I’m willing to bet this…
You’ve been taught these same strategies for getting good grades.
People have told you to study more, work harder, and someday, you’ll get the grades you want.
I’m willing to bet you’ve tried these strategies too.
I certainly tried them for years and found myself disappointed with the results. It didn’t matter how long or hard I studied, I just couldn’t get consistent results.
Have you ever noticed this…
Have you ever met a student that gets good grades but seems to never study or work hard?
They just kind of wing it and still score high.
It’s easy to dismiss these people as flukes or just naturally gifted but you might notice a number of similar qualities between these students.
Could these similar qualities have something to do with their high scores?
Were Your Teachers Extraordinary Students?
I’m going to go out on a limb and assume no.
Sure… there are some exceptions but statistically, the most academically successful students don’t go into teaching. (That’s not an insult by the way. Good teaching is about more than just what they scored.)
Your teachers probably struggled through class just like you do.
They were never taught the most effective ways to study. In fact, the most influential scientific experimentation on learning has only been done in the last few decades. They might have never even had the chance to use it.
Getting Amazing Grades Is Easy – When You Do It Right
If you’re like most students, you think your discipline is to blame for your disappointing results.
That’s usually not the case.
You don’t need much discipline to score high in class. You don’t need to be gifted. You don’t need to suck up to the teacher.
And most important: anyone can do it.
The most successful students have systems they follow.
They don’t think hard about the right way to study.
They don’t force themselves to study impossible amounts of time.
They don’t beat themselves up for not “working hard” enough.
For these students, it’s as automatic as brushing their teeth or eating their breakfast.
Can you eat your breakfast everyday (if you wanted?)
Then you have what it takes to set up a powerful study system.
The Most Important Ingredient
You can make extraordinary changes to your grades in very little time.
You only need one thing that will put you ahead of 99% of people at anything you do:
Commitment
As long as you’re committed to a goal, it’s not an “if.” Commitment makes it a “when.”
I hear this same story all the time from students. They say they want to improve their grades. Then they do absolutely nothing to make the change. At best, they’re willing to study for hours the night before the test (just to alleviate their guilt to never studying before that.)
The reality is: you can study less and still score higher.
You just need to be willing to try things beyond your gut reactions and whatever you’re feeling in the moment.
If you commit to a system for a month then you’ll see some result.
If that result is awesome then you’ll keep it up.
If not then… be glad you had a system because you now know that the system is to blame. You didn’t fail. The system failed.
Now you have the freedom to move beyond the system and create a new opportunity for yourself.
How To Get An A While Skipping Hundreds Of Homework Assignments
In high school, I had a math class that gives the perfect example of what you need to look for to get straight-a’s in class.
This math teacher gave nearly an hour of homework every single night.
By referencing the syllabus, I learned that homework was only 10% of my final grade.
Think about that…
I could spend hundreds of hours on that homework and increase my score by 10% (if I do perfect on all of them.)
Or…
I could skip every single homework assignment and only lose 10% on my final score. I could still score an A- while never doing any homework.
That is an important fact that you need to pay attention to in class.
My math teacher didn’t give a damn about whether or not we did the homework. My math teacher only wanted us to score high on the test.
Sure… the homework might help on the test but past test prep, each homework assignment was virtually useless.
What do you need to pay attention to in your classes?
What are the most important parts of your grade?
If you don’t know the answer to this off the top of your head then you’re missing out.
You could be spending hours a night doing things you find fun while your grades still improve.
Not all of these advantages will be as obvious as my math class.
Just remember, if something is worth X% of your grade then it should take up X% of your time or less.
(In other words, don’t waste time on stuff that doesn’t help your final grade much.)
This Is What Makes The Whole Thing Freaking Fun
This is an amazing process to start focusing on.
It should feel good.
You get to dig through all the unimportant parts of school and throw them out. You can focus your energy on the stuff that’s important to you.
Pointlessly doing everything you’re told is boring.
You can’t let your teachers control your behavior because they never learned solid strategies themselves. And really, their goals aren’t your goals.
You can take control of your grades.
When you know what matters, and how to get that stuff that matters to stick, everything else comes easy.
When you see your grade drop a little bit, you can make a slight adjustment to bring it back up to where you want it to be.
If you see your grade go a little higher than you’re used to then you could:
Celebrate it and keep it up.
Or
You can lay off the gas a little bit and enjoy life more.
You will enjoy this process when you’re doing it right.
Image Sources: FLRTIB, Flickr, Flickr, Pixabay, pxhere and Pexels,
Leave Procrastination In The Dust! Never EVER let it stop you again.
Doing stuff is easy – sometimes, right?
You only procrastinate the stuff that sucks. You don’t say, “Ahhh… I’ll read that text from my crush later.” Nope. Now… Any pause is intentional and coordinated to respond better.
Here is the problem with academics:
You probably think most academic stuff sucks – at least a little. (Especially compared to other things you could be doing.)
And the thing is:
FORCING YOURSELF TO STUDY JUST MAKES IT WORSE!
You’re slowly hardening your association of school and being miserable.
You need to create positive associations with academics. You want your brain to be getting hyped up and positive when you’re thinking about studying and giving into this internal oligarchical instinct to force yourself to studying – ain’t helpin’.
Chill the internal dictator for a moment…
A big secret: You need to STOP forcing yourself to study so much.
But, if you’re not forcing yourself then how are you going to see those killer straight-a’s that you’re always pining over?
It’s not difficult but it can sound weird to unfamiliar eyes.
Get your copy of my book about How To Get Happier Straight A’s.
It only costs $4.99 (and if these strategies don’t work like magic like it has for thousands of other students then you can get a full refund.)