Learn Faster: The 8 Best Learning Strategies

A foreign language, an instrument or a new skill: We'll tell you how you can learn faster and which methods increase learning success.

Every time we learn something new we need a very long time at the beginningto understand relationships and processes. Your own impatience can set the alarm off! You want to learn quickly and acquire new, unknown skills as quickly as possible? Good news: you can actually do a lot about it to positively influence your individual learning time. The following eight tips will help you.

1. Learning tip: Learn faster: Repetitions lead to learning success

Learning is a biological process in which new Connections between brain cells be created. In the brain, the various information are as Neural Networks saved. These networks are rather weak for new content – we have to make a lot of effort at the beginning to learn the new skills. Anyone who has a driver's license will surely remember the first difficult driving lessons.

By constant repetitions the neural network becomes so strong that the learning content becomes easier and easier for us until it eventually becomes run completely automatically. Regardless of whether it is about driving or cooking: Only through constant repetition can we master new skills. So if you want to learn faster, you should do it as often as possible Time to repeat to take. Those who only deal with the learning content twice a week will progress more slowly than someone who deals with it four times a week. Practice definitely makes perfect!

2. Learning tip: A short nap works true (learning) miracles

Do you know that? After studying, you often feel total exhausted and tired – although one was not physically active at all. But your brain was all the more active: It costs our thinking apparatus a lot of energy to learn new things. Should you be able to schedule it there is absolutely nothing against taking a little nap.

In 2016, researchers were even able to determine that a small sleep break can help you learn by heart. Study participants who slept before the learning phase were able to twice as many Memorize vocabulary in a foreign language like participants who had not slept. A huge difference! So, between your learning units, a good night's sleep is definitely allowed – especially when it comes to memorizing.

3rd learning tip: Learn faster through more emotions

"Learning always has an emotional basis" – This is what the philosopher Plato wrote down thousands of years ago. He's right: that's what we learn personally important, let's hang in a lot more. We then have a completely different motivation and can therefore learn faster than if the learning content does not really move us.

There are ups and downs in learning – not everything about the learning material is interesting. But still try to maintain joy and interest in the unpleasant content. For example, imagine how happy and proud you will be when you can finally speak a new foreign language. In this way you can always bring yourself to self-motivation when a learning lull is looming.

4. Learning tip: Pick up your old-fashioned notebook

Do you prefer to learn through digital methods? Then, according to scientists, you could have a small disadvantage. Because you suspect us handwritten notes be able to achieve success faster.

This is exactly what experts were able to prove in three scientific surveys: Students who made handwritten notes could after studying answer more questions, as students who worked on laptops. If you want to learn faster, you should go back to it analog learning methods pass over!

5. Learning tip: Learn according to your learner type

Do you learn strategies that match your learner type? Because only then can you learn faster and quickly increase your learning success. There are roughly four different types of learning. They each need very different learning materials and special learning methods.

Auditory learner

Are you someone who is strong on acoustic stimuli reacts? Then you probably really enjoy listening to music, podcasts, or audio books. You should also take advantage of this property when studying. Use self recorded Audio recordings with learning materialto better internalize learning content. An auditory learner also benefits from a good one when learning Background music – but be careful, it should inspire you, not distract you!

Visual learner type

A visual learner learns best through Images and graphics. Also role modelsDoing what you want to learn can help you understand the content better. So it doesn't help you much if you just read the learning content listening dully – then learning is difficult. In order to process very abstract learning material better, it also helps if you create pictures and overviews on your own.

Motor learning type

These types of learners need exercise – in everyday life and especially when learning. For them, squatting over a book for hours is the horror. A motor learner should try to To apply content practically. Also Role play can help to maintain focus longer. In addition, take breaks in which you can stretch your legs and not lose the desire to learn!

Haptic learner type

A haptic learner learns through Touch and touch particularly fast. Handwritten notes are particularly recommended for you: When manual writing the haptic stimulus is much higher than when typing on a laptop keyboard. So move analog methods before: you can touch and tap handwritten notes and thus memorize and memorize learning content.

6. Learning tip: Learn faster by becoming a teacher yourself

Introduce yourself, you learn something in order to be able to teach it to others. Then a lot would probably change in your own learning behavior: You would concentrate more on what is really important and what Specify learning content and structure it better. Maybe the motivation would be even greater if you knew that others depend on you.

To (want to) become a teacher yourself – according to a study this is exactly what helps with learning. Scientists found in 2014 that we learn faster and remember more when we intend to teach the material to others. And even if you don't really plan: the idea alone can support you in learning.

7. Learning tip: short learning units instead of long drumming

Good to know: Our brain retains the information that we receive first and finally look at it, best of all. That is why many experts recommend taking the learning units as a whole keep it short and sweet – so we save ourselves the more unproductive middle phase.

According to experts from the University of New Hampshire, we should go after 50 minutes Take a break from studying and give our brain a little break. In this way you protect yourself from being overwhelmed and do not waste time on learning phases that are not really effective. So we'd better be for decide short and frequent learning unitsinstead of having a very long learning interval.

8. Learning tip: Say goodbye to multitasking

Watch a series and easily learn a few words by heart or go through a presentation? We believe save time when multitaskingby doing several things at the same time. Unfortunately, scientists pretty much agree: multitasking makes us slow and ineffective. Experts were able to prove this in a survey in 2012.

In fact, it is not the case that we actually do our to-do's when multitasking – we tend to do them very quickly one after the other. This is an enormous challenge for our thinking apparatusbecause he has to adjust to a new problem every time. If you want to learn quickly, you should therefore prefer to be fully involved in the learning unit.

These eight tips can help you increase your learning performance – whether in the private sector or for studies. Here you will also find more tips to increase your productivity and here you will learn more about common time management methods that will help you learn. And should you ever have to fight procrastination, you should take a close look at the Eat the Frog method.

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