Don’t Avoid Studying: Embrace It!įor students, serious play can take one from mediocre achievement in the classroom to enhanced creativity and performance on exams. When he felt that he needed a break, he would take a short walk (a breather) and later return to his desk. Feynman would work hard on a given problem, asking a wide range of questions. Richard Feynman, the inspiration for Weinlick’s article, was a Nobel winner in physics who used this technique en route to reaching one of the most important conclusions in his academic career. In his Think Jar Collective piece, Weinlick writes “hen putting conscious time in to taking breaks and daydreaming, it doesn’t mean you now have an excuse to be lazy.” This shows that in order to be creative - and to have those wonderful “Eureka!” moments - one needs to engage deeply in a task and then take breaks for relaxation. The idea of serious play is simple, and it takes readers one step further than the usual discussions about creativity. Two years ago, I came across an article by Ben Weinlick of the Think Jar Collective entitled “Richard Feynman, Spinning Plates and Serious Play.” Weinlick, now a SKILLS Society advocate in Edmonton, earned his Master’s degree at Victoria, BC’s Royal Roads University, where he studied “serious play.” Serious Play For “Eureka!” Momentsįor the students that concentrate intently on their studies, however, there is tremendous opportunity. Now that I’ve purchased an iPhone 5, I often feel glued to the digital screen, spending more time on Gmail than I do looking up at the world. In my case, I got rid of a cell phone between 20, so that I could take a break from the constant barrage of texts and inbox messages. Because of constant access to newspapers, magazines, Facebook, Twitter and email, the itch to pause from studies and update one’s status is sometimes unbearable. In a hyper-connected world, where it seems that one’s phone vibrates every few minutes, studying for thirty consecutive minutes without interruption can seem like an impressive feat. Unfortunately, this is far from an effective system very little information is learned by this type of student, since much of one’s brainpower is consumed by the constant back-and-forth of studying and texting. The routine is as follows: read a few pages, take a break, text several friends, read some notes and then take yet another break. This brief example reflects the study habits for countless post-secondary students. This process continues for several hours, at which point you declare that your studying for the day is over. Several minutes later, when the flurry of texts abates, you return to the eBook and complete the review of class notes. Because of this, you temporarily escape from your reading and respond to the texts sent by your friend. You’re sitting at your desk, skimming through class notes on your eBook, and suddenly it begins to buzz. In a hyper-connected world, studying for thirty minutes without interruption can seem like an impressive feat.
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