The world we live in is fast-paced and the need for new skills is growing by the day. You have to memorize tons of information and learn as many skills as you can within a very limited timeframe. But comprehending new information and becoming an expert in multiple fields is one of the hardest challenges you’ll ever face. That is why many people will tell you that learning is frustrating, tiring, and unnecessarily time-consuming. Before you give into their reasoning, first consider these 6 brain hacks that scientists have proved can help your brain memorize new information faster and expedite your learning process.
1. Put everything you learn to good use
Putting what you learn to good use means repeating it in your head over and over, practicing over and over, and talking about it consistently until it sticks to your brain. The more you play an instrument, for example, the more natural it will feel and the faster it will be to learn it. Note that all acquired skills are not equal in this regard. Some are easier to put to good use because you use them every day. Such skills include cooking, interior design, or driving. There are others that will require you to make deliberate efforts to make good use of them. These include negotiation skills, public speaking, or email marketing. You have to create time for those because it will never come naturally.
2. Don’t deal with people who can’t help you learn
The signs are clear for a non-teachable person. You will know someone who cannot help you learn or practice your acquired skills from afar. This is someone who does everything for you instead of coaching you on how to do it. Other people won’t give you the audience when you want to test some of the information you learned on them. Don’t waste your time being around such people. If you’ve undertaken a life coach training, for example, you need to have a coachable friend who will allow you to test your skills on them.
3. Focus on learning 20 percent of anything, the remaining 80 percent will come naturally
You only need to learn the most important content within a huge chunk of information, and the lesser important details will come to you naturally. For most topics, the important content accounts for only about 20% of the entire content. This type of study is helpful because it frees up your time and allows enables you to develop a mental map for an entire course, rather than spend long hours trying to comb every word and sentence within a topic. Besides, it eliminates the need for multitasking, consequently allowing you to focus fully on the meat and potatoes. Studies show that multitasking kills productivity and brings about unnecessary distractions.
4. Leverage the power of “pen and paper”
There is power in writing things out on paper, using a pen. Studies show that typing fast on a phone or computer makes it hard for you to learn as you take notes. Writing by hand, on the other hand, is slow and allows you room to internalize content as you note it down. Your brain actively thinks about a sentence that you memorized in order to put it down on paper, unlike in typing where information is transferred extremely fast from the brain to the keyboard.
5. The more methods you use to learn the easier it becomes to comprehend new information
After learning a new skill using one method, it is best to try a different learning technique for the next learning session. If, for example, you summarized your notes last time, try to cram them this time, and then for next time, you can try to use the crammed information to try out the new skill in a practical setup. The more the methods, the easier it is for you to consolidate new knowledge and strengthen your mastery of new skills.
6. Live Healthy
If your brain is healthy, the easier it is for you to learn new information and retain it. Regular exercise gives you a sharper memory by clearing any stresses of life that could be clogging your mind. Eliminating junk foods from your diet, on the other hand, improves your daytime alertness, so you are able to internalize information faster. Getting sufficient sleep is also critical to helping you maintain good judgment, which, by extension, is crucial for brain function.
Conclusion
Six Brain Hacks To Learn Anything FasterThe 6 brain hacks above will significantly boost your learning capabilities. However, their results aren’t spontaneous- you have to be patient enough to allow them time to work. Make them your new daily routines and you will definitely get positive results.
I absolutely loved the blog. It is so true that learning is the need of the hour. As per my opinion, learning new skills take you more places than college degrees. This process has been further simplified by the onset of digital learning platforms. One that I personally look forward to is Kool Stories. It brings together people to learn from each other, socializing, and networking experience. As a community, our end goal should be to keep up the learning forever.
For me, the best learning method is meta learning – knowledge of your learning method, pace, and style.