Whether you’re studying or working, you’ve probably never paid too much attention to how you learn or pick up new things. Do you always have a study plan? Do you catch yourself procrastinating a lot? Do you find yourself skipping from one topic to another? There is an art to studying and learning, and since there is no one size fits all solution, you have to find one that works for you. Today, we’ll look at 4 highly effective methods to learn a new topic or skill.
1. Feynman Technique
Inspired by Nobel prize winner Richard Feynman, this technique allows you to deeply understand a topic and keep it in memory, all within a short period of 20 minutes.
How To:
Concept - First, we identify the topic and its field, then clarify the basic parts such as the definition, reasoning, effects and so on.
Teach - Next, pretend to teach this concept you’re learning about to an 8 year old. The best way to do this is with your peer or partner.
Review - Identify gaps in your explanation and teaching in the previous step, then review the materials to fill in those gaps.
Simplify - Organize and simplify what you have reviewed so that you can effectively teach the concept again.
2. Pomodoro Technique
This is a time management technique by Francesco Cirillo and it makes use of a timer. The goal of this technique is to remove any stress about time management and keep us focused on one task at any time. It also balances quality and quantity.
How To:
Start the day by identifying various tasks in order.
Set a 25 minute timer using your phone’s timer function or a Pomodoro app.
Focus on ONE task only during the 25 minutes.
Get a 5 minutes break after a 25 minutes session, then go into the next 25 minutes session.
Get a 20 minutes break after four Pomodoro sessions.
3. Mind Map Technique
The mind map is one of the most common studying methods used and taught by schools. Its main objective is to ease note taking, clarify topic relations, and help with memorization.
How To:
Using a piece of paper or software, start with the topic. Branch the topic out into subtopics and basic concepts such as types, effects, causes etc. Use keywords for each branch and make it as simplified as possible.
4. Simon Learning Technique
Simon learning technique utilizes splitting and momentum to help you master a topic or skill within the shortest time possible.
How To:
Select a topic or skill and break it into smaller fragments (such as subtopics or specific actions), with each being broken down into as small and as simple as possible. For the next 6 months, learn and practice the individual fragments as much as possible.
Although learning a useful and effective learning technique might help, it still comes down to our own motivation and choices. If you’ve decided not to learn, then no amount of techniques and skills are going to help. However, if you have the motivation to begin with, then these techniques will help you achieve double the results with half the effort!
