I would normally save any links for a regular EduLinks post.  For one link today, however, I’m going to make an exception for the following three reasons:

1. It’s a fantastic post;
2. It opens up a lot of questions;
3. Cal at Study Hacks recently recommended one of my posts in the same way, for which I’m grateful.

The post’s title explains all:

• Dangerous Ideas: What If Everything We Thought Was True About Productivity Was Wrong?

Sometimes we don’t want to do the most simple of things.  As Cal puts it:

“…taking a notebook out of my backpack when I sit down — should present no difficulty. What task could be more simple? All I have to do is move my arm, literally, just a few feet, from my bag to my desk. No thinking is required. No more than 3 – 5 seconds transpire. No sweat.

“Many times, however, I can’t stand the thought of it.”

There are many little actions that should be simple, but end up creating a block on our mind.  We might have experienced a problem the last time we performed a certain action.  Or maybe we’re worried that the minor task will trigger off more stressful and time-consuming events.  If a certain task triggers off some sort of response a few times – even out of chance – we might not even realise any detrimental effect it has on future decisions.

The article asks many questions and also queries our motivation levels.  We should all try to look a bit further into what all this could mean for productivity and how we can manage a successful student life.