Previously I have mentioned that I am currently studying an online coursera course called ‘Learning how to Learn’, and in the future when I complete it I will definitely explain further on what it teaches and the benefits of doing it. But for now, I will speak of one of many pieces of advice the course provided. Barbara Oakley is the main lecturer in this course, and at one point she emphasised the importance of changing your environment when studying.

Normally, I study in my room all day and don’t really find a need to leave it as I find it to be a comfortable environment. It’s quiet, warm, and isolated aside from myself in the room. But I decided to give it a go, so today I went to University three hours earlier to study. Originally before leaving my home, I thought I should do at least one of the tasks on my list but wasn’t really in the mood to do so, hence ended up leaving sooner than expected. Upon arrival, I immediately began my work and before I knew it I had completed three of my tasks, and never did I take a break. I was focused the entire time, despite the environment being drastically different from my usual room. It was a very large space where I studied, there were quite a few students and thus the noise levels were substantially higher than they would be in my room. But for some reason I was able to complete majority of my work – even writing this blog post!

It could be because I was motivated – seeing all the other students studying, but whatever reason it was, the main point that changed was my environment. Barbara Oakley was correct, and I’m very excited to try out the other tips she has for me.