As naive as it obviously seems today I recall some moments in my school days, excitedly dreaming of the day when, aged 16, 18 or 21, I would finally be free from all that arduous learning and be free to get on with living my life.
My circa nine-year-old self obviously assumed that the drudgery of the traditional classroom setting was the only means by which learning could take place – and that in the 10-15 years that the average UK child spends in formal education I would be taught everything I needed to set me up for life.
It didn’t occur to me then that learning could be diverse and enjoyable, or that I might later come to realise that it was something I needed, consistently, to feel engaged, motivated and fulfilled in life.
I, like the World in general, have come a long way. Today, we are in a golden age of learning and skill development, with the Internet giving us easy access to all of humanity’s accumulated knowledge – much of it for free. Whilst ’80s kids like me once had to hope our local library had a book on the Roman Empire on its shelves on the day we visited, now we can find more information about the Romans than we could consume in a lifetime, with just a few searches of Youtube, Google, Kindle, or our podcast readers.
Our biggest challenge today is no longer, “How can we gain access to the information, expertise and training?” It’s more “How can we process such a wealth of information in an efficient, non-overwhelming manner, and in a way that we’ll actually remember and be able to make use of in the future?”
It’s questions like these that were front of my mind when curating this weekend’s The Power Up, learning, as always, as I went:
In this week’s issue:
- How a beginner’s mindset can help you learn anything
- Why top learners all embrace the ‘5 hour rule’
- 10 learning tactics you wish you knew in school
- How to read better
- The velocity of skill development: How to quickly close the gap
- How to read more books
- 5 of the best online learning platforms to build your skillset
Plus plenty of bonus content too.
As ever, I hope you learn something in this edition that helps inform your approach to the gathering of knowledge and skills, and the subsequent growth and success that brings you.
Enjoy!
M I N D S E T
How a beginner’s mindset can help you learn anything, at any age
Although our ability to easily pick up a new skill declines with age, harnessing a specific mindset, and a few simple tactics, can help us keep learning effectively as an adult, bringing with it a range of cognitive benefits.
M I N D
Why top learners all embrace the ‘5 hour rule’
Taking lessons from Benjamin Franklin, Dr Benjamin Hardy outlines the under appreciated power of just a single hour of focused learning five days per week in this must-watch video.
Hardy passionately outlines how, with just 60 minutes a day, we can prompt ourselves to think differently, gain more insights and ideas of things to do, and have the confidence to act on them.
M I N D
10 learning tactics you wish you knew in school
Learning can feel like a slog at times, but it doesn’t have to be mysterious or a big time suck.
A wealth of research shows that there are optimum ways of creating deep understanding and developing new skills.
Learning expert Scott H. Young shares 10 essential strategies to keep in mind any time you need to learn something important.
L E A R N I N G
How to read better
One of the greatest benefits of reading is that it give us access to the best of what other people have already figured out. This is only true, however, if we can remember and apply the lessons and insights from what we read.
This excellent resource outlines how to get the most out of your reading, including choosing great books, improving reading comprehension and recall, effective note-taking, as well as how and why to quit reading books that don’t enthral you.
S K I L L S
The velocity of skill development: How to quickly close the gap
Humans can be remarkably inefficient at skill development.
This article breaks down lessons from how the Brazil football team develops such skilful players, and explains how this approach can be applied to rapid skill development in our own lives – whether at work, or at play.
R E C O M M E N D E D
Beginners: The power of lifelong learning
Why are children the only ones allowed to experience the inherent fun of facing daily challenges? And could we all benefit from embracing new skills, even if we’re initially hopeless?
Tom Vanderbilt sets out to find the answer, tasking himself with acquiring several new skills under the tutelage of professionals, including drawing, juggling, surfing and more.
B O N U S
C O N T E N T
Ditch digital notes: Handwriting is better for memorisation & speed
How to read more books in the golden age of content
5 of the best online learning platforms to build your skillset
The wisdom of unlearning: Why smart people challenge their best thinking habits
Josh Waitzkin on beginner’s mind, self-actualization, and advice from your future self
Engage all your senses when learning
Learning any language can change your life if you allow it
7 Science-backed insights to boost your meta-learning
6 easy and fun techniques that helped me learn a foreign language
“Anyone who isn’t embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn’t learning enough.”
ALAIN DE BOTTON
