Hi! My name is Monika Kreile, and I have done a lot of studying: after earning a Bachelor’s degree in Modern Languages from the University of Manchester, I went on to do an MPhil in Linguistics from Linacre College, University of Oxford. But I wanted to study some more! So I went over to ‘the other place’, to complete an MPhil in Gender Studies from Gonville & Caius College, University of Cambridge. By then, I had become a bit of a study pro, so I got a PGCE (that’s a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education, a teaching qualification) from London Metropolitan University, and went on to teach modern foreign languages for a decade in schools in south-west UK.

I have always loved studying, but I have had my share of ups and downs with it, especially as a postgraduate student. Before then, I found that my effort correlated more or less directly with the results I got: if I chose to apply myself to something, my grades would shoot up and I could celebrate success. That changed during my first MPhil, when I discovered that it was possible to work hard and not really arrive anywhere, by virtue of not having the right support, a sense of perspective, or a solid understanding of one’s direction in it. Working on my first MPhil thesis was agonisingly lonely and confusing, and while I did well in the end, I often wonder how much heartache I could have saved myself by using some of the mindset and productivity techniques I now teach.

As a teacher, I gained the most insight by observing thousands of hours of studying in action. Any educator will tell you that the students who make the most progress are not always the most naturally gifted ones: talent is wasted every day. The winning formula seems to reside in a combination of industriousness (being ready to invest the long hours) and vision: knowing why you are doing something and where you are headed is very powerful. I view my job as helping you see the big picture - how your studies fit into your life in the broadest possible sense, then fine-tuning your study process to streamline your way to achievement. People surprise themselves by how much they can accomplish through a relationship to studying that is both positive and functional.