Conquer laziness

Hi to all.

So the question is how do you Conquer your laziness for study ?

We all know there is times when all of us are a little lazy to conquer new skills.

So how do you do it anyway, and surpass that and still learn ?

All the best

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Comments

dynamik

I don't. If I'm not into it, I don't absorb anything and just end up wasting my time. It's easy to get burned out, so take some time off if you need to. Maybe ease back into it with reading 5, then 10, then 20 pages a day, etc.

Mrock4

I usually re-evaluate why I am studying in the first place, and that usually reminds me that I need to get hot on it, and study. I also choose the subject I hate the most/am the worst with, and study it until I know every in and out. Generally it ends up that I don't mind it so much, and it's a ton easier. Does that make sense?

Plus I have a porsche on my desktop as a motivator...

JDMurray

Motivation?

Close deadlines with still much work remaining to complete.

Spending a bunch of my own money on a cert exam and not wanting to loose it by failing.

The fear of causing disappointment or of revealing my innate incompetence.

Trying to avoid both failure and that horrible sinking feeling that goes with it as my self-esteem ebbs away.

Yeah, those are certainly the punishment factors that motivate me. Funny how I don't seem to be motivated much by reward.

Halcyon Hell

I second that JDMurray.

jbrown414

JD has some valid points. I also agree with Dynamik. If you don't feeling like studying, don't waste your time. We all get lazy and need a break some time. You just need the discipline to keep that break from stretching from a week to a month and so on. I'm stuck in a dead end, low paying job. I have a nine month old son and a wife that makes more than me. I don't mind that my wife makes more than me because she has been there a while and her company knows how to take care of it's employees. I want to be a better financial provider for my family. Also, I want to do something with a future and growth.

Most my studying comes after I put my son to bed. If I feel like I want to stop or get distracted, I'll take a peek at him sleeping in his crib and tell myself that I'm doing it for him and I don't want to disappoint him. Sounds cheesy but it really helps.

JDMurray

jbrown414 wrote:

JD has some valid points. I also agree with Dynamik. If you don't feeling like studying, don't waste your time.

If I don't feel like studying, I'll go walk my dog in the park, or play a computer game for an hour. After that, if I still don't feel like studying what I need to, I'll find something that I do want to study. That usually means my brain is bored and need to switch-off on another subject for a while. This is the primary reason why I'm always working on three things at once--to keep my brain from getting bored.

ilcram19-2

If I don't feel like studying, I'll go walk my dog in the park, or play a computer game for an hour. After that, if I still don't feel like studying what I need to, I'll find something that I do want to study. That usually means my brain is bored and need to switch-off on another subject for a while. This is the primary reason why I'm always working on three things at once--to keep my brain from getting bored.

good one, people dont want to admit that they are lazy, none all the people like to be active they want to "relax", every since i started working i rather come to work and do what i do than stayed home hibernating wasting my time and and my brain, come on how do u dont wanna learn? if i get bored working with windows, i jump in my cisco lab, or my linux box ,or learn a lil morre about sql come on there is alot stuff really fun that you wont learn wasting your time "not learning" but like i said not all people think that way they want to "relax"

Mrock4

Yeah. I agree with the above poster. My problem is if I take a step back and stop studying, I'll find myself in a rut where it's harder to get back into the swing of things again. If I study something else (even if it's not IT related), at least my mind is active. Plus I can't sit still..

bwcarty

Putting my own money into my studies and publicizing my efforts has helped me.

I've done my certs on my own time and at my own expense, so once I schedule and pay for my exam, I know I'm on a set timeline. Yeah, I could reschedule, so to avoid that, I generally let my boss know when I've scheduled another exam. I don't want to come back later and tell him I put off the exam, and I really don't want the double whammy of telling him I failed the exam and have to pay to take it again, so it really helps keep me studying.

motogpman

My motivation comes from me kicking myself in the ass for not getting my certs out of the way sooner. I wasted a lot of time, my last employer didn't push for people to get certs, a way to not have to pay higher wages I think. We had to stay current with all vendor equipment/standards/training, but the CISCO/MS type certs weren't pushed. I beleive that is a reason for their decline as an Industry leader for support....

It's my fault though, I got complacent and wasted almost 8 years in that environment. so, I made a promise to myself that I would not get in that rutt again. Since then, 3 certs with more to come and a new career with a better company, plus a $20k/benefits increase also helps to keep a person motivated.

Mrock4

motogpman wrote:

My motivation comes from me kicking myself in the ass for not getting my certs out of the way sooner. I wasted a lot of time, my last employer didn't push for people to get certs, a way to not have to pay higher wages I think. We had to stay current with all vendor equipment/standards/training, but the CISCO/MS type certs weren't pushed. I beleive that is a reason for their decline as an Industry leader for support....

It's my fault though, I got complacent and wasted almost 8 years in that environment. so, I made a promise to myself that I would not get in that rutt again. Since then, 3 certs with more to come and a new career with a better company, plus a $20k/benefits increase also helps to keep a person motivated.

It's this type of talk that also motivates me, I don't want to get complacent and forget about progressing myself. I did for almost a year, "woke up" and realized I would regret it later. It's a good thing you noticed the same too.

Aldur

I always just go and go till i completely burn my self out, then i take a month break, feel guilty about it, then hit the books again. Rinse and repeat

It tends to work but I sure do hate the point of burning out, like what is happening right about now.... Guess I can take a break after the IE.

cisco_trooper

My point of laziness is usually self-induced and is usually a direct result of putting way too much pressure on myself to get through a certain amount of material within a certain time frame. I am far more productive when I'm studying material out of a genuine interest in the topic at hand. Having a regimine has a funny way of turning something interesting and exciting into a chore, and we all know chores are no fun and are often avoided.

The best cure for laziness in IT exams seems to be to mix the topics in the exam blueprint in with other topics of genuine interest. If these topics happen to be covered by the exam, then that is even better, but you have to let your brain relax and extinguish the cortisol levels that are arbitrarily elevated by stressing yourself out.

Hope that makes sense to someone out there....

ilcram19-2

well the quick question
how many certification test have you all taken?
i have taken 21 in 24 months

A+=2
Net+=1
Server+=1
Security+=1

Intro=2
ICND=2
CCDA=1
CCNP=4

MCSE=7

Diminutive

I reward myself with nice dinners after a pass and get myself a nice Smoothie before the test. Consequently my credit cards are maxed out lol.

8 exams since Aug 25 - 6 MS 2 Cisco - thank God my boss had CBT Nuggs and I got my employer to purchase the 2 Odom books and the CCNA Nugg.

Pash

Diminutive wrote:

I reward myself with nice dinners after a pass and get myself a nice Smoothie before the test. Consequently my credit cards are maxed out lol.

Where in gods name are you eating out?

Guys stop being hard on yourselves, it's not even laziness it's just burn out. +1 to what JD said, if you are burnt out on one subject do another, no harm in that

Diminutive

Pash wrote:

Diminutive wrote:

I reward myself with nice dinners after a pass and get myself a nice Smoothie before the test. Consequently my credit cards are maxed out lol.

Where in gods name are you eating out?

Guys stop being hard on yourselves, it's not even laziness it's just burn out. +1 to what JD said, if you are burnt out on one subject do another, no harm in that

Ah its just hyperbole, its just one CC maxed out lol, and it already had a balance.

Plazma

I'm just a sucker for pain.. it gives me pleasure

Also fire helps

HeroPsycho

I'm kinda in a lazy mode right now. I'm trying to slog through the MCITP: Enterprise Administrator cert, especially now because I've already knocked 70-620 out of the way, there's the second shot promo going on, and I've already gone through 2/3 of the book for 70-649.

One strategy I use is purposefully put myself in situations I might as well study. Where I'm contracting, I'm only supposed to work 7 hours a day and bank one hour for on call time, so I stay 8 hours with a one hour lunch, bring my lunch, and go outside and study for one hour. I'm considering arriving an hour before work begins and studying then, too. I'm going to take my car in for an oil change, and wait for it, bringing my book with me. Etc.

The next thing you know, you're ready to sit the exam.

Inc

My take on this matter:

- wake at 4am - 5am
- studying window 6am - 8am (best time for immersion in new information)
- start with 5min to relax and contemplate why this information is necessary to you (various motivation factors go here)
if you skip this step, you may end up wasting 2h of your life (time flies when you have fun - even if it is learning process)

this is because your mind needs to be set for learning. you can learn even boring stuff by using this approach.
- during the day, reflect on what you have read and reread if you feel like it
- if possible, apply theory in practice
- it would be awesome to form a study group at work, where everyone gathers in the morning and tells others what new information has been learned. 5 - 10min and discussion for 5 - 10min more. Unfortunately this is happening in my dreams for now, but I don't give my hopes up.
- while commuting home I tend to glance over everything one more time
- no new information after 6pm
- glass of warm milk with spices at 8pm
- go to sleep at 9pm

By using this approach for approximately a year I have steepened my learning curve and haven't felt burnout (yet

)

Motivation factors I consider worthy and use for startup phase:

- it helps me do my job better
- it helps my employer gain additional benefits
- it helps me keep brain sharp (atrophy kicks in for things not used very fast)
- it helps my colleagues because they can lean on me when in need
- this goal is attainable and I won't give up (carefully with this one)

I try not to think about monetary/ego added value

What I plan to add is weekly review and monthly review. Still haven't thought out the scheme/process for this one.

Bottom line: set reasonable goals and be strict on yourself. 1-2h/day are doable, imho

HTH

Kaminsky

I envy you people who are strict with yourselves and can keep yourselves focussed day after day after day. I have a really hard time doing it. When I was in the army doing basic training, I learned a very incitefull thing about myself. Deep down I am a really lazy bast and my good brain, instead of studying, works instead to come up with the most imaginative reasons not to do what it doesn't want to do ... in this case, hit the books. I read posts of people hammering out certs and see forum sigs with lists of certs achieved and I am not envious of the certs but of the ability of the poster to stay focussed all the way through the certs they have

Before the army it was years of school and college. After the army it was years of college and university. When I open a book now, my brain subliminally says "ohh no ... please leave me alone" My brain burnout came from that last intense few years of study.

Luckily, I realise this about myself and everytime my mind finds something else interesting (like games, news, cert chat forums (doh!), I have to try and snap myself back into focus. It doesn't always work.

The one thing that does help me though is bite size chunks and more learning from doing. Playing with the real kit doesn't bore my mind and the experience actually sticks.

94jedi

ilcram19-2 wrote:

well the quick question
how many certification test have you all taken?
i have taken 21 in 24 months

A+=2
Net+=1
Server+=1
Security+=1

Intro=2
ICND=2
CCDA=1
CCNP=4

MCSE=7

my friend, you are my hero. That's nothing short of AMAZING. pat yourself on the back.

coax31

In one year + a few days I have taken 10 certification tests; September 2007 - September 2008

9/6 , 11/06 CCNA 640-801 2 failed both times
11/22, 12/17 ICND1 640-822 2 Passed on second try
2/21 70-290 1 Passed
6/6, 6/28,and 7/18 70-291 3 Passed on third try
6/20 71-652 1 failed
9/24 70-293 1 passed

dynamik

ilcram, why do you have 2 for both the Intro and ICND exams?

MCSE:S = 8
MCTS = 2
CWNA
Linux+
CCENT

13 in 20 months. I've been busy with college though, so I haven't been able to fully dedicate myself to this.

ilcram19-2

oh because i fail one the i pass on the second one
i fail intro, ICND and 290 one time each

Slowhand

I have a hard time keeping myself from growing lazy, so I definitely can relate to dynamik's notion of getting burnt out. I also agree with JDMurray that you need to keep yourself from getting bored. No matter how much you need to study something, if you can't get into it, then you're going to zonk out or just stop doing it.

For me, it's a combination of techniques to help me stay focused. I try to keep a few things on the burners at once, making sure I can switch back and forth as I need to. When I get sick of studying Microsoft security topics, I switch to digging into routing protocols. When I get sick of reading those big, thick Cisco Press books, I wrap my brain around limits and derivatives. And, of course, having something other than studying to do is key. I like to take breaks and spend some time playing video games, reading non-technical books, and spending time with friends and/or the girlfriend.

Another big key for me is to keep things changed up. I like to read, but watching some CBT Nuggets videos is a nice change of pace. I also like to go out somewhere to read, like a coffee shop or a bookstore. Getting into the proper academic mood is important, so sometimes I'll head on over to the Berkeley campus and have a seat, so I'll feel like I'm surrounded by others who are studying as hard as I am. Other times, I go and do crazy things like take my books with me when I go out exploring on the weekends. If I find someplace that inspires me, I'll whip out one of them and sit down to read; this ends up being anywhere from a bench by the ocean to a mall foodcourt in some town I've never been to before. Finding inspiration is hard enough, but not having my study-material when it does strike me is beyond frustrating.

gorebrush

I am so "in the zone" at the moment.

One of my biggest problems of studying is when I "fall out" of it. Sometimes it can take me weeks before I get there. The CCNA was a classic example. I originally bought my routers and switches in JANUARY. I started looking at it, but at the time I was starting to re-evaluate my work placement as I got increasingly fed up.

I ended up doing 70-620 in March after 4 weeks studying, and passed well. So, between March and June I was trying for a new job, and got there in June.

So I did bugger all bookwork between March and June.

So, 2 months on.. lol (and bear in mind I BOOKED the 640-802 in April... I deferred it all year)

I basically started again end of July and finished it in September, passing.

Since then I've booked and am taking Exchange 07.

Then CCNP.

Think the key is to get into the groove and stay there for me.

JockVSJock

Aldur wrote: »

I always just go and go till i completely burn my self out, then i take a month break, feel guilty about it, then hit the books again. Rinse and repeat

It tends to work but I sure do hate the point of burning out, like what is happening right about now.... Guess I can take a break after the IE.

I was just going to post a question on this, how do you prevent...burnout.

I feel like I'm burnout and I've only done the follwoing:

-A+ (four months of studying and then pass)
-Network+ (three months of studying and then pass)
-Linux+ (studied for three months from an older book, failed...then got a newer book and it took me about 7 months to pass...I also had a girlfriend too, so this one took up some more time)

I also work FT too on top of this.

Some of you may have noticed some of my other post, I'm looking at getting CCNA/Windows cert, so I know it takes some time to knock these suckers out. I'm motivated by trying to get a better paying job...

Lee H

I too have difficult time studying to the point were its none existant, I may aswell be studying at a strip joint the amount of time I spend in a book

Been meaning to play some nuggets though some headphones while I am asleep, how cool would it be if that would work

Or another mad idea is hypnotherapy, with the guy like saying "you will wake at 3 and read MS books back to back till 7, repeat for 2 months" something along them lines

Or a totally off the cheeseboard idea would be accupuncture, needles all connected to somekind of superserver cisco switch churning out MS books in morse code electrical pulses

you would need to learn morse code in hypnotheraphy first though

Forsaken_GA

When I find myself getting to the point where I feel frustrated by studying, I put the book down and go do something else. I go to a movie, I go to the park and walk a few miles, I read some fiction, or I study a subject that I do find interesting (I've been learning alot about personal finance lately). Sometimes you have to force yourself through difficult material, but you have to realize when you're at a point where you're no longer productive, and you have to realize that your retention of the material is going to suffer. For difficult subject matter, I just break it down into smaller portions and make sure I understand that portion before moving on. It slows the pace a little, but it makes it easier to digest in the long run.

The bottom line is that all work and no play makes you a moron. You have to do something to enjoy yourself every once in awhile and to remember why you're putting yourself through the pain. If you don't remind yourself of that, you've lost sight of what you're working towards. Your sense of responsibility will lead you back to what you need to be doing eventually.