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I'm actually reading through his "How To Become a Straight-A Student" right now. Nothing particularly profound, but the task tracking method is definitely helping me stay on-top of college work while having a full-time job at the same time.

There are lots of respected academics in computer science. Apparently he chose to spend his time writing 3 versions of the same book for money:
How to Win at College (2005),
How to Become a Straight-A Student (2006),
and How to Be a High-School Superstar (2010).
And he's by definition peddling. Not sure why you took offense to that and not sure where the "free" economy has any relevance to what I said.
The irony is I could sum up in one page what all those books combined contain.

Your question seems to be more about learning than note taking, so here are some of my notes learning to augment what others have said:

To aid recall, use the quiz and recall method: "The idea is to study by lecturing out-loud, to an imaginary class, about the key concepts you need to learn. Something about articulating arguments in complete sentences cements them in your mind like nothing else"

from http://calnewport.com/blog/2007/08/02/the-straight-a-gospels...

Also the book How to become a straight A student by Cal Newport is thin but packed with actionable information. Highly recommended.

The article was brief and had some good advice, and it sets the issue straight of having priority of school over other activities. School is a full-time job and spending 40 hours/week should be expected. A lot of the advice are also just common sense.

I also strongly recommend Cal Newport's book "How to Become a Straight-A Student" (https://www.amazon.com/How-Become-Straight-Student-Unconvent...). I've read a lot of books on studying in college, but I think this one really is one of the best way to study.

I set a schedule every day for myself. In my diary, I set aside 4 hours a day for my university courses, segmenting them into 4 25-minute sessions. Don't overdo it, study smart, not hard. I also do a bunch of online courses on anything I am currently interested in and do one hour a day studying these. I read the book called How To Become A Straight-A Student by Cal Newport and it has given me some rather useful insights on how to study. I dunno, I guess personality type plays a role in the amount of discipline you have.

I also work and do freelance work on the side as well as help my family with their businesses, so setting a schedule is important in my case, hope this helps in some way. If you know why you are doing all of these self-study things, it can also help you focus on the here and now. I recently learned of a term used in business management - obliquity: https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/obliquity-roundabout-route...

"Obliquity describes the process of achieving objectives indirectly, such as the financial success that comes from a real commitment to business. And obliquity is ubiquitous - it can even be applied to happiness. "

Rewards help too. Like, if you study for 25 minutes, get up and do something you like for 5 minutes, rinse and repeat.

I use a personal Trello account to keep track of things. What works for me is to take a month, set aside a week and put about 5 learning outcomes into each week. I tend to get overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I want to learn and do, so recognising when you're putting too much on your plate is a handy skill to learn.

Predictably, yes.

I've learned at least two things watching people misunderstand essays. First, when an essay touches on a polarizing issue, people tend to peg it as one end or the other of that polarization. Second, once people peg an essay as making an argument that they disagree with, they stop paying attention, if they keep reading at all.

I'm not trying to be critical of anyone; I tend to do the same thing.

Quote: I hear variations of this same tired argument probably once or twice a month. (It comes with the territory when you write a book titled How to Become a Straight-A Student).

He has you lumped in with the rest of his critics. "Obedience to authority" is a collective quote from the lot of you, with your words "index of obedience" as just one fuzzy part.

What's funny is in the end he agrees with your last three paragraphs. Quote: It's fine to make the point that college and grades aren't everything. In fact it's important.... I'll be the first say it: College is not necessary for success!