John 以前絕不止于平庸，他是個(gè)很聰明的人；他學(xué)習(xí)東西非?？於医鉀Q問題的時(shí)候，都能由深入淺地把大問題分成小問題，一步一步的解決。 人們就會(huì)經(jīng)常向他請(qǐng)教一些作業(yè)的或者所做的項(xiàng)目中遇到的問題，而且 John 也會(huì)花時(shí)間為他們解答。后來 John 理所當(dāng)然的以優(yōu)異的成績(jī)拿到他的學(xué)士學(xué)位。
John 懷著用他那曾被人人稱贊的聰明才智為這個(gè)世界做貢獻(xiàn)的想法，加入 了一家公司，開始了他的職業(yè)生活。他把自己的分內(nèi)事很好的完成了，而且開始做 其他的項(xiàng)目。他很想學(xué)多一些知識(shí)和技能，可是公司并不像研究生學(xué)院那樣，會(huì)有特定的專業(yè)可以供他選擇和學(xué)習(xí)。所以他很糾結(jié)他該學(xué)什么，該把精力放在什么上面。
在一開始的時(shí)候，John 選了非常有挑戰(zhàn)性的項(xiàng)目來做。因?yàn)檫@不是他常做的事，所以他覺得做這個(gè)項(xiàng)目能讓他獲益匪淺。在第一周，這個(gè)項(xiàng)目的難度開始讓 John 失去了繼續(xù)做下去的動(dòng)力。由于他以前在大學(xué)的時(shí)候總是學(xué)得又快又好，這個(gè)項(xiàng)目讓他感到精疲力盡。歸咎于這個(gè)項(xiàng)目“太難以完成”，他半途而廢了這個(gè) 項(xiàng)目。
又有兩個(gè)星期過去了，John 由于周末的無所事事開始坐不住了。在這個(gè)時(shí)候，John 選了一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的項(xiàng)目而且下定決心要在下周前完成。還沒到一個(gè)小時(shí)， John 就看完了整個(gè)項(xiàng)目，同時(shí)他感到了停滯感——這個(gè)項(xiàng)目根本不能給予他想要的智力或者技能上的進(jìn)步，因?yàn)樗呀?jīng)基本擁有了這個(gè)項(xiàng)目所需的能力。當(dāng)天，John 就以“這個(gè)太簡(jiǎn)單無聊”為理由放棄了做這個(gè)項(xiàng)目。
I think other people have made some great points, but I'm going to let you in on a simple and yet profound secret I discovered, and I'm going to do it with a story:
Meet John.
John was more than just the average, smart guy; he was very quick at learning skills and could solve a problem by breaking it down. People would come up to him with their problems in projects or assignments and he would take some time, and come up with a solution. No wonder, John graduated with distinction in his bachelors.
John joined a company in order to contribute to the world through his awesome knowledge and grasp which everyone used to praise him of. He did well with his work assignments, and started working on side projects. He wanted to learn more skills, but since there was no fixed curriculum like in graduate program, it was hard for him to pick up a topic and fixate upon it.
In the start, John picked an ambitious side project to work on. It was something he was not used to, and he thought, it would be a great learning experience. Within first week, the steep learning curve of the project started cutting into the ropes of John's motivation. Being used to quick success, like in college, John was exhausted and dumped the project speculating that it was just 'too hard'.
Another two weeks went by, and John becomes restless being bored over weekends. So this time, John picks up a simple project, and aims to finish it by next week. It was not even an hour, John is cruising through the project, but at the same time he starts feeling stagnated. Their is no intellectual growth what John was looking for, since he already possessed most of the skills needed for the task. At the end of the day, John calls it a quit, citing 'too simple/boring' as the reason.
Heart in heart, he wants to do something but now he is afraid that either he will pick up a project which is too hard, or something which is too simple. He keeps procrastinating about finding a new project. Weeks, turn into months and john has mistakenly repeated his mistake of picking the wrong projects. At the end, he does not feel like learning anything, as he has witnessed disappointment in his past.
I was John, a year back. I used to get excited quickly about multiple projects, would start them, and then well you know... . I'd been stuck for so long, it was time for things to change, and they did; I was introduced to the concept of Flow:
I think the picture is self explanatory, but still I'll say a little about it. I've found that even if you pick a good project, you should make sure it it has a practical use, and also make sure it's something that engages you. Eg:
If you are planning to learn Python, instead of going through a book ( which is slightly less challenging), take up some project and code it in python, like program a Poker game. ( P. Norvig, Udacity course ).
If you are planning to read a research topic, make a goal that you would implement it in the end. The fact that you have to implement the stuff you are reading, will keep you attentive and interested while reading.
Pro tip: Sometimes to get back into learning curve, pick up a one day project for weekend. Try to learn about a given problem/task on that day as much as you can. This might help you to get back on the learning track :)
I could go on but I think story should be clear by now. Good luck re-igniting your spirit! --------------------------------- EDIT:
Some additional tips from the comments:
Another classic pro tip is to tell people who care about you (and your success) that you've taken up a new project. They will ask you how it's going and you will feel bad if you won't be able to report any progress when they ask.
Another pro tip, is to introduce another 'stakeholder'. Someone who expects/demands results from your work. It should be someone who is deeply invested in the project, either through their own goals, your shared goals or even by money.
【Emanuel Petre】
When I lose my drive/motivation to learn more it's often a result of being off-balance.
I tend to get off-balance when I neglect some of the things below. So here the todo list I go through when I need to reset:
1. Fix your sleep schedule 2. Time-box everything to stay focused and productive 3. Set small goals and build on them, achievements are good for motivation 4. Eat well 5. 3 trainings a week of anything that makes you move 6. Have some fun, go out
