People who are busy every day, often mediocre?

People who are busy every day, often mediocre?

In the early 20th century, a group of psychologists came to the Berlin Institute of the Arts, a historic Art institute in the heart of West Berlin, to conduct a study of violin performers.

They then published their research papers in the journal Psychological Review. With the help of the school's music professors, the researchers found some of the best violin performers--students who thought they would become professional violinist in the future, the paper wrote.

This group of people was named the elite group.

In contrast, the researchers selected another group of students who would likely become music teachers from the school's Institute of Education. It is worth mentioning that they are also keen on playing violin, just as the college professors say, their ability and the elite group of students there is still a certain gap.

The group was named a group of ordinary people.

Three researchers conducted in-depth interviews with all the subjects. and gave them a diary. The diary is divided into 24 hours a day at 50-minute intervals, and students are asked to record their schedules in detail.

The researchers tried to use the experimental data to answer a basic question: Why do elite groups perform better than normal groups?

One obvious conjecture is that elite group students are more focused on improving their skills. In comparison with the more enjoyable attitude of ordinary group students, the elite students are willing to accept the baptism of Tiger-mother teaching and spend more time practicing to achieve a higher level of performance.

But the experimental data are diametrically opposed to the above conjecture.

How did the decryption elite come into being?

The first is to refute the view that the elite spends more time on music. Because the time diary shows that the average time spent on music by two groups of students is the same, about 50 hours a week. The difference is how they use time. The elite group spends 3 times times as much time on deliberate practice as the average group. The so-called deliberate practice is in an uncomfortable state under a clear guidance method to consciously improve their ability.

This may not be surprising, as the importance of deliberate practice is often repeatedly mentioned.

But the researchers did not stop there.

On this basis, they also study the specific learning arrangements of students. They found that the average student's study time runs through the whole day. There is a chart in the report that shows how the students ' study time compares to their waking hours. The chart shows that the average student's values have been steady.

By contrast, the practice time of elite students is relatively concentrated, showing two distinct peaks on the chart: one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

In fact, the more outstanding students are, the more pronounced the peaks appear. Among them, the elites of the elite, the professors think will be directly into the German Top symphony orchestra students, fully fit the distribution, their practice schedule is clearly divided into two parts.

This pattern, which completely separates practice from recreation, also has an impact on many aspects of the performer's daily life.

Taking sleep time as an example, the elite group of students slept on average one hours more per night than normal group students.

In the case of self-relaxation, as an important indicator of subjective lightness, the researchers asked students to estimate the time they spent on leisure and entertainment each week.

The results showed that elite students were significantly more relaxed than average students, and the best students were the most relaxed minds.

Diligence is not the same as hard work.

Summarize research Results--

The average group spends the same time on practice as the elite group. (Approximately 50 hours per week)

But they practice in different ways. (the former spends less than one-third of the time on the key deliberate practice of elite students)

More importantly, the general team will practice time scattered rather than concentrating on a certain period of time. Although they have the same amount of exercise as elite students, they do not get more rest time and feel stressed, so not to mention the difference between their violin playing and the latter.

I have also discovered this phenomenon repeatedly in the process of studying successful people, as well as in the study of top students. In view of the frequent occurrence of this phenomenon, I specifically gave it a name: leisurely Rhodes Scholar paradox.

The study also proves the paradox. The experimental data in the study confirm the difference between diligence and hard work:

Diligence is a thought-out exercise. While the practice is boring, it's good that you don't need to spend too much time on it every day (for example, an elite group spends 3.5 hours a day on average, two hours of practice). By quantifying the advances in craftsmanship, you can reap a strong sense of satisfaction and find the motivation to continue practicing. So, while hard work can be difficult, it does not drain you, and it is fully integrated into everyday life that is easy and enjoyable.

By contrast, hard work can be exhausting. It keeps you in a state of inexplicable busyness all day long, just as you would feel exhausted and stressed like the students in the general group of the Berlin Academy of Art Studies. And, as we know, this busyness is not very related to achievement.

From this study, we also get an important conclusion: whether you are a student or have been involved in a job, if you want your life to be more successful, then busy and tired is your enemy. If you're stressed out for a long time and you always work late, chances are you're doing it wrong. Rather than the elite, you are more like a regular student at the Berlin University of art than a hard worker.

Whether it's my own research or the research mentioned above points to the same simple but seemingly deviant solution: do less, but once you do, report with absolute focus. After you have completed the corresponding task, you can relax and enjoy the good times.

People who are busy every day, often mediocre?