Balancing College, work, and otaku life in the US

[Bolverk]

I never really experienced this... but this is mostly because my type of speed reading doesn't require my eyes to be focused.  I basically absorb the text paragraph by paragraph and read it in the back of my mind even as I go onto the next.  The fastest method is the page-by-page one... but that tires you out faster... My own reading speed is about eight pages a minute at its highest and 1.5 pages a minute at its lowest....

Well shit, you can actually do that.. A relative of mine can do a similar thing. She can read it big chunks, not as fast as you though. Reading much faster than normal require a different mental process imo. Same as my "eye-twitching" reading I process the info in a different way, just as your paragraph reading. I think it comes down more to the personal mind how you think. So I am not sure if I can copy your technique.. Then again I do think it's a technique. So it should be a learnable (技).

[arakura]

There has been a lot of debate on the internet over whether or not speed reading techniques actually work, and my mostly-uneducated thought is that you probably have to be suited for it inherently. Not that 've seriously committed, but strategies like keeping a certain pace always leave me wondering what I just read, and I havent tried other ones, but they seem impossible to me. The fact that apparently some people can do things like that and understand the material just seems like something they have that other people don't. In the same way that I can grasp a certain mathematical concept better than some of my peers, I think that most people will always read faster than me. Though, I probably could speed it up a decent bit if I quieted the voice reading aloud in my head, but I kind of like him

[Tay]

Clephas Sensei,

 

Here're my two-cents: https://forums.fuwanovel.net/index.php?/topic/6687-tays-guide-to-adult-life-college-route-edition/. It got so long that I figured it'd derail your discussion and post, so I put it elsewhere. I clearly really enjoyed your post and insights.

[Chronopolis]

Reading fast is definitely an asset. Might I also add (or repeat)

 

Reading comphrehension.

Critical thinking (such as in dissecting and understanding stories).

Being able to express said critical thinking in writing.

Communication skills.

Use of active (deliberate learning).

Sorting out what really matters to you.

 

Are there any good resources on speed reading you'd reccomend? I read sort of average speed in English, in practice 300 words a minute in novels (maybe about twice as fast reading online forums), but then my japanese reading speed is pretty slow (comparing to plp of similiar skill level), even in cases where I ought to have enough knowledge.

[Heizei_koukousei]

Also, social life takes more of your time than you'd realize. While all humans need some of it, ditching social events will give you more time than you imagine.

This is going to take what you said out of context and on a relatively unrelated tangent, for that a apologize.

When I was in high school I was quite the social butterfly/party kid. I based everything around my social life which has led me to get burnt out on "hanging out" with people. Looking back though, I am glad I got my troubled youthfulness out before the years when I needed to get serious about my priorities in life.  This is true when related to college life. I find that drinking and partying is not something we should do during college years, it just doesn't make sense to me? Nowadays I choose not to spend my time with people that aren't my closest friends and have distributed that large chunk of social time among many other things. I do not regret living the life I did even though it is pretty socially frowned upon. 

 

I've found that not taking a bunch of science/math courses at the same time has helped a lot.

I found this out the hard way. Going into my second year at university, this really hits home. In my first year I took as many online classes as possible to avoid the nearly 40 mile a day commute between my home and school. That choice ended up limited my options, and now I only need 2 calculus and 3 chemistry courses before I begin my major.

 

 

This is a breakdown for allotting daily hours that I have found produces happiness at this point in my life. Know that these times do not add up to 24 perfectly because we all have certain priorities that we favor, some of which are still important but I have not been listed (such as exercise)

 

5-6 Hours a day working

7-8 Hours a day sleeping

6-7 Hours a day in class/studying

2-3 Hours a day playing

1-2 Hours a day waiting/commuting/eating

[Zalor]

My basic advice is... find a job that pays either the same or more than a retail job from home

 

Do you have any advice for people who aren't into math/science. I can't code or anything, so what job could I possible do from home?

[Clephas]

Edit:  Meh, that teaches me for posting while sleep-deprived. 

[Down]

Do you have any advice for people who aren't into math/science. I can't code or anything, so what job could I possible do from home?

Teaching? If you got the education to do it it can be pretty damn worth it.

With my current education I can give lessons paid up to 50/60e per hour which can be pretty rad. And even if you don't get up to those numbers, teaching to high-school students is rather trivial and can earn you money. I don't know how private tuition is in your country though.