Having said that, I see little reason to waste your time detailing what
should be obvious: Anything—including studying—is more difficult if
you’re tired, hungry, unhealthy, drunk, stoned, and so on. So please
use common sense. Eat as healthily as you can, get whatever sleep
your body requires, stay reasonably fit, and avoid alcohol and other
drugs. If your lack of success is in any way due to one of these other
factors and you’re unable to deal with it alone, find a good book or a
professional to help you.
Are You Ready to Learn Something?
The book you are holding in your hands is now in its seventh edition,
and has been helping students and parents (and even teachers) for
more than 20 years. (The other books in my How to Study Program—
“Ace” Any Test, Get Organized, Improve Your Memory, Improve Your
Reading,and Improve Your Writing—are also available in new editions.)
Thank you for making these books so successful.
Learning shouldn’t be painful or boring, though it is occasionally both.
I don’t promise that How to Studywill make everythingeasier. It won’t.
It can’t. And it may actually require some work to achieve what you
want. But How to Studywill show you the path, give you directions,
and make sure you’re properly provisioned for your journey.
You will not understand everything the first time you read it. Or, per-
haps, even the second or third time. You may have to learn it slowly,
very slowly. But that doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with
you. It may be a subject that everyone learns slowly. (My particular
nemesis was organic chemistry.) A poorly written textbook or
unmotivated teacher can make any subject a torture.
Parents often ask me, “How can I motivate my teenager?” Well, there
isan answer, but it’s not something parents can do—it’s something
you, the student, have to decide: Are you going to spend the school
day interested and alert or bored and resentful?
How to Use This Book xv