We all want to learn as much as we can in the least amount of time possible. But, life has a way of getting in the way. We have work, family, and friends that demand our time and attention. Add to that all the other demands on our time and we’re left with very little opportunity to learn new things. That seems like it would be fine, but there are many benefits to learning, such as increasing your creativity and IQ levels. So how do you reduce the time you spend learning? Read below for 5 effective ways to make this happen!
The Importance of Learning
Why bother learning ? Learning increases your creativity, makes you smarter, and can help you learn skills that will help you in your current or future job.
Learning new things can also lead to greater success. Studies show that creative geniuses are more likely to be lifelong learners than average people. Creative individuals spend their time learning about new subjects, which keeps their brain active and prevents them from getting bored.
14 Ways to Learn faster
So, what’s the best way to learn in less time? Here are 5 tips for minimizing the amount of time you spend learning:
1) Take care of urgent tasks before you start learning. If your boss needs something done right away, set aside time for that before anything else.
2) Identify what you want to learn next. You may not know what type of information is most important to you personally, so find out! Make a list of topics and narrow it down until there’s just one left on the list.
3) Commit an hour a day to learning new skills/information/knowledge. If you commit an hour a day to learning new skills or information, then at the end of one month, that would be 30 hours spent on just that one subject!
4) Ask questions when something doesn’t make sense. When we don’t understand something we try our best to figure it out on our own but we often give up too soon and miss out on an opportunity for greater understanding.
5)One of the most effective ways to learn in less time is to focus on what you want to know. Make a list of topics you are interested in learning about, then narrow that list down to the 3-5 topics that are most important. When you have that narrowed down, create a goal for how much you want to learn each day. If you are trying to choose between 2 topics, choose one and set your goal for what percent of knowledge you want to gain on the other topic this week. Then go through your knowledge goal by drawing it out or writing it down.
6) Another way is to take advantage of every opportunity. This might be hard at first because we all have our daily routine and habits, but once we start making adjustments they become second nature very quickly. Taking advantage of every opportunity means instead of checking your social media for 10 minutes before work, spend those 10 minutes reading an article related to something you want to learn more about. By using your downtime wisely and preparing yourself ahead of time with articles or videos related there is no excuse not too!
If we can’t find extra time, then we need to use what little time we do have more effectively. One thing we can do is trade off activities like watching TV for reading a book on your Kindle app instead and use the TV time as homework time (like doing research).
Another way would be finding free online resources such as TED Talks or Khan Academy videos which allow us access to quality information without having
7)Find a way to make learning fun
One of the best ways to learn is to make it fun. When you feel like you’re learning for a test, it can be hard to stay focused. Take a break from your day and try something new that interests you. There are plenty of ways to do this: take up knitting, join a book club, or find some online tutorial on how to use an app.
8) Learn in short bursts too
Set aside time throughout the day where you can sit down and spend 15-30 minutes on something new. This makes it so that you don’t have to dedicate large chunks of time just for learning. Even 10 minutes can help if you do it often enough!
9) Find a way to stay motivated
We all know that we need some motivation when it comes to learning, but come up with some techniques for yourself that work for you. Experiment with different methods and see what works best for you!
10) Create a list of goals
What do you want to learn about? Make a list of all the things that interest you and pick one thing at a time. You can always add more things as they come up!
It can be easy to fall into the trap of just throwing hours at a task and not making any progress. This is especially true when it comes to learning because we want to learn so much in such a shorter amount of time. The best way to combat this is by setting goals and making them attainable.
If you want to learn about something, you need to know how much time you have available for that task and then set goals accordingly. For example, if you only have an hour a day, your goal might be to read 10 pages of a book each day. If you had two hours a day, then your goal would be 20 pages per day and so on. Try not to let your goals exceed what you realistically think you can do as this will make it more difficult to meet those objectives.
11) Find a mentor or an expert to teach you
Whether you want to learn how to be an expert public speaker or you need help with your marketing plan, finding a mentor or an expert in the field can help you learn in less time. Imagine being able to speak eloquently in front of a group of people without feeling nervous. Or what about being able to talk about your company’s latest marketing campaign without sounding like you are unsure of yourself? That’s the power of learning with someone who is more knowledgeable than you are.
12) Learn from videos
Consider taking online courses through websites like Udemy.com or Coursera.org. These sites offer classes on many different topics, whether it pertains to entrepreneurship or writing better content for your business website. The best part is that these courses are available 24/7 so that they’re always there when you have free time!
13) Look for specific resources that cater to your needs
With the right resources, learning becomes even more efficient! For example, if you're looking for resources on WordPress development, then you should look for resources on WordPress development - not general web design tips or marketing tips. By being specific with your search criteria, you'll find exactly what you need instead of wasting time reading through irrelevant information.
14) Use technology to save time
Technology makes everything easier so why not use it when trying to save time? There are plenty of apps out there that are designed specifically to help people learn things faster and better, including language apps like Duolingo or Rosetta Stone or Mondly.
No matter how you doing, don´t stop learning.