Write. Writing is a great way to remember what you're learning and reflect on how you're doing things. This will help you get better and better at what you do, and you'll be able to recognize the things you're good at and that you enjoy. If you write on a blog, you can use it to reach out to people. Write about what you're learning, and you'll help other people who are learning about it too. Write about what you're doing well, and you'll start building a network and a reputation that will come in really handy when you're looking for work.

Connect. Find out if there's a Facebook group for your incoming university class. If not, start one and invite other people to join. It's a great way to connect with people even before the first day of class. Feeling shy? That's okay, everyone is too. If you focus on helping other people connect and make friends, you'll become more and more comfortable, and you'll make friends along the way too. Don't hesitate to look for role models online, too. Many people have blogs that you can read to get a sense of what life is like in their industry. Read, then comment, then contact them, and you'll get a head start on growing your network.

Behave online and offline. The Internet remembers, and even sites that promise you privacy occasionally mess up and expose things you've shared to the world. Think twice about posting pictures of wild parties, underwear-on-your-head shenanigans, and other things things that future employers and coworkers might take against you. In fact, since just about anyone can take a picture of you and post it up on the Net where you don't have control of it, you might want to keep clean entirely. You don't need to posture to be cool, and you can have fun without doing things you'll regret.

Don't let yourself be limited by anything or anywhere. I took my bachelor's degree in a university in the Philippines. Great school, but it didn't have all the courses I wanted. =) I was on the Internet learning from course materials from everywhere: MIT, Georgia Tech, wherever I could find information. Now there are even more choices. Check out places like MIT OpenCourseware and Stanford iTunes for free courses. This is great not only for learning things, but also for getting a better sense of what you like. In fact, it might be a good idea to check the courses out now before you declare a major. You don't need to understand everything. You just have to get a sense of whether you'll like the course or not. That way, you'll spend less time switching around to find something you enjoy and will use.

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I think I'll make a few sketches about this over the long weekend. =) Any other tips for incoming college and university students?

1. Write for one person. Don't get intimidated by the blank screen or the unknown audience. Write for one person. Write for yourself, write for your boss, write for your coworker, write for your friend, write for your mom… but write for one person at a time. I like writing for myself.
2. Cc: world. Recycle as much knowledge as you can. Answered a question over e-mail that other people might find helpful? Blog it. Had a great conversation that other people might learn from? Blog it. Learned something interesting that other people would like? Blog it. There's plenty to write about.
3. Get personal benefits. You won't stick with blogging unless you see what's in it for you. Me, I like being able to look back and find out what I was doing and why I was doing it. My blog helps me answer those questions. My blog helps me see how I've changed. My blog helps me remember how I solved problems. My blog helps me connect with people. My blog helps me make the most of time because I get lots of value out of the books I read, the conversations I have, the things I do. My blog opens lots of opportunities. As you can see, I blog for selfish reasons.
4. Create value for others. When you tell your stories or share your ideas or pass along a tip that you found useful, you might end up helping someone months or even years down the line. Searchable blogs keep providing value in unanticipated ways.
5. Let people discover your blog. Add it to your e-mail signature. Mention it when it's relevant. Link to it. Make it easier for people to find your blog, and you'll benefit by having richer conversations with less small talk and more interesting topics.
6. Read and comment. Read other people's blogs to learn what they're interested in and what blogging is like. Comment on their blogs: share your thoughts or even just thank them for posting. Write about their blog posts in your own blog - great way to quickly add content and share the link love.
7. Keep writing. Don't expect your first post to get a hundred comments. Keep writing. You're not writing for other people, you're writing to discover what you have to say. You will be boring for at least the first few months, or however long it takes to throw off the writing habits you picked up in school. Keep writing anyway. Eventually, you'll get more used to writing and you won't have to think about writing so much. Then you'll be able to concentrate on what you want to say.
8. Be yourself. Don't write corporate-speak. Don't keep it just business. Show a little of your personal side. People will connect with you better for it.
9. Give yourself permission to get better and better. You had a typo. You gave the wrong link. You were wrong. You changed your mind. That's okay. It's a blog, it's conversational, it's chronological. It's okay to make mistakes. You get better every day.
10. Have fun. Don't treat it like homework, treat it as a terrific way to discover who you are and who other people are. Keep an eye out for your positive experiences and celebrate them!

What do you think? =)

1. Share what you know
2. Be confident in yourself
3. Solve the current problem
4. Give willingly — even when it's your job
5. Satisfy your own curiosity
6. Listen to others
7. Don't take over
8. Know when to stop
9. Teach, don't tell
10. Be sensitive to people's feelings and shortcomings
11. Ask for help
12. Model best practices
13. Be reliable

Being useful, even insanely useful, doesn't mean allowing yourself to be used. It means offering what you can, when you can, and doing so gladly. This applies whether you're doing favors for friends, working with a team at work, writing instructions, or anything else — set limits, but within those limits, be wholly available.

Lots of people are useful — they do the things they need to do, solve the problems they need to solve, and keep things chugging along. People that are insanely useful are in high demand by the companies they work for, the organizations they take part in, the clients they serve, their friends and family, and society in general because they not only solve problems and make things work but they add value to every relationship they take part in.

Lifehack.org, How to Make Yourself INSANELY Useful

Check out the article for concrete tips. =)