Why I harp on writing things down

When I was in college I really struggled at the beginning. Neither of my parents went to college and I wasn’t sure what to expect except that it was hard. I remember the very first paper I turned in my professor actually told me, “Come see me. You don’t want me to grade this paper for you.” 

I was so overwhelmed.

But I did one thing right and that was to schedule out my homework the day I got my syllabus for each class. It was more a matter of trying to figure out what to do each day and my OCD nature, but it actually became the foundation for a success system that helped me master college. After that first fumble, I started to create a system of reviewing my notes every night.

I was not very confident, so every tip I heard, I used. One professor said to get ready for at least 200 pages of reading a week, so I read a book on speed reading before college started. I was in a class with a professor who said there’d be a weekly test and I was afraid I’d forget something, so I tried to write every word he said.

And I told you how I scheduled my homework.

I found that the process of writing things down really helped me solidify the information in my mind. Even with the advent of computers and all they do to help us do things faster, I have found that writing things out first and then typing them up after I've done my research has actually made things go faster. 

I print things out I need to edit and I write the edits out on the page.

In my research I found an article talking about the importance of writing things down. This was in the early 2000s, so long before everything seemed to suddenly go digital and speed dial was as smart as a phone got.

I have since read quite a few articles on the important of writing things down for learning.

These are some of the tips I've shared with my kids, kids I tutored, and kids I taught. While people act like I'm a luddite, research keeps showing this to be accurate. I have a recent article on this topic down a little further.

The last few weeks I’ve been putting the finishing touches on my student planner that incorporates some of the tips I learned as a college student. I went on to earn a 3.9 from my school’s honors college. I also taught the system to my kids and others. Those who used the system–homeschoolers, regular school students, non-traditional students going back to school as parents, and others have used this system to successfully manage their time as a student with a life.

I just made one for students, but I’m considering making a back-to-school planner for adults who are going back to school. This would be for more non-traditional students who are trying to juggle responsibilities as a parent, spouse, a job, or other things as a student. I haven’t decided.

For now, I am just excited to finally get to share these very simple study tips and my time management system with another generation of highly motivated students. It will release in early December. Make sure you’re on our newsletter sign-up list or part of one of our communities to get updated when it releases.  In the meantime, here is the article on learning I promised you. There really is no shortcut to success. It begins with learning to write in Kindergarten. 

Handwriting Boosts Brain Connectivity and Learning from NeuroscienceNews.com