Day 7: The most important tool for learning better

Today I want to wrap up all the ideas we’ve discussed and turn to a tool that is more important than all the others for learning better:

Habits

Habits are the most important tool for learning because unless your behavior makes lasting changes, you’ll never become more efficient in your studies. You could read a hundred emails like these ones and never do any better if your studying habits don’t change.

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The original inspiration for creating Learning on Steroids was recognizing that habit formation is often the most difficult obstacle in getting results. I was selling an ebook, Learn More, Study Less, but many students would just read the book and not do anything about it. It was frustrating because I knew the ideas worked–the students who had made changes got results–but that just reading and doing nothing was the easiest option.

As a result, I changed my approach. I made a monthly membership community which combined content with implementation. The goal of Learning on Steroids was to get students to change one habit per month, drawn from the many ideas I teach for learning better.

The result was excellent. I got many success stories and students who achieved big things not just because they were equipped with better studying tactics, but because they were actually able to change their habits using the new approach.

In this email, I want to share the philosophy behind Learning on Steroids which allowed our participants to get results.

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The Thirty Day Trial (30DT)

The main tool we use in Learning on Steroids is to get students to focus on implementing one major habit change each month. That means they choose from all the tactics we cover and pick one studying habit they think will have a big impact.

The idea of a 30DT is that you commit to practicing or using a habit every day, for an entire month. You could use any of the previous six days’ worth of ideas as a starting point for practice.

For first timers, I usually recommend implementing a productivity system like GTD, Weekly/Daily Goals or Fixed-Schedule Productivity as a starting habit (we cover the latter two in the first month of Learning on Steroids). Having a productivity system is great because it gives you the organization skills to execute many other habits more easily.

Once a productivity system is implemented, I typically recommend branching out into a specialized learning technique that you want to get better at. Nayamot, one of our early students, practiced metaphors for an entire month and went from barely passing his chemistry class to scoring top marks.

From there, you can move onto more specialized guides, honing your skills with a particular technique so that it can become very efficient. Often the holistic learning methods take a little practice to be able to do them quickly, so the 30DT approach provides that basic training.

I also added forums where members can log their 30DT goals and maintain progress. This adds an extra layer of accountability for anyone who wants to make sure their new habits stick.

Training in the Learning Arts

The other aim of the program was to provide a resource base with a lot of content that students could choose from. I’ve tried to give a sampling of what we teach in the program during this bootcamp.

The point isn’t to master every single idea you encounter. Rather, it’s to be aware of different methods and their uses, so you can master them when you need them. Some mnemonic techniques such as the major method or the branch method, are highly specialized and are useful for very specific subjects. However, if you encounter one of those subjects, you’ll know what to do.

Training one habit per month, the goal of Learning on Steroids, means that you pick whichever habit you think will have the biggest impact on your studies and work on that first. After you’ve finished that, you move onto the next habit. Build 3-4 new habits over the course of a semester could completely change your life.

Principles of Habit Formation

Here are some principles of habit formation I’ve found helpful for students who want to change their learning behavior.

#1 – Consistency

I advocate doing a small amount of practice on a technique every day. If you’re trying to master metaphor generation–read the guides and watch the walkthrough videos and practice for twenty minutes per day, until you can do it automatically.

If you’re trying to learn speed reading, look through the guide and set up your practice reading sessions and comprehension drills. When I first learned speed reading, I only spent 15 minutes per day on it for the first month.

#2 – Try Before You Commit

Before you commit to a particular technique, try it out on your studies. See if it works for you. Some students get amazing results with a method that other students dislike. It all depends on the subject you’re studying and your strengths and weaknesses as a learner.

I try to share a lot of different methods in Learning on Steroids. Try them all out (as you’ve been doing in this bootcamp) so you can see which ones look most promising. Then, when you’ve found one you like, try to practice it deeply with a 30DT.

#3 – Use the 80/20 Rule

Focus on big habits first. These are the ones that will deliver most the results in the beginning, particularly if you’re not used to using a productivity system or the holistic methods of the course.

If I were to prioritize, I’d use weekly/daily goals and the Question Book Method as my first two 30 day trials, unless I’m already using some kind of productivity system and I have strong feedback mechanisms for my studying already.

Once you’ve learned the basics, you can fine tune with the assortment of more specialized tools. Mnemonics, metaphors, visceralization, Feynmans, active reading and flow-based notetaking can fix specific weaknesses in your studying patterns.

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Ultimately, if your habits don’t change, your results won’t either. I’ve tried to give you the best ideas for this bootcamp, but as it’s only one week, it isn’t enough time to really make any of these ideas habits.

I hope some of you will join Learning on Steroids, and join the structured program I have for improving your studying habits. But even if you don’t, I want this last homework assignment to give you the tools you need to start changing your first habit.

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Day Seven Homework

Here you’re going to design your first thirty day trial. If you’re planning to join Learning on Steroids when it reopens tomorrow, feel free to wait so you can see the other tactics and strategies we haven’t discussed in the bootcamp.

1. Pick one of the ideas we discussed in the last six days. That could be learning intensity, visual mnemonics, the QAT method, skill breakdown, the Question Book method or the MIT Method (or any other tools you’re aware of).
2. Formulate it as a habit you can do for an entire month. If you’re practicing a method, I suggest setting aside a small amount of time every day.
3. Commit to following that habit for the next month.

Once you’ve done that, hit REPLY and tell me what your 30DT is. If you join Learning on Steroids, you can also post your 30DT in the forums so that you can stay accountable.

That’s it for the one week bootcamp. Tomorrow I’ll reopen Learning on Steroids and send an email fully explaining how to sign up, what you get and why there’s no risk in trying it out. Learning on Steroids will be open until August 22nd.

Best,
-Scott

P.S. – Even if you don’t join Learning on Steroids, I want to thank you for reading all these bootcamp emails. My main hope as a writer is that students actually use the ideas I talk about to enjoy learning more and learn things that they previously didn’t think were possible. I’ve had a lot of fun writing these emails, so thanks for reading them!