Helping serious learners build their dream careers using a "3-step study workflow". If you're a serious learner yourself, this newsletter will help you become a top-performing student and get into your dream job while having loads of fun studying :)
The old vs. new model of College productivity
Hello Reader,
I've been researching about student life lately, and I've been finding some common themes similar to my experience before:
- can’t start on studying unless it's the night before the exam
- wanna study for more than 8 hours, but always gets distracted after 15 minutes
- can’t stay consistent
- don’t know where to start
- don't know how to plan a sustainable study routine
What struck me was that there's this surge of students constantly attributing their poor concentration or study habits to ADHD.
They want to study for more than 8 hours, and when they can't, they think it's ADHD.
"You should get a third opinion for ADHD," one even replied.
Look, unless you're diagnosed by a medical professional, it's most likely NOT ADHD.
Technology has become more intrusive, more addicting. Even I who've read a bunch of books on behavior change still gets hooked when I start clicking on Instagram reels.
Motivation is unreliable. It goes up and down from time to time, and you can't have high motivation all the time unless you have a very intimate reason to do a behavior.
There's a concept that Dr. BJ Fogg called "Motivation Waves" that says we can only do hard things only when motivation is high, and only easy behaviors when it's low.
And now we also know a bit more about behavior change. About having better sleep. About the importance of having life outside school. About having systems that "extend" our brains and do the work for us sometimes.
There's literally tons of new practical information online that works, thanks to these expert interviews and podcasts.
So why the heck should we expect that the old model of "productive studying" hasn't changed yet?
Specifically, the model of:
- study as much as possible
- sleep isn’t essential
- always use willpower/motivation to start studying
- think about studying all the time
- don’t have a life outside of school
No, thank you. We have better options now.
Enter, a new model of productivity:
- find out the minimum amount of studying you can do each day — total work ÷ days left — to stay consistent (consistency > intensity)
- sleep, nutrition, and fitness are the foundation of productivity (greater health = better cognition)
- make studying easier to start; use willpower only when it matters (the brain follows the path of least resistance!)
- have task management systems that “think about studying” for you (reduce cognitive load and eliminate need for closure)
- make time for life outside school (time away from studying = we get motivation from other sources + we go back with higher quality focus)
Anything else you think should be included?
To smarter studying,
Al Khan
Hi! I'm Al Khan.
Helping serious learners build their dream careers using a "3-step study workflow". If you're a serious learner yourself, this newsletter will help you become a top-performing student and get into your dream job while having loads of fun studying :)
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