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Here’s another new image – a telephoto view of Mount Whitney, California during a stormy sunrise. Whitney is the tallest peak in the lower 48 states, at 14,505 feet.
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It was dark in my room. Quiet too. I could feel the warmth coming from the 3rd story window in our apartment building, but I had the shades down because I needed to focus.
It had been 2 weeks since the semester had ended, and I was still working.
What in god’s name was I doing there… weeks after everyone else had headed home to their families, summer jobs, and relaxing vacations?
I asked myself that a lot during those few weeks after the end of my Junior year.
The answer?
I was finishing a project.
Our junior product design project, required by the engineering curriculum at my school. A project we had long-since actually completed and presented on. But this was the worst part of all: the massive, ungodly long, painfully tedious PROJECT REPORT.
Our team’s final grades were being held until we finished, along with most other students in the class. The sheer amount of work required to get those 100+ pages of technical reporting done was impossible to squeeze into a semester already bulging at the seams with classes, work, and exhaustion. And I, nobly, had volunteered to pull together everyone’s work and finish off the report (P.S. – worst group project decision ever…).
The problem was I was losing steam.
Every second I just barely inched along – struggling to make yet another table, chart, caption…
“This is stupid.”
“What’s the point?”
I could get myself to do just about anything at that point… anything except make progress on the one thing I actually needed to be doing.
“…the brain is not designed for thinking. It’s designed to save you from having to think, because the brain is actually not very good at thinking. Thinking is slow and unreliable.”
~ Daniel Willingham, cognitive scientist and author of Why Don’t Students Like School?
As students, both in school and in life, we constantly put pressure on ourselves to learn.
Learn more. Learn faster. Fit it all in.
But most of the time, it backfires.
“I know I should be studying, but I can’t stop watching re-runs of Seinfeld… Why am I so lazy?”
Like UVA cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham helpfully reminds us, the brain is designed primarily to support the survival functions (seeing, hearing, moving, etc.) that keep us going.
Thinking (the thing everyone seems to care about these days) is actually an evolutionary “nice-to-have” – a high-energy-cost activity that takes focus away from survival to build new thought patterns that might be helpful later on.
We are, as they say, cognitive misers.
We put ourselves on a “brain energy budget,” refusing to expend effort unless we can see a good reason why…
And not the logical, rational, “I should do this” type of reason. A more primal reason.
A lot of this we chock up to motivation.
“Ugh, I just can’t get motivated to do math.”
But motivation is much more complex, fluid, and fleeting than we think.
It comes and goes like a wave… and is directly tied, not only to the “voice in our heads,” but also to our biology.
When we’re motivated, everything is good. Everything is easy. It’s like we’re on happy pills, and the work flows effortlessly.
And we don’t even need a plan!
When I’m motivated I’ll gleefully walk up to my shelf, pick up some random book (usually the most colorful) and start learning – just because it seems interesting! I’ll do the dishes, walk the dog, fold the clothes, go work out… The difficulties in life seem to melt away.
But then it starts to fade, and we fall back to baseline.
The true problem arises when we’re not motivated: it’s like a long slog through hot cement – an eternal struggle just to make it to the desk to even think about opening your notebook.
When that happens, and you try to “just study,” it’s more hopeless than Ron Burgandy without a teleprompter.
Unfortunately, we do it to ourselves.
First, we put a HUGE amount of pressure on ourselves to succeed. Our identity becomes tied to being a “smart person,” and any evidence to the contrary (points off on homework, a bad exam grade, a mistake in a meeting at work) becomes a catalyst for a downward de-motivational spiral. We subscribe to a fixed-mindset, and we do it without even knowing it.
We’re all really really afraid of looking stupid.
And that makes it just that much more likely that the motivation won’t come when we want it to.
Second, we plan as if we’ll always be motivated.
“Oh yea, I’ll just figure it all out once I get to the library. Just gotta read the textbook and go through the lecture notes and stuff.”
But that’s only like 5% of our daily experience!
95% of the time, I’m completely overwhelmed by any task more complex than “go to the bathroom,” “lie down,” or “chew.”
So here I was, sitting by myself, wishing every second I was anywhere else besides in front of the computer.
I made food.
I watched Youtube videos.
I checked Facebook and email and text messages and ANYTHING PLEASE FINISH THIS FOR ME!!
I even remember trying to slog through by typing super slowly… O n e l e t t e r at a time.
And then I would catch a short burst of “OK LET’S DO THIS!” and write about 3 pages, and then get exhausted again.
I was doing it all wrong – trying to force my brain to get focused and motivated on this monumental task of “WRITE PROJECT REPORT.”
Think damnit!!
Okay, time to switch gears. Back to Mr. Willingham…
“Nevertheless, people enjoy mental work if it is successful. People like to solve problems, but not to work on unsolvable problems.”
Turns out, solving problems actually brings pleasure!
And our brains are more than happy to expend energy on solvable problems, releasing dopamine every time we make some visible progress.
The only trouble lies in figuring out how to break down your work so that you perceive it as “solvable.”
So, instead of waiting for motivation to strike, and then working like a madman… do this:
These short bursts of energy throughout the day will get you over the mental hurdle of having to think about big complex tasks.
So take advantage intelligently, and break down your big monstrous task into smaller, manageable chunks that can be reasonably tackled during the “down periods” that will inevitably plague you later.
For me that would have been mapping out the report outline, breaking it into chunks: Intro, Background Research, Design, Manufacturing, Testing and Data Collection, etc.
Then taking each of those chunks, and breaking them into smaller pieces. For example, the Results section would have 4 tables and 12 graphs on X, Y, and Z followed by captions and a short description for each.
For a set of math problems, this might be breaking them down by concept (e.g. the product rule, the quotient rule, the chain rule, etc.), and then managing each problem by breaking it down into parts (e.g. differentiate first, then algebra, then plug in).
Humans are goal oriented. Goals are good. Me likey goals.
But setting the goal only frames the activity that you’ll then need to do. Staring at that shiny trophy isn’t going to get you any closer to actually getting it.
So instead, set up a system that will inevitably lead you to the finish line.
In my case, this would have been a daily schedule, along with my chunked down task list above. Plus some sort of reward/punishment setup.
Monday is for the Intro and Background Research sections. For each 25-minute period of work I’ll aim to get either one sub-section of writing done, or annotate those sections with footnotes from references. Each time I get through a work period, I’ll reward myself with a 5-minute break. Then, if I get everything done for the day, I get to relax and watch a goofy documentary and order food.
Sleep consolidates learning.
Sleep releases growth hormone and repairs your body.
Sleep builds up your mental capacity.
But our culture FRIGGIN HATES SLEEP. Sleep is for the weak! I’ll sleep when I die!! What a waste of time!
Well, unfortunately sometimes our culture is also pretty stupid.
Sleep is the necessary counterpart to high achievement, ESPECIALLY in learning.
The deeper you go into the energy reserves of your mind and body, the more rest you need to recuperate and consolidate your gains.
What do super-performers like Jeff Bezos, LeBron James, and Arianna Huffington have in common?
Spoiler alert: IT’S 7-10 HOURS OF SLEEP!!
Sleep is directly correlated with both motivation and clear thinking: a student’s dream (no pun intended).
‘nough said.
Oh, so what happened with my project?
Got it finished (after three grueling weeks), got a 94%, got an A in the class.
But damn it didn’t have to be that hard…
If you liked this post (and are tired of banging your head against the wall) check out my Free 5-Day No-BS Study Tactics Course where I’ll help you beat procrastination, reduce study time, and achieve deep focused learning in your math, science, or engineering courses.
Tom is an engineer and physics tutor obsessed with independent learning. He writes about unconventional study methods at WTF Professor, aimed at simplifying the learning process for engineers and technical students.
The post How to Stop Procrastinating: What I Learned During 3 Weeks of Hell appeared first on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement.
How would you like to execute all your tasks for each day, and do that every day? Sounds great, right? Sure, with the right steps taken, you can get that done easily. Accomplishing all your tasks for the day will help you have a great day, bring you closer to the ultimate achievement you’re set for, and give you satisfaction. It’ll also contribute hugely to your overall success. After all, that’s what success is all about — accomplishing all your set goals and meeting your targets.
If you fancy the feeling of being successful and would like to go through each day achieving your goals, here’s how to pull that off in 7 simple steps:
Write out a basic plan, showing all the important things you want to do for the day. You can do this using a computer, a mobile device, or going traditional with a real pen and paper. It involves evaluating and prioritizing the day’s activities in the order of their rewards and benefits to you. You’d have to do this before you start your day.
It’s about getting organized; it’s about getting to know what to do and how to do it; it’s about getting things in place on paper and in your mind, so you wouldn’t lose your bearings or become disoriented in the middle of the day, thinking what to do next.
Make the tasks in the list as SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely) as possible.
You don’t have to include 30 tasks that require at least 2 hours each to accomplish; there are just 24 hours in a day. My personal strategy here is to try to make my list have 3-5 MITs (Most Important Tasks) plus a couple other non-MITs. If you end up accomplishing just the MITs, you still had a great day. The non-MITs can be outsourced or delegated if you’re time-challenged.
Obviously, planning your day ahead involves some thinking and visualization, where you forecast your day before you even live in it. You can even go a step further by doing this the night before. I usually do this while carrying out step 7 below.
After writing out a basic plan for your day, allot time to each activity. Possibly, indicate when to start the activity and when to end it. Visualize how much you hope to accomplish the task within the stipulated time frame, and of course, keep it SMART. Doing this will put you in control of your time and day. It will also help you measure your progress, manage your time effectively and get more done.
It’s not just enough to write out a plan and allot time to the activities; you actually have to follow through strictly if you want to achieve results. This entails getting up to do what you ought to do when it’s time to do it.
The truth is, if you shift things, it could change everything. Let’s say you had fixed to write an article from 10 a.m to 11:30 a.m. And so when it was time, you opened you computer, logged in, and just as you were about to open your word processor, something happened: A notification box popped up out of nowhere, showing that you have a new email in your inbox. So you head over to Gmail to check it.
Then to FB to quickly see how many new Facebook likes your page just got; then to Twitter; then your favorite blog. And before you know it, it’s already 30 minutes into your article writing time. But just because it’s so necessary to write the article, the time has to be shifted from the initial 11:30 to 12:00, eating into the time for another activity. And the cycle continues.
If you ever get into that kind of cicle, the next point can come in handy.
It’s easy to get distracted in the midst of the activities and happenings around you during the day, but you have to make up your mind not to be distracted. Staying focused is important for the accomplishment of your tasks. If you really want to get something done, give total attention to it; concentrate all your strength on it, psychologically, physically and otherwise.
Clearly, this is against multi-tasking. You really cannot get much done by trying to do everything at the same time. Single tasking is the way to go. If you find yourself struggling with staying focused and giving total attention to the task at hand, here are some things to do:
To have the best results, you’d have to concentrate on the most important activities and give them your best shot. By important activities, I mean those activities that will help you most in achieving or getting close to your ultimate goal. You will have to do this because during the day, several unimportant activities may pop up, looking to steal away your time.
And the unfortunate thing? You may not realize that your time is being “stolen” until it’s 5:00 PM when you suddenly realize that you haven’t done much for the day.
Here are some steps you can apply to overcome this:
You’d also have to beware of “time-stealers.” Time-stealers could be unimportant and unnecessary activities, social networks, or even friends who always come around to yak and chew the fat. Avoid them like the plague.
Not only should you be sensitive to the scheduling and timing of your day, you should also treat other people’s time with respect. For instance, if you told someone to come see you by 3:00 PM, when the person gets there by the said time, don’t keep the person waiting until 4:00PM. If you were unavoidably in the middle of another meeting, see about calling the person up before 3:00 PM to re-schedule the appointment.
Don’t keep people waiting gratuitously. They might have gotten at least one useful thing done while waiting and doing nothing. On the other hand, if you find yourself waiting, make productive use of the little blocks of time you have. Maybe while waiting for a meeting to start, queuing up at the ticket station, waiting to catch a flight, or even while sitting in a bus, get something done.
It could be a simple, streamlined task like replying/sending an email, making a short important call, signing up for a service or a helpful task like reading. Whatever it is, create a list of 5-10 minutes tasks, ready to be executed at any given “block of time.”
Remember what the sixth part of Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues says:
“Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.”
This comes at the end of the day. Write out a list of the things you’ve done since you woke up. This will help you measure your progress and set new goals. It’ll also help you redirect your focus on the tasks that need to get done. If after evaluating your list you’re not satisfied with the results you’ve gotten, don’t complain but just do it better the next day.
Accomplishing all your tasks for each day is doable and it comes with a great feeling. It’s also important because meeting your daily goals contributes immensely to your overall success and to the achievement of your ultimate goal. When you want to have a great day, apply the productivity hacks above and you’ll be set to getting that done, stress-free.
Featured photo credit: john.schultz via flickr.com
The post 7 Productivity Hacks To Accomplish All Your Tasks Every Day appeared first on Lifehack.
Sig Nordal 