## Rapid time management Urgency trapping is when you always prioritize urgent tasks instead of important tasks and so you end up in a cycle where you feel like you're always busy but not getting things done. A task is important if the consequence of failure is unacceptable and unmanageable. 1:5 For every 1 hour you learn a new technique you should spend 5 to 40 hours practicing it. ## Procrastination It's common for people to depend on motivation, which goes up and down, and so your productivity goes up and down with it. This is an unsustainable pattern and causes us to become desperate. Research shows that relying on motivation sets us up for failure. Motivation is very multifactorial: energy, mood, peer influence, cultural pressures, etc. We need a low motivation plan that's consistent. *Do not be dependent on motivation and willpower.* **Develop habits that become low effort and automatic.** ### BEDS-M BEDS-M is a highly effective framework for improving focus. ###### Burnt ship strategy (B) Raise the consequences of failure, make it so that there's no room for failure. Your brain is trying to protect you, it wants you to not waste calories. If the consequences are too low, your brain won't motivate you, you'll procrastinate. ###### Environment (E) Create an environment conducive to success, removes distractions or temptations. Create an environment conducive to success. ###### Distractions cheat sheet (D) Have a piece of paper next to you, and every time you get distracted, write down what distracted you. ###### Schedule (S) Create a schedule. ###### Minimum Viable Goals (M) The easiest and most achievable step towards your goal. The hardest part of procrastination is *just starting*. For example: "Study math for two hours." Instead, break it down into one hour. Then, you can do another hour later. Trick your brain into making it more manageable. Or, even one hour is a lot. So, break it down into 15 minutes. Then you can do another 15 minutes later. If even that's too much, just break it down to sitting at your desk. Or, just looking away from the TV. Etc. Keep doing this until it's so easy you can't not do it. ## Accessing the growth zone We need to move out of the comfort zone, beyond the fear zone, and into the growth zone. To embrace and move beyond the fear zone, we need to challenge our existing beliefs and systems. That causes uncertainty and insecurity. **Desirable difficulty** is engagement with a certain level of load, pressure, and discomfort, that will require moving through the fear zone. When you go to the gym, you want something challenging enough to stimulate growth but also to not overwhelm you. This is the same for our brain. The **misinterpreted-effort hypothesis** is a well researched phenomenon. When a student uses a technique that requires more effort, they interpret it as less effective when it's exactly the opposite! Too many people spend too much time in the theory zone. We need to engage in the **theory-practice cycle**. This will require putting things into actual practice, being uncomfortable, failing, and adjusting. Have at least two hours per week of dedicated practice blocks (could be 5-30 minutes, whatever) where you put theory into practice and intentionally take note and analyze the experience. Embrace mistakes and failure during this time, that means you're learning. ![[learning-zones.png]] ## Rushing People will rush through the course, maybe two to three months, and then submit work for feedback and only have mastered only 5% of the techniques. It often takes some of the best students in the world 6 months to finish the course. For every 1 hour of theory you need at least 5 hours of practice. ## Selective learning People will disregard or think certain things aren't relevant to them. Everything in our course we've tested and meet a high bar. The techniques you learn in the beginning are often components of a more advance composite technique. Stay open minded, avoid selective learning. ## References about the illusion of competence Brown, J. D. (2012). 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Enhanced monitoring accuracy and test performance: Incremental effects of judgment training over and above repeated testing. _Learning and Instruction_, _65_, 101245. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2019.101245](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2019.101245) Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1977). Intuitive prediction: Biases and corrective procedures. _Decision Making: Descriptive, Normative, and Prescriptive Interactions_, 313-327. Koriat, A., & Bjork, R. A. (2005). Illusions of competence in monitoring one’s knowledge during study. _J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn_, _31_(2), 187–194. [https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.31.2.187](https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.31.2.187) Svenson, O. (1981). Are we all less risky and more skillful than our fellow drivers? _Acta Psychologica_, _47_(2), 143–148.