Learners have better structure. Progress demands thinking and sharing clearly. Players may say, "how can we learn all this?" How can we all learn, think, and write better?
- Schedule “LearningTime” and stick to the schedule. I use the first hour of waking for MasterClass.com, Coursera.org, and studying mental models.
- Learning Time becomes habit, our daily routine of cue, response, reward, and belief.
- Reinforce our Habit Cycle through practice.
- Maintain our attention by including short breaks.
- Infuse “Mental Models” into or thinking, borrowing from many domains. Use great resources.
- Find excellence with additional courses.
- Study isn’t enough. Build our toolkit with flashcards, notes for active recall, and self-testing after reading.
- Lever our process with exercise and restorative sleep.
- Build Mindfulness into our routine as a brain workout that enhances brain density via neuroplasticity. Free tools are available.
- Crush distractions, especially electronic media. White noise or noise-cancelling headphones can help. Find quiet places to study.
- Writing it down builds understanding better than typing.
Ask better questions during self-testing.
- What are the key points of the chapter?
- Are they valid and likely to remain true?
- Do they generalize to our experience or are they a one-off?
- What is the effect of inverting them? Would the path not taken yield the same, worse, or better results?
Better communication is hard work. Hemingway said, "Write the best story
you can and throw out all the good lines." Writers are truth tellers,
according to both playwright David Mamet and Anne Lamott, the author of
Bird by Bird. Clear communication means that we understand our subject
and we give our audience hooks to tie knowledge upon.
Develop multiple pathways to learn. In addition to our writing, active recall, and self-testing, study old methods. The Socratic Method probes for deeper understanding. The Richard Feynman Technique used multiple steps - naming, explaining, researching, and simplifying a topic.
What might the next generation of accelerated learning be? Will floatation therapy alter brain waves to a more theta-dominant, learning-favored state? Will microdosing of stimulants become mainstream?
For now, focus on scheduled learning and breaks, teach attention, shut out distractions, use recall and regular testing, and healthier lifestyle (exercise and sleep). Use specific, credible methods and practice them.
Take a moment and jot down a few points that you will use to learn better and share those with our teams.
Develop multiple pathways to learn. In addition to our writing, active recall, and self-testing, study old methods. The Socratic Method probes for deeper understanding. The Richard Feynman Technique used multiple steps - naming, explaining, researching, and simplifying a topic.
What might the next generation of accelerated learning be? Will floatation therapy alter brain waves to a more theta-dominant, learning-favored state? Will microdosing of stimulants become mainstream?
For now, focus on scheduled learning and breaks, teach attention, shut out distractions, use recall and regular testing, and healthier lifestyle (exercise and sleep). Use specific, credible methods and practice them.
Take a moment and jot down a few points that you will use to learn better and share those with our teams.
Lagniappe:
Chris Oliver incorporates basketball decision training (BDT) into practice.
Coach Oliver prioritizes building decisions into drills to help players find solutions to complexity.
