Monday, 7 October 2013

study behaviour

I'm finding that sometimes your concentrations levels, priorities and motivation to study don't always fit perfectly with the schedule you've organised for yourself. 
So today I'd planned to work for a few hours in the morning in my study, no interruptions, perfect, but I sit and find I can't focus, I wonder why, procrastinate, think about the planning I have to do for teaching this week. Get some fresh air, have a drink, nothing helps.  Perhaps sometimes you have to stop struggling and wait until you feel more able or match the task to your mood.  It feels like a luxury to think this way when time is so tight and precious but might be more productive in the long run. 

On the flip side, there are times I'd set aside to do something else, like start to strip the wallpaper in the babies room, or plan exercises for my new class, and I find that I'm drawn to the computer to write in my journal or read a chapter. 
I often tell students in class to listen to their bodies about what is right for them that day and not push themselves too hard as it's not always necessary. Perhaps allowing yourself some space and time without the pressure of 'this must be done now' can actually can lead to new and different discoveries.
This made me think of choreographing or working with a set curriculum or syllabus and the struggle between discipline, sticking to the plan, and creativity, process and achieving a final product or result.

1 comment:

  1. Absolutely Rose! We do always seem to live/work 'against' the clock, and try to fit what needs doing into pockets of allocated time/space. Recognising that square blocks don't fit well into circular holes is such a 'freeing' moment. And yes, whilst seemingly luxurious, to what until the mood/moment takes you, I find that is the only way to be truly creative/productive. It will be interesting for you to comment of this in light of syllabus and curriculum as you mention, in your AOLs later on in this module Rose.

    ReplyDelete