The Inforium

Criticism feels bad, but it's also one of the best shortcuts to improvement. Here's how to appreciate good criticism and stop taking things so personally.

Full show notes

This week’s episode is sponsored by:

Skillshare — with over 20,000 courses in a wide range of different skills, Skillshare can help you take things to the next level. Get started with 2 months of unlimited learning for just 99¢ at Skillshare.com/cig.

Things mentioned in this episode:

10 Things We'd Tell Our 18-Year-Old Selves (Ep. 213)

ChoosingBeggars subreddit

Hardy Fowler's Digital Painting course on Skillshare

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman

LessWrong's The Lens That Sees Its Flaws article

Tom's Backflip video on Instagram

Want more cool stuff? You can find all sorts of great tools at my Resources page.

You can also get a free copy of my book, 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades (While Studying Less), by staying up to date with the College Info Geek newsletter.

Timestamps:

0:01:58 - Initials thoughts on being able to take criticism

0:09:11 - Don't be ashamed of your old work

0:14:43 - Judging the intent and validity of a criticism

0:24:15 - Handling criticism while retaining your original vision

0:27:08 - Sponsor: Skillshare (Learning new skills)

0:28:38 - Being open to the possibility of learning from anyone

0:31:56 - Making your content more intuitive to your users

0:37:18 - Being less emotional when dealing with criticism

0:48:38 - Recap and conclusion

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! It's easy, you'll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure :) You can also leave a review!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Since our lives are governed largely by a collection of habits, we've decided to talk about how one might form a new habit on purpose. Want to make something a part of your identity and life? Here's how to get started.

Full show notes

This week’s episode is sponsored by:

Audible: Get a free audiobook download and a free 30-day trial by going to audible.com/CIG or texting “CIG” to 500-500 on your phone.

Brilliant: Accelerate your learning in math, science, and computer science. Start learning for free at Brilliant.org/CollegeInfoGeek — and if you use this link, you'll also get 20% off your subscription.

Things mentioned in this episode:

The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg

Tom's notes on the Power of Habit

Derek Sivers website

Nat Eliason website

Morning Routines (Ep. 208)

The Motivation Hacker, by Nick Winter

Habitica (iOS | Android)

European Journal of Social Psychology's Habit Formation article

Sherlock Holmes Collection, narrated by Stephen Fry

How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes

If This Isn't Nice, What Is?, by Kurt Vonnegut

5 Non-Obvious Things That Are Killing Your Productivity

Momentum (iOS)

HabitBull (iOS | Android)

Today (iOS)

h3h3's Water Project video

Want more cool stuff? You can find all sorts of great tools at my Resources page.

You can also get a free copy of my book, 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades (While Studying Less), by staying up to date with the College Info Geek newsletter.

Timestamps:

0:03:30 - What does a habit consist of?

0:08:51 - Breaking bad habits and forming good ones

0:15:27 - What to do when you haven't done the habit for a while

0:23:39 - Sponsor: Audible (Listening to audiobooks)

0:28:03 - Sponsor: Brilliant (Learning problem-solving skills)

0:29:55 - Motivating yourself to do the habits

0:43:01 - Habit tracker recommendations

0:52:02 - Using the 20 second rule

0:53:16 - Conclusion

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! It's easy, you'll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure :) You can also leave a review!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Another year older, another year wiser. In this week's episode, we're reflecting on a few lessons it would have been nice to learn earlier, and we're passing the savings onto you.

Full show notes

Things mentioned in this episode:

How to Give a Killer Speech (Ep. 212)

The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg

Starting Strength

Essentialism: How to Do More by Doing Less (Ep. 171)

Cooked documentary

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, by Catherynne M. Valente

Want more cool stuff? You can find all sorts of great tools at my Resources page.

You can also get a free copy of my book, 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades (While Studying Less), by staying up to date with the College Info Geek newsletter.

Timestamps:

0:06:27 - Be less cynical and more open with your feelings

0:13:31 - Be more empathetic when someone is hurt

0:19:16 - Don't neglect your posture and overall health

0:29:24 - Don’t do something just so you can put it in your resume

0:31:55 - Don't keep trying to date a friend and learn how to lose

0:38:18 - Eat a healthier diet

0:46:35 - Don’t over-systemize your life

0:48:56 - More free time doesn’t equal more productivity

0:52:48 - Get out of your comfort zone

0:54:27 - Don’t ask for help until you work on the problem for a while

0:59:40 - Conclusion

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! It's easy, you'll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure :) You can also leave a review!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Public speaking is consistently one of the top fears plaguing humanity, but that doesn't mean you can't do it. We talk a bit about our experience with giving speeches and some ways you can improve your own presentation skills.

Full show notes

This week’s episode is sponsored by:

Brilliant: Accelerate your learning in math, science, and computer science. Start learning for free at Brilliant.org/CollegeInfoGeek — and if you use this link, you'll also get 20% off your subscription.

Things mentioned in this episode:

How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes

Peter Fonda

8 Things to STOP Doing When You Wake Up in the Morning

5 Rules for Answering ESSAY Questions on Exams

How to Stay Hydrated: Here's Everything You Need to Know

Jerry Seinfeld

Comedy Writing Secrets, by Mark Shatz and Mel Helitzer

alpha m on YouTube

Charisma on Command on YouTube

Adam Driver's Ted Talk

Listen Money Matters

Toastmasters

CaseyNeistat on YouTube

Become a Better Speaker: 9 Essential Public Speaking Skills

4 Tips for Crafting Great Speeches and Presentations

Good to Great, by James C. Collins

Want more cool stuff? You can find all sorts of great tools at my Resources page.

You can also get a free copy of my book, 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades (While Studying Less), by staying up to date with the College Info Geek newsletter.

Timestamps:

0:09:10 - Dealing with anxiety and practicing a speech

0:19:43 - Remembering your lines and the 2 levels of practicing public speaking

0:28:42 - Delivering jokes in your presentations

0:32:26 - Sponsor: Brilliant (Learning problem-solving skills)

0:34:21 - Delivering jokes in your presentations (continued)

0:39:05 - Preparing your speech and keeping people engaged

0:45:17 - Building self-confidence 

0:55:00 - Classes we recommend taking in high school

1:11:13 - Outlining and planning speeches

1:13:23 - Additional tips and conclusion

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! It's easy, you'll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure :) You can also [le

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this five questions episode, we talk about healthy social media use, balancing pets with a busy life, explaining an unimpressive resume, book formats, and how to choose a foreign language.

Full show notes

This week’s episode is sponsored by:

Skillshare — with over 20,000 courses in a wide range of different skills, Skillshare can help you take things to the next level. Get started with 2 months of unlimited learning for just 99¢ at Skillshare.com/cig.

Things mentioned in this episode:

The College Info Geek Podcast on Facebook

Tom on Instagram

Tom on Twitter

Martin on Instagram

Martin on Twitter

The College Info Geek Community on Reddit

How to Get Into Tea (Ep. 207)

Freedom

The Happiness Advantage, by Shawn Achor

Buffer (iOS | Android)

Flume

FocalFilter

SelfControl

Cold Turkey Blocker

The Kennel Club

PetSmart

Dogtime's Dog Matchup

Purina's Dog Breed Selector

Music Theory 101, by Marc Schonbrun and Brian Boone

Young Guru's profile and courses on Skillshare

How to Write a Great Resume and Cover Letter (Ep. 209)

Weapons of Influence #1: Reciprocation (Ep. 186)

LessWrong

Duolingo (iOS | Android)

LanguagePod101

iTalki (iOS | Android)

Rype

Tom's music channel on YouTube

Want more cool stuff? You can find all sorts of great tools at my Resources page.

You can also get a free copy of my book, 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades (While Studying Less), by staying up to date with the College Info Geek newsletter.

Timestamps:

0:10:12 - Using social media while also not wasting time on it

0:23:39 - How to take care of a pet if you're always busy

0:31:25 - Sponsor: Skillshare (Learning new skills)

0:33:28 - Applying to internships without much job experience

0:39:56 - Audio books, e-books or paper books?

0:46:41 - Learning a language by "dating" it for a while

0:55:16 - Conclusion

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! It's easy, you'll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure :) You can also [le

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

So many skills, so little time. Sure, we probably can't achieve mastery in all of them, but what if we don't care? We talk about how to learn the basics quickly enough to rekindle your dreams of becoming a renaissance man.

Full show notes

This week’s episode is sponsored by:

Backblaze — unlimited cloud backup for PCs and Macs. Don’t be that person who loses all their files permanently when — not if — your computer’s hard drive fails. Get started with a 15-day, full-featured trial at backblaze.com/CIG.

Things mentioned in this episode:

Tom’s Sunday Study Playlist on Spotify

Tom’s Ultimate Study Playlist on Spotify

Tom’s Ultimate Study Playlist on YouTube

Tom's Work Vibes playlist on Spotify

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, by Catherynne M. Valente

The Kingkiller Chronicle series, by Patrick Rothfuss

Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell

The First 20 Hours, by Josh Kaufman

The 4-Hour Chef, by Tim Ferriss

Love-Coloured Master Spark song

Synthesia (iOS | Android)

Art and Fear, by David Bayles and Ted Orland

Henry Fonda on Wikipedia

h3h3Productions on YouTube

Momentum (iOS)

Habitica (iOS | Android)

Beeminder (iOS | Android)

Yousician (iOS | Android)

Tom's music channel on YouTube

Martin on Instagram

How to Stay Hydrated: Here's Everything You Need to Know

How to Study Effectively with Flash Cards

Rype - Learn a Language in 100 Days

Andrew Huang on YouTube

Andrew Huang on Spotify

Skillshare (iOS | Android)

How to Learn a New Skill Quickly: A 4-Step Process

Want more cool stuff? You can find all sorts of great tools at my Resources page.

You can also get a free copy of my book, 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades (While Studying Less), by staying up to date with the College Info Geek newsletter.

Timestamps:

0:10:33 - Overview of the skill learning process

0:23:47 - Sponsor: Backblaze (Backing up your data)

0:26:12 - Choosing and focusing on something that motivates you

0:27:28 - Figuring out how good you want to be and deconstructing a skill

0:33:07 - Gaining access to the necessary tools and eliminating barriers

0:38:16 - Finding time to practice

0:41:18 - Creating feedback loops

0:44:31 - Practicing in short bursts instead of long periods of time

0:47:31 - The need to practice a lot before mastering a skill

0:49:20 - Additional tips to rapid skill acquisition

0:52:00 - Conclusion

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! It's easy, you'll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure :) You can also [leave a review!](http://collegeinfogeek.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As the school year comes to a close, job season is upon us. We talk about ways to make sure your resume and cover letter are up to par before taking the plunge.

Full show notes

Things mentioned in this episode:

Tom on Instagram

Martin on Instagram

Learning to Learn video with Neil deGrasse Tyson

How to Write a Resume

7 Resume Mistakes You Need to Avoid

How to Write a Cover Letter

Tom’s Resume

Powlyglot

MindSnacks

BuiltWith

StackShare

Resume Tips From a Hiring Director Who Read 10,000 Resumes (Ep. 40)

Slack

McKinsey

Want more cool stuff? You can find all sorts of great tools at my Resources page.

You can also get a free copy of my book, 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades (While Studying Less), by staying up to date with the College Info Geek newsletter.

Timestamps:

0:05:39 - Martin's photography on Instagram

0:16:52 - What to put in a resume and showing interest in a job

0:24:53 - The education section

0:29:38 - The work experience section

0:32:44: - Listing your achievements instead of your duties

0:37:17 - Showcasing your technical skills

0:43:32 - How to make sure your resume isn't ignored

0:47:39 - Writing cover letters

0:54:01 - Conclusion

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! It's easy, you'll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure :) You can also leave a review!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What did you do this morning? In the productivity world, this question sounds a lot more compelling than usual due to the allure of the morning routine — the perfect formula to start a successful day. We talk about our routines and how to build your own.

Full show notes

Things mentioned in this episode:

Tom’s Sunday Study Playlist on Spotify

Tom’s Ultimate Study Playlist on Spotify

Tom’s Ultimate Study Playlist on YouTube

How to Get Into Tea (Ep. 207)

Morning Routines (Ep. 81)

Habitica (iOS | Android)

Duolingo (iOS | Android)

NerdFitness' PLP Challenge article

Linus Tech Tips on YouTube

Taran Van Hemert's Advanced Video Editing Tutorial

Essentialism, by Greg McKeown

Music Theory 101, by Marc Schonbrun and Brian Boone

Tide (iOS | Android)

Brain.fm

Autochords (iOS)

Momentum (iOS)

HabitBull (iOS | Android)

Freedom

FocalFilter

Heyfocus

How To Actually Stop Wasting Time On The Internet

Audible

Want more cool stuff? You can find all sorts of great tools at my Resources page.

You can also get a free copy of my book, 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades (While Studying Less), by staying up to date with the College Info Geek newsletter.

Timestamps:

0:05:58 - What we’re doing in the morning

0:13:39 - How we work out and tips on exercising

0:25:33 - Sponsor: Audible (Listening to audiobooks)

0:28:18 - Other elements of our morning routines

0:40:57 - Tips on starting a morning routine

0:52:57 - Conclusion

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! It's easy, you'll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure :) You can also [leave a review!](http://collegeinfogeek.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are you a tea drinker? If not, maybe it's time to give the second most popular drink on Earth after water a chance. We talk a bit about tea and how we got into it.

Full show notes

Things mentioned in this episode:

Library of Babel

A History of the World in 6 Glasses, by Tom Standage

Chef’s Table on Netflix

How to ACTUALLY Break Your Bad Habits

The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg

Ku Cha House of Tea

Bonavita Gooseneck Kettle

Want more cool stuff? You can find all sorts of great tools at my Resources page.

You can also get a free copy of my book, 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades (While Studying Less), by staying up to date with the College Info Geek newsletter.

Timestamps:

0:03:14 - What qualifies as tea and why get into it

0:26:40 - Differences between types of tea

0:35:26 - Loose leaf vs bagged tea and how to brew them

0:46:41 - Our favorite teas and tea-like drinks

0:53:36 - Conclusion

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! It's easy, you'll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure :) You can also leave a review!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Get your wings ready, because it's time to leave the nest. But what exactly does it take to strike out on your own? We talk about the day-to-day challenges of living independently.

Full show notes

Things mentioned in this episode:

Listen Money Matters

How to Budget Your Money Without Cutting Coffee (Ep. 174)

The Naked Roommate, by Harlan Cohen

How to Buy Your First House, Pt. 1: The Research Process (Ep. 205)

How to Adult on YouTube

The Art of Manliness

12 Rules for Life, by Jordan Peterson

Debt: The First 5,000 Years, by David Graeber

The Dip: How to Know When to Quit (Ep. 202)

Want more cool stuff? You can find all sorts of great tools at my Resources page.

You can also get a free copy of my book, 10 Steps to Earning Awesome Grades (While Studying Less), by staying up to date with the College Info Geek newsletter.

Timestamps:

0:03:29 - Becoming independent from your parents

0:07:06 - Handling all the costs that come with independence

0:14:27 - Choosing to live in a dorm during college

0:18:15 - Prioritizing what you need to buy

0:22:44 - Dealing with house maintenance

0:28:31 - Learning how to live with someone else

0:50:51 - Setting things up in your apartment

0:53:31 - Being aware of things that need to be done

1:00:02 - Developing your comfort zone

1:03:37 - Conclusion

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! It's easy, you'll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure :) You can also leave a review!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.