Learning in formal settings is often ineffective because it’s distant from the actual application. Let’s take an example.
Imagine you’re a frequent flier. Before every start, you watch the video of a flight attendant putting on the life vest. You watch the video again and again.
But as this study shows, actually putting on the inflatable life vest a single time would be more valuable than repeatedly watching another person doing it. You acquire true mastery by performing the procedure yourself.
Social climber Dale Carnegie used to say knowledge isn’t power until it’s applied. And it’s true.
Don’t spend your time on tasks far away from your end goal. If you want to write online articles, don’t spend time watching a masterclass on how to write a book. Foster a bias towards direct action.
The directness principle is a powerful way to make learning more efficient.
How to do it:
What’s your end goal behind learning?
Let’s say you want to learn writing. What do you want to use it for? Is it for writing a novel? Then start learning to write by writing a novel. Is it for earning an extra income? Then start studying submission guidelines for paid online platforms and pitch your articles there.
Whatever you learn, focus on your true end-goal and pick a practice that’s as close to it as possible.
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