Getting a Good Start at University

6 sessions · free of charge

✅ Checklist: the key points of this course

Six sessions, one resolution per lesson, to check off. This is the ideal approach; you will find the reasons and evidence in each session.

Session 1 · How Remembering Works—and Why Forgetting Is Normal

☐ I group details into larger units instead of taking them in one by one.
☐ I review early, ideally on the same day, and not just shortly before the exam.
☐ I accept the effort of retrieval instead of choosing the comfortable method.
☐ I judge what I know only after I have tried it without notes.
☐ I study mainly with two techniques: self-testing and spaced practice.

Session 2 · Attendance: The Factor Hardly Anyone Talks About

☐ I attend every class session and put a check mark in my calendar for each one I attend.
☐ If I do have to miss class, I miss no more than three class sessions per course.
☐ If I fall behind, I still go and also get extra help to catch up: a study group, office hours, reviewing the basics.
☐ I plan assignments early so that they do not crowd out any class.
☐ If I do miss a session, I schedule the catch-up work firmly in the same week.

Session 3 · Taking and Organizing Notes

☐ I take a lot of notes, and I write them in my own words.
☐ I mainly note down reasons, qualifications, and examples. I write down word for word only formulas, definitions, and quotations.
☐ I divide my page using the Cornell method: notes on the right, questions on the left, summary at the bottom.
☐ In the left column, I write questions that could appear on an exam in exactly that form.
☐ I write directly on the existing slides and go through difficult sections of a recording a second time.

Session 4 · Concentration: Distraction, Breaks, Environment

☐ I plan individual work blocks, not whole afternoons.
☐ When I study, I put my phone out of sight, ideally in another room.
☐ I protect myself from interruptions while I am working on a task.
☐ In class, I turn off the internet on my laptop if I do not need it for the class.
☐ I set up safeguards instead of making resolutions: every distraction should cost me one extra step.
☐ I work for 25 to 50 minutes on a clear task and then take a break away from my desk.

Session 5 · Planning Your Week

☐ I compare earlier time estimates with how long things actually took and plan correspondingly more time.
☐ I write resolutions as if-then plans: “If [situation], then [small action].”
☐ I first enter the fixed commitments, then the study sessions, then buffers. Every week, I spend ten minutes looking back.
☐ I put the hardest work in my best time of day and keep a list of small tasks ready for bad days.
☐ If the plan falls apart, I cross things off instead of postponing them, note the reason, and make the next plan smaller.

Session 6 · Study Groups That Work

☐ I study in a group with divided tasks and a fixed routine, not just side by side.
☐ We make each contribution visible individually and collect ideas separately first, then together.
☐ We make sure the five conditions are in place, especially individual accountability.
☐ We explain the material to each other without notes.
☐ We agree on: three to four people, a fixed meeting time, assigned topics, read beforehand, explained and quizzed at the meeting.

For your first semesters: how remembering works, why attending classes matters, and how to take notes, concentrate, plan your week, and work in study groups.

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