Focus is Key

After reading Alexis’ entry on Returns to Scale, I must admit, I was moved (nothing sappy okay? Just couldn’t find the appropriate word to use ) to relate the Law of Marginal Returns to my own experiences regarding my life and my studies.


I personally think there’s nothing wrong with being an overachiever. In fact, I admire people who put so much time and effort into their studies because it’s something that I find very difficult to do. It’s not that I’m lazy or that I take my studies for granted…I’m not one of those people and I condemn those who are like them. In fact, I’m a firm believer in education and its many benefits.

Here are the reasons why I find studying so difficult:
1. I’ve never developed a study habit growing up.
2. Sometimes, I would get away with really high grades without reviewing or studying. Of course I would get low scores too, but I remember feeling really elated whenever I’d get away with high grades (you know how it feels hahahaha).
3. I easily give -in to distractions/temptations (e.g TV!!!!, food, people going in and out of my room, fanfiction, phonecalls, daydreams, music etc) and;
4. probably the most shameful reason …SLEEP! Mind you, I once had around 6-8 30 minute naps in one day. My body’s weird and I’m not proud of it sleeping all the time(I think I’ve tried every remedy available: coffee, energy drinks, bubblegum etc…they don’t work AT ALL!!!). Shameful right?

But at the end of the day, it’s really the lack of study habit that’s the problem. But it’s never been a constant practice (or lack of it) of mine. I guess I go through phases in my life where I would study hard and then revert to my old ways.

The thing is, I just realized (very recently actually), that I’ve actually been following the Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns (LDMR) in my studies. I realized that I usually do well during the first few years in school... and end up losing focus by the end of the schoolyear.

I went to a science high school (and back then I loathed science and math), and I remember studying so hard as a freshman because I was afraid of getting failing grades. But at the end of first year, I got into the Director’s list (it’s the equivalent of the Dean’s list in college) and I remember feeling so good about myself because I got really good results from my hard work.In a way, I did follow the LMR which states that:

“…as the use of an input increases in equal increments (with other inputs fixed), a point will eventually be reached at which the additions to output decreases.”

By increasing my effort (input) towards my studies, I got high grades (output) which led me to reach my optimal point (a place in the Director’s List).

At that time, despite my hard work, I thought that I once again got away with something I didn’t work so hard for. In the succeeding years, I started to lose focus. I would work on the problems and I would still take down notes, but my focus was definitely not there. As cheesy as this may sound, my heart was definitely out of it. My grades weren’t as high anymore, and all throughout high school, despite my efforts, I never regained my focus.

When I started to attend Ateneo, I felt it was my duty to redeem myself. Once again, I put my heart and soul into my studies. I reached my optimal point once again after freshman year (yey!), but come summer, I once again lost focus. I dunno, it seems pretty hazy, but I’ve sort of been using the LDMR for most part of my life.

Physically, my input was increasing. I was exerting effort…I read all the readings , solved all the problems but my drive was definitely gone. If I were to read an article, I would do so without fully grasping it. I would solve accounting and math problems without understanding them, but answering them nonetheless through patterns and formulas.

I can really attest to the fact that understanding and focus are key to one’s studies. But I am trying to change my ways, especially since I believe I’m more mature now. In a way, it's not very admirable that I change my priorities after getting into the DL. I want to change...and I am aware that it entails a lot of mental conditioning on my part, but it's simply the right thing to do. Education after all is very important. In time I think I can get back to my good old ways.

source: Pindyck, R. and Rubinfeld D. Microeconomics, Prentice-Hall International Inc.