Glue. Glue works best. It truly does. I personally hate Elmer’s glue but gorilla glue is the bees knees.
Okay, all kidding aside. This is how I make sure that I don’t take my addiction of learning to just being a backboard but I slam dunk those educational podcasts and make sure that the time I’m exercising my noggin with reading and listening to podcasts is being utilized.
- I take five minutes after reading to not listen or read something right away. I let things settle inside my conscious and let it cool down. EVERYTHING needs a cool down. Think about it Dudes and Dudettes- A workout. After a nice work out. You need a cool down. Cook some good ole college diet Roman noodles. Eat that right after cooking and you’ll be burning your tongue and the result: no more taste buds. I don’t know about you but I really enjoy tasting my food. So, you even need a cool down after work. Just ten minutes in the car after a long day will pay you in multiple dividends. Such as fewer visits to the therapists and late night Bar Drink benders.
- Move!!! Studies have shown that moving your body and learning- creating a locomotive with your body really helps increase your chances of learning new information. So Often times I like to walk around and listen to audiobooks or podcasts, but I don’t have time to write t down. Big problem. But I’ve got the solution. I take a snap a shot of the new information I’m trying to learn. So check this out. If I’m learning how to set up a business and the first steps to take well, I might not be able to take action on that right away. So I’m using the power of Snapshotting to reinforce the A- HA moments or action steps I need to take to get my website running, or what to say to clients when they have problems they need a solution too. But let’s say The podcast or book has these gems of information at 35 minutes and 46 second into the material. I’ll pull out my phone. Take a snap shot and BAM! (pun intended) This podcast or audiobook is archived into my photos and ready to be reflected on when I get the chance to sit down and write about what I’m trying to learn.
- So naturally what comes next? Reflection, Reflection, Reflection. Did I mention reflection? I write for ten minutes in the morning and night about what I learned. Or if I’m feeling a little less awake- I record it. I usually do talk to text for this one since I’m more of an auditory learner and I like to pretend that I’m trying to teach my nephew what I learned. It really helps if you do pretend you’re speaking to just one person you wish knew this information. Think of just teaching one other person.
- Learn for TWO: This kind of goes along with 3, but to teach someone what I learned and explain to them what I picked up really reinforces your learning patterns. Sometimes I sound like an idiot. This is a sign I need to stop kidding myself and delve into a little more research and active learning.
- FAIL. No don’t just fail. Fail forward. Get good at failing forward. This kind of correlates with number 4. If I’m learning a new skill I need to try and actually use it in real life. And more importantly fail with it. So for example I’m in love with learning new ways to get my physique in tip top shape so I’ll run experiments with my body. Such as using different lifting plans (Full body works vs Body part splits.) Or maybe try out a new diet strategy. (intermittent fasting or Ketogenic Dieting.)
The ultimate take away is try out these 5 different ways to make your learning concrete so you can make the world a better place by changing your learning habits.
And if it itches, Scratch it. Be courageously curious. That’s Key.