The discontinuous learning curve
I have often wondered about the best way to acquire new skills, and one of my favorites is the "don't try too hard" approach. This is basically a laissez faire attitude without much intervention from the left half of my brain. Do whatever you feel like doing and whenever you feel like it. This worked great for my tennis skills, and for most other things in life. However when the stakes are higher, this approach might be a bit too risky. I really don't care if I get thrashed 6-0, 6-0 in a game of tennis. But knowing how to turn and stop before skiing down suicide slope can make a big difference - the difference between having a great time and getting aquainted with all the X-ray technicians in the neighborhood :-)
The GMAT is definitely not a "life or death" issue, and I am not so concerned about having a 10 point mega-plan to "beat the GMAT". At the same time, I am investing a lot of time, money and effort into it and I don't like the prospect of having to take it again. I work best with a flexible plan, but I am trying to bring some structure into my preparations. I had made a very ambitious study plan a couple of weeks ago, but I am chucking it out now. I want to be able to stop studying once it gets boring and do something else to refresh myself. I hope that when I get back after a break, I will have undergone the mysterious "learning jump". This has happened many times earlier, and I am sure that most others have recognized the feeling when you suddenly, and for no apparent reason, get much better at something. I don't know whether there is a term for this phenomenon .. if not, I hereby call it "the discontinuous learning curve". So I am going to spend this weekend having fun and gloating over my new found talent for neologism. Let's see how it works out for for my GMAT preparation :-)
Of course, I realize that all this is just a way of rationalizing my decision to spend tomorrow riding and sailing, far away from anything remotely related to an MBA! But who cares? I am having fun tomorrow .. yaaay!!!
The GMAT is definitely not a "life or death" issue, and I am not so concerned about having a 10 point mega-plan to "beat the GMAT". At the same time, I am investing a lot of time, money and effort into it and I don't like the prospect of having to take it again. I work best with a flexible plan, but I am trying to bring some structure into my preparations. I had made a very ambitious study plan a couple of weeks ago, but I am chucking it out now. I want to be able to stop studying once it gets boring and do something else to refresh myself. I hope that when I get back after a break, I will have undergone the mysterious "learning jump". This has happened many times earlier, and I am sure that most others have recognized the feeling when you suddenly, and for no apparent reason, get much better at something. I don't know whether there is a term for this phenomenon .. if not, I hereby call it "the discontinuous learning curve". So I am going to spend this weekend having fun and gloating over my new found talent for neologism. Let's see how it works out for for my GMAT preparation :-)
Of course, I realize that all this is just a way of rationalizing my decision to spend tomorrow riding and sailing, far away from anything remotely related to an MBA! But who cares? I am having fun tomorrow .. yaaay!!!
posted by FSM | 8:27 PM
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