Juggling Life and Learning

1.翻譯

對大多數人來說，學習涉及許多不同任務的複雜平衡。

1.寫任務清單大有好處

對你來說，保持對你想要學習和完成的事情的看法的一個好方法是，每周寫一次簡短的任務清單，列在計劃日志上。然後每天在你的計劃表的另一頁上，寫下你可以合理完成的任務。試着在前一天晚上寫下每天的任務清單。為什麼是前一天晚上?研究表明，這能幫助你的潛意識處理清單上的任務，這樣你就能知道如何完成它們。睡前寫下清單，列出你的僵屍，幫助你第二天完成清單上的任務。如果你不把任務列在清單上，它們就會潛伏在你工作記憶的四個左右位置，占據你寶貴的精神空間。但一旦你列了一個任務清單，它就會釋放工作記憶來解決問題。讓我們看看我每天的任務清單。

2.計劃的詳細項目

正如您在這裡看到的，隻有6個項目。有些是面向過程的。例如，我有一篇論文要在幾個月後交一份期刊。是以，我每天花了一點時間來集中精力完成它；有幾個項目是面向目的的，因為它們在有限的時間内是可行的。請注意我的提醒，我想把注意力集中在每一件事上。我想要有樂趣。我确實發現自己走彎路了，因為我忘了關掉我的電子郵件。為了讓自己回到狀态，我在電腦桌面上設定了一個計時器，設定了一個22分鐘的番茄工作法挑戰。為什麼22分鐘?好吧,為什麼不呢?我，我不必每次都做同樣的事情。請注意，通過切換到番茄工作制模式，我已經切換到了面向程序的模式。我的清單上沒有一項是太大的，因為我每天都有其他事情要做。要參加的會議，要做的演講。有時候我把一些需要身體運動的任務列在清單上，即使隻是清理一些東西。我承認，這通常不是我最喜歡做的事情之一。然而，因為我使用它們作為發散模式的時間，我經常期待它們。

3.計劃休息時間

把其他任務和學習混在一起似乎能讓一切都變得更愉快，讓你遠離長時間的不健康的坐着。随着時間的推移，随着我獲得了更多的經驗，我在衡量完成任何一項任務需要多長時間方面變得更加擅長。你會發現自己進步很快，因為你對自己在任何時候都能合理地做什麼變得更加現實。在你的計劃日志中記下哪些可行，哪些不可行。注意我一天的目标完成時間，下午5點似乎不太合适，對吧?但這是正确的，它是你的日常計劃日志中最重要的組成部分之一。規劃你的休息時間和規劃你的工作時間一樣重要。一般來說，我的目标是下午5點下班。,盡管當我學習新的東西,它有時是一種樂趣看一遍後我已經一個晚上休息,就在我睡覺前,和偶爾的,有一個大項目,我結束,比如,這意味着我得加班。你可能會想，嗯，是的，你知道，但是你是一個教授，我們可以說，你已經度過了年輕的學習時光。當然，早一點下班對你來說是可以的。然而，我最敬佩的研究專家之一卡爾·紐波特(Cal Newport)利用了下午5點的時間。在他的學生生涯中，大部分時間他都在休息。他最終在麻省理工學院獲得了博士學位。換句話說，這種方法，雖然對一些人來說似乎是不可信的，但它可以在嚴格的學術項目中适用于大學生和研究所學生。

4.先做困難的事情

一次又一次，那些緻力于在努力工作的同時保持健康休閑時間的人，比那些堅持不懈地進行無休止跑步的人表現得更好。當然，你的生活可能不适合這樣一個有休息和休閑時間的計劃。你可能因為有兩份工作和太多的課程而精疲力竭。但是無論你的生活如何，試着擠出一點休息時間。寫作教練達芙妮·格雷格蘭特(Daphne Graygrant)向她的寫作客戶推薦的另一件事是，早上先做困難的事情。試着先做最重要和最不喜歡的任務。至少一個番茄工作制，隻要你一醒來。這是非常有效的。你是否需要在你的計劃中做一些改變，因為一些不可預見的事情?當然，但要記住機緣巧合定律;幸運女神總是眷顧那些勇于嘗試的人。做好計劃是嘗試的一部分。關注你的學習目标，不要因為偶爾遇到的障礙而感到不安。

2.原文

Learning for most people involves a complex balancing of many different tasks. A good way for you to keep perspective about what you’re trying to learn and accomplish, is to once a week write a brief weekly list of key tasks in a planner journal. Then each day on another page of your planner journal, write a list of the tasks that you can reasonably work on or accomplish. Try to write this daily task list the evening before. Why the evening before? Research has shown that this helps your subconscious to grapple with the tasks on the list so you can figure out how to accomplish them. Writing the list before you go to sleep, enlists your zombies, to help you accomplish the items on the list the next day. If you don’t write your tasks down on a list, they lurk at the edge of the four or so slots of your working memory, taking up valuable mental real estate. But once you make a task list, it frees working memory for problem solving. So let’s look at one of my daily task lists.

As you can see here, there are only six items. Some are process oriented. For example, I have a paper due to a journal in several months. So, I spend a little focus time on most days working towards completing it. A few items are product oriented. But that is only because they are doable within a limited period of time. Note my reminders. I wanted to keep my focus on each item when I’m working on it. And I want to have fun. I did catch myself getting side tracked, because I forgot to shut down my email. To get myself back into gear, I set a 22 minute Pomodoro challenge, using a timer on my computer desktop. Why 22 minutes? Well, why not? I, I don’t have to do the same thing each

time. And notice, too, that by moving to Pomodoro mode, I’ve switched to a process orientation. None of the items on my list is too big, because I’ve got other things going on in my day. Meetings to go to, a lecture to give. Sometimes I sprinkle a few tasks that involve physical motion on my list, even if it’s just cleaning something. Which, I’ll admit, isn’t ordinarily one of my favorite things to do. Somehow because I’m using them as diffuse mode breaks, I often look forward to them.

Mixing other tasks up with your learning seems to make everything more enjoyable and keeps you from prolonged and unhealthy bouts of sitting. Over time, as I’ve gained more experience, I’ve gotten much better at gauging how long it takes to do any given task. You’ll find yourself improving quickly as you become more realistic about what you can reasonably do in any given time. Make notes in your planner journal about what works and what doesn’t. Notice my goal finish time for the day, 5 p.m. doesn’t seem quite right, does it? But it is right, and it’s one of the most important components of your daily planner journal. Planning your quitting time is as important as planning your working time. Generally, I aim to quit at 5 p.m., although when I’m learning something new, it can sometimes be a pleasure to look at it again after I’ve taken an evening break, just before I go to sleep, and occasionally, there’s a major project that I’m wrapping up, like say, this MOOC that has me running into a bit of overtime. You might think, well, yeah, you know, but you’re a professor who’s shall we say, past your youthful study days. Of course an early quitting time is fine for you. However, one of my most admired study experts, Cal Newport, used the 5 p.m., quitting time through most of his student career. He ended up getting his PhD from MIT. In other words, this method, implausible though it may seem for some, can work for undergraduate and graduate students in rigorous academic programs.

Time after time, those who are committed to maintaining healthy leisure time along with their hard work, outperform those who doggedly pursue an endless treadmill. Of course, your life may not lend itself to such a schedule with breaks and leisure time. You may be running on fumes with two jobs and too many classes. But however your life is going, try to squeeze a little break time in. One more thing –

as writing coach Daphne Graygrant recommends to her writing clients, eat your frogs first in the morning. Try to work on a most important and most disliked task first. At least just one Pomodoro, as soon as you wake up. This is incredibly effective. Do you need to sometimes make changes in your plans because of unforeseen events? Of course, but remember the law of serendipity; Lady Luck favors the one who tries. Planning well is part of trying. Keep your eye on your learning goal, and try not to get too unsettled by occasional roadblocks.