Overview
This post clarifies some misconceptions of doing well (in school, at work, in life) and should hopefully give you a good picture of what it means to “Do Well”
Check out these strategies I used to score well.
- What it takes to score well
- How I scored throughout University
- Demystifying the framework to doing well
- Techniques for Hard Work
- Introduction to the Principles of Learning
- Introduction to Memory Techniques
What does it mean to “do well”?
Doing well is a reflection of one’s hard work. Doing well is really a non-deterministic philosophical question. For me, I define doing well as achieving what you’ve set out to achieve, to the best that you can be. If you want to be a golfer, doing well will mean that you’ve become the best golfer that you can be. If your life goal is to raise a family, doing well means become the best parent that you can be. The focus and comparison is always with the person whom you were yesterday. You’re doing well if you’re constantly better than the person you were yesterday.
With this definition, doing well is a testament of your effort and sacrifice towards your particular craft - whatever it may be. The craft is not important. What’s important is the sacrifice and effort behind “doing well”.
If I work hard and score well, does it mean I’m good?
Absolutely not, it means you were lucky. 99% of people who score well only do so because they have the luxury of living well, eating well, not having to work daily to feed their families etc. I’ve met extremely bright people who were limited by their circumstances - Kathmandu, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Europe and more. Many people who do well actually do so because they come from an exceptional background - E.g parents who are University Graduates, psychologically supportive family, well-connected family, not needing to put food on the table etc. This plays a much larger part than one would expect.
Will I be able to see drastic improvements in 2 weeks?
No. You need at least 1-2x months or 1/2 semester cycles to refine your own approach.
Will I never do badly again?
No. You will definitely still fail along the way, just like I have.
How do we know this method works?
I’ve started off from rock bottom. Not just me, but countless others who have used the same method as me (with their own tweaks), have found success. On AVERAGE, anyone following this guide should do well. that I’m confident. Again, doing well is really dependent on oneself, what it means to do well. For me, doing well means achieveing your own personal goals. I’m confident you’ll be able to achieve your own personal goals in life. Someone might work extremely hard and still fail exams. Someone could not work at all and still top the cohort. These are all edge cases. On average, these things don’t happen and you have to work hard to get things.
The best way to understand is to try them out yourself. Try out the techniques that I’ve laid out in the other posts. Try them and see if they’ve made a difference. I’m sure they won’t work for everyone, but if you’re starting out without any structure or strategy, then these methods I’ve listed will help you as a base. Use them as a base and tweak them along the way. I am still biased that the strategies will be effective, with proper tweaks.
Why scoring/doing well still matters in this day and age
I believe that scoring well still matters because it is still a reflection of hard work. So long as it is a reflection of hard work, it matters. This might one day no longer hold true, and if that happens, scoring well no longer matters.
I choose to approach this using 4 categories:
Discipline
Scoring well is not only about having “high IQ” or “being lucky”. A large part of it comes from discipline. People who do well basically wear a badge that they’re one of the most disciplined people alive, being able to relentlessly put in the work regardless of circumstance. This isn’t only in studies, but in your career or if you’re picking up a new skill. What differentiates the great from the good is the ability to be disciplined.
If you work hard and do well, you’ll be able to hone your discipline and be sure that you’ll be better equipped to face future challenges coming your way. This is one of the biggest factors, as with discipline, you’re really able to do many things and achieve what you’ve set out to achieve. This will go a long way.
Options
Donig well definitely gives you more options to open more doors since your resume or ‘complete package’ will be deemed more attractive. Like it or not, this is how the world works. Having more options is always better than having no options. No one wants to be in a place where you have no options and you’re forced to do things that you absolutely don’t want to. It is unfortunate that there are still many in such scenarios, and I hope that one day, everyone will be able to do what they truly want to do, to the best that they can.
If you are on par with another candidate in an interview, there must be a deciding factor. Grades are a testament to being conscientious and disciplined, which are qualities many companies are looking for. When I mean grades, I also refer to non-academic grades etc. Let’s say you’re looking to perform really well in a sport, having a strong portfolio will increase your chances of getting to whever you want to be.
Statistics
Try to find the people that you want to become. Most of them who are experts in their field, whatever that may be, would have invested a lot of time and effort to hone those skills.
If these people are all, on average, scoring well/ having a strong portfolio score, chances are that you’re not an outlier. If your goal is to do extremely well in life by being like those listed above, scoring well is a good start because that’s what the statistics say. You might be able to achieve your goals even with a very poor score or without putting in any work at all, but on average you won’t.
Anecdotes
I’ve managed to interact with or see a wide variety of people whom you could ‘deem’ successful. They’ve largely scored well in school, or scored really well in their domain. And they’re doing really well. They’ve scored well simply because they’ve spent so much hours on their domains, and invested so much time. They’re currently reaping the rewards of their sacrifice. If you want to do well, scoring well is a good option. I’ve never seen someone with a very high score who’s bad skills-wise. However, scoring well doesn’t mean that you’ll achieve your goals. Scoring well is just one of the many signals.
One main differentiator between those who achieve their goals is that they’re working really hard, and have worked really hard since they were young. There is no substitute for hard work.
Work hard, continue being disciplined, focus on learning and carrying projects, and you’ll be alright.
Why do many people not score well?
Mainly the following 4 factors:
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Wrong study techniques - not doing flashcards, not doing active recall, not doing spaced repeition, not doing deliberate practice, not crafting study plans and timelines, or creating the right study timeline (including starting projects early).
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Lack of effort - Studying 1-2hours per module per week, expecting to score an A. Not willing to sit down and think through a problem when they’re stuck. Leaving the ‘difficult parts’ in a project to others. I’ve never shunned away from difficult parts, and I volunteer to take them up. These parts take up time, and require quite a lot of hours to think them through.
- Ego - Not asking for help or asking questions. Overestimating their own abilities and taking too many modules. I ask for help all the time, and ask questions all the time regardless of how lame they sound. I sound stupid in class and that’s alright.
Bill: “People overestimate what they can do in a year, and underestimate what they can achieve in 10 years.”
- Not varying your work cycle and understanding how the brain functions - You cant just work non-stop every single day. Breaks must be strategically injected. You must understand what is mixed learning, context switching, sleep learning, study deloads, the forgetting curve, and more. If not, you’ll end up facing burnout, and your efforts will be wasted.
Can this method work everywhere?
Yes, but YMMV. It works specifically well for SMU because of the way the modules and grading are strutured. It works really really if you’re learning a new skill, or wanting to excel or do well in a specific domain. Results are exceptional if you’ve started from rock bottom.
But, results are limited if you’re in a hypercompetitive space where:
- Everyone is doing this
- Tests are graded on the curve, with questions being somewhat an IQ test
- You are in a room filled with geniuses
- You are in a room with people wiling to sacrifice much more than you are
Even then, this method should still leave you better off than where you were before, so it’s still worth it.
Conclusion
All the best.
