I was never a great student, but managed well. I finished college with a dual major in physics and finance and finished out with a 3.2 (not great, but considering my lack of application in the majority of classes I can't complain).
For lectures, I would normally shut off my brain and write everything that seems applicable (tests always asked for the most frivolous answers which I never wrote down). I found that if I'd write it down, I would grasp whatever applicable knowledge could be applied to the material automatically. Although it isn't always instant, more like a revelation where all the info falls into place.
Never good at studying for non quantitative exams so I relied on on note taking method above. If I skimmed through my notes and was unfamiliar with something I had wrote, I'd follow up with some quick research of that topic. Usually online because I hose not to buy/rent many textbooks (seemed like a waste for history 101 and random business courses that were required i.e. Marketing and management).
Also I tried to work on all my courses at the same time jumping between subjects. I think this may have helped because we are known for handling massive amounts of arbitrary information. The more we take on a better understanding we get as we jump around and connect the dots.
If you are in high school, just zone out and make your teachers mad when you ace tests, but never turn in assignments or show your work in math class. Those were the days. Also, don't cross reference data on a research paper and create new data that isn't from any of your sources. Made that mistake and had to explain it wasn't plagiarism, but in fact, actual research. Almost got expelled from that.
Hope this helps
It really depends on the work. Sometimes you can redefine a task or even a field according to your interests once you're able to relate the content. For the other stuff, just try to get it done as fast as possible so you can focus on cooler things.
