Studying Many Topics At Once

the_Grinch

How do you go about studying multiple topics at one time? In my case they are all security related and mainly dealing with SOC operations, but I tend to like to concentrate on one topic at a time, but at this point I can't do that anymore. Hoping for some tips!

Kragster

This is something I'm struggling with too, especially since I'm studying for CCNA and use Avaya and Palo Alto at work. One of the things that's helped me a little is a routine to really separate the two. I don't go right home from work and then start studying, I sit down watch something I have DVR'd or read a fiction book or something for an hour. This has helped clear out lingering stuff from the work day.

I am trying to come up with a something distinct I can start doing before studying or messing with my test lab to try to reinforce it in my subconscious that it's time to change my thinking space. Like Pavlov without the bell. Haven't come up with anything yet though. And still find myself using avaya(nortel) commands sometimes when doing my cisco labs.

I'd be very interested to hear others suggestions.

ccnxjr

Discipline!
Time and goals wise.
Of course, it helps if you have *some* stability, ie, you can set aside fixed times to not be disturbed.
Either lunch breaks, after work, or the ungodly hours before the rest of your house wakes up.

Personally I need at least 2 solid hours to dig into a problem or topic .
If your doing this on your own you don't have the luxury of someone feeding you material from a lesson plan.
(Reading material & relevant practical excercises).
So you either have a good text/workbook that has that sorted out for you, or you additionally need to plan those before you start studying, or you'll be hoping around like a drunken monkey trying to figure out "what next?!".

Goals, so there's this, "what am i working towards with all this studying?"
So for CCNA there's an outline of topics that you work towards.
For other activities it can be a little vague, or you might end up setting lofty goals if you don't have a solid grasp of all the bits and pieces that go into it.
Example:
For setting up monitoring, you'll need to understand a bit of databases, a bit of firewalls , permissions and , of course, how to enable the relevant bits on the end devices your monitoring.
So, if your original goal was to set up Nagios monitoring for routers and switches, you should have a handle on how to allow SNMP queries on the devices you're monitoring .

In which case, you may need to periodically re-evaluate your goals, or break your project into smaller bits and pieces after you get started.

Also, don't be too ambitious, if its going to be months long project, schedule some play time, or you'll crash and burn out.
That is just as important, and it helps to "decompress" in between subjects, you'll be more focused if your mind isn't crowded with questions from a different subject matter.
Ie, you don't want bleed over from the other subject matter interrupting your thought process from the current subject matter.
Some form of recreation or relaxation can help you switch things up.

There's also nutrition, if your not eating properly you'll have a harder time focusing and retaining.

Deathmage

You really need to have focus and drive. My strategy works for me, I work/study in labs/books for 2 hours then I take two hours to goofy off, play a video game, wash my car, take a nap. I also find when I take a 30 minute nap after 2 hours of study that my retention of material is far higher.

I'm also quite serious into Arena in World of Warcraft, BM Hunter is quite OP.

But lately my reset has been the gym; I've gained 25 lb of mass in 3 months, the 12 packs is almost there. I also load my body up with BCAA's for working out and but they really give me a mental edge for focusing, amino acids in the brain when used in quantity can increase brain function substantially. I come back from the gym and I'm wired for at-least two hours and it really helps me to focus with a few tunes on the ipod and a small glass of Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay.

lastly, I agree with ccnxjr, nutrition is essential, I consume over 40g of protein a day and remembering to balance out my proteins with carbs and vegetables really helps with my mood when studying, as does staying hydrated, I try to drink 8 to 10 glass of water a day or more.

JoJoCal19

I find that I can study multiple topics as long as they are not the same type of topics or in the same subject area. For example I can study a technical topic alongside a non-technical topic and a security topic alongside a non-security topic (for example right now I'm prepping for CCENT and CISM). Also alongside my IT studies I currently read about real estate and automotive how-to. If I tried to do like Kragster and study multiple like topics, I'd be confused and find it much harder to retain the info. Like you I typically have preferred and have always only studied one thing at a time. However now with having an actual commute to work and 3 small children I no longer am able to study before work and I do not study where it would take time away from my kids, I find that I am having to focus on more than one thing at a time so it doesn't take me 10 years to reach my goals.

Dakinggamer87

I try to focus on one subject matter at a time to keep myself from going insane... Also, spacing time between at the gym, playing video games to balance it all out.

anoeljr

+1 to what JoJoCal19 said. I balance out a technical topic with a non-technical topic. Right now I'm studying Linux, but when I've had enough of it I study Business Analysis. It seems to help me not go crazy.

N2IT

I'm not one who can do that very well so I stopped trying. Even if "IT HAS TO HAPPEN" I still don't do it. While I am at work of course I multi task which includes reviewing all sorts of material, technical and non-technical. However on my own time when I am not getting paid I deep dive into one item and one item only.

Right now it's SQL and Stored Procedures, Cursors, Functions and Triggers. That is my focus and it's laser thin.

However, when I am forced to do what you are talking about I create a daily list, place a time frame next to the activity and once it's complete I scratch it off the list and move onto the next item. I create another one for the next day etc.

It is rather crude but I love putting a line through the item completed.

Chitownjedi

Deathmage wrote: »

You really need to have focus and drive. My strategy works for me, I work/study in labs/books for 2 hours then I take two hours to goofy off, play a video game, wash my car, take a nap. I also find when I take a 30 minute nap after 2 hours of study that my retention of material is far higher.

I'm also quite serious into Arena in World of Warcraft, BM Hunter is quite OP.

But lately my reset has been the gym; I've gained 25 lb of mass in 3 months, the 12 packs is almost there. I also load my body up with BCAA's for working out and but they really give me a mental edge for focusing, amino acids in the brain when used in quantity can increase brain function substantially. I come back from the gym and I'm wired for at-least two hours and it really helps me to focus with a few tunes on the ipod and a small glass of Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay.

lastly, I agree with ccnxjr, nutrition is essential, I consume over 40g of protein a day and remembering to balance out my proteins with carbs and vegetables really helps with my mood when studying, as does staying hydrated, I try to drink 8 to 10 glass of water a day or more.

Good nutrition and exercise can dramatically increase your ability to process/retain/focus... Very good post.

philz1982

I try to find the common points between the subjects. SEIM, IDS, IPS, ect all have common themes. Study the themes and the individual tools are easy to learn.

Cingular

Deathmage wrote: »

You really need to have focus and drive. My strategy works for me, I work/study in labs/books for 2 hours then I take two hours to goofy off, play a video game, wash my car, take a nap. I also find when I take a 30 minute nap after 2 hours of study that my retention of material is far higher.

I'm also quite serious into Arena in World of Warcraft, BM Hunter is quite OP.

But lately my reset has been the gym; I've gained 25 lb of mass in 3 months, the 12 packs is almost there. I also load my body up with BCAA's for working out and but they really give me a mental edge for focusing, amino acids in the brain when used in quantity can increase brain function substantially. I come back from the gym and I'm wired for at-least two hours and it really helps me to focus with a few tunes on the ipod and a small glass of Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay.

lastly, I agree with ccnxjr, nutrition is essential, I consume over 40g of protein a day and remembering to balance out my proteins with carbs and vegetables really helps with my mood when studying, as does staying hydrated, I try to drink 8 to 10 glass of water a day or more.

Nailed it. As a gym junkie myself, I do love the BCAA's and getting a solid workout in 3-4 times a week really helps me relax and gather myself for multiple area's of study.

Like many of the guys on here, work demands certain certs for you to go after and then you have your personal goals that you want to study for too...It isn't easy by any means, but as mentioned above by Deathmage, eating relatively healthy and getting some exercise in does really help your focus for hitting the books.

If you are in to exercising though, make sure you place just as much importance on recovery as you do for exercising in the first place. This, I find makes a pretty big difference...Trying to read through technical text on 6.5 hours sleep versus a full 8+ hours is an enormous difference.

gorebrush

Sleep - I am willing to bet that there are a lot of engineers out there that neglect their sleep when it comes to study.

I know that I am on tight schedule, but I also know that I cannot function properly on little sleep. If I have had poor nights sleep and I try and get up early and study - it's a waste of a morning. I might as well have the extra few hours sleep to catch up and I am more efficient with "less" hours available during the day.

Jon_Cisco

I find when I am school doing four or more classes I don't learn nearly as much. I can't focus on anything long enough to really learn it.

When I am on my own schedule I like two topics at a time. It allows me to switch gears when something has become to intense or boring. Sometimes I'll use video games or movies for some downtime. Everyone needs a break.

School and work at the same time has really screwed me up this year but generally hiking gets me away from all electronics and lets me reset my brain. I look forward to having that kind of free time again someday lol.

Deathmage

Jon_Cisco wrote: »

I find when I am school doing four or more classes I don't learn nearly as much. I can't focus on anything long enough to really learn it.

When I am on my own schedule I like two topics at a time. It allows me to switch gears when something has become to intense or boring. Sometimes I'll use video games or movies for some downtime. Everyone needs a break.

School and work at the same time has really screwed me up this year but generally hiking gets me away from all electronics and lets me reset my brain. I look forward to having that kind of free time again someday lol.

Jon, your not far from me, if you want to go hiking sometime hit me up! ... just not now... it's bloody cold!

Snow.bros

Dakinggamer87 wrote: »

playing video games to balance it all out.

Nothing gets done when I start doing that, some games are so addictive and frustrating, procrastination gets the better of me especially when there are multiple tasks at hand the gym and exercising is a good idea though and prioritizing your time.

OP I once studied multiple topics once and that wasted my time than get things done quicker and got my mind confused so I wouldn't recommend doing it, I suggest that you focus on one or two topics that you feel are more important and take it from there, you can easily forget the material if you studying many topics at once.

JustFred

Just try not to crush and burn. If that happens, you lose everything.

dave330i

We used to do it all the time in school. Write more than usual and take breaks in between.

Jon_Cisco

Deathmage wrote: »

Jon, your not far from me, if you want to go hiking sometime hit me up! ... just not now... it's bloody cold!

I think I have been to bear mountain which is somewhere in your direction. I doubt I'm in any shape to keep up with you but I'll hit you up in the spring.

N2IT

+1 on the exercise. Love my weekly hike with close friends. 3 of us guys hike a different trail once a month and the other 3 - 4 weeks we hike a near by trail. Always going at least 11 miles sometimes up to 20. It can take us 5 - 7 hours of straight walking but afterwards things are so clear.