Top Tips to Learn Something New!
Sometimes you want to pick up a new skill or hobby but you just don’t know how to do it. Fret not as we’ll be sharing our top tips on how to effectively learn something completely foreign to you!
1) Just do it
First off, you have to mentally tell yourself to just do it. Don’t hesitate and think to yourself, “What if I can’t do it?” or “I don’t think I’m good enough.”, because you CAN do it! Eventually, you’re gonna have to start somewhere. And so what if you make mistakes? That’s all part of the learning process, you make mistakes to inevitably learn from them.
2) Make it more meaningful for yourself
The key to learning is finding meaning in it. What we mean by that is how you should make real life connections with new information being absorbed into your mind and see how it fits in what else you know. For example, you could be learning to sew a doll because you want to use it as a toy for your pet dog! Understand how you can use a skill to your advantage and you’ll definitely be able to grasp a concept much more quickly.
3) Teach what you learn
A surprising way to improve a skill you’ve just learnt is by teaching it to someone else because then you’d have to break up every step into simple, understandable chunks for ourselves and for the other person. It enables you to examine the specific topic more critically and thoroughly, allowing us to have a much better understanding of it.
4) Spend time practising what you find difficult
Practising over and over again when it comes to something you had some trouble with along the way is extremely important. Push yourself out of your comfort zone and practise the things you’re not very good at. Mind you, it’s also super important to concentrate because if you’re mind is wandering, not much learning will occur. With time and determination, you’ll soon achieve a higher level of overall efficiency.
5) Take frequent breaks
Another top tip is to make sure that brain procession isn’t overloading. When new information is being fed to your brain, it just gets stored. It needs time to connect what you’re learning to stuff you already know. So, what you can do it take a 15 minutes break every hour or so. Maybe do some light stretches and exercise as the increase in oxygen may also help in the learning process.
6) Test yourself
The most effective way to boost memory is by testing yourself, even if you are simply practising on your own. Take some time out to recall information from what you just learnt as it is a key part of the memory process!
7) Always be curious
Lastly, there’s nothing that can stimulate learning quite like curiosity! You’re the leader and you’d have the initiative to seek for answers and research from many different sources. It’s pointless to memorise theories and techniques - so question them at every step, “Why do I have to do it this way and not the other?”, think about why they matter and why they’re relevant!
Why not try out these tips now with a course together with CRAFT La Education? We’re an online platform that provides courses for different types of crafts. So let’s get those creative juices flowing and start creating!