Being a quick learner can give you an even greater edge. Science proves there are six ways you can learn and retain something faster.
Teach Someone Else (Or Just Pretend To)
If you imagine that you’ll need to teach someone else the material or task you are trying to grasp, you can speed up your learning and remember more. The expectation changes your mindset so that you engage in more effective approaches to learning than those who simply learn to pass a test.
Use the Power of Mental Spacing
- While it sounds counterintuitive, you can learn faster when you practice distributed learning, or “spacing”
- You can water a lawn once a week for 90 minutes or three times a week for 30 minutes
- Spacing out the watering during the week will keep the lawn greener over time
Take a Study Nap
Downtime is important when it comes to retaining what you learn, and getting sleep in between study sessions can boost your recall up to six months later.
Learn in Short Bursts of Time
Dedicating 30–50 minutes to learning new material. Anything less than 30 is just not enough, but anything more than 50 is too much information for your brain to take in at one time. Once you’re done, take a five to 10 minute break before you start another session.
Change It Up
When learning a new motor skill, changing how you practice it can help you master it faster. If you practice a slightly modified version of a task you want to master, you learn more and faster than if you just keep practising the same thing multiple times in a row.
Take Notes by Hand
- While it’s faster to take notes on a laptop, using a pen and paper will help you learn and comprehend better
- When students take notes by hand, they listen more actively and are able to identify important concepts
- Taking notes on a laptop, however, leads to mindless transcription, as well as an opportunity for distraction, such as email
