TOPIC A -- PROCASTINATION
- In Week 1, Lecture 4 (Oakley 2014) of this course, we had touched on the topic of "Procastination".
- As human beings, over the course of our life span, there were bound to be times when we had experienced having to do things that we do not like. As a result, all of us are not spared from "Procastination".
- What exactly constitutes to the problem of "Procastination"? How do we resolve that?
- As we had covered in Lecture 4 of Week 1 (Oakley 2014), we understood that whenever we encounter things that we do not like to do, our brain will stimulate areas of the brain that are associated with feelings of discomfort or "Pain". To minimise such effect, our brain often will have the tendency to divert its attention to something more pleasant. This is how "Procastination" sets in.
- The tool which had been recommended to help curbed "Procastination" is a handy tomato-shaped timer known as the "Pomodoro"; 25 minutes of focused engagement with no interruptions on a topic, which includes a small reward for completion of task so as to minimise "Procastination" attempts (Oakley 2014).
- Under point number 9 of the "10 Rules of Good Study" (Oakley 2014), "Eat Your Frogs First" (citation), which means do the hardest things first when you are fresh. Researchers had discovered that not long after one worked on tasks one disliked, the "neuro discomfort" will disappear (Oakley 2014).
- Award-Winning Professor Pier Steel from the University of Calgary, who had spent 10 years studying the science of "Procastination", had indicated in his book entitled "The Procastination Equation" 3 factors which constitutes the tendencies for 95% of the population to procastinate doing a task, and they are namely: (A) Lack of self-confidence (B) Lack of interest (C) Impulsiveness (Kaplan 2011).
- Dr. Pier Steel's recommends adopting and fulfilling small-scale, attainable goals one step at a time to counteract issues of "Procastination" (citation). This online course of "Learning How To Learn", with its flexibility which serve as a breeding ground for "Procastination", will be a good exercise to discipline oneself to take incremental steps to overcome the problems of "Procastination"; breaking down readings, note-taking, assignments into small, manageable portions to achieve efficient learning (Kaplan 2011).