Students Must Take More Than Grades Away From School

Jan. 24, 2014 - PRLog -- It’s now the end of January, which means that students at colleges and universities across Canada are well into their winter semesters. They’re likely starting to gear up for their first round of midterms, so they can get the grades they believe will be their tickets to respectable future careers. While grades are certainly important, they aren’t the only thing students should take away from school. They must use their time in university or college to take advantage of every learning opportunity offered, in order to develop the skills needed to succeed in today’s fast-paced, intense workplaces. These skills include goal-setting and time management, two topics discussed at length in Griffith University graduate Jacky Truong’s recently upgraded, multifaceted study guide, “Max Grades Min Effort.”

Goal-setting is one of the most effective practices students can learn to partake in. In order to maximize their chances of succeeding academically, students must set specific, measurable goals, such as “I want to obtain a grade of at least 85% in every class.” Some students do this, but most do not—instead, they say they’ll try their best and hope for good results. The reason why this usually does not work is twofold. First, without a measurable target to shoot for, it is easy to lose motivation. Secondly, doing one’s best is such a subjective idea that students, if they fail to get good grades, will try to tell themselves that any effort they put in was their best. Therefore, they will never work any harder, because they’ve convinced themselves that they’re doing as much as they possibly can.

The same principles apply in the workplace. Employees must have specific, measurable goals if they want to motivate themselves to keep moving forward. For example, if someone is running their own business, they may set a goal as to how many clients they want to serve within a month. A call centre salesperson may have a target number of calls to make, and/or products to sell within a day. Even a file clerk may set a goal as to how many files they must finish with before their lunch break. In some situations, of course, a manager will set the goals for their employees, and employees must meet them or face the consequences. If employees have had experience working toward specific targets as students, they will find working toward meeting a manager’s goals less difficult than if they had no prior experience with this. Furthermore, in order to receive promotions or raises, employees must often demonstrate that they’ve met the manager's goals or the goals they’ve set for themselves.

Time management skills, another skill set which each student should take away from school, are important when attempting to reach any goal, whether this goal relates to school or work. It is necessary that students work on developing these skills during university or college, since once they get to the workplace, multiple tasks (often with tight deadlines) will be quickly thrown at them, and there will be no room for wasted hours. However, many students do not understand the importance of effective time management. They believe that if they get every project done before its deadline, it doesn’t matter how rushed the project was, or how much sleep they had to lose the night before to finish it. Unfortunately, in the workplace, as many seasoned professionals know, rushed projects with errors don’t cut it. Not finishing projects because they were left until the last minute and something else came up also will not fly with most managers.

As well as helping students decide on appropriate specific, measurable goals, “Max Grades Min Effort” will teach students exactly how to improve their time management skills. This guide was actually developed with the aim of enabling students to achieve the maximum academic results possible, while putting in the minimum study effort possible. After honours civil engineering graduate Jacky Truong found that he could achieve much better academic results by studying for less time, he wanted to let other students in on his tricks of the trade. The program was originally released in August 2013, with two bonus features (a 14-day Action Plan to guide students through their first two weeks, and Gantt Chart time management software), but has now been upgraded to include a third bonus feature. Truong understands that it is difficult to obtain a desirable position in today’s tough job market, so he is offering an additional e-book which will tell students what to do during university or college to increase their chances of receiving a permanent job offer.

To purchase Max Grades Min Effort, or to find out more about what else it has to offer (such as speed-studying tips and exam advice!), visit http://www.maxgradesmineffort.com. Once purchased, the entire guide, plus the three bonus features, can be downloaded immediately. On top of that, Truong knows that in order to maximize success in school and within any field, students must have access to the most recent information available. Therefore, customers will also receive any future upgrades and additions to the guide, which can be downloaded through the Members Area, at no extra cost. The entire system is valued at $197, but as a special introductory offer, it is currently priced at $37.