How do you manage?
“Winning is simple. Wake up every day and do the things everyone else avoids.” – Jim Rohn
The Resistance
Our brains are actually afraid of challenge. With consequences as high as they are, challenges are threats. When we’re threatened, we try to escape. Ever have trouble getting started at studying? This is why.
On the other hand, the guilt of “not doing” causes us to seek things to do. We put off studying with micro tasks that don’t matter but the busyness makes us feel productive. Are you checking your email right now? Scrolling on social media? Packing and cleaning before you leave for break?
Don’t Hide
This is your moment to shine! Don’t hide from hard work, charge headfirst into it! While everyone else runs away, do the hard work and enjoy the reward.
Low Value Study Activities:
- Rereading the text book
- Rereading your notes
- Reading solution manuals for problems you didn’t understand
- Reading the lecture slides
- Calculating your grade scenarios
- Emailing your professor asking for an exception
High Value Study Activities:
- Using the book, notes, homework, and lecture materials to create your own teaching materials
- Using those materials to explain difficult concepts to your classmates who are struggling
Ever hear the saying, “we learn what we teach”? It’s true. This exam season, do the hard work of figuring out how to explain what you’ve learned to someone who hasn’t. Create the notes you’d use if you had to give a lecture on the idea. You’ll form mental connections, develop your own examples, and finally understand the concepts in a framework that aligns with the way YOU think, instead of the one the professor used.
Lastly, know this:
If you’re reading these words, you’re a motivated and talented individual. How do I know? Because plenty of people aren’t, they’re hiding behind a video game or a binge watching session or less healthy activities.
When no one believes in you, when you don’t believe in yourself, know that I do. You got this, my friend.
What’s a tricky concept that you understand now that you’ve explained it to someone else? Leave a comment!
