
What self-learning methods do you use? - tarouter
http://ryanwaggoner.com/2010/09/what-self-learning-methods-do-you-use/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ryanwaggoner+%28ryanwaggoner.com%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
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lhnz
This is what I do and I find it very difficult to concentrate. If I can learn
then so can anybody.

1\. Set yourself very short-term goals. Goals that can be achieved in mere
hours. Break everything up. That's not to say you can't work for solid days on
one thing every now and again, but if you're like me it'll probably be the
exception.

2\. Actually goals are not what you should be aiming for. Becoming an
autodidact is about building habits. Habits that ensure that you learn. Goals
have to be set and will stress you out, habits ultimately become second-
nature.

3\. Don't force yourself to do something that you're losing interest in. Very
few people would be able to manage that without ruining another part of their
life.

4\. If you're losing interest you should often just move onto the next thing.
The trick however is to make sure that everything that you move to is
difficult, worthwhile and requires you to learn something. You have to make
sure that even though you're the same short-attention span kid that you used
to be you're always learning something new. You can always go back at a later
date when you're less bored by a topic.

5\. Always do what you love. (Okay, this isn't strictly necessary, it's more
of a sanity thing. You can't work as hard when you're not enjoying yourself.
You will burn out.)

6\. Write down everything you learn in as concise and clear a way as possible
-- especially the things which have really blown your mind -- also, if it's
code have examples you can look at. Every couple of days pick up one of your
black books and skim it. It will jog your memory and is kind of fun, but
remember that the point isn't to remember everything off by heart: the point
is to know frames of reference and be able to pick things up again if you need
them. You're not studying for a test.

7\. Don't overdo it. If you're close to an emotional breakdown you need to
stop and think about why you started. Find balance.

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grovulent
The only advice I'd have for this sort of question - and it's a tip that I
find has really helped me in both academic and non-academic contexts...

Don't get too hung up about remembering what you've learnt. Just push on with
the next thing and really just move forward as fast as you can. What I find is
that I very rarely remember the content of what I learnt before, but I do
remember where to find an easily accessible resource that refreshes my memory
quickly.

The rationale behind this approach is that a) the brain (at least mine) is
fantastic at indexing information - but not so great at putting it in its long
term memory bank. And b) that it probably works this way because it doesn't
want to store in long term memory stuff that it doesn't have to. So it takes a
note of what it's seen, gives you a little index to let you find it again if
you need it - but discards the rest. It'll store in long term memory the stuff
that you come back to over and over again...

It's also important to bear in mind that particularly when you are starting
out in a learning endeavor you really have no idea what of the basics you're
really going to have to have memorized in a rote fashion. So don't fret it.
Learn it, take a note of it, move on.

edit - part of what I hate about schooling in general is that they force you
to rote learn heaps of stuff you probably won't ever use. And the brain hates
it. No wonder kids in general hate school.

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TamDenholm
I'm a learn by doing kind of person, i cant read a book and remember things, i
have to do the thing i'm learning. Obviously this goes along well with
programming or even stuff like DIY, mechanics etc, but wouldnt go well with
theoretical or academic things.

I pick a goal i want to accomplish using the discipline i want to learn, and
start messing around while looking at tutorials that take you step by step
through the thing you're doing in front of you, occasionally using a manual or
google to lookup things i dont understand.

~~~
anemecek
I doubt that there is anyone who is not that way. In fact there is a Chinese
saying "I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand."
which arrives at the same conclusion.

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MoreMoschops
Open University courses. Whilst I can't speak for the rest of the syllabus,
the postgrad maths is well-written and well-paced, with tutors available for
help, a well-run discussion forum, optional extra residential weekends here
and there, marked assignments at decent intervals, and the prospect of serious
additional qualifications to show off in conversation.

