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Procrastination is the Thief Of Time

Dear Aunt Agatha,I'm currently studying an Engineering course. I'm

enjoying it, but it's such an effort to start studying at any time. I find so many other things to do instead, watching the football, checking my emails; I even sometimes prefer to clean the bathroom. What do you suggest I do to get stuck in my books and not in the toilet?

ThanksTW

Dear TW,

It’s obvious to me you are a procrastinator. You may be enjoying your study but something is stopping you. Do you feel that it’s a painful process to study, many people do, and for you to prefer to clean the bathroom instead of studying, it must really hurt. You may want to look at http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_96.htm which outlines three tips to help you overcome this procrastination:

Step 1: Recognize When You Are ProcrastinationStep 2: Work out why you're ProcrastinatingStep 3: Adopt Anti-Procrastination Strategies

Look for the cue when you procrastinate, and set yourself a routine, follow this with a reward (get your cleaning products out if this is seen as a boost!).

One routine you may want to try is The Pomodoro Technique. Set yourself a time when you will study. Put aside all distractions, phones, TV, music. Set a time limit it’s usually 25 minutes, but if this is too long set it to 15 minutes and build yourself up. Once you’ve completed your study. Give yourself a reward, a piece of chocolate, a TV programme, a phone call, checking your social media. Try this over a number of days and I’m sure it will become second nature to you.

Best of luck with your study and take care,

Aunt Agatha

11th Hour Studying

Dear Aunt Agatha,I’m a busy woman who works through the week

and socialises at the weekend. As part of my job I need to be Continually Developing, which means tests and exams. These are difficult. I always look at the books a few days before I take the test, I read it two or three times and at the time I know it all. But the test is so stressful, I cannot remember everything. Tell me how to make the tests easier.

YoursFG

Dear FG,

It’s great you have an occupation that cares about you bettering yourself. Are you sure the issue is with the tests, I think you could do better with your method of studying and planning better.

Research has shown that spaced repetition is better than cramming as set out in Thalheimer, W. (2006, February).Spacing Learning Events Over Time: What the Research Says. Let me explain a bit further.

When taking a test you need to give yourself as much time to learn the material. Spaced learning allows you to keep studying in small amounts while taking it ALL in. What you are doing at the moment is waiting to the last moment and trying to get all the points in short period of time. With more time you can study all the salient points more than once and get it embedded in your brain. Aim to study in small time segments over a number of weeks, much better than a couple of mega sessions. Give each subject time between each study, making the gap longer each time. This way your brain will take it in and move it from a working memory to a long term memory.I’m sure this will helpmake your exams seem easier.

Best of luck in your future Aunt Agatha

Let Your Brain Do The Work

Dear Aunt Agatha,I live in a remote part of the country and take

MOOC’s as a way of stretching my mind. The environment here means I can take long walks and take in the countryside. I need a method of bringing information together, to ensure I do well in my learning from the studies. Have you any suggestions?

Yours sincerely,RL

Dear RL,

Sounds like a great part of the World. And it’s good to use the things around you to make the most from them.

May I suggest that once you’ve done a study period that you use the great outdoors and go for a stroll. Let your mind go free and take in the beauty around you. Leave your study behind you.

That’s right leave the study behind. The brain has two ways of thinking focussed and diffuse. When you’re studying, the brain is using the focussed method of thinking. Looking at a particular problem, learning a list of verbs in a new language, grappling with a mathematical equation. When you let your mind goes free it switches to the diffuse method. This is when the brain tries to make sense of the information. It will work in the background on what you’ve just read and start to make connections. I know it sounds weird, but it’s true. The diffuse method will tap into your creative side. It will start to make connections of what you’re learning and come up with possible solutions and methods. You may find the studying easier when you return to it later.

Taking a walk is also a good idea if you come up against a particular tough bit of the course. And as Dr Terrence Sejnowski puts forward exercise helps create new neurons in the brain.

I hope this has helped RL, and good luck in your further studies.

Aunt Agatha