How to Recognize Your True Purpose When You Want to Learn Everything
The Empowered Human — 7 Tips For Improved Learning Process.
Effective learning takes advantage of how our brain works.
This is how to find your purpose and your passion. To figure out what you really love to do with your life you have to learn many different things.
During the learning process we might loose focus or procrastinate on the task in front of us.
The first, and most important thing to understand about how you can learn better is how to move in the direction of happiness.
Your inner happiness is a guide for your purpose.
The brain has two different modes of operation, and it switches between them when learning new things.
Due to that, if you understand just the basics of how your brain works and apply some productive techniques correctly, it is almost guaranteed that you will learn anything easily and be less frustrated in the process.
We Will Always Have Something New to Learn.
Learning should be a ever-going process, not something we used to do when sometimes in school.
Education is the best shot we have to set ourselves free. Education is the poor-man’s way to rebel.
So go ahead and make some mistakes. Your future self will thank you.
In this post we will look at 7 ways to improve your learning process.
It might be helpful for your self-education, for formal education or throughout your entire life hobbies.
1. Spaced Repetition:
An efficient way to memorize and retain facts.
This method takes advantage of how your brain works and has the potential of storing information for a indefinite period of time.
This is a memorization technique which you frequently look for facts that you’re not very confident, while the ones you are sure of don’t show up so often.
Flashcards are useful for learning vocabulary or .
I particularly use a SRS software like Anki, where you can create your own decks and apply spaced repetition technique.
2. Method of Loci (for memorization).
Associate information with different locations.
This technique helps you to remember things by searching for the relative place in your house.
This is also known as the memory palace technique.
For example, when studying German, I associate the word “schmetterling” — which means “butterfly” — with the balcony.
This visualization allows a quick and efficient recall of information. 🙃
3. Hack Akrasia — “Lack of Self-Control”
You discount the value of a task the more it is delayed;
We enjoy short-term pleasure, like procrastinating or eating fried stuff.
While we do that, we are sacrificing the benefits off focusing on long-term and larger rewards.
Another way to hack Akrasia is to give yourself short-term rewards while you work towards the bigger, long-term activities.
For example you can reward yourself with dark-chocolate after a study session, so you’d stay motivated.
The app Beeminder can help you in the commitment part.
We think that commitment is a bad thing.
It was only after talking with a 80 y.o. lady that I’ve changed my perspective on commitment.
She said that the best part of her day was going to the public square, because she had committed to walk with her friends at that time everyday.
Commitment is a value that associate meaning to our daily activities.
It’s dedication and ideology. It’s also related to pleasure, not always obligation that restricts freedom of action.
4. Improve the Pomodoro Technique.
Use the time-division that peaks your productivity.
The pomodoro technique basically makes you work for 25 minutes and take a 5 minute break.
Instead of setting yourself for constant breaks, you can aim to work for 45 minutes and take 15 minute breaks.
find what works for you.
Also, whenever you get distracted by something, or feel tempted to depart from your task, write the distraction down in a A4 paper.
This way you can become aware of what distracts you and prevent these distractions in future sessions.
5. Use Both Focused and Diffused thinking.
In the free-course Learning How to Learn — you learn about how the brain uses two very different learning modes and how it encapsulates (“chunks”) of information.
Researches found that the system 1 is strict, fast and immediate, while the System 2 is broaden with a big picture perspective.
Focused thinking means those times where we’re really concentrating on one problem alone, one piece of information, and you’re focusing hard. Here the thought moves smoothly in a familiar, nicely paved road.
Diffused thinking means times where you’re more relaxed. You can use this type of thinking if you need new ideas or approaches. Concepts you haven’t thought of before usually emerges on long walks, readings or relaxations.
“focus” is fast, instinctive and emotional;
“diffused” is slower, more deliberative, and logical.
6. Slow Down Sometimes, But Not Always.
If your professor is talking too fast, or the pace of the lesson is too quick.
If you feel overwhemled after the first half of the course you are probably processing a lot of information.
You can always study the material BEFORE a lecture, or ask for some help to balance the rhythm. Taking day offs can also be productive, so consider taking your time to digest things in your brain.
You don’t need to rush everything like you did when studying for a test in the night before it.
If you try to retain information all at once, you might burn out and this is not beneficial.
Learning comes down to a constant exposure for a long period of time.
7. Start Problem Sets alone.
“No one is alone when accompanied by great thoughts.”
When studying with someone else, we might skip topics which we have deficiencies because your partner already knows how to solve problems.
If you try alone, and succeed, you’re sure that you can do it.
By trying this way you can pinpoint which ideas you’re not sure of, or could improve.
Starting projects is helpful to give yourself some challenges. The growth comes when we are in discomfort, but keep pushing forwards.
If there is a project that you want to do, but lack the knowledge to do it, I encourage you to at least make the first step and figure out what happens next.
Thank You For Reading ❤
Peace &
Love &
Joy.
