Hi, I'm Thomas Frank, and I want to welcome you to a series that's a little bit different than anything you've seen here on Crash Course before.

While every other series up to this point has helped you explore and learn about actual academic subjects, like World History, Computer Science, and Literature, here we'll be learning how to learn. This is an important ability to have and to hone; as our economy becomes more and more dominated by information, the people who can retain that information, learn new skills quickly, and combine what they know in new and innovative ways are gonna be the ones who succeed.

Plus, when you know how to study efficiently for a test, you've got more time for Mario Kart.

So, I should probably introduce myself. My name is Thomas Frank and I'm the founder of CollegeInfoGeek.com. I'm also the author of a book called 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades, and I'm the creator of a YouTube channel that's all about becoming a more effective student. I also have a podcast where I get together with my best friend Martin and we discuss many of these topics in even more depth.

For the past seven years, I've spent a huge amount of time writing and researching all about how we as humans can improve our ability to learn and become more productive. I've interviewed college professors, authors, sleep doctors, neuroscientists, and other experts, and along the way I've picked up a few tips that go beyond the basics that you might have already been taught.

So, over the course of the next ten episodes I'll be sharing what I've learned. Among other things, well be digging into how to effectively take notes, tackle reading assignments, write papers, and, of course, study for tests.

We'll explore how your memory works, and look at study strategies that take advantage of its limitations rather than working against them. We'll also cover productivity skills like planning, beating procrastination, and improving your concentration--skills that will serve you both in your life as a student, and wherever you decide to go afterwards.

And that's really the thing with study skills: as I've discovered since graduating college with and Information Systems degree a few years ago, and as you'll inevitably discover as well, the skills that enable you to ace all your tests and keep all your assignments organized will transfer to your career and help you succeed there as well.

Welcome to Crash Course Study Skills. I'll see you next week.