How to Learn New skills Much Faster (& Easier too)

If you want to learn new skills, the process doesn't have to be difficult. The key is to first learn the most effective process for rapidly acquiring expertise.

In this article I'll explain how to teach your brain, or should I say teach your two brains, to learn new skills, more quickly and more easily. Whether that be a business-related skill such as presenting in public, or more personal goals like playing a musical instrument, or as in this following example learning to drive a car.

But first, the science

We have two learning processes in our heads, System 1 and System 2. These were popularised by Daniel Kahneman, in his book Thinking Fast thinking slow.

Imagine taking your regular commute to work, you always know which route to take without having to consciously think about it. You automatically walk to the railway station, habitually get off at the same destination stop, and walk to your office while your mind wanders. It’s effortless.

But what happens if you get to the railway station and there’s a rail strike? While your route to the station was intuitive, you now find yourself spending some time analysing alternative ways to get to work. Are the buses running? Is it too cold outside to walk? If only I could drive…

Our responses to these two scenarios demonstrate the differences between our faster, more instinctive thinking, known as System 1, and our slower thinking process, known as System 2. System 1 can make quick decisions, based on very little information. These fleeting impressions, and the many other shortcuts you’ve developed throughout your life, are combined to enable System 1 to make decisions quickly, without deliberation and conscious effort.

System 2 is thinking slow. This is a more complex and mentally draining process. It’s also the process used to plan and prepare. It’s sitting down to read the highway code. System 2 is all about making rational decisions. Behavioural Science researchers have found that the more complex a task is, the more likely people are to engage in System 2 decision making.

Teaching your brain to drive a car

What follows is an account of how applying a little Behavioural Science can dramatically improve your ability to a) drive a car and) pass the practical driving test. When you sit in the driving seat of a car for the fist time, everything in front of you is alien and unnatural: System 2. But as you begin to get more proficient behind the wheel, your brain is able to handle certain driving related operations using System 1, thus freeing up System, 2 to take care of other details.

When you first sit behind the wheel, staring at all those buttons, levers, dials, gadgets and a big wheel in the middle, it can be to say the least daunting. And when you're learning to drive a car and you first start trying to do so there is just too much to take in. From mirror, signal, manoeuvre, to coordinating the clutch and accelerator, not to think about using your mirrors and doing everything backwards when reversing. And then there's all the other traffic!

My daughter has recently gone through this very process. Right at the beginning we decided to add a little behavioural science and 'layer' the learning. That is to say, instead of overwhelming her with different aspects to consider, we kept it simple, just practicing a few of the necessary techniques at a time. For example, driving along and going up through the gears, then going down through the gears. That’s it, no effortful thought to much else.

I remember in a particular lesson, my daughter said, that because I told her to concentrate on positioning the car correctly when approaching junctions, this caused her to forget to look in the mirrors. A classic case of System 2 being overloaded, and System 1, not yet being proficient enough to handle that part of the current task list.

This brings me on to the other part of this learning technique: Working within the boundaries of cognitive load. And this means recognising and utilising what is known as Miller's Law.

Miller's Law states that the number of objects an average person can hold in working memory is about seven, also known as The Magical Number 7 +/- 2. So when it comes to learning to drive a car (or learn any other skill for that matter), don't try to take on an overwhelming number of decisions to make. Split the entire process into smaller more mentally manageable chunks. Just think for a moment how many different things your brain must handle simultaneously, as you drive a car – It’s way beyond 7.

As I mentioned earlier, as System 1 learns a new aspect of driving, System 2 is 'released' to think about something else. And this is precisely how my daughter learnt to drive. In just a few weeks, she was ready for her practical test (Putting aside the whole issue of booking a test any time soon; suffice to say we got a cancellation).

So what was the upshot of applying a little Behavioural Science? And a layered, 7 +/- 2 approach to teaching System 1 and System 2 to drive a car? My daughter passed first time!

And not only that, she passed with 0 minor mistakes: Apparently this is only achieved by 1 in every 200,000 candidates. and the examiner was somewhat impressed too:

This is some of the best driving I have seen...

In summary, whatever you decide you want to learn, in either your business or personal life, help your brain by teaching it in the most effective way possible. Recognise the limitations of System 2, help System 1 to do as much as possible, and be mindful of Millers Law as you learn.

Adcock Solutions?offer Behavioural Science insights and expertise that improves product visibility, appeal, engagement, and sales. We help put an end to spray and pray marketing by helping clients understand the minds of their customers.

Adcock Solutions?have been improving the communications of leading brands and retailers for 25 years.

So, if you have any questions, please drop us a line.