10 proven ways to learn faster

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Take notes by hand, use mnemonics, and don't forget about sleep.

1. Take notes by hand

The lecture summary on a laptop is more detailed and accurate, and it may seem that this helps to remember it faster. However, it is not. To speed up the learning process, write everything down in the old proven way - by hand. Studies have shown that people who prefer a computer and gadgets for taking notes process and absorb information worse than those who use paper and pen.

While handwriting can be a long and tedious undertaking, it in itself contributes to a better understanding and memorization of the material. And paraphrasing information in your own words helps to keep it in memory longer.

2. Improve your writing skills

The better your notes are, the faster you will learn. Taking detailed and accurate notes will help you remember the main idea and gain a deeper understanding of the topic. Therefore, before embarking on a new topic, check to see if you are familiar with the various note-taking strategies. For example, the Cornell method, which teaches you how to write an easy-to-follow short resume.

Whichever method you use, there are some basic rules for keeping records:

• process what you have heard or read and write it down in your own words;
• leave a few blank lines between the main ideas in order to return to them later and add new information;
• develop your own system of abbreviations and special characters to save time;
• write in separate phrases, not whole sentences;
• learn to highlight the main and discard the unimportant.

3. Use the spaced repetition method

This technique involves distributing several sessions on the same topic over a period of time. Unlike long and persistent memorization, some short exercises make the process more meaningful.

Always write a detailed summary of the lecture and its discussion. Immediately after that, take a few minutes to review the notes made, make clarifying additions or changes. Don't waste a lot of time on this, just flip through the notes a couple of times after each session. Gradually increase the intervals between repetitions from once a day to three times a week.

Dividing the learning process in time is very effective, because thanks to such small classes, we get less tired and stay motivated longer.

4. Don't forget about sleep

Imagine: tomorrow you have a big project or an important presentation, and you are not ready. Most people go to bed very late trying to learn everything. Of course, even if you collapse from exhaustion the next day, your hard work will pay off. But still, for our brain, this approach to studying the material is not the most effective.

Research has proven that there is a strong link between sleep and learning. It is extremely important in the memorization process. New information is fixed in memory during the deep sleep phase, for this you need to go to bed within 12 hours after learning it. Students who study hard, but still enjoy good rest, not only do better in their studies, but just feel happier.

5. Change the approach to learning

When learning a skill, do not repeat the same thing over and over. Making small changes to your practice will help you improve much faster. The effectiveness of this method was proved by a study that studied the process of developing motor skills on a special simulator. The results of the participants in the experiment who, after training, were asked to change the way of training, turned out to be better than those who continued to repeat the original task.

However, this method only works if the changes in the learning process are small. For example, if you want to improve your tennis game, simply try using a different size or weight racket.

6. Use mnemonics

One of the best ways to quickly memorize a large amount of information is to use mnemonic techniques: associations with images, sounds, or some familiar objects and phenomena. The most obvious example is a song in which the alphabet is sung. Children learn it in kindergarten or elementary school and remember almost all their lives. Another example is rhyming phrases for memorizing grammar rules.

Mnemonics helps to generalize, shorten and compress information, making it easier to remember. This is especially useful for students and foreign language learners. If you need to keep information in memory for a long time, try using mnemonic techniques. And even long after taking the test or exam, you will find that you still remember the material.

7. Give your brain a break to regain focus

To learn something new, our brain must send signals to nerve endings and store the data received from them. But stress and information overload interfere with this process.

You've probably noticed that students, listening to a long, difficult lecture, at one point pull away and stop paying attention to what the teacher is saying. They simply become unable to effectively transfer information to their "memory bank", so the learning process stops.

When we're confused, anxious, or just feeling overwhelmed, our brains essentially shut down. And the best way to deal with this is to give him a break or just turn his attention to something else. Even a five-minute break will help relieve mental stress and get back to work.

8. Avoid dehydration

As we know, drinking water is beneficial - for the skin, the immune system and the normal functioning of the body. But other than that, it literally makes us smarter. There is a study, the results of which showed that students who took water with them to the exam did better than those who did not. Dehydration can seriously affect our mental performance. And if you don't drink enough fluids, your brain will be much harder than usual.

9. Use different learning formats

By doing this, you use more areas of the brain that are capable of storing information. As a result, it will become more interconnected and better remembered. In fact, this method creates a redundancy of knowledge in your mind, helping to assimilate it, and not just remember it.

A good result can be achieved by using various media for teaching. View notes, read tutorials, watch videos, and listen to related podcasts or audio. The more resources you use, the faster you will learn the material.

10. Find the connection between what you teach and what you already know

Authors of the book “Remember everything. Acquiring knowledge without boredom and cramming”argue that many of the ways of learning we know are unproductive. They can create the illusion of assimilating information, but it will quickly be forgotten.

Memory plays a key role in our ability to perform complex cognitive tasks. For example, she is responsible for ensuring that we can apply the knowledge gained in practice, when faced with previously unfamiliar difficulties, and draw conclusions based on known facts. If you can connect new concepts with ideas you already know, you will better understand and remember the material.

This method is used by Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaseX. He views knowledge as a "semantic tree". Musk advises, as you learn new things, "make sure you understand the basics that make up the tree trunk and large branches before diving into the leaves - that is, the details - otherwise the latter will simply have nothing to grow on." When you connect the new with the old, you mentally create "hooks" on which you can "hang" the knowledge you gain.