It is essential to time management that you aim your actions towards the objectives that you truly wish to accomplish. The best way for this is to determine every morning what the most important thing to accomplish during the day is and then finish it by the afternoon.

The time management videomade by Aalto's psychologists provides you with more information about time management (in Finnish).

When realizing projects, efforts to meet the objective are made together with the group. Setting a clear goal, agreeing on working methods, dividing and scheduling assignments and assessing the activities make the implementation of projects streamlined. Especially in remote studying, self-leadership is very important.

Self-management is a skill worth developing during studies. Find out how you can set the course to the right direction.

Your studies are a stage of life where learning self-management skills is a part of your life course. Self-management means being able to set realistic goals and aiming to reach them, and in case you encounter some problems along the way, being able to recognize them and seek help and solutions to overcome them.

Clear and fact-based thinking, including the ability to separate personal interpretations and beliefs from facts, are areas of self-management. Skills in regulating emotions form the second area. The third area consists of the ability to make decisions, seek the correct information to support them and be encouraged to trust in one's own judgement. The fourth area includes the ability to regulate one's energy level and take care of one's well-being. It is important to recognize things that bring joy and challenge you positively, and to know when rest is needed.

The fifth dimension is related to the alignment of personal objectives, values and actions. Your calendar and account statement provide information about your activities, making visible what is important to you and where you are actually allocating your resources. From time to time, it is worth checking how consciously you are directing these choices and whether you are happy with them. Sometimes our goals and actions are not in line. We say that something is important to us, but fail to use our time or money on it. This kind of a situation will start to eat at motivation in the long run.

If your values and goals are aligned, finding motivation is easier. You can recognize your personal values, for instance, by using the following exercise:

Think about what has been your so-called 'sweet spot' during the last six months, meaning some fun activity where you have experienced success, enthusiasm and inspiration. Try to find situations where you can participate in such activities and notice how a lot of your values are activated in relation to these things.

Setting goals

Reaching goals is not as easy in a situation where others have set them for you. Sometimes your own values and goals are, for instance, in conflict with the expectations set for you by other people. It is worth stopping to check your personal goals from time to time.

List on a piece of paper the important things that cross your mind on which you would like to spend time.

Group these things so that issues related to the course form one unit, things related to one hobby form another etc. 

Prioritisation. Which of these things are the most important?

 A-class goals include things that 'create meanings', allowing you to reach your goals and live a life that looks like you. Group your goals into three groups.

• A goals: select four to six core issues to this group, e.g. the most important courses in your major subject and your most important leisure time goal. These are your most important duties from the point of view of results, reaching goals and your future. Use your prime time and energy at a 80–100% performance level.
• B goals: Necessary work, often routines with less significant result impact. Use only a reasonable amount of time and energy at a 60–80% performance level. These necessary routines and support tasks may be interesting as such, but are not as central for your personal goals.
• C goals: things you do if you have some extra time left. When you are in a hurry, you can cut some of these activities. Performance level 0–60%.

Breaking goals down into components

Break assignments down into small enough components so that you will definitely be able to complete them. A suitable unit is e.g. working for an hour. This will ensure that you will get to experience success.

Break your goals down into weekly tasks by asking yourself 'what do I have to do in order to meet the goal?'

• For example, if you aim to pass a mathematics course, your weekly tasks will include attending lectures, acquiring materials, completing calculations, attending calculation practices, participating in a calculation workshop, completing calculations with your friends, asking for advice, learning what you do not know using other websites, revising poorly managed areas.
• For example, if I want to get in shape, my weekly task is to exercise 4 times a week.
• If your task is a 5-credit course, the steadily performed weekly workload in a six-period course is fairly substantial. In total 135 working hours are required for completing the course. Dividing this over six weeks means that there are over 20 weekly working hours, which are recorded in the weekly calendar.

Taking care of your personal well-being as a class A priority

Remember to include things related to taking care of yourself, such as sport and nutrition, in your calendar.

The I Love Arki(in Finnish) pages include information about matters related to well-being and daily life management.

In remote studying, it’ extremely important to take care of one’s wellbeing. There is a risk of overdoing when being afraid that we don’t reach all the goals that we have set to ourselves. It’s important to book time also for recovery and free time.

Stopping procrastination

Breaking your goals down into small enough components is the best method for stopping procrastination. Think what could be the smallest possible action towards your goal, set that as your goal and complete it. This will allow the energy to start flowing to the right direction.

Procrastination is often driven by a fear of not being able to cope with something; a task feels too big and difficult. Often this fear itself is actually worse than the possible negative consequences. Recognise your avoidance methods. Gaming? Social media? Jumping from one thing to the next? Social outings?

When studying remotely, we may have less social options to procrastinate, but at the same time, we don’t have the peers supporting us. We have to decide ourselves if it’s time to study or for example play games with our computer. We can learn to recognize and avoid situations when there’s a big risk to lose focus. Also, we can learn to recognize the possible fears we have when studying.

The best time to start is NOW.

Use the pomodoro technique – try to focus for half an hour: http://pomodorotechnique.com/

Reward yourself after meeting small goals. 

Making a weekly plan

Devote time to making a weekly plan every week. Record your goals in your weekly plan, break them down into concrete tasks and write the tasks down in your calendar. Some of the tasks, such as participating in a lecture, can be carried over to the calendar as they are. It is impossible to know the exact time of some tasks, and in this case, it is worth recording this as the main task of the day at the beginning of the day. You can automatically copy your lectures and practices in the My Courses system e.g. to Google calendar. Ask your tutor group for advice if you have issues with the technical execution.

• Check the calendar daily.
• In the morning, reflect on the main task of the day
• Check the list of goals weekly (print it on your wall)
• Recognise the most important goals for you
• Make sure that you have a good idea of

– what you will do today and what the main thing of the day is

– what you will do this week

When studying remotely, the importance of time management grows. It might be good discuss with others about different ways of building study routines and rhythm. The importance of individual flexibility grows in exceptional circumstances. Also then we can learn to listen to ourselves and find the daily rhythm that suits us best.

'Recognize your prime time and defend it ruthlessly' (Professor Randy Pausch)

Every person has a prime time during the day. Recognize your prime time and use it for doing things that mean the most to you. Be firm and say no to other things at this time. Remove distractions. Also turn off communications devices. After each interruption, it will take 15 minutes until your mind will return to the difficult task you were performing.

Making an independent study plan in your calendar

Most university studies are conducted independently. Write down, e.g. the time you use for getting ready for a lecture. You will make more out of lectures when you have familiarized yourself with the material beforehand. Also write down the time used for revising the lecture contents, e.g. on the day after the lecture. This will make it a lot easier to study for the exam. As a part of your revision, you can make a summary of the key contents of the lecture, e.g. by using some visual method.

When studying remotely, you can also prepare in advance and book time after lecture for repetition. Remotely it’s not always possible to ask from the teacher of peers, so it might be a good idea to book time to sort things out.

Use thesetips compiled by students for help.

Follow your time use

For a few weeks, write down what you actually did and how much time you spent on studying. You may notice that you did not use as much time to active studying as you thought. When studying remotely, it might be the opposite: we can unconsciously start to compensate the normal elements that are missing from studying, like group work.

• Evaluate your success – how well were you able to stick to your plan. Where did I succeed? Where did I waste my time? Were there any time thieves, i.e. matters that took considerably more time than you had thought? What was challenging? Was my plan realistic and useful? If I deviated from my goals, did I do this consciously or without noticing? What must be changed? What was realized differently than I expected? Was the plan overly detailed? Or too concise?
• The students who follow their time use for four weeks during their first year complete their studies more quickly than the average student. 

Outsourced memory

Use collection points: calendar and to do lists; outsourcing your working memory will save your resources to more important matters.

• The more you have on your mind, the less you will be able to accomplish
• Compile all the issues that you must get out of your schedule – now, later, sometime, small, big and medium-sized issues
• Organize them logically, clearly and concretely in order to get them out of your mind

You must remove any unfinished task from your mind, into a reliable system, a collection point

• If it takes less than 2 minutes to take care of the issue, do it immediately
• If it takes longer than 2 minutes, it is put to the collection point
• The collection point is a system to which you will regularly return to sort the tasks that have been put there
• The issues are stored in the collection point until you decide on further actions
• Collection points must be 'cleaned out' once a week

Most of stress stems from things going through your mind that your should do but which you keep pushing forward. Try to recognize the things you feel responsible for and which set your alarms on. Compile them and organize them into an entity. Decide what you will do with them. This will help you better manage stress related to workload with the help of your time management skills. 

Perseverance

Thing do not always go easily. When something does not work out, you will need the ability to cope with disappointments as well as perseverance to try again. You can combine firmness with perseverance: when something important to you is going on, it is time to learn to say no to other people's expectations. When you are focusing on an examination, some other things can wait.

Read more:

David Allen: Getting things done, 2015

Graham Alcott: How to be a Productivity Ninja: Worry Less, Achieve More and Love What You Do, 2015

Project competence is one of the most important working life skills, and focus should be put on learning it already during studies. Many courses include group assignments, and project management tools can be applied in these.

Planning projects is recommended as, in interesting projects, there is often a danger that things are first done and only thought about afterwards. A job well conceived is a job half done!

The stages of project work:

1. Start: setting a goal

2. Breaking down the project into main goals and sub-goals

3. Scheduling the project

4. Implementing the project and backlog

5. Leading the project

6. Dealing with conflicts

7. Ending the project and evaluation of results

The stages of a project

1. Start: setting a goal

Defining the project: goal, output and criteria for success

The first task is to determine what you wish to accomplish.

What is the group's mission and how well do you aim to perform. For example, the goal of the project may be to complete given assignments.

The output may be, for instance, a solved problem, a report of the work and a presentation on the topic, or a product idea pitched to angel investors.

The criteria for success refer to the goals set for the project by teachers or, e.g. companies. It is also worth considering whether the group members have different/similar goals for the project. One person may just wish to pass the assignment, while another aims to get a good grade and high-quality results. Finding a mutual level to aim for is important.

2. Breaking down the project into main goals and sub-goals.

Once the goal has been set, the group can first compile a list of what they want to do or what should be done to reach the goal. After devising the initial list, the group outlines the main goals and drafts more detailed ideas below them.

Each group member considers what the group needs to do in order to accomplish each goal. Groups are formed out of the answers.

Breaking down a project means perceiving the overall picture formed out of task entities and sub-tasks. In the following example, the group had been assigned to produce a video of a management situation to a management course. After forming groups out of the answers, an image is formed out of how the project has been broken down and names of those responsible for each duty are written down on the paper. 

3. Scheduling

Visualizing the timetable on a shared form helps everyone see the significance of their personal output. If the camera is not ready, it is not possible to take a picture and the project will fail. 

4. Implementing the project and backlog

It is a good idea to create a shared folder for the duration of the project, e.g. on Google Drive, and give everyone user rights to it.   This plan is called Project Backlog. The Backlog will help everyone perceive the current state of affairs and how everyone's work affects the participation of others. 

In case of long-term projects (e.g. 10 credits), it is advisable to check at times whether the backlog is up-to-date and should it be changed based on what has been learned so far. If this is a long project, it is worth dividing the project into sprints, e.g. month-long work stages. After the sprint it is a good idea to check what has been learned, and how this affects what will be done next (=retro)

One characteristic of an agile project is checking the goal and the means to reach it along the way and making the changes required by this. Learning occurs during projects, and this can be used to direct the actions in the project in a new way. 

5. Leading the project

The work of the group will be more efficient if you choose someone to lead the project. The project leader's role can also be rotated, e.g. on a weekly basis. In addition to his or her own responsibilities related to the contents of the project, the leader's duty includes making sure that the process is moving forward, not getting stuck, and that no area is left undone. The leader:

-  makes sure that breaking down tasks into sub-tasks is accomplished

-  keeps in touch with the members of the group and makes sure that everyone knows the status of the project

-  is responsible to make agreements on meeting times and places as well as keeping everyone updated on them

-  if a group member loses track of what is going on or does not take care of his or her duties, contacts the person

-  perceives which sub-tasks have already been completed and what has not yet been done

-  tries to recognize if someone is having problems and attempts to help the person

-  organizes a Retro, i.e. a midterm review when the group will check

• where we are now, what have we done
• what is going well
• what must be developed
• what still needs to be done

-  at the end of the project, the leader organizes a final review, which involves going through how the project was accomplished.

- The leader will also get a good opportunity to practise management.  When distributing duties, it should be taken into account that the leader will have to spend time on managing the project. This can also be written out in the report in case one is prepared.

6. Dealing with conflicts

Members of a creative team may disagree, and there is no reason to be afraid of conflicts. In order to succeed, it is important to make sure that everyone's opinions are heard and no one dominates the work too much. Difficult issues can be discussed with the help of rounds. A round means that

-  each person gets a turn to share his or her view and others will listen to him or her

-  no one will interrupt or reject the person speaking

-  each speaker will get an equal amount of time to share his or her perspective

-  the discussion is started only after everyone has been heard

7. Ending the project and evaluation of results

In the end, the project is evaluated by discussing how the goal of the project was reached, how the cooperation went, how leading the project was accomplished, and what was learned from all of this.

When studying, is your aim to deeply understand what you are studying? Do you strive to combine the study contents into a personal whole that makes sense to you? Are you trying to understand the backgrounds and general principles of phenomena? When you are studying, do you often find yourself asking 'why' questions? Do you often find yourself reflecting on where the information comes from and how have the contents and phenomena been discovered? Do you take personal notes / make mind maps / underline text while you are studying? Do you often discuss what you are studying together with your friends or apply what you have learned in solving practical problems? If you said 'yes' to the questions above, you are using a deep approach to learning in your study.

This is an often fairly laborious learning method, but will result in good learning outcomes in the long run. At times, it might be appropriate to conduct studies in a slightly more superficial way so that studying does not become too stressful; however, understanding and learning critical thinking is at the heart of university studies. If this method of study is unfamiliar to you, you can start practising it, for instance, using the following technique: 

1. Change the main and sub headings of a course book or lecture into personal questions
2. First, answer the questions briefly off the top of your head
3. Use this as a basis for outlining what you know about the topic and what not, and create new questions for yourself on the uncertain subjects
4. Start going through the course book or lecture material, trying to find answers to the questions.
5. Make personal notes on what new things you have learned. Did new questions arise to which you have no answers yet? Next, immerse yourself in these questions? Did you already get a taste of an increasingly in-depth way of building knowledge and get to experience the joy of learning new things properly?

Do you use a lot of time and effort to studying? Do you make clear plans for studying and think carefully how you use the hours of your day? Do you aim to be an organised and systematic student? Is completing studies according to timetables important to you? If you said yes to the questions above, you are using an organised approach to studying. Studying in such an organised way is a very central study skill at the university as academic work is often independent and requires good self-management skills. Indeed, it is no wonder that organised students are often very successful in their studies.

Studying remotely is often easier if you are using organized approach to studying. However, new situations do take time and need rehearsing. People are adaptive, and we get used to remote studying. What helps in adapting, is the organized approach.

If you are not yet used to planning your studies, it is advisable to start practising it as soon as possible.

Do you perceive university studies as a series of separate facts you must learn by heart? When studying, do you mostly aim to know the study contents in a test / exam and then forget about them? Do you think that the teachers know the subjects and that facts can be found in books, and that your task as a student is to remember and learn the facts as they are stated in the books and presented in the lectures? Do you tend to repeatedly cram the topics of study into your head so that you would remember them? Does studying usually consist of just reading or listening or completing given assignments for you? Do you feel like it is difficult for you to manage the topics of learning? If you said 'yes' to the questions above, you are probably using a surface approach to learning in your study. This kind of an approach may work reasonably, for instance, in upper secondary school or in some individual university course that is not particularly important and meaningful for you. However, if your entire university studies look like this, it is likely that you a struggling in your studies.

Sometimes this sort of a studying method is legacy of upper secondary school studies or caused by being in a hurry. Sometimes poor background knowledge or personal belief of not being a good enough student leads to such a study method. On the other hand, sometimes a difficult life situation may result in not having enough strength to study issues in a versatile and in-depth manner, but, instead, with more focus on learning things by heart.

It is highly important for university studies that you are not even attempting to learn things by heart. It is more important to perceive what is central to the learning subject and make efforts to understand this. It is similarly important to combine the subjects of learning into entities and aims to see beyond individual issues and learn to perceive general laws and principles underlying the issues. In case you feel that you do not have enough time or resources for using a deep approach to learning at the moment, it is advisable that you think about where you could find time and resources for studying. If you have time and resources for studying, but nevertheless use a surface approach to learning, you can start practising a different approach to studying using the following methods:

• Find out information about what is central to the courses or exercises. The main contents of courses should be explained in study guides and course materials, and teachers and often also students who have already taken the course also know what is essential in the course and what is not.
• Build your understanding on core subjects by drawing, writing or outlining graphs.
• Practise asking questions about the studied subject, initially by answering the questions yourself and subsequently by seeking the missing information from different sources: textbooks, friends, teachers, online...
• Try to figure out where the information in the text is coming from, who has written the text and what the one written the text has wanted to communicate?
• When studying remotely, it is important to ask yourself what are the essential things you need to learn and, on the other hand, what are your own resources needed for that. What are the things that you need to ask from the teacher and where else you can find help, if needed?
   

Try to determine where the information in the textbook comes from, who has written the text and what has he or she been trying to communicate?

The basic studies of a number of degree programmes include studies in mathematics. As many students often initially struggle with these studies, this section deals with studying mathematics as a separate whole.

Learning to become a good student in mathematics takes some practice.  The courses in mathematics comprise of a number of different building blocks: lectures, calculation exercises and course material. The different sections support one another. In mathematics, new knowledge is always built on what you already know and thus constant practising is important. Completing calculation exercises throughout the entire course is therefore recommended. Studying together improves learning outcomes. The calculation workshop will help in problem areas.

Practise in suitable portions and regularly

It is better to study reasonable amounts often than large amounts rarely. The brain learns from repetition and cannot adopt a large amount of information at once in a deep way. When you encounter assignments that you were unable to calculate before the calculation exercises, it is worth calculating them again after the exercise session. Do not settle for model solutions, but solve exercises by yourself instead. Learning requires a routine of calculating.

Learning together pays off

Studying mathematics does not need to be a lonely, laborious effort.  You will reach better learning outcomes when studying together with others. Making agreements on the time of study together motivates getting on with the work. Sharing experiences and tips for study supports learning and coping, and spending time at the school is more pleasant when students know each other. Giving justifications to arriving at your own solutions also develops personal thinking. When studying together, it is advisable that everyone is working to solve the same assignment at the same time, simultaneously discussing how they end up with the solution. Dividing an assignment into sections so that each person is responsible for different steps and compiling the solution at the end of the process is not the best way for utilising learning in a group.

If you do not understand, ask questions

At some point of theirs studies, everyone will end up in a situation where learning something feels too difficult despite all the hard effort. This is when you have to ask for help. Do not hesitate to ask for help from your peer students, teachers or tutors. Go to the calculation workshop. Keep asking for help for as long as it takes to understand the subject. Think about whether learning the issue is difficult because you have failed to learn some previous skill related to the subject or you still need more practice in the area.

In the calculation workshop(in Finnish = laskutupa) you may carry out mathematics exercises independently or together with others. An assistant providing help to students is also present at the workshop.

To support mathematics study and revision:

Khan Academy

math.duke.edu

How to learn math

To revise upper secondary school mathematics: Pikku-M

Bachelor's and master's theses are normally among the most laborious efforts during the university studies, and many kinds of expectations, beliefs and experiences are related to them. When starting the thesis writing process, it is worth remembering that you do not have to know how thesis work is conducted at the beginning of the thesis process. Once you are finished with your thesis, you can be sure that you know enough about what it takes to complete one! All you need at the beginning is to start working on the thesis.

Numerous guides have been written for those working on their theses, providing plenty of tips to writing and the entire process. For example,Gradutakuu by Kimmo Svinhufvud (in Finnish)is a good guide

Nevertheless, keep in mind that a thesis is not completed by reading guides, but by working on the thesis and writing it. If the final thesis process gets stuck for one reason or another, seek low threshold help: from your (study) mates, advisors, teachers, relatives or, for instance, a study psychologist.

Do you sometimes feel that you cannot memorise the studied subject? Or is it in fact more a case of the information not sticking in your mind in the first place? What is remembering, really, and how could it be improved?

What is memory and how much can you fit there?

Memory is closely connected to learning and studying. Memory is considered to be divided into short-term working memory and long-term memory. Working memory processes information from the senses and long-term memory until this is either stored in the long-term memory or lost from the person's mind. Maintenance of knowledge in the working memory is a precondition for thinking, inference, learning and problem solving.

Working memory has a limited capacity. We are able to keep only around 5–7 units of information in the working memory, i.e. under conscious processing. Working memory is used, for example when you repeat a phone number in your mind while looking for a pen and paper. It is also a case of working memory when you are trying to solve a mathematics exercise in your head without any assistance. In order to learn things in-depth, processing the information into a form that can be carried over from the working memory to long-term memory is required. The capacity of long-term memory is considered to be limitless.

What is going wrong when remembering things is difficult?

There is slight variation in memory capacity between individuals. However, when you are struggling with remembering things while studying, it is usually not a case of a problem in memory capacity. The problem is usually in the study technique. The materials studied in the university are usually so extensive that, during the learning process, students must work on them in their minds into such a form that it can be stored into the long-term memory and can be retrieved and applied from there. In addition to this processing, paying attention and personal well-being significantly influence remembering.

How should the studied matter be processed in order to facilitate remembering it, then? Learning by heart can be useful in remembering small, isolated details, but it will not work on the long run. In order to transfer information to long-term memory, it is advisable to apply and link the knowledge to what has been previously learned already at the study stage. By considering what subjects you already know could be related to the topic of learning, what you already know about the topic, or what you do not know about it yet while studying, you are already creating memorising paths to your memory. You can also help bringing the topic to mind later by figuring out why the studied topic is important, how it is useful, or how it could be related to your life.

Paying attention affects remembering: Does your mind wander during lectures or when studying for an examination? If you are paying attention to something other than the subject of study, it is likely that hardly anything sticks in your memory. It is normal that there is variation in paying attention in different situations. For example, whether you find the topic interesting, stimuli in the environment and personal alertness affect attention. So what could help you focus? It is best to put unnecessary mobile devices and other disturbing stimuli out of reach. If you are able to make notes from teaching already when listening to the lecture, this will support both your focusing as well as your learning. On the other hand, if you find it difficult to make notes while listening, you can try to stay alert, for instance, by drawing on paper or squeezing a piece of Blu-Tack or a stress ball in your hands. In this case, having an opportunity to familiarise yourself with the lecture materials beforehand would benefit your learning.

In independent study, it is recommended that you avoid reading for hours on end without any breaks or interruptions; instead, you should remember to take little breaks regularly. Also pay attention to the space where you study. What are the soundscape, ergonomics, lighting and temperature of the room like? Would going somewhere else help you focus better? Can you focus better on studying at the school or at home, or would changing the place every now and then suit you the best?  Studying in a group instead of cramming information in your head alone is also worth trying. Studying in groups and supporting each other with tricky tasks is possible also remotely, through applications like Teams or Zoom, for example. This also helps to focus better.

Your physical condition and emotional state also influence how efficiently you are able to process issues to be stored in your memory. If you are tired or feeling low, memorising things is more difficult. If sleep disturbances, exhaustion, feeling depressed or other worries cause constant harm to remembering issues and studying, you should consider what could help the situation.

When studying mostly remotely, there might be challenges in sleep rhythm. It’s important to pay attention to day and especially night rhythms. See more in Self management and time management.

You can read about mental well-being at thewebsite ofFinnish Association for Mental Healthand you can get support to maintaining your ability to study from a study psychologist andthe  FSHS.

Memory tips:

• Practising in sequences: Many research findings have indicated that it is better to study in the long term in short sequences than to use the same amount of time in reading without interruptions or by only taking short breaks. For instance, it takes longer to learn words in a foreign language if it is left to the night before than if learning the words is divided over a number of days. Dividing studying into sequences also helps us to remember the studied subject for a longer time than if the contents have been learned at the last minute. When studying remotely, the need of dividing studying into sequences might increase. This emphasizes the importance of maintaining routines.

• Understanding is more efficient than mechanical revision: Analysing meanings has been found to strongly correlate with remembering. This applies to both situations where we are aiming to learn things as well as those where unintentional learning occurs. For example, we fair well at learning things unintentionally if we have analysed their meanings (Kalakoski, 2007). Indeed, we often say that understanding enhances learning.

• Memory tips help recalling things: Creating different memory tips and linking issues together helps recalling them. The most efficient way involves linking some learned entity to one mental image instead of forming several, separate mental images.

• Create mnemonics (e.g.  colours of the rainbow: 'Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain') • Create mental images • Come up with keywords. You can also create mind maps around keywords. • Place the subjects to a certain path or location. Learning this technique takes practice and using it will become automatic with practice. However, this requires you to use the same path or location. • Come up with different contexts to things or connect them to something you know (e.g. the English word carpet = car + pet) • Link the subject to yourself or your personal experience in some way • Write a summary after reading, browse the text or try to remember its contents

Sources:

Hakkarainen, K., Lonka, K. & Lipponen, L. 1999. Tutkiva oppiminen. Älykkään toiminnan rajat ja niiden ylittäminen. Porvoo: WSOY Kalakoski, V. (2007). Muistikirja. Helsinki: Edita.

Do you find the courses in your subject interesting? Do you think that the contents taught in your subject are relevant? Do you enjoy studying at the university? What makes you study? Is your study motivation high or perhaps non-existent?

As people, we often consider that we either have or do not have motivation to do something, and that there is hardly anything that can be done about motivation. When looking at motivation in slightly more detail, it is apparent that it can vary a lot according to situations, tasks or time. It is also not unheard of for a person to get enthusiastic about something they have never shown any interest in before. On the other hand, sometimes it also happens that a person loses his or her motivation, and something they have previously found highly exciting becomes boring to them. What influences motivation? And can you influence motivation?

Motivation is strongly influenced by how much background information you have on a topic. It is difficult to be excited about something you know nothing about! On the other hand, long-term interest and highly developed expertise often lead to increasingly in-depth efforts with the same topic and make the person interested in more and more new details. Therefore, it is worth giving new things a change also in studies, even though, as we all know, it may seem difficult at first. When studying remotely, it might be good to give yourself more time than usual to get to know the things that are new for you.

• You should first spend, for instance, a month getting familiar with a subject that you are not particularly enthusiastic about before deciding on whether you find it interesting or not.
• You will probably get far more interested in the teaching if you prepare for classes and already have an idea, for example what is going to be discussed during the lecture.

Your personal values also have major impact on motivation. What is meaningful, important and valuable for you in life? What you are willing to make a lot of effort for: A good standard of living, an international career, family, progress in technology, new innovations or perhaps more sustainable development? How is your current study related to the matters that are important to you?

• One way for building motivation involves listing your values and matters that are important to you on a piece of paper and considering course by course how each of them can take you closer to the things you find meaningful. Nearly every course can help you find a perspective or a component that helps you move towards your personal goals – and perhaps you can focus your study on that issue.
• Of course, it may sometimes be that a course appears to have no personal value at all but the student has to force himself or herself to take it from start to finish. When it comes to an individual course, you may take the easy way out with as little effort as possible, but if you have to force yourself to your entire studies, it might be time to check your personal values and think about what you would like to spend your time on. Read more about self-management.

The third important component of motivation is enjoyment, feeling good and having fun studying. Many enjoy studying on its own; realising and understanding things and coming up with something new. Some enjoy studying with others, while others prefer lectures and participating in practical exercises. For some students, good academic performance and excellent grades are the main source of satisfaction. Some get their kicks on seeing their credits in the study register and knowing that they are close to graduating and entering the labour market. Joy of study can arise from a number of things. What is important is to recognise what you personally enjoy and make your studies look like you. This ensures that you have enough strength to make an effort and strain yourself even when the topic is difficult or boring. Studying remotely may help you to clarify motivation. It might be easier to see what are the things that motivate, when things that are usually a part of studying are not there anymore.

• Think about what you enjoy about studying, what gives you satisfaction. And then try to shape studying to look like you. If you get bored during lectures, go to a library or start a study group - face to face or online, if necessary - where participants teach things to each other.

A number of issues external to studying can also affect motivation. For example, your own or a loved one's disease may drain you and finding enthusiasm to study may become difficult. Separating from a partner and falling greatly in love may cause such emotional turbulence that studies will feel almost like nothing for half a year. For many people, the time of day may also affect alertness and thus also motivation. One person is enthusiastic in the morning, but will no longer be able to concentrate in the afternoon. Another is inspired to study at the peaceful hours of the night.

Indeed, self-knowledge and respect for one's life situation are important for regulating motivation.

Do you know what you are supposed to learn in the courses? Is it clear to you what the objectives and main learning contents of the course are? Are you taught these main contents or something else entirely? Moreover, is it clear to you what the basis for course assessment is and on what grounds are grades given? And do final examinations and exercises test the subjects that are essential according to the course objectives or are they perhaps focused on something else?

All of these issues are a matter of alignment. This means streamlining everything involved in teaching: objectives, teaching contents, working methods and assessment. It is also important that you as a student perceive this alignment. This enables high-quality and also efficient studying.

In high quality teaching, the teacher normally makes sure that the teaching is aligned and clearly communicates this to the student. The teacher should explain what the students will learn in the course, what is central to the instruction and what is less essential. The teacher should also inform the students about working and assessment methods used in the course and how these will help students learn the central contents of the course.

As a student, you are also responsible for finding out information about these different factors affecting the alignment of teaching. Good sources of information include course descriptions, introductions and back covers of textbooks or lecture materials, other students (particularly those who have already taken the course) as well as teachers. Find out

1. What you should learn in the course and what you already know about it
2. What is essential in the course and what is less important
3. What is assessed in the course, how will it be assessed.
4. How will you best reach the objectives of the course and succeed in the assessment.

Once you are able to give good answers to these questions, it is likely that you will be able to make most of the course with a reasonable amount of work.

Feedback is one of the cornerstones of learning. Are you getting enough feedback? And does the feedback help you understand difficult matters and develop studying methods of your own? If you have experienced this, there is a good starting point for your learning. On the other hand, if you feel that you are not getting any feedback as such, it is worth seeking it in order to enhance your learning.

There are many ways for getting feedback. People often feel that feedback is primarily provided when they are, for instance, getting a grade for an examination, development suggestions for an exercise or thesis advisor's comments to a thesis. This kind of feedback is important and can be utilised in learning. However, feedback can also take much more mundane and continuous shapes.

• Bounce around some idea related to your studies with a fellow student and he or she will probably give you a new idea and an opportunity for understanding something better.
• Try to solve a mathematics assignment or program a piece of code. If you are not able to correctly solve the equation or the code does not work, you have gotten feedback that will make you do things differently.
• Read learning materials and perhaps you will notice that you have understood something differently that how it was in the material. This way, you are getting feedback of sorts from the material, which in turn makes it possible for you to learn new things.

A precondition for getting any feedback is trying to succeed, asking for feedback and being willing to accept feedback even though it does not always feel that great. When you notice that you have misunderstood something or do not have the necessary ability yet, you are forced to confront your incompleteness and inadequacy, which can be hurtful at times. On the other hand, learning about new things with the help of feedback can bring about inspiring learning experiences.

A key characteristic of good feedback is that it genuinely tries to help you develop. If it points out that there is still need for practice or learning in some area, it should also explain how it is possible to develop and what could be done differently. You may also ask about these things when receiving feedback. Ask:

• Where should I develop?
• What do I not understand yet or am I still unable to do?
• How or with what kind of a technique could I practise in order to learn new things?

In the ideal case, the person giving the feedback and the person getting it are wondering together, trying to understand each other in order to better understand something in collaboration.

Why study in a group?

Expert communities aim to construct knowledge: solving problems, producing new ideas, increasing knowledge in the community. Also with studies, it is not recommended to merely focus on increasing one's own knowledge but, instead, it is better to learn the knowledge building abilities needed in expert work.

If we are solving problems in a group, it is possible for us to operate in out so-called close development zone. This means that the support of others will allow us to solve problems slightly beyond our own competence level. Discussions and reciprocal teaching of the studied contents help structuring information and expanding perspectives.

Do you feel that group work takes a lot of time and the work is inefficient? This might be the case if there is no shared vision of the following matters in the group:

• the goal of the group: what is the group aiming to accomplish together, what do they want to learn – how is the goal reached in practice
• roles in the group: how are tasks and responsibilities divided
• communications in the group: how is communication realised, how does communicating promote the goal of the group and a team spirit in the group
• timetable: what is the timetable for doing things, what interim goals are set, how is sticking to the timetable and the progress of assignments followed. Read more aboutimplementing projects.

Communications in the group

When we are working in a group, we need both task-oriented as well as relationship-oriented communication skills.

Task-oriented communication skills help furthering the actual task of the group:

• express your opinion clearly and with justifications
• be precise in asking for things, information and justifications
• analyse and determine problems
• give alternatives for solutions, weigh their justifications

Relationship-oriented communication skills help the group to act as a group and work for a common goal:

• show appreciation towards others: be genuinely present, listen with focus, encourage and provide support to others
• help others: discuss and do things together with others and try to make sure that every member of the group learns and is able to reach the goals
• show that you trust others: share your knowledge and teach skills to others and agree well enough on the group's operating methods so that you will not have to control others

The principles of constructive feedback:

• First, ask what the person thinks about his or her performance and listen to what he or she has to say.
• First, state what is positive clearly and honestly. By highlighting positive things, you are creating a shared view and helping the person receive critical feedback.
• Give feedback on the output or activities. The feedback must always be focused on the output or activities, not the person's characteristics or features.
• Present critical comments accurately and constructively, preferably in the form of questions, such as 'could you further specify the idea you presented using practical examples?'
• Allow the person to decide how he or she will take the feedback into account.

The principles of constructive feedback:

• First, ask what the person thinks about his or her performance and listen to what he or she has to say.
• First, state what is positive clearly and honestly. By highlighting positive things, you are creating a shared view and helping the person receive critical feedback.
• Give feedback on the output or activities. The feedback must always be focused on the output or activities, not the person's characteristics or features.
• Present critical comments accurately and constructively, preferably in the form of questions, such as 'could you further specify the idea you presented using practical examples?'
• Allow the person to decide how he or she will take the feedback into account.

References and further reading:

Dutton Jane (2003): Energize Your Workplace – How to Create and Sustain High-Quality Connections at Work.

Hakkarainen, Lonka & Lipponen (2008): Tutkiva oppiminen – Järki, tunteet ja kulttuuri oppimisen sytyttäjinä.

Social relationships are important for mental health and learning. People need other people in order to feel well and learn better. A number of things affect the way behave with other people, including inherent temperament, life history, learned social skills, the current environment and personal well-being. Good social relationships bring joy and give strength and support. Sometimes finding friends and networks can feel difficult. People might have to struggle to build interpersonal relationships supporting well-being and networks supporting studies and working life.

When studying remotely, creating social relationships is different and may require special efforts. It is useful to attend remote teaching even if you feel you could learn things studying individually. By doing this, it is more likely that you will get to know new people and create networks that support studying.

How am I with others?

At the beginning of studies, people have usually already formed a conception of how they are as group members. For example, the conceptions may be as follows:

• I am shy
• It is easy for me to talk to people
• I am anxious about joining a new group
• I enjoy being in a large group
• I am most comfortable in small groups or one-on-one with someone
• I do not like being alone
• I need quiet time on my own
• I am talkative
• I first think things through carefully and only then start talking
• It is easy for me to make friends
• I do not fit in with others

How do you see yourself in relation to other people? What kinds of experiences have shaped your conception? Moreover, have you ever noticed that you behave differently in some situation than you would have expected? Have you ever received feedback from others that did not fit in with your idea of yourself? Even though studies have indicated that people's inherent temperament traits are relatively stable, the way we interact with others may still vary in different situations and stages of life: 'I used to have a lot of friends, but now getting to know new people feels difficult.' Or 'I was shy back in upper secondary school, but that is not the case anymore!'

In remote studying meeting online is different compared to meeting face to face. Is meeting online more demanding for you, or perhaps, more natural than in real life?

Your time as a student offers plenty of opportunities for getting to know people and building networks. Sometimes it may also cause pressure related to an idea that you should be fully comfortable with all kinds of social situations and be able to get large groups of friends at a flick of the wrist. It is important to remember that being sociable does not mean that everyone should be the same way. A shy person or someone otherwise more comfortable in smaller groups can be very sociable indeed and skilled in building networks. It is possible and recommendable to learn social skills and networking, as these skills are useful for both personal well-being as well as studies and career.

Where could I get to know others?

There are many ways to get to know people. Studying together with others will allow you to learn better and also build important interpersonal relationships. In remote studying getting to know others is easier if you share a bit more personal issues and opinions than you usually would. In remote groups you can control your social distance by keeping the camera open or interacting in chat. The school, guilds and other student organisations also organise a lot of activities, and you will definitely get to know others by participating in these.

Some examples of places where you can find leisure time activities that suit you and will help you get to know other people are listed below. Remember that you do not need to be an expert or have a burning passion for something in order to try it as a hobby! It is worth trying out new things and you can participate if you find the topic at all interesting.

The associations of the student union provide an astonishingly diverse selection of different types of activities:

• List of associations of the Aalto University Student Union (AYY)
• The physical activities offered for students by Unisportinclude group activities in addition to individual sports.
• Facebook: Schools, guilds and other student organisations have their own Facebook pages where information is given on events.

There is a countless number of different kinds or associations, organisations and volunteer actors in the Helsinki metropolitan area, allowing you to find people with similar interests. For example, are you interested in nature preservation, sport association activities, human rights, friendship activities, spending time with children or animals, working with refugees or working in a cultural organisation? What about ideological activities concerned with a political or ideological issue you find important? Similar interests bring people together.

Networking

During your studies, you will get an opportunity to build networks in your field. These can help and support you not only in studying, but also later as you enter the working life. Taking small things into account might help you in networking:

• When you introduce yourself to new people, take their point of view into account in how you tell about yourself. You can think about good questions for starting the conversation beforehand. An open-minded attitude will help you in getting to know people!
• People are delighted when you remember their names. Learn their names carefully: focus on listening when you are introducing each other, repeat the name you hear and find associations what help you remember.
• You can maintain discussion with the help of good questions. Present open questions that require an answer longer than just 'yes' or 'no'. You can present the same thing as an open question or a closed one, e.g. 'What made you come to this event?' (open question) or 'Did you come here because you are interested in the topic of the event?' (closed question).
• Pay attention to your body language: when you are standing straight and with open body language, others will find it easier to approach you, and making eye contact indicates that you are focused on listening.

What do I do if I am all alone?

If you feel lonely, you are not alone! A health survey by FSHS (2012) revealed that 26% of first-year students feel that they do not belong to any group related to studying and 35% of fifth-year students felt that they were not a member of any student group. Sometimes it may seem difficult to build relationships outside student groups for a number of reasons. Even though it is possible to enjoy being alone and it is at least good to learn to stand being alone to some extent, every one of us need social relationships. There are ways to overcome loneliness.

If you find it difficult to seek the company of others due to, for example anxiety or low mood, it is worth discussing the issue with a professional. For example, you can talk about the matter with a study psychologist or contact theFSHS.

Do you think that you will manage well even if going gets tough? Do you believe that you will learn things even if they are difficult as long as you make an effort? If you said yes, you probably have courage to take on challenges and are willing to work for learning. This will often lead to good results, which will increase your trust in yourself as a student. This positive cycle will support your learning and often also increases the joy of learning.

Are you worrying over future challenges? Are you reflecting on possible bad outcomes? Preparing for possible bad outcomes makes you work for learning and often helps in performing well in studies. Worrying about things does generally not harm learning; instead, it might give motivation to make an effort for learning. Nevertheless, being worried may make studying feel depleting and stressful.

If you feel overburdened and stressed due to worrying about studying, you can practise separating worrying and beneficial planning from each other. Stressful worrying often involves mulling over the same problems without properly considering solutions. When you are planning your studies and possible challenges pop into your mind, stop and think about concrete ways or approaches to cope with the challenges. Useful approaches may include:

• breaking down goals into smaller, concrete tasks. 
• planning a timetable carefully
• asking for help from fellow students or teacher to learn something difficult
• revising background information, familiarising yourself with additional material, practising a certain topic

Stress related to studying is usually caused by worrying about the future and possible difficulties. Focusing on the present moment and practising mindfulness have been found to be good ways for reducing stress and worry.You can familiarise yourself with Mindfulness practices e.g. in Into (in Finnish) and the oivamieli.fiwebsite (in Finnish) or the freemindfulness.org website (in English).

Do you often drop out of a course if it seems too difficult? Do you avoid situations where you might appear stupid or could make a fool of yourself? If you are avoiding challenges related to studying or postpone doing this until the last minute, you are not giving yourself an opportunity to succeed. There is always some uncertainty and sometimes also failure involved in learning something new. Having the courage to take on challenges and also occasionally encounter unpleasant emotions also give an opportunity to experience successes and joy of learning.

It is possible to learn skills related to the regulation of emotions. You can also make it easier to take on challenges with the following measures:

• set reasonable goals for yourself A reasonable goal is appropriate in relation to your background knowledge, available time and other resources.
• break the goals down into concrete, small tasks. 
• study together with others
  •  
    • Your peers may be present in your everyday life also online
• also in remote studying you may face insecurity and unpleasant feelings. It’s good to practice facing those emotions. It’s good to get to know yourself as a learner -one piece at a time. It’s good to share your worries with others. Remember, that living in an exceptional situation is demanding.
• contact a study psychologist already before procrastination has become a vicious cycle where experiences of failure often make you feel like you are a bad student and isolate yourself form more and more situations.

Do you believe that you can finish your study assignments? Do you believe in your abilities even when your assignments seem daunting?

Self-efficacy means the belief that you can achieve what you set out to do. Study-related self-efficacy represents a student’s belief in their ability to learn new information and skills and whether they feel that they can finish their study assignments.

Self-efficacy is often connected to a specific skill – you know that you're good at something. Self-efficacy is not a permanent and situation-independent trait, and it can vary greatly depending on the time and assignment.

Self-efficacy is connected to the understanding that one has of their strengths and weaknesses. A person with high self-efficacy can find joy in their successes and is also able to accept their failures.

The understanding that one has about one’s skills is connected to how much effort they are willing to invest in their studies. If a person doubts their skills from the get-go, it can be difficult to begin any especially challenging assignments.

High self-efficacy is a trait that helps further your studies smoothly, which is why you should pay attention to it. Self-efficacy often increases through one's successes. It can also decrease when you don't succeed. Usually the reactions of other people and any previous good experiences of similar situations have a positive effect on self-efficacy. If you can trust yourself when you begin an assignment, you are more likely to achieve better success.

The next section focuses on self-esteem and provides tips on how to improve your self-esteem and self-efficacy.

Self-esteem is the feeling that you are a good and valuable person just the way you are. Self-efficacy, which was the focus of the previous section, is closely connected to one's actions, while self-esteem is more connected to one's human experience.

You could say that one's self-esteem is high when their self-opinion is more focused on their positive features. However, self-esteem is not a single, unified trait, and it contains different sides. There are many different aspects to life, and people usually feel that they perform better in certain situations than in others. Self-esteem is not necessarily connected to how successful a person is based on external cultural and social indicators. Rather, it is a question of accepting yourself and believing in your possibilities in a realistic manner while also being aware of your limits.

A higher sense of self-esteem fosters coping and independence. It enables a person to have the courage to make decisions about their own life and live life the way they want to without being tied down by the opinions of others. High self-esteem is also connected to one’s ability to value other people. Self-esteem is not just social courage: a shy or withdrawn person can still have high self-esteem.

When a person's self-esteem is high enough, they know their value irrespective of how well they perform during some task. For example, a student should be able to understand that their worth is not based on their latest course grade or evaluation. This can also be seen in a student’s attitude towards challenging study assignments or critiques. Think about what if feels like to fail a test and how you can still carry on even after the occasional setback. It is likely that every student will have some stumbles during the course of their studies.

The connections between one's self-esteem and actions go both ways. Self-esteem – or a lack of it – affects one's actions and solutions. The actions that a person takes and the consequences they face can thus also affect their self-esteem. In this way, both high and low self-esteem can often lead to a self-fulfilling loop. High self-esteem often increases one's readiness to see their skills and the possibilities around them, while lower self-esteem can narrow the number of options that are available. Low self-esteem can lead to a situation where a person feels that they have more to prove and thus perform harder than necessary, which leads to a larger increase in perceived stress. 

A person's childhood and youth are important to the development of their self-esteem, but it is important to remember that one can increase their self-esteem later in life as well. Having high self-esteem makes life easier, but even if a person has low self-esteem, it does not mean that they have failed in life. Anyone can learn to cope with low self-esteem.

How can I increase my self-esteem? 

• To develop your self-esteem, you should really get to know yourself, as high self-awareness is the foundation for high self-esteem.
• Write a list of the things that you are good at and what you are happy with about yourself – everyone has their strengths.
• Ask the people who are close to you about the features and skills that they appreciate about you.
• Try to actively participate in situations where you can receive positive experiences.
• Try to remember all the moments where you have received positive feedback.
• Find a group of people where you can be yourself and where you can find acceptance and encouragement from others.
• Thank and praise others when you think that there is cause for doing so.
• Be truly happy and proud about even the smallest successes in life.
• Be well-prepared for the situations where your skills are put to the test, for example during an exam.
• Take care of yourself: focus on good nutrition, being alert and taking care of your physical well-being, as these can help during any difficult situations that call for self-efficacy.
• Accept the fact that disappointments and failures are a part of life for everyone.
• When something bad happens, try to see it in proportion. Ask yourself whether the matter at hand will have any significance after a year's time.
• Students often focus too intently on what they cannot yet do and what they should still learn. Remember to think about what you already can do and are good at, the things that have brought you praise and positive feedback – you might just surprise yourself!
• Don’t be too hard on yourself even if everything isn’t going your way. 

Do you believe that criticising yourself will help you perform better? Do you scold yourself harshly if you fail at something? Unlike what we often think, self-criticism does not lead to success in the long run; on the contrary, it often makes us experience feelings of shame and failure, thus also making us afraid of taking on challenges.

Self-compassion helps us better notice our own difficult emotions and provides us with tools for dealing with these emotions. This increases our well-being and provides us with more resources to do the things we want.

Especially in exceptional situations like when learning happens mostly remotely, it’s good to remember self-compassion. It is normal not to be as efficient as usual and important to react in a compassionate way to this.

Self-compassion is comprised of three areas:

• kindness and a warm regard towards oneself when experiencing difficult emotions and suffering
• an experience that difficulties and suffering are a part of humanity and that others experience the same emotions
• accepting, conscious presence and making observations on one's personal experiences as they are

self-compassion is a skill that can be developed A few exercises to strengthen self-compassion (adapted from the book Kristin Neff: Self-Compassion – the Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself):

A compassionate gesture

Try if you can find a bodily gesture that you can use to show warmth and compassion to yourself. You can put your hand on your heart and peacefully feel the warmth of your hand and movement of your breathing. Or you can give yourself a hug. Take your time in exploring how you feel. This exercise may seem funny, but a touch (even when directed at yourself) releases oxytocin and helps you feel safety, warmth and compassion.

Making observations on internal speech

1. Stop to make observations on your internal speech. Pay attention to what your inner voice is saying in situations that are difficult to you. Pay attention to how you are critical toward yourself, e.g. thoughts such as 'I am lazy' or 'I am hopelessly careless'.
2. Try if you can kindly soften your inner critic, for instance, by saying in your mind 'I know I use criticism in trying to help myself to perform better, but the criticism makes me feel miserable.'
3. Try if you can say something understanding and encouraging in your mind, as if to a close friend, for example 'I understand that you feel lazy, but your time and energy just was not enough to get everything you wanted in this situation.'

Compassionate mental image:

1. Sit comfortably and create a mental image for yourself of a pleasant, peaceful place. For example, the place can be a seashore, forest or some other beautiful place outdoors. Imagine what that place looks, feels, smells and sounds like. Let the peaceful feeling get deeper.
2. Next, imagine a friendly, warm and compassionate figure. This figure may be a real person or a fully imaginary figure. The compassionate figure can also be completely abstract, e.g. a white light. Try to create a mental image of this kind and compassionate figure as vividly as possible.
3. If you feel any kind of suffering or discomfort, you can think what comforting and friendly words this figure would say to you. Create a mental image of the voice of the compassionate figure and the emotions it conveys.
4. Let go of the mental image and focus on sensing what your breathing and body now feels like.

Mindfulness

Practising mindfulness helps you to develop compassion towards yourself. Mindfulness involves practising a state where all emotions are allowed. This is practised by paying attention to how things are experienced. It does not entail analysing, but instead observing experiences as they are.For example, you can find mindfulness exercises at the Self-compassion website.

Self-compassion in remote learning

For some students, studying remotely may increase the harshness towards oneself. What may lie behind the harshness may be a sense of inadequacy or comparing yourself to others. The comparison may have created an ideal student who does everything almost perfectly. Without the contact with others, there is a risk of loosing the signals that tell us what is good enough. On the other hand, the lack of comparison may help in finding a self-compassionate approach to studying.

It is also good to remember that adapting to new situations is typical for people. But on the other hand, there are differences in how fast or easily we adapt. There’s no right or wrong. It’s wise to show compassion towards oneself.

References and further reading:

Christopher Germer (2009): The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion. Freeing Yourself from Destructive Thoughts and Emotions.

Paul Gilbert (2009): The Compassionate Mind: A New Approach to Life's Challenges

Kristin Neff (2011): Self- Compassion – the Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself

Do you work hard for your studies, but often feel that you could do even more? Do you use a lot of time to finish assignments, but are still not quite satisfied with the result?

Having ambition and setting high goals encourage you to perform well. However, if you easily regret even the smallest faults in your performance and are consumed by the idea that you could always do more, you might be dealing with perfectionism. It might seem difficult to take on assignments if you have set your target level unrealistically high and you are haunted by the possibility of failure. On the other hand, once you have started working, it is difficult to stop, as there is always some room for improvement. A perfectionist expects himself or herself to perform perfectly and often even the slightest criticism may feel crushing and is perceived to concern the entire personality. You can recognise perfectionism from the following ways of thinking:

• 'All or nothing' way of thinking, where performance is deemed either good or bad, nothing in between
• 'I should still do...', ideas of doing something more or better keep popping in mind
• more focus is given on the negative than the positive feedback, and even slight criticism feels extremely bad
• you believe that others perform excellently without any major effort or stress in everything they do and that you should also aim at this

Unreasonably high goals and demands towards yourself can easily lead to anxiety, a feeling of being worse than others or insufficiency as well as stress. If you recognise a tendency towards perfectionism in yourself, reflecting on the following issues may be beneficial:

Self-compassion

When was the last time you stopped to listen to your own thoughts and emotions? How about the messages of your body? Stopping for a moment and kindly paying attention to how you feel can help you notice what is going on in yourself and what kinds of thoughts are moving through your mind. You can try if you could regard yourself like a friend, with warmth, respect and understanding. Try if you can simply pay attention to how you are doing right now without trying to change anything. For example, you can find some useful practices on self-compassion.org website.Little by little, practising self-compassion can also help you also perceive your own imperfection more benevolently.

We do not necessarily notice our own thoughts or recognise them as nothing but thoughts until we stop to listen to ourselves. Noticing demanding thoughts that you direct at yourself (e.g. 'I should be better...') can help you distance yourself from the thoughts and also notice other points of view. For example, writing a diary can help you structure your own thoughts and related emotions.

Stopping in the moment and noticing your own emotions can help you identify your personal needs. What am I trying to accomplish with better performance? What do I need right now? What is important to me? If most focus is on the performance, meeting other people's expectations or avoiding possible future failures, it may be difficult to notice what you need right now, what is good right now or what brings joy.

Positive feedback to self

What have you already been able to complete? What has been going well today? If your best friend had performed same as you, what kind of feedback would you give to him or her?

You can consciously pay attention to your successes and give positive feedback to yourself. You can not only give positive feedback to yourself on performing successfully, but also for trying, making progress and learning. Paying attention to small steps forward is particularly important when you are prone to the 'all or nothing' way of thinking. The positive feedback that you give to yourself helps to divert attention to developing and learning. In contrast, strong self-criticism often stems from fears and feelings of shame and directs attention to the avoidance of failure.

Realistic goals

What is a good enough performance? How do you recognise a realistic goal?

Of course, the amount of work needed in studying can also be estimated based on study credits to some extent. It is also worth finding out about the actual requirements of courses or, for instance, the expectations of partners in group work; these may be more reasonable than the requirements in your mind! It might also be important to reflect on your personal priorities. Which course do I want to devote particular effort in? Where is it enough to make less effort? Are my studies and leisure time in balance? If the amount of tasks seems excessive in relation to the time available, clearly thought out prioritisation can help you reduce stress. In order to maintain your personal well-being and a good ability to study, it is not a good idea to compromise on rest and recovery, at least not for long. Planning beforehand how much time you will use on studying and when it is your time off on a daily basis usually provides a beneficial way for restricting time used on work. It might be good to set time limits for doing things if the amount of time used in finalising and improving output could actually be used for something that means even more to you.

References and further reading:

Studenterrådgivningen

self-compassion.org(exercises for developing self-compassion)

Paul Gilbert (2009): The Compassionate Mind: A New Approach to Life's Challenges

Aini Jaari (2007): Kylliksi itselleni. Edita, Helsinki.

Emotions help us react quickly to different situations. Studying often evokes both positive and negative emotions: interest and enthusiasm when learning new things, while on the other hand uncertainty, fear and frustration if challenges appear to be too big. The ability to regulate one's emotions is connected to smooth progress of studies.

Smothering and avoiding emotions

Do you aim to avoid situations where feelings of insecurity, fear or shame arise? Are you trying to ignore unpleasant emotions or at least hide them from others? These methods will make you feel better momentarily, but they can also prevent you from taking on challenges. For instance, if you talk about the feeling of insecurity with others, you may generally notice that nearly all students are familiar with the experience. When unpleasant emotions take over, we often imagine that we are the only person going through the emotion and feel that we are worse than others. By being brave enough to express emotions, you give other people an opportunity to support you and at the same time the relationships may become closer.

Recognising and naming emotions

Sometimes emotions are clear, e.g. we feel joy and pride when we succeed in a challenging task. Nonetheless, sometimes it is more difficult to recognise emotions and we may experience, e.g. a vague sense of anxiety and low mood without knowing what exactly is going on. Emotions are felt throughout the body, and pausing to pay attention to the sensations in the body may help recognise emotions. 

Naming emotions can help us distance ourselves slightly from our emotions when we feel like we are tangled up in them. When we make a note in our minds that 'this is fear' or 'this is confusion', it might be easier for us to notice that emotions are transient events in the mind and body.

Read more about emotions in the body at theEmotions website of the Finnish Association for Mental Health(in Finnish) or at npr.org website (in English).

Watch Professor Lauri Nummenmaa's lectureTunteet mielessä, aivoissa ja kehossa ('Emotions in the mind, brain and body', in Finnish)

Re-evaluation of a situation or personal reaction

In addition to the instant reaction related to the situation, the emotional state is also affected by how we interpret the situation and our own reactions. For example, if you notice that your pulse is rising and hands are sweating before giving a presentation, you can either interpret that this will ruin the presentation or think that a small increase in activation means that you are suitably alert to give a successful presentation. We often make very fast interpretations, which either strengthen the emotional response or tone it down.

Discussing with others is a good method for finding new perspectives to situations that evoke emotions. You can also structure your thoughts and emotions by writing a diary or simply stopping to think about situations that evoke emotions and what they mean to you.

Ability to calm down

Positive emotions, such as excitement and curiosity make us take on things and promote our goals. In turn, negative emotions, such as fear and shame activate a need to avoid threatening situations and make us seek ways for solving problems. In addition to emotions that orientate us towards action, it is also important to recognise emotions that guide us to calm down and rest and thus gather new strength.

Aim to recognise ways to calm down that work well in your everyday life. These may include:

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  • moving in nature and spending time outdoors
  • doing something pleasant using a lot of focus, e.g. listening to music with focus or cooking so that you are focused on sensing the smells, flavours and colours
  • exercise that calms you down, such as yoga or stretching
  • touch, such as stroking a pet

What is anxiety?

Normal anxiety is a natural part of life; nearly everyone is anxious sometimes. Being anxious becomes a problem when taking care of matters related to everyday life or studying becomes difficult or is left completely undone due to anxiety.  Anxiety can be general anxiety related to social situations or, for example being nervous about performance or eating situations. Examples of consequences of social anxiety causing functional disturbance include avoiding giving oral answers in the study group and dropping out of courses due to the fear of having to give oral presentations. Building new friendships or romantic relationships can be challenging for those struggling with starting conversation. Some of the harm caused by social anxiety is formed out of the person suffering from nervousness not training his or her social skills due to the avoidance of social situations.

Genetic factors and an inherent temperament type, shyness, probably underlie anxiety. In our culture, being shy is often perceived as a problematic approach and, indeed, many would like to shed the characteristic. However, temperament types are relatively permanent ways to confront new situations. In fact, the way the environment encounters shyness is more likely to cause suffering than the shyness itself. Out of environmental factors, controlling, strict and humiliating upbringing attitudes and socially traumatising experiences in adolescence have been indicated to play a role in the development of anxiety. Bullying appears to be an individual risk factor in the background.

Methods facilitating learning

It is not always possible to notice someone's anxiety from the outside, so the knowledge of it may come as a surprise to the teacher or fellow student. Nevertheless, there are almost always students who are anxious in the group. In particular, performance anxiety is quite common among university students. If it comes naturally to the teacher, he or she may say that the students have a permission to feel anxious – this is often a good starting point. Students can be encouraged to bring up their anxiety. There is no single correct way to act. The person with anxiety does not benefit from getting away with less than others. Awareness of accepting anxiety, alternatives and support gives them more assistance. It is good to think whether the student will benefit from, e.g. encouragement, completing a special section in a smaller group etc. A safe and accepting atmosphere that takes individuality into account benefits everyone's learning. It is important to take small steps towards situations that are considered to cause anxiety by gradually increasing the demands level. Being overly critical or demanding will make the situation worse. With suitable conditions, shy people can develop to be even more socially apt than a talkative person running head-first into social situations.

Read more about anxiety in the publication by the FSHS Esiintymisjännittäjille apua ('Help for those with performance anxiety', in Finnish).

Also familiarise yourself with an article on the website of the Tiede magazineTenttipelon voi taltuttaa ('You can tame examination anxiety', in Finnish). 

Everyone experiences stress sometimes and no one will be able to make it through university studies without any stress. Good stress will improve performance and keep you alert. If the amount of stress is appropriate, leisure time and a normal amount of sleep will be enough to recover. In turn, when harmful stress is prolonged, it will affect a number of areas of life and diminish well-being. It is important to intervene in harmful, long-term stress and sometimes it is a good idea to seek help in order to put an end to the stress.

 Are you stressed?

Do you feel like stress is building up without noticing? Learn to recognise your personal ways to react to stress so that you can prevent harmful stress from forming with less effort. Stress affects body, mind and our actions. Common characteristics of stress:

• Body: pulse is elevated, muscles (e.g. neck and shoulder area) are tense, breathing is superficial, head is aching, there are changes in appetite, difficulty falling asleep and waking up at night, stomach issues
• Thoughts: unfinished work is going through your mind, increased worrying and dwelling on things, 'I cannot', 'I won't have time', 'I'm not able to' thoughts are common, thinking gets more narrow and it is difficult to see solutions or come up with new ideas
• Emotions: you are annoyed, frustrated, anxious, angry, nervous, tense, feel impatient
• Actions: struggling to prioritise things, difficult not to do anything or rest, messing about, jumping from one thing to another, toiling beyond your means, avoiding tasks, procrastinating

How can stress be managed?

• Invest in recovery: good stress will become harmful if we are unable to rest and recover from stress often enough. Do you remember to schedule free moments and at least one day off each week in your timetable? A regular lifestyle will also help: regular and versatile meals, good daily rhythm and regular exercise.
• Take on your assignments: avoiding and postponing difficult or laborious tasks will increase stress. Could you break down the tasks into easier sub-tasks or could you ask someone for help?
• Make a realistic timetable: if the stress is caused by accumulated tasks and a large workload, prioritise the tasks and make a timetable. Read more abouttime management.
• Set reasonable goals: if the stress is caused by the high level of demands you have set for yourself, try if you can reduce the demands at least in some area. Read more aboutperfectionism andself-compassion.
• Exercise while listening to your body: regular exercise and physical fitness help recover from stress faster. Physical exercise elevates your mood and produces experiences of success. If your body or mind appears to be going into overdrive, exercise while listening to your body, as high-intensity exercise causes physiological stress and makes you feel worse.
• Spend time outdoors: research has shown that moving or spending time outdoors calms down stress reactions in the body and mind. Even spending time in a park in an urban environment reduces stress. Read more about the influence of nature on well-being at theluontoon.fi website(in English).
• Talk about things that are on your mind: when you are stressed, it is harder to think about things from different viewpoints and come up with solutions to a situation that causes burden. Talking to others may make things clearer and it is often comforting to hear that others also face similar challenges and experience stress.
  • When studying remotely, it’s important to share thoughts with each other. We can ask ourselves the following questions every day: What could I share with my friend or even with my teacher? What I would like to ponder with others?
• Touch: touching releases oxytocin and helps regulate stress. Can you hug someone, ask a friend to massage your shoulders, or stroke a pet.
• Practise mindfulness: stress feeds off your mind wandering in future or past events, e.g. we are afraid of potential failure in a coming examination or regretting past choices. Mindfulness involves practising a state where all emotions are allowed. This is practised by paying attention to how things are experienced here and now. It does not entail analysing, but instead observing experiences as they are. Practising mindfulness regularly has been shown to reduce stress. 

When will stress become exhaustion?

Long-term stress related to studying may gradually become study exhaustion. You can recognise study exhaustion from the following features:

• exhaustion and tiredness that will not shift with normal rest
• becoming cynical, studying no longer feels significant or sensible
• your confidence is reduced, you start doubting your ability to cope with your studies and feel inadequate

Anxiety is often also related to exhaustion and your mood may be sad. If you recognise these symptoms, you must reduce your workload. It is a good idea to ask for support in order to deal with the situation and you can contact a study psychologist or the FSHS.