★★★★★ 5
A Must-Read for College (and Even High School) Students
Format: Paperback
First of all, this book really cuts to the point. If you are skilled with skim-reading, you can get this book in about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Second, while these strategies are currently untested by me, they seem really practical. Rather than saying "study" or "write paper" or "take test", Dr. Newport lays down specific, useable guidelines for all areas that are intended to cut down on time spent on schoolwork. This helps you with more time to have fun, do extracurricular activities, or work 60 hours a week (like I will soon be doing).
Third, this is THE anti-procrastination book, although I don't get the concept of starting term papers a month before they're due as the examples did. The whole concept behind this book is making sure you've got as little work going as possible that takes as little time as possible. Doing things upfront will ease your load later when the assignments and papers start rolling in and out.
There are only a couple of issues I have with the book.
1) Dr. Newport almost makes the use of personal laptops compulsory in college. I get why it would be such an asset, but for some of us it is more of a liability than an asset. I really believe one can get through college without a laptop at a much smaller personal expense than the costs of buying a laptop/accessories, printer, ink, etc. If you already bought one, that's one thing, but if you haven't, why do you need one? Just use pen/paper and the computer labs' computers and printers. With the printers, odds are you're paying the same amount for 1000 pages that you would for toner (paper is free with the way they price it), and you don't have to drop the cost upfront, but pay as you need the printer. Financially, you're better off skipping the personal printer.
2) He didn't discuss what format to purchase textbooks, but considering he was so insistent on portability, I would probably haphazard a guess that a hard copy is the only way to go. Sure it may be expensive, but what if your Kindle or iPad gets stolen?
Overall, highly, highly recommended. Get this for your child as an early (or very early) graduation present. Teaching them these things will save them a lot of headaches later on.
One last note: This book is not for the lazy. If you aren't willing to do the work, don't expect this book to help. However, if you're someone like me who's sick of lazy and wants to convert, this book IS for you!
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Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2012
