In 2019 I have set myself a goal to learn new things.  I have no idea what I am going to learn during the coming year.  The goal is a process goal.  Focus on the process of learning and forget about the product (achieving a particular result such as a certain grade).  I simply aim to spend an hour per day learning and having fun doing so (the process).  I find myself making use of time for learning that would otherwise have been wasted.  Like for example waiting to collect my children from school/college.  I use my smartphone to watch a course video or listen to a podcast.  I am excited by the fact that if I stick to my learning goal then by December 2019 I can potentially have a number of new skills and interests which I don’t have right now.    My first port of call on my learning goal is to spend time to learn how to learn.  It makes sense that if you learn how to learn first then you will improve your ability to absorb what you are learning.  My learning skills will enhance and improve everything else I am learning and what I can remember and practice.

Why keep learning?

You might think that learning is only for school children or the young.  Not so.  We live in a very fast changing world.  Technology is changing rapidly and some of the skills you have today might be obsolete in a few years.  We cannot stand still – we all have to keep learning, changing and adapting.  A report by the World Economic Forum: ‘The Future of Jobs 2018’ states that by 2022 (only a few years away!), no less than 54% of all employees will require significant re-skilling and up-skilling….that is quite shocking!  According to a December 2017 report by McKinsey, the American management consulting firm up to 375 million workers (14% of the global workforce) may need to change their occupational category by 2030.  Learning is therefore a key skill for the 21st century.  But first we must learn how to learn.

How to Learn How to Learn

So how does someone learn how to learn?  Well it turns out that Coursera have a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on learning how to learn.  As I write I am now coming into the final week of the four week course.  The course is really well put together.  The course is informative and engaging.  There are very engaging video lectures and ongoing quizzes and tests as you proceed.  There are peer reviewed assignments.  The best part is that the course is free for everyone to take!  More than that the course demonstrates the awesome power and potential of online learning.  If I can learn so much from this course for free then what other great courses are out there for free or for very little cost?  I am excited about the possibilities of online learning!

So what have I learned about Learning?

I have learned a lot from this MOOC so far and I will come back to these topics again and again in this blog because they are so important.  For example the importance of engaging both the focused mode and diffuse mode of learning.  From my hypnotherapy training this translates to using both the conscious and subconscious minds in learning (creative geniuses such as Einstein, Thomas Edison and Salvador Dali have been very effective in tapping into the power of their diffuse mode thinking).  Techniques such as the Pomodoro technique are excellent in helping us to focus and deal with procrastination.  I successfully applied this technique myself when writing my PhD thesis (I wrote a book about my PhD experience).  Another technique discussed in the course is to separate writing and editing.  Just write and write.  You can come back and edit later.  This technique was also very helpful to me when I was writing my PhD.

Chunking and memory

The Learning How to Learn course also delves into the important concept of chunking.  Chunking is a term referring to the process of taking individual pieces of information (chunks) and grouping them into larger units. By grouping each piece into a large whole, you can improve the amount of information you can remember.  In addition the course deals with short term and long term memory and how to enhance our memories.  For example using the memory palace technique (take the course and find out more!).  The importance of sleep, exercise and good diet underpin everything.  This morning I watched an interview with Nelson Dellis who is a 4th time U.S. memory champion on how to improve your memory.  On my next visit to the shop I will be picking some fish oil pills.  The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil play important roles in brain function and development.

In summary

There is way more to this course that I have touched on in this article.  Hopefully what I have mentioned will whet your appetite to Learn How to Learn.  You have nothing to lose as the Coursera course is free!  Learning how to learn and becoming a life long learner is an essential skill in the 21st century.  Taking this important course could be the first step you take in future proofing your career.  I am certainly excited and relishing the prospect of all  the new things I will learn in 2019.  By the way we all learn better when we are relaxed and having fun so relax and enjoy the process of learning!

Best wishes,

Tom