Ahead of the Power Curve

I really appreciated what my friend Carol wrote the other day. She makes it sound like I'm really living my best life and working well. In truth, I think I just don't like ever being "behind the power curve" so I try to stay out in front. She wrote that I was well ahead of schedule in classes, and way ahead of the class and the other students.

I will say, as soon as I find out which books are being assigned for a class, I try and go out and read them immediately. I enjoy reading them in one go, instead of spread out over weeks. Secondly, when I read I make a lot of notes in the margins and use a lot of post it notes to tab pages. I mark them up quite a bit so during the class I go back and re-read my notes. This serves to provide a level of reinforcement and makes it easier for me to stay up with the class. 

I am also in a terrific position in that my organization is very thankful to take advantage of a lot of what I'm studying. Many of the things we are studying are directly transferable to my job and our work. I have a community that I help sponsor and I can't tell you how often I write in that community about things I learn in these classes. 

Lastly, I was very lucky to get roped into a weekly study group with two amazing people who have been an amazing aid to me in everything administrative that happens along this journey. Having others to help pull some of the weight, to bounce ideas off of, to discuss problems with, and to read and proof papers has been a huge help to me. 

In terms of organization, I'm one of the least organized people I know. But I found early on that having a free form style is fine providing there are tools in place to help bring it all together. I've found a system that works well for me, but as I mentioned, being forced to organize things in a different way is helpful as well, and helping me see some of the benefits that come with other organizational theories. 

I'd love to know what you find others are doing when they read? I tab, use margin notes, summarize in OneNote, and then re-read when class is going on. What are the other options and what works best for others?