I’ve been learning things for a long while but I still don’t have a reliable set-in-stone technique for getting things into my head.
Your brain stores different information different places. So read the information, hand write the information, say the information out loud, put the information in your own words, make it colorful, draw it, etc. Gives you more that one area to recall the information in your brain. Also, repetition. Don’t just store it once and hope you remember it.
As an autodidactic the best technique is the simplest. Study right before you sleep. Make it the last thing you do before you rest for the night. Your brain will prioritize that information for consolidation.
If there is a library, go there, way fewer distractions.
Libraries are awesome!
Writing notes by hand has been proven to be more effective than typing. Take notes by hand as you go through the source material, then rewrite them (still by hand) into a neat, organized document. Index the document and store it. The act of writing out and engaging with the information to reorganize it will go a long way towards improving recall later, and if you do forget you’ll have a quick reference ready to brush up. Bonus points if you add a section to the neat document linking it conceptually to other knowledge, as that builds even more pathways in your brain to that information.
A lot of people have suggested writing by hand so I’ll consider doing that instead of my laptop then. Any advice on handwriting notes
The Cornell system is pretty famous note-taking method. I also saw while checking for the Wikipedia page for that, there’s a partial wikibook on Note-Taking with some various tips and links, and a Note-Taking article that outlines several methods.
But my advice would be not to stress too much about how you’re taking notes. Writing helps with memory, but from what I can tell it’s really the act of taking the information, choosing what to write down and how to re-word it that does the heavy lifting.
So basically, just do it, even though it’s imperfectly. Sit down to learn something, and as you read, watch, or practice, decide what’s important and jot down something on your paper that you think captures the idea.
Also be wary of the trap of buying nice pens and notebooks. That stuff is cool if it motivates you to actually start taking notes, but can drag you down if you let yourself get too particular about it.
Go somewhere outside of your home where you can be comfortable. Only go to that place when you’re studying.
Taking note longhand, be it during a lecture or reading a book or a paper. Reviewing said notes later that day, or at most the following day. Sleep over it. Re-read notes (edit: more than one time)
Writing longhand being key here, as far as I’m concerned. None of the other methods were as efficient.
Edit: as suggested already: remove noise, aka distractions and that should include phone, computer, music, whatever is actually distracting you from studying. Back at uni, I used to study at the library because my room was really too noisy and because I had all my brushes and paint tubes available and would always be tempted to paint instead of studying ;)
Take the content as slowly as possible, take notes, and apply it where applicable to see what you can learn from what’s applied. That’s what I was doing for a while, and it seems to pay off for me very well.
Depends on what makes you struggle to learn.
I need to get up in the morning same time and go out of my home or I’ll get distracted by all my fun stuff I’ve got.
There was some free online course that was learning how to learn or something like that. I found it useful.
Doing the most difficult tasks early in the day before eating a heavy meal. After lunch my brain shuts down and I can only do simple admin that needs little creativity.
So I passed a board cert last year. I treated studying like a job. Work hours/off hours/break times. Phone was away.
Pen and paper for taking notes and understand that reading comprehension is a resource that has a cooldown. In other words, take breaks and learn how to glean information while reading quickly. Its a skill and it takes time. This is a decent breakdown of some academic reading techniques.
Lastly, practice and experiment. There’s a difference between knowing things and memorizing, and knowing things is only half the battle. Its really hard to feel like you’re progressing if you cant apply what you’ve learned when the time comes. Practice takes the the things you’ve memorized and turns them into things you know. My advice on practicing is to get weird, have fun and enjoy the discovery of learning new things. It makes the process of ‘sucking until you dont’ so much more enjoyable.
I’m a high school dropout who learned how to learn way too late:
No distractions. None. No background music, and nobody else in the room watching TV with the sound off or reading the newspaper or anything else that “Isn’t distracting because it’s quiet” (Yes dad, that means you), and absolutely not pets allowed.
Also, make sure you’re done with bathroom and food beforehand. Bring water and maybe even some snacks to ensure that you have no excuses.
And if it’s a boring subject, bring an egg timer: 20 minute sessions, 3 minute breaks, on the mark. Ticking timers/clocks should be cast into the flames of hell.I’m doing fine today, but it took me until my late 20s to figure out this and myself.
Take notes while you read if it’s a topic like history or literature. Write a few sentences for each page summarizing the contents. The summarization effort will make you mentally process the info, which will help retain it. Write down the page numbers so you can find the material later
Also, shut off your phone if necessary, to not get interrupted by notifications.
If you like listening to music while studying, use instrumental music only, or music in a language you don’t understand.
What my professor once told me before briefly, and his words come back to haunt me from time to time. Maybe they’ll help you.
Back to the basics. Sleep.
If you can’t get enough in one go, get your nap in.
Eat.
Prepare like you’re going on a long range road trip. Water, trend less meat and more veggies to avoid sugar ups and downs, and replace snacks with fruits (explore and go for like starfruit or dragonfruit or avocado - not just a pile of grapes).
If your lifestyle is contributing to a lot of needless stress, you need to cut that out before your brain can work right.
Cut the noise.
Avoid other people’s psyops - be it drugs, they sleep for an hour a day, someone starts their assignments the night before. One person’s bullshit is another person’s kryptonite. Just take care of your body and your mind. Your studies fall into place once you can get a routine.
PS
Do work out.
Prisoner 60s. Pushups, squats, pull ups. What’s the point of studying if you can’t even stand, sit, or squat right? These are free, do them throughout the day.
