How to learn something

As Josh Kaufman explains in his TEDx Talk, I'll summarize as below, plus some of my own advises:

1. DE-Construct the skill:

Acquire some pre-learning knowledge about the skill you want to learn by quickly skimming through 3 to 4 different sources. This includes what things comprise of that skill or what I need to know in order to know it well enough. Then de-construct those things into smaller and more manageable groups.

2. Prioritize things:

After de-construction, prioritize what chunks to learn. There are different approaches to it but I would recommend to start with the easiest one first, that will keep you interested. Others might advocate that "eat the frog first" approach is better (addressing the toughest one first). However it's a matter of what works best for you.

3. Learn enough to self correct:

This means that we don't have to learn complete before we start using it, we just need enough so that we can self correct. It doesn't mean that we should stop learning new things about it but rather, it means that we should start getting our hands dirty as soon as possible. After all the best form of learning is by doing it and self correcting your self while keep experimenting.

4. Commitment

The first few hours are really the toughest and most people quit in those part, this is the most frustrating time and our minds works hard enough to convince ourselves on quitting. So before you start make a commitment with yourself that you'll give at-least 20 hours to it, this is  40 minutes per day for a month. Kaufman explains that for most cases this 20 hours are enough for learning any new thing. He also explains that as per some scientific study it requires 10K hours which is equivalent of about 5 years of a full time job to really master something. But you don't have to be a master in each and everything you want to learn.

5. Remove Distractions

In order to learn something we need to be focus. In today's world there are too many distractions like Social Media, Mobile Phones, Games, TV Shows, Sounds etc etc. In order to be more fruitful in whatever time you are committing to it, let us switch off mobile phone, close doors, switch off TVs, switch off internet and let that time be as productive as it can.

While the Kaufman talk concluded the above, I've some of my own for those who are actually doing it.

1. Take notes, so that next time you can revise things by reading notes.
2. Draw diagrams, Pictures are easier to remember and convey much more ideas.
3. Do it in small session i.e. instead of doing 8 hours on each holiday, doing it 45 minutes daily would yield better results.
4. Break the inertia, Take a brake after every while i.e. 60 minutes.
5. Be relax and don't stress out. Stress and frustration is the biggest killer. After every 30+ minutes add a session for meditation like breathing for about 1 minutes. This will help you restore your energy.
6. Write an essay, blog etc about your understanding of each new idea you learn.
7. Teach someone else and multiply your understanding. This probably is the best form of learning new skills. Share you knowledge with others, they might ask questions or challenge your ideas which never occurred to you. They'll also share personal experience with you, which will enhance your own understanding.