A great source to learn anything faster

1. These 10 Scientific Ways
to Learn Anything Faster
Could Change Everything
You Know About
Dramatically Improving
Your MemoryLearn faster.
Retain more. Maybe even become
the smartest person in the room.
Science says so.
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BY JEFF HADEN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, INC.https://uii.io/hate1

2. @JEFF_HADEN
Getty Images

3. While it's nice to think you can hack your way to success, whenever you try
to accomplish a huge goal -- like starting and growing a business -- skills
matter. Who you know is certainly important.
But what you know, and what you can do, matters a whole lot more.
Which means the faster you learn, the more successful you can be.
So let's jump right in.Here are ten ways, backed by science, to speed up the
learning process.
1. Say out loud what you want to remember.

4. https://uii.io/hate1
Research shows that compared to reading or thinking silently (as if there's
another way to think), the act of speech is a "quite powerful mechanism for
improving memory for selected information."
According to scientists, "Learning and memory benefit from active
involvement. When we add an active measure or a production element to a
word, that word becomes more distinct in long-term memory, and hence more
memorable."
In short, while mentally rehearsing is good, rehearsing out loud is even better.
2. Take notes by hand, not on a computer.

5. Most of us can type faster than we can write. (And a lot more neatly.)
But research shows handwriting your notes means you'll learn more. Oddly
enough, taking notes by hand enhances both comprehension and retention,
possibly because instead of just serving as a quasi-stenographer, you're forced
to put things in your own words in order to keep up.
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Which means you'll remember what you heard a lot longer.
Maybe that's why Richard Branson has maintained a lifelong habit of keeping
a handwritten journal?

6. 3. Chunk your study sessions.
You're busy. So you wait until the last minute to learn what you need to
know: A presentation, a sales demo, an investor pitch...
Bad idea. Research shows "distributed practice" is a much more effective
way to learn. https://uii.io/hate1
Imagine you want to nail your investor pitch. Once you've drafted your pitch,
run through it once. Then take a few minutes to make corrections and
revisions.
Then step away for a few hours, or even for a day, before you repeat the
process.

7. Why does distributed practice work? The "study-phase retrieval theory" says
that each time you attempt to retrieve something from memory and the
retrieval is more successful, that memory becomes harder to forget. (If you go
over your pitch repeatedly, much of your presentation is still top of mind...
which means you don't have to retrieve it from memory.)
Another theory regards "contextual variability." When information gets
encoded into memory, some of the context is also encoded. (Which is why
listening to an old song can cause you to remember where you were, what
you were feeling, etc., when you first heard that song.) That context creates
useful cues for retrieving information.
https://uii.io/hatehttps://uii.io/hate1

8. Regardless of how it works, distributed practice definitely works. So give
yourself enough time to space out your learning sessions. You'll learn more
efficiently and more effectively.
4. Testhttps://uii.io/hate1 yourself. A lot.
https://uii.io/hate1
A number of studies show that self-testing is an extremely effective way to
speed up the learning process.
Partly that's due to the additional context created; if you test yourself and
answer incorrectly, not only are you more likely to remember the right
answer after you look it up... you'll also remember that you didn't remember.
(Getting something wrong is a great way to remember it the next time,
especially if you tend to be hard on yourself.)

9. So don't just rehearse your presentation. Test yourself on what comes after
your intro. Test yourself by listing the five main points you want to make. Try
to recite key statistics, or sales estimates, or cash flow projections....
Not only will you gain confidence in how much you do know, you'll more
quickly learn the things you don't know.
Yet.
5. Change the way you practice.
Repeating anything over and over again in the hopes you will master that task
will not only keep you from improving as quickly as you could, in some
cases it may actually decrease your skill.

10. According to recent research from Johns Hopkins, if you practice a slightly
modified version of a task you want to master, "you actually learn more and
faster than if you just keep practicing the exact same thing multiple times in a
row." The most likely cause is reconsolidation, a process where existing
memories are recalled and modified with new knowledge.
Say you want to master a new presentation. Do this:
1. Rehearse the basic skill. Run through your presentation a couple of times
under the same conditions you'll eventually face when you do it live.
Naturally, the second time through will be better than the first; that's how
practice works. But then, instead of going through it a third time ...

11. 2. Wait. Give yourself at least six hours so your memory can consolidate.
(Which probably means waiting until tomorrow before you practice again,
which is just fine.)
3. Practice again, but this time...
● Go a little faster. Speak a little -- just a little -- faster than you
normally do. Run through your slides slightly faster. Increasing
your speed means you'll make more mistakes, but that's OK -- in
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● the process, you'll modify old knowledge with new knowledge --
and lay the groundwork for improvement. Or ...
● Go a little slower. The same thing will happen. (Plus, you can
experiment with new techniques -- including the use of silence for
effect -- that aren't apparent when you present at your normal
speed.) Or ...

12. ● Break your presentation into smaller chunks. Almost every
task includes a series of discrete steps. That's definitely true for
presentations. Pick one section of your presentation. Deconstruct
it. Master it. Then put the whole presentation back together. Or ...
● Change the conditions. Use a different projector. Or a different
remote. Or a lavaliere instead of a headset mic. Switch up the
conditions slightly; not only will that help you modify an existing
memory, it will also make you better prepared for the unexpected.
4. And keep modifying the conditions.
You can extend the process to almost anything. While it's clearly effective for
learning motor skills, the process can also be applied to learning almost
anything.

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6. Exercise regularly.
This study shows that regular exercise can improve memory recall. Another
study from McMaster University found that periods of high-intensity exercise
are good for fitness and memory: Exercise resulted in significant
improvements in high-interference memory. (Interference occurs when
information that is similar gets in the way of the information you're trying to
recall.)
A commonly used example for high-interference memory is remembering
faces, a skill that is especially useful for people hoping to make connections.

14. Exercise also resulted in an increase in a chemical called BDNF
(brain-derived neurotrophic factor), a protein that supports the function,
growth, and survival of brain cells.
So: Not only will you feel better if you exercise, you'll also improve your
memory.
Win-win.
7. Get more sleep.
Sleep is when most of the memory consolidation process occurs. That's why
even a short nap can improve your memory recall.

15. In one study participants memorized illustrated cards to test their memory
strength. After memorizing a set of cards they took a 40-minute break and
one group napped while the other group stayed awake. After the break both
groups were tested on their memory of the cards. The sleep group performed
significantly better, retaining on average 85 percent of the patterns compared
to 60 percent for those who had remained awake.
Researchers have also found that sleep deprivation can affect your ability to
commit new information to memory and consolidate any short-term
memories you have made.
Bottom line? Sleep more, learn more.
8. Learn several subjects in succession.

16. Instead of blocking (focusing on one subject, one task, or one skill during a
learning session) learn or practice several subjects or skills in succession.
The process is called interleaving: Studying related concepts or skills in
parallel. And it turns out interleaving is a much more effective way to train
your brain (and your motor skills.)
Why? One theory is that interleaving improves your brain's ability to
differentiate between concepts or skills. When you block practice one skill,
you can drill down until muscle memory takes over and the skill becomes
more or less automatic. When you interleave several skills, any one skill can't
become mindless -- and that's a good thing. Instead you're constantly forced
to adapt and adjust. You're constantly forced to see, feel, and discriminate
between different movements or different concepts.

17. And that helps you really learn what you're trying to learn, because you it
helps you gain understanding at a deeper level.
9. Teach someone else.
It may be occasionally true that those who can't, teach... but research shows
it's definitely true that those who teach speed up their learning and retain
more.
Even just thinking that you'll need to teach someone can make you learn
more effectively. According to the researchers, "When teachers prepare to
teach, they tend to seek out key points and organize information into a
coherent structure. Our results suggest that students also turn to these types of
effective learning strategies when they expect to teach."

18. The act of teaching also helps improve knowledge. Ask anyone who has
trained someone else whether they also benefited from the experience.
They definitely did.
10. Build on things you do know.
Relating something new to something you're familiar with is called
associative learning. Not the Pavlov's dog form of associative learning, but
the kind where you learn the relationship between seemingly unrelated
things.
In simple terms, whenever you say, "Oh, I get it... this is basically like that,"
you're using associative learning.

19. Need to learn something new? Try to associate it, at least in part, with
something you already know. Then you only have to learn the differences or
nuances. And you'll be able to apply greater context -- which will help with
memory storage and retrieval -- to the new information you learn.
All of which means you'll need to learn a lot less.
Which science says will result in you being able to learn a lot more quickly.
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DEC 13, 2018
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20. The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.
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ould-change-everything-you-know-about-dramatically-improving-your-memory.html