Learning New Content

The two components of learning are understanding and remembering.

The most efficient methods of learning utilize active recall (learning by trying to retrieve material from
your brain / testing yourself) and spaced repetition (reviewing material periodically over time).
Learning is difficult and you should feel uncomfortable while studying – if you are progressing without
trouble, then you aren’t studying as efficiently as possible.
1. Understanding –
a. Active Recall is still important – as you are reading new information, as yourself: 1. what have
I just read, 2. what are the key ideas, 3. can I rephrase this in my own words
b. Taking notes is acceptable, particularly if you are consolidating information, but do not utilize
notes any further unless it is for the purpose of active recall. Write questions while taking notes; when
reviewing, try to answer these questions from memory (ask more general questions to develop
understanding and more specific questions to develop recall)
c. Only memorize when necessary.
2. Remembering –
a. The Forgetting Curve – Spacing your review of material improves encoding of that material
into your memory. It should take brainpower and be difficult to recall some material when you are
reviewing to maximize effectiveness.
b. Spacing recall within the same day or study session is also important, e.g. Study 5 topics by
doing Topic 1, Topic 2, then back to Topic 1 quickly, then 3, etc.
c. Consistency is paramount – 10 min/day is exponentially better than 70 min once a week.
Reviewing Past Content
1. Interleaving – don’t worry about 100% mastering something before moving on; just do a bit of active
recall in the topic, then move on. Over time, spaced repetition with active recall will result in you
mastering the material, but it won't happen in 1 day.
2. Retrospective Revision Timetables –
a. Scoping the Subject – divide a subject into several topic and subtopic areas.
b. Record dates of study – every time you perform active recall in a topic area, record the date.
c. Color code performance – as you get closer to the exam, color code areas of success and begin
practicing areas of poorer active recall performance more.
3. Test yourself whenever possible
Time Management
1. You always have the time, the question is of priority
2. Parkinson’s Law – work expands to fill the time allotted to it. Assign yourself less time to increase
efficiency.
 The Talent Code
Part 1: Deep Practice
Deep practice is built on a paradox: struggling in certain targeted ways – operating at the edge of your
abilities, where you make mistakes – makes you smarter. Experiences that force you to slow down, make
errors, and correct them, make you better at a faster rate.
Scientific basis of skill
1. Every movement, thought, or feeling is based on a precisely timed electrical signal traveling through a
chain of neurons.
2. Myelin is the insulation that wraps these nerve fibers and increases signal strength, speed, and accuracy
3. The more we fire a specific chain of neurons, the more myelin optimizes that chain, and the stronger,
faster, and more fluent our movements and thoughts become.
Thus, skill is myelin insulation that wraps neural circuits and that grows according to certain
signals.
The 3 Rules of Deep Practice
1. Chunking – split into 3 steps
a. Absorb the whole thing – see the entire skill in action so that you can picture yourself doing it
b. Break it into chunks – split the skill into its component pieces, practice the pieces individually,
then progressively link the pieces back together
c. Slow it down – practice skills very slowly so that you can attend to errors more closely and
develop a better understanding of the underlying components of the skill
2. Repetition – skills will evaporate if you don’t exercise them. However, there are limits to how much
deep practice one can do per day – in the range of 3 to 5 hours. If you aren’t doing deep practice, then you
may as well not be practicing.
3. Learn to Feel It – deep practice is tiring and involves being alert and focused. Mistakes will be made
and correctly frequently and the practice should be difficult. Struggling is necessary.
Part 2: Ignition
Sustained deep practice is necessary for mastering skills but deep practice itself is difficult. As such, some
form of motivation or willingness to continue deep practice is necessary to reach mastery.
Ignition often results from some outside source that sparks a feeling of “I want to be like them” or “If they
can do it, why can’t I?” combined with a sense of commitment (i.e. I want to do this long term vs short
term).
Ignition leads to being able to tap into the energy reserves needed to sustain deep practice.
Ignition Cues:
1. Future belonging – the feeling of wanting to be connected to a certain group doing something that you
believe is worthwhile
2. Lack of safety – the sense that one will be left behind if they do not practice
3. Scarcity and exclusivity – the idea that one has access to resources or the opportunity to do something
that others do not
4. Language cues – using language that affirms the value of effort and slow progress rather than innate
talent or instant success is critical to sustaining ignition. The best type of motivational language is
language that speaks to ground-level effort and affirms the struggle (e.g. You really tried hard). Choice of
words is important.
Part 3: Master Coaching
The best teachers and coaches have 4 qualities –
1. The Matrix – large amounts of task-specific knowledge that enable effective coaching tailored to an
individual student’s skill level
2. Perceptiveness – being willing and able to find out details about an individual’s personal life, being
attentive to an individual’s comprehension throughout the learning process
3. The GPS Reflex – information is typically delivered in short, vivid bursts. Quickly call out mistakes
and correct them. Highlight moments when the student performs correctly. Note that successes are not
stopping points but intermediate points – the phrase “Good. Now do...” is important.
4. Theatrical Honesty – being memorable and able to make a real connection with the student
Certain skills are flexible-circuit (soft skills), meaning they require large, vine-like circuits that can be
cycled through to produce a desired result (soccer, writing, comedy). Soft skills depend on the situation
and involve recognizing patterns and making optimal choices. Other skills are consistent-circuit (hard
skills), meaning they depend on a solid foundation of repeatable technique (violin, skating, gymnastics).
Parenting in 2 rules:
1. Pay attention to what your children are fascinated by
2. Praise them for their efforts
 The Talent Code in Practice
Getting Started – building and cultivating ignition
1. Stare at who you want to become
2. Spend 15 minutes a day engraving the skill on your brain – watch the skill being performed repeatedly
until you can form a mental blueprint. For physical skills, project yourself into the performer’s body –
become aware of the movement and rhythm. For mental skills, simulate the skill by recreating the
expert’s decision-making patterns (e.g. replaying expert games, re-giving speeches, re-writing passages)
3. Steal without apology – see what works and what doesn’t and do what works. Focus on specifics (e.g.
the angle of a golfer’s elbow after the drive) – ask yourself what are the critical moves and how do they
perform those moves differently than I do?
4. Use a notebook – track your progress
5. Be willing to be stupid – take risks and reach, be willing to make mistakes, since they will catalyze
improvement
6. Choose spartan over luxurious – the simpler your practice area, the better
7. Is it a hard skill or a soft skill? –
Hard skills are ABC: Always be consistent.
Soft skills are RRR: Reading, recognizing, and reacting.
8. For hard skills, work like a carpenter – be careful, slow, and keenly attuned to errors and small
differences between your technique and the ideal technique.
9. For soft skills, play like a skateboarder – seek to encounter different obstacles and respond to them over
and over; be aggressive, curious, and experimental. Do many varied reps and get clear feedback – what
worked, what didn’t work, and why?
10. Honor the hard skills – performance is often a mixture of hard skills (throwing a football) and soft
skills (reading a defense). Prioritize developing the hard skills because in the long run, they benefit more
from repetition and are more important to your “talent.”
11. Picking a high-quality teacher or coach:
a. Avoid someone who focuses on keeping you comfortable and making things go smoothly
b. Look for someone who watches you closely, is unnervingly honest, and is action oriented.
c. Look for someone who gives short, clear directions and who loves teaching fundamentals
Improving Skills – always engaging in deep practice
12. Find your sweet spot – this is the place on the edge of your ability where you learn the fastest, it is
characterized by frustration, difficulty, and alertness to errors but not confusion and guessing. You should
have a success rate between 50 to 80% if you are practicing in your sweet spot.
13. Ignore the time – deep practice is measured by reaches and reps. Plan to do quality reps.
14. Break every move into chunks – disaggregate a skill into its component parts and master them one at a
time before putting them back together
15. Choose 5 minutes a day over an hour a week – make practice a habit.
16. Don’t do drills, play games – thinking of practice as small games can make skills improve faster and
improve ignition
17. Practice alone
18. Think in images – try and create a vivid image for each chunk you want to learn
19. Pay attention immediately after you make a mistake – correcting your errors right away leads to faster
improvement
20. Shrink the space – practicing on a smaller scale can sometimes lead to fast and high-quality reps
21. Slow it down – see how slow you can do something correctly
22. Close your eyes – helps make a familiar skill seem strange and challenging
23. Mime it – remove everything except the essential action (e.g. practicing without a ball)
24. When you get it right, mark the spot – memorize the sensation
25. To learn a new move, exaggerate it – going too far helps us understand where the boundaries are
26. Make positive reaches – e.g. “center the stroke,” not “don’t lean left.”
27. To learn from a book, close the book – practice synthesizing the information
28. Use the sandwich technique – correct move, incorrect move, correct move again.
29. Use the 3x10 technique – practice something 3 times, then take a rest period (10 minutes).
30. Use impromptu tests – ask yourself what an element of the skill is and how you can measure it, then
test yourself (e.g. hit the cone while serving 3/5 times).
31. Assessing your practice method – use the R.E.P.S. gauge
R: Reaching and repeating – does the practice have you on the edge of your ability
E: Engagement – does the practice command your attention, does it propel you to a goal (ex. Play
this song 5 times without making any mistakes; start over if you make a mistake).
P: Purposefulness – does the task connect to the skill you want to build (e.g. practicing free
throws while tired)
 S: Strong Feedback – does the learner receive an accurate stream of information about his
performance and where his mistakes where?
32. Stop before you are exhausted – your efficiency drops, it’s time to quit.
33. End on a positive note
Sustaining Progress
34. For every hour of competition, spend 5 practicing
35. To learn more deeply, teach
36. Give a new skill a minimum of 8 weeks to develop – don’t expect to see improvement immediately
37. When you get stuck / plateau, make a shift – do something to get yourself out of autopilot and
increase challenges
38. Keep your biggest goals a secret – sharing your goals has been shown to induce complacency