I'm graduating from UChicago in around 60 days, and I've been thinking about what I've learned these past four years. I figured I'd write it all down while it's still fresh.

This isn't universal advice. It's specifically for people like me (or who want to be like me). High-agency, motivated types who hate having free time.^[1] People who'd rather risk making mistakes than risk missing out, who want to control more than they initially think they can, and who are willing to go all-in relatively quickly. If you're reading Ben Kuhn and Alexey Guzey or have ever heard of the Reverend Thomas Bayes, you're probably one of us.

So here's at least some of what I've figured out. Take what's useful, leave what isn't — maybe do the opposite of everything I've said.

Mindset and Personal Growth
- Find your mission
- Recognize that you can always be better
- Make more mistakes
- Things only get done to the extent that you want them to get done
- There are no adults
- Deadlines are mostly fake
- Put yourself in positions where you'll be lucky
- Luck favors the prepared
- Test your fit at lots of things
- Do side projects
- Get good at introspecting
- Be honest
- Put your money where your mouth is
- Interpret others charitably
- Be the kind of person others can come to for help
Productivity and Focus
- Go to bed early
- Brick your phone
- The optimal amount of slack time is not zero, but it's close to zero
- If you aren't getting work done, pick up your shit and go somewhere else
- Don't take your phone to the places you're studying
- Do not try to do more than one important thing at once
- Offload difficult things to automations, habits, or other people
- Make your bed
- If it takes less than 5 minutes, do it now
- The floor is actually way lower than you think
Planning and Goal Setting
- Make sure your goals are falsifiable
- Credibly pre-commit to things you care about getting done
- Track your progress
- Make a 5-year plan google doc
- Consider graduating early
Relationships and Community
Academic Success
- Go to office hours
- Be careful how you use AI
- Read things, everywhere
- Don't be afraid to skip the boring p

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