My best advice for people starting their university studies

Learn to Eat the Frog

The frog here is related to a time management technique described in Brian Tracy's book Eat the Frog! Get more important things done today.

I tried the technique in the beginning of my studies and it made my life signigicantly better. The basic idea behind the technique is that, when you have something you need to do, you do it immediately, and when you have multiple things to do, you start with the one you're dreading the most.

So, whenever I got an assignment from school, I finished it by the end of the same day, even if the deadline was a week away. I did't allow myself to browse the internet or do anything else I like to do before I had finished what I needed to do.

Using the technique felt very frustrating at first since it would have been so much nicer to just procrastinate and worry about the assignments later. However, I soon noticed that the technique wiped away all stress about deadlines. It also increased the quality of my work which showed in my grades. Even further, I actually had more free time than I did before and I was able to enjoy it more because I didn't feel guilty about procrastinating.

Invest Your Time Learning the Fundamentals

Regardless of what you're studying, the beginning of your studies will most likely consist of theoretical studies about the fundamentals of your field of study. This may feel boring and frustrating if you're the type of person who likes more hands on learning. However, investing your time really learning the fundamentals is crucial, as they are very important and often absolutely essential things to know when you start practical training. Learning the fundamentals properly will make your own life a lot easier.

Teach Other People

If you decide to start eating the frog, you’ll likely find that you’ve had time to learn all the things related to the assignments even before your classmates start learning them. If you notice a classmate having trouble understanding, help them. When you teach something to other people, you need to think of ways to first simplify the topic or come up with parables that could help them understand it. So you have to think about the topic more deeply which will improve your understanding. Teaching is one of the best ways to learn for yourself.