365 English Study Plan
Glendora Spink
A study plan is an organized schedule outlining study times and learning goals. Just like with work or school schedules, college students should develop a schedule that sets aside dedicated time each week for studying. This schedule should include dates of quizzes, tests, and exams, as well as deadlines for papers and projects.
Time management can be challenging. Besides your classes, you likely have other commitments like extracurricular activities, work, and social engagements. Creating a study plan allows you to see how you spend your time, and ensures that you are setting aside enough time outside of class to complete homework assignments, study for tests, and review and retain the information you are learning.
At the beginning of each term, your instructors will give you syllabi for the classes you are taking. The syllabi will usually include the dates of any major exams or projects. You can use these as guides for calculating how much time to set aside for each class, as some courses might be more intensive than others. It will also help you schedule your study sessions to make sure you have enough time to complete all your assignments and prepare for exams.
Identifying your learning goals for each class will help you determine how much time you need to spend studying. At the start of the term, think about what you want to accomplish in each class. Maybe you want to master a specific skill, or improve your grade. These are overarching goals to help motivate you during the term.
Then, at the beginning of each week, determine why you need to study and what you plan to accomplish in each study session. Are you preparing for a big exam? Is there a paper due? Are you able to read a chapter ahead in preparation for the next few classes? Adjust your study plan as necessary to meet your weekly goals, and get the most out of each study session.
#1: Remember to take breaks
If your schedule includes long, multi-hour study sessions, be sure to take brief breaks every so often to stretch, hydrate and rest your mind. This will keep your brain fresh and help prevent you from feeling overwhelmed
Doing well on an exam involves preparation, which means developing a schedule so that you can study material over time rather than the night before an exam. How can students put all those effective strategies together to develop a coherent study plan? Make a study schedule!
Review material as soon as after lecture as possible. One hour spent soon after class will do as much as several hours a few days later! Take good notes (maybe try Cornell Notes!) and review them while they are still fresh in your mind. At a minimum try summarizing your notes right after lecture. If your grandma called and asked you what the class you just went to was about, could you tell her? Start assignments while your memory of the assignment is still accurate.
If you are having trouble getting started: try the Pomodoro Technique1: Pick a task to work on and then focus on that task for 25 minutes without distractions; then take a 5 minute break to stretch, doodle, check email, etc. Then start another block of 25-minutes of focused work, followed by a 5-minute break.
Double your time estimates. Most people tend to underestimate how much time a particular activity/assignment will take. A good rule of thumb is to estimate how much time you realistically think something will take and then double it!
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I have already written a number of posts on my first attempt at landing a job at Google. Though that attempt didn't get me the job, it helped me understand myself, my career path, and my shortcomings a great deal better. That is why I advise that everyone at least try their hand at one such extensive interview process -- if not Google's, then somebody else's.
I held off writing this "guide" until I was at the job for a little while, because I wanted to know more about the correlation between the interview process and the job itself. A lot of people want to know how much of their times will be spent using "algorithms" or "data structures", since that seems to be one of the most important components of the interview preparation process. I aim to answer that question at the end of this post.
Before getting into the meat of the post, I will first clarify some points and then talk a little bit about who I consider to be an average software engineer. Then, I will talk about the routine I picked, why I picked it, what are some important things to note about it, and how to replicate it. After that, I will go into what I chose to study and why, what I actually got to study, and what I reprioritize based on my times. Finally, I will talk about the interview process and how it relates to the job itself, and why it is designed the way it is (based on my own experience, and not that of anyone else at Google). So, feel free to skip any of the sections you feel are not interesting to you, though I would be happier knowing that you have read all of this rather long post.
This post or anything else on my blog is not affiliated with Google in any way, nor does it reflect Google's position, opinions, or stance on any matter. Everything is the result of my own experience, and should be read as the philosophizing and musings of an engineer, rather than the position of a company.
I think it bears mentioning that if you have MORE than four weeks, then by all means, you should put more in. The most important part of this article is not the study plan for four weeks. Rather, among other things, it is:
First of all, let me clarify that I didn't go through the phone interviews this time around. For more on that, you can read my entry on the interview process I went through. So, you might not actually need to limit yourself to four weeks.
Also, I was already pretty invested in taking the chance and going for the interview. If you aren't, find a reason to be. If you can't, don't bother. That is because this process is tiresome and extremely time-consuming, and if you aren't fully committed, you will soon find yourself with excuses and reasons to not do this part or not read that chapter.
A very important point to mention is that my wife went all in with me. She was as invested in making this move as I was. This meant that she helped me with distractions, she helped me with my eating and sleeping habits, and she did a fantastic job in helping me with interview questions by asking me the questions and reading me the hints.
Another clarification I would like to make is that this process is by no means a catch-all, meant to convert every average Joe to Google employees; rather, it is a framework for connecting with the subject matter deeply enough that you would feel comfortable solving the problems in an interview setting.
Lastly, I would like to note that it has been years since I got out of university, and even more years since I formally studied the subject matter I introduce here. Therefore, if you have had recent brushes with this material and are already familiar/comfortable enough with it that you think you can immediately jump into problem-solving, don't bother with this schedule.
So, now that we are past the title, let's get into how we are actually going to achieve this. The first thing to note is that it is all about the routine. I have mentioned it earlier, but in case you missed it, you have got to be a hundred percent committed. You must really keep up the good work, from moment zero to the moment you are out of the interview, and even a little while after that (until you start working at the new place, at which point, you will have to be always at your best, otherwise, why bother?).
Therefore, it is absolutely paramount that you create a routine and stick to it. My routine consisted of getting home at about 5-6pm, getting a super quick shower, studying for two and a half to three hours, giving myself a one hour break, and studying for another two and half to three hours. Then, I would rest for half an hour to clear my mind and get ready for sleep. Then I would go to sleep for however much I could, aiming to be as close to 7 hours as possible (really, mostly 5 hours :D), wake up at 7am, go to work, and repeat the process. I'd supplement the lack of sleep with short naps during the day and in my rest time.
In your study periods, study for exactly 45 minutes. Keep a stopwatch going to measure how long you are studying each day. The goal is to start slow, at 2 hours of useful study time and ramp it up as much as possible.
Do not extend your study time. Do not go over the 45 minutes marker at any cost. Even if at minute 42 you realize that by sitting down for 10 more minutes you might finish the current section or topic, you must not sacrifice your rest. This seemingly benign deviation will be detrimental to your focus and precision in the long run.
Make sure that your study corner is solely dedicated to your study. If you live in a study, or share a room with a roommate, this can be an unused corner of your room, facing the wall. If possible, find a spot where your field of vision is clear of distractions. Once your 45 minutes is up, get out of that spot and don't go there again until you intend to study.
Make sure that when you are studying, you are 100% committed to your study topic, and not bothered by distractions or fatigue. This is much more easily said than done. And believe me, as a person suffering from mild OCD and a very short attention span, I can completely understand you if at this point you have your hands in the air and are about to close the browser window. So, let's get into that.
Distractions are usually stray thoughts that derail you from your focus of attention because you are already aware that they are fleeting, momentary thoughts, questions, and/or inspirations. As such, you feel an urge to follow them immediately, lest you forget them later on, thus letting go of your current task. Therefore, the first step is to reassure yourself that you are not going to forget them. This is simply done by the expediency of using a "distraction list". A distraction list can be anything: a piece of paper, a Notes document, a txt file, a blog entry. Whatever makes you feel like you are less likely to lose it. I created a todo list on Notes on my MacBook, synced it with iCloud, and then I felt safe that even should my MacBook be stolen or lost, my distraction list will not follow suit (I sure have my priorities straight, right?).
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