Learn: Cognitive Psychology - How to Learn, Any Skill or Subject in 21 Days! (Learn, Learning Disability, Learning Games, Learning Techniques, Learning ... Learning, Cognitive Science, Study) by Sebastian Archer

Author:Sebastian Archer [Archer, Sebastian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-06-09T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 10: One Trick to End Your Procrastination

“You have a limited amount of willpower to use each day. That willpower is your rocket fuel. Use it wisely.” – Eben Pagan

This tool will super-charge your productivity. It’s a very simple tool, one which you already have right now, on your laptop, tablet or phone. That tool is a timer.

Now before you go thinking about how a timer might add pressure, or it’s not realistic, consider this. What a timer in fact does, is give you freedom.

It gives you freedom because when you set that timer (we’ll talk about the best cycles of time to practice or learn to in a minute), it is a very strong symbol to your mind. All the decisions have been taken away from you. You can relax, into the learning process.

First, you make a commitment that during the timed period you will focus 100% on the learning process. You will have no distractions, you won’t answer the phone, browse the internet, talk to anyone else. Or even think about anything else. You will relax and focus 100% for that given time period on the task at hand. And on moving towards your goal.

When that timer beeps in say 50 minutes, you will stop for a break. A proper break. And the reason this gives you freedom is that you know that break is coming, and you know exactly when it is coming. You also know that there is nothing so urgent that it can’t wait 50 minutes, or 20 minutes, or however close to the break someone might try to contact you.

You no longer have to use your willpower. You don’t have to constantly wrestle with your own mind, deciding whether it’s ok for you to quickly check your Twitter or reply to a text. You know the answer is, yes that is fine, during the break, which is in… (glance at the timer) 17 minutes. And you immediately stay focused on the learning process.

What you will find is that after a few days of studying like this you naturally focus 100%, you don’t even think about distractions. They don’t even appear on your radar. Your brain has learned this is focus time. And the break is coming soon.

The break is equally important. We recommend you learn in 50-minute increments, which matches up with the famous Pomodoro studies of human energy cycles. If you work for 50 minutes with absolute focus, then take a proper break for 10 minutes (also with a timer), then focus for 50 minuets, then break for 30 minutes. Then start again. That rhythm works so well in conjunction with the natural energy cycles of your body, that you will not lose energy or feel tired, even after hours studying this way.

But like we said, the break is equally important. It has to be a real break. When the timer beeps, you set it again for 10 minutes. Then you get up, stretch, and go and do something completely different for 10 minutes.

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