Learn better: adapt to your learning style

I have a short attention span. I need to 'do' and 'relate' in order to learn. I need to get my hands dirty and pick up a paper and pen. I am embarrassingly ill disciplined and also really need learning to be fun. These are my needs and learning style, after many frank conversations with myself and others.

Having fun while learning is easier said than done. What really helped me was accepting who I am, how I am, and then finding suitable ways to learn. Here's a recent experience where I tried to learn physics/somewhat electrical engineering by doing what works for me and what I enjoy.

Set a clear topic in the form of a question, simplifying it and go seek.

The question started off being "how do telephones work?". I've just joined Ericsson and I had no inkling on what is a network and how it works. Much less about 5G. So I decided to get to the basics, and was very lucky to have a very patient colleague tutor me on "how do telephones work?". We arrived at this idea when I was ranting to Paul (the voice of 5G) about not understanding all the 101 sessions, podcasts, articles about how networks work.

Know your learning style and tweak your quest accordingly

I'm a visual learner; lectures (audio) have me zoning out. My first lesson started with Paul drawing on the whiteboard, explaining how sound gets converted to electricity and so it goes. He showed me pictures of the old Stockholm where cables were all over up top and we referenced old movies where I recall seeing ladies manning the switchboard and old telephones! Analogies, pictures, relating to things you can reference - they help me loads (and the very patient Paul who never gave up on this restless student).

Reinforce your newly acquired skill based on your learning style

What works for me is to get my hands dirty and try it. The initial step was to check my understanding and explain back to others in my own words. Next, it was to get out there into the real world and make references to what I've just learnt - this meant trying to spot antennas, cabinets, radios while walking on the streets - now I know what they look like!

My highlight: seal your learning quest with a passion project

I'm an old soul - I love physical books, hand written notes and the idea of making a mix tape. The street dancer in me also had an appreciation for old school DJs. Sweden has quite a scene for those who love crate digging and so I decided to embark on a passion project. I decided to get a second hand record player and get it all working, while on a budget - so everything has to be adopted!

Got the player. Had no idea how to get it to work. Crowd sourced help on good ol' Google, Twitter, Paul, and DJ friends back in Singapore. Figured out how the belt works, whether I really need a pre-amp and an amp, what cables I needed. I tried many things, like using a RCA to AUX cable and plugging it in to my portable speaker. There's sound, but I couldn't adjust the volume. WHY? Then I recalled Paul's lessons on telecom basics - my modern speaker doesn't read analogue signals, and I dont have the amps and right speaker for it. After lots of reading, asking, and even using the traditional method of taping the belt to tighten it (like a casette tape), I got it working!

So that was how I spent my 1 week holiday in a pandemic. I never understood or questioned the magic that technology has brought to us today. I'm thankful that I was born in a period where technology just started booming - I was a kid when my mom and sister were sent to computer classes and we had a computer room. With my record player passion project, I got to apply and relate to the knowledge I've gained when learning how do telephones work. After all, the core question was probably "how is sound produced?"

It was such a great learning experience and was rewarding - I finally saw and get to learn about the magic that technology presents, and peek into the complicated science that goes on behind. The simplest experiences are really the most complex to design. I'm glad I went on this journey and will keep doing so for other topics and questions.

Do you have a memorable learning experience to share? What have you found to work best for your learning style? Let's talk!