How to Easily Learn Anything You Want

Back in the early 60s, Bobby Fischer wasn’t the greatest chess player. He was somewhat good, but not enough to be considered special. Then around age 13, he was suddenly the best chess-player in the US after winning a championship.

So how did he do that? Luck? Not really. He cheated? Nope. Practiced a crap ton? Not even that. In fact he barely played at all for nearly an entire year.

Instead, what he did was study every game played in the 1800s, and learned enough Russian to read the Russian chess magazines because at the time, the top chess players were all Russian. By just studying his history, the best players, and the elements to chess, he became one of the best players in the world.

So what separate people like Bobby Fischer from the rest of the world? Part of it has to do with education itself. In today’s time, education has transformed into a game of roulette where it can either ruin someone’s learning experience or ignite it with a ever lasting spark. It all depends on the way we were taught.

At an early age, some people see the benefits of learning beyond what they teach us in school so they can do great things such as programming or learning another language. As for others, when someone doesn’t show them the benefits of learning for fun, they tend to slide through life without reading anything other than their Facebook feed.

Part of a happy life is being a good learner towards the career or lifestyle you want to be apart of. Don’t think of learning as a process that originated from your classroom. Think of it as a self-discovery process such as when you were a baby who was learning how to walk. You didn’t take your first steps because you wanted an A. You did it because you wanted to grow and do things you never did before.

Back when Bobby sucked at chess, he could have gave up and followed 95% of the world by just accepting his limitations. But he didn’t. He took the time to teach himself how to play chess the best way he could by reading previous players who were masters at the game.

Acquiring knowledge goes far beyond what your teachers taught you. There’s no failures when you’re teaching yourself something new. There’s only setbacks that give you the opportunity to try something again.

Back when I studied C++, I didn’t see it as a bad grade when I messed up on a line of code. I didn’t lower my self-esteem because I didn’t master coding a new script the first time.

Learning is meant to further your own mind and personal development so you can do things on your own. Because by the time you graduate from school and want to further your life in anything, you need that knowledge to help you with that.

So just how can you learn anything?

Understand That Your Attention Span is Worst Than a Goldfish

Thanks to the new lifestyle of the digital age where even children now have cell phones, televisions, and auto-correct, people generally lose their concentration after 8 seconds. I’m serious. Researchers in Canada surveyed 2,000 people brains, and found the average person normally lose their attention span after 8 – 12 seconds.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the average attention span for a simple goldfish is 9 seconds. One second more than us. That may not be the greatest news in the world, but at least you know you can depend on your goldfish to keep track of your kids the next time you want to leave the house.

Putting jokes aside, this doesn’t mean we’re stupid creatures who should be dependent on their pets. This only means 8 seconds is the normal amount of time before our brains want to turn its attention to something else that sparks its interest. It’s why if you’re reading something on the computer, you can be distracted by any noise that’s in your environment.

Unless we primarily focus our attention to something such as when we’re driving or playing a video game, our brains like to jump from one subject to the other like a person high on meth. And this is where the art of studying comes into play.

When the average person studies something they’re interested in, although their attention span starts at 100% focus, by 45 minutes it can drop as low as 30%. And although people like to study for hours on end as they cram for that next day exam, it won’t help them if their attention span is at 5%.

It’s like playing Candy Crush on your phone when it’s on 7% battery life, and hoping you can still beat 20 more levels before you call it a day. You’re facing a losing battle.

But don’t worry. Whether your attention span limit is 45 minutes or 10 minutes, there’s still hope. You can increase your attention span time by building a habit around it.

Don’t get me wrong. This still takes time because you need short breaks in between your study time to remain focus. Or else, the more a subject drains you, the more you naturally lose an interest to learn anything from it.

During a time I was studying biology, I used to cram all night with no breaks just to understand one chapter. I thought if I spent all my time studying, it would finally become easier to learn. But it didn’t. I just hated the subject even more until a point I didn’t even want to hear the word biology anymore.

It was until the next semester when I decided to just take breaks in between my studies and do something that actually made me happy. I can’t remember which game I played, but my PS2 was practically a best friend to me.

You need that break time to recharge your brain and prevent yourself from mentally freaking out. So the next time you want to learn something, create a study schedule you’re comfortable with.

Humans can concentrate for 40 minutes on one subject before they need a break for 5 – 10 minutes. My study schedule usually last around 45 minutes before I need to play on my phone to relieve some stress. That way, my mind slows down and set it back in a cruise zone when I return to my studies.

During your break time, do something that’s actually relaxing instead of impatiently waiting for that time period to end. Eat something healthy, get your blood flowing by moving, or step outside for some fresh air.

Understand Your Memory is Like An Apple

Have you ever met someone who said they barely studied for a test and still passed with a decent grade, when you studied for hours and hours and barely did any better than them. If you haven’t, I’ll admit that was definitely me. I try not to let it get to me, but it really bothered me back in my earlier days.

Which is why you need to understand how your mind operates so you can manipulate it to remember a crap ton of things.

When you read something, your memory of that topic only has only a limited amount of time before it vanishes into your subconscious. And to paint a prettier picture as to how your mind functions, whenever you learn something new, imagine a giant apple growing inside your head.

When you review something on day 1, your memory allows that apple to remain 100% big. However, when day 2 arrives and you stopped reading about that particular subject, that apple then shrinks down to 80% it’s original size. By day 3, your apple has shrunk to 40% its original size. By day 5, you’ll be lucky if your apple remains above 10%.

This rapid speed of reduction is how our brains react when we learn anything. And depending on your previous experiences with any subject will determine the speed to its shrinkage.

If you have a background in history, then your apple will remain bigger a little longer than someone who doesn’t even know who the first President of the United States was. But that still doesn’t put you on the “My apple will remain big forever” category. It just means you have more time before your apple reduce in size.

To keep your apple large, you need to review the same subject you read the next day and the day after that. Build stronger connections in your brain to slow down the apple shrinkage process.

It normally takes four consecutive days of studying and reviewing the same subject before your brain feels comfortable enough to stick it in a secure place. Don’t try memorizing something you only read once or twice in hopes that it’ll forever stick in your head.

It’s like quickly flipping through a book and claiming you read it to your friends. Sure, you technically did go over an entire book within minutes, but it won’t help if you have no idea what it’s about.

I’m definitely guilty of this. I used to believe if I read a Physics chapter faster than my friend during class, it would show just how “smart” I was. But when the teacher had asked us a few basic questions I should have known the answers to, my mind went blank. Before I can even brainstorm a possible answer, the person who took their time studying that chapter knew nearly every question she asked.

Although it’s great to fantasize about being some genius who can brag about our intelligence, it won’t better our lives or our brains. Instead, set a review plan that allows you to reproach a subject you’re studying. Read that subject in the morning, again in the evening, and then again the next day.

Practice this concept for a week and test yourself after 2 weeks to prevent yourself from forgetting it. What helps is if you study a subject 3 times a day by approaching a subject the first time, reviewing it the second time, and looking it over the last.

Understand You Need A Variety of Samples To Make Learning Fun

To keep your mind actively engage on a subject you’re studying, read from a variety of resources. Don’t just follow one guy who’s dictating a particular subject. Learn from other editions that’s either in the library, online, or your friend notes.

When you read from a variety of resources, it decreases the odds of you getting bored. You get to see that topic from another person’s point of view rather than the same old dude who lacks a sense of humor.

It’s like only eating at Domino Pizza when there’s a Pizza Hut right across the street. Sure, both restaurants sell Pizza, but in very different ways.

What’s beneficial is that this increase the latency of information you provide yourself with. Other people might cover facts no one else covered before, which can suddenly make something you’re learning make total sense.

Back when I was in school, I had a difficult time learning Physics because our teacher was very dull in her teachings. It was like learning from an emotionless robot. But when I went on YouTube, I found there were a lot of people who made it fun to understand. I discovered what you can do in the outside world by applying simple physics. I learned just how much fun you can have with it if you combined your creativity to it.

This technique applies to any subject you’re interested in whether it’s math, science, languages, or English. Rely on many resources you can find either on Khanacademy or YouTube. Don’t just depend on one source because it might not be the best one for you.

And to keep those subjects fresh in your head, compile them into your own notes. Jot down what you learned into your own personal notepad. If you’re studying something science related, write down specific things that weren’t found in another textbook. If you’re studying anything math related, try solving an equation someone else’s way and see how it compares to the way your teacher taught.

The more you understand the ins and outs of a subject, the less you need to actually memorize it. When you learned how to walk as a child, you first learned how to step forward. Then, perhaps for fun or on accident, you learned by just moving your legs a little faster, you can also run.

Overtime, you then began to understand how you can either walk or run somewhere to get yourself to another location. Although both activities rest in its own category, they both act as a way to get you from Point A to Point B.

It’s the combination of knowledge that makes learning interesting.

For Anyone Who Struggles with Test Anxiety

If it’s not the bully who’s threatening you for your lunch money, it’s that upcoming test that’s giving you butterflies in your stomach. But don’t freak out because there’s a simple strategy that can keep your head clear before you receive that test sheet.

When you’re aware there’s a big test in several weeks, study hard for the first 3 weeks, but on the last week take it extremely easy. Prep your mind to believe that by the end of 3 weeks, you will have to take that test.

This then gives you an “extra week” to look over your notes and review your studies. You lose a major chunk of your anxiety because you’re not trying to cram a thousand facts into your head within 36 hours.

And during that week before the test, try teaching someone else who’s panicking and need advice. Not only will this keep your knowledge sharp, it gives you a better understanding of what you reviewed.

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