Max Grades Min Effort: Study System Helps Post-Secondary Students Balance School and Fun

Jan. 1, 2014 - PRLog -- This week and during the week to come, many students are heading to university and college after the winter break. For students who attended high school for an extra semester, or took a semester off of school altogether, this will be their first semester of post-secondary education ever. For other students, this semester may represent a chance for them to redeem themselves after less-than-stellar performances during the first one. For first-year students especially, the previous semester may have been difficult due to social distractions such as frosh week, living with roommates in dorms or off-campus housing for the first time, and finally being able to legally drink at bars and clubs. However, having fun doesn't have to mean throwing away one's academic career—"Max Grades Min Effort" will show students how they can maintain active social lives while receiving good grades, plus how having a bit of fun can actually raise achievement levels.

"Max Grades Min Effort" is a study system created by Australian Jacky Truong in August 2013, after he graduated with honours from Griffith University. At the beginning of his program, Truong obtained only mediocre grades. He actually suffered from a problem opposite to what "party animals" experience—instead of partying too much, he was spending so much time studying, he didn't have time for a social life at all. When increasing amounts of studying didn't bring the rising grades he expected, Truong began to ignore the amount of hours he put in, and instead started experimenting with different study strategies. Once he identified the techniques which brought him success, he was actually able to spend less time studying and more time relaxing and having fun, all the while receiving better grades from his professors than he ever had. After rising to the top 5 per cent of his class by using this approach, Truong now realizes the importance of a balanced post-secondary life, and wants to use "Max Grades Min Effort" to teach current students to achieve that kind of balance.

Truong begins the program by comparing navigating one's academic life to piloting one's own aircraft. Anything thrown onto the plane's course, such as social distractions, can cause turbulence but does not have to, if handled correctly. Throughout the five e-book modules of "Max Grades Min Effort," Truong teaches students how they can focus just enough on school to get the results they want, while still participating in at least a moderate amount of social activities. Within the first module, "Planning for Easy Success," students learn how to set specific, measurable goals with the help of a chart Truong provides. These goals will help students re-focus on what they want to achieve academically, after periods of heavy socialization.

Hence its name, "Max Grades Min Effort" prides itself on promoting efficiency, which is why the second module focuses on teaching students to study more quickly, yet still effectively. This results in them having more time to spend with friends. Truong instructs students as to how to read, take and review notes, and memorize information as efficiently as possible, as well as pointing out common mistakes which waste time. For example, social students often make the mistake of trying to extend the amount of hours in their days for work and play by cutting back on sleep, but their resulting fatigued states just make them less productive. Truong's third module, "The Time-Management Secret," teaches students how to properly schedule their time for all activities (once again, with the use of charts), so they have enough time for work and fun, while still getting the sleep they need for their brains to function at optimum levels.

The fourth module, "The Key to Absolute Power," deals mainly with rewarding oneself for staying on track and achieving one's goals. For students who like to party, there is no reason why their rewards cannot include social events, as long as they follow Truong's guidelines. While it doesn't deal specifically with socialization, the last module will be useful for all students as Truong outlines what they must do before, during, and after exams in order to achieve and maintain positive results. Along with the five modules, "Max Grades Min Effort" also comes with two bonus features. These include Truong's self-created Gantt Chart time management software, which will help students implement the recommended time-management strategies, and the 14-day Action Plan, a detailed guide for each student to use during their first two weeks of the program.

Truong is confident that after following the program's advice for several weeks, both new and returning students will see a positive difference in their academic results. They will find that time in their schedules has been freed up, and will be able to use that time to participate in the social activities that most young adults find fun, without scrambling to complete assignments at the last minute. Some parents may be skeptical of a program which encourages students to spend less time working. However, they will soon see that reducing the amount, but upping the quality of time put into studying results in a clearer mind and therefore better results. "Max Grades Min Effort" is currently available at http://www.maxgradesmineffort.com for an introductory price of $37, along with all future updates free of charge.