personal development

Take a Different Approach to New Year Resolutions

I’m not a fan of New Year Resolutions. I don’t make them.

The start of another year doesn’t automatically make for a great starting point to change your life. I’ve heard countless people say they want to start the new year as they mean to go on. Unfortunately, they usually start the year with a sore head and a desire to ignore the world around them until their hangover has disappeared…

photo by Charlie P Barker

photo by Charlie P Barker

Instead of a New Year Resolution that you’re more likely than not to break, would you be willing to try something new and/or limiting to push you further and help you discover things you may not have found otherwise?

This year, I’m trying out something that’s more a cross between a resolution and an information diet.

While an information diet is usually about reassessing the content you read and view, I want to do something similar that focuses on the music I listen to.

Music is one of my weaknesses. I listen so much of the stuff that I don’t have enough time to listen to it all. My Spotify playlists grow, I continue to go oldskool and buy CDs, and I even buy high-quality FLAC files for some classical music.

If I didn’t listen to so many different genres, the situation may not be so difficult. But my range is too eclectic for my own good and I’m always on the lookout for more, not less. In terms of keeping an open mind, musical diversity is great. In terms of my attention and my time, it’s not so wonderful.

So I’m going to try something new with my listening this year. Like an information diet, I’ll limit and prioritise my intake of music to assess where I can save time while appreciating the music even more.

The big difference is that I’ll listen only to music that is released in 2012. That way, I intend to get more out of my listening rather than face an overwhelming mass of stuff that I can’t properly appreciate.

There will still be plenty of time for older music, because music is everywhere. My friends and family listen to all sorts when I’m around, I hear it on the radio, it’s played at pubs and clubs, people send me recommendations (old and new) that I’ll still happily spend time on.

And the variation of older music needn’t stop there. What about bands releasing ‘best of’ albums in 2012? That counts. And there’s no end to the classical music releases every month. Take Beethoven, for instance. When I searched Spotify on January 4th 2012 for Beethoven CDs released in the first few days of the new year, I wasn’t left wanting. Already available are recordings of most of Beethoven’s symphonies, his late piano works, some earlier piano sonatas, a violin concerto, and a selection of cello works. That’s around 10 hours of Beethoven in the first few days of the new year. I’m unlikely to get bored through lack of choice…

I’ve already earmarked over 30 hours of music on Spotify to check out. Some, perhaps most of it, will get removed from my Spotify playlists. But there will be some keepers. And as the year moves on, I should have a more reasonable stock to work from, yet still not feel any type of overwhelm.

More importantly, I won’t end up spending too much time working through gargantuan amounts of music instead of spending my time more fruitfully elsewhere.

Music is for enjoyment, but I don’t want to end up enjoying it too much and forget about my responsibilities and the rest of the world around me. Adapting the way I listen to music and limiting the content to music released in 2012 may well add to my enjoyment, rather than take enjoyment away.

And if I am desperate to listen to a specific track for sentimental reasons…well, I won’t deny myself. After all, I’m trying to enhance my experience, not punish myself and force unhappiness. Information diets and other limitation exercises are meant to free you and give you greater scope.

Like I say, this isn’t a New Year Resolution. I’m not pledging to ignore all other music outside the 2012 publication period. That would be nuts. However, it is a reasonable boundary to focus on.

I have no set date to finish the exercise. I may find it works amazingly well if I’m disciplined enough about it and I could continue indefinitely. Alternatively, I may learn a few time-saving tricks here and there, but quickly change plans to something more agreeable.

Have you made any resolutions for 2012? Or will you be taking a different approach? Have you found a better time to make particular resolutions?

photo by jaxxon

photo by jaxxon

Trust Yourself: You’re More Effective Than You Think

Can you trust yourself to be effective? Can you trust yourself to succeed where it matters? Can you trust yourself to keep on learning?

The answers should be yes, Yes, and YES.

Nobody can achieve everything on their own. But unless you trust yourself to push forward and keep exploring what works for you, everyone else’s help will go to waste.

photo by notsogoodphotography
photo by notsogoodphotography

What’s the use in listening to others if you don’t listen to yourself? As the title of this post says, you are more effective than you think. Just trust yourself and get ready to shine.

The one way to write effectively – YOUR way

Top writing takes practice, takes mistakes, and takes guts. As you progress, your depth and breadth of knowledge will increase. Plus, you’ll learn tips along the way and discover loads of techniques to make an impact and save time.

Learn from others, but don’t try to imitate a style or write the way you *think* is expected of you.

At uni, your first year grades rarely count toward your final degree result (but do check first!). Instead of using this as an opportunity to take it easy, take each assignment as an experiment to find what works for you.

Be prepared to make mistakes and learn from them. That’s why draft essay attempts are better than pulling off a single all-nighter. Tutors can check where you’re headed and give you advice and feedback before you’ve even handed in the piece of work.

The more you attempt and explore, the more likely your own styles of writing will become apparent. This is massively powerful.

Don’t think unique. Think U-know!

Undergraduate learning is mostly about understanding, exploring, reaching conclusions, assessing other conclusions, and so on. There’s a difference between undergraduate and postgraduate work. Your job is not to find an unexplored angle of the universe and claim it as your own.

If you stumble upon something amazing, it’s either been done before or you’ve managed a massively rare fluke. Either way, you’re still learning and discovering, so it’s no bad thing.

I could say it’s better to ‘know’ you know than to ‘think’ you know. But there’s no room for arrogance in academic writing. Well, there shouldn’t be room anyway… Build up as much confidence as you can and continue to seek help from tutors and your network as necessary.

The key is to be confident in your choices and actions, rather than be adamant that there’s no other way. Learning should be about openness; open to opposing views and open to trusting your own.

A fine balance, but one you’ll be thankful for once you’ve found it. 🙂

Your methods are personal to you. Your achievements are ready to share.

It doesn’t matter how you write it. The fact is, you’ve written it.

Do you hate staring at a monitor with a blank white screen waiting for you to type away some amazing critical analysis?

No problem. Why not start writing inside a Facebook message? Or tapping out a few paragraphs in the form of text messages? Or getting good, old-fashioned, pen and paper to see where it’ll take you? Or dictating into a sound-recording device? Or blogging a bit of content?

Yes, even blogging could help you trust yourself more. If people can turn blog posts into books, nothing is stopping you from using the same method to get started on your assignments!

Like I’ve said above, writing is suited to drafts. Writers don’t sit down one day and resolve to write an entire book in a single sitting.

Imagine a writer getting loads of blog posts finished in private. None of the posts are published until such a time that a publisher asks to put them in book form.

Trust yourself to choose when it’s time to publish. Use the methods and practices that work for you and bring it together however you like. It may be a weird and wonderful technique, but nobody cares. If that’s what it takes to be amazing, then do it. The finished article is what everyone else appreciates.

Your life is a jigsaw. Put it together.

Bring your achievements together and find what makes you tick.

At first, this patchwork may look like a mish-mash of random events. But within the randomness there are all sorts of links.

Some of your individual achievements will look great, even in isolation. And there are many more under the surface that aren’t apparent at first, but which suddenly look amazing when presented as a package.

So keep track of all those successes, no matter how small they may be. They may come in more useful than you think.

You need you just like you need others. Trust in that.

The world is full of amazing opportunities, and fascinating possibilities. Reach out to them. The more you reach out, the more likely you’ll get stuff handed to you.

You can trust yourself.

photo by Jinto!
photo by Jinto!

Dealing with curveballs

The best takeaway from all the stories about A-levels this year can be applied to anyone, no matter what their situation.

A Carlisle student got a double dose of misfortune after he received the wrong results and then, when he finally discovered that his actual result was still not good enough, had missed out on all available clearing places due to the delay.

So far, so frustrating. But something caught my eye in what Mike Smith said after this unfortunate news.

Smith told Cumbria’s News & Star that he was more angry with himself, because he knew he could have put in more work to get the grades he needed in the first place.

It could have been so easy to blame the sequence of events for what took place. If the error had not occurred, a clearing place may have been possible.

photo by John-Morgan
photo by John-Morgan

Despite these issues, however, he still recognised some responsibility. Rather than wash his hands of the whole thing, he showed awareness that he could take better control of his situation and that he would do so now.

Curveballs get thrown at us as we go through life. Some big, some small. But that doesn’t take away our own strengths and responsibilities. You cannot control your life down to the last action, but you do have great tools at your disposal.

From time to time, remind yourself to use those tools and to learn how they operate best.

When you’re faced with unexpected problems, remember not to just find blame in everything else. It is rarely worth the effort. Many things do happen outside of your control. That makes it doubly important not to give up on the things you still have a handle on. Letting go of everything is destructive with no purpose.

I hope Mike Smith is able to recover from this year’s unfortunate position. I’m confident he will, so long as he continues to take responsibility for the matters he has more control over. Smith has learned something from a curveball, which isn’t an easy thing to do.

Next time you’re thrown a curveball, what will you do with it?

10 easy ways to use the summer break to prepare for next year

The summer months are a good time to rest, catch up with family and friends at home, get some work (i.e. money) in, and so on.

photo by j-ster
photo by j-ster

The summer months also represent the perfect time to prepare for the next academic year. And you don’t need to spend much time to reap the benefits when you return.

Below are ten things you should do to get socially and academically fit for when you next hit campus:

  1. Read up in advance – You know roughly what you’ll be studying, you have reading lists, and you have a year or more of degree study behind you now. This is the best time to casually research your new topics and scan through (or even read) a few books.
    Work out both what you’re already familiar with and what leaves you confused. The whole point is to be confused in places and to get stuck once in a while as you check through. That way, you won’t approach the work blind.
  2. Write opinions and thoughts – After the initial research, get some notes down. Again, just be casual. You’ve got nothing to worry about, so say what you like. Even if you later discover you’re barking up a completely different tree, your eureka moment will be stronger and the detail will more easily lodge in your head. Result!
    As a bonus, anything with no right or wrong answer gives you an opportunity to start finding your way through the subjective minefield long before others are even aware of what’s going down.
  3. Write initial questions and concerns – Like I say, it’s good to find confusion and uncertainty in your initial dealings with new topics. The only way you can get a serious grip on finding out more is to tackle it head on with questions. There are no stupid questions. And you won’t be asking them anyway. These notes are for you to be aware. You might get answers in the first few minutes of the first lecture back. Even better, you’ll notice straight away once you’ve prepared, which is a more natural approach.
  4. Get administrative affairs up to date – Now is a great time to get stuff filled in, filed, organised, and set up in advance for when they’re needed. Don’t leave the paperwork and boring stuff until the last minute as you’ll end up losing it, forgetting it, and having to do it at the same time as EVERYTHING ELSE!
  5. Financial check – Do you have a spending plan? Will you need more money? How much will you rely on credit cards? What bills will you have? What is your shopping budget? How much do you have for evening entertainment?
    Nip those money questions in the bud with a proper budget plan. For any definite shortfalls, work out if you can cover them another way. If you can’t, seek advice on your options as soon as possible through your university and students’ union. Don’t go straight to more credit cards and commercial loans, because there are other, far better, avenues to try first.
  6. Use the Internet to find websites, crib sheets and summaries in advance – A quick look online can provide you with a wealth of information on what you’re studying. Just a couple of rough Google searches and a quick check in Wikipedia is enough to uncover major sites and subject summaries. And if you delve further, the sky’s the limit. You’re not limited to websites either. Use Google Books and Amazon ‘Look Inside’ for previews of books while you’re not near the uni library.
  7. Read your past essays and assignments – Never discard your old work. You might look back at something from only a few months previous and cringe. “Did I *really* write that!?”
    Yes you did. So learn from it. Examine tutor feedback and consider what you’d do instead next time.
  8. Spend a couple of hours on your future plans – What goals do you have for the year? Do you want to better organise your social calendar? Is there anything you can do to start on career plans long before you graduate?
    All you need is an hour or two to ask yourself questions about the life ahead of you and give the answers careful consideration. You may get stuck for answers, but at least you know what you’re up against when you get back to uni. You will be in a much better position to confront the issues and go in, guns blazing.
  9. Confront issues from previous year(s) – Just like reading past essays, looking back on past difficulties can be helpful. It’s not always best to dig up the past, but neither is it healthy to bury your head in the sand. When you want to do things differently next year, get your mind on the same side. Face those fears and limitations. You are more amazing than you realise.
  10. Prepare for a year of surprise and new experiences, not same old, same old! – There is always something different to enjoy at university. Even a tiny institution in the middle of nowhere has a veritable banquet of delights awaiting you. But you have to grab what’s out there. If you don’t, the initial excitement of ‘uni life’ turns into an ‘everyday life’. Excite yourself; dare to do something different!

None of this takes too long to do, so you’re free to enjoy most of the summer as you normally would. Yet you’ll still save you loads of time when you do get back to uni.

All for a little bit of forward planning. Good times!