Have you wondered why some people seem to
be able to pick up new skills or knowledge effortlessly, while you have
problems even recalling what you ate last night?
Though a minority of them may be gifted
with exceptional intelligence, most people owe their accomplishment to certain
techniques that they use in learning. Here are ten creative techniques to help
you improve your learning speed and help you think out of the box when it comes
to thinking:
1.
Get your hands dirty
Are you trying to learn how to paint,
massage, swim or drive a car? Instead of spending time reading or thinking
about it, why not try it out for yourself? New skills are best learned by
real-life experimentation and you will learn a lot faster through trial and
error and training your reflexes.
2.
Pretend to be a teacher
When you are learning something new,
pretending to be a master can help. This may sound contradictory, but by taking
on the role of a teacher, you are forced to get all the facts and concepts
right and think more broadly than learning just for yourself as you anticipate
possible questions from your students. Explaining what you’ve learned also
increases your own understanding through the exchanges of ideas with others.
3.
Cultivate ambidexterity
Use your non-dominant hand to brush your
teeth, comb your hair or use the mouse. Write with both hands simultaneously.
Switch hands for knife and fork. This helps your brain to create new pathways
and circuits for learning.
4.
Think in pictures
Albert Einstein thought in pictures, not
words. In fact, he had a poor memory for words. So he visualised scenarios,
such as light in the form of a train racing down a railway track, to answer
complex scientific questions. So did great inventor Nikola Tesla who carried
out entire experiments in his mind first before putting them into words.
Think of the information you’re trying to
grasp as visuals and make them as fun as possible. Go through the visuals in
your mind and interact with them; don’t just be a passive observer. The more
engaging the imagery, the faster you’ll be able to absorb and recollect the
information later. If you are new to visualisation, try guided visualisation first
to realise the potential of guided imagery before coming up with your own.
To further enhance learning, incorporate
interesting charts, diagrams, photos and mind maps whenever you can, especially
when difficult concepts and theories are involved. Pictures have the benefit of
packing tons of words into easy-to-understand graphical representation.
Recalling a picture is also much easier than stuffing ten paragraphs of text
into your head. Creating your own visuals will help to etch the information
into your mind, but if you can’t, Google is only a click away.
5.
Exercise your brain
Keep your brain fit with brain fitness
programs, puzzles, sudoku, chess, computer games and mahjong, a popular Chinese four-player game. Our brain is a complex
organ consisting of billions of cells called neurons that change with our life
experiences. By engaging in these activities and learning new things often, it
is possible to train our brain to function better and prevent, or put off, the
adverse effects of aging, Alzheimer’s disease, or brain injury.
6.
Read out loud
If reading has been your predominant way of
learning, try listening for a change. That is, read the information out loud,
as opposed to reading silently, and understand what you are saying. Be
creative: use different tones or alternate your volume. Just make sure you
aren’t disturbing anybody or causing any alarm.
Getting your ears into the act can enhance
your understanding and help you to better recall information when you need
them. The reason is simple. By engaging more than one modality, you create more
‘hooks’ for the brain to attach and link the information, increasing their
chances of being retrieved. Although reading aloud may slow you down, the time
you saved in re-reading later makes the effort worthwhile.
7.
Learn to the tune
Music is another way to enrich your learning
experience and some music has been found to relax the brain and improve
learning by helping you to recall better. But whether it’s classical, the sounds
of nature, or traditional music, the best music is one that works for you.
8. Meditate
for focus
If your mind is stressful and imbalanced,
chances are you will find it difficult to focus and concentrate, let alone
understand and absorb any information. Learn to clear, relax and focus your
mind with meditation for fifteen minutes before any intense learning.
There are many types of meditation to
choose from and there’s always something for everyone. For starters, try the
breathing meditation, as it is easy to pick up and work within minutes to
prepare you for a reading marathon. If you can’t sit still, then a walking
meditation may be the answer to your agitated mind and hyperactive body.
9.
Physical exercise
A healthy body really does mean a healthy
mind. In the last decade it became clear that regular exercise beneficially
affects brain function. Exercise boosts brain power by stimulating formation of
new brain cells (neurons), the process known as neurogenesis. Also, exercise
strengthens connections between those cells. Researchers have found the areas
of the brain that are stimulated through exercise are associated with memory
and learning.
Physical exercise may even help prevent
Alzheimer's disease. Several studies have confirmed that regular physical
activity reduces the risk of cognitive decline and dementia in old age.
10.
Laugh out loud
Laughter really is the best medicine! The
medical world has begun to take more serious notice of the healing power of
humor and the positive emotions associated with it. By having fun and laughing,
your stress levels decrease significantly and your memory improves. Humor
stimulates the parts of our brain that use the "feel good" chemical
messenger dopamine.
