Five Brain Hacks to Learn Faster

Written by Susan Fitzell

Much of my work is helping professionals see that they’re not “bad at learning”; they’re simply trying to learn in a way that doesn’t work for their brains. While my work naturally helps many neurodivergent people, it applies to neurotypical people with different learning styles.

One of the things I wish I could put on billboards everywhere is that people need to stop fighting the way their brain works and instead lean into it. If you learn in a way that works best for your brain, you can process much more information faster. When I joined Michael Sherlock on her podcast, we discussed helpful tech tools for learning and how to hack your brain to learn more quickly. Here are some of my favorite brain hacks from that conversation.

Optimize Your Environment for Focus

Our brains cannot process and retain information at full capacity if it is distracted. Do yourself a favor and optimize your environment as much as possible to work with your focus. For example, I have a pair of noise-canceling headphones on my desk in my office. Outside noise distracts me from my task, so I can learn faster and get through my work more quickly when I have them on.

It took me some trial and error to determine what music worked best for my focus. Anything with lyrics was a big no; even Mozart didn’t work. Now I have a playlist of songs I listen to that help my brain focus.

Cut visual distractions as much as possible. A lot of clutter or a messy workspace can distract you just as much as a loud conversation. Move things out of view until you find the balance that works best for you.

Of course, you may not have much control over your work environment at the office. Optimize everything you can. Use noise-canceling headphones if you need to focus. Just be sure to explain to your boss or colleagues that they are noise-canceling and not blaring music or YouTube videos.

Working from home allows you to experiment with different focus support options. The same thing won’t work for everyone, so don’t fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others. Ignore posts on LinkedIn about someone who works at a treadmill desk if that’s not going to increase your productivity. Work from bed in your pajamas if that helps your focus. That said, move to a more appropriate space if interfacing with customers or co-workers on Zoom.

I’ll never forget when a networking connection showed up on Zolearn fasterom in his bed with short shorts on. During our call, I found it quite awkward to be privy to his bare thighs! Needless to say, it was our first and last Zoom meeting.

Pause and Let Your Brain Process What You’ve Learned

Whenever I’m learning something, I pause at regular intervals and give my brain time to process the information. You don’t have to take extended breaks; even 2 minutes is enough to let you digest the information. I take notes or screen grabs for my records. My husband often walks in the garden for 5 minutes while he processes information. Do whatever works best for you.

You’ll find that you retain information much better because your brain doesn’t become overwhelmed by learning too much too quickly. Instead, when you go back to learning, your brain can build a connection between the information you knew before the break and what you learned after. It builds upon it rather than wipes it clean.

Many people I work with process information best when they’re doing other things. I will often have people knitting while participating in my training sessions. I will often fold laundry while listening to a webinar. If that is you, I recommend you stop at regular intervals and take notes to refer to later. If you are driving, you could create little voice notes for yourself. The mere act of taking notes helps with learning, even if you don’t review them.

Gift Yourself the Time to Review Framework in Advance

Time is the most precious and limited resource we have. So, I completely understand why many people don’t review course frameworks or summaries in advance. But studying the topics and subtopics in advance can significantly help your brain process and retain information more effectively.

It provides your brain with reference points and allows it to categorize the information while learning. Your brain loves context and can process information better in real time with that context. If there are no topics or subtopics, find an article explaining the basics of what you are about to learn. Just two minutes of preparing your brain can help immensely.

Find Someone to Teach

Many people, especially extroverts, process information best when they relay it to someone else. Try teaching someone how to do the thing you have just learned and see if it helps you learn better. No, you don’t have to become that annoying person in the office who tries to teach people things they already know. Teach your toddler, pet, or even houseplant when you get home. Inanimate objects and pets are some of the best students; they don’t ask too many questions.

Be open and honest about how you learn the best and the fastest. Michael hit on the problem when she spoke about the embarrassment and fear people struggle with when they don’t learn in the way the company requires them to learn. She explained that an employer’s honesty about how they learn helps the company understand how they can help you. If you work best by teaching other people, you can volunteer to teach your colleague who missed the training session.

Learn How You Learn

The key to unlocking your learning potential is to put effort into learning how you learn. As Michael aptly summarized, “When we were in grade school, there was only one way to learn. But now, the world has caught up with the fact that everyone learns differently.” Use that understanding to your advantage and discover what works best for you. Start with trial and error. Watch videos, listen to podcasts, read books, take courses, and note which methods work and which don’t.

Recognize when you struggle to learn something and examine what about the process is making it difficult. Try to tweak things and see if you can grasp the information better. Once you have some essential insights into how you learn, you can start researching and find tips that will be effective for you.

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