Self-help books equate to an $11 billion dollar industry in the United States alone, a figure that shows no signs of slowing down. I admittedly harboured the outdated attitude that all self-help books resembled Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus; a view I am happy to say has now changed.
Graham Allcott is a self-confessed “author, speaker, social entrepreneur and the original productivity ninja”. His previous book How to Be a Productivity Ninja received excellent reviews, a success I’m sure his current offering of How to Be a Knowledge Ninja will easily emulate. This book is aimed at students with the promise to correct our flaws of procrastination, disorganisation and lack of motivation.
The opening chapter gives a brief overview to all the problem areas we commonly face; studying at inappropriate times, writing ‘to do’ lists and then losing them, checking Facebook every ten minutes etc. The first chapter of ‘Getting Organised’ is probably the most useful and is full of helpful suggestions such as recommendations for online checklists (all apps are free to download) that are also multi-platform. A tool the book often utilises is providing a space for you to write your own entries alongside your reading, for example coming up with a weekly checklist based around your own activities.
The further chapters cover a variety of problem areas for students such as exam revision, essay writing, general study and memory techniques, all of which are of great use for any student. Then came the chapter I needed the most, procrastination. The chapter opens with the figure of between 80-90% of college students in America admit to suffering from procrastination. Allcott then comes up with many suggestions of ways to counteract this nasty habit, including suggestions of setting yourself mini deadlines while keeping a record of when and why you digress each time.
I was really sceptical about this, but after reading it, I would definitely recommend it to any student who associates with any of the above or has any form of deadline or exam approaching. Allcott’s casual and friendly attitude helps you identify your own problem areas and provides ways to improve them in time to apply to your own work. He is keen to stress it’s okay to fail, as long as you realise you’re slipping into old habits anything can be rectified. Another bonus of the book is you can pick and choose the relevant sections, the chapters are all individual blocks, useful for those who on research courses with no exams, or vice versa.
Devon Allen