the ability to get work done quickly and with a minimum of wasted effort.
Pseudo-work features a very low intensity of focus. Therefore, to accomplish something by pseudo-working, you need to spend a lot of time.
replace long, low-intensity stretches of work with a small number of short, high-intensity sessions.
learning how to follow an efficient schedule, and banishing pseudo-work from your college experience for good, is a crucial first step toward your academic overhaul.
scheduling your work is meaningless if you don’t actually work in the time you set aside.
“Time management is critical—it’s a skill that you absolutely must develop over the course of your time at college.”
free to move tasks around throughout the day, depending on your energy level and unexpected events that may arise.
A realistic sense of time is arguably one of the most important factors in succeeding as a student.
Time in the late afternoon and evening is much more susceptible to being hijacked by unexpected events as your friends finish up their classes and start knocking on your door.
nighttime is not as long as you think. By the time you finish dinner, gather your materials, and finally begin your work, you really have only a few hours left before it becomes too late and your desire to sleep hijacks your concentration.
nighttime is when your body begins to wind down. After a long day of activity, it’s ready to begin a slow descent into sleep. Even before it gets late, the energy available to your mind has already declined. By 7:00 or 8:00 P.M., your focus is weak at best.
Bring your materials with you throughout the day, and fill in any small patches of free time with productive work.
“[I worked hard at first,] but by junior and senior year I was having a blast.”
Better technique trumps more effort.
if you treat every quiz like a midterm, you’re going to overload your schedule. Quizzes are checkups, not comprehensive evaluations, so treat them as such.
if you skip class, “it’ll take twice as long studying to make up for what you missed.”
To reduce your study time, you have to also take good notes
Exams in nontechnical courses focus entirely on big ideas—they require you to explain them, contrast them, and reevaluate them in the light of new evidence.