As we choose and commit to becoming our future self we get to learn and develop new knowledge and skills!
The thought of learning new skills can be overwhelming. It can also be exhilarating!
So, how can I learn a new skill quickly and easily?
As a life-long learner, I have tried a lot of different ways to tackle learning new areas of knowledge and developing new skills.
Based on a lot of reading, trial and error, and refinement, I have distilled 4 Simple Steps To Rapid Learning that I would like to share that with you.
Mindset Is The Foundation To Rapid Learning
Before we start walking thru the keys to being a successful learner (4 Steps), I need to point out the biggest factor to you being able to learn and acquire new knowledge and skills: Mindset!
- You must believe you that you can actually learn new things…deep down believe it
- You must be willing to practice
Josh Kaufman advocates that you commit to at least 20 hours of practice to your learning project. I’ll share more about Josh at the end of this post.
4 Simple Steps To Rapid Learning
Here are the 4 Steps.
You can apply them to a variety of new skills, from playing a musical instrument, learning to program a new computer language, speaking French, or mastering pickleball!
- Pick your topic and define what ‘good enough’ looks like
- Break your skill down into component parts
- Get ready to practice – materials, time, and mindset
- Practice! “You can’t learn to play guitar from reading a book”
Let’s look at each in a bit more detail.
1. Pick your topic and define what ‘good enough’ looks like
First, you gotta love it!
When you pick your topic, you need to make sure you are excited about learning it.
You are going to devote a large amount of your free time over the next few weeks – do you really want to learn it that bad? If yes, cool! If not, pick something else.
Define what ‘good enough’ looks like.
This approach will not turn you into a chess master or concert guitarist in 20 hours. It will help you learn enough to decide if you want to go further or if where you get is all you want to know for now.
Aim for good enough to enjoy doing it, don’t try to be a pro…yet! For example, play a simple song on your instrument.
Define ‘done’
In my IT agile days, we had to define ‘done.’ You need to clearly describe what will you be able to do when you’re ‘done.’
Be as clear as you can – this will help you stay focused and know when you have met your goal.
2. Break your skill down into component parts
To meet your ‘good enough’ and ‘done’ definitions, you’ll need to do a little research to figure out the most efficient way to get there.
- Find 3-4 resources on the skill – books, blogs, videos
- Look for commonalities and differences between the elements of the skill.
- ID most critical sub-skills to learn first
- What are the most critical things to learn first so that you can make the fastest progress? Keep it simple and learn the basics first.
- Determine the best way to learn them
- Some things you can read, others you must do.
- My simple saying is you can’t learn you play guitar reading a book.
- Now, the counterpoint to that is that you can learn some music theory reading a book – but then you have to put your fingers on your instrument to make it real.
- ID tools needed to practice
- What do you need to be able to quickly get going in your practice session?
- Having all the materials and supplies gathers into your practice area will help you get practicing with the minimum amount of fuss and possibly even walking away from practicing if it is too much bother.
3. Get ready to practice – materials, time, and mindset
First of all, you need to get your head straight. Start with the saying: “It’s OK to be bad before you get good.”
Expecting perfection right out of the gate will ruin your learning experience.
Set up the practice environment
Gather tools and materials you will need to practice arranged for easy access.
Get a timer and schedule the time to practice.
This is a new item on your calendar. You will need to create “free” time by cutting out low-value activities elsewhere.
Remember, the phrase ‘You Gotta Love It!’ If you really want to learn this, you will be able to create the time to practice until you have met your ‘good enough’ test.
4. Practice! “You can’t learn to play guitar from reading a book”
Set up FAST feedback loops
It’s important to practice using ‘good enough’ form. If you practice using poor form you will create bad habits and will delay reaching your good enough goal, or you may give up never even make it.
As you practice, get feedback quickly to make sure you are practicing using good enough form and make adjustments if required.
The emphasis is on fast feedback – the sooner you get feedback, the sooner you can make adjustments and the more effective your learning and practice will be.
Consider using a camera to record yourself. Watch the video to see how you are doing and make adjustments to correct any problems you see.
In some cases, you may want to work with a coach and get immediate feedback on your progress. This fast feedback loop increases the effectiveness of your practice and greatly improves your rate of progress.
You may also be able to use computer tools or aides to help. If you are learning to program a new language, many interactive development environments will tell you instantly if your code is correct or not. Well, it will tell you if the syntax is correct, but it may not tell you if the program is doing what you want it to do.
Use a timer
I adopted this based on Josh Kaufman’s work. This was instrumental in my guitar learning projects.
Set a timer for 20 minutes. Once you start the timer you practice until the time is up – no exceptions.
To hit your 20-hour commitment in a few weeks, aim for 3-5 short practice sessions per day. This will have a huge impact on how quickly you learn and get to your ‘good enough’ goal.
Quantity vs Quality
This was the hardest thing for me to get thru my head.
I wanted to practice perfectly. The problem, as a new learner, I can’t do ‘perfect.’
Focus on quantity and speed using “good enough” form, not perfection.
Getting lots of ‘good enough’ practice will be much more effective than trying to be perfect and doing very little practice.
Commit To ‘Good Enough’
Your target is to meet your ‘good enough’ standard by meeting your ‘done’ definition.
Keep a log of actual practice time.
Thinking about practicing, worrying about learning, and talking about practicing does not count.
Only practice time counts! Write it down in a log!
Don’t Stop
Don’t stop until you hit 20 hours of actual practice time or meet your ‘good enough’ definition.
If you’re not ‘good enough’ at 20 hours:
- Review: Are you focusing on the key sub-skills?
- Revise: Adjust what you are focusing on during your practice sessions
- Re-commit: Do you really want to learn this skill?
- Yes? Then make sure you’re focusing on the right sub-skills and recommit
- No? Stop and pick another topic. If you truly don’t want to learn this skill, you will be ineffective in your learning progress.
What have we learned?
Learning requires a mindset that says ‘I can learn this – I will learn this – I will practice until I’m good enough to enjoy this!’
Follow the 4 Simple Steps:
- Pick your topic and define what ‘good enough’ looks like
- Break your skill down into component parts
- Get ready to practice – materials, time, and mindset
- Practice! “You can’t learn to play guitar from reading a book”
Play with this approach, learn from it, and tweak it to make it as effective for you as possible.
Then, go learn! Have fun.
Resources for Being a Successful Learner
Here are some great resources I have read and used to create and tweak my 4 Simple Steps approach. I encourage you to use these to expand and create your own rapid learning process.
- The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman
- This is an excellent book exploring a full spectrum of rapid learning strategies and tactics. I drew a lot of inspiration from his method.
- Here’s a TEDxCSU talk where he explains his ‘First 20 Hours Approach’
- Novice to Expert, S. J. Scott
- Steve (S.J.) applies a project approach to learning. I’ve used and modified his approach for several learning projects.
- The Miracle Equation, Hal Elrod
- Hal Elrod really nails the mindset to action link in this book. He shows how combining unwavering faith and extraordinary effort can help you create ‘miracles’ in your life. Excellent read!
- The 80/20 Principle, Richard Koch
- This is a deep look at the concept that 20 percent of what we do produces 80 percent of our results. Another way to say it is that you are probably wasting a lot of time on things that don’t really matter! This will take a bit of time to work thru, but the foundational principles can radically impact your learning and progress as you move forward towards your future self!
One Last Thing on Being a Successful Learner
Thank you for reading this Mission Log entry. If you haven’t already, I invite you to download my latest guide, ‘How To Create An Exciting and Meaningful Retirement in 3 Easy Steps‘. Please, do the Reflect-Imagine-Act exercise – I believe it will be very helpful as you explore this great time in our lives.
Also, if you feel you want to explore ramping up your efforts to create your future self and building an exciting future, I invite you to schedule a complimentary 30-minute ‘Explore Your Purpose Strategy Call.’ Click on any ‘Schedule A Chat With Gary’ button for more details and access to my calendar.
Live with purpose!
Gary