University: can the blind lead the blind?

In University, I read a lot of books, sought advice, and crawled the depths of YouTube and blogs to figure out how to get good grades; and be efficient in doing so. In effect, I got really good at overthinking.

My personal favourite was spending several hours creating a plan for how I would get an A in some coursework, only to realise how overly intricate and useless the plan really was, and then get incredibly stressed about having wasted so much time before actually starting.

Productivity.

So I then did what any sane person would do in my situation: continued to pore over endless content for how to do better in University and feel even more inadequate with the depth of my study techniques...

Others' advice and resources indeed did help me get better grades. As I'm sure you might have come across in your quest for doing better in University.

Having now finished my degree, I realise most advice online I used was narrowly focused on study hacks, aimed at increasing your GPA:

Pomodoro technique! Take a break every 50 minutes!

Weekly planning! Time-block your revision out in advance!

Spend more time studying so you can avoid feeling the existential angst of life!

Haha, I'm kidding...

Nothing let me hide from that.

What's the problem then?

Of course, this advice is helpful: getting good grades forces you to grow, stretch yourself, and reach toward a better future. Sounds positive enough, right?

Yet, as you meet different people and encounter new problems, professionally and individually, just having some paper with a grade value is not inherently useful; it's the skills you developed through that process that help you tackle the real world.

Said differently, it's the person that you become through university that is ultimately longer lasting. I feel this is an important, but infrequently expressed, perspective to frame university, alongside getting better grades.

Wouldn't it be a joy - and now I might push the boat out here a bit, bare with me - to try and have some more fun in this process too?

You're right, back to the Pomodoro.

Did I come out of university as an excelled human being and productivity guru? Farthest from it - I struggle painfully to write this blog post that no one will read.

Did I come out with the top grades in my class and consistently have straight A's with ease? Unfortunately, again, no - I developed chronic low back pain and acute stress for many years.

However, I did come out with a first-class degree in Psychology, and so know a few things about working effectively.

While I didn't have the most stacked, highly competitive, CV, I found many leadership, research, and entrepreneurial roles that helped me grow as a person, help others, and enjoy my time.

Perhaps most importantly, I developed some great relationships and had fun.

Taken together, I am not the 'ideal student' who can tell you how to get better grades than everyone else, or make you into a deeply developed professional; there are far more successful students out there. I am still learning how to handle this perplexing world we've been throttled into.

Why might you consider reading my university reflections, then?

I believe I have had a successful, and enjoyable, experience in university that's given me some useful skills for studying and Living Better. Hence, I could perhaps share some stories that could help others get good grades, all the while coming out of their degree having enjoyed it, and perhaps being a more well-rounded, developed, individual.

Do I know how to do this well? Hell no! I am a newbie; a student not a guru. I am still very much trying to figure out what works in studying, work, and life.

In writing here I want to reflect on the many failures, and the wins, to better help both myself and you live. Both for our time in university, and beyond.

Therefore, I will rely very much on your help, the reader, to tell me what would most benefit you in hearing from my experience. I will infinitely appreciate you talking with me.

Seeking to do better in your academic courses is really useful, and I will do my best to share what worked for me (and didn't) to help me come out with good grades.

I hope my experience could equally help you to have some more fun in becoming a bit of a better person.

Shall we dive in?