Five Habits for Fast Learning

First, take a deep breath. Now,

1: Stop Cramming

Next time you just need to "learn this real fast", be honest with yourself and replace "real fast" with "poorly". This goes for any intellectual work: rushing through it doesn't make it go any faster. You might "finish" sooner, but instead of being left with an understanding, you will have a collection of useless catchphrases that you will struggle to apply to any new situation.

If you cram knowledge that is cumulative (which is basically all knowledge), rushing through it will actually start to slow you down -- a lot. Because of your shaky foundation, more sophisticated concepts will be harder and harder to grasp because you haven't built the mental tools you need to understand them. Indeed, most new concepts are not very hard to understand if you have built your way up to them.

So slow down! A strategy to use for this is to give yourself a certain amount of time, say an hour, to study and learn however much you learn in that time, without worrying about how far you are supposed to get. Just remember: trying to go faster makes you go slower.

2: Take Breaks

Have you ever been thinking about something really hard without making any progress, and then you go to the bathroom or make yourself some food and something clicks? This happens for me all the time. The hard thought is necessary, but the mind also needs to rest.

When I really need to get the most out of my mind, I use the pomodoro technique. That is, I set a timer for 25 minutes and work until it dings. When it dings I give myself a 5 minute break to do anything else that doesn't require mental effort. Stretching, doing jumping-jacks, getting a snack -- anything away from the screen (social media does not work very well). When I come back, I come back with renewed energy and perspective.

3: Use Words

If you are having trouble understanding something, try using words to explain what you know and where you are stuck. Talk to yourself out-loud, write informally in a journal, or explain your problem to a friend (if they aren't studying the same thing, let them know that you just need them to listen). Often times we get stuck inside our heads, and getting something out on paper or out-loud helps get us unstuck. Try starting with "I'm working on problem #4 and I am not sure what to do". Then start explaining your situation.

Relish any tiny little insight you have. Even if you don't understand what you are "supposed to" yet, if anything clicks, you are making progress. Learning a big thing is just a culmination of learning a lot of little things. And remember, learning is a muscle: the more you learn, the easier learning will be in the future.

4: Be Playful and Ask Questions

If you have a colleague or professor to work with, definitely ask them, but that's not really what I mean. I mean get curious about the subject. Even if it's not explicitly in the exercise you are doing, or directly related to the goal, acknowlege any questions that come up while learning and try to answer them. If you don't know why you're using the number 2.5 and it just seems like magic, see if you can find out why it's there. If it feels like this might relate to what you studied a couple weeks ago, go look and find out. These questions are your mind letting you know where the gaps in your knowledge are, and as you fill in the gaps your understanding will deepen, and the deeper your understanding, the easier it will be to learn everything else in this area.

Follow that curiosity. Curiosity is a much more fun attitude than work or rigor, and it's the attitude that is best for learning.

Also, don't worry if you can't find an answer to your question right now: it's enough to look and think about it for a moment. Next time it comes up you will be a little bit more prepared.

5: Take Baby Steps

Whether you are reading or doing exercises, don't ever let too much slip by without understanding it. Sometimes we have to accept things that don't quite make sense, but if you find a whole section or two has gone by and you feel like you're just barely squeaking by, go back. Explain it to yourself again, ask yourself if there are still gaps or unanswered questions, and see if you can make them add up. I know this feels like a waste of time, especially if you are in a rush, but remember that what you are learning now will be built upon in the future, so if it isn't quite making sense, the next step on this path will be completely incomprehensible. Trying to go fast makes you slow, trying to do more than you are able at the moment makes you do less.