The author of three student self-help books told a NE Campus audience Feb. 15 how to dominate college yet enjoy life.

Cal Newport, speaking on How To Be a 4.0 Student, offered three points to studying.

“The word study is completely useless,” he said.

He urged students instead to pursue active recall, which involves speaking aloud exactly what is being studied as if lecturing a class and reciting notes in complete sentences.

While this way of studying may seem uncomfortable, Newport said “that is the feeling of learning.”

Newport turned his focus to putting off tasks.

“Procrastination is an excuse your brain uses to trick you into not getting anything done,” he said.

To eliminate procrastination, he said to answer three hows — “How am I going to study? For how long? And how do I know it’ll work?”

Finally, he said, students must balance work and play. He described a former colleague who loaded himself down with schoolwork to feel accomplished. By the end of the semester, however, he felt like he had done very little. The concept Newport advocated is “do little, do better.”

“That will lead you to a happier life, and you will feel way more accomplished,” he said.

— Miranda Workman