tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865Thu, 10 Oct 2024 17:58:33 +0000OnTrack Academic Coaching will help you get on track!http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)Blogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-1752276799631017458Mon, 31 Mar 2014 14:19:00 +00002014-03-31T07:22:53.128-07:00Several studies confirm what Luddites have always believed: pencil and paper notes lead to more learning than typed notes. I wonder if this is true even for those with language processing issues. So often I see typed notes as an accommodation on an IEP. Is this a shortsighted solution? How can we support competent note taking?http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/were-only-human/http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2014/03/despite-what-you-think-handwritten.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-6427931011214490217Fri, 21 Feb 2014 17:50:00 +00002023-06-08T07:59:05.191-07:00I find working-memory problems to be one of the more coaching-resistant aspects of ADHD. This article about CogMed's cognitive training programs is intriguiging. &nbsp;I love that there are clinical studies with relatively large samples showing a real impact without drugs!http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/02/the-science-behind-brain-training/283634/http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2014/02/cognitive-training-for-working-memory.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-8590677567417132117Fri, 25 Oct 2013 16:23:00 +00002013-10-25T09:23:13.175-07:00Some interesting research coming from Europe this month (published in PLoS Biology) suggests that the ability to delay gratification might have quite a bit to do with our ability to imagine the future reward. It works like this: You want to get started with grading that stack of papers, you really do. &nbsp;But you also want check your facebook page and generally waste some time on the web. &http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/10/delaying-gratification-involves.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-295078724887566600Thu, 10 Oct 2013 20:33:00 +00002013-10-10T13:35:39.941-07:00When I work with high school students, there's one disagreement I usually find my self negotiating between parents and teens: Is it "good" to listen to music while studying? &nbsp;Parents say "no" -- teen says "yes." There are two pieces to my answer. (1) This is a losing battle for parents because many students truly believe they work best while listening to music &amp; there is little we can http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/10/focuswill-new-app-for-those-who-love.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-8289451370866571398Tue, 08 Oct 2013 15:58:00 +00002013-10-08T08:58:13.846-07:00The British Psychology Society lists 10 research-based tips for studying smarter, including testing yourself as part of studying (which I'm always going on about with my clients) &amp; getting the lecture notes before the lecture when possible. &nbsp;There are lots of other good ones listed. The best part: you can sign up for a "fortnightly email"-- ah British English. &nbsp;I love it! http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/10/10-research-based-tips-for-studying.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-7484963056151460507Tue, 08 Oct 2013 14:55:00 +00002013-10-08T07:55:45.257-07:00It's all about temporal discounting: Imminent rewards seem way more valuable to the primitive reward centers in our brains. &nbsp;The solution: reward yourself in small intervals &amp; set deadlines. &nbsp;You wouldn't make your puppy wait until the end of the training session to get his treat, and you shouldn't make yourself wait either. This video has some other great tips, too! http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/10/procrastination-science-behind-why-we.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-7445031557843883854Thu, 12 Sep 2013 15:48:00 +00002013-09-12T08:48:32.523-07:00Having trouble turning off Orange is the New Black and getting back to editing that lit review? Cookie monster has a catchy message for you! &nbsp;(Just try not to get this stuck in your head.) http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/09/cookie-monster-with-important-message.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-4378761568390595690Fri, 21 Jun 2013 15:36:00 +00002013-06-21T08:36:55.853-07:00 From&nbsp;http://www.theliterarygiftcompany.com/go-away-im-writing-bone-china-mug-1589-p.asphttp://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/06/accessorize-your-coffee-shop-study-halls.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-3729689710244444483Fri, 21 Jun 2013 15:35:00 +00002013-06-21T08:35:32.648-07:00This will come as absolutely no&nbsp;surprise&nbsp;to my dissertation&nbsp;clients: It turns out coffee shops can be great places to work! &nbsp;&lt;Shocker&gt; But why do the grad students get all the productivity? &nbsp;What about undergrads (many of whom have caught on just fine on their own)? &nbsp;More to the point, what about the faculty?? For those faculty members who used to do their http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/06/we-knew-it-all-along-coffee-shops-are.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-2176206431759942577Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:20:00 +00002013-06-19T11:20:38.399-07:00What are you planning on doing with your summer vacation? &nbsp;For so many in academia, summer slips by on a warm breeze and before you know it all those lofty goals are pushed to winter break. &nbsp;Or next summer. &nbsp;Summers and sabbaticals are the toughest times for my clients -- not because they're so busy but because, paradoxically, their days aren't busy enough. &nbsp;Or at least not http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/06/summer-vacation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-4126498628246038132Wed, 15 May 2013 14:06:00 +00002013-05-15T07:06:31.917-07:00Tis the season for inspirational commencement addresses. &nbsp;This one, illustrated beautifully by Debbie Millman, actually gave me the chills: Read the rest here.&nbsp;http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/05/15/debbie-millman-look-both-ways-fail-safe/. &nbsp;This page, above, is just the warm up...it gets great on page 4. My favorite part: "We begin by worrying that we're not good http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/05/dreaming-big.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-2254411528136347788Mon, 06 May 2013 14:28:00 +00002013-05-06T11:37:25.249-07:00I'm constantly pitching the virtues of daily writing rituals with my academic clients. &nbsp;Rituals help you short circuit the planning/prioritizing/fretting part of your brain and skip straight to the doing. &nbsp;One client I worked with several years ago had a very complex writing ritual that involved two cups of coffee, just so, 10 minutes of free writing, 5 minutes of non-writing reflectionhttp://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/05/daily-rituals-keep-famous-writers-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-1966071637540199653Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:51:00 +00002013-04-18T09:51:37.611-07:00Do your friends and loved ones automatically add a 15 minute cushion&nbsp;when they make plans with you? &nbsp;Do you find yourself running late ate least once a day? &nbsp;Do you always end up leaving in the middle of things because you're late for your next appointment? This kind of chronic lateness can be an energy and productivity killer -- not to mention the damage it does to relationshipshttp://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/04/chronic-lateness-whats-cause-and-how.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-8006707072178460882Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:21:00 +00002023-06-08T08:03:25.719-07:00I heard a story once about woman who came to this country and was starting to learn English. &nbsp;She was a great observer and a quick learner and, though she wasn't formally educated, she picked up on quite a bit of English pretty quickly. &nbsp;Every time anyone asked her how she was doing she said "really busy" with a smile. After a while it became clear that "really busy" was her automatic http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/04/since-when-does-busy-mean-good.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-8545853733059713631Wed, 10 Apr 2013 18:20:00 +00002013-04-10T14:19:13.626-07:00 I love this. &nbsp;It's going to be my mantra on days when writing seems so hard. I found it here&nbsp;http://theraddiaries.tumblr.com/post/46830439595. <!-- Blogger automated replacement: "http://images-onepick-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?container=onepick&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2F25.media.tumblr.com%2F8df6ab5ec0414776a80b0acf121353e0%http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/04/i-love-this.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-3566955988595873387Tue, 09 Apr 2013 21:22:00 +00002013-04-09T14:33:37.652-07:00Graduate school can be a horribly depressing place. &nbsp;And for those who make it to a tenure track job, the outlook can be equally as bleak. &nbsp;Those in the coaching industry can be guilty of attempting to just jollying up clients. &nbsp;Cheerleading can be great, but it is not a fix for real depression of the sort that over half (!!) of graduate students are struggling with. Studies havehttp://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/04/depression-and-academia.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-5949158930192252008Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:39:00 +00002013-04-08T08:39:43.067-07:00Alan Henry at Lifehacker says "There's a difference between being always busy and having a lot to do and not enough time to do it in." &nbsp;Read more here:&nbsp;http://lifehacker.com/5992840/http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/04/busy-doing-all-wrong-things.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-3140967030517718489Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:05:00 +00002013-04-01T13:05:42.116-07:00Sometimes you don't need a fancy-pants 21st century computer. &nbsp;Sometimes you really want something closer to a Commodor 64. &nbsp;WriteMonkey.com can help you with that. &nbsp;It's what Eric Griffith of PCMag calls "the best distraction-free, full-screen, "zen" text editor you'll find for free." &nbsp;For Mac, the equivalent is WriteRoom.com. &nbsp;Both tools are about limiting distractions http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/04/distraction-free-writing-with.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-5293980494019195850Mon, 01 Apr 2013 19:52:00 +00002013-04-01T12:52:17.650-07:00I'm always encouraging my clients to get outside and move! &nbsp;There's all kinds of research showing that "fresh-air breaks" are great for concentration, mood, productivity, etc. &nbsp;Now there's research showing that getting outside in nature (think: green, not: concrete) keeps your brain from getting tired too! &nbsp;Cognitive fatigue is no joke. &nbsp;It's harder to make good decisions whenhttp://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/04/get-outside-already.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-3848634556364072955Wed, 27 Mar 2013 19:05:00 +00002013-03-27T12:30:43.096-07:00Writing is one of those metaphorical mountains that can seem really really high. &nbsp;It seems paradoxical when you weren't able to get started yesterday that the way forward is to do LESS. &nbsp;But this is often the case when we're dealing with a task that we've built up so big. Has this every happened to you: you weren't able to get yesterday's tasks done so you added those tasks to today's http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/03/do-more-by-planning-to-do-less.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-3124724960285400035Fri, 08 Mar 2013 21:19:00 +00002013-03-08T13:19:41.662-08:00 What's poor Lev doing wrong? &nbsp;What would you tell him to do differently? &nbsp;What would you tell yourself!?http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/03/does-this-sound-familiar-to-any.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-7150993265958371054Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:50:00 +00002013-03-08T09:50:47.661-08:00Writers, dissertators, academics! &nbsp;How have I gone this long without sharing&nbsp;750words.com? &nbsp;I'm always talking about lowering the stakes for first drafts (zero drafts). &nbsp;And 750words is a tool designed to help with just that. &nbsp;It's perfect for those of you who start writing with free-writing. &nbsp;And even more perfect for those of you who are working on&nbsp;http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/03/whats-750wordscom-all-about.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-4396526209493554444Thu, 21 Feb 2013 03:07:00 +00002013-02-20T19:09:04.994-08:00Low frustration tolerance is tantamount to setting a low bar for how much boredom or frustration you're willing to accept in order to reach your goals -- in other words, giving up too soon when the going gets tough. &nbsp;Low frustration tolerance is that little voice in the back of your head that shouts: "Things must be the way I want them to be -&nbsp; otherwise life will be intolerable." http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/02/dealing-with-low-frustration-tolerance.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-49470043045484948Thu, 14 Feb 2013 02:50:00 +00002013-02-13T19:00:28.590-08:00 I love&nbsp;this video&nbsp;because it's not trying to sell anything &amp; is based on the science of motivation and productivity. &nbsp;Clear 3 minutes in your schedule and watch! Anything there you found useful? &nbsp;Anything you'd like to see more of in the future?http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/02/great-video-on-science-of-getting-stuff.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858525776034368865.post-5319671546816742438Tue, 12 Feb 2013 19:02:00 +00002013-02-12T11:02:29.703-08:00 “Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.”&nbsp;―&nbsp;Paulo Coelho,&nbsp;The Devil and Miss Prym It's tough to achieve goals when we don't know what they are. &nbsp;Many (if not most) of my clients come to their first session with some goals in mind, but http://ontrackacademiccoaching.blogspot.com/2013/02/goal-setting-first-step-to-goal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0