Tips for Improving Your Learning Strategy

Introduction

Learning has been something I've enjoyed since childhood. From the age of two to three, I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, learning poetry and fairytales by heart just by listening to her. Certainly, I wasn't able to read.

Over time, my approach to learning has changed. However, the basic idea behind learning remained the same: it takes both hard work and patience and needs suitable learning techniques. Here's my personal strategy for becoming more efficient at learning.

1. Time Management and Planning Success

To successfully learn, time management plays an essential role in the learning process, but you definitely have to figure out how to learn it. It may not always be easy to determine whether something is important or can be delayed, right?

At my current company, I wasn't able to assign priorities to tasks at first. The Eisenhower decision matrix helped me to solve this problem and set priorities. I became more efficient in working as well as in learning. This method, also known as the time management matrix, groups tasks based on their urgency and importance (Figure 1). Both words don't mean exactly the same thing as I thought they did. Something can be urgent, but not important, or vice versa.

Figure 1: Eisenhower Decision Matrix

Additionally, I've been writing down daily tasks. Those to do-lists allowed me to stay organized. I've also started using the calendar with all important events, deadlines, and tests so that I don't forget them.

Time management is somehow closely related to motivation. Without motivation, you may procrastinate and therefore waste your precious time. But what are the best ways of motivating yourself? I've come up with some ideas that might help you out. So let me share them with you in the following section.

2. Motivation Leading to Less Procrastination and Less Stress

Motivation is a process by which people stimulate themselves to achieve their goals. This stimulation can be triggered by "intrinsic" motivation, i.e internal factors like interest in a specific topic or curiosity, or by "extrinsic" motivation, i.e. external factors such as reward, money, etc…

To efficiently learn, it's essential that you recognize your motivation: why would you like to learn this particular topic? What is your ambition? Do you have short/long-term goals?

Based on my experience, time flies when you enjoy learning. However, my learning practices were sometimes related to feeling exhausted, having headaches, and starting with a lack of interest, especially when things got more complicated and I had more questions with no satisfying answers. I then tried the Pomodoro method (Figure 2) where you focus your attention for 25 min, followed by a relaxing break of 5 min.

Figure 2: The Pomodoro method

Using this technique didn't just help me get things done, but it also made me feel better and motivated. No need to spend hours on a subject without taking breaks, you will waste your time. As Barbara Oakley mentioned, "Relaxation is also an important part of the learning process".

"Relaxation is also an important part of the learning process"

Sometimes, a task can be challenging. Facing such a situation your first natural reaction might be to procrastinate. One way to deal with procrastination is to eat the frog. First, I learned the most complex and the least appreciated subject. After having enough time to assimilate this hard topic, I found it to be a good way to avoid unnecessary stress too.

3. Learning Approaches

3.1. Forms of Learning

The hierarchical individual mode of learning describes the way you learned in school and university, namely teachers deliver information through courses or learning content, and pupils/students learn them to graduate. Most of us had the chance to have access to this type of learning. And I must admit it did help me at a point in my life.

But retrospectively, I realize that I'm more fond of the distributed individual mode of learning, which is more efficient for me: I have goals and I lead my learning towards them. Now, my internal motivation seems stronger than ever, probably because of my age and experience; however, my external one tells me to continue learning and complete my education. In a way, our priorities may shift over time.

The Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are an attractive way to get the knowledge of specific topics you are seeking. These online courses are great ways to let you organize yourself and decide where and when you'd like to study: you're flexible in time and space.

I had an amazing experience with MOOCs when I learned the incredible Python programming language for beginners on Udemy.com using several digital technologies. And I'm very proud to be able to say “I completed it”.

3.2. Methods to Transfer Knowledge to the Long-term Memory

Our brain constantly filters information which is then encoded into our memory according to the Information Processing Theory. Three stages of memory are described:

1. Sensory memory: when a stimulus is perceived
2. Short-term memory or working memory: when we remember things for a short period of time
3. Long-term memory: where the information is supposedly stored forever

As you might have guessed, long-term memory is the one we, students or life-long learners, seek after.

a. Improve Your Memory by Rehearsing

It's important to rehearse new information so that you can store it in your long-term memories. Otherwise, all information will be forgotten. To achieve that, you need to use study methods effectively.

Reading a paragraph once isn't enough to permanently store the information in your long-term memory; however, reading it again might help. If you read something frequently, then you'll remember it better. That's why reading articles regularly helps us memorize things faster. For example, if you're preparing for a test, you should read the material thoroughly so that you can understand what you've learned.?

Rehearsing is one of the keys to learning, but it can be sometimes challenging depending on the subject: how to make it entertaining then? If you want to remember the information better, you may want to write it down. So, if you're taking notes, writing down key points will allow you to review them later. In addition to that, what works best for me is handwriting and using colors, these are more useful for me than the printed version.

Talking out loud also helped me to remember, which is one of the many reasons I've never visited the library. Exercises and tests are also very useful. For instance, I've tried flashcards which are very effective but unfortunately not practical when traveling. I then downloaded an app on my phone called Quizlet. It was fun for me to learn German, English, and Italian. I also learned through associations with acronyms.

Alternating different learning materials made the information stick better in my memory.

b. Explain What You Are Learning

I sometimes try to explain a learning content to someone to make sure I got it right. My learning process is that way much easier. Studying together with a colleague to understand a certain topic is definitely an excellent learning method I've experienced, but unfortunately not very frequently. Our study program requires us to do a lot of group projects.

This kind of collaboration is fun, as we get to meet new friends, learn from each other and share experiences. But it can be also challenging. Working together in teams means that you have to compromise. In order to achieve a good outcome, everyone needs to agree on what should happen next. When we worked on our digital competence project, we had a set of rules to follow. These rules helped us to keep focused and motivated throughout the whole project. They made sure that we would stick to the agreed-upon plan and that we wouldn't waste too much time on unnecessary things. Without these rules, we might have ended up doing something completely different.

3.3. My Adequate Learning Environment

In my past, studying at home was associated with learning on the couch or on the bed. However, I soon realized that when it becomes too comfortable, my concentration gradually decreases, but certainly, and I began to think of something else besides my study material: my mind was flying easily away.

Sitting at the dining room table with a straight back and not too uncomfortable chair is the best way for me to focus. Quiet was important for me too.

Conclusion

To summarize, my learning approach includes three different aspects that are interdependent:

1. Time management
2. Motivation
3. Learning techniques

To keep track of things I make a list of tasks and use my calendar to have an overview of what has to be done. Using the Eisenhower method helps me to prioritize. Besides, motivational factors play an important role in learning. The Pomodoro and "eat the frog“ techniques encourage me to stay focused and motivated. I wasn't procrastinating anymore or being stressed out.

Finally, I've experienced that a combination of repetition and practice are critical aspects of learning. Finding out how to learn by using effective learning strategies is key, as Antoine de Saint Exupéry said: "A goal without a plan is just a wish".