Learn Like a Pro: Science-Based Tools to Become Better at Anything
It’s important to set aside time for having a life, spend time with the ones you love, and have fun.
Barbara Oakley PhD • Learn Like a Pro: Science-Based Tools to Become Better at Anything
One hour of test-taking, for example, will teach you far more than one hour of studying.1 And taking practice tests are valuable too—in fact, research shows that the best way to prepare for a test is by practicing with problems and questions that are similar to those of the upcoming test.2
Barbara Oakley PhD • Learn Like a Pro: Science-Based Tools to Become Better at Anything
When you highlight material, for example, you activate the parts of your brain involved in the movement of your hand. That’s why you feel you’re doing something active. But the “move your hand” part of your brain is not necessarily where the learning links of conceptual understanding are formed. In other words, highlighting or underlining is passiv
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The second mode is called the diffuse mode. This mode is also important for thinking and learning.1 While you’re in the diffuse mode, thoughts are still flowing through your mind, but you’re not focusing on anything in particular. For example, you’re in the diffuse mode when random thoughts pop up while you’re standing in the shower, riding a bus,
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or already know. You can do this through elaboration or interleaving. Don’t procrastinate when you’re trying to learn—it takes many days to build the solid neural architecture of good learning. The Pomodoro Technique can be very helpful here. Exercise regularly. Exercise has been shown to help you more easily form neural connections. Cautious use o
... See moreBarbara Oakley PhD • Learn Like a Pro: Science-Based Tools to Become Better at Anything
This leaves what’s called an attention residue—some leftover attention from your
Barbara Oakley PhD • Learn Like a Pro: Science-Based Tools to Become Better at Anything
Once you’ve learned something well, it’s easier to think about it because you’ve formed strong connecting pathways between neurons in your long-term memory.
Barbara Oakley PhD • Learn Like a Pro: Science-Based Tools to Become Better at Anything
space out your learning. Ten hours of learning crammed into one day are not nearly as effective as ten hours of learning spaced out over ten days. This is because cramming forms initial connections but doesn’t allow for them to be moved to long-term memory, where they can be strengthened and consolidated.