For those of you wondering about my life, I finished finals last week. I have been enjoying my winter break for a few days now. I no longer can put off writing journals with the excuse that I am too busy with my classes. Let's shrug off these formalities and just get to the topic of this jabbering session.

After three years of college, I have noticed things about that seem to help general performance in classes. Maybe if I share my mistakes with others, they will delay inevitably making those mistakes themselves. So whether you like it or not, I will be sharing my advise in a handy list.

Say no to multitasking- That assignment might be as simple as looking up the bold terms in the book to answer a question, but do not watch videos or listen to podcasts while working on it. You will only be able to half focus on each thing. The task takes several times longer than it should have, and the video will not provide the satisfying entertainment it should have. Multitasking is not fun, and it destroys productivity.

Do not forget the book can be faster than Google searching- I will admit there are some awesome learning tools online like studyblue and KhanAcademy. These can help you understand the material faster than the textbook. When you need something clarified or a question answered, Google is always there. But it's easy to forget that your book has been selected by your professor and usually has the exact material that your curriculum intends for you to learn. So while videos are helpful at times, don't forget that just taking the time to understand the textbook is probably the most time efficient course of action.

Find music that helps you concentrate. I often find myself distracted by even my own thoughts when reading a textbook. Listen to some instrumental music while reading tends to make focusing easier.

use spreadsheets for study guides.

Don't slack on regular studying. Studying a little bit everyday is better than studying a lot over the weekend.