Core guide: How to quickly acquire a new skill? (under)

In less than 20 hours, learn skills that are valuable and can create value.

Shenzhen Translation Bureau is a compilation team focusing on technology, business, workplace, life and other fields, focusing on introducing new foreign technologies. New perspectives and new trends.

Editor’s note: There is an old saying that “skills are not overwhelming”, and life is alive. Whether it is in the workplace or in personal life, one more skill seems to be a better choice. However, some people say that “skills do not support others”, we should be selective enough to be proficient in a certain field. The original title of this series of articles is Your Essential Guide to Learn New Skills Fast. The author Danny Forest has systematically shared with you how to quickly acquire new skills. The author does not agree with the statement that “skills do not support others.” Instead, he believes that it is not impossible to achieve mastery and mastery. This is the next part of this series of articles, which mainly introduces the last step of rapid acquisition of skills, and also puts forward related practical solutions for your reference. hope to inspire you.

Image source: Pexels.com

2. Memory skills

About memory skills, I will share with you 7 effective methods here:

Imagination: Present the content you want to remember in a painting through visual imagination, and you can also add some interesting and emotional elements.

Using the senses: For better memory, you can try to say it out loud, while using as many senses as possible.

Use small cards cleverly: You can try downloading the application that uses the card’s back words (TinyCards), while keeping the intervals repeated.

Handwriting: It is recommended not to type on electronic devices,Instead, use paper and pen to write out the relevant content. In addition, drawing is the same. It is recommended to use less drawing tools or software, and use pen and paper frequently.

Numbers and events: Use numbers and dates to associate the birthdays of friends around you, or you can use numbers you are familiar with to remember numbers and dates.

Palace memory method: Try to use your own familiar visual scene to assist your memory, and associate the relevant information points in the memory with the core signs in the visual scene.

Acronym: Split the information that needs to be memorized, and memorize it by the form of acronym.

3. Take notes

If you feel that it is still difficult to memorize the combination of the above 7 memorization methods, then you can read on.

Memory, it must take practice. But once you master these connections, you can greatly enhance your memory.

A simple memory method that is well known, but few people are willing to try, is to take notes while reading or watching a video. What I mean by taking notes is not simply highlighting text.

Actually, according to Barbara Oakley, author of A Mind for Numbers, the method of highlighting text during reading actually affects the learning process and The effect is counterproductive.

I don’t know if you have paid attention to it. When you highlight the relevant content and review it later, you will be more inclined to “remember” and rarely read the relevant chapters in detail.

Here, I will not analyze the scientific reasons behind this phenomenon through a long discourse, but if you take notes with a pen, it is best to record your personal feelings and experiences at the same time. In this process, you are Consciously understand and remember. As mentioned earlier, to create memory, you need some sense.

If you want to improve your memory quickly in the short term, you should move your handwritten notes while reading books or watching video recordings. In this way, you will feel your ability to recall will be greatly enhanced.

4. Memories

In terms of improving long-term memory, “remembering” is probably the most influential factor. But unfortunately, almost everyone did not make good “memory” correctly.

→ Where: Where should you recall the material you want to remember?

Most people will probably learn and remember these materials in the same environment, such as in their ownLiving room, or proprietary study. The problem is that the brain stores the context related to learning and uses it as a reference point for memories.

Have you noticed that during your school days, you may have more difficulty recalling relevant information during the exam?

One of the possible reasons for this phenomenon is that your learning environment is too single. Excellent students usually have a very diverse learning environment, whether it is in the bedroom, living room, or a coffee shop, classroom, library with one person, whether with or without a music background, whether it is hot You can see their study in the room, or in the cold environment.

When you are trying to learn a new concept, the more diverse your learning environment is, the deeper the connections in your brain will be, which will promote the development and improvement of long-term memory.

Compared to practicing rock climbing in different gyms, different real environments, and with different partners, if you only practice rock climbing in the same gym, the same virtual environment and the same partner at the same time, you will think you can learn Is it better?

Surely not, right?

Excellent athletes exercise and practice in different scenarios. The same is true of the military. Therefore, no matter what you are learning, you should diversify your learning environment.

→ Time: When should you recall the material you want to remember?

Have you noticed that you have been reviewing and remembering the same material for several days in a row, and you want to memorize it as soon as possible, but in fact, you find that you still ca n’t remember it?

Right? Even if you are learning every day, your brain still can’t remember.

Why do you notice that when you hold your feet temporarily before the test, why is the effect better at this time? And within a few days after the exam, you may soon forget it again, right? So the brain can’t remember it in this way.

In both cases, you have n’t actually learned, or hardly learned.

So, when should we practice recalling memories?

At this time, you need to resort to Spaced Repetition. You can understand this concept simply and clearly by the following picture:

Image source: koobits.com

If you have previously used two language learning apps, Duolingo or Memrise, you should probably have noticed the way behind these two apps to make language learning programs for you. It’s no surprise that these two apps have been rated as the most popular new language learning apps.

If you learn a new guitar chord today, and then recall the practice immediately after 24 hours, then repeat it again after 7 days, then repeat it after one month, and repeat it after the last year, then you can “forever “Remember this chord.

Interval repetition has proven effective for any skill you want to learn. So don’t leave it alone. If you really want to learn a skill, then you can record the relevant exercise plan in your schedule according to the repeating interval.

5. Forgetting

Relevant research confirms that forgetting is also one of the important factors to promote and enhance the effectiveness of learning. As for why forgetting or not studying can work, there are two main reasons:

First of all, no matter what skills you are learning, during the learning process, you are actually uncertain about all the information you have access to.

Before you really understand this skill thoroughly, you begin the process of information accumulation and digestion. And when you make the right connections, this knowledge may no longer be useful. If you haven’t forgotten it, your brain will definitely evoke the memory of it again, but it may not be right or wrong.

Secondly, forgetting your learning experience can also help you to transfer your related skills in the transition from one job to another.

As Edwin Robertson, professor of brain and cognitive science at the University of Glasgow’s School of Neuroscience and Psychology, said:

Through our research, we found that an unstable memory is one of the core components of the transfer learning mechanism. Unstable memory can prevent the entire learning process from being rigidly associated with a specific learning task; instead, it can make the whole learning process more flexible.

In short, during the learning process, forgetting what you learn helps you apply what you have learned to the learning of many other concepts.

6. Sleep

The connections that occur in the brain are actually done subconsciously, that is, when you are not actively practicing what you have learned. Although running, meditation, and showering all help to absorb information, sleep has been shown to produce better results.

So we have a phrase “slee in English”p on it”, which literally means “sleep on it”, but actually means “thoughtful.”

During sleep, our bodies eliminate the harmful toxins that accumulate during the day, and subconsciously “handle” those things we worry about before going to bed. If during the day you want to further understand a concept thoroughly but end up failing, try to think again before going to bed. By the next day, you will most likely have a deeper understanding of that concept.

In addition, if you are too tired during the day to understand and solve a problem clearly and thoroughly, you may try to close your eyes for a short time, this way can also achieve the aforementioned And effect.

Einstein and Edison, many famous scientists, have used this method to light their inspiration moments.

Image source: jeffwarren.org

Finally, you can relax and rest physically and mentally, and you can better cope with various stimuli around you, making it easier for you to understand and understand the information being processed in your brain.

7. Brain plasticity

According to Study.com, brain plasticity refers to the structural or functional plasticity of brain synapses and neural pathways under the influence of environment, behavior, and nerves.

Using the plasticity of the brain, you can keep the brain running efficiently. For example, if a person suffers a brain injury, the plasticity of the brain allows the brain to “rebuild”. By rebuilding the neural circuit and letting the uninjured part “take over” the damaged part, it can reshape or maximize the restoration of brain function .

To give you a better understanding of brain plasticity, you can refer to the following pictures:

Image source: altamirarecovery.com p>

Reshaping the brain: Brain plasticity actually shows us a whole new way to understand humans, that is, we can reshape our brains by thinking.

Specifically, it can be understood through the following process:

Image source: altamirarecovery.com

Target setting → Identify triggers → Make subconscious decisions → Find fun and rewards in the implementation of correct and healthy implementation → Strengthen new circuits → Form new health habits

Image source: altamirarecovery.com

New ideas and skills can form new channels. Repeated intervals and continuous practice can further strengthen these pathways and form new habits. Older pathways will be used less and less and will gradually weaken. So if we want to make a change in some way, we have the ability to reshape our brains by repeating it and continuing to focus directly.

6. Should I aim for “Mastery”?

For the skills acquisition and promotion methods introduced in this series of articles, one of the biggest questions is whether to target mastery.

Proficient and sparse.

Mastery of the gates

I don’t think it’s bad about mastery. In addition, another situation that is not necessarily true is that the polymath is not necessarily sparse.

In fact, you cannot master a skill with 15 hours of deliberate practice. But some people do not realize that these skills acquisition and improvement methods are originally a continuous and gradual process.

Here, I want to repeat the sentence I said before: the more you learn, the more you learnThe speed will become faster.

In addition, we mentioned earlier that this sentence is true because as the number of mental modules formed in our brain increases, we can form connections more quickly.

Based on this, the more you learn, the faster you can become proficient in a certain aspect. Of course, it is not surprising that if you learn multiple instruments such as piano, guitar, violin, and tuba at the same time, you can actually further improve your proficiency in these instruments.

So, after understanding these backgrounds, it won’t take a few years for you to become proficient but not sparse. If you learn multiple skills at the same time, instead of practicing a single skill, your mastery will increase irresistibly and quickly, which is also scientifically based.

When did you learn it? When can I learn a skill again?

This issue is mainly about the problem between lack of learning and too much learning.

The answer to this question actually depends on personal intentions. If it is for professional purposes, I suggest that you never stop learning and take “no best, only better” as your goal.

When you plan to acquire a certain skill, you must be specific, and at the same time, you must master as much as possible the other sub-skills and the sub-skills of the sub-skills. skill. If you want to know when you can stop learning, the only way is to understand how to be proficient or approach proficient in these small sub-skills.

Personally, I usually give myself a month to become proficient in each of the sub-skills. Based on this, I need to practice for half an hour every day.

After completing this month’s exercises, although I rarely apply these skills directly to actual work or life, I will eventually use my acquired skills in one way or another. And more importantly, when I go to learn a brand new skill a few months later, it just happens that this skill needs to rely on the small sub-skills I learned before, so my learning speed at this time will be very fast.

For my skill acquisition and promotion method, when you have deliberately practiced for 15 hours, there are three different options before you: either you continue to learn, or you learn one Complementary skills, or just learn a new one.

Choice 1: Continue to learn

You have to know that there is no limit to what you are doing or what you are learning, and you can always do better. Therefore, a thorough and thorough understanding of this sentence will make you more motivated in the learning process, thereby accelerating your learning process and effect, and eventually reaching the level of mastery.

Choice 2: Either learn a complementary skill

The so-called complementarity is actually focusing on the specific sub-skills or other branch skills of a particular skill. For example, learning different tenses or new vocabulary for the same language, learning new photo editing skills, and so on.

Option 3: Either learn a new skill

Someone said that if you want to succeed, you have to focus on certain skills. I personally do not agree with this statement. I personally prefer diversity. I also prefer flexibility and adaptability. I also like to know other people’s stories. Of course, I also feel that I can do better.

If you are going to learn a new skill, it may destroy the momentum you have slowly developed. However, you should be able to overcome it and maintain sufficient energy and motivation before passing the experience of successfully acquiring various skills. Your brain, too, now accepts the fact that you can actually learn more that you never knew you could learn.

7. After watching so much, how should I practice it?

Many people read books and related articles, take online courses, and watch YouTube videos. But unfortunately, they are done with these things. In fact, only 7% of people are able to complete online courses from beginning to end. Among them, there may be many missed opportunities.

Let’s review the content of the fourth department again, that is, 7 reasons why skills development is very important.

If you give up the practice, your brain will not form these connections. I think you might collect this series of articles and then go back and read the details in it from time to time. Of course, this series of articles is very informative, so I did not expect you to digest and remember immediately after reading.

Starting today, no later than a week, list the skills you want to learn, and then look for related learning resources. Think beforehand in your brain what kind of results you want to achieve after 15 hours of deliberate practice. Of course, don’t go too far, the goal should be based on reality. Then, based on the results you expect, make a backward schedule. In the specific learning process, you can also adjust and update your plan at any time according to the actual situation.

For complex or difficult skills, I sometimes evenSpend more than 8 hours on planning thinking. In this process, we must not forget the word “intentional”. Maybe your plan may not be perfect, but it doesn’t matter. Only after practice will you know what is best for you.

It is also worth mentioning that it is best to find yourself an accountability partner. Join more interest groups and make more like-minded friends. This will also help you further improve your skills and enrich your learning process.

eight, written at the end

Finally, a brief summary: With a good learning system, your skills acquisition process is actually not as difficult as you think. In the near future, learning a variety of skills is also the only way to achieve personal growth and continuous development. Learn more and master multiple skills from now on, which will definitely be used to “defend yourself” in the future, of course, it will also give you an advantage.

What are you waiting for? Get up to speed.

Appendix A: Examples of skills that can be learned in 15-20 hours

In the picture below, I have listed the skills I have learned in the past 14 months. It only takes 15 hours, and I believe you can learn any one skill.

Creative skills: Use PhotoShop to practice line art and coloring; non-fiction writing; novel writing; video creation for personal branding; DaVinci Resolve Video editing; game trailer creation (learn related theories and create a short trailer every other day); photo editing with Lightroom; portrait photography.

Language: Workplace Spanish; entry into Danish and Norwegian; entry into Tagalog; essential Spanish vocabulary for book writing

Speech: Entry-level storytelling exercises; best practices for public speaking

Logic: Machine learning classification; know how to learn; make entrepreneurial projects work; Go language backend development

Sports and sports: Understanding rock climbing and rock types

Health: Understand the health and nutrition knowledge related to maximizing muscle regeneration; Mental health: Keep a diary; Mental health: Learn the basics of meditation

Miscellaneous: A piece of art on behalf of and sales of physical goods; social media marketing

Further reading: Core Guide: How to quickly acquire a new skill? (Above)

Translator: Junyi

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