Top 5 Ways to Learn Anything Faster


Ashutosh Sharma

(2021-03-07)



Have you ever wondered…?

What’s the most effective and efficient way of learning?

Why some people can learn more than others in the same set of hours?

When it comes to learning, everyone has these questions in mind, but the most important question is can I retain what I am learning?

Most of us think that learning happens in this fashion.

Learning Model

Learning is not just about taking the information; it is also about the processing of the information. There is no doubt that in today’s age of information overload, learning faster is the ultimate competitive advantage. “THE MORE YOU LEARN, THE MORE YOU EARN”.

Learners like Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Charlie Munger have one thing in common and that is they all are smart learners. “They believe in going to bed every night a little wiser than when they get up”.

This is the reason I have spent the last 6 years researching and studying the habits of all great learners. As time has passed, I have found the 5 most used techniques to become a better learner and learn anything faster.

  1. Create a roadmap: The most important question one needs to answer while picking anything to learn is “HOW TO USE YOUR KNOWLEDGE”. Once you are clear with this, you are required to create a curriculum for yourself. You should be able to define the learning process with the end objective in mind. Choose your path of self-learning and it should always come from within
  2. Deliberate Practice and Deep work: After you have finalized the roadmap, create a dedicated workplace for doing the learning. A dedicated space has a positive impact on your sense as the brain will associate the place with learning. Don’t go for long sitting hours to learn. Instead, use the POMODORO technique and divide your learning session into various small sessions of 25 to 30 minutes each. “START SMALL IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN LEARNING”. Taking small steps each day can have a compounding effect over 1 month, 1 year and 10 years. Have some dedicated time for learning and do “DELIBERATE LEARNING” at that time. Having a learning ritual increases the chances of results. It is not hard work but hard to do things that make a real difference in our lives.
  3. Take Action: Learning alone is just collection of information and is not enough. “READ LITTLE BUT TAKE ACTION”. MAKE LEARNING = RESULTS. “VALUE of KNOWLEDGE is not KNOWLEDGE but HOW YOU USE IT”. The right learning model will be like The Right Learning Model
  4. Be Adventurous: Keep your learning mode always on. “LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY, EVERY MONTH, EVERY YEAR”. Think of learning a new game, new exercise, music instrument, new language or a new skill. Treat the brain like a child who is learning in every moment. Observation is the key here, the more you observe, the more you learn. The brain is like a muscle. If you don’t use it, you will lose it.
  5. Avoid Distractions: We are living in the digital age and it is full of distractions. We end up wasting a lot of time, energy and attention on irrelevant and unwanted information. People often think that they can multitask, but it is a myth. A lot of researches have proved that multitasking is not good for the brain and learning. It takes us around 20 minutes to get back to what we were doing after every distraction. Fear of missing out (FOMO), Fear of being offline (FOBO) and nomophobia (fear of being out of mobile phone contact) has made a massive impact on our learning ability. The use of the POMODORO technique can help here. Plan 3-4 sessions of 25 minutes each and take a break for 5 minutes between each session. Build the habit of checking your mobile phone after 1 complete activity, i.e. after 3 to 4 POMODORO sessions. You can do some breathing exercises or Meditation after each session as it helps the brain in increasing concentration and learning ability.

Like any new system, it might take you a bit to implement these techniques in your life. You might feel like you are learning slower than you did previously. That’s okay. What you are doing is building the foundation for better and faster learning.

Learning is the 1st step towards achieving your true potential, hence never stop finding new ways to learn. Work smartly by knowing your priorities and avoid distractions. Lastly, make learning fun and enjoyable by focusing every day on becoming a better version of what you are today.  

Henry Ford once said, "If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.”

Keep this in mind. Happy learning!