How to Learn to Study: PaperHelp Advices

Elissa Smart
8 min readNov 24, 2021

--

All of us certainly understand the great value of learning, and from time to time, we learn some new skills. It is a beautiful pursuit, but we notice that some people know easily and naturally, while others have to put in a lot of effort. It seems unfair, but who in our world looks for justice. Let’s try to look at this question together with paperhelp from different angles.

To learn something, it is not enough to know what you should do. It is essential to understand what you should not do.

What not to do

Many people who want to learn something usually ask questions about how to learn something. How quickly to learn a foreign language, how quickly to learn speed reading, and how fast to play the guitar? Of course, all of these things can be known quickly, but here’s the thing: as a rule, such people never start learning anything because they believe that there will come a specific day when they can tell themselves that they have learned something. Learning is an ongoing process.

You’ve probably heard many times that it’s impossible to learn any language because it’s constantly changing. You can quickly climb the mountain of rules and spelling. It’s indeed possible, but then a very unpleasant thing happens — either you think that subsequent language learning will come by itself, or you get frustrated because you realize that it’s impossible to learn the language thoroughly.

You see your result, you are proud of it, but at this very moment, there is complete apathy, telling you that there are still so many unknown words and idioms to learn and you don’t even know what to do. When you begin to think that you already understand the flavor of the language, there is bound to be a situation that will tell you that this is not the case. The topic of language learning is the most painful because it is relevant, but most importantly, the problems are visible.

You do not have to take on everything at once. There is a tremendous amount of information that is impossible to memorize in today’s world, a large number of skills. And let’s face it, it’s impossible to learn everything. So, first of all, you have to understand who you are and what you want, and what skills will help you do that. Yes, we’re not talking about the speed of learning now, we’re talking about practicality, but this point is significant. Everyone wants to learn five new skills here and now, but they don’t take on any.

Don’t do nonsense. Of course, everyone is interested in trying something new for themselves, but before you do so, at least think a bit of how necessary it is to you. You can get emotional and start learning to play guitar, but what if you’re not interested in music at all? That’s not an example you just made up out of thin air. These people exist.

Why do some people learn quickly and others know slowly?

There are several reasons. People who learn quickly know what they want out of life. Any skill they learn is confirmed every day that it is essential to them. Such people study English, and in addition to that they read the history of English-speaking countries, are interested in culture, literature, they plan trips to those countries. For them, the allocated hour for the English language is not limited to sixty minutes. They are always on this wave. Weaving the skill you’re learning into your life is the perfect way to learn anything.

Learn to cook, ask the people you visit how they made that dish. You don’t have to talk about cooking all day now. Keep the skill in mind after the formal part of learning is over. If you devote an hour a day to learning a skill and the rest of the time you’re sick of it, it’s not your thing.

And if the skill is a must-learn, make a vast voluminous list of the benefits you’ll get when you learn it. Reread it constantly, add to it. Read it before you understand it and immediately after. Always remember how important this skill is to you. Otherwise, it will become your burden, and you still need to know it. Imagine walking down an alley every day and constantly stumbling over the same stone. And after a month, there are ten of them. Is it possible to enjoy the weather while walking down the alley when the fear of tripping constantly sits inside? There will be no less of them; the number of stones will only grow.

These people achieve excellence in every aspect of a skill. They don’t learn for the sake of anyone. They do it for themselves. What progress can we talk about if you’re slacking on irregular verbs and interested in learning everything else? Yes, pull yourself together, even take a couple of days and learn these verbs so that you never think about them again. Otherwise, they will pop up in your mind and subconscious and ruin your confidence. How nice to know that you’ve learned the most complex and most unpleasant rule and can now focus on something easy.

These people have a living example in front of them. They see and interact with people who have learned the skill and can help figure it out. Forums are good, but you can’t get that many quick answers there, and you can get a lot of energy and motivation from a live example.

They are constantly asking themselves the right questions. It is essential to study microcosm and macrocosm to see the details and the big picture. When learning a rule, a chord, or a text, you need to ask yourself from time to time: “What am I doing now? How will this help me in my global study of the skill?” Once you get the answer, you clarify your purpose. You start breathing freely. When you’re learning to play the guitar, always keep in mind why you’re doing it you want to write your songs. A person learning to play the guitar often may come to a standstill and look at himself from the outside — some person with a wooden stick rubbing his fingers on the nickel. At such moments, the ability to learn drops several times over. Ask yourself: “What am I doing now in a global sense?”

They’re planning. It seems boring. Even when you are interested in learning a skill, you want to take it and study it. You don’t want to think about it. Planning is good in that it allows for reflection and also allows you to see the whole picture.

Instant Practice.

If you pick up a self-study book (on screenwriting, cooking, memory development), don’t pick it up “just to read,” don’t engage in self-deception. When you read a book about screenwriting and the first chapter about creating a character, take it and create a character right away. When you read a book about memory development, put it into action right away. Why waste time reading it when you can take the advice here and now and implement it in a book. If you’ve read a self-study book and done nothing in practice, you’ve wasted your time. This simple thing you should understand here and now, otherwise the books and advice you read will remain just theory.

Everyday Practice

Of course, it’s hard to find time for dozens of skills every day, so don’t do them all at once. Allocate at least 30 minutes a day, but it really should be every day. The body must accustom to the new, unusual feeling of leaving your comfort zone because any novelty for your brain is this same exit.

What to learn

Learn only what appeals to you, what attracted you a long time ago, because it’s a relatively long time to learn. Think about your values, who you are, and what you want to accomplish in life, and then answer what skills you need to do that. If you work with people and enjoy it, you need to study psychology and influence people. Some people enjoy communicating, but they don’t progress in speaking. They can’t achieve what they would like to achieve.

Do you like music? Think again and answer the question — do you like music? Is it something that makes you feel alive and present? Then start making music. Only then will you succeed. Even if you have a completely different profession, you will reach your goal.

If you like fine art, you will learn it. You may not be a genius, but any skill can be learned at a reasonable level, even if “you have no talent.”

Do you like computer games? Yes, it’s tough to become a programmer, but you’re perfectly capable of writing reviews, creating your own YouTube channel, and commenting on games.

Improve your cognitive abilities.

While this point doesn’t come first, it is, in truth, the key one. By developing your memory, you become able to remember more critical information, recall forgotten information, and begin to exercise your ability to think creatively (these are related things). When you learn to be attentive and focused, you will stop being distracted and learn much more than before.

You’ll be able to notice things you didn’t see before, pick up the intonation of the person you’re talking to, discern the taste of food, and read faster. These are all the supports that will help you learn and do it more quickly (if that’s your goal).

You probably know people who grasp everything on the fly and are not particularly well-read or intelligent. These people, from birth or childhood, have developed cognitive skills. They can notice, remember and understand more than others. They remember things faster. They can think of an unusual association for any word in the exact second. And yes, their greatest virtue is that they learn more quickly than other people. True, many of them don’t take advantage of this gift. What is not known is rarely of value. But if you improve your cognitive abilities, it will be of value to you.

What’s excellent about cognitive ability is that enhancing one enhances the other. One memory training can do wonders for your brain.

The 21st century is perfect for learning.

With the internet, you can learn almost any skill. Unless, of course, you want to learn how to operate on people (and even then, that’s a profession, and we’re talking about skills). For many others, there are thousands of books, articles, and websites on the subject. YouTube alone is enough for a lifetime. Google has already digitized 30 million books, the world’s famous universities do the same and put them in the public domain, the web service Coursera offers free video courses to everyone.

Always remember that you are learning something only for yourself. And if you treat one aspect of a skill half-heartedly, thinking you’ve cheated someone, you’ve created yourself. Don’t engage in self-deception. Perfect every aspect and be proud of yourself for it.

--

--

Elissa Smart
Elissa Smart

Written by Elissa Smart

Hi there! I’m a professional writer at PaperHelp writing company that helps students with their academic needs. https://www.paperhelp.org/

No responses yet