Learning how to learn - 4

How to become a better learner

1. Exercise
2. Practice during critical periods.

Create a metaphor or analogy.
Practice creating chunks.
Take responsibility for your learning

Check your result from a different perspective. If you don't do that it means you're failing to use your full brain.
Learning in a team will keep us from being overconfident. It will also help us with networking. It will also be a diffuse mode.

Test Checklist:

Did you make a serious effort to understand the text ?
Did you get enough sleep ?

HeadStart - Jump to easy
Work on tough problems before simple problems to use diffuse mode.
If feeling stressed, take a deep breath.
Double check your answer from a different perspective.

Learning how to learn - 3

Procrastination is very easy because the reward (focus on easier task) comes very very easily. Working on something requires focus and willpower which is very energy intensive, so you will feel a little unhappy to use it. You funnel attention to a more pleasant task and you feel happy temporarily and since this happens so fast, it is addicting. In this lesson, we will learn the ways to overcome this. This needs to be tackled and mastered so that procrastination is not a problem for your study.

Habits are energy savers. Cue (trigger) launches into zombie mode. Routine(what we do in reaction to the cue) Zombie mode (the default response). Reward (the reward we get for doing routine). Belief (you belief also is important for maintaining habits) .

We already learnt one method: Pomodoro.


process vs product : to prevent procrastination concentrate on process over product. So just work on it for 30 mins (process) over completing the assignment.

Changing Procrastination Habit.:

Cue - location, time, how you feel, reaction. - Shut off your phone and shutting off the internet.
Routine - Develop a new routine where phone and internet are disconnnected. Don't try to change everything at once.
Reward - why are you procrastinating? Try to find rewards. The brain should start expecting the reward. Then the new habit will become automatic.
Belief - Believe that you can do it. Believe that the new system works.

Keep a planner journal. Commit to a set of routines daily. Delay rewards till you're done.
Look for procrastination cues. Have backup plans for when you fail.
Plan the week and day. Plan for tomorrow at eod today. That will keep Zombie busy.
Plan the ending time of the day.
Eat your frogs first.

Memory:
our visual and spatial memory is stronger than number and text.
Use index cards and read out load to have auditory hooks.
Practice the index cards before you sleep. Gradually extend the time between repetition.

Memory Palace Technique - Useful for remembering unrelating items. It has an image of navigating through a well known place but with shocking images. For e.g to remember a  grocery list, imagine a giant can of milk at the door, bread all spread over the couch and broken egg dripping from the coffee table.
This helps us to learn in a focused manner.

To put stuff in LTM, you have to practice and repeat.