Here's A Tip: Practice Makes Perfect

Throughout our class discussions the one idea that really stuck with me was the concept of deliberately working to achieve a goal. It is so true that many people are working with mindless repetition. I want to find purpose in all of my work to ensure that I am truly learning from it.

In my own schedule I always allow a great deal of time to dedicate myself to my work for school. However, that time is not always spent seriously working. I may try to multitask or rush through my work just to say it is finished. Both of those things are hurting me in the long run. It may not hurt my final grade but it will hurt my true understanding of the course material. In order to begin implementing this idea into my own life I want to try to cut out all distractions when I am doing my homework. Once removing those social distractions I hope to increase the amount of deliberate time spent on my work. Since I will be more focused on what I am doing I will be able to put a great deal of effort into really learning the material. To me this captures the true idea of “working smart” vs. “working hard.” Deliberately practicing will stretch me out of my comfort zone and push me towards higher learning. I hope one day to reach those high levels in my educational career and this method will be a step in the right direction. Along with my own personal motivation, I believe deliberately practicing will make me more successful.

The one aspect of this theory that I do not find especially useful in my own life is that you should “find someone to kick your butt if you fall off track.” I believe that a major part of deliberately working is working to better your own work method by helping yourself. This should include becoming a more independent individual who is mindful of what they are doing. If you have someone on you’re back waiting for you to mess up so they can step in, you are not learning on your own. You are not learning from your mistakes. There is someone else in the equation that is keeping you on track rather than you forcing yourself to stay on the right path.