Stage 5 · Lesson 6 of 6
Focused work and stepping away
Barbara Oakley, who co-teaches the free course Learning How to Learn, describes two modes of thinking: a focused mode, when you concentrate hard on a problem, and a more relaxed, diffuse mode, when your mind wanders, such as during a walk, a shower or before sleep.
Hard problems often need both: intense focus to load the problem into your mind, then a break, after which the answer sometimes appears. This is why stepping away from a stuck bug or a maths proof is not always giving up. Take a walk, then come back.
Common trapeither forcing yourself to stare at the same problem for hours, or using "diffuse thinking" as an excuse to stop before you have properly focused on the problem at all.
A question to check yourself come when you add the roadmap to your account. Add it
Resources for this stage
Start with
- CourseFreeLearning How to Learn (Coursera)
Deep Teaching Solutions on Coursera · Beginner
The most popular free course on how learning works, with practical study methods
Practise
Keep handy
Struggling right now? If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact local emergency services or a crisis line: Find a helpline (any country), Umang (Pakistan), Tele-MANAS, 14416 (India).