StudyPass - Session 11

Well, it's here ... exam week.

  

Whether you feel prepared or not, all that matters now is that you stay in good health, develop and keep a positive frame of mind, and make the most of the time between exams to do any last minute study.

 

Here's some tips for the exam period.

 

#1: Stay healthy

 

There's no point studying all night until you're a zombie. Get enough sleep. Eat well. Drink lots of water. Make sure you get out of the house for some fresh air and relaxation. Managing your health is critical over the next couple of weeks so take good care of yourself.

 

#2: Manage your emotions

 

Someone once told me that anxiety is simply excitement ... with shallow breathing! Both emotions are responses to some anticipated event in the future and both carry some tension in the body. However when we're anxious we breathe shallower and slower.

 

Try it next time you're feeling nervous ... First change your posture ... become more upright, pull your shoulders back and focus your eyes up. Take several very deep breathes through your nose and out your mouth. Use this simple technique whenever you find yourself feeling anxious to put yourself in a more useful state of mind.

 

#3: Develop a positive outlook

 

We often talk ourselves into fits of panic and nervous energy. But things are rarely as bad as they seem. Instead of focusing on what could go wrong ... focus on what could go right!

 

Become your own cheerleader. Kick out that little voice telling you the bad news and replace it with your own little raving fan screaming ... YES YOU CAN! .... Seriously, you can.

 

#4: Use your downtime

 

There is still plenty of time in between exams to pull something special out of the bag. Get up early. Get focused. Decide on just one section you will focus on and study that. Don't worry about how big the subject might seem. Just do what you can in the time you have available.

 

# 5: Exam day

 

Always keep focused on your outcome - a successfully completed exam. Nothing else matters. Manage nerves as I have described, keep up your water intake, use positive self-talk. Get to the exam room well on time but avoid talking to stressed out friends - it's better to avoid their nervous energy and instead stay focused on managing your own state.

 

# 6: In the exam

 

I'm sure you've heard this advice before ... it's obvious but important. Read the instructions carefully so that you know exactly what is being asked. Then read each question thoroughly ... underline keywords, spend a short time planning your response.

 

If you find yourself lost while answering a question then you may need to move on to something else. Don't give up too easy, but don't get too stubborn either.

 

Always come back to complete questions if you have the time. Never leave an exam early. Use all the available time to attempt all required questions or review and improve your answers.

 

 

 

Finally, don't take it all too seriously. Yes, it's important right now, and yes you should give it your all. But in a few years time you will look back at this period at school and wonder why you were stressed at all.

 

Have fun!

 

 

 

Kind regards

 

 

Geoff Peterson

StudyPass

Growing Minds, PO Box 633, Christchurch, Canterbury 8140, NEW ZEALAND

Tick Tock - Birthday Blues

What: My birthday

When: 28th October

Where: Can YOU put a place on where time is? BirthDAY people. (Now that I think about it, space-time continuum? - Nah, too complex)

How: The passing of time

Who: Yours truly

Why: Because time never stops ticking.

As you gather from those key points, it's my birthday. Woopdeedoohdah. No idea where that came from. Anyway, birthdays.

A birthday is a time when you celebrate your existence for a certain period of time. So if I live till tomorrow, I can proudly say, I've survived 17 years of this terrible world.

There used to be a time when I used to be proud of the fact that I had lived that long.

e.g. "Mum, I'm 13 now, I'm a TEENAGER!!"

Yeah, well that isn't happening anymore. I feel old already.

"Aw man, I'm 17 now? That's like *counts in head* ONE year away from being an adult"

I'm a bit jealous of Peter Pan. He stays young and keeps his flawless skin. Even Olay Total Effects can't fake 'young boy' skin.

But what can I do to stop time? Don't answer that.

There's always been one thing I wanted to do when I grow up. Tell stories about my life to my grandkids. Stereotypical as it may sound, it SEEMS like a fun thing to do.

That means I need to have an interesting life. For that, I need to have done interesting things. E.g. I drove a car when I was 14. (That's illegal where I come from).

So if I told them that, my grandchildren might think I'm a rebel and I'll get a sick happiness out of it.

Oh, by the way, I drove that car before my 15th birthday just so I could say I did it when I was 14.

That same question came around this year. What can I do, so that I can say I did it when I was 16. Something interesting, something cool.

Answer: Nothing.

I realised then that this birthday wasn't going to be much fun.

1) I was growing older (than I would like)

2) I did nothing interesting in the past 364 days.

"C'est la vie!", as the French say. "That's life!".

Normally, I hate those kind of sayings, and I hate people who quote random things like that but I'll make an exception and say that this time.

Even as I'm writing this, I'm thinking about something interesting I can do. And I realised something so interesting that even the Dalai Lama wouldn't have thought of it.

I changed the font. From default to Trebuchet.

GC: "Hey Grandpa, what did you do when you were 16?"

Me: "I changed fonts"

The good thing about birthdays though, is that you know your true ("How's life?") friends from your "Sup!" acquaintances. True friends make an effort and actually remember my birthday for a start and some even go on to say "Happy Birthday!". "What about presents?", I hear you say. Well, let's just say a handshake is just fine. Refer here because this is what I'm referring to (the Valentine's Day bit)

Magical, ain't it?

Well, this is my last post as a 16 year old.

Hopefully you will see a more mature and attractive me in the next post.

Until the next post, loyal readers.

Twitter

There's all this new hype about Twitter.
How 140 characters to express yourself gives birth to creativity and blah blah blah.

So I joined Twitter recently. You can follow me on http://twitter.com/LiXworks
Its not that bad. I get to see what everyone is 'twittering' about by looking at the trending topics.
And I managed to get a follower who I don't know. So somehow my twitters are getting across the world.

I still haven't been on it enough to make up my mind on it completely.
Will do soon though.

Hopefully, I'll get my follower count higher with this post.

My First Proper Post in a Long Time

It's been a while since I've properly posted on my blog.
So here I am.

My vacation in India and Bangkok was awesome.
Got to meet my cousins after about 10 or so years.
My cousin got married. I went to an A. R. Rahman concert and got a suit and uniform tailormade.
Got a foot massage (1 hour) and a pedicure (30 minutes).

Contrary to popular belief, a pedicure is not that girly.
All they did was cut my nails and scrape off dead skin, leaving my foot clean and smooth.
This pedicure was not the kind where you get your nails painted or polished.
This was a cleansing pedicure.
I justify my moments of losing manliness with that thought. "It was cleansing".
Now that I write it down, it does seem pretty girly, oh well.

The foot massage was great though. 1 hour of relaxation. The masseuse also put in a bit of shoulder and neck massage.

And now I'm back home (my 2nd home) and it's been a week.
It took a while to get used to school and now I'm settled in.

Worst thing is, I got exams in 21 Days, 21 Hours, 21 Minutes.
Wow, talk about timing. It must mean something.

I should go study now. But I think I need to satisfy my hunger first. Chicken soup is on the menu.

StudyPass - Session 10

t's time to get serious about exam study. It's too important to put off any longer.

 

To make the most of the upcoming weeks you must have a study plan.

 

If you don't, you will find it all too easy to put off your study for another day, another week. The risk is that you won't have enough time to fully prepare.

 

Worse still, you will have a nagging sense of unease about your study which can lead to more stress. Most of the exam stress students feel comes from thinking about studying, not from actually doing it!

 

The lesson here is simple: Just take some action. You feel more confident and in a better state to take the next step. One step at a time is all you have to focus on.

 

 

Create your own study timetable ...

 

As soon as you create your study plan, you will actually experience less stress and feel more motivated. That's because your study plan steps out in the future what you need to do ... It gives you a sense of certainty about what is ahead.

 

To help you create your plan I have included this special study timetable link

 

where you can download and print your own study timetable.

 

It's fast, easy and painless. Click here

 

to open the pdf file and then print it and complete it.

 

 

If you haven't yet started a study programme then the only thing that matters right now is that you take a first step ... that's all .... just take some action, see how it makes you feel ... then take another step.

 

 

Your future study coaching emails ...

 

The emails will increase in frequency over the coming weeks as we get to the serious end of the year.

 

If you are a recent subscriber then you will receive emails closer together as you are receiving both the existing sequence of emails and the more recent emails that will be focusing on exam preparation.

 

 

Until our next communication ...

 

All the best with your studies.

 

 

Kind regards

 

Geoff Peterson

StudyPass

StudyPass - Session 9

This email is about what to do if you feel overwhelmed with school work ... when there's too much to do and not enough time to do it.

 

I don't think you should be trying to find ways to squeeze more things into your day. Working harder isn't always the best solution. Sometimes you have to do less, in order to achieve more.

 

If you find yourself too busy with school work then it's possible that you haven't made the distinction between being busy and being effective.

 

Being Busy vs Being Effective

 

You can be busy doing lots of things with little or no attention on whether those things are actually important.

 

Being effective is about doing the things that are most important. These are the few critical actions that produce the biggest results.

 

If you find yourself with little time to do any study then the chances are you are being busy without being effective.

 

Being busy is often a way to avoid doing the most important, and sometimes uncomfortable things.

 

So what do you do? Stop trying to manage your time .... instead start prioritising.

 

Let's revisit the 80/20 rule

 

You may remember in a previous email I introduced you to the 80/20 rule. It states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the time and effort.

 

So 80% of your results will come from 20% of the time and effort you spent chasing those results.

 

Or put another way 80% of the time and effort you spent studying will make no difference to your results!

 

The trick is to identify the 20% that makes the difference. Then to focus exclusively on that and eliminate the 80% of actions that make little or no difference.

 

You need to ruthlessly apply a strict set of criteria to your actions to ensure that your time and effort will produce the results you desire.

 

Parkinson's Law

 

Here's a very important principle you should know about any type of work ... It's called Parkinson's principle:

 

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

 

 

What this means is that whatever time you give to a task, the task will expand to take up that time.

 

If you give yourself 10 hours over 4 nights to complete an assignment ... then you will find a way to fill those 10 hours with assignment work.

 

The task will magically expand to consume that time ... you'll spend more time researching ... more time editing etc.

 

But remember, 80% of your time and effort is not producing significant results, so this extra time does not necessarily produce a better result.

 

If however you set yourself a very tight and clearly defined deadline, for example, to complete the assignment in the next 3 hours, then immediately your level of focus changes. Now the heat is on. You must now work smarter not harder.

 

So the trick then is to simultaneously apply both the 80/20 rule and Parkinson's Law to your study ... Always focus on the tasks that are most important and then set tight deadlines for their completion.

 

Here's how ...

 

1. Write a list of the 2 or 3 most important school related tasks that need to be completed in the next week.
   
   e.g. complete the English assignment
   e.g. study for the Science test
   
   To make sure you only write the most important tasks ask yourself questions like:
   
   If these are the only 2 things I get accomplished this week will I feel satisfied?
   Will each of these tasks directly affect my results?
   Which subject(s) are most important for me to improve in?
   
   
2. Now, set a very tight time deadline for each task. Remember a tight deadline helps you to work more efficiently because it forces you to focus on essential action.
   
   e.g. 4 hours to complete the English assignment
   e.g. 3 hours studying for the Science test
   
   
3. Take out your diary and schedule 1 hour study sessions over the next week to devote to each of these tasks. Do not devote any time to any other homework or study until these tasks are completed.
   
   
4. At the start of each session write a specific objective for what you what to achieve in the hour.

 

 

A word of encouragement ...

If after applying this technique for the first time you find you don't meet your tight deadlines, then don't beat yourself up. Just realise that you are developing your study habits here.

 

You will get better at focusing your efforts each time you apply this strategy. You will make more distinctions and find out what works for you.

 

Even if you don't meet your deadlines on your first attempt, you will be a lot further ahead than if you had no deadline.

 

Just refocus and recommit. You are building mental muscle with every attempt you make.

Until our next communication ...

 

 

All the best

Geoff Peteson

StudyPass 

 

 

 

© 2009 Growing Minds Ltd

 

Growing Minds, PO Box 633, Christchurch, Canterbury 8140, NEW ZEALAND

Vacation...

My vacation..
Right now I'm on a vacation in India.

It's been awesome.
Met my cousins and had a lot of fun.
A nice wedding and even better food.
I've probably put on a few kilos by now.

Missing my friends back in NZ though.
I got a suit stitched. And my uniform.
My dad got a 5800 which has wi-fi. So I steal my neighbour's internet.

Go Tua!! He owned that tattooed know-it-all.

Anyway, I'll miss the first week of school.
and I'll see you later.

God, the internet here is so slow - 256kbps..

StudyPass - Session 8

This year, to succeed in your exams, you will need to remember a large number of formulae, definitions, literary quotes, scientific principles, names, dates and various other pieces of information.



You could spend hours trying to rote learn this information, hoping you can recall it in the exams.



Or, you can apply some of the latest research on memory to quickly slot this information into your long term memory, building strong, reliable recall whenever you need it.



That's what I want to share with you in this email.


Below are 7 key ingredients for creating fast, reliable recall of information. I will show you later in this email how to directly apply these to your study.


1. Focussing your attention increases the quality of the memory you create. It is the first and most critical step in creating strong memories.


2. Increasing the sensory input to your brain helps to make information stand out from the background noise of everyday life. It amplifies the signals to your brain and helps to burn an impression on your memory.


3. Loading information with emotion creates a stronger personal experience of often very impersonal information. This process connects a mental concept into a physical experience.


4. Visualising information actively engages your brain in reconstructing the information. By doing so you are actually creating neural connections in your brain. Your conscious thought is actually resulting in a physical rewiring of your brain's neural cells! ... That always does my head in whenever I think about it!


5. Processing information deeply allows you to anchor the information to many other ideas and concepts, creating an elaborate mental representation of the information.


6. Using spaced repetition further helps you to transfer the information to long term memory making sure that the natural forgetting function of your brain is overcome.


7. Practising your recall gives you the direct experience of remembering, giving you feedback and confidence that your memory has been installed.



When you apply these techniques to your study, and start to see how easy it is learn and remember information, you will start to make a rather startling realisation ...



That your potential to learn is far greater than anything you have ever imagined



All that talk you hear about ... how humans only use a fraction of our potential brain power ... it's true.



How to memorise anything ...





STEP 1: Focus your attention.

The first step to memorising anything is to focus ALL your sensory awareness onto what you want to remember. Remove all distractions from your environment. Bring all your attention to what you are studying. As you read, imagine your eyes are like lasers burning the information onto your memory. Listen to yourself thinking. Anything you do that focuses your attention will help you to strongly 'encode' the memory.



STEP 2: Increase sensory input.

Our attention is always attracted to anything in the environment that looks different or unusual. Use this natural feature of your brain by making the information stand out.



Interact with the information using sight, sound and movement and you will be sending multi-channelled, amplified signals to your brain. The result: High-speed learning!



But a word of caution: We humans also have a tendency of avoiding trying anything too different, especially when it feels awkward. We think it keeps us safe ... but it actually just keeps us boring. So try something different, step out of your comfort zone, and expand yourself. Your brain will thank you for it!



HERE'S HOW ...

- Rewrite formulas/facts etc on large paper using large colour letters and stick them up around your room.

- Read information aloud, accentuate the sounds, watch yourself in the mirror as you rehearse aloud the key information.

- Turn information into symbols, diagrams and pictures.

- Draw Mind Maps connecting all this information together.

- Rehearse key information to the rhythm of some upbeat music.

- Ask yourself questions, then answer them!

- Replay information in your head while out walking, running or cycling (study on the GO!)



STEP 3: Load with emotion.

On its own, information is relatively boring. It is just facts. However it is in your interaction with information, how you personally process it, that makes this information personally relevant and therefore memorable.



Your emotional state (how you feel in the moment you are studying) has a huge effect on how much is remembered. How you feel in any moment is not a random incident. How you feel is determined largely by what you focus on. Control your focus and you will control your feelings.



Focus on what you want to achieve, connect with the feelings of success and accomplishment BEFORE you have actually succeeded, listen to uplifting music. All of this will help you to put yourself into a highly alert and energised state.



Then from this state, start to load emotion into the information you are studying. And remember: Weird = Effective.



HERE'S HOW:

- Use your imagination to create funny and strange associations with the information.

- Imagine studying with your favourite famous person ... they ask you questions and you answer them. Try a different person for each subject!

- String facts together by making up strange stories ... all from the deep and weird recesses of your imagination!



STEP 4: Process information deeply.

One of the key factors for transferring information to long-term memory is the depth of processing - either at a very shallow level (eg just reading) or a very deep level (connecting the information with other ideas, questioning or challenging the information etc).



When you connect and relate information to other concepts you create a chain of memories that each lead to one another. You create more pathways in your mind that take you to the information you want to recall.



HERE'S HOW:

- Ask yourself questions like: "How is this information similar to ____ ?", "How is it different to ______?". What does that really mean?

- Draw a mind map or diagram that shows how several concepts are connected together.
- Organise the information in an appropriate way eg on a timeline, as a sequence of steps, in order of importance, into similar groups etc.



STEP 5: Visualise information

Use your imagination to recreate information that you have studied. Get relaxed, close your eyes and actually recreate the information in your mind.



HERE'S HOW:



- After you complete a math problem, rehearse the steps in your mind, imagining writing out each step as you go.

- Once you have studied a diagram, mentally redraw the diagram in your mind.

- Imagine someone explaining to you what you have just studied.
- Get creative ... you are limited only by your imagination.



STEP 6: Use spaced repetition

Spaced repetition is the careful placement of review sessions to maximise transfer to long term memory. This is done in order to overcome our natural tendencies to forget information that our brain considers unimportant. Only a small amount of time is required for these review sessions but the timing is important.



Imagine you just completed a 1 hour study session at home in the early evening. Here's how you would use this technique to ensure you maintain strong recall for the material you studied.



HERE'S HOW:

- 20 minutes after the study session, spend just 5-10 minutes refreshing your memory on the material you studied. Quickly scan through the work you completed. Highlight in your mind the key steps or key information.

- 2 hours after the study session do the same again.

- 1 day later repeat again.

- 1 week later spend 20 minutes reviewing material from the last week's study sessions.
- 1 month later take 30 minutes and quickly review the work you did in any study over the last month.



STEP 7: Practise your recall

This is simply a case of setting up small tests to check you can recall, rather than just recognise, the information you have studied.



HERE'S HOW:



- Go back and answer some of the questions you previously studied.

- Give your study notes to a friend or family member and get them to test you on the key points.

- Make flash card with key words on one side and definitions or explanations on the other.









So there it is. Rather long I know but pretty much a crash course in becoming a genius.



The first 5 steps above aren't really steps. You can apply those simultaneously as you study. As you do you will start to get better and better at using these techniques ... they will start to become a natural part of your study.



So give it a go. Try something different. You just might surprise yourself!







Until our next communication...



All the best

Geoff Peterson
StudyPass


PS If you haven't yet downloaded our revision checklists for various subjects, then check them out by clicking here.


Š 2009 Growing Minds Ltd



Growing Minds, PO Box 633, Christchurch, Canterbury 8140, NEW ZEALAND

iTunes U

Yes, I'm a nerd.
I listen to/watch iTunes U as of today.

If you don't know what that is. Let me explain.
Its recordings of lectures in the format of podcasts on the iTunes Store.
Its free to download and has the biggest universities providing free lectures.

Right now as we speak, I am downloading a series of lectures on nanotechnology by Yale and physics by MIT.
Its amazing. I don't have to go to the university, and I get to learn from the greatest minds in the world.

I highly recommend you go download iTunes and listen to some lectures.

This post is short, because I want to get back to learning about the 40 powers of magnitude.

StudyPass - Session 7

How many different ways of studying do you know?

Do you have more options than just sitting down in a quiet place with some books?

If you think this is the only way to study then you may be trapped in a very old fashioned concept of what learning actually is.

Today I want to introduce you to a totally different mode of studying ... one that is it easy, fun and once you set it up, almost takes care of itself.

 

How to use your environment to learn ...

Our brains are constantly recording and processing information from our environment ... even the information that we are not consciously focused on.

The ideas and concepts from each of your subjects, exist for you right now, mostly in books, in handouts and in your notes that are probably sitting in some corner of your room or on your desk.

You cannot engage with this information until you take out this material to study. But it doesn't have to be this way.

By taking the key course information and spreading it around your environment ... for example using flip cards on the wall, doors, mirrors etc ... you create triggers in you environment that you will bump into throughout your day.

An example of a flip card would be a definition for a key concept that you need to know ...

You put the name of the concept on one side of the card and the definition on the other. Write in large colour keywords and use symbols wherever possible. DO NOT write out entire paragraphs ... just several key words to help you trigger the rest of the information.

Then use a piece of tape to hinge it to the wall with the definition hidden, facing the wall.

These cards, spread around your environment, give you a no-hassle way to review all the key information in your course.

You will find yourself naturally reviewing this material, many times during a week ... without any conscious thought of "I must learn that definition".

 

Try it now ...

Simply take a topic from your course and create flip cards for each definition, or for each type of exam question in that topic. Put these cards up around your room and around the house if possible.

Then interact with these cards every time you bump into them. It will literally take you just seconds but you will find yourself building strong recall for this information.

Leave them up for a few weeks and then replace them with another set.

Keep doing this until the end of the year and you will be a long way to mastering your subjects even before you start your exam study later this year.

Remember, studying doesn't always have to be sitting down for an hour in front of your books. Break the mould and try something different ... You never know, it might be the type of studying that you find you enjoy the most.

 

Until our next communication ...

All the best

Geoff Peterson
StudyPass

 

Š 2009 Growing Minds Ltd

 

Growing Minds, PO Box 633, Christchurch, Canterbury 8140, NEW ZEALAND

StudyPass - Session 6

When you sit down to study do you find it difficult to stay focused on on-track? Do you find yourself constantly distracted?

Students report that they often find themselves easily distracted by phone calls or sms from friends, instant messages and email, facebook/bebo/myspace/twitter, internet surfing, computer games, television and family members.

You must develop the habit of removing distractions from your environment before you sit down to study. If you don't, your best intentions will always be sabotaged.

You don't have to study long hours every week to achieve great results this year ...

If you create highly focused study sessions, with clearly defined written objectives, where you concentrate your efforts on the critical 20% of actions that will give you 80% of your results, you can achieve much more in less time.

However, you will also need strategies that will deal with distractions so that you can maintain a high level of concentration during these sessions.

So here it is: 7 steps to dealing with distractions ...

1. Allocate weekly study time slots.

If you study at different times during the week, whenever you find some spare time or when there is nothing more exciting to do, then you will find it all too easy to be distracted ... because you're simply filling in time. You will find that the distractions are almost welcomed!

When you allocate time intervals during the week for study, you draw a line in the sand that says: "this time is only for study". You increase your level of commitment to yourself. You will find that you are much less prone to distractions because you have raised your level of intention.

So, allocate weekly study time slots and make a commitment to yourself to stick to these. At the end of the year you will thank yourself for doing so.

2. Define a study session objective

When you write a clear objective for your study session it focuses your attention on a specific goal. You are less likely to be distracted if you have in your mind a clear objective that you are working to complete by the end of a fixed period of time.

So, start your study sessions by writing a specific, clear, achievable, realistic objective that has a fixed time by which to achieve it by.

3. Remove the phone.

During these study sessions ALWAYS turn any mobile phone you might have to silent and put it in another room. I can't stress this enough. Remember we are talking about highly focused study sessions. Any distraction, even a single sms message, has an effect on your attention and so on your effectiveness. Always remove it from your environment before you start your study sessions.

Have your family members answer any landline calls simply by saying that you can't get to the phone now, but will call them back soon.

4. Turn off the computer.

If you are studying from text books and study guides then turn off your computer during these sessions. See if you can do all your paper-based study in a chunk.

If you need to use the internet for research, make a list of questions that you want answered before you start. Set yourself a fixed amount of time to do this and stick to it. Before you do this research, make sure you close any instant messaging software so that your friends cannot interrupt you while you're online.

If possible, try and consolidate all your computer work at the end of your study session.

5. Turn off radio and TV.

A distraction is anything that can pull your attention away from what you are doing in any moment of time.

Whenever you allow radio or TV in your study environment you are allowing the possibility for something of interest to appear in your environment. Remember, the people who put together radio and TV programmes do so with the intention of catching the attention of their audience. They are paid very well to do this so chances are they will succeed!

Make sure you cannot see or hear any TV or radio from your study location.

6. MP3 Players and Music.

I know, you're probably screaming ... don't take away my MP3 player as well!

Actually, I am a fan of using music with studying. But, you need to use the right music for a right purpose, not just as background entertainment.

I will cover using music to study in detail in another session, but for now I would recommend avoiding listening to music with lyrics during these focused study sessions. However it's great to use just before and just after each session.

7. Communicate with members of your household.

You must make it clear to everyone in your household that you should not be distracted under any circumstances during these sessions. Unless there is some immediate threat to your safety, politely ask them to leave you alone until you have finished.

So there it is ... 7 steps to avoiding distractions.

The next time you sit down to study make sure you try all these steps ... They will go a long way to helping you improve your ability to focus and concentrate.

If you struggle with distractions in your study then this really could be the one email that makes the difference ... but only when you put it into action. Give it a try. 

Until our next communication ...

All the best

Geoff Peterson

StudyPass

© 2009 Growing Minds Ltd

Growing Minds, PO Box 633, Christchurch, Canterbury 8140, NEW ZEALAND

StudyPass - Session 5

Most of the actions we take are a waste of time ... they make no difference to what we want to achieve.

There is an important principle called the Pareto Principle .... or more commonly 'the 80/20 rule'. This principle states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

You can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

When you apply this to your study it suggests that 80% of your results will come from 20% of your actions.

This means that 80% of the time you spend studying makes little or no difference to your results.

It's a critical 20% of your actions that make the most difference to your performance this year.

The trick is to focus on the 20% of your actions that contribute to the 80% of your results ... That's what I want to share with you today.

 

The 20% that will make the difference this year ...

If you do only one thing this year ... do this ... and do it now.

 

1.    Practise past exam questions.

2.    Practise them until you know them in your sleep.

3.    Write any question you can't answer onto a card.

4.    Ask your teacher how to answer that question.

5.    Write the answer on the back of the card.

6.    Review the cards once a week until you can answer all the questions without looking at the answer.

7.    Then review the cards once a month until the exams.

 

That's it. I can't be any more direct than this. If you follow this strategy you will increase your study effectiveness by 200 - 300%.

But it requires you to take action. Please don't wait any longer to apply these strategies. Get started now.

 

Until our next communication ...

All the best

Geoff Peterson
StudyPass

 

 

© 2009 Growing Minds Ltd

 

Growing Minds, PO Box 633, Christchurch, Canterbury 8140, NEW ZEALAND

Fasting.

Time to fast.
One month of fasting for me.

Rules: Eat as much as I want to between around 6.15pm and 5.00am (times depend on sunset/rise)
I cannot eat from 5am to 6.15pm again.

Nothing at all, no water, no food, no juice, no medicine, NOTHING.

The hardest bit about starving myself isn't the hunger. No. It's the sleep.
Going to bed at 11pm, waking up at 4.30am and going to bed again at 6am, and waking up again at 7.30am
It's hard.

Even though the number of hours of sleep add up. The quality is very low. It's hard to change your sleep patterns. The good thing is, I have a month of fasting ahead of me to get used to the sleeping.

If I look dull when you see me. You know why.
I'm currently waiting for 6.01pm so I can start eating.
I'm sleepy.
And that's why this post is of very very low quality. I can't think straight.
I couldn't even do 8 - 1.5 this morning.

Yeah. It's bad.
But it's also fun.

StudyPass - Session 4

This email is important.

It covers something so simple and yet so critical to your success this year that I encourage you to give yourself some time to let this one sink in.

We will apply what we cover here directly to your study ... it will help make your study sessions highly focused and highly effective.

So get comfortable, turn off your phone, and let's look at ...

 

How clarity leads to results ...

One of the main reasons students find studying a chore and boring is that they rarely experience the feelings of achievement that come from effective study. They don't connect with the personal satisfaction of achieving a short term goal. They can be left thinking ... did I really achieve anything here?

But think about it ... how can you have a sense of achievement if you never defined specifically what it is you intended to achieve!

If you lack a clear objective then your actions will be muddled and you will meander aimlessly because you lack direction. At the end of the study session you are unlikely to feel satisfied by your results.

Simply by writing a clear objective for what you want to achieve in an activity you will take more focused and more appropriate actions. These actions will help you to quickly reach your objective.

Before you start any study session you must define a clear objective of what you intend to achieve. Without this you are leaving your success to chance. You might be lucky and get a good result but it is much less likely.

So let's do it now. Remember these words don't have any power until and unless you take action from them.

I am going to take you through the specific steps of bringing clear intention to your study sessions.

You can apply this process to each and every session of study this year. By doing so, you will create an increasing sense of accomplishment to your study sessions. You will start to get some traction ... and then some momentum. From there, anything's possible.

 

Creating Clear Objectives For Your Study Sessions ...

1.    Schedule a specific 45 minute session of time to study. NOW would be the best time, but if you can't do it now then schedule some time for later today or tomorrow at the latest.

2.    Select a subject to study and a specific chunk of a topic to focus on. If you have a study guide that breaks down your course into smaller revision chunks then use this to identify an achievable chunk of work that can be completed in this session.

3.    Now write a clearly defined objective that gives you a target for the study session. Make sure it is S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and has a Timeline). Refer to the last email if you need help with this. Write your objective in the now, as if it is already achieved, and make sure you include some attitude! For example.

      - It's 2.45pm and I have successfully completed Questions 1 to 5 (Achieved and Merit level Questions) in the Algebra Achievement Standard.
- As a result I have identified the specific questions and the parts of the answer that I had trouble with, highlighted them so I can review them in the future, and made notes to myself to remind me of what I learned. Great work. Time to play!

4.    Make a commitment to yourself and another of what you intend to do. By making your commitment public (eg by sharing it with a supportive family member or friend) then you increase the level of your commitment ... It puts some fire under your seat and increases the heat on you to make it happen. 

5.    Before you start your study session, remove all distractions from your environment. Make sure you are in a place free of TV and radio and other people. Turn your phone off and out it in another room. Ask people not to interrupt you for the next 45 minutes. Get everything you need in front of you ... your study guides, class notes, paper, pen, highlighter, calculator... everything.

6.    Drink a full glass of water (or a low sugar, non-caffeinated drink) and take another glass into your study area. Take a few deep and full breaths. Remember good levels of water and oxygen are essential for your brain to work at its optimum. Most people breath too shallow and don't drink enough water ... the result is lethargy!

7.    Now reread your written objective. Imagine it complete and connect with the feelings of achievement in the now. Have this statement in front of you so whenever you go off course (and you will) you can recommit to your objective.

8.    Now work like you have never worked before. Work at pace. Use all the resources you have to solve your problems but don't let any problem stop your progress. Highlight the problem, turn that problem into a question to be answered and then move on.

9.    Throughout the session, notice your physical state. If you start to get low energy, bored, frustrated then change your state by changing your physiology ...  Do that by improving your posture, drinking some water and breathing deeply.

10. Regularly remind yourself of your objective.

 

If you give yourself fully to the process above then I promise you that you will have a different experience of study.

Start to notice in your day how a clear objective or intention makes you more effective in producing a result.

Play with this strategy of creating clear objectives both in your study and in anything else you find yourself doing. You will be surprised just how much this one strategy can make to your study and your life.

Until our next communication ...

All the best

Geoff Peterson
StudyPass

 

Š 2009 Growing Minds Ltd

Growing Minds, PO Box 633, Christchurch, Canterbury 8140, NEW ZEALAND

StudyPass - Session 3

There are a lot of strategies I want to share with you this year ... specific actions to help you achieve outstanding results this year.



You see, this coaching isn't just about creating results in your study ... it's about creating results in any area of your life.



Consider this coaching as your opportunity to personally test drive these peak performance strategies ... to apply them in your study and to see what you are capable of .... to see what is possible when you align your vision, your intentions, and your actions.





Create your AIM for the year ...



Do you know exactly what you want to achieve in your study this year?



The first step to achieving any result in your life is actually quite easy ... it is simply to get clarity on what the result actually is!



As absurd as this sounds, it is the main reason why most people don't achieve the results they wish for in their life ... They don't have clarity on what they intend to create. By clarity I mean a specific statement of intention that defines the result they want to achieve.



If you haven't written a clear AIM for your studies this year, then you haven't taken the easiest and most important step in this process.



Writing a clear AIM for your studies this year might not seem like a significant step. Please don't make the mistake of skipping this step.



This coaching is designed to build your results one step at a time. It only requires you to take a small step each time. But the accumulated results of those small steps is huge.



How to write your AIM ...



Your AIM your studies this year is your long term goal. Consider these AIMS written by students ...



"I want to do well in Maths this year"

"I want to pass NCEA Level 1 this year"



The first problem with these AIMS is that they are wishes not goals. "I want ..." is just a wish. These statements have little punch to them as they don't imply any commitment.



"I will ... " is better because it has more commitment. However because it is still stated as a future event, it is not as powerful as it could be. When you say "I will ..." there's always room for a little voice of doubt ... because anything could happen to derail your efforts.





1. State your goals in the NOW.



"I have" and "I am" are stated in the present. Stating your goals as if they have already happened is not delusional ... it's simply the fastest way of getting to your goals. Your actions then have to catch up with the place you are committed to being.



So, when you write your goals make sure you state them in the present using words such as "I have ..." and " I am ...". Whenever you read them, read them AS IF they are already achieved.



From this state of mind your actions will be more focused and more directed. It is from this place that you create outstanding results.



2. Make your goals S.M.A.R.T.



An effective goal needs to be Specific: It needs to state the goal clearly.



It needs to be Measurable: "I want to do well in NCEA" is not measurable as it does not clearly define what "do well" actually means. How would you measure that? It would also mean different things to different people.



The goal needs to be Acheivable and Realistic: You should see the goal as within your reach. But be careful not to sell yourself short. Your goals should stretch you ... they should make you feel a little uncomfortable because they imply a commitment that will test you.



Your goal should have a Timeline. Without a deadline the goal doesn't actually exist, as it could be pushed out into the future indefinitely. Make sure each goal has a date against which it can be measured.



An example of a S.M.A.R.T goal stated in the present:





I have gained a minimum of Merit grades
in all my NCEA Level 1 assessments and Excellence in 20% of my
assessments as stated in my 2009 NZQA results received January 2010.



This goal is stated in the present (I have ...). It is Specific (Merit, Excellence), Measurable (minimum ... 20%), It would be Achievable and Realistic for a student, and it has a Timeline (January 2010).





Obviously this goal would vary for different students. For some, this goal may not be realistic ... for others, it might not be enough of a stretch.



The point is however a statement like this is so much more powerful than a loose statement such as "I want to do well in NCEA this year".





Your efforts will make a difference ...



You may have tried this exercise in the past ... it may not have worked for you. If so, I am asking you to give it another try.



The difference is that this year I am willing to coach you throughout the year to help make this goal a reality. But I can't do it for you. You need to take some action.



Follow the instructions above and write your AIM on paper now. Set yourself a target for the year against which you can measure yourself.



When you have, I encourage you to print it and put it on the wall. It is such a simple yet powerful strategy for aligning your actions this year.



I have one last step in this goal setting process to share with you. After that I want to share with you the most cunning study strategy I know. Most of the top student's use this strategy all the time without even realising it. When you know how to use it it will virtually guarantee you improve your study effectiveness by 200 - 300%.



Sound too good to be true? I promise you it's not.



If you haven't done so already, please take a moment to write your AIM for your study this year. Just follow the steps above.

Until our next communication.

All the best

Geoff Peterson
StudyPass


Š 2009 Growing Minds Ltd




Growing Minds, PO Box 633, Christchurch, Canterbury 8140, NEW ZEALAND

StudyPass - Session 2

If you lack the motivation to study then this communication is especially for you.

Firstly realise that motivation isn't something that just 'happens' to you. You create motivation by what you focus on.  Control your focus in a direction that excites you and you will create motivation. The process below helps you to do just that.

There are 5 steps to this process. Today I will cover just the first step ... This is the key step to creating the 'fuel' that drives you forward towards your goals.

So here they are ... The 5 steps to creating lasting motivation that I will take you through over the next couple of weeks.

1.      Create a compelling WHY: Find 'juicy' reasons why studying will actually benefit you, excite you and drive you forward.

 

2.      Write down your AIM for the school year. Define what you want to achieve in your studies this year.

 

3.      Write a series of GOALS that provide you with a plan of action to achieve your aim for the year.  Make sure each goal is S.M.A.R.T ... Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and has a Timeline.

 

4.      Regularly CONNECT with the feeling of success that you are aiming for.

 

5.      Regularly REVIEW your progress. Schedule time to measure your progress towards your goals. Make adjustments where necessary.

 

For some people this process may seem like a bit of empty 'feel-good' motivation.

To those people I would say this ... If you were to personally interview any highly successful person, perhaps a sportsperson or entrepreneur, you would discover that most of them have gone through a process very similar to this.

They know that their success comes from their ability to actually create the motivation they need, rather than to wait for it to happen. This motivation then drives them to take regular action towards their goals.

The first step in this process is critical to creating lasting motivation and it is what I want to take you through today.

I suggest you print this email out and follow the steps below ... as soon as you can.

STEP 1. How to create a compelling WHY ...

Many people get motivated for a short time but often find their enthusiasm drops over time. The reason most people don't achieve their goals is that they have no big 'WHY', no juicy reasons for achieving the goal in the first place.

If you don't have a set of compelling reasons (both emotional and logical) for doing something, then you simply won't do it. Even if you manage to force yourself to take action, it will be difficult to maintain this effort over time.

Follow through these steps to discover your own personal reasons that will help to motivate you.

1.       First get yourself into a good state of mind. I find music is the best for me. Put on your favourite piece of upbeat music something that gets you 'pumped' and inspires you. Get yourself a pen and paper and find a spot where you won't be disturbed for the next 15 minutes.

 

2.       Now, imagine you have succeeded already. Imagine for a moment that you have just completed a hugely successful school year  ... what would that be like? How would you feel if you were looking back on the year knowing that you achieved everything you wanted and more? Imagine all the best possible reasons for achieving success this year. For the next 2 minutes write down what this would mean for you personally. Write fast. Don't edit anything. Write them down as if they have already happened, using words like: I am .... , I feel ... , I know ...., I have ...

 

For example

I feel more confident at school

I feel proud of my achievements

My family would feel proud of me

I won't stress so much

I have more options for my future career

I am on the way to becoming a well paid ________

I have mastered studying ... I get my study done quickly and have more time to do _________

I have more self belief in myself.

I proved I am smarter than I think!

I am starting to believe I can achieve anything I put my mind to

3.       When you have finished, review your list and highlight the 3 or 4 reasons that give you the strongest emotional response ... that is they excite you, they have some 'juice' .

 

4.       Now use these 3 or 4 reasons to write a personal vision statement. Use emotionally charged words that connect you with the feelings you would get.  

 

For example ...

 

I DID IT!

This year I proved I have got what it takes!

I have more confidence ...

more belief in what I can achieve.

I proved to myself that I have the discipline to achieve my goals ...

I have what it takes!

 

A statement like the one above may not work for you. If not, find the one that does ... Find the reasons and the specific words that can help pull you forward this year. I really urge you to give all of yourself to this activity, to find your own personal reasons that will ignite an unstoppable drive in you towards your goals. Those reasons exist for you ... they can take you to where you want to be ... you just need to find them.

5.       Type up your statement and put it somewhere you can review it regularly.

 

If you have participated fully in this exercise then you will have created a sense of motivation, a drive to take action. YOU MUST take action from this space. DO SOMETHING that you know will help move you forward in your study. Do it now.

You are developing mental muscle in these activities ... the accumulation of your efforts over time will create a totally different end point.

In the next email I want to take you through the steps for creating personal goals. This is where we get specific ... making sure you are taking the action needed to get to where you want to go.

Until then, all the best with your studies.

 

Geoff Peterson
StudyPass

PS feel free to send me your feedback on anything I have covered in these emails.

Growing Minds, PO Box 633, Christchurch, Canterbury 8140, NEW ZEALAND