Archive for learning
05.25.08
Posted in computers, life in Canada, learning at 5:46 pm by Mrs C.
These days I am a busy old lady. I was asked a few weeks ago to be part of a three woman tech panel on a local Rogers TV station, as the blogging expert. It was a great experience, although I can confirm that a television camera does add extra weight. I really do not look quite as much as a beached whale in real life.
The tv appearance had hardly worn off when I found out there was an article about my daughter Melanie and I in one of Toronto’s community newspapers. We taught some eBay workshops last year at a local community centre, and one of our students has been making a lot of money since then. Talk about the power of social proof. We’re now fully booked for four workshops in the next few weeks.
The down side to my new-found fame is that my daughter has a baby and can’t help me this time, so I’m on my own. And a little fearful too, I might add. I’ll keep you updated about how things go. Now if my memory and my nerves will just hold out….
Technorati Tags: Rogers TV, eBay, workshops, publicity, social proof
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04.03.08
Posted in learning at 11:35 pm by Mrs C.
In order to visualize your accomplishments and stay encouraged, you need to set daily goals. These goals can be as simply as a follow up phone call or a written letter or email. Whatever the task is, get it done. In addition to keeping the process for your success on track, it will help you to feel like you are making accomplishments, pushing you closer and closer to the success. And don’t forget to cross the task off your list for the day!
One thing I find that helps me is to decide to do something for just 15 minutes. Then once I start, I usually do the task for longer than that.
Another trick is to beat the clock. Set a timer for the amount of time you think it will take to do a task and then try to finish before the timer goes off. The sense of competition seems to encourage me to work faster.
Technorati Tags: goals, daily goals
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03.29.08
Posted in learning at 10:59 pm by Mrs C.
I love to read about successful people and try to learn how they succeeded. Knowing other people were able to overcome obstacles motivates me to do the same. Here are some tips for success that I recently came across:
1. No excuses. Many famous actors, music artists, inventors, etc., had special challenges ranging from learning disabilities to physical disabilities. Take Beethoven for example. He was born deaf yet he went on to be one of the world’s greatest composers or Joni Erickson who was paralyzed from the neck down yet she learned to paint with her mouth. Today, her paintings are famous around the world and worth millions. If you are faced with a special challenge of your own, while you may have to adjust things from time to time, do not use excuses. If you want something enough, there is a way!
2. As you work hard to reach success, you need to be able to see your accomplishments. Start a journal and track everything you have done. When you feel discouraged or frustrated, think about what you have achieved
The idea of a journal does help you realize how many successes you have had and motivates you to get up and try again. Sometimes when I look back over goals I have written months before and realize they were completed, I can hardly believe I was able to accomplish so much.
Technorati Tags: success, motivation
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11.27.07
Posted in computers, learning at 8:54 pm by Mrs C.
Losing my computer data doesn’t really cause me heart failure, but it sure makes my blood pressure rise.
It rose this afternoon when I thought my computer had died, taking all my precious pictures and music with it. After pulling out what little hair I have left, I was able to get things working again.
Since I never want that to happen again and be left without my data saved anywhere else (because it always took me forever to backup myself), I signed up for an online backup service called Mozy. And it’s free to try - which is always good.
Check it out.Protect your photos and music! Use Mozy Unlimited Backup for $4.95 
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07.19.07
Posted in learning at 7:26 pm by Mrs C.
Did you know that Abraham Lincoln used to read aloud to himself whenever he wanted to remember anything? He had discovered that when he read aloud, twice as much of the content was remember than when he read silently and he remembered it for much longer.
I often read out loud when I’m trying to learn something. Reading and speaking at the same time seems to focus my brain on the text. Otherwise, I can read and yet my mind is a million miles away.
The other way I’ve found to remember something I read is to sing it. I make up a tune and the words stay with me for a long, long time. The downside is that I can’t tell someone else what I read without singing it.
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07.16.07
Posted in learning, health at 10:11 pm by Mrs C.
I didn’t realize until reading “100 Ways…” how important it is for us to practice deep breathing. That’s why when you have to do something difficult or make a speech, you’re advised to take a deep breath first. Our mental powers are increased when we deep breathe and move around every 20 minutes.
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07.14.07
Posted in learning at 10:16 pm by Mrs C.
Here are a few more of my favourite tips from “100 Ways To Motivate Yourself”:
- Do something that’s harder than what you have to prepare for (e.g. a harder test to prepare for a test).
- Do things right away whenever possible.
- Finish a task before you start a new one.
- Laugh for no reason.
I think the hardest one for me to follow is #3 - finish a task before you start a new one. I’m the type of person that gets easily distracted - I start to put clothes away, notice a shirt is falling off the hanger, and before I know it, I’m weeding the closet and getting rid of things I don’t wear. I used to force myself to keep to the task at hand and hated every minute of it, but lately I’ve been allowing the jumping from chore to chore, as long as I come back to the original job I was doing. So far, that method seems to work for me and I’m accomplishing more.
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06.21.07
Posted in learning, health at 1:42 pm by Mrs C.
These days I’ve been reading a book by Steve Chandler called “100 Ways To Motivate Yourself”. I’ve been enjoying the sections on the brain and how it works. Our brains are really amazing and we can do a lot more than we realize.
Some quotes from the book:
“Nobody cares how old you are but you. People only care about what you can do and you can do anything you want at any age.” Now, I realize sometimes you have to get people to look past your gray hair and give you a chance. That’s why I love the Internet, it equals the playing field.
“The memory loss and mental passivity that we used to believe was caused by aging has now been proven to be caused by simple lack of use.” I was so encouraged by that fact. Apparently, research has shown that mathemeticians live longer than people in any other profession because they keep so mentally active.
Now if you are like me and math is to be avoided at all costs, try reading detective novels. Not graphic crime stories, but the kind that make you try to figure out the clues and solve the case.
Reading Sherlock Holmes type books, doing crosswords, and playing scrabble all keep the brain young and active. Ask my mother-in-law, in her late eighties and still beating her schoolteacher children at scrabble - much to their dismay.
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05.14.07
Posted in life in Canada, family, learning at 4:17 pm by Mrs C.
After many days of looking after my extremely active grandson, I was beginning to feel the need of some grown-up conversation. The Wheels On The Bus can only be sung so many times before senility sets in.
Attending a weekend Internet Marketing workshop was just what my little deprived brain needed. After a few short hours, I was ready to sing again (maybe even create an extra stanza). Now I finally have some motivation back.
You may like Bingo or going to a movie, but give me an interesting course and I feel ten years younger (until I look in the mirror, that is).
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Posted in computers, learning at 3:51 pm by Mrs C.
My youngest son gave me a laptop for Mother’s Day, so I have spent the past two days re-installing programs. Every so often, I had to restore the former settings when a new program caused everything to freeze (except me, as I reached a boiling point.)
I also discovered that Norton Ant-Virus can only be removed by going to their website and downloading a removal tool. I guess using Add/Remove Programs on my computer would be too easy. Anyway, after using the tool about 4 times I have finally uninstalled it. Thankfully I am not paying a technician, since it is now dinnertime.
How did we ever spend our days before we had computers? I bet my mother even got fresh air and sunshine working in the garden. The closest I get to a garden these days is looking at the picture on my computer screen.
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