Business – the Spreeder app

I have great respect for Mr. North’s advice. He has made many suggestions for a more productive life that I have been only too happy to take advantage of, since I can see that they actually work in real life. But sometimes, even when I know the advice is sound, I just don’t take action, perhaps for a variety of reasons. This assignment has got me thinking about the root reason I have repeatedly brushed aside his admonishments to use Spreeder, an app designed to increase your reading speed for maximum efficiency and knowledge.

I have always been a fast reader, faster than anyone I know. The other day I took a test and was ranked between 440 and 560 wpm. I originally supposed that I don’t need any improvement in this area, since I already read faster than the majority.

But what if I could double my CURRENT reading speed?

AWESOME, right?

Mr. North doesn’t need to do any more convincing. The Spreeder app costs $67, and in my opinion, this will be a decision that will save me time and money in the long run, as well as increase my knowledge.

Is it worth it to me to trade $67 and 10 minutes a day to use Spreeder to increase my reading speed? Absolutely. I am planning on getting Spreeder in the near future. The cool thing about Spreeder is that it is possible to set up five different accounts! I like that because I have younger brothers who might also want to use the app and increase their reading speed!

Thanks for listening to the musings of a school girl!!

Advertisement

Hacking the Ron Paul Curriculum for Efficient Results!

Top tips for success in online video homeschooling, like the Ron Paul Curriculum. For those of you who don’t take the RPC, it’s an online video homeschooling curriculum that is cost-efficient (only $50 per course), covers Grades One through to college prep courses, and is liberty-minded and full of brilliant and effective principles and sound information. (This post is geared mostly toward those who are taking the Ron Paul curriculum, but anyone can benefit from the principles!)

In RPC, the whole system is dependent on your ability to stay disciplined. Depending upon your courses, it can be hard work, but with the proper skills, you can get it done better and more efficiently. So without further ado, here are my top 5 tips for success in the Ron Paul Curriculum.

1. Dress for success.

Changing out of your PJs and into your jeans makes you feel more like you’re actually working. You look more professional, you feel more professional … what could be better for your writing skills?

2. Multitask … in moderation.

Most multitasking, like talking on the phone while baking a complicated recipe, can end in disaster! But if you’re taking the Ron Paul curriculum, there are some smart ways to take advantage of the time normally spent staring at the video screen.

Personally, my concentration levels increase when I fold laundry while listening to history videos. I don’t know why, but it does! I clean my room during business videos, but I have to concentrate really hard during literature videos. I normally take in-depth notes in preparation for assignments.

The idea is to combine something you use your ears for (like a video or podcast) with something you use your hands for, like using a quartz roller, folding laundry, combing your pet giraffe …

3. Take a break.

RPC is a completely on-computer curriculum. Sitting at a desk in front of the blue screen for a few hours isn’t only monotonous, it’s bad for your body to be stationary for so long . Take a break every 30 minutes or so to move around. Run around your house 5 times, practice your set or swish, offer to do *gulp* chores …

4. TIP: look ahead for the essay.

At the beginning of every week, I look ahead to see what the essay topic is going to be. I think about it or jot down notes throughout the week and by the end, I’m pretty sure I know what I’m going to say. This keeps you from needing to write a prime essay in one day, which I find a little hard to do.

5. Always, always, ALWAYS take notes!!!!

In Grade 10, after a few years on a break from the Ron Paul curriculum, I noticed that the essay work/topics got a lot heavier. At first, its motivating, but if you don’t keep up, your essay folder starts piling up on those ones that you *thought* you’d do later!!

By taking notes you remind yourself of your topics and assignments, and it gets easier to keep on top of the things you’re learning and retain new information.

To Conclude … You don’t need to follow this to the letter to have a more productive school day. But I found that utilizing the tips helps me stay organized and stress-free in high school, and I really love to work that way!

Makayla

The changes I’m making with my time for greater productivity!

Heyyyy y’all! I recently did a post on being more efficient, and here is where I get to pinpoint and be specific on which ones I’m going to focus on putting into practice first!

Don’t we all have those days where we know we haven’t been as productive as we know we could have? (#worstdayever!!) It goes without saying that we all want to be superhumans in managing time, but HOW?

The trick is to remember that everything you do takes up a niche of the time during the day that you’re going to want back, so you better think ahead and wonder, “at the end of the day, am I going to be glad I did this?” I’m almost ALWAYS glad when I do chores or school all day because at least I did something productive that makes a dent in my remaining school!!

I’ve found that reallocating time not only allows me to get more things done in a day, but it also allows me to do everything BETTER than I used to be able to. Once I stopped my extra reading and self-reflection, I noticed a MAJOR spike in my productivity and effectiveness on the job. Yet, there STILL remains changes to be made that will greatly reduce time-wasting.

The first thing I’m going to change is to write down or bookmark topics or articles I would like to study throughout the week. At a point in the week where I have free time I’ll come back to the list and look up the things that I still think are important. This saves tons of time because it keeps me organized, and it keeps me from surfing the net when I should be doing my school. 😬

The second re-allocation I plan on trying out is to reduce the time I spend in pleasure reading and use that time to write essays. Although I love to learn, take notes, and store knowledge, writing essays on certain subjects can take me a long time. I need to plan a time for me to sit down and write those essays I’ve been putting off for weeks!

As I re-enter the official school year, I feel better and nearly ready to start again! My third and final reallocation is to spend less time drawing and reading books and articles, and spending more time in school, math, essay-writing, and reading the Bible.

Stay awesome, y’all!

Makayla

(Business I, Lesson 60)

What recent time re-allocation changes have you made? Any tips for a gal like me?