Start when it feels uncomfortably early.  This is the signal that you are
                       starting at the right time.

                       Ask your instructor to name three main trade journals in his field.  Skim
                      the table of contents of these journals.  Read at least one article a week.
                      Incorporate what you learn from these readings into your homework and
                      test answers.  This will show that you are up-to-date (sometimes even
                      more so than the instructors).

                       Contact "gurus" in the field, subject or topic.  Ask them about what is
                       taking place on the topic's cutting edge and about future trends.  
                            Incorporate this information into your homework, test answers, and 
                       class discussions.

                       Make use of all five of your senses.  Make a mental note of what you
                      see, hear, smell, touch, and/or taste at the time that you learn something. 
                      Think of where you see it on the page, what (or who) is in your immediate
                      environment, and what actions or movements are taking place.  Note the
                      temperature, mood, and/or time.  If you get stuck on a test, these will
                      help you to remember.

                       Think about how you would reconstruct the difficult parts if you were
                       stuck on a test.  This may facilitate your future use of this information.

                       Try to do the three most difficult “unassigned” problems in the back
                       of the chapter, each week, "before" you start the assigned homework. 
                       Take this to your instructor, and ask him/her to show you how to do the
                       rest of these three most difficult problems to their correct answers.  
                       This information will increase the chance of your getting the “assigned” 
                             homework problems right and of getting the most difficult questions 
                       on the tests right.

                        Get through boring reading by predicting what comes next, and then
                       comparing it to what you find.  Get through boring lectures by
                       anticipating what the instructor will say next.

                       Don’t limit yourself to definite answers or solutions.  Consider the
                      circumstances in which an answer is true and in which it is false.  At
                      what point does it stop being true and why?  What are the assumptions?
                      What are the challenges, complexities, and dynamics?  Does the
                      mathematical answer match physical intuition?  One extra sentence
                      about one or more of these can result in a more accurate and thorough
                      answer.

                       Think about how the concepts that you learn relate to everyday life. 
                       If you don't know, ask your instructor.  Include this discussion in your 
                       homework and test answers.

                       Read the chapter that covers each classroom session one day before 
                       each class.

                       As you read, don't be intimidated by the author's credentials.  Pretend
                      that it is your job to catch the author's shortfalls and to highlight them. 
                      Pretend that you are an investigator trying to see if this person and his 
                      writing really checks out.  Act as if you are the most curious person in 
                      the world about this.  What assumptions, biases, or speculations  
                      does this author exhibit?  Are there points that the author has
                      de-emphasized, concealed, or forgotten?  Did the author adequately 
                      achieve the objectives described in his introduction?  Did he present
                      adequate evidence to support his claims?  What do you want to know 
                      about the subject?  Is he giving you the information that you need? 
                      What question did the author really address? What did the author 
                      really accomplish?  In what ways could he have done a better job in 
                      research, interpretation, or presentation?  In what ways could the 
                            author have related this to other relevant information?  At each
                      step, ask yourself if you are really convinced.

                       Give yourself instructions during assignments and examinations.

                       Make sure that you target the right question, and the intention of
                      the assignment before beginning.

                       Cite sources even when it's not needed (to increase credibility).

                       Relate the topic of study to industry.

                       Scrutinize your work through the eyes of the teacher.  How would 
                       the teacher respond to each element?  What assessment of
                       quality would he or she make for each of these elements and
                       steps?  What things would he or she find refreshing, new, exciting, 
                       or just average?  What things would he or she want to see?  What
                       questions would he or she have?

                       Take every assignment seriously.

                       Constantly outdo yourself, and reach new standards of excellence.

                       Question yourself to the answer.  Ask yourself why it is that you are
                      having trouble.  What characteristics of the parts of this issue are a
                      problem for you?  What parts of it are not a problem?  Which
                      components are true and which are not true?  Why are they true or 
                      not true?  The right questions can get the student moving in the 
                      right direction and sometimes all of the way to the answer.

                       Before taking a break, write down what you will do next.  This will
                      make it easier to come back because you will have a plan to follow.

                       Develop/Identify a step-by-step method for each main type of
                       word problem.  This will guide you through the chaos in word 
                      problems.

                       Start from where you are, and move in an upward direction.  Don't
                       worry about past failures.  The greatest leaders in the world were
                       down but got up ...to the top of their fields.  The road to success 
                       is not a straight line (for anyone).

                       Several times a day, ask yourself the following question: What
                       is the smartest thing for me to do at this "specific" time, not five
                       minutes ago?  If you find a good idea, ask yourself if you can
                       come up with an even better idea in this moment.