This post is a Smart Student Secrets members exclusive.
I was studying spanish at the time. Watching television in Spanish seemed like a good idea.
I had read the idea in a few blogs and I was pumped to give it a shot.
I figured I could spend hours watching shows in Spanish and in no time I would be picking up more and more new words. From the things I read online, (silly me) it sounded like a great idea.
Within the first 5 minutes of watching my first spanish television show I noticed the problem.
I couldn’t care less about the television show. I was completely zoning out. When I really forced myself to focus I was able to make some progress but it was a constant struggle. By the end of the first show, something started to click.
I hate watching television!
It’s true… I thought watching television in Spanish would help me learn while I really don’t enjoy watching television in English.
Whenever I do sit down while a television is on my brain zones off to think about more entertaining things like how cool it would be to see a giant kangaroo race a train!
This is a bit of a silly example because it seems so obvious but it’s a problem that a lot of students accidentally step into.
You shouldn’t try to learn in a way that you don’t normally spend your day. If you don’t watch television then you shouldn’t watch it to try and learn for fun. If you don’t read books then you probably shouldn’t try to learn through books for fun.
Notice the words “for fun.”
In general the 15MSS is my goto strategy for stuff I have to learn.
If you’re learning something for fun then you can get creative.
While you’re getting creative, try not to get too creative.
Immersion isn’t about flipping your life upside-down to immerse yourself. It’s about learning to live with more of the subject.
(The valuable part about moving to another country to learn the language isn’t the moving. It’s the fact that you’re using that language to eat and do all the things you normally do. If you’re like me and cooped up on the internet all day, it doesn’t help!)
Leave Procrastination In The Dust! Never EVER let it stop you again.
Doing stuff is easy – sometimes, right?
You only procrastinate the stuff that sucks. You don’t say, “Ahhh… I’ll read that text from my crush later.” Nope. Now… Any pause is intentional and coordinated to respond better.
Here is the problem with academics:
You probably think most academic stuff sucks – at least a little. (Especially compared to other things you could be doing.)
And the thing is:
FORCING YOURSELF TO STUDY JUST MAKES IT WORSE!
You’re slowly hardening your association of school and being miserable.
You need to create positive associations with academics. You want your brain to be getting hyped up and positive when you’re thinking about studying and giving into this internal oligarchical instinct to force yourself to studying – ain’t helpin’.
Chill the internal dictator for a moment…
A big secret: You need to STOP forcing yourself to study so much.
But, if you’re not forcing yourself then how are you going to see those killer straight-a’s that you’re always pining over?
It’s not difficult but it can sound weird to unfamiliar eyes.
It only costs $4.99 (and if these strategies don’t work like magic like it has for thousands of other students then you can get a full refund.)
Click Here To Buy Your Copy
