By the end of this article, I’m going to share with you the 3 fundamental keys to turning your average mediocre grades into top tier grades. But it’s really important that you don’t skip ahead because there is a little context that needs to be shared. There are locks and there are keys. And if you don’t know which locks – then the keys can just leave you floundering. Get the context.
I’ve worked with students for over a decade. Before working with students, I spent quite a few years working with myself – and all the horrible flaws that came with that academic package. I had horrible grades at times. But sparks of mediocrity. And I was one of the least motivated students on the face of the planet. I resented good grades and pleasing teachers. I was miles away from giving a damn, let alone scoring high. And every time I got on board with caring, I couldn’t keep it up because I would struggle immensely just to get mediocre results.
Mediocre doesn’t motivate.
Mediocre is a recipe for inevitable burnout.
Struggling to score in the middle of the class is significantly worse than not trying and ending up in the bottom. At least if you end up near the bottom of the class you can tell yourself that you *would be* in the top of the class if you tried. Trying and failing is just BAD.
That’s why I want to encourage you to start by changing your academic thinking.
I don’t want you to take one small step toward academic excellence unless it’s something unbelievably trivial. Small steps can work but they need to be effective and so trivial that you’ll never burn out doing them… But…
Small steps aren’t what most students are looking for. In fact, they’re so slow that I’d hesitate to even recommend them. If you’re going to install healthy habits into your life, it’s easier to go big and get instant feedback. It’s hard to add one small 3 point improvement to your grades because you won’t see if it’s working for a while and you won’t have any emotional attachment to the goals.
Go big.
Aim for nothing less than A’s. Transformations are costly and it’s not that much harder to go for big transformations than to go for small ones. And big one’s are way more motivating.
Big goals require big changes. Big changes produce instant results (good or bad.) The instant results let you recalibrate towards your goals quickly instead of waiting years to get the true value of your strategies. Bad results aren’t a problem because you can correct them quickly instead of dragging it out for years.
Big changes are more interesting. They become something that forces you to give the attention it deserves to the topic. Later you may be able to do more with less but go with more to start.
And big changes encourage your thoughts to be directed in the areas you need them.
Once you go big, it’s absolutely essential that you…
Pay Attention
The hardest part of self-improvement for most people is paying attention to the things that make them insecure.
Weight loss, getting on the scale and feeling disappointed by the weight is painful. But.. 1. It directs your attention to what you want to improve. 2. It gives you feedback whether or not you’re doing the same thing.
No one likes looking at the tests they fail or the mistakes they’ve made but it’s the only way you’re going to begin paying attention to the things that you most need to improve. You can correct your mistakes once you know what they are.
As you’re tracking your results, you’ll notice certain strategies work effectively – and others just don’t.
It won’t always be fun. It’s not directly improving your scores either. Time you could spend studying for the next test is getting spent just reviewing and assessing results.
But… it’s some of the most important time in defining your long-term success and failure.
Be Consistent
A consistent study routine is essential. The more consistent the better. Even if that means you have to dial it down a bit. Go big but only as big as you can practically do consistently.
Consistency is important for tracking your results.
If you study inconsistently then the results you get will be inconsistent.
You need to be able to track what studying produces what results and the easiest way to do that is by setting up a consistent routine for a month and seeing what happens to your results. Results being your scores as well as your general well-being with regards to it. If it’s too difficult a routine to do consistently then it won’t be done consistently.
Generally, I encourage tracking strategies for at least a month before judging them unless they’re absolutely atrociously bad results.
The specific strategies are up for debate.
I believe the most effective study strategy for most students is the 15 Minute Study Strategy that I explain in detail on this site. The 15MSS is an active recall focused strategy that allows average students to produce extraordinary results by maximizing the use of a limited time studying. By carefully selecting what to study, and by limiting the study time dramatically, the focus on those essentially topics creates a near perfect memory of what really matters – as opposed to whatever the teacher just throws in on the peripheral.
In most schools, the 15MSS is an A strategy – not top of the class. Just near it. It helps you get all of the easiest points and lets some of the unexpected points slip – saving you hours of extra study time required to get to the actually top of the class.
Did you get the three points?
- Go big. Make big changes to focus your energy. You can cut back later.
- Track your results meticulously.
- Use your strategies consistently to make tracking and decision making easier. Plan what you’ll do before the results come in… not while they’re coming in.
Let me get into that last one in a little more detail…
Have a plan before you start a new study routine. Set a start day. Set a judgement day. Have a way of tracking your results. Know what results will be needed to stop studying this way, or to expand studying in this way further. Don’t force yourself to make difficult decisions in the fray. Decide in advance.
And repeat until you get the results you’re looking for.
There is more to it. But start there and you’re going to do fine.