Dr. Zhao Yuping, a teacher of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, the founder of Beijing Jiu Si College, and the speaker of CCTV Lecture Room.
The final exam is coming again, and the students have entered a tense final review stage. Several students have talked to me about procrastination these days. I met a classmate who asked me for help in the coffee shop of our headquarters yesterday. The first thing he said when he saw me was: Teacher, I'm going to die. If someone had told me this ten years ago, I would have jumped up in shock when my students were born in the 1980s. But now, in the face of children born after 90, I am very calm. Because the expression of post-90 s is more exaggerated than that of post-80 s. He will say very excessive and emotional language for trivial things. So I was in no hurry, so I told him with a smile. Tell me about your situation first.
In fact, this classmate's situation is very typical. What appears in his comments is some common procrastination. For example, the preparation time is getting longer and longer. It took nearly two hours to prepare several math problems. Secondly, it is particularly easy to get distracted when doing things, and you will be in a daze if you are not careful. The third is to watch mobile phones often, which may be more dense than usual. I can't help but want to have a look at it, and I can't help but want to have a look at it. In his own words, he could hardly control himself. Fourth, I live in intense regret and remorse every day, so that I can't sleep at night, sometimes I get a rash, sometimes I feel particularly uncomfortable, and I bite myself with my teeth.
I did a little research and investigation on procrastination. If you have any feelings, symptoms or ways to deal with procrastination, you can leave a message in the background. We put our heads together, and Qi Xin worked together to deal with this little demon that held us back.
Last year and the year before last, we did a series of topics about time management and procrastination. You can go back and watch the historical news. Here today, I recommend several very specific technologies. Give two or three lectures at a time, try to make a series of programs, and recommend these very practical tips and methods to everyone.
The first is to use slicing technology, focusing on short-term tasks rather than long-term tasks.
For example, now I have three exercises to do and two lessons to recite. At this time, I will write all the tasks to be done into the taskbar, and write one task in each column. Put these dense task bars on my desk, and I will choose three of them as my tasks for these two hours, and I will put away all the others. Next, my attention will focus on these three tasks. I think if these three things are done well, there will naturally be beautiful results. As for the lofty goals, I don't want to fail the exam, get into 20%, get excellent grades, meet challenges and cope with pressure. I simply think that the core of my whole study is these three things in front of me. I have done these three things well, and the results naturally flash.
The second method is to use locking technology and insist on doing fixed things at a fixed time.
For example, from 10: 30 to 12: 00 in the morning, words are memorized regularly, and the thunder cannot move. At that time, there was no teaching on the third floor, and the review was in the small self-study area on the second floor of the student canteen. I have my own desk and bought a copy of Economic Observer. Read a book and a newspaper at breakfast, then spread the newspaper on the table, put the book on it for a while, and study here this day.
And not only the place is fixed, but also the time is fixed. Do the math problem at 8: 30 in the morning, and then recite the words at 10: 30. Missing items and filling in the blanks are arranged in the afternoon, and the recitation of liberal arts is arranged in the evening. This fixed-point learning method can lock your attention, form a powerful neural reflex arc in your brain, and offset the adverse effects of procrastination.
The third way to deal with procrastination is the technique of early class.
It may be difficult for many young people to get up early. If you can't get up early every day, you can arrange one or two days a week first and step by step. Generally speaking, it is suggested to arrange it on Monday or Tuesday, and how to arrange the time to get up early. Does this mean that you should get up at three or four o'clock like a yogi? Actually, it's not that early. It is generally recommended to get up before sunrise. Get up before sunrise. Then you can see the sunrise with your own eyes when you read or do morning exercises. Every ordinary day, the sunrise is particularly magnificent; You can spend the whole day watching the sunrise with your own eyes.
The fourth way to deal with procrastination is to start the switch technology.
Specifically, when completing a challenging task, arrange a relatively simple and easy task first. Take this small task as a switch, open your own state and open your own psychological energy.
Give a concrete example, for example, when I want to study some Buddhism systematically, what is the first step? Instead of reading big, difficult and obscure professional works, it is better to learn some Zen stories first. Learn two or three every day and find something interesting and easy to understand. From this simple and relatively easy task, step by step, gradually entered the temple of the spiritual world.
The fifth way to deal with procrastination is to draw red.
Since the Ming Dynasty, a folk custom called "Nine-Nine Cold Map" has been popular in northern China, that is, a picture is hung at home on the day when "Counting Nine" begins every winter. The picture shows a bunch of plum blossoms with nine branches and nine plum blossoms on each branch. Draw one a day, and after painting 998 1 plum blossom, spring will come.
This method of tracing red is particularly effective in improving concentration, controlling progress, improving efficiency and overcoming procrastination. You see, that's how I prepared my math problems when I took my PhD exam. Study for three hours at a time in the classroom, then write once every hour, and then write four words "successful in the exam". After writing these four words, the basic preparation work is completed.
The operation of descriptive methods is very simple. When completing the task, design an overall preparation time in advance. Then match three or four words according to time. Don't match too many words, just match three or four words, such as "success at once" Write these words on a piece of paper, put them in the upper left corner of the table, and trace them every hour of work. When all these words have been drawn, then the preparation work has been successfully completed.
The sixth way to overcome procrastination is to punch in.
I think this method is quite good. On the one hand, it strengthens self-commitment, on the other hand, it also depends on the encouragement of the group. If you have any goals, you can really form a group of several people, and then we will punch in every day in the group. I remember when I first came to Beiyou, I saw a small notebook in a stairwell of the main building. Every day, little boys or girls come to write a few words in the notebook, and then I am more curious. This book was turned over and put on the windowsill, so once I got out of the elevator, I couldn't help glancing at it. It turned out to be a couple's punch card book. Write down the completion of study and physical exercise in the notebook every day, encourage each other and refer to each other.
The seventh way to deal with procrastination is isolation.
We must isolate interference, avoid perfectionism, self-limitation, and avoid the influence of transfer. The topic of procrastination should start with three unhealthy psychology.
The first kind of psychology is perfectionism. For example, this weekend's Dojo lecture is our last one this semester, just in time for Laba, so I'm going to write a few words as a small souvenir for you. Here comes the challenge. First of all, the pen is a little eccentric and forked, so it is not very smooth to use it. In addition, after the paper is sent by express delivery, on the one hand, the crease is obvious, on the other hand, some paper does not eat ink, which is particularly inconvenient to write. And the time is only about an hour or two, there is no more time, because there is not so much time, so I am in a hurry to write. In addition, my calligraphy level is also very general, especially when I write running script, which is obviously not enough training, so the words I write are uneven.
Some words are satisfactory, but some words are obviously unsatisfactory. However, even if I am obviously dissatisfied, I still insist on writing a table and a place in two hours to ensure that everyone who comes to the lecture has a copy. You want me to grade myself for writing this word, out of ten, I'm afraid I can only score five points and fail. If I'm in good shape and my pen and paper are fluent, I can write seven or eight points.
Think about it. Do I need to re-prepare paper and pens and readjust my status? Let's brew for one day, prepare for two days, and write for another day. In this way, the task that could have been completed in more than an hour was delayed to four or even five days, and procrastination happened like this. So you see, many times procrastination is actually a manifestation of your pursuit of perfection.
When you do something, you will often face various internal and external factors, which is actually normal. If you expect all the conditions to be met and all the factors to be met, then the opportunity may be lost and never done. So I recommend a word to you, completion is better than perfection! Look at the words I wrote for you. Although every sentence is not perfect and the whole thing is not so perfect, I still finished it and expressed my heart.
And the process of writing itself is also a kind of exercise and training for me. It also improved my calligraphy level and ability to adapt to conditions. As for saying that some words look bad, it doesn't matter. Calligraphers also have some words that are not pleasing to the eye. Imperfection is the way of heaven and earth. It is normal that the sky leans to the northwest and the land is dissatisfied to the southeast. Even the sky and the earth are not perfect, and there is nothing perfect in the world. Think about it this way, and you will be relieved, and this matter will develop in a good direction.
The second psychology that causes procrastination is self-restriction. Let's start with a short story. A deer and its mother are walking on the grass. Suddenly, a little dog came. He shouted at her: Wang. Next, the doe turned and began to run with the deer, running for several kilometers, out of breath and sweating all over. Deer don't understand. He asked his mother, "The dog is so small that it let out a cry. Why run for your life? " ? If he dares to bully us, we will fight him. Mom, look, even my head is bigger than this puppy. Why should we be afraid of him? Together, we in Qi Xin are sure to beat him. Mother deer shook her head and said, Don't be silly, son. Growing up, I ran as soon as I heard a dog barking. How can we beat him?
In fact, if you think about it, mother deer is qualified to fight with dogs, but she doesn't have the idea and confidence. She couldn't hit a dog when she was a child, so she thought she would never hit a dog. This phenomenon also exists in people. Some things can't be done when they are immature. But with learning and progress, you gradually mature, and some things can actually be done. But your self-confidence and self-awareness are still at an immature stage, and you don't think you can do it. This kind of psychology is called self-limitation.
Under the influence of self-limiting psychology, one will find various reasons to avoid a task that could have been done well. You see, when writing my thesis, I found that many on-the-job graduate students have the problem of self-restriction. After study and training, writing a master's thesis is actually not that difficult, but he always feels that he can't do it, and he always feels that he can't do it well. So when I entered the graduation thesis stage, I found various reasons and set various conditions, delaying the writing time of the thesis again and again.
Once this happens, there are two ways to deal with it. One is the mental image method. You can imagine what you have done, imagine the scene of success. The other is the thinking method of overall situation. You can find a big piece of white paper and slowly write down some thoughts on this matter. Don't think about cause and effect and logical levels, just try to fill them up. In this process, creativity naturally arises. Of course, the most important thing is to have some self-suggestion. You have to tell yourself: I have grown up and made progress, and this thing can be done. Self-confidence is the source of strength!
The third psychology that causes procrastination is to avoid transfer. When a person faces a task, he will feel pressure and challenge, so inertia comes into play. This hidden inertia has been subconsciously releasing a signal to you, that is, avoid, don't do, don't do! The result of this evasive signal is that you have to spend a lot of time preparing, busy here and busy there. Originally, I was going to write an article, but it turned into wiping the table, sweeping the floor and tidying up the desktop. I should do math problems, but I sharpen pencils and tidy my schoolbag. This kind of excessive preparation and redundant work is actually a manifestation of inertia avoidance.
In addition, when doing something, it is often easy to be disturbed and distracted by things around you, and the whole person becomes particularly sensitive. Read this book for a while, look at my mobile phone for a while, look through my address book for a while, and then remember that I have to look at my notebook. Overpreparation and inattention are actually a manifestation of inertia avoidance.
The thing to do at this time is very simple. The first thing is to remind myself that I am lazy. The second is to put away all interference items, make the scene as simple as possible when doing things, keep the desk as blank as possible, and try to complete important tasks in an environment far away from interference sources. So generally don't study in the dormitory because there are too many interference sources in the dormitory. It's much better to go to classrooms and libraries. When we isolate the above interference, the efficiency will naturally improve.