What are /r/collegeinfogeek's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

If you use an app like Scannable, then I'd say yes. But re-taking them all by hand (even if you're typing) probably isn't as efficient as other methods.

Instead, I'd take that time to review your notes and create questions out of them so you can start to quiz yourself in a way that's close to how the test will be done.

Besides taking regular breaks (the Pomodoro system helped me a lot), get f.lux. It's a free program that slightly tints your screen to reduce the blue light, which contributes to eye strain.

Totally valid point, and I used to use time as a measure rather than pages. I think an input-based goal is sometimes better than an output-based one.

For reading, however, I've found that having a page goal works better for a couple reasons:

1. I feel a lot more accomplished when I reach the page goal - and with a time goal, I'd often find myself spacing off and end up reading like 3 pages.
2. Using time as a measure put me in a frame of mind where I'd constantly be thinking about how many minutes were left. With a page goal, it's much easier for me to remain focused.

I knew I'd be setting a variable difficulty level by choosing a page goal, but I'm ok with that. And I'm mitigating it by not choosing super-dense books like Thinking, Fast and Slow - at least not at first. Once the habit is more ingrained, I predict even dense books will be doable.

This is my time. I take notes on my tablet, a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, which has a stylus so I can still handwrite my notes. I use this app called LectureNotes and I plug this app every chance I get because I love it. It is about as simple as you can get with all the functionality. It's all the benefits of handwriting your notes, but with more editing ability and some of the benefits of digital notes! I like it because I can organize my notes into folders based on what class they are for, and easily go back and tag my notes with keywords so I can easily find what I'm looking for right before a test. It is highly customizable with many custom pens, which can be changed from size to color to opacity and shape- I have 6 of mine dedicated to being highlighters, 6 dedicated to being different color pens, and the default black ink in 3 sizes. It's very easy to import a powerpoint when my professor teaches from one, or to just import a picture or a PDF into an existing notebook. There are lots of different tools, but my favorite one is the cut tool. This lets me easily and quickly organize my notes during lecture, adding or removing space as necessary, switching the order of sections, etc., which is one of my main qualms with writing on paper. I recently bought an add-on for the app which lets me record lectures. I've been using it but have yet to see how good the recordings are.

You need to open some templates to see what's possible. The most important thing that clicked for me was to realise everything was a note, so if you create a table, then each row is a note into which you can put more tables etc.

I wouldnt get a chromebook at all. You will be really limited. I prefeer getting a laptop like a Lenovo Thinkpad T480 or Dell XPS.

To take notes in class, i rather use Markdown files. You can use a service like Notion, or manage your files locally with Dropbox and a Markdown editor like Typora.io, Caret.io or even VisualStudio Code (or Atom).

For all other stuff, Google Docs is fine.

Hey mate, everyone got the same issue as you friend. I think you can use "Eye take care" app, for eye exercises. It can do your vision better, if you are using Android download it here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eyeexamtest.eyecareplus

Yesterday I installed this app on my Android phone called Ike and I noticed it used an interesring interface and system, but I didn't give it a chance..I'll try it again today. It uses this system, so if you're intrested, you might wanna try it.

I guess you put this one in the list anyway, but 'A Mind for Numbers' was a big turning point in my life in the beginning of the year. Maybe not so much because of the study tips specifically, but the explanation of how neurons work really stuck with me and allowed me to search other productivity resources, which I can now understand because I know what's going on in a structural level on my brain.

With that knowledge, building good habits became so much easier - I am exercising everyday, writing more and learning a third language while doing a bunch of other stuff. The next book on my list is The Power of Habit, which I know a lot about, but I think it will definitely add a lot to the knowledge of 'Cue-Routine-Reward' I got from Barbara Oakley's book.

Maybe you think too much before reacting. I'm having a sort of a problem like you because I'm kind of introvert and I love especially science, history, and weird and awesome more stuff.

I'd recommend you to have always a resilient mindset to overcome some troubles you have, mostly, on language and on processing ideas.

In a second instance, thrive for more inspiration, fundamentaly. I guess you know an awesome youtube channel called "Vsauce": just watch a lot of videos from there (they're awesome) and you'll find that none of them is uninteresting or boring, and guess why? The host, Michael Stevens is a guy who is very curious and passionate for knowing all kind of stuff and he is a master on researching! There are also Vsauce2 and Vsauce3, with other hosts! With this, I want to tell you that people have their own circumstances and they ten to build their own life blindly as they're young. So it's maybe normal that you struggle on some areas now and your head remains a bit confuse, because your all past decisions made you how you are.

To finish, just start digging deep and work hard. It's going to take a while and perservearance is needed. meli2905 refeered here in the comments that you should have a break. It depends on your state of mind and willness. In my opinion, if you're not depressed, just start right now! Read a lot of books (The Power of Habits by C. Duhigg, for example), read some College Info Geek articles and never stop researching many other things to get there.

[well, it was extensive and that's because I'm related with this topic]

Look for something called a Habit Loop, it is presented in the book "The Power of Habit" that Tom swears by. The thing is that location is one of the most powerful cues or triggers for a habit so it makes total sense that if you got to a place that promotes silence and study then you are faster at learning stuff.

Deliberate practice (DP) is the most productive way of completing a task and DP needs solitude. You are just seeing the result of 2 great Brain Hacks. Keep it up and try adding the Pomodoro Technique when you study if you feel you are getting bored.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.plafhop.getshitdone

GET SHIT DONE is a great android app that manages to blend motivation and time management so well that you will actually get your shit done.

You might find the 52 minute 17 minute break more sensible. I tried 25 minutes work and 5 minutes rest. But then took 15 minutes rest anyway which was counterproductive and it was compounded by the fact I felt my workflow was interrupted by the end of the pomodoro session.

https://lifehacker.com/52-minute-work-17-minute-break-is-the-ideal-productivi-1616541102

If we're talking years and years ago, and it's something you can actually check on, I can only think of: http://www.joesgoals.com/

There's also my Impossible List, which I "check off" by editing the WordPress page: https://collegeinfogeek.com/about/meet-the-author/my-impossible-list/

I paraphrase what the professor writes or says in my own words. If the lecture is running too fast that I can't paraphrase that quick, I will compromise by writing exactly what they say.

Math and most Sciences, I tend to hand write what they say in bullet points.

As for my programming and English class I type my notes out. At the end of the day, I review my notes and rewrite them condensing them into my words all while getting the point across.

As for typing fast without looking at the keyboard this looks pretty reliable: http://www.ratatype.com/

Maybe try putting them on a kindle if you have one? https://www.wikihow.com/Add-a-PDF-to-a-Kindle

I can relate though, I went back to purchasing textbooks because I don't like to read them on my computer. You can make the PDF appear more like a book in view mode. I found that if I got rid of icons/tabs/etc I could stay focused more easily. Going into full screen mode gives the illusion that you are on a PDF reading device instead of a magical internet browsing machine

Here you could to get the German phrases in English http://tatoeba.org/eng/sentences/search?query=&from=deu&to=eng

Also, if you have troubles with translating something or with pronunciation then use this extension. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ddict/bpggmmljdiliancllaapiggllnkbjocb?hl=en-US

JAVASCRIPT. I started with javascript, it is the best learning code because it many other languages are very similar to javascript, which makes other languages come way easier. (Java, Python, OS, C#, even scratch.) Once I learned even a little bit of Javascript, I could read and understand code from websites and learn other lines in depth. JavaScript will allow you to read and write code for websites. But, If you are super new to coding in general, use scratch. Scratch is a great starting point for gaming coding, but for anything else, learn Javascript first. if you do try scratch check out my game: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/97628277/

Happy Coding!!!

Do you mean like this?

There's also this video on youtube.

I read a book by Barbara Oakley called A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra) that I recommend for anyone struggling in these areas.

You could use the clear focus app.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=personal.andreabasso.clearfocus&hl=en_GB

You should be able to change the amount of time working and the amount of time resting to something you find comfortable with.

It depends from person to person, as well as different schools. My college doesn't have required textbooks for the main programming course. My main advice is to worry less about the textbook and more about doing as much coding as possible; outside of the classroom if you can, even if it's in the same language. However, there are good books to read for programming, if that's more your style. I've been taking a Software Engineering course and the required book is The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master by David Thomas and Andy Hunt, Addison-Wesley. It has some very good advice in it that is good for being an effective and efficient programmer. Also talk to Professors/Teachers in your school as they are also a great resource, as they have probably been programming as a career and would have some good insight.

I agree with Zeta1895. If you're reading fiction, you're probably reading for the fun of it. You want to get caught up in the story and the emotions they provoke. You want to connect to the characters and care about whether they succeed or fail; live or die. Reading a condensed version is not the same thing. Some of my favorite books would sound absolutely horrible in that format. However, if you're into a lot of the books that seem to be popular around here like "The Power of Habit" or one that I'm reading right now, "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain", you might only be interested in the information you can learn from them, and Blinkist would be a good way to get that information. It may even let you "test-ride" a book before committing to the time and possibly money that it takes to actually read the entire thing.

The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White.

Very short, very good.

Also take a look at Study Hacks; if you look through the archive, he has written a lot of stuff about writing good papers.

I personally loved Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynmann! It was a great autobiography of Richard Feynmann and really exposes how interesting of a man he was. He's one of my most admired historical figures due to his commitment to undergraduate teaching and his way of breaking down complex topics to be as simple as possible.

I STRONGLY recommend Habitica. Tom made a video already about this here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxxKm7tSL6I

The Power of Habit is the information you need to change your habits, while Habitica is probably one of the best tools to enforce it. Personally, I find it motivating that my own life is an RPG and I parallel my real life to my Habitica character, that while I'm leveling up in the game I actually feel like levelling up as a human being pursuing my goals. And it's quite fun too.

I just finished this book a few days ago and it was very worthwhile. My one piece of criticism is that it gets very dry in the middle, similar to how "So Good They Can't Ignore You"; you can tell Newport is an academic the way that he organizes information.

Still, this book answered a lot of questions that I had about my ability to be productive. Over the past year or so I've felt my productivity plummet as I've adjusted to college, and I was very upset that my mind felt so much more muddled than it had in high school, especially because I'd graduated at the top of my class and was starting to struggle more than what I considered normal. Newport's book made me turn my attention to the various sources of distraction that had been introduced to my life in the last several years: A smartphone (used to a Windows phone, which wasn't bad, but getting an Android was a huge shift in how I spent my distracted time), various social media platforms, friends who live down the hall, and so on. Reading the book has really helped me to get back to the productive rhythm I had during high school without having to sacrifice my phone, my friends, or any of my hobbies.

For example I now have five minutes before I need to start a deep work session...

They're an L-shaped shelf that you screw into the wall and stack books on. Underneath the shelf part, there are a couple of very small tabs - you put everything except the back cover of the bottom book on the shelf, then tuck the back cover under those tabs to make the shelf invisible :)

These are the ones I have: http://www.amazon.com/Umbra-Conceal-Floating-Bookshelf-Large/dp/B0053GBC4E - I have both a large and a small.

Don't forget to find studs before you drill if your walls are flimsy drywall like mine are (I just knock on the walls to find them).

I agreed that money and finance matters. But you need more than technical skills in the real life trust me. You need social skills too, and the book that changed the way of see relationships was: How to make friends and influence people. Check it out. There's also a good subreddit: /r/BettermentBookClub

There is one I stumbled across several years ago: Writeful, by Gary Hoffman. I'd strongly recommend it, as it covers different styles of writing, etc, and has really helped me. If anything, it reads easily and makes excellent use of examples. It also gives writing exercises for each technique if you're interested in that.

Now mind you, I bought this book for fiction writing, but it does cover academic topics as well. That, and the techniques it offers are easily applicable to both. It's not filled with groundbreaking advice, but it certainly opened up my eyes to different styles and their impact on the reader.

Looks like you can get it rather cheaply off of Amazon's marketplace: http://www.amazon.com/Writeful-Gary-Hoffman/dp/0937363006

If you want anymore detail about the book, or examples from it, etc., I'd be glad to offer some. I'm currently in college and it was one of the few books I did bring along to reference. Also, it makes for some decent pleasure reading that's still productive.

I had gotten the book Death by Black Hole last April to read over the break, but never did so. I am trying to start reading it again. Its quite an interesting book

For Japanese vocabulary I'm use http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-English-Bilingual-Dictionary-Dictionaries/dp/0756675561/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1454002515&sr=8-2&keywords=japanese+visual Also, there are other languages as Chinese, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German and Arabic.

Try PuzzleAlarm.

Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wroclawstudio.puzzlealarmclock&hl=en_GB

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/morning-worm-puzzle-alarm/id390601371?mt=8

From the ones that nobody has mentioned here so far:

• Pomodoro challenge timer - currently using this to track my pomodoros. It has some achievements and statistics and it overall looks really nice.