AccidentallyInColour

Stephen King explains an embarrassing mistake a beginning writer makes.

'Looking for long words to replace short is like dressing a household pet up in evening clothes.

'The pet is embarrassed (think word), and the person who dressed the pet should be (think the author).'

Most people think or believe:

• flow is a woolly, fuzzy concept

• flow can occur without effort

• flow just ‘happens’

BUT, based on my research, interviewing, experiences (and guesses), I think:

• flow is a repeatable experience with precise parameters

• flow states require effort

• flow can be engendered

What are you going to do today to get into flow?

Hot take. Why is blackhistory so important, and why should we care about it

THREAD 👇🏾

Our memories are made up of the things we remember on our own (our individual memories) and the things we remember as a group (our collective memories).

They are intimately linked.

And history is our collective memory.

If our collective memory is erased or changed, taken from us – is rewritten – we lose the ability to sustain our true selves.

H/T @harukimurakami_

#blackhistorymonth

You can get some clarity and move past #writers block by writing down where you are, how you are stuck, or what choices you haven't made yet.

What's holding you back?

Consider your brain to be at its peak and functioning optimally.

Thoughts come quickly to mind, and ideas flow effortlessly.

You are focused on a task and have completely forgotten everything else.

Most importantly, the experience provides enjoyment and a sense of purpose.

Athletes and musicians are often in this state known as flow.

It frequently appears in computer games, writing, painting, teaching, and learning.

A flow state is more than simply losing track of time and becoming absorbed in this moment.

Instead, flow manifests itself in anything involving doing, effort, and action; anything where you can be 'useful in the moment.'

The experience is most common when working alone but can also occur when people collaborate.

When did you last experience flow?

Current UK government education policy.

Evidence based policymaking or policymaking that seeks evidence to justify it?

if we know what the conditions of flow are and recreate the conditions, will flow manifest?

12 places my mind naturally generates ideas

(THREAD)

Often I am out travelling somewhere and an idea pops out of nowhere.

1. Walking

2. On a train

3. When running

4. At the gym

Somehow the physical activity seems to stop the chatter, and ideas start to flow

I am sometimes in dialogue and listening actively, and the exposure to others' thoughts generates ideas.

5. In conversation

6. Immediately after sleeping

7. Sitting in my favourite chair (my thinking chair)

Ideas often pop up:

6. In the shower

7. In the bath

8. Whilst writing

9. Whilst sorting and organising notes

10. Whilst cleaning and tidying

Now the problem is how will I take note of the ideas generated in these places...

"Flow is a psychological state in which the person feels simultaneously cognitively efficient, motivated, and happy’’ ~ Moneta and Csíkszentmihályi

Active learning is any learning with effort. For example:

1. You read something and then write notes in your own words.

2. You watch a video and then summarise and reflect in your own words at various intervals.

3. You listen to a podcast and then write down everything you can remember about it.

4. You listen to a discussion and then provide your example.

5. You ask probing questions, for instance, is this always, sometimes or never true? Or what is the same and what is different?

Active learning engenders flow states:

When we learn actively we are growing and challenging our existing skills.

When we learn actively we go into a state of flow, in other words, being in the zone, and totally absorbed in the (active) task to the exclusion of all else.

According to Stephen Kotler, who leads the Flow Research Collective, flow is an incredibly beneficial state to experience, and being in flow increases happiness, resilience and creativity.

So the next time you cut and paste an article on the internet, consider instead writing it in your own words. You may be surprised by how much this effort affects your understanding, learning, and well-being.

if I bring less of my attention to objecting, the thing I am objecting about gets more of my attention.

Over the past 32 years, I have read at least 159 books and articles on the subject of procrastination.

Unfortunately, most of them were a waste of time. They could have easily been blog posts or even newsletter emails.

Instead, I encourage you to give these 3 a read.

They're well worth the time.

Book #1: The Now Habit by Neil Fiore

I first read this book in 2004.

And here's why you'll love it:

Someone with authority wrote it - the author studied procrastination at the doctoral level (that's right, his PhD was on procrastinating!).

He suggests fear of being successful is often the cause of procrastination.

Give yourself permisssion and set a time to procrastinate on purpose. Observe what you are thinking while you procrastinate (let's face it, you were procrastinating anyway, so you might as well make use of it!)

Use 30 minute blocks to work on whatever you are struggling with, and work no more than 5 hours a day, 20 hours a week on that project you are procrastinating with.

Book #2: Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith

This book was recommended to me by one of my doctoral supervisors. She completed her PhD in record time and attributed it to following the ideas laid out in this book.

Here's why I think you'll love it:

The book is full of practical, actionable advice and much about the theory of procrastinating. For example:

Review everyday with these questions:

1. Did I do my best to be happy?

2. Did I do my best to provide meaning?

3. Did I do my best to provide progress towards my goals?

4. Did I do my best to build positive relationships?

Book #3: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Finally, I think everyone should read this book.

And here's why I think you'll love it:

It's a book full of tough love. Writers' block is a construct and an indulgence.

It talks about showing up, defeating resistance and finding success.

Instead of setting yourself the goal of writing 500 words, set yourself the goal of turning up at the computer screen for 30 minutes. Whether you wrote nothing, or 200 words that were so bad you deleted them straight away, or whether you wrote quality 750 words, the fact that you turned up is success!

I have been learning mathematics since 1975.

And I have been learning to teach maths since 1994.

Most people start learning mathematics because they want to gain a job or achieve an exam.

That’s fine.

I started maths because I love it.

Which is why I’m still doing it today.

There are different ways to deal with adversity, depending on the context. One way is to tough it out.

'You go into the lion's den...

And you spit in the lion's mouth.'

~ James Lee Burke