Saturday, September 15, 2012

My Actions Steps to Learning How to Focus and Be Productive (Part 2)

 
1. Embrace the fear.
 
I have a fear of not doing well in the topic I study or work on.
  • For instance, I am afraid that I won’t learn the chapter 7 of my statistics textbook information on regression. I am fearful I won’t be able to make the regression analysis needed for my study.
  • I fear that as I write the conclusion part of my thesis, I will not be able to connect the dots with my earlier content—finding out there is NO connection.
  • I have a fear of getting lost in the work and not getting anything done…Well, not starting, I really won’t get anything done.
My action step: I will just get it done. I once read in Adrianna Huffington’s book On Becoming Fearless:the only way to become fearless is overcoming your fear head-on.”

2. Be patient.
 
I will be patient with myself. If I can’t get it right, I will try again and again, and wait to see the development and the fruit of my work. I’ve learned that anything that requires work needs to be accompanied with patience to see results. 

I am not going to get frustrated with having read all of chapter 7 all at once. I will be patient with my reading and ability to understand. If I don’t get it, I will take my time to understand it. 

3. Take baby steps.
 
I understand that what I produce will not be complete today or tomorrow. I have to start by taking baby steps, one minute at a time, one hour at a time and do my best to stay focused. I’ll take baby step as I write: one word at a time, one sentence a time, one paragraph at a time, one page at a time. 

The same thing goes for reading. 

4. Persist.
 
Once I lose my fear, stay patient and take baby steps, what I will need to do is be persistent with my work. I won’t stop at the one paragraph, or even one page. I will keep on going and be persistent to that the final product becomes clearer and clearer. I need to take one thing at a time, do it right, do it again, and again until it become second nature. 

5. Practice self-awareness.
 
I’ve been practicing self-awareness for well over a year now. Trying to focus is when my self-awareness comes into play. In order to make myself work nonstop for at least 15 minutes at a time, I will place a little Post-It note next to my computer and each time I lose focus I will make a mark. The point of that is that I will have marks as possible. 

6.  Don’t take things too seriously.
 
My goal is to do good job and not stress about my end-product. If I lose sight of the end product, I tend to stress and overwhelm easily, especially if I’m on a deadline. I do procrastinate a lot though…I admit it, but interestingly enough, though, I get work done when I’m on deadlines. Stresses kicks me in the butt and I get going, but at the same time it can also paralyses me if I let it. That is why I will be self-aware and make those marks on my Post-It note.
 
As I write my thesis I want to enjoy it. I wan to learn as much as possible and not just regurgitate in writing what I read. I will so my best. By doing my best, I will not take myself to seriously because I know I have been trying. 
 
7. Believe in yourself.
 
Wow, “believe in myself.” I do believe in myself. I have all this passion for my work, for public health, but I just don’t know how to put in writing on the most academic way possible. I believe that I will become a great writer and researcher one day. All I need is practice, practice, practice. I believe I can do it, know I can do it. What helps me more is the fact that I have a great support system of people who believe in me. If they believe in me, I believe in myself. I will get it done and I will learn to focus so that when I am in a PhD program I train to be the best researcher I can be. 

So follow me in my journey in learning to focus for productivity, efficiency and success to my finishing my Master’s thesis and into my doctorate studies!

Love,

Bea

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