Sometimes, our lives seem to be so routine and we find that our actions are so repetitive that we forget to put thoughts into our actions. We just do the same things over and over and do it the same way that we have been doing it for a long time. We also often procrastinate, putting off simple things that are in front of us to do for later. We also tend to let technology do everything for us, lessening human efforts. Technology is a good thing, but forgetting to use your human, natural ways of doing things is not good.
You should not rely on technology to make you a more efficient person. Below are 4 tips on how to use your natural skills to turn you into a more efficient and successful person.
1. Use the CAR and STAR approach.
When you are in a job interview, do not answer like you are answering a text message. That means, do not give short and abbreviated answers. Instead, use the CAR approach or the STAR approach in answering the questions.
CAR stands for Context, Action, Result. An example is:
Question: How do you handle stress at work?
Context: Working as an accountant, there are times when you look at numbers on the computer screen too much and it starts to make your brain tired.
Action: So, I pause for a few minutes, stretch, get up and walk to the break room to get water or a drink.
Result: Getting up, stretching and walking physically help distress. And drinking water or coffee gives me new energy to get back to work and work on numbers again.
STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Interviewers use this to predict future behavior. An example is:
Situation: The interviewer wants you to present a situation when you had handled an irate customer.
Task: What task did you have to achieve?
Action: What did you do and why?
Result: What was the outcome of your actions?
2. Consume and create.
Have you ever held a book only to find yourself looking at the summary because you did not want to read the whole book? Turning consumption into creation means that with every piece of information that you consume, you should create something out of it. For example, in reading an article that you see on Facebook, you should read it with focus and concentration rather than hurrying to get to the end of it. You should let yourself absorb the information, and that way you are are actually creating information. You consume by reading, and create by absorbing.
3. Take notes by hand.
Let’s face it, nowadays we use the keyboard more than we use pen and paper. And that necessarily is not a good thing. When we take notes using a laptop, computer or your tablet, we do type in more information because we type much faster than we can write. When we take down notes through writing, we tend to write less because we write slower than we can type and we tend to catch up with what we are listening to. Yes, we write down less with pen and paper, but with this we are more selective with what information we write and this makes us process more information. The extra-processing of information improves our learning and retention. So in short, writing is better than typing in learning.
4. Use examples, but understand the root of it.
To help yourself learn, do use examples. But what will help you learn better is understanding the logic and mechanism behind the example.
Example:
1 + 2 = 3
Understanding the logic of the example:
a + b = c
If you understand the logic, the next time that you are presented with the same problem but with different figures, you would know what to do. You would know that 2(a)+3(b)=5(c) because you would know that to get c, you would ned to add a and b.
