On Mental and Job Training
It’s boring to just train the body physically, right? Let’s delve into Brain Training and Job Training.
Just like working out, one needs to develop the mind in both knowledge and spirituality certain ways. Why not use what you know about working out and applying it to Brain training and Job training?
Having trouble studying your material? Grease the Groove with the Pomodoro Technique. Pick a task, set a 25 minute timer, work on your task until the time is up, take a 5 min break, repeat. Every 4 pomodoros, take a longer 15-30 minute break.
Some of your muscles lacking? You focus more on those and less on the stronger muscles, right? So why not try that with studying through the Leitner System? Same concept, only with flashcards. The ones you know, move to a box that you will study once a week, every other week, once a month. The ones you don’t know, move to a box that you will study every day and every other day.
Remember all of those AMRAPs? Those workouts that you did until you were tired? How you would finish one portion of the Murph, take a quick break, then continue on until you eventually finished your workout? Now try that with studying through Flowtime Technique. Pick a task, work on it until you get tired, take a break, repeat until you finish the task.
Achieve your Flow State. You get in the zone when you’re working out. Find that flow state through however means when you’re studying or doing your job. A great book about the flow state and tips and tricks and how to achieve it is Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Now that you have some general ideas, apply it. Maybe only some of the techniques work a little bit, so why not try and do some of certain days and the others on other days? Try Pomodoro on a Monday and Friday. Try Leitner on a Tuesday and Thursday. Try Flowtime on a Wednesday.
Now that you have some tips and tricks on studying, why not add meditation to that as well?
Do some breathing work or just meditate about nothing to clear the mind. The choice is yours.
Now that you can develop yourself mentally and spiritually, let’s move on to Job training.
To master one’s job, one must create a skill tree where one can see where they have mastered and where they are an amateur. Skill trees can help someone reach their goals and know where they stand easily, just like in those RPGs that you used to (and probably still do) play all the time on the PC or Gaming System.
Say you’re a Gumshoe. You need to learn how to get better at your job or you’ll stay stuck living in that sedan all your life. Get a paper, draw out the skill tree, and start mastering the arts! Here’s an example of a skill tree that you can make as a Gumshoe:
Stalking, Observing, Searching
Info Gathering
Interviews and Interrogations
Preparing and Examining Evidence
Testifying
Or if you’re into very -detailed and specific- skill tree systems, you can go a route similar to what I’m currently working on at another part of the site… here’s the example for someone trying to master Small Unit Tactics:
The Warrior Monk
Mastering the Mind
Mastering the Body
Mastering the Job
The Art of the Hunt
The Art of the Hold
Mastering Instruments of War
Relying on Support
Relying on No Support
Know Your Environment
Know Your People
Each of these categories will also have numerous sub-categories, all requiring precision and accuracy with knowing. One cannot simply conduct a surgical strike or even a decapitation strike without first being a Master of War.
Thanks for the read. I intend to create more posts about topics such as these and plan on making a few systems out of these ideas. Stay tuned.
