You think you'll excel, but considering the probability of success and feeling confident is not that easy.
Framing effects happen when the same thing looks different when the context change.If you're a good student in a mediocre class, you feel smarter than if you're a good student in an elite class.
Habit-building is a powerful tool for self-improvement. But the power of the tool can also create some overreach. In one way, habits will fail to form.
Many habits are simply routines, but not all of them. For example, there isn't a habit for a hard workout at the gym - you won't become absent-minded midway through a benchpress.
Habits are behaviors that flow automatically from a set of prompts.
Routines are behaviors we repeatedly do but involve many deliberate actions done with some effort and thinking.
A commitment is a rule you've added for yourself. "I must exercise five times per week." But if you break that commitment, it can result in a backsliding effect.
A habit is that behavior that happens automatically from a triggering situation.
Note-taking is a powerful tool. But it can be hard to take notes while reading. Here's how you can maximize your ability to remember, reference and learn.
Notes extend your memories: writing can be seen as an external enhancement of your brain, allowing you to think more complicated thoughts and solve harder problems.
How am I going to use this information? (e.g. on a test, cited in an essay, etc.)
What do I plan to do with the notes later? Will you be studying off of them extensively? Or maybe you’re just taking notes to stay focused, and it’s highly unlikely you’ll look through them after?
Jot notes in the margin. These aren’t particularly searchable, but they allow you to reiterate the main idea.
Keep a small notepad on the side, take breaks each section to jot down the main ideas.
Create flashcards. In the rarer situations where memorization of details is important, then a simple strategy can be to just create flashcards while you take notes.
The person who uses their foreign language skills occasionally is reminded how much they've forgotten. Setting up a maintenance schedule where you practice your skills once a week may help, but few have the time to prioritize maintenance.
When you choose to specialize, remembering knowledge is less of a problem. The opposite situation is that knowledge is so well-maintained that the routines can lead you into a rut, making improvement more difficult.
It means accepting that your knowledge of old subjects will decline and that there will be a period of hard effort before they're usable at their previous level.
Relearning tends to be much faster than initial learning.
Relearning is a form of spacing practice.
Relearning prioritizes useful knowledge. If something is more useful, you'll find opportunities to practice it. Less useful knowledge will decay more.