Category: Thinking

Today marks the end of my 3^rd exam in this summer period. But with another 5 to come over the next two weeks I’m far from finished.

The build-up and then sudden speed of exams can be tricky to handle it. It feels like you spend an age waiting for the first and preparing for it, and before you know it you’ve finished your last one without a clue for how well you’ve done.

It can be tough mentally; cramming in all the lecture slides, less sleep and general adrenaline and/or stress of the actual exam. It’s no surprise that those who control their head better, do better.

So what can be done to help? Try sport.

You spend a great deal of time sitting at the computer or with your head in a book when revising for exams. You can’t revise effectively for excessively long periods, so take regular breaks to stay productive. Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good, reducing stress and helping you to get good night’s sleep

Some research actually suggests that 20 minutes of exercise right before an exam will help you perform better.

You’ve studied hard, had a good night’s sleep, eaten a good breakfast, and now you’re ready for your big test. You might consider walking to the exam—20 minutes of activity, walking, running, or other exercise, has been shown to boost test scores.

Researchers started with children around 9 and 10, and tested children who got some exercise—usually aerobic exercise like walking, running, or playing—before a test, and compared their scores with children who didn’t get any exercise at all. They found that the children who were active scored better on the tests, all other things being equal.

The research showed that “fit children had significantly larger basal ganglia, a key part of the brain that aids in maintaining attention and “executive control,” or the ability to coordinate actions and thoughts crisply. Since both groups of children had similar socioeconomic backgrounds, body mass index and other variables, the researchers concluded that being fit had enlarged that portion of their brains.”

Similar research has been conducted with teenagers and young adults, results of which can be seen here.

What’s clear is that there are benefits. If may take up some precious revision time, but it is worth it.

So the next time you had enough of past papers, put down your pen and do something active!

A little different this week… no written post from me. Instead I want to share the below video in the hope that anyone who would have read this post, watches this video instead!

It’s safe to say that most, if not all, Universities encourage and promote sport as a route to improving student well-being, health and social life whilst at University. Yet, at the same time sport can sometimes be overlooked as a vital aspect when developing a University. It can often be seen as a “this or that” scenario for Universities – do they want to be known as a sporting or academic University?

Why am I raising this topic now? Well I’ve come to the end of my time as captain of Lancaster Universities Men’s First Badminton Team. This past year has seen one of the largest changes for sport in the University’s history. The introduction of the ‘Sport Lancaster’ brand, the requirement for consistent memberships and commitments from team members and an increase in funding for focus sports. These changes were met by uncertainty and dislike from many – for me it was music to my ears!

University sport should be taken seriously, with a competitive nature and a desire to win. If you only want to play for fun, join the society. But please don’t get me wrong, being part of the badminton team has brought about some of my best and most enjoyable moments from my time at University, however that is a result of having the right people with the right attitude to sport.

I could ramble about how vital sport is at University for both students and the institution, so instead I’ll give talk about 3 key reasons – they might not be the 3 most important overall, but they are the three that are most applicable to me and other people I know at the moment.

1 – It’s an escape like no other

When your days are full of lectures and/or revision each day feels the same, the weekends merge into the weeks and before you know it the term is ending. The ‘bubble’ created at University makes it extremely easy to lose track of time. It doesn’t take long before you can’t concentrate, before you feel stressed about exams or you feel like you’ve lost your social life.

Sport is one of the best ways to break this up. An hour or two of team training gets you in a new environment, with different people and a different mind-set. It is crazy how good sport can be for ‘refreshing’ your mind. Whether you want to take out anger, relax or just do something you enjoy.

It can also help you keep track of time. If you know when your trainings are or when it’s your match day, you stay aware to what’s going on.

2 – It’s competitive

Let’s face it, University is a competition. Whether you’re competing against others for the highest grade, or against yourself to get the best result you can, you need to work to your best to ensure you perform at your best in exams.

It’s not easy to approach work with this competitive nature. However it parallels closely to the competitive nature of sport. Competing in sport builds up your attitude to train to your maximum, to rest well, eat properly and perform to your best. This is no different from working for your degree; you need to sleep properly, you need to eat right and you need to put the work in before the ‘big day’.

Sport will build this attitude in students and so if a University wants more ambitious and hardworking students, this is one way to promote it.

3 – Revision is boring!

I love sport a lot more than I like revision. If University was focused on revision and lectures only, I’d leave instantly. I don’t get excited to open up lecture slides or read a paper. Granted at times it is extremely interesting and I enjoy my subjects as a whole, however the individual parts are usually more painful than fun.

Sport makes it bearable – simple as that!

There are many students that will have similar views to these above, and many other points. Many students understand the value and importance of sport for them. Many people base their University choice on sport, and so if a University overlooks its importance, or puts it on the back seat, it will lose out on a lot of interest from prospective students and I also believe it will hold back a number of current students from reaching their full potential.

I recently read an article that spoke about the automatic qualifications rules for large sporting events. By that I mean the varied stages at which football clubs enter the FA cup, the set up in snooker where the top 16 players in the world automatically qualify whilst the other 16 places are filled from qualification, and many more.

The article raised the question ‘why do some athletes get special treatment whilst others don’t?’ Would it not make sense for all 32 spaces in a world championships to be filled automatically or fill none and have everyone go through qualification?

It argued that many sporting bodies are only adding an element of qualification, or allowing top athletes an easier route to the final, to increase revenue. If there are qualification stages, there are more chances for TV coverage, advertisement etc. and allowing top players or teams to progress further in a competition increases the chances of large matches with top teams going head-to-head, hopefully attracting larger crowds, increasing the excitement of the sport and thus increasing TV coverage, sponsorship and advertisement.

I don’t think you can disagree that sporting bodies have to look for ways in which to increase revenue. Public sector cuts are almost killing various sports in some countries. If the bodies can self-fund, they have the security they need to build for the future.

But is the article right to point the finger at these qualification rules? In my opinion, absolutely not!

Firstly, who says they’re making any money from qualification? Qualifying rounds in the majority of sports are going to attract smaller crowds, less likely to have TV coverage yet will carry similar costs to the main draw – venue, officials etc. I wouldn’t be surprised if some sports make a loss from this stage of a tournament.

As for the main draw, does it not make more sense to reward the top players? Imagine if no players were given automatic entry into a world championships and all players must first qualify, that takes away the incentive of playing the circuit tournaments throughout the year which are essentially the qualification stages. If you’re one or two places away from automatic entry you will play the extra tournament to get the ranking points, when athletes play more that’s when you can get the sport to grow.

Thirdly, I think this argument falls down when you consider that the automatic qualification rules are in play for many, many junior events. These are very rarely televised, little sponsorship and advertisement. They are there for player development, not as a main revenue stream, therefore if automatic qualification was intended for anything other than fairness and as a positive incentive for athletes, it wouldn’t be used for junior events.

Does all this mean that sport is clean from corruption? Are sporting bodies always acting in the best interest of the athletes? Well we know that’s not true, looks at the likes of FIFA and their current situation.

What’s more concerning for me is the danger that athletes are beginning to compete for the money and not just for the passion. Match fixing, betting on their own results, even through to drug use to gain an advantage. If athletes look for ways to make more money, rather than prove how good they are, then sports can fall down. Sadly it is happening more often and I believe a large number of sporting bodies are hiding the truth from fans as it would destroy the sport’s reputation. Think about it… what incentive does a large sporting body have to expose the world number 1 for steroid use for example… if they do then the sport loses credibility, fans are unhappy, there is negative media. If they don’t, the athlete keeps winning, increasing popularity within their home country and attracting larger sponsors. Perhaps only once they’ve retired will the truth be exposed – look at Lance Armstrong.

It’s no secret that sports and athletes need money to survive, but let’s hope it happens in a fair way that allows us to continue having the spectacle we love.

“I want to start a blog/company/about me page – I want a website.

But I need to know how to code, right? Sure there are free sites out there I can use, but I can’t customise it to suit what I want!

What about hosting? That’s expensive isn’t it? And I’m no IT technician, what if something goes wrong?

I can’t do it all myself, can I?!”

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of me creating my blog (I hadn’t started writing blogs yet though…) and this is why this week’s blog is a day late; my hosting expired!

Renewing the hosting package and looking around for better deals has reminded me of when I first thought about blogging and all the questions and concerns I had. I began to learn HTML coding to help me build a site, I didn’t know how to go about buying a domain or how to host it. In reality, it is EASY and so for this post, I’ll give you a checklist of what you need (or what I use) to run my blog.

1 – A domain

I’d always liked the idea of having a myname.com and I was fortunate enough to find adamianstewart.com available when domain shopping.

Firstly, think about your domain name, keep it easy to remember and spell! The last thing you want is for people to attempt to find your site, but fail as they misspell it.

Once you have your name, you have to check its availability. This is easy, I personally use GoDaddy to buy my domains, but there are many alternatives out there. You simply search for the domain, if it’s available, you add to cart, if not you need to look for a variation or a different ending e.g. .co.uk, .org, .net, even .ninja

2 – Hosting

Again, this is simple for a simple site. GoDaddy hosting can be adding to cart at checkout when buying a domain, personally, I went with BlueHost. When looking for a hosting, I look for a company with a strong reputation and good support. As long as I am sure they will keep my site up and running and help me with any issues, I’m happy!

There are many varieties of hosting services that will allow for more visitors, extra storage, and priority if the server crashes etc. Usually the basic package is fine for a blog!

Once again, find a package and checkout.

Make sure when doing all of these and creating accounts you make a note of your username and passwords!! I’ve had lots of problems forgetting mine….

3 – The website

If you really, really wanted to you could learn how to code and build a site from scratch. But that’s pointless nowadays. There are thousands of templates waiting to be used.

I go for WordPress every time! It’s easy to use and has lots of customisation when the right theme is applied. Essentially WordPress is the backbone of your site, you then look for a WordPress theme that creates the structure, layout and functionality of your site. There are themes for every purpose and taste and so you will have no issues finding one you like!

Again, I like to go with one that is built by a company with good support and a good reputation. On a number of occasions I’ve contacted the creators of my theme to help with a line of code that will alter the appearance of some text or functionality of a button.

For me, YouTube is also a saviour for WordPress, I know very little code but I do know how to follow a tutorial on YouTube for WordPress hints and tips!

Once you have all these set up, you need to do some technical work to connect them all, ensure it is all up and running, however as with anything there are people that will show you how for free!

Want to do it all in 15 minutes? Here’s the video I used from the fantastic Caleb Storkey – http://storkeymedia.com/how-to-set-up-a-wordpress-website-and-blog/

I’m self-taught to juggle, yo-yo, perform magic tricks and now I’m learning the guitar.

I’m far from accomplished in any of these, yet I’ve reached a stage where I’m happy to move onto the next challenge. Once I’ve learnt how to juggle or play a song on a guitar, what do I do with the skill? Apart from attempting to entertain family and friends, not much. So why do I continue to learn new skills?

Well, I’d be lost if I didn’t!

Learning these skills helps me in two ways…

1 – It’s a challenge!

I love overcoming any sort of challenge, and these skills are perfect for that. Take juggling, until you can juggle, every attempt ends as a failure – you drop the balls. It took time and lots and lots and lots of practice, but once it clicked, juggling became second nature. Once the act of juggling essentially became unconscious, being completed through muscle memory, it was time for the next challenge.

I hate to leave something incomplete. I hate not giving something 100%. So when a yo-yo flies out my hand and breaks on the ground, I instantly go on amazon and buy a replacement. I have to learn how to complete the basics, I enjoy not getting it right because I know eventually I will. These skills take time, not some raw talent that only a select few have.

2 – It gives me a break!

This part might sound a little contradictory…

I love learning new skills because they test and push me. They make me not want to quit when failing. That can be pretty tough mentally, I can’t tell you have much will power it takes to build up the finger dexterity to perform one handed card cuts in magic (not actually that much).

So how can they give me a break? Well, it’s a different mental challenge from anything else I might be doing. It’s a bit like working out, it’s not easy but it can reenergise you, give you a break from working. What I love about these skills though, is that a break only needs to last maybe 10 minutes. Close my laptop, pick up my guitar, fail to play Hozier’s song Cherry Wine, put down guitar, pick up laptop and carry on. Sometimes there is nothing I enjoy more, it’s fun, it’s silly, it doesn’t really mean anything or matter whether I do it well or not and so it lets me refresh my mind.

So when you next feel stressed or bored, pick up three tennis balls and have a go at juggling, just don’t stand next to anything valuable!!

Something I’ve thought about recently, and I’ve spoken about it with a few friends. People strive for happiness. My goal in life is to be happy. But is it good to be in a state where you are always happy, not wanting anything to change? Where life is perfect and you don’t have a care in the world.

It sounds like the ideal life. It’s not unrealistic either. I feel close to this right now and have done for quite some time. I’m extremely happy, however, recently I’ve wondered whether I want that all the time…

I know, it sounds odd, why wouldn’t you want happiness? I can explain, I think….

Have you ever noticed how powerful fear is?

For me, fear has to be one of the most powerful emotions. It can make you act instantly, it over powers emotions such as embarrassment. It can make you plan how to act and give you the drive to see it through.

For me, I fear being stagnant. I fear not improving and reaching higher levels. When that fear kicks in for me, I think about how I can change, what I can improve and I’m given new drive to aim for it.

This isn’t to say I’m not motivated when I’m happy, but the power of fear is second to none for me.

Does sadness put things into perspective?

What does Gary Vaynerchuck do when he hits burnout? He imagines his mum has just been in a car accident – extreme right?! This sadness of losing someone so close to him puts everything into perspective, it re-enforces his priorities for what matter most, this can be lost when going along with ‘perfect days’. You can be very grateful when happy, you can be extremely loving, but when you feel sadness, you feel the pain, you remember what matters and you re-adjust if needed to match your personal morals and beliefs.

So what am I trying to say?

I’m not saying don’t be happy. I think should be 95% of your emotion, you should aim for happiness and align things in your life to encourage it. However, sometimes invite fear and sadness, even if only for a night. Let someone highlights what you fear, let yourself believe it is true and see how your mind-set shifts! Also, think about what matters and how you would feel if something were to break that connection, remember its value and appreciate it more.

Whether I’m talking nonsense or not, this is at least some food for thou

Something a little different this week. I wanted to write an update post on last week’s post – Wake Up!

Why?

Well, because a lot of things came out of it – ideas, suggestions and results.

First – Some honesty

In the post last week, I spoke about the importance of having a reason to wake up. If you have a time bound activity, your mind will know you need to be up.

I followed my own advice for the following weekend. The next morning (Saturday) I had agreed to meet my brother at 9am for a game a squash.

You can guess what happened…. I woke up at 7:30am with my alarm, and…… fell back to sleep, not waking until spot on 9am!

So yes I did write about the importance of building a habit to wake up on time and then over sleep the very next day…. But for the record, I still got to the sports centre with enough time for a good game!

Ideas

The next morning (yes, the late morning) I had a message waiting for me on Facebook, sent from a friend of mine whilst they were on a night out, not a drunk text surprisingly, actually a message with their advice on how to wake up (why they were reading my blog on a night out, I’m still not sure…)

What did they have to say? – Build a routine.

Every morning, do the same thing instantly – drink some water, get out and walk to the bathroom, even sing a song. Do anything you want, but do it every day as soon as you wake up. The act of doing something straight away will get you brain in gear.

Suggestions

I’ve tried countless alarm clock apps, but I’ve found anything I like. The alarm noises are horrible, the app doesn’t work and so the alarm doesn’t even go off, or you can’t personalise it enough…

However one app I hadn’t yet tried was suggested to me – Sleep Cycle.

As I entered the app store to search for it, that very app came up as a suggestion on my featured page (a sign? Maybe…)

The app works by using the microphone in your phone or tablet to listen to you sleep and it uses that noise to determine how well you are sleeping. When you set an alarm, you set it in a 30 minute period. At some stage within those 30 minutes, when you are in a light phase of sleep, the alarm will go off… AND… the noise is nice! Soothing, easy music. Not those harsh, loads screeches.

As well as acting as an alarm, you can look back through your nights to see how well you slept, whether this is of much use, I’m not yet sure, but I am certainly interested and check it every morning!

Results

I’ve found it really difficult to build a habit. To do the same thing instantly each morning. However, I can see how it would work. I think this is something I will stick at and attempt over and over, but if it’s for me, I’m not sure yet.

However, I absolutely love this new app!

It works perfectly!! I have used it for four nights so far. Number of times I’ve overslept – 0. Number of times I’ve woken up feeling fresh – 4! I’ve had no issues, I’ve enjoyed seeing how I slept and I’ve felt good each day.

So if you’re a heavy sleeper, Sleep Cycle might be your solution!

I love sleep. I also enjoy waking up, as it’s the start of a new day. However, I struggle to wake up.

I set an alarm, it wakes me up. A few weeks later, I find myself sleeping through the alarm noise. Sometimes, I’m not deciding to lie in, I literally don’t wake up until after my alarm (no matter how many I set). If I change the alarm noise, the cycle repeats.

For me, this is a challenge I want to overcome and overcome fast! I’ve put in place a number of strategies to try and wake up, however I also want to add some accountability. By writing this post, I’m committing to myself to wake up on time.

So what am I aiming for? At the moment my alarm is set for 7am each morning, with follow up alarms at 7:15 and 7:30. A number of times these past few weeks I’ve ended up waking up at 8:30am. So, yes, not late and early enough for me to be wherever I might need to be for the day, but it isn’t building a habit.

Extreme Alarm Clock

I get used to alarm noises, quickly! I can easily sleep through them. So how can I overcome it?

Change the senses.

Now, I’m not woken by noise, but by feel. An alarm clock that shakes my bed! This worked like a charm… until… I formed the muscle memory to turn it off and I then found myself turning the alarm off in a half-sleep state, away enough to move, not awake enough to make the decision to fully wake up – disaster.

Now, I’ve move the alarm base and so I’m not able to turn it off whilst half asleep – for now anyway!

A Reason

I want to wake up early so that I can get my day started, get more work done and be more productive. I have things to wake up for, however these aren’t time bound activities and I think that is where I have gone wrong. If I wake up 30 minutes later, I just start working 30 minutes later, I haven’t missed anything, I have slept through an activity, so in reality it didn’t make much difference.

Now I want to add a reason. Whether that be to wake up and go the gym early or go and meet someone early. I now set a time bound reason. If I wake up 30 minutes late, I might have missed the chance to go to the gym. The possibility of missing something will be a strong enough factor to get me awake.

So why post about this? Well, now I have made it known what I am trying to do, even if only to myself through the act of typing this. That accountability is the third factor that I hope will get me up in the morning!

P.S. If you have any techniques that get you awake in the morning, let me know 🙂