Where does the time go?
Our urge to multitask is not at all unusual, and I cringe when thinking of the numerous times I’ve found myself making this fundamental mistake. We all try to get things done in overly-distracting settings or at inopportune times. But effective learning is not a task that can be squeezed into the cracks and crevices of our busy lives. Students benefit from identifying an appropriate time for some focused learning.
This is where parents can help by:
setting clear expectations
minimizing the time kids spend at their study spots
cooling down the drama(!)
Remind them that they want to work smarter, not harder!
Right now, students are either learning remotely in a synchronous fashion - logging on to classrooms, workshops, or chats at specific times to do work “in sync” with their classmates - or asynchronously - accessing assignments to complete more independently.
When independent work is required, students will benefit from structuring their time and committing to one task without distractions.
A lesson from Simplify - the first S in SYNAPSE - offers some inspiration!
Simplify
Do One Thing
Commit time for a single task.
Allow time for uninterrupted learning.
Students often spend too much time on individual assignments, working inefficiently and becoming too tired to finish the rest of their studies. Another common mistake is to procrastinate and then decide to “plow through” their assignments, overestimating the number of hours a human being can work effectively. Students who segment their studies into time “on” and “off,” for mini-breaks, tend to stay energized and effective.
A reasonable study schedule might break down as follows:
Focused study: 45-60 min
Break: 15-30 min
Focused study: 30-45 min
When planning for the weekend, it’s helpful to break it up into small time blocks. It’s important to schedule long lunches and dinners on the weekend. This is our time to relax, rejuvenate, and socialize with friends. Even with long, leisurely meal breaks, three large chunks of time remain in the morning, afternoon, and night.
Automatically, cross one of these three daily blocks of time off for relaxation and fun. Two 3 hour blocks still remain - a lot of time! If spent on focused work, it’s more than enough for one day. Let’s try it out…
Consider the weekend ahead. Make a realistic deal with yourself about the work you’d like to accomplish before Monday morning rolls around. If there’s an activity you’d like to do on Saturday, plan to enjoy it!
It’s important to be OFF when we are off and ON when we are on.
Schedule your work accordingly and then buckle down, giving full attention to your work during study blocks. This approach earns you guilt-free time for fun. The most miserable weekends are those when students are unproductive at both work and play, giving in to distractions and procrastination, only to feel guilty while out with friends because of all the work we didn’t accomplish.
So….before any socializing begins…
plan a reasonable amount of focused work, with breaks to keep you feeling refreshed, connected, and happy.
In my advisory group, we do something called weekend “bookends.” Each Thursday morning, we meet for 45 minutes. Students consult their syllabi, assessing the two week period ahead, noting any papers, quizzes, or tests approaching. Then they use the block method to select times when they’re confident they’ll be able to do focused work during the upcoming weekend and share it with a partner. It’s a time for my advisees to share personal preferences about their exercise routines, meal times, sleep, and what they’re looking forward to that particular weekend. They learn about one another’s upcoming sports games, theatre productions, and music concerts. On Sunday nights, they check in briefly with either me or their partner to share how the weekend went, jotting down quick notes on highs and lows. The following Thursday, they share something they learned with the group.
A sample “block” plan:
Write up a draft plan for yourself, and post it someplace you’ll be sure to see it.
Cut yourself some slack, too! It’s ok if your plan doesn’t work out perfectly.
The most important thing is NOT to beat yourself up…but rather to reflect on why it didn’t work.
Were your expectations unrealistic?
Did you end up abandoning your goals to follow others?
Did something “suddenly come up?”
This is not about judgment. Be honest with yourself about what kept you from meeting your work commitments. Then, and only then, will you be able to improve your study habits in future weekends.
