学会如何学习学习笔记——3. 3 拖延症与记忆——利用你的僵尸意识来帮助自己，应对生活与学习

利用你的僵尸意识来帮助自己

In this video, we're going to get into the specifics of harnessing your zombie powers of habit to help you avoid procrastination while minimizing your use of willpower. You don't want to do a full scale change of old habits, you just want to override parts of them and develop a few new ones. The trick to overriding a habit is to look to change your reaction to a cue. The only place you need to apply willpower is to change your reaction to the cue. To understand that, it helps to go back through the four components of habit, and we analyze them from the perspective of procrastination.

The first one is the cue, recognize what launches you into your zombie procrastination mode. Cue's usually fall into one of the four following categories: location, time, how you feel, and reactions, either to other people or to something that just happened. Do you look something up on the web and then find yourself web surfing? Does a text message disturb your studying, taking you 10 minutes to get back into the flow of things even when you try to keep yourself on task? The issue with procrastination is that, because it's an automatic habit, you're often unaware that you've begun to procrastinate. You can prevent the most damaging cues by shutting off your cell phone or keeping yourself away from the internet and other distractions for brief periods of time, as when you're doing a Pomodoro.

Number two, the routine. Let's say that instead of doing your studies, you often divert your attention to something less painful. Your brain wants to automatically go into this routine when you've gotten your cue. So, this is the reaction point where you must actively focus on rewiring your old habit. The key to rewiring is to have a plan. Developing a new ritual can be helpful. Some students make it a habit to leave their phone in their car when they head in for class which removes a potent distraction. Many students discovered the value of settling into a quiet spot in the library or closer to home, the productive effects of simply sitting in a favorite chair at the proper time with all Internet access disconnected. Your plan may not work perfectly at first but just keep at it, adjust the plan if necessary and savor those victories when your plan works. Don't try to change everything at once. The Pomodoro technique can be especially helpful in shifting your reaction to the cues.

Number three, is the reward. This can sometimes require a little bit of investigation. Why are you procrastinating? Can you substitute an emotional payoff? Maybe a feeling of pride for accomplishing something even if it's small, a sense of satisfaction. Can you win a small internal bet or a contest about something you've turned into a personal game? Or allow yourself to indulge in a latte or read a favorite web site, provide yourself maybe with an evening of mindless television or web surfing without guilt, and when you give yourself a bigger reward for a bigger achievement. Maybe a movie tickets or sweater or an utterly frivolous purchase. Remember that habits are powerful because they create neurological cravings. It helps to add a new reward if you want to overcome your previous cravings. Only once your brain starts expecting that reward, will the important rewiring take place that will allow you to create new habits. Many people find that setting a reward at a specific time for example breaking for lunch with a friend at the Deli at noon or stopping the main tasks at 5:00 PM gives a solid mini deadline that can help spur work. Don't feel bad if you find that you have trouble getting into a flow state at first, I sometimes find it takes a few days of drudgery through a few cycles of the Pomodoro technique before flow begins to unfold, and I find myself starting to enjoy work on a new topic. Also remember that the better you get at something, the more enjoyable it can become.

Number four is the belief, the most important part of changing your procrastination habit is the belief that you can do it. You may find that when the going gets stressful, you long to fall back into a old more comfortable habits. Belief that your new system works is what can get you through. Part of what can underpin your belief is to develop a new community. Hang out with classmates or virtually hang out with MOOC mates, who may have that can-do philosophy that you too want to develop. Developing and encouraging culture with like-minded friends can help us remember the values that, in moments of weakness, we tend to forget. I'm Barbara Oakley, thanks for learning how to learn.

在这个视频中，我们将详细介绍如何利用你的僵尸习惯力量来帮助你避免拖延，同时尽量减少对意志力的依赖。你并不想完全改变旧习惯，只是想改变其中的一部分并发展一些新的习惯。克服习惯的关键是改变你对提示的反应。你需要运用意志力的唯一地方就是改变你对提示的反应。为了理解这一点，回顾一下习惯的四个组成部分会很有帮助，我们从拖延的角度来分析它们。

第一个是提示，识别什么会把你带入僵尸式的拖延模式。提示通常属于以下四个类别之一：地点、时间、你的感觉以及你对其他人或刚刚发生的事情的反应。你会在网上查找一些东西，然后发现自己在浏览网页吗？一条短信会打扰你的学习，即使你试图让自己专注于任务，也需要花费10分钟才能重新进入状态吗？拖延的问题是，因为它是一种自动的习惯，你经常意识不到自己已经开始拖延了。你可以通过关闭手机或者在一段时间内远离互联网和其他干扰来防止最有害的提示，比如当你在做番茄工作法时。

第二个是例行公事。假设你经常把注意力转移到不那么痛苦的事情上，而不是做你的学习。当你得到提示时，你的大脑会自动进入这个例行公事。所以，这是你必须积极关注重编程旧习惯的反应点。重编程的关键是有一个计划。制定一个新的仪式可能会有帮助。一些学生养成了把手机放在车里的习惯，当他们去上课时就把手机留在车里，这样就消除了一个强大的干扰源。许多学生发现在图书馆安静的地方或者离家更近的地方安顿下来的价值，简单地在适当的时候坐在最喜欢的椅子上，断开所有的互联网接入，会产生高效的效果。你的计划可能一开始不会完美，但只要坚持下去，必要时调整计划，并在你的计划成功时享受那些胜利。不要试图一次改变所有事情。番茄工作法在改变你对提示的反应方面尤其有帮助。

第三个是奖励。这有时需要一点调查。你为什么拖延？你可以用情感上的回报来代替吗？也许是完成某件事后的自豪感，即使它很小，或者是满足感。你可以在你已经把它变成个人游戏的事情上赢得一个小的内部赌注或比赛吗？或者允许自己沉迷于一杯拿铁或阅读一个喜欢的网站，给自己一个晚上没有罪恶感的无脑电视或网络冲浪的时间，当你为更大的成就给予自己更大的奖励时。也许是电影票、毛衣或者一个完全无用的购买。记住习惯之所以强大，是因为它们创造了神经上的渴望。如果你想克服以前的渴望，添加一个新的奖励会有所帮助。只有当你的大脑开始期待那个奖励时，重要的重编程才会发生，这将使你能够创造新的习惯。许多人发现在特定时间设定一个奖励，例如和朋友在中午在熟食店吃午餐休息或者在下午5点停止主要任务，可以提供一个坚实的小截止日期，有助于刺激工作。如果你发现自己一开始难以进入状态，不要感到难过，我有时会发现在几个番茄工作法周期的枯燥乏味之后，需要几天的时间才能开始展开流动状态，我发现我开始喜欢在新主题上的工作。也请记住，你在某件事情上越擅长，它就会变得越有趣。

第四个是信念，改变你的拖延习惯最重要的部分是你相信你能做到。你可能会发现当事情变得有压力时，你会渴望回到更舒适、更旧的习惯中去。相信你的新系统有效的信念可以帮助你度过难关。支持你信念的一部分是建立一个新的社区。和同学一起出去玩或者和MOOC的同学虚拟地一起玩，他们可能有你想要发展的“我能行”的理念。与志同道合的朋友一起发展和鼓励文化可以帮助我们记住那些在我们脆弱的时刻往往会忘记的价值观。感谢你学习如何学习。

应对生活与学习

Learning, for most people, involves a complex balancing of many different tasks. A good way for you to keep perspective about what you're trying to learn and accomplish is to once a week write a brief weekly list of key tasks in a planner journal. Then, each day on another page of your planner journal, write a list of the tasks that you can reasonably work on or accomplish. Try to write this daily task list the evening before. Why the evening before? Research has shown that this helps your subconscious to grapple with the tasks on the list, so you can figure out how to accomplish them. Writing the list before you go to sleep enlists your zombies to help you accomplish the items on the list the next day. If you don't write your tasks down on a list, they lurk at the edge of the four or so slots in your working memory, taking up valuable mental real estate. But once you make a task list, it frees working memory for problem-solving.

So, let's look one of my daily task lists. As you can see here, there are only six items. Some are process-oriented. For example, I have a paper due to a journal in several months, so I spend a little focus time on most days working towards completing it. A few items are product-oriented but that is only because they are doable within a limited period of time. Note my reminders. I wanted to keep my focus on each item when I'm working on it and I want to have fun. I did catch myself getting sidetracked because I forgot to shut down my email. To get myself back into gear, I set a 22-minute Pomodoro challenge using a timer on my computer desktop. Why 22 minutes? Well, why not? I don't have to do the same thing each time and notice, too, that by moving to Pomodoro mode, I've switched to a process orientation. None of the items on my list is too big because I've got other things going on in my day; meetings to go to, a lecture to give.

Sometimes I sprinkle a few tasks that involve physical motion on my list even if it's just cleaning something which, I'll admit, isn't ordinarily one of my favorite things to do. Somehow, because I'm using them as diffuse mode breaks, I often look forward to them. Mixing other tasks up with your learning seems to make everything more enjoyable and keeps you from prolonged and unhealthy bouts of sitting. Over time, as I've gained more experience, I've gotten much better at gauging how long it takes to do any given task. You'll find yourself improving quickly as you become more realistic about what you can reasonably do in any given time. Make notes in your planner journal about what works and what doesn't. Notice my goal finish time for the day - 5 pm. Doesn't seem quite right, does it? But it is right and it's one of the most important components of your daily planner journal. Planning your quitting time is as important as planning your working time. Generally, I aim to quit at 5 pm. Although when I'm learning something new, it can sometimes be a pleasure to look at it again after I've taken an evening break just before I go to sleep. And occasionally, there's a major project that I'm wrapping up like, say, this MOOC, that has me running into a bit of overtime.

You might think, "Well, yeah. But you're a professor who's", shall we say, "past your youthful study days. Of course, an early quitting time is fine for you." However, One of my most admired study experts, Cal Newport, used 5 pm quitting time through most of his student career. He ended up getting his PhD from MIT. In other words, this method, implausible though it may seem for some, can work for undergraduate and graduate students in rigorous academic programs. Time after time, those who are committed to maintaining healthy leisure time along with their hard work outperformed those who doggedly pursue an endless treadmill. Of course, your life may not lend itself to such a schedule with breaks and leisure time. You may be running on fumes with two jobs and too many classes. But however your life is going, try to squeeze a little break time in.

One more thing. As writing coach, Daphne Gray-Grant, recommends to her writing clients. Eat your frogs first in the morning. Try to work on a most important and most disliked task first. At least just one Pomodoro as soon as you wake up. This is incredibly effective. You need to sometimes make changes in your plans because of unforeseen events, of course, but remember the law of serendipity. Lady Luck favors the one who tries. Planning well is part of trying. Keep your eye on your learning goal and try not to get too unsettled by occasional roadblocks. Thanks for learning how to learn.

学习，对大多数人来说，涉及许多不同任务的复杂平衡。保持对你正在尝试学习和完成的事情的视角的一个好方法是每周在规划日记中写一份简短的关键任务清单。然后，在你的规划日记的另一个页面上，写下你当天可以合理工作或完成的任务清单。尽量在前一天晚上写下这份每日任务清单。为什么是前一天晚上？研究表明，这有助于你的潜意识处理清单上的任务，这样你就可以弄清楚如何完成它们。睡前写下清单可以让你的“僵尸”帮你在第二天完成清单上的项目。如果你没有把任务写在清单上，它们就会潜伏在你工作记忆的四个左右的槽位边缘，占用宝贵的心智空间。但是一旦你制定了任务清单，它就为解决问题释放了工作记忆。

所以，让我们来看看我的一个每日任务清单。如你所见，这里只有六个项目。有些是以过程为导向的。例如，我几个月后要向一家期刊提交一篇论文，所以我大多数日子里都会花一点专注时间来完成它。还有一些是以产品为导向的，但那只是因为它们可以在有限的时间内完成。注意我的提醒。我希望在我工作时能专注于每个项目，并且我想享受乐趣。我确实发现自己因为忘记关闭电子邮件而分心了。为了让自己重新进入状态，我在电脑桌面上使用计时器设定了一个22分钟的番茄工作法挑战。为什么是22分钟？嗯，为什么不呢？我不必每次都做同样的事情，而且注意到，通过转到番茄工作法模式，我已经转变为以过程为导向。因为我一天中有其他事情要做；要去开会，要讲课。 有时我会在我的清单上撒一些涉及身体运动的任务，即使只是打扫东西，我得承认，这通常不是我最喜欢做的事情之一。不知怎的，因为我把它们当作分散注意力的模式休息，我经常期待它们。将其他任务与学习混合在一起似乎使一切变得更加愉快，并防止你长时间不健康地坐着不动。随着时间的推移，随着我获得更多的经验，我变得非常擅长判断完成任何给定任务所需的时间。你会发现自己在变得更加现实地了解在任何给定时间内你可以合理做什么时会迅速提高。在你的规划日记中记下哪些有效哪些无效。

注意我当天的目标结束时间——下午5点。看起来不太对吧？但它是对的，它是你每日规划日记中最重要的组成部分之一。规划你的下班时间和规划你的工作时间一样重要。通常，我的目标是在下午5点下班。尽管当我在学习新东西时，有时候在我晚上休息之前再看一下它也是一种乐趣。偶尔，有一个重大项目我要结束了，比如这个MOOC课程，让我有点加班。 你可能会说：“嗯，是的。但你是一个教授”，我们可以说，“已经过了你的青春学习日”。当然，对于你来说早早下班是可以的。”然而，我最敬佩的学习专家之一卡尔·纽波特在他的学生生涯中的大部分时间都使用下午5点的下班时间。他最终从麻省理工学院获得了博士学位。换句话说，这种方法虽然对某些人来说似乎不太可能，但对于严格的学术项目中的本科生和研究生来说是可行的。一次又一次地，那些致力于保持健康休闲时间与辛勤工作相结合的人比那些坚持不懈追求无休止跑步机的人表现得更好。当然，你的生活可能不适合这样的时间表和休息时间。你可能因为两份工作和太多的课程而筋疲力尽。但无论你的生活是怎样的，试着挤出一点休息时间来。

还有一件事。正如写作教练达芙妮·格雷-格兰特向她的写作客户推荐的那样。早上先吃掉你的青蛙。尝试首先处理最重要和最不喜欢的任务。至少一个工作日醒来后就开始做一个番茄钟。这是非常有效的。当然，由于不可预见的事件，你需要不时地改变计划，但请记住幸运法则。幸运女神偏爱那些尝试的人。良好的规划是尝试的一部分。保持对你的学习目标的关注，尽量不要被偶尔的路障所困扰。感谢你学会了如何学习。