How I Learn Quickly and Effectively

I’ve got something special for you today…

Rather than talk about something I learned, I’m gonna talk about learning itself – mainly how I’m able to learn quickly and effectively.

Despite loving to learn, I used to be terrible at it.

I’d fly through 2-3 books a week yet remember nothing. That sounds like a problem, right?

Anyway, nowadays, I learn faster than the Flash (or so I think).

And here’s how…

The best way for me to explain my learning process is through a story…

Last night, I read a chapter of The Self-Taught Programmer by Cory Althoff. This chapter was all about linked lists.

The chapter didn’t take me long to read – maybe 10-15 minutes max.

The old me would have moved on to the next chapter right away. But that strategy would result in retaining zero knowledge. Nada.

But the new me is a smart data dork…

I know the best way (for me) to learn is by doing.

So after finishing the chapter, I skipped on over to my laptop, opened VS Code, and started to program – specifically working with linked lists.

Even though I’m not inventing something new, I’m going through the programming motions of working with this new data structure. And recreating code from the book helped me familiarize myself with linked lists and become more comfortable with them.

And guess what happened next…

I remembered more than I would have if I had moved to the next chapter right away.

That’s the secret.

I don’t learn by consuming knowledge.

I learn by consuming knowledge and applying it to something practical right away.

That’s my secret sauce.

That’s the way I’ve learned more Python in six weeks than I did in one year of college.

Learning isn’t hard if you do it right.

And while this isn’t the only way to learn, it’s one of the best ways.

So try it out.

If you’re not a dorky believer yet, then prove me wrong.