BusinessDay Nigeria BusinessDay 18 Jun 2018

32 BUSINESS DAY Harvard Business Review C002D5556 MondayMorning Monday 18 June 2018 In association with Become a more productive learner best practices of how we learn, we can reverse this trend. Here are four ways to become a more productive learner. — FOCUS THE MAJOR- ITY OF YOUR INFOR- MATION CONSUMP- TION ON A SINGLE TOPIC FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. Spreading your consumption hab- its too thin has real con- sequences. — PUT WHAT YOU’RE LEARNING INTO “ F R A M E W O R K S .” Frameworks act as the internal architecture for our brains, creating “rooms” for the infor- mation we receive. They help us retain new in- formation by associat- ing it in a structured, re- peatable way with what we already know. MATT PLUMMER AND JO WILSON T oday we con- sume five times the information every day than we did in 1986. One would think this would translate into in- creased knowledge. Yet this does not appear to be the case; scores of average American adults on tests of gen- eral civic knowledge have remained almost constant for the last 80 years. We’re consuming more information but not learning more. In short, we have become less productive learners. By applying an inten- tional approach to con- suming information and — REGULARLY SYN- THESIZE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED. Syn- thesizing is challeng- ing because it involves making sense of the new information in light of everything you already know. It differs from summarizing in that synthesizing involves bringing your opinion to bear about what is important. — CYCLE BETWEEN INFORMATION FEAST- ING AND INFORMA- TION FASTING. It’s im- portant that you have seasons when you limit your consumption of information, so you can focus on reviewing, considering and apply- ing what you’ve already consumed. Remember that new information can interfere with previ- ously acquired informa- tion. We don’t have to be vic- tims to the millions of blogs, YouTube videos, Facebook posts, and even books demand- ing our attention but giving us little. Decide to become a produc- tive learner and you can actually reap the ben- efits of the incredible increase in the amount and accessibility of in- formation. (Matt Plummer is the founder of Zarvana. Jo Wilson is a sustainable productivity coach and creator of habit devel- opment paths at Zarva- na.) How working parents can meet the demands of school age kids DAISY WADEMAN DOWLING A s a working parent, you’ve already got two jobs, and having two jobs isn’t easy. But you’re also going to spend a minimum of 13 years with a third critical role: stewarding your child’s education. Here are a few simple, specific techniques that put any working parent of school-age kids on their front foot. — EXPLAIN THE WHY, NOT JUST THE WHEN, OF TIME AWAY FROM WORK. Make it easier for colleagues to understand, sympathize and ally themselves with you — and telegraph your com- mitment to the job as well. — PLAN AND BUNDLE VOLUNTEER COMMIT- MENTS. Even with a very flexible job, it’s unlikely that any working parent can make it to every bake sale, library fundraiser and field trip. In the first week of school, tell your child’s teachers and/or the school’s volunteer coordi- nators that you’re eager to do your fair share — but that you will be doing it all in one go. Then schedule a personal or vacation day well in advance and use it entirely for school volunteerism. — INVEST YOUR TIME WHERE IT MATTERS MOST. A groundbreaking and com- prehensive research study done by professors from the University of Texas and Duke University found that only a handful of habits make a real difference, such as reading aloud to young kids and talk- ing to teenagers about college plans. — MAKE “FAMILY STUDY HALL” A HABIT. Beat the nightly homework drama by setting a hard-and-fast time each evening that the whole family has study hall: silent, dedicated work time around the dining table. — TREAT TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS AS YOU WOULD VALUED COL- LEAGUES (BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT THEY ARE). You do need to develop strong work- ing relationships with the pro- fessionals teaching your child. To do so, think of a favorite co-worker, one who you enjoy (C) (2017) Harvard Business Review. Distributed by New York Times Syndicate We have you covered through CBN’s special intervention for speciﬁed retail invisible transactions. Are you travelling abroad for vacation Visit any of our designated branches nationwide for your following invisible trade transactions: School Fees Pilgrimage & Other Travel Allowances (PTA and BTA) Medical Allowances or studying abroad? We are here to serve you. *Terms and conditions apply www.ﬁrstbanknigeria.com FirstBankofNigeria @FirstBankngr Firstbankngr FirstBankofNigeriaLtd @ﬁrstbanknigeria +FirstBankNigeria being staffed with on tough projects. Take this exact same approach with educators. They’ll notice and appreciate your collaboration, and likely respond in kind. — REMEMBER WHAT YOU’RE MANAGING TO- WARD. It can be helpful to re-center by remembering the two key outcomes you — and every parent — are really shootin

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