7 Laws of Efficient and Effective Learning | Learn Faster and Better

How to Learn Faster and Better

We all want to have that superpower or extraordinary ability to learn faster. Some of us wish we had photographic memories and could consume a textbook in one night. Others daydream about being able to just look at new material or watch a pro perform a skill and instantly commit the information and processes to memory.

There are actually a few people in the world who have this superpower or who have what is termed an exceptional memory. One popular group are the savants. Savant syndrome is a condition in which individuals with a developmental disorder are exceptional in one or more areas. It involves elaborate abilities (including memory) in specialized areas such as a hobby or event, or a certain type of information. One of the most well known cases of savant memory is Kim Peek, the man on which the movie Rain Man was based. Peek had a reported savant memory for most information, not just specialized pieces, and was able to memorize large pieces of information from the age of 16 months.

Based on currently available data, it is estimated that there are fewer than a hundred savants with extraordinary skills currently living. What this means is that the odds that any one of us is a savant is around one hundred millionth, mathematically speaking.

This information is geared at helping us accept the fact that it is not realistic to want to consume all of the content of a science textbook for instance, in one night. Nevertheless, we can definitely improve how we learn and begin to learn much more efficiently and effectively. To help achieve faster and more efficient learning, let’s take a look at what we will for the purpose of this article, call the seven fundamental laws of learning:

7 Fundamental Laws of Efficient and Effective Learning

Law 1: Learn With a Clear Goal and Plan

Humans are creatures of habit and our brains achieve efficiency by enforcing patterns. Without habits, nothing recognizable as a human or even animal form of life would be possible. We learn to walk by first trying to use our legs and gradually forming the habit of walking. After years of walking, you no longer have to think about and decide where to put your feet in the morning. It’s the same with talking and doing most mundane tasks.

Whenever we want to learn anything, it helps greatly to first spend some time defining your goal and devising a plan. Your goal should be specific and your plan does not have to be too fixed. The process of defining your learning goals and objectives and preparing a plan for action is an exercise in figuring out what it will actually take in terms of time, energy and resources to learn what you want to learn.

Applying this law will cause you to do the needful research. You will find yourself having to find out the steps you need to take as well as all of the milestones you need to cross to master the skill or subject of study. By so doing, you will also be able to realistically define how long it will take you to actually learn that skill or master that subject of study. With a defined goal and a flexible but clear plan, you will be able to quickly form the habits required to master your skill of choice or absorb your subject of study. One caveat though: don’t allow yourself to become overwhelmed by planning. If you spend too much time here, you might lose all interest and give up.

Law 2: Learn From the Basics With the Most Intensity

When it comes to learning anything especially something new, it is very important to start from the basics. You don’t want to learn anything new without first building a solid foundation. This is why classes come in levels ranging from kindergarten to primary or grade school to secondary or high school and then to tertiary or university level.

As obvious as this might seem, the reality is that we are often in too much of a hurry to get to expert level. There’s nothing wrong with diving in to get a feel for what you’re about to learn. In fact, this is recommended to help get you pumped up and aware of some of the challenges involved. Nevertheless, you want to pay attention to the basics and first lay your foundation. 

In addition, you want to learn the basics with as much intensity as you can. If you usually do not take the time to try out exercises at the end of a chapter when studying with a textbook, you don’t want to that when learning the basics. When you apply enough effort and intensity to the basics, you will build confidence, find it easier to advance and chunk important concepts or processes.

Law 3: Learn With a Growth Mindset

Our mindsets go a really long way in affecting how quickly we learn. We often think that intelligence is something that is fixed. You’re either born intelligent or you’re not. The reality is that intelligence is not fixed. Rather, your brain is like a muscle which grows through use and struggle. In other words, intelligence can be cultivated with the right mindset and view of mistakes.

A growth mindset thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of not being intelligent but as a springboard for growth and stretching one’s current abilities.  When we learn anything new such as a new skill, we’re changing how our brain is wired on a deep level. We become better with practice and effort because we are aided not only by memories of how to perform the tasks but also memories of the errors and mistakes we’ve made along the line.

The growth mindset also helps us become less afraid to make mistakes or fail and less ashamed to admit when we’re wrong. When you adopt this mindset, you see your abilities as things that can be developed with effort and the right attitude. Eventually, you will find it much easier to test new waters because your self-opinion is not one of omniscience but one that sees challenges as an opportunity for growth.

Law 4: Learn Actively By Doing

The importance of learning actively instead of passively cannot be overemphasized. As cliche as this might sound, the reality is that we are oftentimes lazy to practice what we’re learning or scared to test our actual understanding. The smartest people learn by diving in from day one and by tinkering with things. They learn this way because they know mistakes can be corrected and they ultimately help us learn.

In the field of psychology, the Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which people of low ability have illusory superiority and mistakenly assess their cognitive ability as greater than it is. In other words, we tend to wrongly assess our abilities in areas where we have the least experience. Passive learners tend to be held back by these illusions of competence. And the reason is simple! Until, you test your abilities, you can never really know how good or how bad you actually are.

To learn faster, you want to be a courageous active learner. Have you finished reading a chapter of a textbook, try out some of the exercises, get some answers wrong and find out why you got them wrong. Are you learning a new language or skill? Start speaking or practicing from day one. Take a step back and try to recall the words or the processes you have learnt so far. As you face your fears, you will build confidence and eventually, save time.

Law 5: Learn From the Best

Learning anything takes time and effort. But it even takes more time when you’re not learning from the best, or from more experienced people who are far ahead. The reason why you want to learn from the best is because veterans have most likely made the mistakes you will make and are in the best position to provide you with a streamlined structure that will accelerate your learning.

Before the rapid advancement of technology and the advent of the Internet, young and inexperienced students of a craft or field would usually search for a master or mentor and work under them as apprentices. Today, this method hasn’t lost its effectiveness and many schools and tertiary institutions still allow for the dynamic through pupil-to-teacher, student-to-adviser and assistant-to-professor pairings. However, in cases where you’re finding it difficult to find a veteran who has time to guide you, the Internet can come to your rescue. Through books or online courses by veterans, you can learn faster and more efficiently.

In choosing who to learn from, you could do some quick research to find out what makes a particular expert unique or respected in her field. You can find out about their works and absorb all available or public information about how they got it done. This will help to prep you up with some excitement about the subject or skill as well as give you some needed curiosity about the expert. 

Law 6: Learn With Enthusiasm

The reason why it’s important to apply this law is because learning something new can be frustrating and initially tiring. Your brain is trying really hard to form fresh patterns and create new neural networks and this takes a lot of energy. Because you’re trying to do something you’re not used to, it’s easy to get frustrated and eventually give up.

To deal with this inherent and initial struggle, it helps greatly to be enthusiastic even if you have to feign the feeling. By learning with intense and eager enjoyment or interest, you’re somewhat giving your brain the impression that this frustrating experience is somehow enjoyable and fascinating. You only need to keep up the feigned enthusiasm at the initial stage until you achieve some flow. As you begin to cross milestones and gain confidence, you will begin to naturally enjoy the flow.

Law 7: And In All Your Learning, Teach Others

Teaching is another powerful way to reinforce what you’ve learned. In applying this law, you are mixing active recall with a desire to impress and that combination is a recipe for knowledge reinforcement. Whenever an opportunity comes to help someone else learn what you have already understood, take it. It doesn’t have to be an in-front-of-the-class or on-stage opportunity that could potentially scare the crap out of you. Many opportunities to share what we know come from day-to-day conversations and you will always find an opportunity to practice actively recalling what you know by explaining it to someone else.

When explaining what you know to a newbie, always remember that you were once a newbie in that particular area. This should help you to communicate and teach patiently as well as do so in a manner that will help the person grasp the idea better. When it’s a planned lesson, you will also notice that as you prepare to teach, you organize your knowledge, thereby improving your own understanding and recall.

Happy Learning!