No. 2 Aim Small Miss Small
Probably the first thing that pops in your head when I say 'aim small miss small', is 'Enemy at the Gate' or the latest blockbuster 'American Sniper'. Not only is this effective for historical figures of pure sniper accuracy but can be implemented into daily life for the aspiring academic.
Now when I say this, I don’t literally mean aim small in your ambitions, though some would disagree that our generation (Gen Y) has been feed the notion of being too optimistic with our thought processes. What I am referring to, is task breakdown, or chunking as it is described in ‘How to Manage Your Mammoth’.
I was first acquainted with this book just prior to the commencement of my honours year, where I was literally scared of what I was about to face. As I mentioned in my No. 1 post, I have made plenty of mistakes, being but not limited to where to start on a project, whether it may be an assignment, making dinner, or writing a strength program. Wendy Jago mentions that “If the bite of information were too big, its impact would be lost” (pg. 68), this is the precise mentality that I faced in the adversity of an honours year. I had never done a thesis, let alone conducted research by myself. After reading this book, it validated to myself that I need not look at the end line, on the contrary, I would need to take it one step at a time, even as so far as to break it down to one word. These small ‘chunks’ made sense to me. ‘Aim small miss small’. For instance, aim for a 100 words per hour with 20 min breaks, instead of 500 words by the end of the day. by implementing this process, it will relieve you of the pressure you face to make that deadline, by dwarfing that mammoth you need to mount, and conceivably make your work....quality.
