1495. My best notes on the learning how to learn course

There are 6 key concepts:

• Focused and diffused thinking
• Memory techniques
• Procrastination
• Remember to sleep well, move often, and stay hydrated.
• Test taking strategies

Focused vs diffuse thinking modes

Your brain alternates between a concentrated, energy-intensive “focused mode” that works within known neural patterns and a relaxed “diffused mode” that allows for creative connections and insights through activities like daydreaming, light exercise, and meditation.

 Four-Steps of Learning

1. Focused Loading: Intense study where you’re fully engaged with the material
2. Diffused Processing: Step away and let your brain do its thing 
3. Focused Refinement: Come back to clarify and solidify what you’ve learned
4. Repeat until you get the material

Stop Trying to Remember Everything prioritize learning with the Knowledge Value Framework:

1. Core Concepts (70% of your focus): The fundamental principles that everything else builds on
2. Procedural Knowledge (20%): The methods and techniques for solving problems
3. Contextual Examples (8%): Specific applications that illustrate the core concepts
4. Peripheral Details (2%): Interesting but ultimately skippable information

How To Study 

• First pass: Highlight key points (maximum 20% of the text)
• Second pass: Bold only the most important highlights
• Third pass: Create margin notes summarizing the bolded material
• Fourth pass: Compress everything into one tight paragraph
• Final pass: Express the central idea in a single sentence

Memory techniques

• Ditch Cramming. Use Spaced Repetition 

• Stop Passive Reading, Start Active Learning. 
• Chunk: group related information into meaningful clusters. 
• The Memory Palace: associate information with specific locations in a familiar place 

Procrastination

Use the Pomodoro Technique to beat procrastination:

• Set a timer for 25 minutes of focused work
• Eliminate every possible distraction during this time
• Take a 5-minute break when the timer rings
• Repeat

Remember to sleep well and move often

Staying hydrated helps too. Your body is your temple and we only get one body in this game of life.

• When we sleep, our brains process and organize everything we learned that day
• Our brains use most of the nutrients and water that we drink

Test taking strategies

The Emergency Brain Dump: The second your test begins, turn it over and immediately write down every formula, key concept, and framework you might need. 

Micro-Recoveries: Between questions, take deliberate 3-5 second mental resets. 

The “Hard Start – Jump to Easy” Technique: Start by quickly scanning the test. Spend 1-2 minutes attempting the hardest problems, then immediately jump to the easy ones. 

Strategic Breathing: When you feel panic rising, use 4-7-8 breathing: Inhale for 4 counts, hold for 7, exhale for 8. 

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And that’s it! Any questions LMK!