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kanderson94 edited this page May 6, 2021 · 5 revisions

All things learning

Balancing learning with rest

Why is it important? Learning something new takes time and a lot of mental energy. The more complex or abstract a topic is for your mind, it will naturally take more energy to understand and remember it. Everyone learns differently and a topic that is complex to someone else might be simpler to you. However, it is safe to say that no matter who you are, learning how to code has a lot of abstract concepts that take a very intense amount of mental energy to understand. Because our mental energy is limited, it is useful to make sure we are using it in the best way we can (like the expression "work smarter, not harder").

The key is knowing how and when to shift our brain from learning mode into resting mode. Check out this conclusion from psychology research: "A study from 2012 using brain scans revealed that the brain isn't actually at rest when we take breaks. Instead it is in default mode, a state where the brain works on other tasks crucial to learning like making sense of complex information, consolidating memories, and finding new connections." The quote is from this 2 minute video on the topic of taking breaks during the school day. So how can we take advantage of this default mode in our brains and use it to help us learn better? The purpose of this wiki is to create a space where we can discuss the topic and how to best apply it when we are learning to code :)

Scheduling a break A common way of breaking up the work/study day or a task is called by some people the Pomodoro technique: before you sit down and get started, decide how long your working and resting blocks will be. Some examples:

  • my work blocks will be 30 minutes long and my breaks will be 10 minutes long OR
  • my work blocks will be 50 minutes long and my breaks will be 15 minutes long Then you set a timer on your computer and pause for a break or return to work when necessary. There are also mobile and web apps for this.
    You will have to experiment to see which ratio of working and resting works for you based on your brain and circumstances, but here are some useful things to consider:
  • your attention span (if your span usually is over after 30 minutes, set your work blocks accordingly)
  • how much time you have in total to work (if you only have an hour, you can consider doing two 25 minute work blocks with 5 minute breaks instead of a 50 minute work block)
  • the difficulty of what you are doing (if it is something very hard or mentally intensive, work in shorter blocks!)

Ideas to try on coding a break Depending on how long your break is and your individual personality, try the activities that bring you the most enjoyment on your breaks. If you have your own that are not listed here, add it :)

PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES:

  • get up and dance to music you love
  • go for a walk
  • do some movement like stretching, tai chi, doing some short cardio exercise like jumping jacks, etc

MENTAL ACTIVITIES:

  • literally just look at something else, like outside the window if you have one
  • briefly meditate and completely disconnect from all activities
  • daydream
  • watch a silly cartoon like Looney Tunes or play a game (if it doesn't get you too distracted)

NATURE ACTIVITIES:

  • get out in nature if it is available for you
  • spend some time with your pet if you have one

CREATIVE ACTIVITIES:

  • play a musical instrument if you have one
  • doodle, draw or color something

OTHERS:

  • eat a healthy snack
  • take a brief nap (this is recommended in some articles and
  • organize or clean something in your space
  • be social and say hi to a friend or someone around you
  • something that makes you laugh

Ideas to avoid on a coding break Pretty much stay away from activities that trigger stress, bad emotions, or that do not actually give your brain a break.

  • Social media, because it does not actually give us a mental break
  • another task that still consumes mental energy like sudoku
  • activities that will put you in a bad mood, like saying hi to someone who is not nice to you
  • activities that will require you to rush or stress during your break to finish them, like wanting to clean all the dirty dishes from last night's dinner in your 5 minute break

Links and other resources Here are some more resources that I found relevant when writing this:

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