A few basic learning strategies can help you in your career or business. They also can make you the person who always has something interesting to say. You CAN learn more efficiently. Set your goal to use one or all six of these learning strategy techniques. Practice the ones you choose until they become habit then choose another.
Create Anticipation and Curiosity
You learn more effectively with curiosity and anticipation working for you, but how do you create this state of mind? One way is to end each learning session with a question or two clearly in your mind. This creates the sense of anticipation and curiosity that will help you next time you study.
Prepare To Learn
When you want to learn new material, expose your mind to it as soon as possible, before you even feel “ready,” or have time to study. The first stage of learning is the part where you look at new ideas and say, “huh?” It’s important to do this quickly. Reviewing everything for a few minutes, and your other than conscious mind will start “incubating” the new concepts and finding some way to organize them.
Relate What You Know To The New Knowledge
When you sit down to study new material, relate it to what you already know. Compare and contrast things, saying to yourself, “That’s like…,” or “How is that different from…” Autoresponders were new to me when I started my weekly newsletter and then I shifted from just “my weekly email” to “Throttle Up Thursday!” This `sunk in and motivated me when I thought, “it’s staying connected to people I’ve met.”
Use Your Imagination
Changing your perspective is one of the great learning strategies. For example, study with the idea in mind that you will be teaching what you’re learning. As you study something, imagine how you’ll teach it. This is a powerful way to get a good grasp on new information.
Take Breaks
You can learn more by working less. The research shows that we remember best what we study first and last in a given session. So, by taking breaks, you create more “sessions,” and increase the number of firsts and lasts. Move around during your breaks, as this can also keep your mind fresh.
Find Time
What if it took no extra time to learn a new language, take a negotiating course, or study something new and interesting? Start using the dead-time in your day, the time driving in your car, or on the bus, or in a waiting room. Audible has almost any book you could want available for a small investment in yourself. You can instantly download books on their internet site. This is one of the most under-utilized and easiest learning strategies.
Make 2019 your year! Here is my revised Goal Getting Guide as a gift to you. Let me know how I can help…
