I know a lot of people here enjoy reading and learning about many different things at once, but do you guys plan/structure your study sessions at all? Or do you just read what you feel like reading, whenever you feel like reading it?
Because I'm trying to jump into this boat and I'm not doing so well at juggling so many activities at once. My mind is too disorganized, I usually end up focusing in one topic and leaving everything else behind, and sometimes it can be hard to maintain interest long enough to complete a book or lecture. I thought about using spreadsheets to plan all study sessions for the month and stick with a plan, does anybody here do that?
I found this on google images and didn't even read it desu, I'm only seeing the personal shit now.
Also who the fuck takes one hour to email someone
Jordan Flores
I do this. I'm in law school and I don't focus very well, so I make pretty detailed weekly schedules to help out with that.
It's good for planning out study sessions where you won't complete entire things; in undergrad you can actually finish assignments, but in law school you kind of just continually study for the final.
For daily class readings, I make smaller lists. So today I'm going to (1) finish reading real estate cases, (2) make an outline of chs. 8-9 that will help me on this deed assignment, (3) draft a deed based on that. If I was trying to do all of that in one shot, it wouldn't happen because i'm an idiot and can't focus for that long.
Cameron Martin
rose is a hell good name for a girl to be honest i would get all up in a rose even if she looked crutters
Daniel Bailey
I am a notoriously disorganized scholar; I've always relied on a good memory so that even when I read things out of order or skip between topics, I can keep it all together. This is a bad methodology, though, and I am trying to overcome it.
I think the most important thing is to recognize when B depends on A. (In planning software like Microsoft Project, this is the most important thing - you say Task A has to come before task B and it works out when to do stuff.)
I dimly try to do that but it doesn't work very well.
The biggest example of actually following this was when I decided knowing the Bible well was a big prerequisite for much subsequent literature, so I read it cover-to-cover carefully and made notes, and it was worth doing.
I've also learned a decent amount of Latin and Greek vocabulary because that makes it MUCH easier to learn new (especially "difficult" or technical) words in English.
But as for planned study sessions, I've never done that.
Brayden Brooks
At the start of each month I make an overall plan of what I'd like to accomplish then break that down into weekly and daily goals which I check off as they're done. At the end of each month I review and note what went well and what needs adjusting for the next month.
Benjamin Evans
The Bachelor is on until 10 not 9:30 you fucking fruit loop.
Nolan Johnson
Sometimes I'm just on the point of giving up all faith in humanity and then someone posts something on Veeky Forums which convinces me to stick it out for another day.
Jeremiah Turner
>I know a lot of people here enjoy reading Lol, stopped reading here
Leo Baker
>Also who the fuck takes one hour to email someone I'm pretty fucking autistic so it takes me a good half-hour to finally get the nerves up to hit the send button.
Sebastian Flores
what did you lose faith when u seen that it takes this spastic a whole hour to email rebecca????
Justin Edwards
That's neurotic and not related to autism, how do you even deal with daily life like that? Get some help or something, I believe in u. Cheers.
Sebastian King
I just thought about this. What do you guys think?
I would probably select books, lectures, etc. on a monthly basis, and make a study plan on a weekly basis.
>do you guys plan/structure your study sessions at all? Or do you just read what you feel like reading, whenever you feel like reading it? I've been split between these two ways of doing things (having a plan vs. gravitating toward what piques your interest) for the past several years. I've always had trouble sticking to plans, so I'm more inclined to serendipity, but I think there are pros and cons to both approaches.
The "serendipitous approach" appeals to me because it seems natural. The whole point of studying anything, to me, is for enjoyment, enrichment, satisfaction of curiosity. So you ought to study what you're curious about. This means, for example, that "start with the Greeks" is bad advice unless you're interested in the Greeks. Rather, the idea is that you should start trying to read the philosophers you're curious about (and probably some secondary sources) and you'll naturally want to read about earlier philosophers when they're referenced. The problem is that you come in without much context, so understanding these philosophers will be extremely tough, and you might not know where to look if you get stuck. But in theory, you will gradually build up this knowledge and context by reading widely the things you're interested in. Another problem with this approach is that it can be hard to focus on one thing and gain deep knowledge. But I might say, what is the point of this deep knowledge if it doesn't interest you? Is having deep knowledge inherently virtuous? But anyway, you will end up constantly turning your focus toward something else, so gaining deep knowedge will be difficult.
(cont.)
Evan Green
(cont.) So, planning and scheduling seems like a good idea because you can gain the context you need in a more systematic way, and you can focus on something to gain deep knowledge. But when you're in the thick of it, when you're executing your plan, and you're reading something you find boring but think is necessary, it's hard to keep your head above water and remember that you're doing this to learn something interesting. Okay, so it can't always be fun. You always have to go through something unenjoyable to get to something more enriching than playing video games or whatever. Fine. It is still difficult to stick to a plan, at least for me (and I am the only person I care about as far as this issue is concerned). It is hard not to doubt yourself, wondering if what you're doing is worth it, when you're studying something boring. And it's impossible to know the future, to know if you will end up really enjoying what you're studying. And enjoyment is the only reason I study. So maybe I should just say "fuck it," and go on with my plans, because maybe I'll end up enjoying it, or maybe I won't, but I can't know, so whatever. Then at what point can I evaluate my situation and say "well, maybe I will never really enjoy this... I should go do something else"? A few weeks? Months? Years?
As you can see, I think about this shit too much, and study too little.
Jason Russell
Oh, and another thing about planning is that it's possible to be misguided about your plan. Maybe you THINK you need to read X to understand Y, but you REALLY need to read Z, or you don't need to read X in it's entirety, or whatever. The former approach supposedly fixes this because you will only study the things you know you need to understand the things that interest you.
Mason Ward
>scheduling faggot, I got through a chemical engineering bachelors degree without having a semblance of a schedule. Stop mentally imprisoning yourself, especially if you're doing something creative
Benjamin Cruz
yeah haha what a faggit, he's able to actually follow through with his plans lmaoo
Ayden Morris
> I got a bachelors degree Look at mr megamind here.
Easton Hall
Not just any bachelor's degree. An ENGINEERING bachelor's degree. Can't get any more brainlet than that.
Chase Cox
>This means, for example, that "start with the Greeks" is bad advice unless you're interested in the Greeks. But you can read everything you need to of the Greeks in a couple months and the return on that investment is massive
Grayson Moore
>the Greeks can be fully understood in only a couple of months UMMMMM
Adrian Brooks
>t. incel
Evan Cooper
>Month 1: Iliad >Month 2: Odyssey, Hesiod >Month 3: representative selections from each of the four playwrights for all four weeks >Month 4: The Republic >Month 5: Nicomachean Ethics You'd probably do well to add another month for Herodotus or Thucydides, and perhaps some time to read the death of Socrates dialogues before The Republic, but this is merely a survey and anyone can do it, AND have plenty of buffer time to read what they want on the side. And even if some of this goes over their brainlet heads it's still impossible to miss some of the major influences when they see it.
Joseph Sanchez
>one month for the whole republic At one book a day, it's little under a week and a half of reading.
Jaxson Brooks
Oh definitely, and even less for Aristotle. I just figure they might read other stuff in the buffer time so they don't burn out.
Samuel King
>a couple of months >MONTH 5
Logan Wilson
>5 months >A lot of time Are you a teenager by any chance?
Luke Roberts
Not him. I'm 22. I only have about 120 or so 5-month periods left, dude. Gotta spend them wisely.
Nolan Adams
Shouldn't you get on it as soon as possible then if you're so concerned? Or would you like to spend less time reaping the benefits?
Adam Wilson
>anyone can do it, AND have plenty of buffer time to read what they want on the side. You make a good point. There isn't necessarily a dichotomy between following a plan and doing whatever you want. You can do both at once if you have the time, and the advantages of both approaches can feed into each other. Your planned study gives you context for your more free-form study, and the latter can influence what you plan to study.