My Principles for Maximizing College

Inspired by ideas from Ali Abdaal

Run Your Life by a Calendar

Time is the only resource we truly own. The difference between drifting and designing your college experience often comes down to intentional scheduling.

Live by a calendar, not vibes.

Schedule your wake-up time, lectures, assignments, gym sessions, clubs, study blocks, and social time. When everything has a place, your calendar transforms from a blank slate into a deliberate blueprint.

By scheduling everything, you eliminate the illusion of "nothing to do" that leads to scrolling or procrastination. Structure creates freedom. It allows you to see whether you truly have capacity for new commitments and ensures you are allocating time toward what matters.

A few guiding principles:

• No TV unless it's social.
• Nothing good happens after 2am.
• Welcome small interruptions from friends. Relationships are part of the point of being a student.

Choose satisfaction with how you spend your time. Self-criticism rarely improves performance.

Study Efficiently, Not Passively

Research consistently shows that common study methods like rereading, highlighting, and passive note-taking produce low retention.

Effective studying is built on two pillars:

Active Recall

Active recall means retrieving information from memory rather than re-exposing yourself to it.

Examples include:

• Closing the book and writing down everything remembered.
• Turning lecture content into self-testing questions.
• Practicing essays from memory.
• Using flashcards (e.g., Anki).
• Building diagrams or frameworks from recall.

Retrieval strengthens memory far more than repetition.

Spaced Repetition

Memory fades exponentially over time. Each time you recall information just as you're about to forget it, the memory strengthens.

Consistency beats intensity. Ten minutes a day is more powerful than a five-hour cram session.

A practical method:

• Create a spreadsheet listing every topic in the syllabus.
• Each time you actively recall a topic, record the date.
• Color-code strength of recall.
• Revisit weaker areas more frequently.

This replaces rigid revision timetables with a dynamic feedback system.

The Scattershot Approach

Instead of spending hours mastering one topic, cycle through multiple topics in shorter bursts.

Active recall across many areas:

• Forces deeper retrieval.
• Prevents neglecting later material.
• Avoids staying in your comfort zone.
• Builds repetition across the entire syllabus.

Breadth first, depth through repetition.

Study With Friends

Studying in groups can increase efficiency and enjoyment. Structured sessions, such as using the Pomodoro technique, create accountability while maintaining social connection.

College is not meant to be solitary.

Sample Widely

Avoid early over-specialization. Exposure to diverse experiences builds adaptability and long-term advantage.

Join clubs, explore different domains, experiment outside your intended career path. Range builds perspective.

Build a Universal Toolbox

Certain skills compound across all careers:

• Public speaking
• Negotiation
• Clear communication
• Confidence
• Self-presentation

These skills transfer into consulting, finance, entrepreneurship, leadership, and beyond.

Experiment With Side Projects

College offers a rare window of optionality. Side projects and small experiments create autonomy, teach practical skills, and reveal hidden interests.

Treat this period as a laboratory.

Energy Management Over Time Management

Surround yourself with energisers. Seek people and environments that elevate your momentum rather than drain it.

Your output depends less on hours available and more on energy sustained.

Document the Journey

Take photos. Capture memories. Preserve moments.

Perspective compounds just like knowledge.

Inspired by ideas from Ali Abdaal's work on productivity, learning science, and intentional living.