There are so many topics out there, so where should I start? From the concept of learning itself, obviously.

You want to know the letters of the alphabet before knowing how to write a sentence.

So, what there is to say, really? We all know how to learn stuff, obviously. However, I can still point out one or two things, and increase your awareness about how the brain works.

Learning is often motivated by what you think can help you in the future, so…what motivates you?

Focused/Diffuse Modes Thinking

We are always in either the focused, or in the diffused mode of thinking.

When we concentrate on something, we obviously use the focused mode.

That is our direct approach to solve familiar problems. That is our rational and analytical approach to thinking.

The diffuse mode works more like a search function in our brains. It is more of a big-picture perspective, in which we try to connect ideas from different places.

Why is practice important?

Neurons become linked together through repeated use. Practice strengthens the neural connections with each use, meaning that it allows the information to stay in our head. When we want to learn something, we should study by focusing intensively and then taking a break or changing the focus to something else. This will allow the diffuse mode to take over and do the connections with pieces of information we already have.

Approaches to learning

Strategies to boost Learning

A strategy would be to use practice tests, because it allows us to exercise retrieving information from memory, which improve memory performance. Flash cards are also an excellent tool for recalling information (key term on one side, definition on the other). Another great solution is to try to connect the new information to related existing one.

Procrastination and how to overcome it

Procrastination is that thing that makes us do anything else except the task we work on. The pain areas of our brain are activated when we consider doing something we don’t want to do, but that feeling of pain or unhappiness disappears shortly after we engage in the task.

As a way of overcoming it, we should use the Pomodoro Technique.

This technique states that we should use a 20-25 minutes timer, turn off all the interruptions and focus on the task at hand, and then reward ourselves (coffee, chatting, web browsing, whatever you wish).

Procrastination is a habit, and all habits have three parts.

In order to avoid procrastination, we should work on understanding what’s the problem. More than that, we need to believe that we can change our procrastination habit.

The first part is the cue. This is the thing that puts us into the procrastination mode. It could be a location, a specific time, how we feel, or a reaction to something. Procrastination happens automatically, so we are unaware when it starts.

The second part is the routine, which we need to rewire. For that, we need to execute an action, such as leaving the phone in another room, disconnect the internet access, go into a quiet room for work, and so on.

The last part is the reward, which will be the payoff for doing the right thing (which is NOT procrastinating). That could mean taking a coffee break, watching a show, browsing the internet, playing a game, and so on.