1. Sharpen the Axe
Abraham Lincoln said “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe”
In other words, we need to first work out how we're actually going to learn the thing.
2. Optimise Focus
When we fully focus on learning, our brains pick things up much faster.
The 5-minute rule helps when we're finding it difficult to start- just work on the thing for 5 minutes. We can stop after this, but usually once you've started, you'll want to continue.
3. Find Opportunities for Immersion
The general principle is that we learn best when we're in the environment we're actually going to be using the skill in.
My advice: step out of your comfort zone and fully immerse yourself by doing the thing you want to learn.
4. What’s Your Weakest Link?
We actually want to focus on our weaknesses instead of our strengths when learning.
If you took an exam tomorrow, what would you be least happy with if it came up? Identify the weak points and get ready to test yourself.