Reflect Essay about a Learning challenge
Describe your current learning career and potential trajectory
I'm currently a university junior in Vietnam who enjoys mathematics and is aiming for a degree in Computer Science.
Briefly describe the learning aim that is of importance to you.
I'm currently a bachelor's student in Computer Science; but as of writing, I'm on an exchange program to NUS for a Master's scholarship. I'm studying Introduction to Information Security, Computer Vision, Design & Analysis of Algorithms and Theory of Computation.
All of these are of importance to me because my passion lies in Software Engineering and Data Science, specifically in MLOps, Computer Vision and Information Retrieval. This involves alot of knowledge on higher mathematics (Linear Algebra, Discrete Maths, Statistics, Multivariable Calculus, Probability), algorithms (Data Structures & Algorithms, Optimization and Parallelization), and systems (Graphics, Database Systems, Networking, Information Security, Operating Systems and Compiler Design).
I want to be able to build meaningful systems and come up with mathematical models on multimedia problems.
What is your biggest mental challenge in achieving your learning aim?
My biggest mental challenge would be workload paralysis and being a perfectionist. I fear that I'm already late on my deadlines yet also the scope is also within my abilities, so I end up not working on it.
I might not have a good estimation on how long a task should be, so I tend to break my strict schedules. Something specific to research work is that if I do not work on something consistently, I will fall into workload paralysis and procrastinate.
Outline existing research or learning techniques that are relevant to your challenges.
The Psychology of Workload Paralysis & How to Beat It touches on workload paralysis which is caused by poor health - lack of sleep (hugely mentioned on the course), poor diet, insufficient exercise - and heavy workload. We can combat workload paralysis by prioritizing, break projects into smaller milestones, get rid of distractions, start projects right after assignment instead of before the deadline, and work on anxiety issues such as meditation, enough sleep, and a support group.
What makes a productive Ph.D. student? investigates how social environment affects a PhD student's academic productivity - which promotes having a support group of less freshman students and at least 1 female academic peer.
How do I estimate accurately the amount of time for a task in planning? provides techniques on how to estimate how long a task should take by breaking down tasks, consider past experiences, get input from others, use a task management tool, factor in contingencies, be realistic, review and adjust, and learn from your mistakes.
Apply your knowledge of research findings or learning techniques to overcome your challenges.
I will sleep earlier and get more than 6 hours of sleep, as well as promoting exercise throughout the day. I must closely use the Pomodoro technique and prohibit high-stimulating breaks to not exhaust myself. I'm currently using Notion to manage my tasks; I just need to be smarter in estimating and dividing my tasks to be more manageable.
(p.s.: i really need to start designing my own thumbnails)