Learn How To Learn Quickly and Well

This will be one of the most important posts I write in this blog because I think this subject is one of the most important and beneficial things you can do in order to lead a life of success. The message is simple (though not short). The application of the message is simple (though not necessarily always easy to apply). The potential impact this message could have on your life is enormous. So please read this with an open mind, and even more importantly, use it. You may even want to print it so that you can use it during times when you are not at your computer, and it will be beneficial to read this multiple times.

Learning how to learn quickly and well will serve you for the rest of your life. In these modern times, the information age, the ability to learn quickly and well is essential. There is so much new information available every day, technology is advancing at an incredible pace, and industries are being transformed into completely new ones each year. If you are not continually learning, then you are not growing. In fact, even if you are continually learning but doing it slowly, then you are only barely keeping up at best. You must continually learn quickly in order to get ahead and stay ahead. You must learn well in order to be able to stand out in the crowd and become a successful person. So how can you learn how to learn quickly and well? All you have to do is read, understand, memorize, and use the steps below:

1. Get into a relaxed, ready to learn state of mind. You can do this by closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths and consciously letting go of any tension you feel in your body (especially in your face, neck, and shoulders). Picture yourself taking in the new information in a relaxed mood, understanding it easily, and finding it easy to remember. Then picture yourself using the information later on with very little effort. Tell yourself that you will understand this new information, and that you will remember this new information, and make sure you really believe it before you begin.


2. Take in the new information in a multi-sensory way. Everyone learns best when they use as many of their senses as possible to take in the new information. Seeing it, hearing it, AND doing it/using it will help you understand it much more easily and quickly, as well as to remember it more easily and quickly. So take in the information by reading it or watching it, listening to it or reading it aloud, and writing it working through example problems or doing/using it somehow.


3. Explore the new information with your seven intelligences. The seven intelligences that every person has are visual, audio/linguistic, bodily/physical, logical/mathematical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and musical/artistic. Try to explore the new information in as many ways as you can by using these seven intelligences because everyone learns best when they learn a certain type of information using a certain combination of their multiple intelligences. Figure out what is the best way for you to learn each new type of information, and if you don't know just use as many as possible so you will cover them all! For instance if you are trying to learn a new language then you could explore the new words by reading them and linking the words to a picture that represented that word (visual); reading them aloud and listening to native speakers pronouncing them (audio/linguistic); do what the words mean (walk around as you repeat the word "caminar," or pick up and/or eat an apple while you say "manzana" if you are learning Spanish for example) which would be exploring the information with your bodily/physical intelligence; categorize the new information (verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc.) or put it into an order that makes the most sense to you (logical/mathematical); talk about the new information with some other people (maybe ones who speak that language already) and see what they think about it or how they say it compared to what you think about it (interpersonal); think to yourself if any of the words you are learning sound like a similar English word or how they relate to other Spanish words you know already (interpersonal); and finally you could listen to classical music (or any other music you like, prefferably without words so you aren't distracted by them), draw or paint a picture of what the words you are learning represent, or make up a poem, song, or rap with the new words.


4. Memorize the key elements of new information. Imagine that you will need to give a report on it or teach it to someone else. Rewrite the information from memory after having learned it. Create a learning map/memory map of the new information which is one of the most effective ways to memorize new information (google it if you have never heard of a learning map or memory map). Also take regular breaks every 20-30 minutes because that's the average amount of time a person can actually focus on something and because studies have shown that people remember what they remember better what they learn at the beginning and at the end of a learning session than what was in the middle,...so the more beginnings and endings you have, the more information you are likely to remember. Review the new information after an hour, a day, a week, a month, after six months, and after a year. If you do this, you are 4 times more likely to retain the information in your long-term memory so that you can use it for the rest of your life.


5. Show that you know the new information, demonstrate that you know it. Test yourself with flash cards, by creating new learning/memory maps strictly from your memory and compare them to the one you made while learning the information, practice the new information by role playing or doing whatever it is you just learned, etc.


6. Reflect on what you did and how you learned the new information. Think about how well you learned it, how easy it was, and what you could have done differently or better in order to learn it more quickly and/or more easily. Keep this in mind when you go to learn similar information in the future so you will learn it more quickly and easily.

If you follow these steps when you go to learn any new information, you will learn it more quickly and easily than before. You will remember it better and longer and will be able to use it more effectively. By the way, this isn't an exhaustive list of how to do each step. Use your imagination and intuition and do what works best for you in order to apply each step in the ways that work best for you! Try applying these steps to something simple today and you will see how well they work. The more you use this system, the easier it will get, the more quickly and effectively you will learn new information, and the longer and better you will remember it.