Learning Strategies Reaction
I believe I was pretty successful with implementing the strategy selected as I followed through with the majority of the strategies I had initially planned to use. As soon as I got home from school, I gave myself about one hour to relax and began homework promptly around 5:30 p.m. Each day after school, I made a numbered list of all the tasks I had to accomplish that night in order of priority alongside the expected time frame in which the task would be completed. In addition, I broke down each task into several smaller tasks. Once I had outlined my schedule for the evening, I completed short tasks using the pomodoro technique, in which I worked for a duration of 25 minutes, and then took a 5 minute break. After four pomodoro cycles, I took a lengthier break between 15-30 minutes and restarted the process. I was able to utilize this strategy almost every day of the experiment, with the exception of Friday nights and the weekend.
Although I was not successful in making progress towards achieving my long-term goals, I was able to complete almost all the tasks required per night. One strategy I found that significantly aided with my success was to work in an environment outside home, such as Tim Hortons or Starbucks. In outside environments, I was not distracted by my family and felt a greater motivation to work. In addition, I found that making a list of the tasks that I needed to complete helped me reach success. I was able to constantly refer to the list to see what tasks I had completed and what was left to finish. Checking off each task and moving to the next gave me a sense of accomplishment, which served as motivation to continue working and complete all set objectives.
However, my phone continued to be a major distraction that I was not as successful in eliminating. One strategy I attempted to use to minimize distractions was to block social media, such as Instagram or Snapchat. Regardless, I found myself unblocking these apps after 1 or 2 pomodoro cycles as a reward for my hard work which was quite counterproductive. During the initial stages of the experiment, I would use social media during the break. I often would extend the break time as I had difficulty putting my phone away. As the experiment progressed, I got better with handling my impulsiveness.
This strategy definitely improved my overall learning abilities and reduced my tendency to procrastinate. Although I did not achieve as much as I hoped to, I made significant progress in learning and reducing my procrastination tendencies. As mentioned in my previous blog post, my biggest issue while working is that I have a habit of working for long durations of time. After these long work periods, I felt drained, tired and frustrated and would take a long breaker to reward my hard work, which in turn, disrupted my work cycle. Once I began my break, I found it difficult to find the motivation to begin working again, which often resulted in lengthy periods of wasting time and unproductivity.
However, this strategy prevented me from taking long breaks, as the pomodoro technique involves working for short durations of 25 minutes, followed by a five minute breaker. After four pomodoro cycles you take a break between 15-30 minutes in length and restart the process.
To track my progress over the duration of the experiment, I created a daily log and recorded what tasks I needed to complete that day, when the task was due, whether I completed each task and how many long it took to complete each task.
I have provided a link to my daily log: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sJzfjR_wuY3qAPxRWk71VB71oOc8YUBFjFNby5Cg6ZQ/edit?usp=sharing
As the experiment continued, I found myself making more progress in reducing my procrastination. In the initial stages, I had more difficulty in closely following the rules of the pomodoro cycle. For example, I would work for 35 minutes instead of 25 minutes and take a 10 or 15-minute break rather than a 5-minute break. This significantly reduced my efficiency, as it took me much longer to complete a task than necessary. As I continued the strategy, I became faster and more efficient as I adhered to the rules more strictly. As a result, I saw improvements in the amount of time it took me to finish my tasks for the day. For example, in the initial stages, I typically found myself doing the daily math homework for 1 to 1.5 hours, but as the experiment continued, I completed math within 45 minutes to 1 hour, as I used the pomodoro strategy more efficiently.
Another piece of evidence that indicates my improvement was the fact that I began sleeping at earlier times as the experiment continued. In addition, I found that on the days where I worked in Tim Hortons or Starbucks, I was more productive. By tweaking the environment, I was able to eliminate distractions and focus more on the tasks at hand, thus improving my procrastination tendencies.
When planning the strategy for this experiment, I created several benchmarks to measure my success.
Am I completing all set assignments each day?
Am I finishing tasks that are not due the next day (making progress on long term tasks)?
Am I effectively delegating time between homework, extracurriculars, and personal activities?
Am I completing homework more efficiently (faster)?
From examining my daily log, it is evident that I completed all the set daily assignments which were due the next day. However, I was unsuccessful when attempting to finish tasks that were not due the next day.
I believe I was able to effectively delegate time between homework, extracurriculars and personal activities. As the weeks progressed, the amount of free time I had grew, so I was able to spend this time with family, etc, etc. In addition, because I was able to work more effectively, I was able to complete all required tasks while maintaining the quality of my work.
My grades did improve using this method. I was able to achieve a score of 100 on my math test and quiz while using this method. Moreover, I was able to complete my homework more efficiently, as I began to sleep at earlier times and get more quality rest as the experiment progressed.
I would love to continue with this strategy as I saw immense results regarding my efficiency and overall productivity. Not only was I able to complete all assignments required each night, but I was able to complete such assignments at a faster pace. Moreover, this technique helped to alleviate my issue of taking lengthier breaks and getting off track while completing my homework. I hope that with continued use of the strategy, I will slowly be able to begin making progress to long-term goals. In addition, it is said that the pomodoro technique has been found to improve one’s attention span and concentration when used over time. I hope that if I continue to use this technique, the possible gains would greatly benefit my studying capabilities.
However, my concern is that I will lack the motivation to continue utilizing this strategy on an everyday basis. I hope that I will be able to use the improvements I observed as motivation to continue with this practice. Additionally, on some days, the strategy can be a bit bothersome, as I have to set constant alarms between work periods and breaks. I do hope that with repeated use, the technique will become more habitual, thus less of a hassle to practice.
