First up: the mundane questions

Have you ever seen something that's been popping up in blogs lately? This something is called "tags", and it basically means somebody posts questions on his/her blog, answers them, and tags other people to do the same. So I'll assume that the questions on the handout "Starting a reflective journal" constitute a tag, and here are my answers.


Front page:

Where do you read and study?
No fixed place, really. But I do not often read or study seated at a desk. If I'm in college I may be walking or sitting on the ground anywhere you can think of. Preferably somewhere quiet without many people. The library just isn't a study-friendly place for me, at least, that's how I feel.

When I'm at home, I'll most often be reading and studying on my bed. It's more relaxing and it does help me think more freely. And my room provides the solitude that I need.

I dislike desks. They give me a sense of confinement. Perhaps that sense of confinement affects my thinking in some subliminal way; I don't know, but I often feel that my thoughts are somehow constrained when I study at a desk. Therefore the only time you will see me seated at a table is when I'm doing assignments.

What is the best time for you to read?
For reading, nothing beats the time period from about 10pm to 2 or 3am. Somehow, in the hours just before and after midnight, I experience a strange sense of clarity in thought. Many of my important ideas are formulated during this time.

I know it's said that early morning is usually the best time to study. Not so for me, though. I find that even if I have enough sleep (and I rarely do), my mind tends to feel rather blank in the morning. And in the afternoon before 6pm, I tend to feel very sleepy and tired. That will happen even when I sleep for more than 8 hours the night before. Well, maybe my circadian rhythm is a little unusual =P

How long do you normally study without a break?
Well, that depends on how you define "a break". This is what happens in a typical study/reading session of mine: I will read a few sentences, maybe a page or two, then stand up, walk in random patterns everywhere around the house, come back, sit down and continue reading. A few sentences/paragraphs/pages later, I do the same, or stand up and drink some water, or listen to some music. This whole process can go on for many hours on end, though-- I remember when I was reading Stephen Hawking's Universe in a Nutshell, I continued from about 10pm to 4am the next morning.

Perhaps my way of studying is unusual. I do it this way because I do not put much emphasis on remembering what is being studied there and then. Rather, I believe that when I mull a thought over and give it some time, my mind will naturally search out associations between what I have just read and whatever I have seen or experienced before. Thus without conscious effort, I can absorb and integrate the information being studied.

This naturally means that it is difficult, indeed almost impossible, to set concrete step-by-step goals for myself. I know what I can and cannot do at any point in time, but it's impossible to ask of me to "master skill A in the first 5 days, then learn up skill B in the next 5 days, and finally in the last 5 days understand how to use skill A and B together". I can only tell you that I WILL be able to do A and B together after the alloted 15 days total, but I cannot predict which skill I will pick up first, how long each part will take, or anything of that sort. I just know the final target-- that is all that matters.

What type of distraction bothers you the most?
Repetitive, percussive or buzzing sounds. Those are the worst. If you want to sabotage my TEE, the easiest way to do it would be to drill the walls of the house next door continuosly in the month before my exam. I can totally guarantee you that I won't be able to study at all in that situation.

In addition, I find the presence of other people near me very distracting when I'm reading or studying. I am a solitary learner, and unless the issue at hand is of such nature that requires discussion, delegation of tasks and/or debate, I tend to feel irritated by people studying together all around me. This is why I never join study groups, and seldom appear in the library.

On average, how many different assignments do you work on in one evening?
It depends on my mental state. If I feel great and ready to go, I can work on three or four different kinds of assignments in one sitting. The variety goes a long way towards preventing boredom. On the other hand if I don't feel right, so to speak, then I might not work on anything at all.

I am fickle. That should be quite obvious by now.

What types of rewards might work for you?
For me, the strongest motivating factor is a sense of meaningfulness in my work. I tend to feel that my work is meaningful when I am exposed to novel ideas or experiences, or when the task helps me to acheive a greater synthesis of my thoughts. If I don't get this sense of meaningfulness in what I do, it's very hard to get me moving regardless of what other kinds of rewards you give me.

Last year was like SPM 2.0. It was meaningless. But this year looks much more interesting. Don't let me down. =)

...That's all for now. I'll post my answers for the questions on the other side of the handout next time. Until then, farewell!