HOW TO START your NEW ACADEMIC YEAR STRONG & GET AHEAD of your PEERS 💯
Summary
TLDRIn this educational video, the speaker, a top-performing dental student, shares a step-by-step guide to achieving academic excellence. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing self-imposed limitations, choosing delayed gratification over instant pleasures, and making small, consistent adjustments to study habits. The video also touches on the benefits of active revision through flashcards, the use of AI technology like Cify to streamline study processes, and the necessity of mental discomfort to push beyond one's limits. The speaker advocates for discipline over motivation and suggests practical strategies for increasing focus and productivity, aiming to inspire viewers to rise to the top of their class.
Takeaways
- 🏆 To excel academically, one must prioritize delayed gratification over instant gratification, which involves resisting distractions like social media for long-term academic success.
- 📚 Acknowledging that personal choices, not lack of intelligence, are the main obstacles to academic success is the first step to improvement.
- 📈 Small, consistent adjustments in study habits, such as understanding material before note-taking and converting notes into flashcards, can lead to significant academic progress.
- 🤝 Engaging with teachers to clarify doubts during class is more effective than passively copying notes, leading to better comprehension and note condensation.
- 📖 Preparing for class by previewing topics and potential exam questions helps identify key points and gaps in knowledge, facilitating more effective learning.
- 🔄 Transforming notes into flashcards early in the academic year aids in active revision and is crucial for exam preparation, unlike passive note-taking.
- 🤖 Utilizing AI technology like Cify can streamline the study process by creating condensed study guides, exam questions, and flashcards, saving time and effort.
- 📝 Taking mock exams seriously and using them as a diagnostic tool to identify weaknesses is essential for strengthening areas that need improvement before the actual exams.
- 🏋️♀️ Embracing discomfort by pushing beyond one's comfort zone in studying challenging topics leads to better retention and understanding, which is vital for exam success.
- ⏱️ Gradually increasing study focus time and maintaining discipline, rather than relying on motivation, is key to building a consistent study routine and achieving academic excellence.
Q & A
What is the main message of the video about academic success?
-The main message is that becoming top of the class is achievable and it involves acknowledging one's own role in holding oneself back, making small adjustments in study habits, and embracing discomfort to push beyond one's limits.
Who is the speaker in the video and what are their academic achievements?
-The speaker is a fifth-year Dental student named Scha, studying in London. They have achieved straight A stars and grade NES in both their GTSs and A levels, and they are in the top 2% of the country, attending a Russell Group University for a competitive degree.
What is the significance of choosing delayed gratification over instant gratification as mentioned in the video?
-Choosing delayed gratification is significant because it helps in focusing on long-term goals rather than short-term pleasures. It allows for sustained effort towards academic success, as opposed to the fleeting happiness from instant gratification sources like social media.
What is the first step recommended by Scha to improve academic performance?
-The first step recommended is to acknowledge that one's own actions and choices are what's holding them back, rather than a lack of natural intelligence or effort.
Why is it important to understand the class material before taking notes, as suggested in the video?
-Understanding the material before taking notes allows for more effective note-taking by focusing on key points and comprehending the information, which is crucial for later revision and exam preparation.
What role do class tests and mock exams play in academic success according to the video?
-Class tests and mock exams are important as they provide opportunities to identify gaps in knowledge and understanding, and to practice exam conditions, which can significantly improve performance in actual exams.
How does the video suggest transforming notes into a more effective study tool?
-The video suggests converting notes into flashcards focused on examinable content, which aids in active revision and better retention of information.
What is the purpose of the AI technology 'cify' mentioned in the video?
-Cify is an AI technology designed to help students by condensing notes, creating exam questions, and generating flashcards, thereby streamlining the study process and reducing the time spent on note-taking and revision.
What does the video suggest about the relationship between discomfort and academic improvement?
-The video suggests that experiencing some level of discomfort while studying is necessary for improvement, as it pushes students to tackle difficult topics and study beyond their comfort zone, leading to better exam results.
How does the video recommend managing distractions like phone usage during study time?
-The video recommends physical discipline to manage distractions, such as giving the phone to someone else, locking it away, or using apps that block access to certain apps, ensuring a focused study environment.
What is the importance of discipline over motivation in achieving academic goals as per the video?
-Discipline is emphasized over motivation because motivation can be fleeting, while discipline ensures consistent effort towards academic goals, leading to long-term success and avoiding regret.
Outlines
📚 Achieving Academic Excellence
The speaker, Scha, a Dental student in London, shares her journey from mediocre grades to achieving top academic results. She emphasizes that academic success isn't about natural intelligence but about changing one's study habits. Scha introduces the concept of delayed gratification over instant gratification, suggesting that prioritizing long-term goals over short-term pleasures is crucial for academic success. She advises viewers to acknowledge their own role in limiting their potential and to start making small, gradual changes in their study routines to achieve significant improvements.
📈 Implementing Small Adjustments for Big Changes
Scha discusses the importance of making small, consistent adjustments in study habits to achieve academic success. She suggests understanding the material before taking notes, which leads to more effective note-taking and better revision. Scha also highlights the value of converting notes into flashcards for active revision. She introduces 'cify', an AI technology that simplifies note-taking, creates exam questions, and generates flashcards to aid in efficient studying. Scha stresses the importance of taking class tests seriously as they provide valuable practice under exam conditions and help identify areas for improvement. She also touches on the significance of discipline over motivation and the gradual increase in focused study time to enhance learning efficiency.
🏋️♀️ Embracing Discomfort for Success
In the final paragraph, Scha compares the dedication of an Olympic athlete to the effort required for academic success. She explains that pushing through discomfort in studying challenging topics is essential for overall improvement. Scha advocates for a disciplined approach to studying, where one sets aside dedicated study time and avoids distractions. She shares her personal technique of gradually increasing study focus time using the Pomodoro method and suggests using apps or physical barriers to prevent phone usage during study sessions. Scha concludes by encouraging viewers to make consistent small changes in their daily routines to achieve significant academic improvements, and she invites feedback and suggestions for future video topics.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Academic Year
💡Instant Gratification
💡Delayed Gratification
💡Russell Group University
💡Grades
💡Study Habits
💡Flashcards
💡Mock Exams
💡Discomfort
💡Discipline
💡Timetable
Highlights
Achieving top grades is easier than you think with a step-by-step plan.
The speaker, a Dental student with top grades, shares personal strategies for academic success.
Admitting you're the one holding yourself back is the first step to improvement.
Understanding the difference between instant and delayed gratification is crucial for academic success.
Instant gratification from social media can hinder academic progress.
Delayed gratification, though challenging, leads to long-term academic achievements.
Small, gradual changes in study habits can lead to significant improvements.
The importance of understanding material before note-taking to ensure effective learning.
Pre-class reading and note-making are emphasized for better comprehension.
Shifting from traditional notes to flashcards can enhance exam preparation.
Cify, an AI technology, is introduced to streamline note-taking and flashcard creation.
Mock exams are highlighted as valuable tools for identifying knowledge gaps.
The necessity of taking mock exams seriously for better exam performance.
Embracing discomfort while studying difficult topics can lead to better exam results.
Increasing study focus time gradually can improve concentration and retention.
Discipline is more reliable than motivation for consistent study habits.
Physical discipline, like removing distractions, can enhance study effectiveness.
Making small daily changes can lead to significant academic achievements.
Transcripts
what if I told you that becoming the top
of your class is actually really easy
here's how you can get ahead of 99% of
the people in your class in your school
and even the country and have the best
Academic Year possible so stay with me
until the end of the video and I'll give
you a step-by-step plan of how you can
change this year and become the top of
the top so guys let's not waste time and
let's get straight into it so who am I
and why should you care my name is scha
and I'm a fifth year Dental student
studying in London and I managed to get
straight A stars and grade NES in both
my gtss and my a level I managed to get
the top 2% of the country and managed to
enter a Russell School University as
well for one of the most competitive
degrees so you're probably thinking
she's just naturally smart like she just
naturally gets it it doesn't take that
much work and some people just have a
predisposition towards being smart
towards being clever and towards getting
good grade I'm here to tell you that you
are wrong for most of my school life I
just got mediocre grades they were okay
but it wasn't what I needed to get where
I wanted to be I manage to change the
whole system of how I work and these
things I Chang could take you 10 minutes
of each day to see a big Improvement
people think that's it's extremely hard
to do this but the truth is it's
actually really doable let's jump into
step one which is acknowledge if you're
constantly finding excuses not to study
you're not doing enough you're
struggling all around you're glued to
your phone this video is actually for
you like this video was made for you
because I was in the same shoes your
first step is to acknowledge that you
are the one who's holding yourself back
it's not your natural smartness it's not
anything like that it's you at this
point the problem is not that you're not
smart enough not that you don't try hard
enough enough but in fact that you
choose instant gratification over
delayed gratification so what are these
instant gratification is when you get
something quickly and it makes you happy
so for example scrolling on social media
Tik Tok all of these apps are designed
to give you instant gratification and
because of how quickly you get the burst
of dopamine it basically makes you
addicted to those types of Happiness
rather than delayed gratification
delayed gratification is when you don't
instantly get the goal you don't
instantly get the burst of dopamine but
that does mean that it takes you a while
to get it for example learn how to write
a bike you don't instantly get on a bike
when you're a baby and just know how to
ride it does take a while takes a few
Falls and it takes a while until it's
enjoyable but you endure it so that you
can learn how to ride a bike the problem
with always choosing instant
gratification is that it means that you
could be destined to be someone or to do
something but because of your own self
you are not going to get it and that is
so disheartening to hear the way to get
ahead of the curve to be the top of your
class to get the best grades is to learn
how to choose delayed gratification
first this is not a one-day process
you're not just going to instantly snap
and then become the top of your class it
does take work and it does take a lot of
discomfort mentally just to choose
delayed gratification because we live in
a world that is surrounded by so many
hits of dopamine so many quick fixes so
many things to distract you from what
you actually want to do but you have to
realize that you have to pick one over
the other or one of them will eventually
take over your life and you do want it
to be the delayed gratification so that
you can get a good degree get a good job
get a good house all of that these
things do take time but the first time
you do it because you haven't really
been doing it before it will take time
to get used to it you will have to trust
yourself that the work that you're doing
will end up in a good way so the early
mornings the late nights the sleeping
early the waking up early all of these
will be worth it in the end but how do
you actually change yourself though is
it possible this moves us to step two
which is small adjustments so as I said
before it is a small gradual change or
you'll just stop doing it I'm sure
you've done New Year's resolution before
when you set yourself the most highest
targets ever like I'm going to go gym
every day I'm going to study for like 5
hours every day do you end up doing it
you may do it for maybe a day or two or
maybe a week or maybe even a month but
after that you're never to be seen in
the gym again you're never to be seen
studying like that again and that's
because you can't instantly switch to
something that your body is not used to
it's just not going to work and you're
going to burn out you have to make small
changes which will ultimately make big
changes in your overall life and get you
to the top of your class and these are
the things that top students do day in
and day out it doesn't even take that
long it could take like 10 15 minutes to
do these things and if you do these
correctly this is a game Cher one of the
first things I recommend is understand
first take notes later the biggest
mistake I see a lot of people making and
I used to make this as well when I went
to class I would find it so stressful
because I would feel like the teacher is
speaking at like th000 mes per hour
there's so many slides there like slides
just changing changing changing and I
feel like it's a Race Against Time to
just write down everything but you
actually just need to stop and calm down
you have to realize that you actually
need to understand what is in class
before you write notes because if you
don't understand understand it you're
literally just going to write notes on
everything once you understand the topic
you do realize that when you write your
notes it's so much more condensed it's
much more simplified and it's basically
all you need to revise it's not just
copying the slide or copying the
textbook that's because you need to
comprehend what you're writing before
you write it otherwise you're just
wasting your time at that point what I
really recommend to do before your
classes is to read over the topic that
you're going to do you're probably going
to think this is going to take a long
time but honestly it could just be a
quick skim over the textbook making some
really basic notes that you add to in
the lessons and looking through the
potential exam questions that come up
for this topic this basically helps you
to pick out what actually matters and
what deserves to GR in your notes the
benefit of doing this especially is when
you're reading the textbook or watching
videos to understand the topic you can
basically go to the class and ask your
teacher the things that you don't
understand so this helps you to identify
any gaps of knowledge or understanding
and present them to your teacher so that
you can get ahead of the class and make
sure you don't leave anything behind
because it's always so hard to
understand things for the first time
when you're advising it's better to just
as you progress through the year and
that makes studying so much easier on
the long run trust me on that one the
second major major tip is to make the
shift from notes to flashcards and act
of revision I'm telling you now notes
are not going to save you not exam I
love those pages where I see the
calligraphy I see the word art I see the
different pictures and all of that it's
cute yes but will it save you in the
exam no it won't the truth is most of
the time the people who get the best
grades have like the messiest book like
it's just not really giving
aesthetically it's it's quite very basic
it's very condensed like it might have a
few colors in there some highlighters
but it's not like something that you
would post on Instagram it's basically
just notes and that is the purpose of it
when you think about it all of these
notes which are pretty yes it's nice
it's nice to look at at the end of the
day you can't take this pretty notebook
into the exam Hall you just take your
brain that's why it's important to focus
more on active revision especially from
the start of the year and start making
your resources from the very start after
each day or each few days you want to
start converting your lessons into flash
cards and what I mean by this is that
you don't need to make every single
slide every single point a flash card
only the things that seem examinable so
things that you think they could
actually ask you on don't include
anything that is not on your syllabus or
specification and to be honest this is
the part that takes the most time as a
student is prepping your resources and
that canally brings me to today's
sponsorship which is cify so if you
haven't heard of cify you are missing
out cify is the latest AI technology
which will basically help you become the
top student with the minimal amount of
work so as you guys know note taking Mak
R Vision flash cards these are the most
timeconsuming activities and ultimately
one of the most difficult parts of
learning it can take hours and hours and
at the end of it you might not even be
able to understand the content and that
is where kify comes in kify basically
condenses your notes can make exam
questions and can even make flash cards
with just a click of a button you know
how crazy that is guys that's actually
crazy all you need to do is drag the
content that you want to condense for
example if it's a few pages of a PDF you
can just drag this into the website and
then it basically creates a study guide
which condens Condes all of the
different parts of your notes into many
topics which makes it so much easier to
read and understand it also has key
takeaways which shows what really
matters in the topic subjects such as
biology or chemistry can be very
overwhelming you don't even know what
you need to know and there just a lot on
each page so having key takeaways
basically helps you to summarize the
content and know what truly matters and
what you should make sure that you
understand the most I think honestly the
most cool feature for me is the fact
that chifi can make exam style questions
as you guys know from all of my videos
exam style questions are the best way to
replicate the exam environment and
ultimately get the best grades in your
exam this not only consolidates the
information but also preps you so much
because basically makes unique exam
questions you probably haven't seen
before which are directly related to
your notes so it helps you to see if you
truly understand your note make sure to
check out cifi today and supercharge
your study sessions it is actually going
to be a game changer for this Academic
Year use the link in my description to
check it out so let's move on to another
key part of small adjustments so each
little test that you have in exams these
class tests these marks they may seem
unimportant or a bit annoying in
retrospect like why is my teacher sting
me this mock when I have my real exams
to revise for in 3 months I'm telling
you now these tests can make or break
your final exam the fact that they're in
exam conditions and you can't open your
textbook you can't open your notes shows
you exactly what is in your brain at
that moment and the mistakes that you're
always making if you make these mistakes
now and identify these gaps now this
basically helps you to understand what
you need to do before the exam in order
to get the maximum amount of R so see
this as like a checklist if you get zero
Mar on a question that topic needs help
and you need to go over that topic and
topic specific question but the problem
is a lot of people don't take these mock
seriously they don't revise for them
they just think it's not that deep and
that basically dampers your progress and
puts you at the back of the class
because you basically think that because
you have to revise for this big exam you
don't need to take this little one
seriously each one that you Revis for
basically consolidates the information
helps you to see your silly mistakes
that you might even make in the final
exam and just gets you one step closer
to getting the best grade possible so I
really recommend even though it seems
stressful in the time if you start to
take these tests seriously from the
start this means that you'll feel so
much more prepared for the actual exam
and how do you get ready for Mo I've
made a video before on how to make Tim
taes and I basically split this into an
everyday timetable for like the majority
of the year and an exam season timetable
this one will be more specific towards
mock season so when it comes to mock
season you want to see your grades check
the subjects that you've been struggling
in the most and then prioritize the ones
which need the most help by giving them
the most hours now step three is
discomfort so as you guys know if you
want to become an athlete if you want to
become an Olympian it's going to hurt a
little bit so let's say that you have
your average St an Olympic athlete who
is going to do better so the athlete is
ultimately going to be making these
changes to their life they're going to
be changing their diet they're going to
be training every day they're going to
be doing everything focused on their
next coming race the average is not
really going to be doing all of that but
then when it comes to the race who's
going to win The Olympian because
they've been doing these small changes
and I'm sure there's times that where
they feel tired they want to give up
they just have discomfort this means
that it's going to hurt and when you're
learning something when you're studying
there should be a degree of kind of
mental discomfort if you're always
studying the easiest topics ever you're
studying cell biology you're studying
addition you're studying basic algebra
all the time throughout the whole year
you're going to realize that this
comfort that you have from doing topics
that you like will ultimately lead to
your downfall like you will be in the
exam regretting oh why didn't I just
revise this why didn't I just try harder
but if you always make you have a degree
of discomfort you're always pushing
yourself to study topics that you're
doing the worst and that you're getting
the least marks and even though it feels
unbearable at the time you will thank
yourself so much more and every time you
do something that is kind of painful the
next time it gets less painful and it
gets more easier almost everything is so
much easier for you because you manage
to go through that discomfort before the
exam whenever you get a good grade do
you ever regret how much you revise for
it do you ever think oh like I can't
believe I revised that much for this
grade no you take the grade and you're
happy you don't even think about how
much you revised for it but when you get
a bad grade like you know those bad
grades when you see and you just your
eyes widen and you're like oh like I
wasn't expecting it to be that bad you
almost always regret how little you
studi through it or how you even revise
through it like your study methods the
way you revising when you're not taking
it seriously when you're studying with
friends and you guys are laughing all of
that and you don't want your final exams
to be like that that's why you always
need to push yourself like obviously
don't burn out don't push yourself
beyond your limits but you know when
you're in your comfort zone and you know
when you're stretching yourself to do
something that you wouldn't normally do
those moments are what will help you in
your final exam another thing is to
increase your study Focus time this is a
gradual process the way that I did it is
that I first started off with doing 25
minute pomodora session so I'll do 25
minute 5 minute break I'll do that four
times after the fourth time I'll give
myself a 30 minute break that was good
at first and once I realized that I
could do that and I could do that
consistently I then moved on to 40
minutes and then I'll take a 10 minute
break 40 minutes 10- minute break then I
moved on to 50 minutes and then you can
even move on to 1 2 hours if that is
what's meant for you me personally I
can't do 2 hours straight but for some
people that is possible in these 25
minutes I'm telling you your phone out
of sight out of mind or you have a app
such as forest or Flora which physically
blocks you from going on your app these
Focus times are to be taken seriously
it's not like a cute little oh let me
just look on Tik Tok at the side and do
flash cards no you're going to be
focused completely on those flash cards
in the moment nothing else one of the
most important things for becoming the
of your class is discipline motivation
will come and go most of the time you're
not going to feel motivated like I know
most of the time I come home I'm like G
I just want to sleep I just want to play
a game I just want to watch TV I don't
do work but if I listen to that side of
my brain do you think I'll be where I am
right now no I wouldn't if I study for 2
hours then I get to enjoy the rest of my
day if I study for 2 hours then I get to
play my game I get to watch my show I
get to become aead I get to understand
the class more I get to get an amazing
grade in the end that's what you should
be thinking about if you rely solely
your motivation you won't get where you
want to be and you'll probably live a
life of regret when you ask and talk to
people on their death bed they have so
many regrets of the things they didn't
do but they highly regret the things
that they actually did do what they
regret is things like I should have
started dancing I should have quit my
job I should have just did something
else those are the things that people
regret the things that they didn't do so
you don't want to regret in your older
years that oh I could have been here but
now I'm here because I didn't want to be
disciplined and there is mental
discipline like not going on your phone
that's actually quite hard so what I
recommend especially for the start is
physical discipline so your phone give
it to your friends give it to your mom
dad anyone or lock it away like
literally lock it away somewhere you
can't get it or it's very difficult for
you to get it or you can go to a library
go to a quiet zone go to somewhere where
it's almost embarrassing for you to be
on your phone for the whole day because
these places will force you to be in an
environment where people are productive
and people are doing the work put
yourself in a position where you have no
excuse but to do the work that you've
set out to do and that is what will
change everything for you so guys if you
make small changes to your daily life
like in this video you can go from being
in the middle of your class not getting
the graad that you want to becoming the
top of your class becoming the top of
the country and getting amazing Gra and
results I hope this video helps you and
if it does be sure to comment down below
and comment down below any other video
ideas that you'd like to see from me be
sure to like comment and subscribe I'll
see you guys later
[Music]
bye a
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