresher or a

really good introduction to the

programming language python and a really

good opportunity for you to do what we

were talking about before and kind of

work through some problems throughout

the day thanks again to brilliant for

sponsoring this video to try everything

brilliant has to offer for free for a

full 30 days be sure to check out

brilliant.org Gavin Freeborn or click on

the link in the description below you'll

also get 20% off brilliant's premium

annual subscription all right and next

up this is probably something thing that

I think a lot of you guys are familiar

with so I try not to spend too much time

with it but that is trying to gamify

things for yourself so for me I try to

do a lot of bullet point lists I don't

really do the more extreme versions of

gamification where people write like

side quests and stuff for I guess their

schooling and everything um or having my

own like point system I just kind of

keep a running to-do list and kind of

think about those kind of in a similar

way to points and trying to kind of

knock out to-do lists um a big thing

with this is I try to take advantage of

it by actually looking at a project and

breaking them down into to-do points um

this has a few different Pros to it the

pro obviously is the general

gamification it gets you a bit more

interest in it but also if you break it

down into points and bulleted lists it

gets you started on a project without

actually having to do any work yet um

and usually once you've started a

project it's a lot easier to actually

finish it and keep working on it it's

way easier continuing on a project than

it is to start from scratch in addition

I tried to have some sort of a streak or

running tally so usually if I was

working on a group project or a project

in general I would try to be active on

get Hub and kind of keep a constant

streak going where I was working on

things throughout the day and GitHub

gives you like a nice little interface

to be able to see each of those little

green blocks for each month that you've

been working and each day you've been

working and finally for gamification I

think a big thing that really helps is

trying to be competitive I myself am a

very competitive guy uh just due to

doing sports when I was younger and I'm

sure a lot of you guys can relate on

being competitive so what I try to do is

apply this in group projects if I maybe

am doing a group project that involves a

lot of coding then I'll try to have like

the most commits in that group project

obviously don't hold back your own group

project just for this uh but in addition

I also would try to maybe be competitive

with cl classmate um so for example I

would have like a hackathon a mini

hackathon with a friend uh to work on an

assignment together and we'll see how

much work we can get done in a certain

amount of time my next tip that I

recommend is trying to tie your

interests into your work for example if

you're taking a class where maybe you're

not interested in what you're writing

about a lot something that I found

really helped was I tried to get myself

interested in latte and it kind of made

the process of making these diagrams and

writing all this documentation and stuff

a bit more interesting for me personally

another one would be in my database

class we had a lot of assignments where

we had to implement databases or

database features and one of the things

that we did in that was using Python and

so to try and like practice some ideas

that I've been working on on my own I

tried to do things in a more functional

style because I was getting into

functional programming at the time um

and you guys can kind of apply this

yourselves you can try and like a tackle

a pro project in a different way than

how you normally would to try and

challenge yourself and make it a bit

more interesting I found that as a

result I end up spending more time on

the projects just because I was having

more fun with them and I would often end

up finishing early just because uh

trying to challenge yourself can often

make you think of things in a different

way that you would have expected or

maybe you would come up with a better

way to format everything in case of a

document there's a lot of different ways

that uh you can get an advantage out of

this obviously don't let your interest

Sidetrack you too much now the next one

I think we've all heard this one before

but I cannot stress it enough time

management is huge in University

especially for those of you guys working

a job maybe you have a side project

anything like that time management is a

massive portion of what you should be

focusing on so for me at the very start

of a semester I tried to map out as much

as I could when I get the course

curriculum I put all my tests um when

I'm going to study with them and how

early I need to be reminded of them uh

in my calendar ahead of time I used

Google Hender for a lot of it as well as

uh or mode uh org mode has like an

agenda feature I won't really go into

that but the main idea use some sort of

a calendar application to do a few

things Mark the days that you have tests

Mark the days that you have assignments

due and Mark when you're going to start

studying for that test so for me I try

to do like one week of studying for

every midterm or test or whatever I have

coming up one week gives you enough time

to refresh and if you need more time

obviously that's totally necessary

especially for finals uh you need to

give yourself extra time especially for

projects um a big thing for me is that I

would time block so I would put a little

Block in my calendar where I would focus

on like from this time to this time I'm

going to study or work on this project I

don't need to finish it I just need to

do something related to it for that

period of time and that's all I need and

I wouldn't try and make these time

blocks like massive because that way I

would you know break down spend time on

different projects throughout the

semester and not really you know get too

stuck into the weeds of one thing for

the entire day and then have some other

project or assignment or test that's

coming up there I would like Miss out uh

say thing with studying time block for

studying make sure that you make time

for studying it is massive and finally

this is something that is really near

and dear to me and it kind of changed my

life honestly um was having something

outside of school to do that isn't maybe

going to take up all your time like

something that I had a really bad habit

of was getting into a video game and

having that video game take up a lot of

my school time but for me I started

getting a lot more active I started uh

pursuing Sports a lot more and as a

result I became healthier obviously and

I can't really pursue sports like 24/7

like I'm not going to run for 2 days

straight but I could play video games

for two days straight if I really wanted

to so try to find a hobby where while

you can spend a lot of time on it it's

not going to be the thing that can soak

up all your time you can't run forever

you can't I don't know lift weights

forever um and so it gives you a little

chance to get away from school you know

separate things out but then when you go

back to school it's still your focus it

kind of breaks things up you never feel

like you're just only focusing on school

um obviously they're comes times where

you have to sacrifice your time on your

side project or your thing that could be

taking up some time um which does suck I

tried my best to you know schedule times

where I never have to deal with that but

sometimes it comes up and it is what it

is and yeah that is the big set of

changes that I made the first one the

idea of surrounding yourself in topics

honestly is probably the biggest one I

highly recommend it uh I recommend all

of you guys try and give this a go um

especially if you can find a podcast

that interests you that's related to

what you're Ling on it working on at

school um and gives you kind of an

interesting point of view you might find

yourself listening to it after the time

you finish your class I know uh recently

when I was all done my schooling and

University I ended up having like so

many different random podcasts that I

was listening to that I had to

eventually give it a Break um same thing

with getting involved on Discord I

sometimes I think Discord might be a bit

of a rabbit hole you could end up

putting yourself in a bad spot if you

you know end up looking in the wrong

places where you end up I don't know

soaking up a lot of time where you're

not really learning but the more

important discords where I actually

learned a lot I still am in and find

myself learning every single day and I

try to leave the ones where I didn't

learn anything from them but uh it's

kind of sometimes hard sometimes you

just get interested and shat with people

and you know feel a bit like a feel a

bit dorky doing it sometimes maybe you

don't I don't know I do sometimes but

and before I go I wanted to give a big

shout out to my supporters on patreon as

well as gith up sponsors I really

appreciate all you guys have done for

the channel it's made a huge impact on

me being able to make these videos and

financially support the time I'm putting

into it as well as keeping the content

coming and I think it's made a pretty

big impact not just on myself but the

people watching this because thanks to

you I've been able to keep going um and

keep making these videos and yeah that

concludes today's video thank you guys

so much for sticking through it if you

have any feedback for me be sure to let

me know down in the comments I would

love to hear from you guys and I'll be

down there reading and trying to respond

to every single one that I can all right

okay I'll see you next time

n