When facing new challenges or studying a new subject, we all reach a point when we start to yawn and get bored. Next thing you know, you find yourself browsing Reddit or updating Facebook status. That’s because taking in and understanding new information is not easy for our brain, so instead it tricks us to do other things we like doing. This can be frustrating when you’re trying to study a boring subject or learning a new language. But there’s a simple trick you can use to easily store new information in your brain.
The Problem
When I started learning about web design, I had a really hard time trying to understand PHP and Javascript. Remembering variables, scripts and all that code just made my head spin. I spent hours reading about the same thing over and over again to force myself remember, but it just made things worse.
After a couple of days I decided to give up. I was both confused and mad at myself for not understanding this new subject. Some of my friends learned it so quickly, am I so dumb to have such a hard time learning?
The Solution
Then I found this course on Coursera about “Learning how to Learn“. It’s a free course done by University of California, that details how our brain works when learning new things and also offered some helpful tips for learning new subjects.
The thing is, when we are learning our brain uses two different modes called Focused Mode and Diffused Mode. Focused mode uses what we already know when trying to find a solution or understand something. Diffuse mode on the other hand helps us keep our brain more open and accept new ideas to find solutions to things we didn’t know already. Both these methods help us learn new things, but the key to remembering is to keep a balance between these two modes.
Our brain doesn’t like accepting things when we try to force it all the way. So, the best way to learn tough subjects and remembering is to divide the lessons to little pieces and learn each bit every day, instead of trying to learn all the pieces in one day.
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After this course, I came back to my learning and finished both PHP and Javascript courses. Now I’m off to learning new things. The trick is to keep some space between your learning throughout the week and repeat each lesson once in a while. This will help your brain build a strong structure of what we learn as it allows time for the brain to assimilate the subject. Remember, only a little bit, every day.
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Follow @nrjperera – Roshan Jerad Perera