A quick and convenient way to gain new knowledge is to complete a course. But not everyone takes a course until the end.
Why No Time to Study
Information Noise
People face information fatigue syndrome, due to which the brain does not perceive new knowledge. Funny videos, news, ads that offer to play roulette online, messages in messenger, posts from friends distract from the really important. It seems that the information isn’t complicated, but my head is still tired.
No Purpose
People put off studying because they don’t realize the importance of studying: there are no specific goals. Some take courses for general self-development, others – because it’s now fashionable. But this isn’t enough motivation.
Feelings of Guilt for Insufficient Effort
A person blames himself for sometimes being lazy and postponing an activity. Guilt causes stress and accumulates like a snowball. As a result, any thought of studying causes anxiety and a feeling of dissatisfaction with oneself. This condition prevents you from immersing yourself in the material.
Incorrect Planning
If a person doesn’t make a plan, it’s difficult for him to understand when there will be free time to study. It seems that in the evening there will be a couple of free hours. But then it turns out that there is another work task or household chores. When you keep everything in your head, trying to have more time, you end up not having enough time for something.
Hanging out on Social Networks
They catch on, you look like you’ve been there for a couple of minutes, but an hour has already passed. Taking five-minute breaks during the day and distracting yourself with a smartphone is even useful. But if you disappear for hours, your productivity goes down.
Where to Find Time
Sacrifice Less Important Things to Do
Write a list of what you spend time on during the day. Include everything: work, everyday life, entertainment. Think about whether there are things you can give up or reduce the number of things you can do. For example, watch a TV series not every day, but only on weekends. Or at least one episode a day rather than a season.
Pick up Your Smartphone Less Often
If you can’t give up the Internet, install an app to block apps. Use them to disable social networks, messengers, websites, mobile games for a few hours or for good. Then you’ll be less distracted and more productive.
Revise Hour Life Schedule
Create a plan for the week. Write down what needs to be done at work and what needs to be done at home. For example, cook dinner, clean up, walk the dog. Rank the tasks in order of importance. Then you will see free periods of time for studies yourjobnews.
It’s convenient to make plans in special programs – Google Tasks, Trello, Microsoft To Do, Any.do.
Start small: devote a couple of hours a day to education. This is enough to watch a video lecture and do at least part of your homework.
Combine Learning With Other Activities
Take courses on your way to work or home. Listen to podcasts, read books, and watch lectures while you’re shorting time in traffic. Study while you’re sitting in line or waiting for your child to come home from practice.
But don’t study while you’re working. If you often switch between tasks and studying, it will be hard to concentrate. As a result, the quality of your work will drop, and you won’t remember anything from the online lesson.
Study Together With Your Loved Ones
Try to combine business with pleasure: suggest family members and friends to do self-education too. Discuss what new things you have heard. This will help you learn something useful and reinforce what you’ve learned.
Use Time Management Techniques
- Pomodoro. The author of the technique clocked 25 minutes on a timer in the form of a tomato, and after that he rested for five minutes. After four such circles, he took a half-hour break. This schedule made it easier to work and not get distracted. Because you know when the next break is coming.
- “Eat a Frog.” The frog is the hardest or most frustrating task of the day. Do it first, otherwise you’ll think about it all the time and won’t be able to focus on other things. Once you handle the difficult task, the others will seem easy, so they will be easier to get to hertube.
- “Nine Tasks.” This technique creates one big task, three medium ones and five small ones. The trick is that the nine tasks should include everything planned for the day. Then you will distribute the workload properly.
Don’t Study Multiple Courses in Parallel
Mastering multiple disciplines at once is not a good idea. Most likely, you won’t be able to devote enough time to each course. In addition, you will get tired quickly, you will stop memorizing information, and you will lose interest. Think about what is more important to learn now, and choose the right classes.
Keep Everything You Need to Study at Your Fingertips
Prepare everything you need in advance so you can start studying at any time. That is, charge your laptop, get your notebook out of the nightstand, and download all the programs and files.
Let Yourself Rest
The less you rest, the worse and slower you work. And you risk facing burnout. Be sure to take lunch breaks. On the weekends do a digital detox: turn off your smartphone, don’t watch TV. Get enough sleep, go for walks in parks, do your favorite hobbies.
Then you’ll have more energy to cope effectively with work tasks and find time for self-education.
How to Make It to the End of Training
Find Your Motivation
Think about why you signed up for the course. For example, to learn Japanese so you can travel around Japan on your own. Or to learn a profession as a developer so you can earn more money. Write down your goal and remember it every time you want to skip a lecture or drop out.
Lead a Healthy Lifestyle
Get six to eight hours of sleep a night. Take time to exercise: either do exercise in the morning or go for a walk in the evening. Eat a balanced diet and drink more water. Then you will have more energy. You can work more productively and find the energy to educate yourself.
Encourage Yourself
It’s good to encourage yourself while you are studying. For example, after taking a new class or mastering a tool, watch a movie, order your favorite meal for dinner. When you cope with homework, praise yourself: you’re good, you’re closer to the goal.
Think of something to give yourself at the end of the course. It can be headphones, a new phone or something you’ve been denying yourself.
