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If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)

calnewport.com

151–160 of 169 posts

Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)

#151

This article spoke directly to me! I’m in college right now completing a fairly difficult class, or so I was told.. A lot of my classmates tell me the class is so hard, but I think it’s easy so far. I asked most of them how they study, and they all tell me the same thing: They skim through the textbook AFTER hearing the lecture, and cram hard before the test. I do the opposite. As soon as I wake up in the morning I r…

Can you expand on your process? or provide the original HN posts that helped you form this process? I've struggled with conceptualizing a proper routine for approaching work/study and incorporating it into my life properly sans dreading it/procrastinating the work.

Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)

#152

Seems like a bit of a tail wagging the dog situation. How do we know the more relaxed/organized schedule leads to success, and not that success leads to a more relaxed/organized schedule? This reminds me of some other advice I remember reading: No level of hard work or organization will substitute for talent and opportunity, and nearly all success stories to the contrary are missing key facts. ie Myth: Michael Jordan…

Bill Gates is the epitome of a no-talent ass-clown who owes 100% his financial success to his personal family connections (his mother was personal friends with John Akers and John Opel of IBM due to their work on the United Way board together, and she leveraged this connection to get a fledgling Microsoft a sweetheart deal to develop the OS for the IBM PC) and his willingness to mercilessly steal the source code of p…

Is there any good reading or critical biography of this? Assuming your account isn't a gross exaggeration of Gates' misdeeds, this sounds like it would make good reading

Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)

#153

This article spoke directly to me! I’m in college right now completing a fairly difficult class, or so I was told.. A lot of my classmates tell me the class is so hard, but I think it’s easy so far. I asked most of them how they study, and they all tell me the same thing: They skim through the textbook AFTER hearing the lecture, and cram hard before the test. I do the opposite. As soon as I wake up in the morning I r…

Can you expand on your process? or provide the original HN posts that helped you form this process? I've struggled with conceptualizing a proper routine for approaching work/study and incorporating it into my life properly sans dreading it/procrastinating the work.

Not much to it. I use an app on iOS called 'AnkiApp'

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ankiapp-flashcards/id689185915

I just read for an hour every morning, and once the chapter is complete, I go back through the chapter and create Anki flashcards for 30 mins, then study the cards I just created for 30 mins.

So right now my professor will be lecturing us on Chapters 7 and 10 next week on November 18. I did an hour of reading for chapter 10 today. I'll finish Chapter 10 and Chapter 7 by next week on the 17th.

So far, I've covered the material once: I read the chapter.

When my professor lectures us next week, I'll take detailed notes over the material. I write all my notes by hand.

So far, I've covered the material TWICE: I just took notes during lecture

Next week, since I finished Chapter 7 and 10 already, I'll continue my one hour routine every morning, but I'll do 30 minutes of creating Anki flashcards, and 30 minutes of studying those flashcards. Each time I perform an Anki session, it would be my THIRD time going over the material. Each additional time I study an Anki deck, the number increases.

I also realized that I become so much more productive when I started studying/reading first thing in the morning - I have the most energy, and it gives me that "Let's get this done and over with" mentality. I can wake up at 8, read until 9, then head out for class. Once I get home, I can do what I want.. I already studied. Homework is done in the afternoon. My day ends at 5. I treat school like a full time job essentially.

Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)

#154
post #147

This article spoke directly to me! I’m in college right now completing a fairly difficult class, or so I was told.. A lot of my classmates tell me the class is so hard, but I think it’s easy so far. I asked most of them how they study, and they all tell me the same thing: They skim through the textbook AFTER hearing the lecture, and cram hard before the test. I do the opposite. As soon as I wake up in the morning I r…

I think this is this is a great habit to get into early in life. I will however recommend one thing. Find out what internal representation of information works for you. I am an extremely visual thinker to whom things click the second they are put into context or situated in a flow chart / graph of concepts. Since I have started started fitting every new thing into that mental model, I have started found memorizing si…

I'm a very visual person as well! Sometimes when I'm reading a chapter, I'll draw a graph to understand certain concepts a bit better.

Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)

#155

This article spoke directly to me! I’m in college right now completing a fairly difficult class, or so I was told.. A lot of my classmates tell me the class is so hard, but I think it’s easy so far. I asked most of them how they study, and they all tell me the same thing: They skim through the textbook AFTER hearing the lecture, and cram hard before the test. I do the opposite. As soon as I wake up in the morning I r…

If you were trying to learn something on your and not attending a class, how would you modify your method?

I wouldn't change anything about it. When I graduate and get my first network engineer job, I'll be studying for my CCNP, so I'll probably wake up at 7, read until 8, then get ready for work. After each chapter, I'll spend (2) 1 hour sessions to work on flash cards, then move on to other chapters. This could change though.

Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)

#156

This article spoke directly to me! I’m in college right now completing a fairly difficult class, or so I was told.. A lot of my classmates tell me the class is so hard, but I think it’s easy so far. I asked most of them how they study, and they all tell me the same thing: They skim through the textbook AFTER hearing the lecture, and cram hard before the test. I do the opposite. As soon as I wake up in the morning I r…

Just want to say this is great, you are already ahead of the many. Keep this going even after college. Studying never stops even after you get job.

Thanks man

Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)

#157
post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Leonardo Da Vinci is a good counter example. He wasn't organized at all and neither were his collaborators. A lot of his science breakthroughs went on unknown until somebody else totally unrelated did the same.

Counter example of what? > A lot of his science breakthroughs went on unknown I suppose if one's goal is solipsistic research, that would be fine. (We know that wasn't Da Vinci's goal, though.) To put it a different way, suppose I have solved AGI and never told anyone. ... What good have I done?

Depending ones feelings about AGI, you might have saved the humans from extinction by keeping it to yourself.

Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)

#158

Seems like a bit of a tail wagging the dog situation. How do we know the more relaxed/organized schedule leads to success, and not that success leads to a more relaxed/organized schedule? This reminds me of some other advice I remember reading: No level of hard work or organization will substitute for talent and opportunity, and nearly all success stories to the contrary are missing key facts. ie Myth: Michael Jordan…

> No level of hard work or organization will substitute for talent and opportunity

You need look no further than a literal lottery to learn that obvious truth. Could anyone with enough hard work and organization make $100M?

That said, it's not a very useful statement; you can't control what you can't control.

Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)

#159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, offtopic a bit but.. People say you never know what they have to sacrifice for they success. Listening lately news about Bill and he's circles of friends.. I can honestly say I am not surprised why these certain billionaires are never prosecuted of anything..

What are you trying to imply? Microsoft paid hefty fines for its monopolistic behavior...

I suspect: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/12/business/jeffrey-epstein-...

GP shouldn't insinuate vaguely, IMO.

Re: If you're busy, you're doing something wrong (2011)

#160
post #147

This article spoke directly to me! I’m in college right now completing a fairly difficult class, or so I was told.. A lot of my classmates tell me the class is so hard, but I think it’s easy so far. I asked most of them how they study, and they all tell me the same thing: They skim through the textbook AFTER hearing the lecture, and cram hard before the test. I do the opposite. As soon as I wake up in the morning I r…

I think this is this is a great habit to get into early in life. I will however recommend one thing. Find out what internal representation of information works for you. I am an extremely visual thinker to whom things click the second they are put into context or situated in a flow chart / graph of concepts. Since I have started started fitting every new thing into that mental model, I have started found memorizing si…

How do you translate textbook literature into those visualizations if they aren't provided for you? I struggle with this, even reading news articles at times.

It's funny how a simple infographic on a video can really make things click for me.

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