I have blogged before about productivity tools and tried to sound enthusiastic but this time I have hit gold. Thanks to the rise of our future AI overlords, we have Goblin Tools: an app that offers to turn the chaos …

Introducing Goblin Tools – at last, an app to manage your whole life Read more »

Gibbs recognised that we are all emotional beings and that learning is an emotionally engaged process. This seems curiously at odds with so much of scholarship over the past few centuries, which sought to produce a rarefied product that

There are quite a few extensions for the Google Chrome browser that can transform your web browsing experience. Some strip out visual clutter, some display the page headings structure on one side so you can jump straight to the part of the page you want, while others help you speed read text or read it out to you so you can listen to the printed word. These extensions can make life easier for anyone, whether you struggle to read text, learn better from hearing information instead of reading it, have tired eyes or need to multitask and so prefer to listen, or you learn best by reading and listening to something, separately or at the same time.

For some people, bustling crowds and noisy spaces are the stuff of nightmares.  If this is you, there are some simple tricks and tips to getting hold of everything you need and hiding away in the quiet recesses of the …

Seeking the sound of silence? Read more »

You think you can’t draw? You feel embarrassed to show anything in public? How about just sketching for yourself? Read on.

What’s stopping you from getting started? Do you start your day anxious and struggle to limber up, focus, and get going? Does your workload feel like an unstructured edifice that threatens to collapse and crush you?

It might surprise you to learn that a more chilled, relaxed, happy and in-control you might be a simple habit change away and it all starts with how you start your day and structure your time to stay calm and achieve a productive flow. It’s never too late to start a good habit, so try it today!

There are so many so-called special days now in our calendar (from Winnie the Pooh Day to National Answer your Cat’s Question Day – really?), you might be forgiven having missed this one. 11.1 or 11th of January is World …

‘Sketchnote Day’ – did this pass you by? Read more »

I sometimes facilitate a workshop on study habits. Sounds boring? Hold on – believe me, it is intriguing and worth investigating. Like my online yoga teacher says, ‘Welcome to the mat.  You have invested in being here. Let’s do something.’ …

Do you notice your (study) habits? Read more »

Starting a new calendar year by thinking about how you learn is a good step. Warning – this post contains a lot of questions! I recently read an interesting article about being a self-directed distance learner. Studying this way clearly …

The M-word. Motivation? Mindset! Read more »

Have you thought about the ‘new (academic) year – new you’ yet? I was reading the Metro paper the other day and an article by Susan Griffin on productivity caught my eye. Here is the resolutions list she devised: “Productivity …

We come up with New Year’s resolutions, why not for the new academic year, too? Read more »