How to focus on studying? Tips from Tokyo’s Manuscript Writing Cafe

Focus on studying at Manuscript Writing Cafe.

People prefer an environment where they can focus on studying or working without any external distractions from friends, family, or the noise of people around them.

Cafes are often the first on the list for a conducive environment that will help stimulate cognitive functions and create the perfect study method.

However, The Manuscript Writing Cafe in Tokyo has a different approach – by letting in customers who declare their writing deadline!

Let’s discover in detail how the right study space can make your study habits better.

3 rules to focus and be productive

1. Writers have to declare what kind of project they are working on – whether it is copywriting, manuscript writing, proofreading, project planning, etc. and what their goals are and fill in the details on a card.

You have to mention how many words count you’ll have to finish for your writing project.

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Your language skills

How would you rate your skills in your native language?*

I keep my sentences simple; my vocabulary is limited

I can communicate effectively in my daily life, but I'm not comfortable with long or difficult texts

I'm confident speaking and writing about topics I'm familiar with; I can understand complex texts with some effort

I can write and speak correctly about various topics; I regularly read complex texts like newspaper articles

I can explain virtually anything in the right words; I can deal with very complex texts like scientific papers

How would you rate your skills in your native language? is required.

Were you raised bilingual (or more)?*

Were you raised bilingual (or more)? is required.

Have you ever reached an intermediate proficiency in a foreign language?*

Have you ever reached an intermediate proficiency in a foreign language? is required.

Do these languages include any language that is similar to Italian?*

Have you ever reached an intermediate proficiency in a foreign language? is required.

Namely French, Spanish, Portuguese, or Romanian.

How old are you?*

  < 1011 - 2021 - 3031 - 4041 - 5051 - 6061 - 7070 +

How old are you? is required.

Create a study schedule

Your current Italian level*BeginnerElementaryIntermediateUpper-intermediate

Your current Italian level is required.

Set the target level higher than your current one.

Elementary: Can communicate in simple and routine tasks.
Intermediate: Can deal with most situations likely to arise while traveling.
Upper-intermediate: Can interact regularly without strain with native speakers.

Your target Italian level*ElementaryIntermediateUpper-intermediateAdvanced

Your target Italian level is required.

Set the target level higher than your current one.

Deadline*

Deadline is required.

Based on your weekly time commitment, you need extra days to meet the deadline.

Example: your next trip to Italy.

Choose a study schedule*

Intensive 14 Hour/Weekly Commitment

Regular 7 Hour/Weekly Commitment

Free 5 Hours/Weekly Commitment

Deadline is required.

In order to meet your deadline, you need to commit extra hours/week.

Yes! If you follow the plan, you'll be speaking Italian at Advanced level by .

Intensive

In the intensive plan, you commit 2 hours per day.

Diversify your study activities to cover all the language skills that you need: speaking, listening, writing, and reading.

Even though you could argue that more your study, the faster you learn, I wouldn't recommend studying more than a couple of hours a day because the gain from extra time gradually gets smaller.

At the end of this form, you'll get a detailed weekly plan with all the study activites you need to reach your goal. 100% free!

Regular

With a regular plan, you practice 1 hour a day, every day.

Taking 2 live 1-on-1 lessons per week with a qualified teacher or an experienced native tutor is a good pace to practice speaking and get feedback.

This plan is the closest to the one I follow myself and I can assure that you'll make steady progress.

At the end of this form, you'll get a detailed weekly plan with all the study activites you need to reach your goal. 100% free!

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There's plenty of free resources online to make the free plan viable.

You need to substitute paid 1-on-1 tutoring with language exchange with native speakers or find other venues to practice speaking. This can be time-consuming and you need to make up for lack of guidance with self-study.

At the end of this form, you'll get a detailed weekly plan with all the study activites you need to reach your goal. 100% free!

Get your results

You're almost there!

After you submit this form, you'll receive the results in your mailbox and will see the study schedule based on your level and the plan that you selected.

These questions below are not used to create your study plan, but I'd love to know more to make my service more relevant to you!

What's your reason for learning Italian? *

Hobby

Work

Study

Relatives / significant others

Travel

What's your reason for learning Italian? is required.

How long have you been studying Italian? *

Less than 1 month

1-2 months

3-5 months

6-12 months

1-2 years

More than 2 years

How long have you been studying Italian? is required.

What are you struggling with? *

I just don't know how to study a languageI'm embarrassed because I can't speakI'm frustrated because I'm wasting time and moneyI'm nervous because I make mistakesI fear that it's too late to startI regret that I don't have timeI feel discouraged because I can't travel or live in ItalyI fear that I'll forget after I quit studyingNothing, I'm confident in my abilities

What are you struggling with? is required.

Gender *

Male

Female

Other

Gender is required.

Your first name*

Your first name is required.

Email*

Email is required.

You'll receive the results together with my best free resources to learn faster. You may opt out at any time.

PreviousCreate a study schedule

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2. The cafe will nudge a few questions here and then (every 30 minutes or 1 hour) on how you’re coming along with your task.

You’ll be asked if you want a verbal level of pressure of “Mild”, “Normal”, or “Hard”.

3. A customer can’t leave the cafe unless they’re finished with their goal for the day.

And, since you’re already there, having someone write for you is not an option anymore (like here).

While writing and finishing your tasks, you’ll get to enjoy the cafe’s services, such as the USB ports, Wi-Fi, computer fan stands, and available seating arrangements.

Inside the cafe, you’ll have unlimited refills of coffee at ¥150 per 30 minutes of stay.

If you’re curious about the style of motivation they use for writers to focus on studying and finishing their work, I also conducted an interview.

Here are some questions and answers that will clarify the effectiveness of their methods and services.

Gentle nudges deliver results

The Manuscript Writing Cafe asks the customers to give them their writing goals and deadline.

In turn, they will have to also ask if they want verbal pressure and which level they prefer.

Manuscript Writing Cafe: The feeling of high tension and the environment’s likeness to a library full of students having to study for an exam is what motivates the customers.

What is the ratio of “mild”, “normal,” and “hard”?

When asked by the customers to remind them about how they are doing in their project, what is your ratio for the level of verbal pressure?

Manuscript Writing Cafe: From our statistics, we get 10% for Mild, 85% for Normal, and 5% for Hard.

Is there a relationship between achievement rate and time?

For example, if you prompt the writers frequently, you can achieve more, or you can achieve it earlier than planned.

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Manuscript Writing Cafe: We realized that there is no relationship because there’s a progress check that people focus on.

Everyone around is focused, so everyone is naturally focused.

Focus is all about the environment

Manuscript Writing Cafe: Almost everyone says, “Because everyone around me is focused on their creative activities, I can do my best too!”

A dedicated space with the common goal of finishing their study tasks or writing prompts will inspire others to finish without distractions as well.

The best tip for an effective study session

What can we learn from this style of studying and learning? Many people often associate pressure and deadlines with motivation.

But sometimes, this method can create uneasiness and takes away the fun of learning, especially if you’re putting a deadline on becoming a native Italian speaker.

It will realistically take months to become confident in speaking your target language.

Our study tip from the Tokyo Manuscript Writing cafe is that a good environment is important, even more important than constant nudges.

Thus, you should find the right study locations to learn languages, too.

Other than finding a good place to learn, you should also learn to manage your time while studying.

Here are some experts that shared their tips on time management for self-study.

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