How to Learn More Effectively
Verywell Mind articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and mental healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more.
Amy Morin, LCSW, is the Editor-in-Chief of Verywell Mind. She’s also a psychotherapist, the author of the bestselling book “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do,” and the host of The Verywell Mind Podcast.
Knowing the most effective strategies for how to learn can help you maximize your efforts when you are trying to learn new ideas, concepts, and skills. If you are like many people, your time is limited, so it is important to get the most educational value out of the time you have.
Speed of learning is not the only important factor, however. It is important to be able to accurately remember the information that you learn, recall it at a later time, and use it effectively in a wide variety of situations.
Knowing how to learn well is not something that happens overnight, but putting a few of these learning techniques into daily practice can help you get more out of your study time.
3) Remember, consistency is important.
Many reasons. They get bored. Life gets busy and they stop. Or, they don’t see progress. Or, they get distracted. Excuse #4. Excuse #5. Whatever. These small reasons are not important. But the biggest reason they fail is that they don’t understand consistency.
Some people were lucky to develop consistency without thinking about it. This is the case with those that start young. For example, when parents that force their kids to learn piano. The kids keep it at because that’s all they know and they can easily continue. They don’t have to think about consistency. They were raised on it.
See, the student was looking for something “deeper” – that would shake his mind and stir his soul. Intellectual masturbation without any actual results. This is the mistake most learners make. This is the mistake people make when reading self-help books. We’re all looking for some wise, inspirational statement. And once we stumble upon and read this magical statement… it will shake us to the core. Matrix code will drop down all around us. Our mind will suddenly become clear. Our vision will become 20/20. Our acne will clear up. Our sense of smell will become stronger… and we will be different.
See, instead of practicing the damn thing, people go to read about the damn thing. Just like learning Japanese, same goes for acting classes, dancing classes, calligraphy classes, writing classes, practicing sports, learning marketing, learning cooking, or anything….
So, to be consistent, you must practice being consistent. You must DO. You must make a habit of doing it every day or every 5 days out of the week. If you’re not actually doing the studying, the speaking practice, and the reviewing…. you’re never going to get it.
Resource:
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-become-a-more-effective-learner-2795162
https://www.linguajunkie.com/study-japanese-yourself
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201604/10-ways-learn-yourself-better