What is Critical Thinking, Procrastination, and Cognitive Bias

Topic 1: Procrastination?

Discuss the critical thinking decision to return to school. Deciding to return to school after being away for a while is a big deal. I was a procrastinator when it came to school. Although the name Oni means the word ‘today’, and it was given to me because I was a person who got things done today. However, that is not how I was when it came to school. According to Robbins (2004) there is no simple answer to procrastination. Robbins (2004) suggested several factors could be to blame:

· Fragile self-esteem

· Fear of making mistakes

· Being a perfectionist

· Desire to maintain control

· Lack of motivation

· Poor organization

· Competing claims on time

Students often mention time being a factor, as school may take away from being with family, home projects, and having a social life. The key to being in class is a schedule. For years I taught classes on Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and habit #3 is to put first things first. Make yourself a schedule and stick to it. Family first and all else will fall into place. Covey’s rules helped me, as it is the only way that I can be a mother, a wife, work three jobs and go to school. I stick to my schedule and I do not procrastinate!

References:

Covey, S. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York, NY: Free Press

Robbins, S.P. (2004). Decide and conquer: Make winning decision and take control of your life (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Topic 2: Thinking – What is Critical Thinking?

Has your train of thought developed and changed throughout the years? How will your thinking change 10 years from now after going to college, reading books, and writing papers? What if you had not read any books, gone to college, or written any papers–would your critical thinking skills be any different? Explain.