Learning is More Effective with These Techniques
Learning is, whether we like it or not, an inevitable part of our existence. We live to learn. We learn by living, experiencing stuff, and also watching other people. In the more traditional sense of the word, formal learning happens for the most part during the first 20 to 30 years of our life. This is the type of learning that is somehow *required *by society, and whose main purpose is to provide us with a "certificate" of trustworthiness. As a matter of fact, when it comes to studying in school and universities, what we are being "tested" on does not concern very much theoretical concepts and notions (although this is certainly what it looks like on the surface—and it has its importance too), but a more "hidden" and socially-valuable skill: being civilized individuals who can live harmoniously in the society (once out of school), and who can abide by their duties in the workplace. Going to school, getting a high school diploma, and university degrees, are all ways of *signaling *to prospective employers and the society at large that we are proper citizens, that we can be trusted upon, and that we hold ourselves accountable. This is not to discredit having knowledge in a field. Rather, I find this to be an interesting, hidden motive which is not much talked about, despite its relevance.
The theory of studying as a means of signaling our societal fitness is an economic theory whose author (Michael Spence) has been awarded the Nobel Prize in the early 2000s. For more about that, here is his full argument about signaling.
Nevertheless, pretty much all of us are aware of the existence of two main categories of people out there: those who do not enjoy learning for the sake of learning, and those people who feel intrinsically motivated to improve themselves and enrich their cultural baggage. Actually, this is more of a continuum, of which the categories I have described above are just the two extremes.
This characteristic which can be found in individuals seems to be related, to some degree, to disposing of an *intrinsic motivation *to learn new things, versus being extrinsically motivated. When we are intrinsically motivated to do something, the urge and genuine interest comes from within. We do not need external forces or motivations to push us forward. Every one of us, in at least one area of life, usually feels a deep, internal drive to take part in a specific activity, whether it be improving oneself, doing sport, writing, reading, etc. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, relies on external objectives, milestones, or, more broadly motivation, to do something. This is often the case for work: many people do their job just because they need money to survive(as well as a high-enough place in the societal hierarchy).
ThisTED Talk on intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation by dr. Boselli is a good watch.
In any case, whether we are inherently leaning towards learning for the sake of learning, or we force ourselves to learn because of external forces requiring us to update our curriculum vitae, most of us, especially in our adult life, have a limited amount of time to dedicate to the activity of studying and absorbing new ideas or skills.
And, like most habits, giving structure to learning/studying can enhance outcomes significantly. What I mean by this is that the only thing under our control when it comes to doing an activity, or practicing a task, or just studying, is the time we allocate to that activity, and the structure we give to it. Relying on motivation to do something is probably not a great medium-to-long-term strategy, at least for the majority of people.
We have control, to a great extent, over how we spend our time, and the quality of the work/learning we do during that time.
And while keeping a personal knowledge management system is a great habit (in my opinion), it is likely not enough to remember things. Indeed, one of the biggest hurdles when it comes to internalizing new knowledge lies in the fact that we forget stuff very rapidly. This is fairly clear for students (at least for me). We tend to cram studying into a short period of time before the date of the exam, to then do well at it, but forget pretty much everything after just a couple of weeks. And, if we do not revise the content, it just ends up in the most remote part of our brain, to then leave it at some point.