HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH INFORMATION OVERLOAD?
You know that feeling like your brain just can't take any more information? It's almost like someone hit you with a shovel and you go around feeling dizzy.
Well, that happened to me last Tuesday after spending almost my whole day going through 3 modules of the Web Developer Bootcamp.
WHAT COGNITIVE OVERLOAD DOES AND WHY IT'S COUNTER PRODUCTIVE
Cognitive overload creates a situation where you have a diminishing return on what you are able to absorb in your memory bank. The more you keep learning while in a state of cognitive overload, the more chance you have at completely forgetting what you've learned.
Tuesday night before bed, I knew I went too far too fast and I went on the internet to know what I should be doing to integrate and not lose what I've just learned.
STEP 1 - TAKE A BREAK FROM eLEARNING
Anybody who did strength training or conditioning knows that ideally, you want to have at least 24h of rest between training in order for your body to adapt to the stress you've just imposed on it.
That adaptation will happen so that next time you get to push iron, you'll be able to lift more.
It's not that different for our brain.
I'm quite new to coding and what I'm realizing is that it's not just about memorizing a bunch of code or syntax. It's about using our brains in a way that most of us are not used to.
I'm in marketing and the way I think is almost entirely about human psychology and human motivations. It's very different from thinking in term of algorithms.
Giving your brain the time to adapt to this new way of thinking is important.
2. DURING YOUR BREAK, TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO REVISE WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED
If you are like me and get worried that you'll forget something important. Spending an hour or two during your day of break to revise what you've learned could really help.
Basically, rather than adding new stuff, you work at integrating what you've learned so far.
That's what I did yesterday. After going to the hospital to know which sex is our little baby (more on that on a future post), I took some of the problems that I had to figure out before and revisited them such as:
Create a printReverse() function that print the elements of an array in reverse
Create a todo list app in the console to add, delele & list todo items (and exit)
...among other.
That helped me make sure that I didn't forget anything about functions, loops, if/then statements, arrays, and objects.
3. STUDY IN SHORT BURST AND USE MENTAL SPACING
FastCompany has a great article about 6 Brain Hacks to Learn Anything Faster, I would highly recommend it if you are interested in the topic.
On Short Burst Learning The Article Says:
Experts at the Louisiana State University’s Center for Academic Success suggest dedicating 30-50 minutes to learning new material. “Anything less than 30 is just not enough, but anything more than 50 is too much information for your brain to take in at one time,”
Using a Pomodoro Technique to time your eLearning rather than binge-watching can be a good idea.
On Mental Spacing The Article Says:
Benedict Carey, author of How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens, says learning is like watering a lawn. “You can water a lawn once a week for 90 minutes or three times a week for 30 minutes,” he said. “Spacing out the watering during the week will keep the lawn greener over time.
Conclusion
eLearning is an absolute thrill for me and I can't recommend it enough as a personal development tool. The world is moving fast under our feet and if we don't catch up with the times, we may be left in the dust. Having a plan to constantly upgrading ourselves is a good way to stay happy and productive in this fast changing world.
If you have any other strategies on how to avoid information overload / cognitive overload, please let me know in the comment below.
First Photo by nikko macaspac on Unsplash
Second Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash
I think that’s the point where we need tot ale a walk and refresh our mind . Go over the material we know , apply it and move on. Sometimes too much information can lead to half of it leaving our heads
This is something anyone can do without any really real resources and it’s a great opportunity to learn as well @cryptoctopus
for me to study i need to be in study environment , like school,university or small room with students with same interest, so if i see that all are working and learning hard i learn hard too. If im alone for me its hard to be effective, because after some time my focus become weaker and i can stop studying .
I know that feel man!! You reach a point when you're just hustling through the motions to get it done with and not actually being productive which is why, as you said in your next post, take a break!! But during the break i'd rather have my mind completely fresh and not get revising or anything, just let your mind relax.
After you're done with your break, before starting take some time to quickly revise what you did the last session and then begin the new session.
What's awesome is that 30 - 50 minutes is enough for most people to get some learning in during their lunch break at work. Everyone may not have access to a computer or internet, but it's interesting to see that instead of wasting lunch with reading news articles or taking a break, I could be putting that time towards leanring a new skill.
Well-done work, my friend and the best way out, in my opinion, is a manageable, reasonable consumption of information, which is also accompanied by its comprehension and use in practice. Read news and blogs, listen to the radio and watch TV and you can and even need to throw food for the mind, but you need to manage this process to remove harmful effects (the same information overload) and leave useful ones. I would recommend :
First. We determine and take control of the main "channels" for which information is received, we limit them.
The second. Classify incoming information before use by urgency.
Third. Classify incoming information on the topic, choose the most important topics - in advance.
Of course, these three councils do not exhaust the problem of info overload. But here it is quite possible to act as the three whales on which your system of correct work with incoming information will be based. Thank you @cryptoctopus
Such type of things happen when working constantly on a thing, I appreciate what you have suggested us. One suggestion from my side, you can do yoga to make your mind calm and that also increase your concentration. One more thing take care of your wife. Good luck, have a nice day.
You definetly make have no regrets following you. Another post saved for the Future.
Great to take a step back and think again what you learned... And you know the SEX now of the baby.. This is such great to have kids. The best thing what happened in my life... some time ago now but a proud dad each day!!
looking for the next post & now you must take a break. relax you did well & i know you'll do well. you got dedication, inspiration & domain knowledge. see you soon with next post @cryptoctopus
@resteemia
reteemed & upvoted & commented & followed
Great advice, I’ve noticed the overload in the past but never really found a good coping mechanism, hopefully you don’t mind if I borrow some of yours
Start small and master the basics before going on more ambitious programming quests :)
Very sound suggestions.
I noticed that when trying to learn another language online. I got an app that allowed for a little bit to be done at a time. Instead of going full tilt for hours on end, it shut down after about 20 minutes and would restart in another 10. It was an interesting concept which frustrated me at first.
However, after a while, I got use to it only to realize the benefits.
Even reading on Steemit here, I get that way. I will sit for hours consuming material that interests me only to realize that the last few articles had no effect. I need to step back and take a break when that happens.
This is actually related to me so much. When I learn too much and my brain can't contain any more information, I just take a break and think about what I learned so far. and I'm relaxing with a funny show like "Friends" afterward and then going back to learn.
Thats right, even neurophysiologies says that its important to take a break while learning
Absolutely right sometimes if you spend more time & try to learn code quickly we feel very overload or confused. It happened with me when i first starts my course on udemy & i think that i will complete this course in just 10 day but that was impossible and not a good idea. We should take break for a moment and revised what we learn. Keep Learning
where are you at in the course?
At jquery .... completed html5 css3 bootstrap & javascript.
dang dude. I'm like going as fast as I can at 2 modules per day and I'm not even there yet. I just got to Advanced DOM. Are you liking that bootcamp class so far?
It is best so far..... difficulty level increasing day by day.... soon i will enter in
backend section .
sorry to say sir but one more time I didn't get upvoted from you, my bad luck and I am regulary upvoting and resteeming you post.Sorry I apologize if said something wrong.But I am a dot net developer and I know javascript,html,css and learn from youtube and I develop websites.
Sometimes you just need to stop yourself. It’s easy to get excited about what you’re learning and get carried away. You understand enough to keep moving, but at some point your retention suffers.
It’s like eating a good meal. You have to stop when you’re full even though it tastes devine.
Thank you for this valuable article. There are some really great ideas here. I noticed that in your post you did not mention a favorite of mine, which is a very important strategy to use in reducing cognitive load. It is promoting dual channel processing. In an article they wrote about cognitive load in 2013, Greer, Crutchfield, & Woods indicate that it is helpful to consider the modality effect. “The modality effect refers to the positive impact of mixed presentation of information in visual and auditory modes, which reduces the cognitive load…” (Greer et. al., 2013, p.44).
When we give learners information with only audio or only a visual, they are only using one of the two main channels they use to receive input. This results in increased cognitive load in one channel, while the other channel remains unused. By incorporating both audio and visuals into the content, the load of both inputs are more balanced, and both inputs are leveraged. This can be very helpful in reducing cognitive load. Do you have any preferred strategies on how to apply the modality principle effectively in e-learning?
Reference:
Greer, D., Crutchfield, S., & Woods, K., (2013). Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, Instructional Design Principles, and Students with Learning Disabilities in Computer-based and Online Learning Environments. Journal of Education, 193(2)
Great post and tnx for sharing your insights. I had often similar problems, where I just get overwhelmed. Learning like crazy, but actually not learn at all. It takes time for brain to absorb new information. For me it works best when I make "baby steps".
Thank for outlining the above points.
I also think E-learning as an effective tool, as you can learn, when and where ever you want.
One major component I'm a bit annoyed of is the missing personal contact with others. Sure, you can have skype meetings and so on, but I think the personal component is also crucial for a learning success.
I think the issue with information overload also concerns the "offline" learners, as people tend to start too late and therefore exaggerate a bit due to time constrains
I've been following your coding lesson and tips and I must say you've really impacted a lot in my life.
I suspended coding for a long time till I stumbled on your post which made me to have a rethink and now I'm learning coding again.
Your today's post is really important because as a newbie to coding, you'll always want to learn and learn until you're sure that you know how to code effectively without even thinking about the effects it has on your brain's ability to store and remember all what you've learnt.
I must say today's tips is really eye opening and I'll try to follow the advice and work on myself.
I'll be using this format: Eat well.. Read and learn.... Practice.... Rest or sleep... Start again.
Thanks once more for this post. I really appreciate
When taking a break, really take a break. Put your phone away, turn off everything with a digital screen and just do something that doesn't require you to process data.
Learning as fast as we can is not always the best. It’s better to take our time even if that means going slower because the important thing is not how much time do we spend learning a certain lesson, but how deep and established does that knowledge remains on our brain.
Learning how to code is like learning how to play guitar or how to speak a foreign language.
It's not just about how much time you put into it, scpecially if you try to get a lot of "education" done in a short amount of time!
You/we need to take y-/our time with it because our minds need time and sleep to process what we take it. If we aren't giving our brains this time, learning will be slow and inefficient.
I haven't heard of the Pomodoro Technique before but it sounds like it might be useful. I'm horrible at time management.
I have to spend quite a bit more time integrating than I do learning. It takes me forever to cement things into my head. Without allowing myself to practice and tinker with what i'm learning repeatedly I find that if I return to it a few weeks later I've completely forgotten it.
Add to this the fact that I have severe ADD and the task isn't easy for me. I'm grateful for those in my life but often I wish I had a bat cave or a fortress of solitude where I could shut out distraction. If I did though a season might pass without me having human contact. :-D
Thanks for the post.
Keep Steeming!
It is correct what meciona the overload of information I imagine should be quite in elearning and take into account the study that made it ideal to take 30 minutes to learn Nuesvas information for my cerrebro and put it into practice to be stored in the Long-term memory
Well this would really be helpful as sometimes I found my self going through loads of work and forgetting most of what I learn later on, the need to revisit those works were needed once more, with the above am sure keeping or remembering at least 90% of what you earlier read should be possible.
Thanks for the above research as am sure it will benefit more and more users via steemit, this tends to lessen the load of having to ask what to do on such cases.
I have the same story as yours. I am from an accounting background and started learning coding stuff 6 months ago. I am learning PHP nowadays and still haven't understood loops completely. I actually want to learn as quickly as possible, I am 30 and still as far as my career is concerned, it's not stable and I want to do it asap and I guess that's the main problem. Doing it quickly and grasping all things at a time isn't a good option but I am looking for somewhere in the middle!
Yeah!! this happened to me sometime back when I was preparing for a semester exam. I read for long hours so I could cover all the materials we were given. At the end of the day, I couldn't remember what I read in the first two pages of the note I was reading. I had forgotten a great deal of what I just read, but, subsequently I had to learn to read weeks before an exam to avoid stressing my self a day to the exam.
This advice will be very helpful. Hope to resume school soon, I will put that to use.
Basically, rather than adding new stuff, you work at integrating what you've learned so far, SO good to revise you learned in break time with feel free and not add new stuff till you reapeat you learned and with overloading not create stress,,,which will confuse you always..
i think you repeat your all end on every day and also repeat your all on end of week..
hahah maybe you feel it like mad but it is true, that choose main points of from your every lecture and write on chit and put on walls,door and ever those things which you use mostly and see again again,,, this is my experience and i got good results with this method
Other wise there are many tips for this but mostly i preffer reapet again and again and note on paper with pen are best option which i realized @cryptoctopus
eLearning is great but should not be rushed, it should be taken step by step, taking regular breaks and doing revision this help to retain knowledge. I just learnt a better way to learn and retain knowledge.
This actually very true. It's better to process the information slowly and remember it than to be fast for the sake of completion. Taking a break in between learning sessions is also helpful to calm the mind and organize the information taken from the previous session.
thats good to share your reviews and tips for learn coding and the first thing is rest is compulsory for make better progress and to pick every thing easily also repeat on break is good funda and i also say and do it that i reapet my all work on end of my work
and every next day before start my next class i reapet overall and make project which i learned from A to where i am
this funda is good which i find to sit bunch of code or syntax in our brain for always
thanx to share everyday your opinions and tips for make our work more better
Code brain
You look like you're on your way of becoming a developer. I didn't have online universities when I started learning programming.
I would strongly recommend the addition of getting up from the chair every 20 minutes or so and walking a little, maybe doing a few pushups from time to time too.
The blood circulation of the vein, is based partly on the movement of the leg muscle and it will prevent clots and keep your blood flowing healthily.
You may also decide that you dedicated some time in your schedule to some unimportant and fun activity, it will make the process much more fun - just like body builder usually allow themselves one tasty and not so healthy meal a week.
Happy and fun learning to all of us! thanks for the tips @cryptoctopus!
My brain is so lazy. i can became to yawn after 5min learnin)
@cryptoctopus we live in a society of constant information overload! SOmetimes it is hard to deal with it... Thanks for sharing this post! :)
wow great tips you have discussed @cryptoctopus sir,Generally I use break of 30 minutes gap whenever I want to learn new things in coding,It increases my memory and I understand in a better way..Thanks to share with us upvoted and resteemed
Yes absolutely correct , This is the best way to complete the project. Starting doesn't mean much until you reach the end. Struggle hard till you reach and learn well is the key to success.
Nice points you shared . Thanks
Your conclusion was really good @cryptoctopus. eLearning can offer you some many opportunities and many of them are free. So you can start to learn and if you like it you can upgrade. If you don't you can move on. That's really nice. Live your dreams !
This is exactly what am passing through, I easy forget what I learnt, but this will really help me in some aspect. Your post is appreciated @cryptoctopus.
Information overload is the worst thing. It feels like stress in mind when the information is overloaded. Taking breaks is the best solution for this. When you feel like information is being overloaded, take a break and make yourself busy with the things which entertain you. It may be listening to music or anything else
That would be dependent on your brains plasticity...
I am a student of mechatronics engineering. We are studying continuously at the exam time. When we wake up I forget about half of what I've been doing. and I have to repeat it quickly. I am updating this information.
Much obliged for sharing the valuable article.
Resteemed and upvoted
That would be subject to your brains pliancy.
Resteemed and upvoted done
Slow And Steady win the race so that start e learning slowly it will avoid information overload. Thank you
Waiting for your first steemit app.
just be familiar with syntax and learn the application of such.When you think it is required on your project just to google about the syntax.
I have always been against automatic vote, if you really build relationships with other users, it implies the reading of their materials and live comments on the subject.
But, I understand that it's hard to find free time for this (every day follow updates of friends and participate in discussions). And auto-vote in a sense is an opportunity to say Hello, to express respect for your relationship. Accordingly, if you withdrew from somebody list you have lost the interest of this person to you. So your actions in this case are absolutely correct.
Could it be that such premature amnesia kognitive?
When this happens will make excessive stress, will certainly have an effect on health