What I Learned after 5000 Hours of Studying

Summary

In this enlightening video, Dr. Justin Sung shares his profound realizations on effective studying, drawing from over 10,000 hours of learning across various fields. He discusses the pitfalls of over-reliance on a single study technique, the concept of 'learning debt,' and the importance of embracing 'desirable difficulties' to build robust knowledge networks. Sung's insights aim to transform viewers into top scholars by advocating for gradual method adjustments, thoughtful learning strategies, and the cultivation of expertise for long-term learning efficiency.

Takeaways

• 📚 The speaker emphasizes the importance of studying efficiently, sharing personal experiences and realizations that led to significant improvements in his learning ability.
• 💡 The concept of a 'therapeutic index' in medicine is used as an analogy to explain the potential downside of overusing a single learning technique, such as flashcards.
• 🔄 The speaker discovered that making small, incremental adjustments to his study methods over time helped him to rely less on flashcards and to better understand the impact of his studying on memory and learning.
• 🚫 The realization that 'learning debt' can occur when past study methods are not effective for future needs, causing the need to relearn information, was a turning point for the speaker.
• 🔑 The speaker advises to consider the future needs when studying to avoid creating additional work for the future self, which is a form of 'learning debt'.
• 🤔 The process of identifying retrieval needs, mapping the current learning process, challenging one's reasoning, and learning through experimentation is suggested as a method to improve study techniques.
• 💪 The realization that effort is necessary for effective learning, and avoiding the 'effort' can actually make learning more difficult in the long run by not building strong knowledge networks.
• 🧩 The analogy of a jigsaw puzzle is used to illustrate how building knowledge is like piecing together a puzzle, where having more pieces (knowledge) makes it easier to fit in new information.
• 🏋️‍♂️ The speaker stresses that 'desirable difficulty' in learning is beneficial as it leads to building expertise, which in turn makes future learning easier.
• 🔄 The idea of investing effort upfront to build knowledge quickly is presented as a strategy to make handling knowledge easier in the future and to avoid creating learning debt.
• 📈 The speaker concludes by encouraging viewers to explore specific methods for building high-quality knowledge and to understand the principles of effective learning to craft their own learning process.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial approach to studying when they started at 17?

The speaker began studying with a focus on entering medical school and spent over 10,000 hours studying various subjects, including medicine, education, learning science, computing, marketing, business, and accounting.

What is the concept of a 'therapeutic index' in medicine, and how does the speaker relate it to studying?

The therapeutic index in medicine is the dose range at which a medication is effective. The speaker relates it to studying by explaining that using a learning technique excessively, like an overdose, can become unhelpful or even harmful, as it did with their overuse of flashcards.

How did the speaker's reliance on flashcards initially help them, and what problems arose later?

Flashcards initially helped the speaker by aiding in recalling facts and achieving good results in their first year of university. However, the problems arose when they entered medical school, as they had too many flashcards to manage, which became overwhelming and unsustainable.

What adjustments did the speaker make to their study methods to rely less on flashcards?

The speaker started making tiny adjustments to their study methods every two or three days, experimenting with small changes and reflecting on their effectiveness, which eventually allowed them to rely on flashcards less and less.

What is 'learning debt,' and how did the speaker experience it during their medical school attachments?

Learning debt refers to the extra work one has to do in the future because of inefficient learning methods used in the past. The speaker experienced it when they failed their first medical attachment due to not knowing how to apply their knowledge properly, leading to relearning previously studied material.

What are the steps the speaker suggests to address learning debt and improve study methods?

The steps include identifying retrieval needs, mapping the current learning process, challenging the reasoning behind current methods, learning and experimenting with new methods, and gradually upgrading the learning system.

Why did the speaker initially struggle with applying their knowledge in real-world situations during their medical attachments?

The speaker struggled because the way they had stored and organized information was more suited for exams rather than practical application with real patients.

What is the speaker's view on trying to make learning easier and less effortful?

The speaker believes that trying to make learning easier and less effortful can sabotage the learning process, as it removes the brain's need to process information, which is essential for building knowledge and expertise.

How does the speaker define 'desirable difficulty' in the context of learning?

'Desirable difficulty' refers to the mental effort required for effective learning, which helps build expertise and makes future learning easier as more connections can be made with prior knowledge.

What is the speaker's advice for students who are comfortable with their current study system but find it daunting to change?

The speaker advises students to change their study methods gradually, ensuring that they do not leave a 'gaping void' by removing their current system all at once, and to enjoy the process of experimenting and upgrading their learning methods.

What resources does the speaker offer for those interested in learning more about building high-quality knowledge?

The speaker offers a big picture overview of their learning system used during their Masters at Monash, as well as a playlist on the foundations of efficient learning as resources for those interested in improving their study methods.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Overdosing on Learning Techniques

Dr. Justin Sung shares his first major realization about studying: the potential to overdose on learning techniques. He compares it to the therapeutic index in medicine, where a medication must be within a certain dose range to be effective. He recounts his initial success with flashcards but eventually found it unsustainable and overwhelming as he entered medical school. The excessive use of flashcards prevented him from exploring other study methods. To address this, he started making small adjustments to his study habits, reflecting on their impact over a few days, which helped him to rely less on flashcards and become more in tune with his learning process. He emphasizes that studying should lead to learning, which involves encoding information into memory and being able to retrieve it effectively.

05:02

📉 Avoiding Learning Debt

In his second realization, Dr. Sung introduces the concept of 'learning debt,' which refers to the burden of having to relearn information due to ineffective study methods. He shares his personal experience of failing his first hospital attachment because he couldn't apply his knowledge properly. This led to a cycle of relearning and studying for exams, which was inefficient. He advises against creating learning debt by doing things right the first time and not giving the future self more work. He outlines steps for students to identify their retrieval needs, map their current learning process, challenge their reasoning, and learn and experiment with new methods. The goal is to create a sustainable learning system that doesn't lead to overwhelming future workloads.

10:02

🏋️‍♂️ Embracing Desirable Difficulty in Learning

Dr. Sung's third realization is about the importance of effort in learning, likening it to weightlifting for strength. He admits to being obsessed with efficiency and seeking easier ways to learn, which he later realized was counterproductive. He explains that trying to make learning effortless can prevent the brain from processing information effectively, which is essential for building knowledge. Instead, he advocates for 'desirable difficulty,' where the right amount of effort leads to better learning and expertise. As expertise grows, learning becomes easier due to the increased ability to connect new information to existing knowledge. He encourages investing effort early on to build a strong foundation of knowledge, which will pay off by making future learning more manageable.

Keywords

💡Studying

Studying refers to the process of learning something, typically by reading, memorizing, or practicing. In the video, studying is the central theme as the speaker discusses the inefficiencies and improvements in his approach to studying, which includes realizing the importance of not just studying but also learning effectively.

💡Learning Techniques

Learning techniques are methods or strategies used to facilitate the learning process. The speaker mentions an 'overdose' on learning techniques, indicating that relying too heavily on a single method, like flashcards, can be counterproductive, as it may lead to an inability to adapt or incorporate other effective learning strategies.

💡Therapeutic Index

The therapeutic index is a medical concept that refers to the range of doses over which a medication is effective without causing harmful side effects. The speaker uses this analogy to describe the potential for overusing a learning technique, where too much reliance can lead to negative outcomes in learning efficiency.

💡Flashcards

Flashcards are a learning tool often used for memorization, consisting of cards with information on them. In the script, the speaker recounts his initial success with flashcards and later his realization that an over-reliance on them became unsustainable and hindered his ability to apply knowledge effectively.

💡Learning Debt

Learning debt is a term coined by the speaker to describe the additional work one has to do in the future due to inefficient learning methods used in the past. It is illustrated by the speaker's experience of having to relearn information after exams, which he could have avoided by learning it correctly the first time.

💡Encoding

Encoding in the context of learning refers to the process of converting information into a format that is stored in memory. The speaker emphasizes that studying only leads to learning when information is encoded into memory and can be retrieved for use, which is a fundamental aspect of effective learning.

💡Retrieval Practice

Retrieval practice is a learning technique that involves recalling information from memory to strengthen memory pathways. The speaker mentions the importance of being able to use knowledge through retrieval, which is a key component of learning as opposed to just studying.

💡Desirable Difficulty

Desirable difficulty is a concept in educational psychology that suggests that certain difficulties during the learning process can enhance learning and retention. The speaker contrasts this with the pursuit of easier learning methods, arguing that the effort involved in learning is crucial for building expertise.

💡Expertise

Expertise refers to a high level of skill or knowledge in a specific area. The speaker discusses the importance of building expertise as a way to make future learning easier, as having a broad base of knowledge allows for better connections and understanding of new information.

💡Mental Effort

Mental effort is the cognitive work required to process and understand information. The speaker argues against the pursuit of effortless learning, stating that the mental effort is necessary for building knowledge and that avoiding this effort can impede the learning process.

💡Learning System

A learning system refers to a structured approach or methodology for learning. The speaker talks about the need to map out and challenge one's current learning system, and to make gradual adjustments to improve it, which is essential for effective and efficient learning.

Highlights

The speaker began studying seriously at 17 with the goal of entering medical school.

Over 10,000 hours of study across various fields such as medicine, education, and business have been accumulated.

Early in his studies, the speaker spent twice the necessary time and made numerous mistakes, learning from them.

Three major realizations about studying will be shared, with the last one accounting for 80% of wasted time.

The concept of a 'therapeutic index' in medicine is likened to the effective dosage of learning techniques.

The speaker initially relied heavily on flashcards, which became unsustainable and overwhelming.

Overuse of a single learning technique can lead to a lack of time to explore other methods.

The importance of making small, frequent adjustments to study methods was discovered to improve learning.

The distinction between studying and learning is emphasized, with learning being the retention and application of knowledge.

The speaker experienced 'learning debt', having to relearn information due to ineffective study methods.

Learning debt creates a double burden of work, necessitating a complete reset of study methods.

A step-by-step approach is suggested to address learning debt, including identifying retrieval needs and mapping current learning processes.

The realization that learning requires mental effort and cannot be made easier by avoiding 'desirable difficulty'.

The importance of building expertise through effort to facilitate future learning is discussed.

Avoiding effort in learning can lead to difficulties in making connections and building knowledge networks.

The speaker encourages investing effort early on to simplify future learning and avoid creating learning debt.

Resources are provided for further learning on building high-quality knowledge and efficient learning systems.

Transcripts

so I only really seriously started

studying when I was 17 trying to enter

into medical school since then I have

studied easily over 10 000 hours I've

studied medicine I've studied education

learning science Computing marketing

business accounting all sorts of

different things and for the first five

or six years of studying I probably

spent twice the amount of time that I

needed to I have made more mistakes than

most but I have learned from them in

this video I want to share three of the

most mind-blowing realizations that I

had around studying each of these

realizations resulted in me making

massive improvements to my learning

ability and make sure to stick around

because the last realization alone

probably accounted for at least 80

percent of all of the wasted time over

the years and the changes I made because

of it are what allowed me to eventually

become a top scholar if you're new to

the channel welcome I'm Dr Justin sung

I'm a full-time learning coach and

learning researcher I'm also the head of

learning and I can study and a former

medical doctor over the last decade I've

worked with tens of thousands of people

from around the world to help them learn

more efficiently before we jump in I'd

appreciate if you can give this video a

like

to help with the algorithm so one of my

first major realizations was that you

can kind of overdose on learning

techniques let me explain in medicine

there is this concept of a therapeutic

index and it goes like this a

therapeutic index is the dose range at

which that medication is effective for

example if you've got pain you can take

painkillers if you take too little it's

not going to be enough if you take too

much it can be very dangerous you might

even die so there's a range in which

it's effective and it's doing good for

you if you go outside of that range it

becomes either unhelpful or it can

become even harmful now when I was 17 I

discovered flashcards for the first time

and it was magical one of my friends was

doing really well and they said hey this

is a technique I use I tried it and I

loved it and I went all in on it I had

thousands of flash cards and honestly a

lot of the results that I got in my

first year of uni were because I was so

heavily involved in my flashcards so it

was working well what's the problem the

problem was that it wasn't sustainable

and when I got into medical school I had

so many flashcards that I was getting

overwhelmed I didn't have time to finish

them all and it also wasn't enough I

wasn't being able to think in the way

that I needed to think yes I could

recall the facts but I couldn't use the

knowledge properly so how does this

relate to overdosing well the thing is

because I had so many flashcards and I

was spending so much time just getting

through them it was taking time away for

me to invest in learning about other

methods that I could use or

experimenting I basically trapped myself

I needed to change my methods but I was

spending so much time with my current

methods I didn't have time to change

them so this is when I realized that a

technique can be helpful but if you use

it too much it can actually harm you in

the long run so what did I do

differently I started making

tiny tiny adjustments to how I study

every two or three days I would

experiment with a small change where the

consequence of getting it wrong was very

very small and then I'd reflect on how

it's been been going and how I felt

about it across the next two or three

days so that eventually I was able to

rely on flashcards less and less I knew

that what I was doing right now wasn't

sustainable I knew I had to make some

kind of change and I knew I wasn't going

to be able to completely remove myself

from the current system that I'd build

straight away so I made sure to take

very very very small steps and the

benefit of this was number one obviously

that I eventually I was able to escape

that but number two is that I got really

really in tune with the effect that my

studying was having I'm always talking

about how studying is not learning

studying is what we do but learning is

what happens in our brain you wouldn't

say you learned unless that time spent

studying helped the information become

part of your knowledge and stay in your

memory so that you can use it studying

only leads to learning when number one

the information is encoded into your

memory and number two you can actually

use that knowledge through retrieval if

you're not able to do that then all

you've done is spend time on doing this

random thing called studying which

hasn't led to learning and by doing this

process of reviewing and making these

very frequent adjustments to my process

I was able to be much clearer in terms

of what I'm spending my time doing and

the impact that I was having on my

memory and the quality of my learning

Not only was I able to remove my

dependence and over-reliance on

flashcards but also I started seeing

that a lot of other things that I was

doing with my studying were problematic

as well and that's a story for another

video now I know a lot of students find

this process very daunting they've got

the system that they're really

comfortable with and there's level of

insecurity or uncertainty around

changing this me personally I actually

really enjoyed experimenting in the

process of actually upgrading myself but

the key is to change things gradually

don't just take away all of your flash

cards and leave a gaping void because

otherwise you're going to have nothing

to fill it for example I currently right

now have a gaping void in my self-esteem

that can only be filled by you liking

and subscribing

so let's fast forward I made all of

these changes and eventually I became a

super learner right no wrong I had some

other issues which brings me to my

second realization don't create learning

debt yes learning debt and I'm not

talking about a student loan here by the

time I was on my fourth year of

University I was entering into Hospital

attachments and I was a pretty decent

student I had already decided that a

plus wasn't where I wanted to spend my

time because I was getting really

involved in teaching and education by

that point so I was getting sort of A's

and a minuses and feeling fairly

confident to hit the wards and then I

had my very first attachment which was

General medicine or internal medicine

for those of you in the states and then

I failed I failed my first attachment

and I know this because my boss told me

directly I had the knowledge but I just

did not know how to use it and the right

way to work with real patients the way

that I had stored and organized that

information was set for my exams not the

real world and what's even worse is that

because I've been studying for these

exams a lot of the times after the exams

I would forget like most of what I had

studied and so what ended up happening

is that I would come home from the

hospital during my placements and I'd

spend my evening spending hours studying

most of the time just relearning the

stuff that I'd learned from you know

going through med school I'd go through

my old med school notes and just

re-remember the stuff that I'd already

studied and then try to make sense of it

again in a more useful way and I

remember thinking to myself why did I

not just learn it the right way to begin

with I would have saved so much time

this is what I mean by learning debt the

methods I'd used in the past were fine

for my present needs but they created

problems for my future self which meant

that now I had to spend extra time to

relearn things properly while also

having to learn new material too I was

hit with a double burden of work so one

thing I've realized which I always tell

to my students now is that the future

version of you is probably going to be

just as busy or busier than you are now

don't give the future version of you

more work to do it is worth it to do it

right the first time and even outside of

medicine I've seen this time and time

again with the students that I work with

students that have these great systems

getting them good results in the short

term but they're not preparing

themselves for the challenges of next

year or the year after that and they

eventually just get more and more

overwhelmed every year until one day

it's just not good enough and something

breaks and then at that point they're

trapped like I was without any time to

make any changes once I realize how bad

learning debt was I had to do a complete

reset of how I was studying luckily I

was already used to experimenting with

my Methods at the time so it wasn't too

bad but these are the steps that I teach

my students now when they're in the same

position

number one identify your retrieval needs

what do you need to know how do you need

to know and think about it and how long

do you need to know it for how do you

need to use that knowledge not just

immediately but in the future number two

map your current learning process what

do you do when information comes in

start there then what do you do with it

what methods are you using how are you

thinking about it if you've never really

thought about how you learned before

this step can be actually quite

challenging you might have to spend a

few days actually observing how you

study to actually map it all out and

that's actually a really good thing

because it means that you're starting

the first step to making some serious

improvements number three challenge your

reasoning why do you use the methods and

processes that you use does the method

and process you're using allow you to

achieve the retrieval needs that you've

identified do you even know do you even

know why you're using the methods that

you're using or is it just out of habit

or because all of your friends are doing

it ask yourself whether this process is

going to help you to reach your goals in

terms of what you need to know how you

need to know it and how long you need to

know it for and again you may not know

you may do this step and find that

you're drawing blanks and that's fine

it's just about learning a little bit

more but it's an important step to start

mapping out whether you're actually

spending your time in a productive way

and watching some of my other videos is

going to help you learn some of that

fundamental Theory as well number four

learn and experiment learn about how

Learning Works experiment make some

gradual changes like they talked about

in my first realization take it slow and

gradually try to upgrade your system

before I realize this yes I was

experimenting but I didn't have the

right goal so a lot of that time that I

spent on experimenting reflecting was

sort of wasted now learning is seriously

very complicated and I can't tell you

exactly every single process that you

need to use for your goals and in fact

it's kind of impossible because it

depends on what your strengths and

weaknesses are and what your goals are

and what your situation is the right

process for you is going to be different

for the right process from someone else

but what does remain true through tend

to be the principles of effective

learning even if the flavor is a little

bit different the principles usually in

every single instance have to be adhered

to and the videos that I upload on my

channel generally are focused on the

principles I want you to know what the

principles are so you can go and craft

your own learning process because it's

just not possible for me to tell you

everything that you need to do step by

step it doesn't work that way and one of

the most important principles which I

realized embarrassingly late in my kind

of learning life I guess was that you

cannot get stronger without lifting the

weight maybe because I was just a really

busy person with medical school and

running my non-profit and doing my

teaching and all of that but I was

pretty obsessed with efficiency you can

probably tell I kind of still am but as

a result of that I always looked for the

faster and easier less effortful way of

doing things like I was always tired I

wanted to spend less effort on things if

I could so I would look through all of

these learning techniques makes and

learning systems and I spent really many

hours across years experimenting with

methods that were meant to make learning

easier and faster for me which seems

perfectly logical but I realized that

that was actually sabotaging me let me

put it this way the best way to make

learning easier for you in the long run

is to actually just be an expert at the

topic the more you know the more

connections that you have to work with

the more you can make sense of new

information because you've got more

things to connect it to and to do that

you need to a know things about that

subject and B know how to use what you

know to make sense of new information

which is a skill the thing about

learning especially higher order

learning which is the type of learning

that builds these networks and

connections is that it requires mental

effort it's like trying to lift away

just by staring at it it's not gonna

work and by trying to make learning

easier and less effortful what you're

actually trying to do there is remove

your brains need to process the

information you're taking the brain out

of the equation and you cannot build

knowledge in your mind when you remove

your mind

building high quality knowledge takes

effort it's actually called desirable

difficulty and as you spend the right

effort in the right way you're able to

learn more build expertise and then as

your expertise grows it becomes easier

and easier to learn more new information

is less new because there are so many

more anchor points of prior knowledge

that you can actually connect to and

make sense out of it's like doing a

jigsaw puzzle as you complete it it's

easier to see how the remaining pieces

fit in but if you avoid the effort and

you're just trying to make it faster and

easier and you're not thinking about how

to spend the right effort in the right

way and that makes you learn things in

isolation or just memorize things

superficially using whatever apps or

software like I spent a lot of time

trying to do then it makes it harder

because it's harder to build those

connections it's kind of like trying to

solve a jigsaw puzzle by just seeing all

the pieces scattered on the floor and

just like looking at it waiting for you

to magically just see how it fits

together so now I'm always making sure

that I invest that effort in up front as

early as I can to build that knowledge

as quickly as I can to make the future

version of myself have an easier time of

handling that knowledge not only am I

not creating learning debt I'm actually

building myself a learning asset that

continues to give myself rewards over

time so if you want to learn a little

bit more around the specific methods

that you can use to try to build this

high quality knowledge then a good place

to start might be a big picture overview

of how I structured my learning system

for when I ranked first at Monash for my

Masters or if you've got time there's

this playlist you can check out which

goes through the foundations of

efficient learning it's a good place to

start make sure to like this video

comment and subscribe thanks for

watching I'll see you next time

[Music]

thank you