Deep Work
HON2070 | Spring 2020 | Clemson University | Calhoun Honors College
OVERVIEW
Welcome to the public showcase of the student research completed in HON2070: Deep Work. This course was first taught by Dr. Andrew Pyle in Spring 2020 at Clemson University. The focus of the course was to explore best practices in both research literature and popular press works related to concepts such as productivity, focused work, Flow, and mindfulness. The students began by reading Cal Newport's Deep Work, and then went on to read both popular press work and research literature in related areas. The students studied and critiqued work in these areas by not only engaging in extensive reading and discussion, but also by applying many of these best practices to their own lives over the course of the semester. The students (and Dr. Pyle) became their own research guinea pigs and tested out the strategies and tactics recommended in the literature on themselves.
Unfortunately, this course took place during the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, and Clemson (along with the rest of the world) was shut down for almost half of the Spring 2020 semester. Since the students were not able to present their findings to their peers (as originally planned), this website serves as a hub for the students to showcase their research, experiences, and findings. In the following sections you will see (1) an overview of the strategies and tactics the students found most useful, along with suggestions about how you, the reader, could implement them in your own life; (2) highlights of the students' self-identified "greatest achievement(s)" during the semester; (3) student profiles wherein the students indicate their own favorite tactics and share with you the white papers they wrote for this course - check them out to see the individual experiences of the students in the course; and (4) a list of suggested further reading if you want to take the next step beyond looking at the students' research and see some of the original work for yourself. Thank you for taking the time to visit the site - we hope you enjoy this glimpse into the student's Deep Work experience.
If you have questions or would like to learn more, please feel free to contact Dr. Pyle at apyle@clemson.edu - he hopes to continue offering this course regularly for the Honors College at Clemson.
STRATEGIES & TACTICS
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General TacticsFor maximum focus, physically remove your phone from reach or put it on silent when in a deep work sesh with your hobby. Focus on the wildly important - Focus on things that positively fuel your life. If you are not enjoying your hobby reconsider your commitment to it. Create a cadence of accountability - Telling your friends, family, and peers your goals surrounding your hobby. This will push you to work on them. Pick a hobby that challenges you - You will find more enjoyment if you complete the goals you set for a challenging hobby Create goals for yourself - Creating goals will give your hobby more purpose and allow yourself to benchmark Work on the hobby every day - Practice makes perfect, so making sure you work on your hobby every day will ensure you are practicing instead of allowing yourself to take a week off Get feedback - New ideas, if you take them or not, can give you a new perspective
-
30 Day Social Media BreakDelete all of your social media apps for 30 days and commit to not using social media for these 30 days. During the 30 days, keep track of how often you want to go on social media, and how you are feeling about not being on these media sites. At the end of the 30 days, evaluate your social media. - If you did not find yourself missing a site, or you found yourself feeling better without it, consider deleting it permanently. - If you missed a site occasionally but did not find yourself actively wishing you were on it, consider extending the 30 days to 60 days and re-evaluating at the end of that. - If you found yourself feeling like you were missing out by not being on a site and missing it every day, redownload the site. Regardless of whether or not you decide to go back onto certain social media sites at the end of the 30 days, you will have a healthier relationship with the sites and you will likely be going on them less. At the end of my 30 days, I decided to redownload Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. However, I turned off notifications for them and set daily timers through my phone’s settings. I was able to maintain a lower number of hours spent on my phone daily after doing this 30-day social media cleanse.
-
Roosevelt sessionsOne of the most popular study techniques employed by everyone was “Roosevelt sessions.” Roosevelt sessions are quick, timed, high-intensity bursts of productivity where you set a timer for a short amount of time, isolate yourself, and work intensely for the duration of time you set. This method is so popular among the class because it can be used to serve many functions. For some people, it eliminates procrastination by forcing them to complete their task (or at least make progress on it) in a short amount of time without distraction. For others it can help them meet deadlines or even “false deadlines” that people can set for themselves. When used this way, Roosevelt sessions can eliminate stress by causing you to not waste time finishing a task, instead giving you the peace of mind that you aren’t turning something in at the last minute. Force yourself into the mindset of “Let’s do this now” - Create false deadlines to challenge yourself - Reward yourself for accomplishing a challenging goal or getting in under a time limit Find a Study Space (example: Cooper Library) - Make sure it's quiet and that people won't be likely to interrupt you - Limit distractions - put your phone away, turn off shows and social media Schedule Breaks during Long Sessions - After x hours, take a y minute break (or work 45 minutes, rest 15, then build your work session slowly over time) - Compartmentalizing or batching - get all of one type of work done together so you don't have mental residue from previous, unrelated tasks
-
Create GoalsHaving meaningful and attainable goals allows you to then lay out a plan to achieve those goals. Adding small achievable goals along the path to your larger goals works well for maintaining motivation as fulfilling each goal along the way shows the progress that you're making.
-
Distance Alarm ClockIf you are having trouble getting out of bed in the morning, set a “distance alarm”, which is an alarm clock that forces you to get out of bed to turn it off. This tactic can jumpstart your day by limiting time spent lying awake.
-
Consistent Sleep SchedulesGetting on a consistent sleep schedule is essential to increasing the quality of your sleep, falling asleep faster, and waking up much easier. To do this, simply set an alarm around the same time every morning. This works best when you can do it every day of the week.
-
Musical InstrumentsMake it become a habit. Schedule time to play at the same time each week. Challenge yourself. From sight-reading to playing unfamiliar music, these challenges will push you to grow in skill and proficiency. Seek mentorship/guidance through the process. Even the most skilled professionals have tutors, teachers, and coaches. Select pieces you want to learn that you already like. It is much easier to learn something you are interested in.
-
Avoid doing work in bedBased on Pavlovian dynamics, your bed should be a location your brain associates with sleep, not work. Working from bed will cause a mental disassociation between when it is time to be asleep and time to be awake Reading before bed is acceptable
-
ReadingStep #1: Read Deep Work If you have the urge to pick up the phone, try picking up a book instead. This could be whenever you’re waiting for something (class to start, food to finish baking, before appointments). Always have at least 2 unread books ready to start so you never “run out” Do research. What do you enjoy reading? It is much easier to read books you’re actually interested in. Always have the book you’re currently reading on hand. Read daily, even if it’s only for 10 minutes. Eventually this will be part of your routine. Read before you go to sleep.
-
Limiting social media usageIf you don’t feel like deleting all social media is doable, consider these other strategies to help you monitor and limit your social media usage: - Deleting all but one or two social media apps - Adding time limits - Turning off notifications for every nonessential app - Set a goal for your screen time every day -Changing your phone to grayscale to make it less attractive
-
Device StrategiesYour productivity is greatly influenced by how you engage with your devices, as devices are used to satisfy our need to procrastinate, and can overall make it harder for you to engage in Deep Work. For example, one tactic that was popular among the class was the usage of “do not disturb” modes on our devices. By activating this setting, your phone will censor all of its notifications, which improve your own focus due to the smaller number of distractions. In addition to this, you may also want to consider placing your phone in a bag, as it being out of your line of sight will also make it easier to focus on the tasks at hand. For some of us, we also found it very helpful to monitor our own social media usage outside of our study sessions and classes. By limiting the usage of social media throughout the day, you will become more used to ignoring the urge to indulge in distractions through these services. As a result, you will also find it easier to focus in your study sessions, as you will already be accustomed to ignoring these urges. When implementing tactics such as these, you will find it much easier to increase your productivity and focus on the tasks at hand. Hiding phone in a bag and turning it off Putting the phone far away from you to discourage use Put it on Do Not Disturb Put Laptop on Airplane Mode Social Media Use - Screen time restrictions and reminders - Limit passive Media Usage Using Music as a Guide to gauge time
-
Schedule Workouts Ahead of TimePlanning out when you are going to work out at least one day ahead, creates a level of responsibility so that missing a workout carries a larger consequence The more consistent the schedule, the easier it is to stick to the schedule
-
How to reduce time spent on passive mediaTrack your time for one week and see how much of that time is spent on passive media, which includes YouTube, TV, Netflix, Hulu, etc. Create a time limit for passive media consumption per day based on what you think is attainable (ex. 1 or 2 hours per day) Establish a priority list of activities to complete for the day. Spend the most time on the high priority activities and vice versa. This list can include work, hobbies, exercise, cooking, but not media. These activities should take up time that you would normally spend binge-watching passive media. Do not consume passive media until all those activities on the list are complete. Set a fixed bedtime, or a 30-minute window to fall asleep, to prevent late night binge-watching of passive media. Not only will this increase your sleep time but it will also increase the quality of sleep by reducing exposure to blue light from screens right before bed. If the above measures are not enough to reach your goal, then establish additions to your strategy. Here are a couple examples: - Download an extension on Google Chrome that enables time limits to be established for certain websites, such as YouTube, Netflix, etc. - Keep only one tab open on your Internet browser to prevent watching passive media. This will keep you from getting sidetracked from work To allow some degree of freedom, permit yourself to exceed your daily time limit for passive media on the weekend. For example, you can give yourself time slots on Friday nights or during Saturday to enjoy the shows or videos you want to watch. Sunday is probably not a good choice as work for Monday needs to be completed.
-
Create RoutinesCreating normal routines allows exercising to become habitual, requiring less will power/decisions to begin Start basic with your routines. If unsure what to add to your pre-workout routines, start with the general things that make you feel good/energetic. A cup of coffee, meditation, pre-workout supplement, etc. Anything that physically or mentally gets you ready to exercise.
-
Develop a RoutineOne of the common strategies in promoting good study habits is developing a routine that works for you. The easiest thing that you can do is to set a time for when you plan to do a specific set of work, whether that be homework, or deep work, or studying. Within that time, having a structure for what work you plan to do over the course of the time is helpful. For example, you could tell yourself that you are going to study Spanish for an hour, take a 15 minute break, and then work on your History paper for another hour. From there, you can use that similar structure to do your work productively over the course of a week. It is important in developing these sorts of routines to have a shutdown routine, which allows for you to get your mind off of your work and transition into a different part of your day. If you can avoid it, making sure that this routine never falls too late in the day will help in your productivity, as you become gradually less productive as it gets later at night. Set a Time and plan out what you will do - For example, 30 minutes will be used for assignment x - Next 30 minutes is assignment y Games are kinda the shutdownish part, where you can't play until finishing. Walk Dog (Exercise) before studying Not Studying too late
-
SportsPick a sport you enjoy and can improve your skills in. Set goals that are measurable and achievable (SMART goals, for example) - Golf - Set a score that you want to reach, when you want to reach it, and how you'll get there - Basketball - Decide the number of shots you want to make out of 10, and work until you make that goal Remove distractions and keep focus so you can reach your full potential in what you’re doing. Find others who enjoy your sport and challenge each other to hit your goals.
-
Avoiding your phone before bedThe light from a screen decreases your ability to fall asleep and get quality sleep. While sitting on your phone in bed, you are also likely to decrease your total sleep time by continually refreshing your feed, watching more videos, or playing one more game. Restricting yourself from screen time before bed will help you get more sleep and better quality sleep.
-
SchedulingSchedule Every Minute of your day. This can allow you to optimize your time and know exactly how you want to spend your time. Allow flexible time slots in case you have work that takes longer than you expect. Put your classes, meals, study sessions, exercise, break time, email time, etc - everything on the calendar and try to stick to that schedule throughout the day. It's okay if you need to rearrange the schedule, but keep it updated so that you stay on track.
-
Trouble falling asleepDo not lie awake in bed for too long! This itself can cause restlessness. Leave your bed and go somewhere for 15 minutes to try and recalibrate your brain upon return to your bed.
-
Non-school technical skills like coding, hacking, engineering competitions"Get a mentor or coach (someone who will challenge you). A good mentor will challenge you to become better at your skill. The best way to get a mentor is simply asking somebody who you respect in the skill you’d like to get better at. Set goals which you think are achievable so that you’re not too stressed by how hard the task is, but not easy enough where you’re not challenged. Get books for the technical skill you want to get better at - Books with external references are nice because you can view primary sources which normally have more in-depth information. - Books that allow you to practice what you learn. Practice makes perfect, so ensuring you practice while learning theory is very important for getting better at the skill.
-
General TacticsFor maximum focus, physically remove your phone from reach or put it on silent when in a deep work sesh with your hobby. Focus on the wildly important - Focus on things that positively fuel your life. If you are not enjoying your hobby reconsider your commitment to it. Create a cadence of accountability - Telling your friends, family, and peers your goals surrounding your hobby. This will push you to work on them. Pick a hobby that challenges you - You will find more enjoyment if you complete the goals you set for a challenging hobby Create goals for yourself - Creating goals will give your hobby more purpose and allow yourself to benchmark Work on the hobby every day - Practice makes perfect, so making sure you work on your hobby every day will ensure you are practicing instead of allowing yourself to take a week off Get feedback - New ideas, if you take them or not, can give you a new perspective
-
30 Day Social Media BreakDelete all of your social media apps for 30 days and commit to not using social media for these 30 days. During the 30 days, keep track of how often you want to go on social media, and how you are feeling about not being on these media sites. At the end of the 30 days, evaluate your social media. - If you did not find yourself missing a site, or you found yourself feeling better without it, consider deleting it permanently. - If you missed a site occasionally but did not find yourself actively wishing you were on it, consider extending the 30 days to 60 days and re-evaluating at the end of that. - If you found yourself feeling like you were missing out by not being on a site and missing it every day, redownload the site. Regardless of whether or not you decide to go back onto certain social media sites at the end of the 30 days, you will have a healthier relationship with the sites and you will likely be going on them less. At the end of my 30 days, I decided to redownload Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. However, I turned off notifications for them and set daily timers through my phone’s settings. I was able to maintain a lower number of hours spent on my phone daily after doing this 30-day social media cleanse.
-
Roosevelt sessionsOne of the most popular study techniques employed by everyone was “Roosevelt sessions.” Roosevelt sessions are quick, timed, high-intensity bursts of productivity where you set a timer for a short amount of time, isolate yourself, and work intensely for the duration of time you set. This method is so popular among the class because it can be used to serve many functions. For some people, it eliminates procrastination by forcing them to complete their task (or at least make progress on it) in a short amount of time without distraction. For others it can help them meet deadlines or even “false deadlines” that people can set for themselves. When used this way, Roosevelt sessions can eliminate stress by causing you to not waste time finishing a task, instead giving you the peace of mind that you aren’t turning something in at the last minute. Force yourself into the mindset of “Let’s do this now” - Create false deadlines to challenge yourself - Reward yourself for accomplishing a challenging goal or getting in under a time limit Find a Study Space (example: Cooper Library) - Make sure it's quiet and that people won't be likely to interrupt you - Limit distractions - put your phone away, turn off shows and social media Schedule Breaks during Long Sessions - After x hours, take a y minute break (or work 45 minutes, rest 15, then build your work session slowly over time) - Compartmentalizing or batching - get all of one type of work done together so you don't have mental residue from previous, unrelated tasks
-
Create GoalsHaving meaningful and attainable goals allows you to then lay out a plan to achieve those goals. Adding small achievable goals along the path to your larger goals works well for maintaining motivation as fulfilling each goal along the way shows the progress that you're making.
-
Distance Alarm ClockIf you are having trouble getting out of bed in the morning, set a “distance alarm”, which is an alarm clock that forces you to get out of bed to turn it off. This tactic can jumpstart your day by limiting time spent lying awake.
-
Consistent Sleep SchedulesGetting on a consistent sleep schedule is essential to increasing the quality of your sleep, falling asleep faster, and waking up much easier. To do this, simply set an alarm around the same time every morning. This works best when you can do it every day of the week.
-
Musical InstrumentsMake it become a habit. Schedule time to play at the same time each week. Challenge yourself. From sight-reading to playing unfamiliar music, these challenges will push you to grow in skill and proficiency. Seek mentorship/guidance through the process. Even the most skilled professionals have tutors, teachers, and coaches. Select pieces you want to learn that you already like. It is much easier to learn something you are interested in.
-
Avoid doing work in bedBased on Pavlovian dynamics, your bed should be a location your brain associates with sleep, not work. Working from bed will cause a mental disassociation between when it is time to be asleep and time to be awake Reading before bed is acceptable
-
ReadingStep #1: Read Deep Work If you have the urge to pick up the phone, try picking up a book instead. This could be whenever you’re waiting for something (class to start, food to finish baking, before appointments). Always have at least 2 unread books ready to start so you never “run out” Do research. What do you enjoy reading? It is much easier to read books you’re actually interested in. Always have the book you’re currently reading on hand. Read daily, even if it’s only for 10 minutes. Eventually this will be part of your routine. Read before you go to sleep.
-
Limiting social media usageIf you don’t feel like deleting all social media is doable, consider these other strategies to help you monitor and limit your social media usage: - Deleting all but one or two social media apps - Adding time limits - Turning off notifications for every nonessential app - Set a goal for your screen time every day -Changing your phone to grayscale to make it less attractive
-
Device StrategiesYour productivity is greatly influenced by how you engage with your devices, as devices are used to satisfy our need to procrastinate, and can overall make it harder for you to engage in Deep Work. For example, one tactic that was popular among the class was the usage of “do not disturb” modes on our devices. By activating this setting, your phone will censor all of its notifications, which improve your own focus due to the smaller number of distractions. In addition to this, you may also want to consider placing your phone in a bag, as it being out of your line of sight will also make it easier to focus on the tasks at hand. For some of us, we also found it very helpful to monitor our own social media usage outside of our study sessions and classes. By limiting the usage of social media throughout the day, you will become more used to ignoring the urge to indulge in distractions through these services. As a result, you will also find it easier to focus in your study sessions, as you will already be accustomed to ignoring these urges. When implementing tactics such as these, you will find it much easier to increase your productivity and focus on the tasks at hand. Hiding phone in a bag and turning it off Putting the phone far away from you to discourage use Put it on Do Not Disturb Put Laptop on Airplane Mode Social Media Use - Screen time restrictions and reminders - Limit passive Media Usage Using Music as a Guide to gauge time
-
Schedule Workouts Ahead of TimePlanning out when you are going to work out at least one day ahead, creates a level of responsibility so that missing a workout carries a larger consequence The more consistent the schedule, the easier it is to stick to the schedule
-
How to reduce time spent on passive mediaTrack your time for one week and see how much of that time is spent on passive media, which includes YouTube, TV, Netflix, Hulu, etc. Create a time limit for passive media consumption per day based on what you think is attainable (ex. 1 or 2 hours per day) Establish a priority list of activities to complete for the day. Spend the most time on the high priority activities and vice versa. This list can include work, hobbies, exercise, cooking, but not media. These activities should take up time that you would normally spend binge-watching passive media. Do not consume passive media until all those activities on the list are complete. Set a fixed bedtime, or a 30-minute window to fall asleep, to prevent late night binge-watching of passive media. Not only will this increase your sleep time but it will also increase the quality of sleep by reducing exposure to blue light from screens right before bed. If the above measures are not enough to reach your goal, then establish additions to your strategy. Here are a couple examples: - Download an extension on Google Chrome that enables time limits to be established for certain websites, such as YouTube, Netflix, etc. - Keep only one tab open on your Internet browser to prevent watching passive media. This will keep you from getting sidetracked from work To allow some degree of freedom, permit yourself to exceed your daily time limit for passive media on the weekend. For example, you can give yourself time slots on Friday nights or during Saturday to enjoy the shows or videos you want to watch. Sunday is probably not a good choice as work for Monday needs to be completed.
-
Create RoutinesCreating normal routines allows exercising to become habitual, requiring less will power/decisions to begin Start basic with your routines. If unsure what to add to your pre-workout routines, start with the general things that make you feel good/energetic. A cup of coffee, meditation, pre-workout supplement, etc. Anything that physically or mentally gets you ready to exercise.
-
Develop a RoutineOne of the common strategies in promoting good study habits is developing a routine that works for you. The easiest thing that you can do is to set a time for when you plan to do a specific set of work, whether that be homework, or deep work, or studying. Within that time, having a structure for what work you plan to do over the course of the time is helpful. For example, you could tell yourself that you are going to study Spanish for an hour, take a 15 minute break, and then work on your History paper for another hour. From there, you can use that similar structure to do your work productively over the course of a week. It is important in developing these sorts of routines to have a shutdown routine, which allows for you to get your mind off of your work and transition into a different part of your day. If you can avoid it, making sure that this routine never falls too late in the day will help in your productivity, as you become gradually less productive as it gets later at night. Set a Time and plan out what you will do - For example, 30 minutes will be used for assignment x - Next 30 minutes is assignment y Games are kinda the shutdownish part, where you can't play until finishing. Walk Dog (Exercise) before studying Not Studying too late
-
SportsPick a sport you enjoy and can improve your skills in. Set goals that are measurable and achievable (SMART goals, for example) - Golf - Set a score that you want to reach, when you want to reach it, and how you'll get there - Basketball - Decide the number of shots you want to make out of 10, and work until you make that goal Remove distractions and keep focus so you can reach your full potential in what you’re doing. Find others who enjoy your sport and challenge each other to hit your goals.
-
Avoiding your phone before bedThe light from a screen decreases your ability to fall asleep and get quality sleep. While sitting on your phone in bed, you are also likely to decrease your total sleep time by continually refreshing your feed, watching more videos, or playing one more game. Restricting yourself from screen time before bed will help you get more sleep and better quality sleep.
-
SchedulingSchedule Every Minute of your day. This can allow you to optimize your time and know exactly how you want to spend your time. Allow flexible time slots in case you have work that takes longer than you expect. Put your classes, meals, study sessions, exercise, break time, email time, etc - everything on the calendar and try to stick to that schedule throughout the day. It's okay if you need to rearrange the schedule, but keep it updated so that you stay on track.
-
Trouble falling asleepDo not lie awake in bed for too long! This itself can cause restlessness. Leave your bed and go somewhere for 15 minutes to try and recalibrate your brain upon return to your bed.
-
Non-school technical skills like coding, hacking, engineering competitions"Get a mentor or coach (someone who will challenge you). A good mentor will challenge you to become better at your skill. The best way to get a mentor is simply asking somebody who you respect in the skill you’d like to get better at. Set goals which you think are achievable so that you’re not too stressed by how hard the task is, but not easy enough where you’re not challenged. Get books for the technical skill you want to get better at - Books with external references are nice because you can view primary sources which normally have more in-depth information. - Books that allow you to practice what you learn. Practice makes perfect, so ensuring you practice while learning theory is very important for getting better at the skill.
-
General TacticsFor maximum focus, physically remove your phone from reach or put it on silent when in a deep work sesh with your hobby. Focus on the wildly important - Focus on things that positively fuel your life. If you are not enjoying your hobby reconsider your commitment to it. Create a cadence of accountability - Telling your friends, family, and peers your goals surrounding your hobby. This will push you to work on them. Pick a hobby that challenges you - You will find more enjoyment if you complete the goals you set for a challenging hobby Create goals for yourself - Creating goals will give your hobby more purpose and allow yourself to benchmark Work on the hobby every day - Practice makes perfect, so making sure you work on your hobby every day will ensure you are practicing instead of allowing yourself to take a week off Get feedback - New ideas, if you take them or not, can give you a new perspective
-
30 Day Social Media BreakDelete all of your social media apps for 30 days and commit to not using social media for these 30 days. During the 30 days, keep track of how often you want to go on social media, and how you are feeling about not being on these media sites. At the end of the 30 days, evaluate your social media. - If you did not find yourself missing a site, or you found yourself feeling better without it, consider deleting it permanently. - If you missed a site occasionally but did not find yourself actively wishing you were on it, consider extending the 30 days to 60 days and re-evaluating at the end of that. - If you found yourself feeling like you were missing out by not being on a site and missing it every day, redownload the site. Regardless of whether or not you decide to go back onto certain social media sites at the end of the 30 days, you will have a healthier relationship with the sites and you will likely be going on them less. At the end of my 30 days, I decided to redownload Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. However, I turned off notifications for them and set daily timers through my phone’s settings. I was able to maintain a lower number of hours spent on my phone daily after doing this 30-day social media cleanse.
-
Roosevelt sessionsOne of the most popular study techniques employed by everyone was “Roosevelt sessions.” Roosevelt sessions are quick, timed, high-intensity bursts of productivity where you set a timer for a short amount of time, isolate yourself, and work intensely for the duration of time you set. This method is so popular among the class because it can be used to serve many functions. For some people, it eliminates procrastination by forcing them to complete their task (or at least make progress on it) in a short amount of time without distraction. For others it can help them meet deadlines or even “false deadlines” that people can set for themselves. When used this way, Roosevelt sessions can eliminate stress by causing you to not waste time finishing a task, instead giving you the peace of mind that you aren’t turning something in at the last minute. Force yourself into the mindset of “Let’s do this now” - Create false deadlines to challenge yourself - Reward yourself for accomplishing a challenging goal or getting in under a time limit Find a Study Space (example: Cooper Library) - Make sure it's quiet and that people won't be likely to interrupt you - Limit distractions - put your phone away, turn off shows and social media Schedule Breaks during Long Sessions - After x hours, take a y minute break (or work 45 minutes, rest 15, then build your work session slowly over time) - Compartmentalizing or batching - get all of one type of work done together so you don't have mental residue from previous, unrelated tasks
-
Create GoalsHaving meaningful and attainable goals allows you to then lay out a plan to achieve those goals. Adding small achievable goals along the path to your larger goals works well for maintaining motivation as fulfilling each goal along the way shows the progress that you're making.
-
Distance Alarm ClockIf you are having trouble getting out of bed in the morning, set a “distance alarm”, which is an alarm clock that forces you to get out of bed to turn it off. This tactic can jumpstart your day by limiting time spent lying awake.
-
Consistent Sleep SchedulesGetting on a consistent sleep schedule is essential to increasing the quality of your sleep, falling asleep faster, and waking up much easier. To do this, simply set an alarm around the same time every morning. This works best when you can do it every day of the week.
-
Musical InstrumentsMake it become a habit. Schedule time to play at the same time each week. Challenge yourself. From sight-reading to playing unfamiliar music, these challenges will push you to grow in skill and proficiency. Seek mentorship/guidance through the process. Even the most skilled professionals have tutors, teachers, and coaches. Select pieces you want to learn that you already like. It is much easier to learn something you are interested in.
-
Avoid doing work in bedBased on Pavlovian dynamics, your bed should be a location your brain associates with sleep, not work. Working from bed will cause a mental disassociation between when it is time to be asleep and time to be awake Reading before bed is acceptable
-
ReadingStep #1: Read Deep Work If you have the urge to pick up the phone, try picking up a book instead. This could be whenever you’re waiting for something (class to start, food to finish baking, before appointments). Always have at least 2 unread books ready to start so you never “run out” Do research. What do you enjoy reading? It is much easier to read books you’re actually interested in. Always have the book you’re currently reading on hand. Read daily, even if it’s only for 10 minutes. Eventually this will be part of your routine. Read before you go to sleep.
-
Limiting social media usageIf you don’t feel like deleting all social media is doable, consider these other strategies to help you monitor and limit your social media usage: - Deleting all but one or two social media apps - Adding time limits - Turning off notifications for every nonessential app - Set a goal for your screen time every day -Changing your phone to grayscale to make it less attractive
-
Device StrategiesYour productivity is greatly influenced by how you engage with your devices, as devices are used to satisfy our need to procrastinate, and can overall make it harder for you to engage in Deep Work. For example, one tactic that was popular among the class was the usage of “do not disturb” modes on our devices. By activating this setting, your phone will censor all of its notifications, which improve your own focus due to the smaller number of distractions. In addition to this, you may also want to consider placing your phone in a bag, as it being out of your line of sight will also make it easier to focus on the tasks at hand. For some of us, we also found it very helpful to monitor our own social media usage outside of our study sessions and classes. By limiting the usage of social media throughout the day, you will become more used to ignoring the urge to indulge in distractions through these services. As a result, you will also find it easier to focus in your study sessions, as you will already be accustomed to ignoring these urges. When implementing tactics such as these, you will find it much easier to increase your productivity and focus on the tasks at hand. Hiding phone in a bag and turning it off Putting the phone far away from you to discourage use Put it on Do Not Disturb Put Laptop on Airplane Mode Social Media Use - Screen time restrictions and reminders - Limit passive Media Usage Using Music as a Guide to gauge time
-
Schedule Workouts Ahead of TimePlanning out when you are going to work out at least one day ahead, creates a level of responsibility so that missing a workout carries a larger consequence The more consistent the schedule, the easier it is to stick to the schedule
-
How to reduce time spent on passive mediaTrack your time for one week and see how much of that time is spent on passive media, which includes YouTube, TV, Netflix, Hulu, etc. Create a time limit for passive media consumption per day based on what you think is attainable (ex. 1 or 2 hours per day) Establish a priority list of activities to complete for the day. Spend the most time on the high priority activities and vice versa. This list can include work, hobbies, exercise, cooking, but not media. These activities should take up time that you would normally spend binge-watching passive media. Do not consume passive media until all those activities on the list are complete. Set a fixed bedtime, or a 30-minute window to fall asleep, to prevent late night binge-watching of passive media. Not only will this increase your sleep time but it will also increase the quality of sleep by reducing exposure to blue light from screens right before bed. If the above measures are not enough to reach your goal, then establish additions to your strategy. Here are a couple examples: - Download an extension on Google Chrome that enables time limits to be established for certain websites, such as YouTube, Netflix, etc. - Keep only one tab open on your Internet browser to prevent watching passive media. This will keep you from getting sidetracked from work To allow some degree of freedom, permit yourself to exceed your daily time limit for passive media on the weekend. For example, you can give yourself time slots on Friday nights or during Saturday to enjoy the shows or videos you want to watch. Sunday is probably not a good choice as work for Monday needs to be completed.
-
Create RoutinesCreating normal routines allows exercising to become habitual, requiring less will power/decisions to begin Start basic with your routines. If unsure what to add to your pre-workout routines, start with the general things that make you feel good/energetic. A cup of coffee, meditation, pre-workout supplement, etc. Anything that physically or mentally gets you ready to exercise.
-
Develop a RoutineOne of the common strategies in promoting good study habits is developing a routine that works for you. The easiest thing that you can do is to set a time for when you plan to do a specific set of work, whether that be homework, or deep work, or studying. Within that time, having a structure for what work you plan to do over the course of the time is helpful. For example, you could tell yourself that you are going to study Spanish for an hour, take a 15 minute break, and then work on your History paper for another hour. From there, you can use that similar structure to do your work productively over the course of a week. It is important in developing these sorts of routines to have a shutdown routine, which allows for you to get your mind off of your work and transition into a different part of your day. If you can avoid it, making sure that this routine never falls too late in the day will help in your productivity, as you become gradually less productive as it gets later at night. Set a Time and plan out what you will do - For example, 30 minutes will be used for assignment x - Next 30 minutes is assignment y Games are kinda the shutdownish part, where you can't play until finishing. Walk Dog (Exercise) before studying Not Studying too late
-
SportsPick a sport you enjoy and can improve your skills in. Set goals that are measurable and achievable (SMART goals, for example) - Golf - Set a score that you want to reach, when you want to reach it, and how you'll get there - Basketball - Decide the number of shots you want to make out of 10, and work until you make that goal Remove distractions and keep focus so you can reach your full potential in what you’re doing. Find others who enjoy your sport and challenge each other to hit your goals.
-
Avoiding your phone before bedThe light from a screen decreases your ability to fall asleep and get quality sleep. While sitting on your phone in bed, you are also likely to decrease your total sleep time by continually refreshing your feed, watching more videos, or playing one more game. Restricting yourself from screen time before bed will help you get more sleep and better quality sleep.
-
SchedulingSchedule Every Minute of your day. This can allow you to optimize your time and know exactly how you want to spend your time. Allow flexible time slots in case you have work that takes longer than you expect. Put your classes, meals, study sessions, exercise, break time, email time, etc - everything on the calendar and try to stick to that schedule throughout the day. It's okay if you need to rearrange the schedule, but keep it updated so that you stay on track.
-
Trouble falling asleepDo not lie awake in bed for too long! This itself can cause restlessness. Leave your bed and go somewhere for 15 minutes to try and recalibrate your brain upon return to your bed.
-
Non-school technical skills like coding, hacking, engineering competitions"Get a mentor or coach (someone who will challenge you). A good mentor will challenge you to become better at your skill. The best way to get a mentor is simply asking somebody who you respect in the skill you’d like to get better at. Set goals which you think are achievable so that you’re not too stressed by how hard the task is, but not easy enough where you’re not challenged. Get books for the technical skill you want to get better at - Books with external references are nice because you can view primary sources which normally have more in-depth information. - Books that allow you to practice what you learn. Practice makes perfect, so ensuring you practice while learning theory is very important for getting better at the skill.
-
General TacticsFor maximum focus, physically remove your phone from reach or put it on silent when in a deep work sesh with your hobby. Focus on the wildly important - Focus on things that positively fuel your life. If you are not enjoying your hobby reconsider your commitment to it. Create a cadence of accountability - Telling your friends, family, and peers your goals surrounding your hobby. This will push you to work on them. Pick a hobby that challenges you - You will find more enjoyment if you complete the goals you set for a challenging hobby Create goals for yourself - Creating goals will give your hobby more purpose and allow yourself to benchmark Work on the hobby every day - Practice makes perfect, so making sure you work on your hobby every day will ensure you are practicing instead of allowing yourself to take a week off Get feedback - New ideas, if you take them or not, can give you a new perspective
-
30 Day Social Media BreakDelete all of your social media apps for 30 days and commit to not using social media for these 30 days. During the 30 days, keep track of how often you want to go on social media, and how you are feeling about not being on these media sites. At the end of the 30 days, evaluate your social media. - If you did not find yourself missing a site, or you found yourself feeling better without it, consider deleting it permanently. - If you missed a site occasionally but did not find yourself actively wishing you were on it, consider extending the 30 days to 60 days and re-evaluating at the end of that. - If you found yourself feeling like you were missing out by not being on a site and missing it every day, redownload the site. Regardless of whether or not you decide to go back onto certain social media sites at the end of the 30 days, you will have a healthier relationship with the sites and you will likely be going on them less. At the end of my 30 days, I decided to redownload Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. However, I turned off notifications for them and set daily timers through my phone’s settings. I was able to maintain a lower number of hours spent on my phone daily after doing this 30-day social media cleanse.
-
Roosevelt sessionsOne of the most popular study techniques employed by everyone was “Roosevelt sessions.” Roosevelt sessions are quick, timed, high-intensity bursts of productivity where you set a timer for a short amount of time, isolate yourself, and work intensely for the duration of time you set. This method is so popular among the class because it can be used to serve many functions. For some people, it eliminates procrastination by forcing them to complete their task (or at least make progress on it) in a short amount of time without distraction. For others it can help them meet deadlines or even “false deadlines” that people can set for themselves. When used this way, Roosevelt sessions can eliminate stress by causing you to not waste time finishing a task, instead giving you the peace of mind that you aren’t turning something in at the last minute. Force yourself into the mindset of “Let’s do this now” - Create false deadlines to challenge yourself - Reward yourself for accomplishing a challenging goal or getting in under a time limit Find a Study Space (example: Cooper Library) - Make sure it's quiet and that people won't be likely to interrupt you - Limit distractions - put your phone away, turn off shows and social media Schedule Breaks during Long Sessions - After x hours, take a y minute break (or work 45 minutes, rest 15, then build your work session slowly over time) - Compartmentalizing or batching - get all of one type of work done together so you don't have mental residue from previous, unrelated tasks
-
Create GoalsHaving meaningful and attainable goals allows you to then lay out a plan to achieve those goals. Adding small achievable goals along the path to your larger goals works well for maintaining motivation as fulfilling each goal along the way shows the progress that you're making.
-
Distance Alarm ClockIf you are having trouble getting out of bed in the morning, set a “distance alarm”, which is an alarm clock that forces you to get out of bed to turn it off. This tactic can jumpstart your day by limiting time spent lying awake.
-
Consistent Sleep SchedulesGetting on a consistent sleep schedule is essential to increasing the quality of your sleep, falling asleep faster, and waking up much easier. To do this, simply set an alarm around the same time every morning. This works best when you can do it every day of the week.
-
Musical InstrumentsMake it become a habit. Schedule time to play at the same time each week. Challenge yourself. From sight-reading to playing unfamiliar music, these challenges will push you to grow in skill and proficiency. Seek mentorship/guidance through the process. Even the most skilled professionals have tutors, teachers, and coaches. Select pieces you want to learn that you already like. It is much easier to learn something you are interested in.
-
Avoid doing work in bedBased on Pavlovian dynamics, your bed should be a location your brain associates with sleep, not work. Working from bed will cause a mental disassociation between when it is time to be asleep and time to be awake Reading before bed is acceptable
-
ReadingStep #1: Read Deep Work If you have the urge to pick up the phone, try picking up a book instead. This could be whenever you’re waiting for something (class to start, food to finish baking, before appointments). Always have at least 2 unread books ready to start so you never “run out” Do research. What do you enjoy reading? It is much easier to read books you’re actually interested in. Always have the book you’re currently reading on hand. Read daily, even if it’s only for 10 minutes. Eventually this will be part of your routine. Read before you go to sleep.
-
Limiting social media usageIf you don’t feel like deleting all social media is doable, consider these other strategies to help you monitor and limit your social media usage: - Deleting all but one or two social media apps - Adding time limits - Turning off notifications for every nonessential app - Set a goal for your screen time every day -Changing your phone to grayscale to make it less attractive
-
Device StrategiesYour productivity is greatly influenced by how you engage with your devices, as devices are used to satisfy our need to procrastinate, and can overall make it harder for you to engage in Deep Work. For example, one tactic that was popular among the class was the usage of “do not disturb” modes on our devices. By activating this setting, your phone will censor all of its notifications, which improve your own focus due to the smaller number of distractions. In addition to this, you may also want to consider placing your phone in a bag, as it being out of your line of sight will also make it easier to focus on the tasks at hand. For some of us, we also found it very helpful to monitor our own social media usage outside of our study sessions and classes. By limiting the usage of social media throughout the day, you will become more used to ignoring the urge to indulge in distractions through these services. As a result, you will also find it easier to focus in your study sessions, as you will already be accustomed to ignoring these urges. When implementing tactics such as these, you will find it much easier to increase your productivity and focus on the tasks at hand. Hiding phone in a bag and turning it off Putting the phone far away from you to discourage use Put it on Do Not Disturb Put Laptop on Airplane Mode Social Media Use - Screen time restrictions and reminders - Limit passive Media Usage Using Music as a Guide to gauge time
-
Schedule Workouts Ahead of TimePlanning out when you are going to work out at least one day ahead, creates a level of responsibility so that missing a workout carries a larger consequence The more consistent the schedule, the easier it is to stick to the schedule
-
How to reduce time spent on passive mediaTrack your time for one week and see how much of that time is spent on passive media, which includes YouTube, TV, Netflix, Hulu, etc. Create a time limit for passive media consumption per day based on what you think is attainable (ex. 1 or 2 hours per day) Establish a priority list of activities to complete for the day. Spend the most time on the high priority activities and vice versa. This list can include work, hobbies, exercise, cooking, but not media. These activities should take up time that you would normally spend binge-watching passive media. Do not consume passive media until all those activities on the list are complete. Set a fixed bedtime, or a 30-minute window to fall asleep, to prevent late night binge-watching of passive media. Not only will this increase your sleep time but it will also increase the quality of sleep by reducing exposure to blue light from screens right before bed. If the above measures are not enough to reach your goal, then establish additions to your strategy. Here are a couple examples: - Download an extension on Google Chrome that enables time limits to be established for certain websites, such as YouTube, Netflix, etc. - Keep only one tab open on your Internet browser to prevent watching passive media. This will keep you from getting sidetracked from work To allow some degree of freedom, permit yourself to exceed your daily time limit for passive media on the weekend. For example, you can give yourself time slots on Friday nights or during Saturday to enjoy the shows or videos you want to watch. Sunday is probably not a good choice as work for Monday needs to be completed.
-
Create RoutinesCreating normal routines allows exercising to become habitual, requiring less will power/decisions to begin Start basic with your routines. If unsure what to add to your pre-workout routines, start with the general things that make you feel good/energetic. A cup of coffee, meditation, pre-workout supplement, etc. Anything that physically or mentally gets you ready to exercise.
-
Develop a RoutineOne of the common strategies in promoting good study habits is developing a routine that works for you. The easiest thing that you can do is to set a time for when you plan to do a specific set of work, whether that be homework, or deep work, or studying. Within that time, having a structure for what work you plan to do over the course of the time is helpful. For example, you could tell yourself that you are going to study Spanish for an hour, take a 15 minute break, and then work on your History paper for another hour. From there, you can use that similar structure to do your work productively over the course of a week. It is important in developing these sorts of routines to have a shutdown routine, which allows for you to get your mind off of your work and transition into a different part of your day. If you can avoid it, making sure that this routine never falls too late in the day will help in your productivity, as you become gradually less productive as it gets later at night. Set a Time and plan out what you will do - For example, 30 minutes will be used for assignment x - Next 30 minutes is assignment y Games are kinda the shutdownish part, where you can't play until finishing. Walk Dog (Exercise) before studying Not Studying too late
-
SportsPick a sport you enjoy and can improve your skills in. Set goals that are measurable and achievable (SMART goals, for example) - Golf - Set a score that you want to reach, when you want to reach it, and how you'll get there - Basketball - Decide the number of shots you want to make out of 10, and work until you make that goal Remove distractions and keep focus so you can reach your full potential in what you’re doing. Find others who enjoy your sport and challenge each other to hit your goals.
-
Avoiding your phone before bedThe light from a screen decreases your ability to fall asleep and get quality sleep. While sitting on your phone in bed, you are also likely to decrease your total sleep time by continually refreshing your feed, watching more videos, or playing one more game. Restricting yourself from screen time before bed will help you get more sleep and better quality sleep.
-
SchedulingSchedule Every Minute of your day. This can allow you to optimize your time and know exactly how you want to spend your time. Allow flexible time slots in case you have work that takes longer than you expect. Put your classes, meals, study sessions, exercise, break time, email time, etc - everything on the calendar and try to stick to that schedule throughout the day. It's okay if you need to rearrange the schedule, but keep it updated so that you stay on track.
-
Trouble falling asleepDo not lie awake in bed for too long! This itself can cause restlessness. Leave your bed and go somewhere for 15 minutes to try and recalibrate your brain upon return to your bed.
-
Non-school technical skills like coding, hacking, engineering competitions"Get a mentor or coach (someone who will challenge you). A good mentor will challenge you to become better at your skill. The best way to get a mentor is simply asking somebody who you respect in the skill you’d like to get better at. Set goals which you think are achievable so that you’re not too stressed by how hard the task is, but not easy enough where you’re not challenged. Get books for the technical skill you want to get better at - Books with external references are nice because you can view primary sources which normally have more in-depth information. - Books that allow you to practice what you learn. Practice makes perfect, so ensuring you practice while learning theory is very important for getting better at the skill.
-
General TacticsFor maximum focus, physically remove your phone from reach or put it on silent when in a deep work sesh with your hobby. Focus on the wildly important - Focus on things that positively fuel your life. If you are not enjoying your hobby reconsider your commitment to it. Create a cadence of accountability - Telling your friends, family, and peers your goals surrounding your hobby. This will push you to work on them. Pick a hobby that challenges you - You will find more enjoyment if you complete the goals you set for a challenging hobby Create goals for yourself - Creating goals will give your hobby more purpose and allow yourself to benchmark Work on the hobby every day - Practice makes perfect, so making sure you work on your hobby every day will ensure you are practicing instead of allowing yourself to take a week off Get feedback - New ideas, if you take them or not, can give you a new perspective
-
30 Day Social Media BreakDelete all of your social media apps for 30 days and commit to not using social media for these 30 days. During the 30 days, keep track of how often you want to go on social media, and how you are feeling about not being on these media sites. At the end of the 30 days, evaluate your social media. - If you did not find yourself missing a site, or you found yourself feeling better without it, consider deleting it permanently. - If you missed a site occasionally but did not find yourself actively wishing you were on it, consider extending the 30 days to 60 days and re-evaluating at the end of that. - If you found yourself feeling like you were missing out by not being on a site and missing it every day, redownload the site. Regardless of whether or not you decide to go back onto certain social media sites at the end of the 30 days, you will have a healthier relationship with the sites and you will likely be going on them less. At the end of my 30 days, I decided to redownload Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. However, I turned off notifications for them and set daily timers through my phone’s settings. I was able to maintain a lower number of hours spent on my phone daily after doing this 30-day social media cleanse.
-
Roosevelt sessionsOne of the most popular study techniques employed by everyone was “Roosevelt sessions.” Roosevelt sessions are quick, timed, high-intensity bursts of productivity where you set a timer for a short amount of time, isolate yourself, and work intensely for the duration of time you set. This method is so popular among the class because it can be used to serve many functions. For some people, it eliminates procrastination by forcing them to complete their task (or at least make progress on it) in a short amount of time without distraction. For others it can help them meet deadlines or even “false deadlines” that people can set for themselves. When used this way, Roosevelt sessions can eliminate stress by causing you to not waste time finishing a task, instead giving you the peace of mind that you aren’t turning something in at the last minute. Force yourself into the mindset of “Let’s do this now” - Create false deadlines to challenge yourself - Reward yourself for accomplishing a challenging goal or getting in under a time limit Find a Study Space (example: Cooper Library) - Make sure it's quiet and that people won't be likely to interrupt you - Limit distractions - put your phone away, turn off shows and social media Schedule Breaks during Long Sessions - After x hours, take a y minute break (or work 45 minutes, rest 15, then build your work session slowly over time) - Compartmentalizing or batching - get all of one type of work done together so you don't have mental residue from previous, unrelated tasks
-
Create GoalsHaving meaningful and attainable goals allows you to then lay out a plan to achieve those goals. Adding small achievable goals along the path to your larger goals works well for maintaining motivation as fulfilling each goal along the way shows the progress that you're making.
-
Distance Alarm ClockIf you are having trouble getting out of bed in the morning, set a “distance alarm”, which is an alarm clock that forces you to get out of bed to turn it off. This tactic can jumpstart your day by limiting time spent lying awake.
-
Consistent Sleep SchedulesGetting on a consistent sleep schedule is essential to increasing the quality of your sleep, falling asleep faster, and waking up much easier. To do this, simply set an alarm around the same time every morning. This works best when you can do it every day of the week.
-
Musical InstrumentsMake it become a habit. Schedule time to play at the same time each week. Challenge yourself. From sight-reading to playing unfamiliar music, these challenges will push you to grow in skill and proficiency. Seek mentorship/guidance through the process. Even the most skilled professionals have tutors, teachers, and coaches. Select pieces you want to learn that you already like. It is much easier to learn something you are interested in.
-
Avoid doing work in bedBased on Pavlovian dynamics, your bed should be a location your brain associates with sleep, not work. Working from bed will cause a mental disassociation between when it is time to be asleep and time to be awake Reading before bed is acceptable
-
ReadingStep #1: Read Deep Work If you have the urge to pick up the phone, try picking up a book instead. This could be whenever you’re waiting for something (class to start, food to finish baking, before appointments). Always have at least 2 unread books ready to start so you never “run out” Do research. What do you enjoy reading? It is much easier to read books you’re actually interested in. Always have the book you’re currently reading on hand. Read daily, even if it’s only for 10 minutes. Eventually this will be part of your routine. Read before you go to sleep.
-
Limiting social media usageIf you don’t feel like deleting all social media is doable, consider these other strategies to help you monitor and limit your social media usage: - Deleting all but one or two social media apps - Adding time limits - Turning off notifications for every nonessential app - Set a goal for your screen time every day -Changing your phone to grayscale to make it less attractive
-
Device StrategiesYour productivity is greatly influenced by how you engage with your devices, as devices are used to satisfy our need to procrastinate, and can overall make it harder for you to engage in Deep Work. For example, one tactic that was popular among the class was the usage of “do not disturb” modes on our devices. By activating this setting, your phone will censor all of its notifications, which improve your own focus due to the smaller number of distractions. In addition to this, you may also want to consider placing your phone in a bag, as it being out of your line of sight will also make it easier to focus on the tasks at hand. For some of us, we also found it very helpful to monitor our own social media usage outside of our study sessions and classes. By limiting the usage of social media throughout the day, you will become more used to ignoring the urge to indulge in distractions through these services. As a result, you will also find it easier to focus in your study sessions, as you will already be accustomed to ignoring these urges. When implementing tactics such as these, you will find it much easier to increase your productivity and focus on the tasks at hand. Hiding phone in a bag and turning it off Putting the phone far away from you to discourage use Put it on Do Not Disturb Put Laptop on Airplane Mode Social Media Use - Screen time restrictions and reminders - Limit passive Media Usage Using Music as a Guide to gauge time
-
Schedule Workouts Ahead of TimePlanning out when you are going to work out at least one day ahead, creates a level of responsibility so that missing a workout carries a larger consequence The more consistent the schedule, the easier it is to stick to the schedule
-
How to reduce time spent on passive mediaTrack your time for one week and see how much of that time is spent on passive media, which includes YouTube, TV, Netflix, Hulu, etc. Create a time limit for passive media consumption per day based on what you think is attainable (ex. 1 or 2 hours per day) Establish a priority list of activities to complete for the day. Spend the most time on the high priority activities and vice versa. This list can include work, hobbies, exercise, cooking, but not media. These activities should take up time that you would normally spend binge-watching passive media. Do not consume passive media until all those activities on the list are complete. Set a fixed bedtime, or a 30-minute window to fall asleep, to prevent late night binge-watching of passive media. Not only will this increase your sleep time but it will also increase the quality of sleep by reducing exposure to blue light from screens right before bed. If the above measures are not enough to reach your goal, then establish additions to your strategy. Here are a couple examples: - Download an extension on Google Chrome that enables time limits to be established for certain websites, such as YouTube, Netflix, etc. - Keep only one tab open on your Internet browser to prevent watching passive media. This will keep you from getting sidetracked from work To allow some degree of freedom, permit yourself to exceed your daily time limit for passive media on the weekend. For example, you can give yourself time slots on Friday nights or during Saturday to enjoy the shows or videos you want to watch. Sunday is probably not a good choice as work for Monday needs to be completed.
-
Create RoutinesCreating normal routines allows exercising to become habitual, requiring less will power/decisions to begin Start basic with your routines. If unsure what to add to your pre-workout routines, start with the general things that make you feel good/energetic. A cup of coffee, meditation, pre-workout supplement, etc. Anything that physically or mentally gets you ready to exercise.
-
Develop a RoutineOne of the common strategies in promoting good study habits is developing a routine that works for you. The easiest thing that you can do is to set a time for when you plan to do a specific set of work, whether that be homework, or deep work, or studying. Within that time, having a structure for what work you plan to do over the course of the time is helpful. For example, you could tell yourself that you are going to study Spanish for an hour, take a 15 minute break, and then work on your History paper for another hour. From there, you can use that similar structure to do your work productively over the course of a week. It is important in developing these sorts of routines to have a shutdown routine, which allows for you to get your mind off of your work and transition into a different part of your day. If you can avoid it, making sure that this routine never falls too late in the day will help in your productivity, as you become gradually less productive as it gets later at night. Set a Time and plan out what you will do - For example, 30 minutes will be used for assignment x - Next 30 minutes is assignment y Games are kinda the shutdownish part, where you can't play until finishing. Walk Dog (Exercise) before studying Not Studying too late
-
SportsPick a sport you enjoy and can improve your skills in. Set goals that are measurable and achievable (SMART goals, for example) - Golf - Set a score that you want to reach, when you want to reach it, and how you'll get there - Basketball - Decide the number of shots you want to make out of 10, and work until you make that goal Remove distractions and keep focus so you can reach your full potential in what you’re doing. Find others who enjoy your sport and challenge each other to hit your goals.
-
Avoiding your phone before bedThe light from a screen decreases your ability to fall asleep and get quality sleep. While sitting on your phone in bed, you are also likely to decrease your total sleep time by continually refreshing your feed, watching more videos, or playing one more game. Restricting yourself from screen time before bed will help you get more sleep and better quality sleep.
-
SchedulingSchedule Every Minute of your day. This can allow you to optimize your time and know exactly how you want to spend your time. Allow flexible time slots in case you have work that takes longer than you expect. Put your classes, meals, study sessions, exercise, break time, email time, etc - everything on the calendar and try to stick to that schedule throughout the day. It's okay if you need to rearrange the schedule, but keep it updated so that you stay on track.
-
Trouble falling asleepDo not lie awake in bed for too long! This itself can cause restlessness. Leave your bed and go somewhere for 15 minutes to try and recalibrate your brain upon return to your bed.
-
Non-school technical skills like coding, hacking, engineering competitions"Get a mentor or coach (someone who will challenge you). A good mentor will challenge you to become better at your skill. The best way to get a mentor is simply asking somebody who you respect in the skill you’d like to get better at. Set goals which you think are achievable so that you’re not too stressed by how hard the task is, but not easy enough where you’re not challenged. Get books for the technical skill you want to get better at - Books with external references are nice because you can view primary sources which normally have more in-depth information. - Books that allow you to practice what you learn. Practice makes perfect, so ensuring you practice while learning theory is very important for getting better at the skill.
STUDENT WORK
In this section you'll see, well, the work that the students did. Click the "Read whitepaper" button for a fun time.
Jace Rinder
"A year from now, you'll wish you had started today" -Karen Lamb
Zachary Broome
"In life, typically, the only one keeping a scorecard of your successes and failures is you, and there are ample opportunities to learn the lessons you need to learn, even if you didn’t get it right the first—or fifth—time."
Natalia Hamilton
Make the decision that will make you proud at the end of the day. Not the decision that makes you more comfortable at the moment
Will Hendrickson
This class was the best class ever, but I never submitted my final quote. Great class, 10/10
- Not Will
READING MATERIALS
Deep Work
This is the book the course is based on. Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide a sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In short, deep work is like a superpower in our increasingly competitive twenty-first-century economy. And yet, most people have lost the ability to go deep-spending their days instead of a frantic blur of e-mail and social media, not even realizing there's a better way. The book is divided into two parts. He first makes the case that in almost any profession, cultivating a deep work ethic will produce massive benefits. He then presents a rigorous training regimen, presented as a series of four "rules," for transforming your mind and habits to support this skill.
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Flow provides the reader with a guide on how to find success, growth, and happiness in one’s life by spending time in a state of flow-- “The state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter.”. By placing emphasis on being present in the moment and finding enjoyment in your life, you, too, can immerse yourself in the state of flow.
Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life
Within this novel, Winifred Gallagher elaborates on his argument that the quality of one’s life relies heavily on what you choose to pay attention to, not the amount of fame, money, or intelligence you acquire throughout life. Gallangher challenges the reader to rethink their perception of attention and push them to think of attention as a way one can be fully alive.
Brock found interest in Chapter 1 and Will recommends reading Chapter 7 closely as well.
Thinking Fast & Slow
Thinking, Fast and Slow gives an inside look as to how the two systems within your brain, conscious and automatic, constant fight for total control can lead to intellectual errors. The novel can be a guide on how one can be aware of the errors and false decisions they make as a result of this battle while providing information on how to make more mindful decisions in the future.
Brooke Tannehill recommends paying special attention to the discussion of the Lazy Controller or cognitive ease.
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
The big idea of Why We Sleep focuses on the incredible ability sleep has in enhancing our mental capacity, regulating our emotions, and maintaining overall health, including one’s appetite and immunity. Trent Menzer says, “Why We Sleep is more than just an opinion on the importance of sleep, but rather a scientific look at it’s benefits and drawbacks. Walker then uses this experimental data to provide suggestions on how to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep”.
Cora recommends reading Part 2 of Why We Sleep while Trent also encourages one to look at the “12 Tips for Healthy Sleep” listed towards the end of the book.
Article: The Role of Deliberate Practice
By Ericsson. Full Title "The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance"
What separates the elite from amateurs? The art of deliberate practice. In this article, Ericsson and colleagues explain how performing effortful activities can enhance one’s improvement and challenge the belief of solely having “innate talent”. Through learning, adaptation, and consistent practice, one can become an expert in their field.
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
“I started a sleep schedule and got between 7-8 hours every night for the first time in my life. I halved the time that I spend on social media each day. I got into an exercise routine.”
Clara Holloman
“My biggest accomplishment was completing at least 6 hours of deep work every week this semester. I could not have done it without setting a daily 1-hour time limit for passive media.
Also, a fixed-productivity schedule ensured I finished all work by 11:00 PM every night, giving 1 hour to relax and I fell asleep. I did not stay up past 1:00 AM a single day during the school week!”
Jerry Enverso
“Being more effective in my studying let me spend more time with friends downtown (until COVID, of course). These productivity techniques will help me juggle more responsibilities moving forward.”
Jacob Thompson
“One of my personal goals was to go to the gym more. I did manage to go to the gym virtually every day in the semester, and in the process I dropped 10 pounds. To go about that, I used that daily checkmark technique mentioned in Deep Work (the chain method popularized by Jerry Seinfeld). Along with the rest of my to-dos in my planner I always had a checkbox for going to the gym. The few days I did miss, I felt really bad about messing up my streak. In a way, those check boxes kept me going even when I really didn't want to go.”
“Definitely being able to study consistently 4 hours a week outside of my school work.”
Jordan Jensen
“One thing I don't think I would have been able to accomplish without this class is being able to workout four times a week, study for the MCAT, participate in extracurriculars, and maintain my grades! I feel so much more comfortable in my abilities to work effectively, and I've decided to take on 2 additional leadership positions for next year, solely because I know the skills I've learned this semester will help me to balance my schedule.”
Cora Bisbee
“I had always lived my life on a whim, doing what I wanted when I wanted to do it. This class helped me to organize my life and learn to start keeping a schedule, which will be incredibly beneficial to my post-grad life.”
Riley Roche
“My top accomplishment this semester was learning how to say no to the random meetings that pop up throughout a day, and from that finding value in my time and deeper productivity.”
Caleb Todd
Trent Menzer
“My biggest accomplishment was learning time management so I could start learning basic machine learning and deep learning skills. I was able to create a neural network recognizing images from the MNIST dataset of numbers. Right now, the network operates with about 97% accuracy, and was developed with Google's Tensorflow framework with the objective of classifying handwritten numbers between 1-10.
To me, this program is significant because one of my original goals in my productivity plan was to complete one coding side-project each week. Initially I struggled from the "not enough hours in the day" effect and would struggle to find the time to push myself to pursue these projects and learn new skills. However, once I was able to begin deep work sessions in the library, I spent more time dedicated to hobbies like coding and explore fields such as data science. Without this class, I do not think I would have found the time to be able to explore this field.”
Jonathan Daniel