8 Things Everybody Ought to Know About Concentrating “Music helps me concentrate,” Mike said to me glancing briefly over his shoulder. Mike was in his room writing a paper for his U.S. History class. On his desk next to his computer sat crunched Red Bulls, empty Gatorade bottles, some extra pocket change and scattered pieces of paper. In the pocket of his sweat pants rested a blaring iPod with a chord that dangled near the floor, almost touching against his Adidas sandals. On his computer sat even more stray objects than his surrounding environment. Mike made a shift about every thirty seconds between all of the above. Do you know a person like this? The Science Behind Concentration In the above account, Mike’s obviously stuck in a routine that many of us may have found ourselves in, yet in the moment we feel it’s almost an impossible routine to get out of. When we constantly multitask to get things done, we’re not multitasking, we’re rapidly shifting our attention. Phase 1: Blood Rush Alert Phase 2: Find and Execute Phase 3: Disengagement
77 Brain Hacks to Learn Faster, Deeper, and Better Source: Online Education Database If someone granted you one wish, what do you imagine you would want out of life that you haven't gotten yet? For many people, it would be self-improvement and knowledge. New knowledge is the backbone of society's progress. Great thinkers such as Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, and others' quests for knowledge have led society to many of the marvels we enjoy today. Your quest for knowledge doesn't have to be as Earth-changing as Einstein's, but it can be an important part of your life, leading to a new job, better pay, a new hobby, or simply knowledge for knowledge's sake — whatever is important to you as an end goal. Life-changing knowledge does typically require advanced learning techniques. Here are 77 tips related to knowledge and learning to help you on your quest. 1. 2. 4. 5. Balance 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Recall Techniques 15. 16. 17. Visual Aids 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. Verbal and Auditory Techniques 24. 25.
Is fear of failure a major obstacle? SALT LAKE CITY -- The fear of failure is one of the most common obstacles holding people back from reaching their potential in life. This fear prevents people from trying new things, taking risks and moving ahead financially. A fear of failure also incorporates a fear of looking bad, being embarrassed or being rejected. It stops people from being unique, as it encourages them to conform to win the approval of others. Many give up their identity for this fleeting validation. Is this fear a factor for you? Do you avoid people and prefer to spend time alone? If you said yes to any of these, you may be suffering from a fear of failure. This fear often stems from a traumatic experience some people may have had as a child, which is now hindering your progress as an adult. Here are six ways to eliminate the fear of failure from one's life: Identify the worst case scenario. There are no mistakes, only lessons. You are here to learn and grow.
How to Accomplish More by Doing Less - Tony Schwartz by Tony Schwartz | 7:40 AM December 13, 2011 Two people of equal skill work in the same office. For the sake of comparison, let’s say both arrive at work at 9 am each day, and leave at 7 pm. Bill works essentially without stopping, juggling tasks at his desk and running between meetings all day long. He even eats lunch at his desk. Sound familiar? Nick, by contrast, works intensely for approximately 90 minutes at a stretch, and then takes a 15 minute break before resuming work. Bill spends 10 hours on the job. By 1 pm, Bill is feeling some fatigue. It’s called the law of diminishing returns. Nick puts in the same 10 hours. Nick takes off a total of two hours during his 10 at work, so he only puts in 8 hours. Because Nick is more focused and alert than Bill, he also makes fewer mistakes, and when he returns home at night, he has more energy left for his family. It’s not just the number of hours we sit at a desk in that determines the value we generate.
29 Semi-Productive Things I Do Online When I’m Trying to Avoid Real Work You don’t always have to work hard to be productive. Productivity can simply be the side effect of doing the right things. So here’s a list of 29 semi-productive things I do online when my mind is set on avoiding ‘real work.’ Check delicious popular tags like ‘useful,’ ‘tutorials,’ ‘tips,’ ‘howto,’ ‘advice,’ ‘entrepreneurship,’ etc. for interesting, educational articles to read.Watch one of the thousands of educational videos streaming at TED.com, Academic Earth and Teacher Tube.Read an online book list and find a new book to grab next time I’m at the library. Here’s another list. Oh, and ever since I bought my new (super sexy) Apple iPad , I’ve been enjoying all of these sites on the go and catching looks from almost everyone who passes me while I browse. So what kind of semi-productive things do you do online in your off-time? Photo by: Colorblind Picaso Party Casino Related 30 Life-Enhancing Things You Can Do in 30 Minutes or Less April 19, 2012 In "Happiness" We're all way too busy.
7 Not So Obvious Habits To Maximize Your Productivity I was a big fan of productivity, and, in some respects, I still am. I’ve been a very early adopter of GTD, and, for years, I did my weekly reviews with the discipline of a zen monk. But, eventually, I hit a roadblock. So, I confess I fell out from the GTD wagon. But enough with all this shameless self-promotion intro. So, instead of doing a presentation of the Assess – Decide – Do framework, I chose to isolate only 7 simple tips for today’s post. As a matter of fact, they’re even organized as such. 1. I firmly believe that the art of ignorance should be taught in schools. Especially on Mondays, when all the previous week unprocessed stuff seems to crash on us, try to apply this. Slash out Twitter, Facebook, email. 2. Each tiny task that you finish is an achievement. Tuesdays are great for this habit, because they’re the first link after the week hast started. As much as we won’t want to admit it, that Pavlov guy was right. 3. 4. This comes from a long history of programming. 5. 6. 7.
10 Laws of Productivity You might think that creatives as diverse as Internet entrepreneur Jack Dorsey, industrial design firm Studio 7.5, and bestselling Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami would have little in common. In fact, the tenets that guide how they – and exceptionally productive creatives across the board – make ideas happen are incredibly similar. Here are 10 laws of productivity we’ve consistently observed among serial idea executors: 1. Break the seal of hesitation. A bias toward action is the most common trait we’ve found across the hundreds of creative professionals and entrepreneurs we’ve interviewed. 2. When our ideas are still in our head, we tend to think big, blue sky concepts. 3. Trial and error is an essential part of any creative’s life. To avoid ‘blue sky paralysis,’ pare your idea down to a small, immediately executable concept. 4. When working on in-depth projects, we generate lots of new ideas along the way. 5. 6. 7. 8. Few activities are more of a productivity drain than meetings. 9.
SLCC - Learning Handouts Skip navigation links ugs : life and learning in sync Sanger Learning Center is UT Austin’s main resource for academic support. Each year, we help more than 20,000 students achieve their academic potential. We are open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Come in for one-on-one or drop-in tutoringImprove your study skills with a learning specialistMeet weekly with a peer academic coachAttend free classes and workshops Learn how self-testing can better prepare you for your next exam.
Nine Things Successful People Do Differently - Heidi Grant Halvorson Learn more about the science of success with Heidi Grant Halvorson’s HBR Single, based on this blog post. Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren’t sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. 1. To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. 3. Fortunately, decades of research suggest that the belief in fixed ability is completely wrong — abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable. The good news is, if you aren’t particularly gritty now, there is something you can do about it. 7. To build willpower, take on a challenge that requires you to do something you’d honestly rather not do. 8. 9. If you want to change your ways, ask yourself, What will I do instead? It is my hope that, after reading about the nine things successful people do differently, you have gained some insight into all the things you have been doing right all along.
Are Fast Talkers More Persuasive? Psychological research tries to solve the riddle of the fast talker. Beware the fast-talker, the person with the gift of the gab—the friendly salesman, the oily politician—running through the ‘facts’ faster than you can keep up. Rat-a-tat-tat. What does all that fast talking do to us? Boost persuasion When psychologists first began examining the effect of speech rate on persuasion, they thought the answer was cut-and-dried. At 195 words per minute, about the fastest that people speak in normal conversation, the message became more credible to those listening, and therefore more persuasive. These results, along with a couple of other studies, lead some researchers to think that speaking quickly was a potential ‘magic bullet’ of persuasion. Reverse effect By the 1980s, though, other researchers had begun to wonder if these results could really be correct. By the 1990s a more nuanced relationship between speech rate and persuasion emerged. Beware the silver tongued Image credit: Torley
Psychology of Persuasion Do you want to be an agent of change? Psychological research reveals how to tip the balance in your favour. All human societies are alive with the battle for influence. Every single day each of us is subject to innumerable persuasion attempts from corporations, interest groups, political parties and other organisations. Each trying to persuade us that their product, idea or innovation is what we should buy, believe in or vote for. In our personal lives the same struggle is played out for the supremacy of viewpoints, ideals and actions. Psychologists have been studying how we try to influence each other for many years. • 3 Universal Goals to Influence People – Effective influence and persuasion isn’t just about patter, body language or other techniques, it’s also about understanding people’s motivations. • The Persuasive Power of Swearing – Show your passion and people have one more emotional reason to come around to your point of view. • Are Fast Talkers More Persuasive?
11 Goal Hacks: How to Achieve Anything Goal-setting research on fantasising, visualisation, goal commitment, procrastination, the dark side of goal-setting and more… We’re all familiar with the nuts and bolts of goal-setting. We should set specific, challenging goals, use rewards, record progress and make public commitments (if you’re not familiar with these then check out this article on how to reach life goals). So how come we still fail? This psychological research suggests why and what mindsets should help us reach our goals. 1. The biggest enemy of any goal is excessive positive fantasising. 2. The reason we don’t achieve our goals is lack of commitment. One powerful psychological technique to increase commitment is mental contrasting. 3. You can use the Zeigarnik effect to drag you on towards your goal. What the Zeigarnik effect teaches is that one weapon for beating procrastination is starting somewhere…anywhere. 4. 5. When we miss our target, we can fall foul of the what-the-hell-effect. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
10 Simple Postures That Boost Performance Psychological research suggests simple actions can project power, persuade others, increase empathy, boost cognitive performance and more… We tend to think of body language as something that expresses our internal states to the outside world. But it also works the other way around: the position of our body also influences our mind. As the following psychological research shows, how we move can drive both thoughts and feelings and this can boost performance. 1. Pose for power If you want to feel more powerful then adopt a powerful posture. 2. Tensing up your muscles can help increase your willpower. 3. If you’re stuck on a problem which needs persistence then try crossing your arms. 4. If crossing your arms doesn’t work then try lying down. 5. While you’re lying down, why not have a nap? Brooks & Lack (2005) compared 5, 10, 20 and 30 minute naps to find the best length. 6. The way people’s hands cut through the air while they talk is fascinating. 7. 8. 9. 10. Embodied cognition