How to NEVER Burn Out again: 3-Step framework

Summary

The video script discusses the common cycle of burnout among students and professionals, emphasizing the importance of decoupling productivity from motivation and understanding the 'black box effect' in learning. It advocates for creating an efficient learning system through reflection and experimentation, rather than relying on endless effort. The speaker shares insights from students who have successfully applied these strategies to avoid burnout and achieve better results with less stress.

Takeaways

• 🔥 The script discusses the common cycle of burnout, where high motivation leads to intense work, potentially resulting in either success at a high cost or failure, leading to frustration and demotivation.
• 🌪️ It highlights the danger of coupling productivity with motivation, as motivation naturally fluctuates, causing productivity to do the same, which can lead to a cycle of failure and burnout.
• 💡 The speaker suggests decoupling motivation from productivity by building good habits, which allows for consistent productivity regardless of motivation levels.
• 📚 The 'Black Box Effect' is introduced, which refers to the lack of understanding of what happens during the learning process that converts effort into results, and how addressing this can lead to better outcomes.
• 🧠 The importance of understanding the learning process and metacognition is emphasized to gain control over one's learning and reduce anxiety and uncertainty about exam results.
• 🔑 The script proposes that learning about learning (metacognition) and understanding the learning theory can help one become the 'mechanic of their own brain', leading to more effective studying.
• 🛠️ Three steps are recommended to avoid burnout: mapping out one's learning system, reflecting on its effectiveness, and experimenting with modifications to improve it.
• 🤔 The process involves critical self-reflection on the techniques used in learning and questioning their effectiveness and theoretical basis.
• 🔄 A cycle of reflection and experimentation is encouraged to iteratively improve one's learning system, leading to an optimized and personalized approach to studying.
• ⏱️ The script acknowledges that this process takes time and effort, but it is presented as a necessary investment for long-term success and avoidance of burnout.
• 🚀 The benefits of this approach include not only avoiding burnout but also achieving higher efficiency and better results with less study time, as exemplified by the speaker's own experience.

Q & A

What is the common issue with the approach of pushing oneself to the limit to achieve goals?

The common issue is that motivation and productivity are coupled, leading to fluctuating levels of productivity that can result in burnout and demotivation when goals are not consistently met.

Why is motivation considered to be unstable for humans?

Motivation is influenced by multiple factors, making it fluctuate rather than remain constant. It goes up and down based on various intrinsic and extrinsic components.

What happens when productivity is too low to achieve a goal?

When productivity is too low to achieve a goal, it can lead to a perceived failure which in turn reduces motivation, potentially starting a negative cycle of decreasing motivation and productivity.

What is the 'black box effect' in the context of studying and learning?

The 'black box effect' refers to the lack of understanding of the critical processes that occur during studying, which convert effort and time into outcomes like exam results.

Why is it important to understand the 'black box' of studying?

Understanding the 'black box' allows for more control over the learning process, leading to better optimization, reduced waste of time and energy, and ultimately, more predictable and satisfactory outcomes.

What is the recommended approach to avoid burnout according to the script?

The recommended approach includes decoupling productivity from motivation, building good habits, and identifying the root cause of burnout by understanding and improving the learning process.

Why is taking a break not always the best solution for burnout?

Taking a break can provide temporary relief, but it does not address the underlying issues that led to burnout in the first place. Without changing the approach or environment, the same problems are likely to recur.

What are some of the strategies suggested for managing and improving one's learning system?

Strategies include mapping out the current learning system, reflecting on its effectiveness, experimenting with modifications, and continuously iterating based on outcomes.

How can learning about learning theory benefit a student?

Learning about learning theory can help a student understand the metacognitive processes, allowing them to become more efficient, reduce anxiety about exams, and avoid frustration and demotivation.

What is the significance of having a well-optimized learning system?

A well-optimized learning system allows for higher efficiency, better use of time and effort, and a reduction in the likelihood of burnout, leading to more consistent and satisfactory academic outcomes.

How does the script suggest students should reflect on their learning techniques?

Students should schedule regular reflection times to critically evaluate the effectiveness of their techniques, consider how they complement each other, and identify areas for potential improvement.

Outlines

00:00

🔥 The Paradox of Motivation and Productivity

The first paragraph discusses the common misconception that taking a break is the best solution for burnout. It uses the metaphor of a student's journey towards a goal, highlighting the cycle of intense motivation, effort, and the potential for burnout. The speaker points out the flawed approach of linking motivation directly to productivity, which leads to an unstable performance and a dangerous cycle of frustration and demotivation. The key message is that motivation is multifaceted and fluctuates, and relying on it for productivity is not sustainable.

05:02

🌪️ The Dangers of Environmental Influence on Behavior

In the second paragraph, the script addresses the ineffectiveness of temporary solutions like yoga or meditation for burnout, as they do not address the root cause. It draws a parallel to substance addiction, explaining how behavior is heavily influenced by the environment. The speaker argues that returning to the same environment after a break will likely lead to a relapse into burnout. The focus shifts to the importance of decoupling productivity from motivation and identifying the underlying causes of burnout, such as the 'black box effect' in learning, which refers to the unknown processes that convert effort into results.

10:04

📚 Unpacking the Black Box of Learning Efficiency

The third paragraph delves into the 'black box effect' in studying, emphasizing the need to understand and optimize the learning process to achieve better results with less effort. It discusses the inefficiency of not knowing how learning works and the importance of meta-cognition, or understanding the learning process itself. The speaker encourages opening up the 'black box' to gain control and confidence over one's learning, which can lead to more predictable and satisfactory outcomes and reduce the risk of burnout.

15:05

🛠️ Crafting an Optimized Learning System

The fourth paragraph outlines a three-step process to prevent burnout: mapping out one's learning system, reflecting on its effectiveness, and experimenting with improvements. It stresses the importance of understanding and strategically using different techniques throughout the learning process. The speaker suggests regular reflection and experimentation to refine techniques and improve learning efficiency, leading to better results and reduced frustration.

20:06

🚀 The Continuous Journey of Self-Improvement

In the fifth paragraph, the speaker emphasizes the long-term commitment required to optimize one's learning system. They acknowledge the process is time-consuming but necessary, as without it, one is likely to face the same stress and burnout. The speaker encourages small but consistent improvements, using the metaphor of climbing a mountain, to create lasting change. They also address potential skepticism and highlight the importance of starting the process early to avoid regret.

25:08

🗣️ Student Testimonials: Personal Experiences with Burnout and Growth

The sixth paragraph presents testimonials from students who have experienced burnout and found success through the approach outlined in the video. They share their observations about the ineffectiveness of simply working harder and the benefits of understanding and improving their learning processes. The students discuss the importance of reflection and experimentation in their journey to becoming more efficient learners and achieving better results with less effort.

30:09

🎓 Embracing the Path to Consistent Academic Success

The seventh and final paragraph features a student who, despite appearing to not study as much as their peers, achieved good grades. They discuss the frustration of not understanding why some study methods worked while others did not, and the relief of finding a systematic approach to learning. This student's story illustrates the benefits of understanding the 'black box' of learning, leading to more consistent results and less uncertainty about academic performance.

Keywords

💡Burnout

Burnout refers to a state of chronic physical and emotional exhaustion, typically caused by excessive and prolonged stress. In the video, it is associated with the relentless pursuit of goals without a sustainable approach to work and study, leading to a decrease in motivation and energy. The script mentions that burnout can occur when one continually pushes themselves to achieve goals without addressing the underlying issues that cause this state.

💡Motivation

Motivation is the internal drive that influences a person's behavior towards a goal. The video discusses how motivation is influenced by multiple factors and is not constant, which can lead to fluctuations in productivity. It is a key concept as the video suggests decoupling productivity from motivation to achieve more consistent results.

💡Productivity

Productivity is the efficiency of an individual's work or the rate at which tasks are completed. The script talks about the dangers of coupling productivity with motivation, as the natural ebb and flow of motivation can lead to inconsistent productivity, which in turn can lead to feelings of failure and burnout.

💡Goal Setting

Goal setting is the process of identifying something one wishes to achieve. The video script uses goal setting as a narrative to describe the cycle of motivation and burnout, where individuals set ambitious goals, work tirelessly to achieve them, and then experience burnout if the goals are not met or if the process is unsustainable.

💡Sustainable

Sustainable refers to methods or practices that can be maintained over the long term without negative consequences. In the context of the video, sustainability is contrasted with the unhealthy habits that lead to burnout, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach to achieving goals.

💡Habits

Habits are regular patterns of behavior that are often automatic. The video suggests building good habits as a strategy to maintain productivity even when motivation fluctuates. It implies that habits can 'decouple' productivity from the ups and downs of motivation.

💡Metacognition

Metacognition is the awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes. The script encourages learning about metacognition to become the 'mechanic of your own brain,' allowing for better control and optimization of one's learning process, which is crucial for avoiding burnout.

💡Black Box Effect

The 'Black Box Effect' in the video refers to the lack of understanding of the processes that occur between effort and outcome, such as the steps involved in studying that lead to exam results. The video emphasizes the importance of opening this 'black box' to identify inefficiencies and waste in one's learning process.

💡Learning Theory

Learning theory encompasses the various psychological models and theories that explain how learning occurs. The script mentions the importance of understanding learning theory to optimize one's study techniques and to gain control over the learning process, which can help in avoiding burnout and achieving better results.

💡Reflection

Reflection involves thinking deeply about one's experiences, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The video script advocates for regular reflection on one's learning system as a means to identify areas of improvement and to experiment with new techniques, which can lead to a more efficient and less exhausting approach to learning.

💡Experimentation

Experimentation is the process of trying out new methods or ideas to see if they work better than existing approaches. The video encourages a cycle of reflection and experimentation with one's learning techniques, suggesting that this iterative process can lead to significant improvements in efficiency and reduce the risk of burnout.

Highlights

The conventional idea of taking a break to overcome burnout may not be the best approach.

High motivation and a structured schedule can lead to burnout if not sustainable.

The outcome of hard work can sometimes be demotivating and lead to a cycle of burnout.

Motivation is influenced by multiple factors and is not constant, affecting productivity.

Productivity should not be solely dependent on motivation to avoid burnout.

Behaviors are heavily influenced by the environment, which can lead to recurring burnout.

To avoid burnout, one must decouple motivation from productivity by building good habits.

Burnout is a symptom that requires addressing the underlying root cause.

The 'black box effect' refers to the unknown processes within studying that affect outcomes.

Understanding the 'black box' can lead to more control and confidence in learning.

Metacognition and learning about learning can help one become the mechanic of their own brain.

An optimized learning system can reduce study time and increase results.

Learning theory is complex, but understanding relevant parts can help improve one's learning process.

Mapping out one's learning system and understanding the techniques used is the first step to improvement.

Regular reflection on the learning system and its effectiveness is crucial.

Experimenting with learning techniques and reflecting on the outcomes leads to an optimized system.

Success in learning and avoiding burnout requires consistent effort and reflection, not just time investment.

Students' testimonials highlight the effectiveness of understanding and optimizing one's learning process.

Transcripts

what are you meant to do when you're

burnt out

take a break obviously

uh today we're gonna be talking about

why that may not actually be the best

idea now i want you to imagine this this

is the story of every burnt out student

you've got a goal in mind you are highly

motivated this big new sparkly goal

maybe it's to get a certain exam score

or get into a university that you want

maybe it's to get a promotion

and you're super motivated and you

channel all that motivation and energy

into creating a great schedule and this

awesome to-do list you're feeling good

you get down and you're studying and you

spend all day and all night studying you

do this again and again and the outcome

is potentially either good and that you

were able to reach a certain goal like

you got a test result that you wanted or

it was not so good and that you didn't

get the result or you did but at what

cost

maybe you sacrificed all of your friends

all of your hobbies and all of your

sleep to get that and that's not really

sustainable but as goals go there's

always the next goal so we set our

sights on this new goal goal number two

and again we're renewed with motivation

uh although if we didn't do so well we

may be feeling a little bit uncertain we

may be feeling a little bit anxious a

little bit insecure but either way we're

gonna double down we're gonna try even

harder we're not gonna let that sit back

slow us down no we are driven we're

motivated we're gonna push through to

reach this next goal we're gonna create

a new schedule a new to-do list we're

gonna study again all day all night

we're gonna repeat that and

hope that we get the right outcome but

what if you don't what if you

continually seem to get an outcome that

is just below what you wanted or far

below what you wanted

what if every time you achieve the

outcome it never feels like it's

sustainable that produces a lot of

frustration a lot of demotivation and it

frankly makes you very tired now this is

the way that most people go about trying

to achieve their goal however this is

not the best way to achieve it because

there is fundamentally a problem here

and that is that motivation and

productivity are coupled so here's what

that looks like we know based on

extensive research around motivation and

behavioral psychology that motivation is

influenced by multiple factors it's not

a a plus b equals c kind of equation

there are lots of components that

contribute towards your overall feeling

of motivation and there's extrinsic or

intrinsic motivation all these different

angles that we can take on it but

fundamentally because there are so many

things that influence motivation it is

essentially unheard of it doesn't really

happen to the human being for motivation

to stay

constant motivation is often not a

constant just plateaued thing motivation

goes up and it goes down that's just the

nature of human beings and so the

problem here is that if motivation is

going up and down then not only are we

feeling sometimes really hyped up on

some days and then on some days we're

not if our productivity is coupled to

that that means that our productivity is

also going up and going down as well

and so that is less desirable but here's

where it gets really dangerous is that

when your productivity is a little bit

lower let's say that this is the minimum

level of productivity that you would

need to achieve your goal then in these

areas we are actually not able to

achieve our goal and so what happens is

that here we experience what we might

consider a failure and what that will do

is that actually reduces our motivation

so instead of our motivation tracking

along like it did before

instead what's gonna happen is that we

have a little bit less motivation and so

we spend a little bit more time down

here which means that this is now

leading to failure and that reduces our

motivation even more and more and more

and so what happens is that because we

inherently

have motivation linked to our

productivity and because inherently

motivation goes up and down then

therefore productivity also goes up and

down and if our results aren't always

good that means that each failure can

reduce our level of motivation and so we

end up in the cycle this very dangerous

spiral where we're putting an effort and

we're trying and trying and trying but

we're not getting the result that we

want that demotivates us further that

causes us to put in more effort into a

system that is fundamentally not working

to our advantage and then our results

are not as good and so we are getting

you know worse and worse and worse our

motivation is still going up and down

but the overall trend is that it's

getting lower and lower and eventually

we just don't have enough energy left to

put in we don't have enough effort we're

too demotivated and we're entering into

a situation where we conventionally call

it burn out what happens

when you're already here what happens if

you've been riding this cycle and you've

been kind of just scraping by and

summoning all your will power on a daily

basis to scrape through and now you're

here rock bottom burnt out you can't

even be bothered getting up and thinking

about studying let alone actually going

and studying well this is a bad place to

be in and the best thing to do here is

to avoid getting here in the first place

however if you are already here

the conventional advice is usually to

take a break

to do some yoga

to do some meditation to pick up some

more hobbies and play some sports and

the thing is that all of these things

will help yes it will help you it will

help you to relax and recover and take a

break and reset

but it's not really going to solve the

problem see back when i worked as a

doctor in the hospital

one of the most common things that i

would see are people that have substance

addiction or smokers and it's part of

your duty to try to convince them not to

smoke or take these illicit substances

that may be bad for their bodies and

we knew and we've always known that when

you convince someone to stop engaging in

a certain type of behavior that if you

discharge them from hospital and they go

back and all of their friends are still

smoking or taking whatever substances

it's just a matter of time before they

pick up that habit again and so what we

know is that behaviors are really

heavily influenced by the environment

and similarly the way that we feel and

the situation that we're in has a strong

influence on the way that we will be

able to conduct ourselves the behaviors

we have the ability to engage in and the

way that that makes us feel so if you

hype yourself up you watch some

motivational videos you relax and you

you know go on a holiday for a few weeks

and then you come back into the same

environment in the same setting with all

the same pressures approaching things in

the same way that led to the burnout in

the first place it's just a matter of

time it's inevitable that you will just

burn out again and the problem really is

that

it's much faster the second time and

it's even faster the third time and it's

even faster the fourth and fifth and the

hundredth time to the point where you

take an entire month's off and you get

back into work and four days into your

first week you're already thinking i

need another holiday and i'm sure many

of you will be able to relate to that

and so there are two different

perspectives at looking at this kind of

problem here one is to fundamentally

decouple our sense of productivity from

motivation so that even if our

motivation is fluctuating up and down

we're able to keep our productivity

relatively high and this relies on us

building really good habits so that we

don't need motivation to be productive

we are unlinking the relationship

between motivation and productivity and

that is a very valid strategy to use and

i encourage you to use it it's what i

teach in my program it's what i talk

about in many of my other videos it's

one component of it however we're going

to talk about the other aspect of it

which is much less talked about which is

actually identifying the root cause

understanding that burnout is a symptom

and in order to address the symptom we

actually need to solve the underlying

root cause so what does that mean in the

context of studying and learning

well if we think about studying and

learning this is something that i

observe very commonly in my everyday

practice is this thing that is called

the black box effect the black box

effect refers to when there are things

that we do not understand that are a

critical part of how things work so for

example when it comes to studying we

understand that when we put an effort

and when we put in time and then we do

this thing that is called studying we

presume that we will get this outcome

for example our exam results however the

black box is everything in the middle

what is happening while we are studying

that converts the effort and time into

the exam results it's not just the more

effort and the more time you put in the

better your results are because then the

people with the greatest results would

consistently just be the people that

study the most or put in the most effort

and that's not the case there are plenty

of people that are trying very hard and

putting in lots of time more than other

people that are still not getting the

top results likewise there are people

that are putting in very little time and

getting great results i used to be

the first one putting in heaps of time

to overcompensate to get the results and

now i'm the second putting in as little

time as possible achieving actually even

better results

so uncovering and opening up this black

box and understanding where effort and

time is wasted allows us to have more

control

over the outcome because we could put an

effort in time and maybe while we are

studying in our brain and cognitively

from a learning point of view maybe this

is what's happening and so in order for

us to get that result we need to put in

so much time and effort because there's

so much waste we're going on detours

we're going back and forth and we're not

using our brain or our processes in the

most efficient way whereas maybe we

could make it a little bit more like

this

and therefore get the same result but

we're translating that much more

effectively across and so opening up

this black box is what allows us to have

more control over the situation and with

control comes confidence because we

don't have to be anxious about whether

we're going to get the exam result or

not you see

the reason that a lot of students find

that they are anxious about their exams

and they're not sure whether they're

going to do well or not is because they

don't know how this effort is going to

translate into the result they're always

thinking is this enough have i studied

enough what if they asked this question

what if they asked about this i didn't

study this part in depth there's all

these question marks around whether

they're going to get that result because

they're not sure if the studying that

they did was sufficient because they're

not even sure what boxes need to be

checked in order for it to have been

sufficient in the first place and it's

actually frankly very difficult to get a

grasp of that without knowing a little

bit more around how learning actually

works and so this is the thing i preach

constantly for people to learn a little

bit more about the metacognition the

thinking behind the thinking learning

about learning because it allows you to

be the mechanic of your own brain it

allows you to problem solve and fix and

have control you don't have to have

anxiety because it's what if this and

then what if this you know what will

happen it's predictable what the outcome

is going to be because you know what it

took you know what processes are in play

and if something goes wrong you at least

know why it went wrong

rather than having an exam result

getting the result back and then

thinking man i thought i was going to do

really well i ticked all the boxes in my

own head however the result is not

whatever i expected and then that's very

confusing and if you tried really hard

and you spent lots of time studying for

this exam this is very demotivating and

this is very frustrating so opening up

this black box allows us to influence

more control here it allows us to

optimize the process it allows us to see

where we're wasting time and wasting

energy and ultimately refine the system

so that we're able to use our time more

effectively and therefore fundamentally

make it so that our results are going to

be better that we are not putting in

time and effort and then being

frustrated from it and therefore it's

not having a detrimental effect on our

motivation because we are changing the

approach that we are using we are

fundamentally less likely to burn out in

the first place because if you think

about it if you imagine that you're

right in there and you are traveling

along this windy windy path to try to

get to your result

how many people are going to be

motivated doing that how many people are

out there that are going to be motivated

going through this windy torturous path

to get to the result every single time

they sit down and study

not many in fact it's incredibly rare

it's weird actually to go through a

process like this and actually feel

hyped up and motivated and enjoying the

process the only way you can

fundamentally change the game is if you

change the way that you're approaching

it and you change the strategies that

you're using so if you're burnt out and

you're spending some time and energy

doing something yes you can take a break

allow yourself to recover

but don't just blindly put yourself back

in the same situation that created the

problem in the first place instead use

that time invest time into your future

in changing your approach and the way

that you do that is opening up this

black box and the way you open up this

black box is by learning more about how

learning works you have to understand a

little bit more about the learning

theory how learning happens in the brain

and how your techniques stack up against

it but the thing is that learning is not

straightforward in fact it's incredibly

complicated so to learn everything that

you need to know about how learning

works is frankly

not possible for most average students

and i know someone's going to probably

write here in the comments under this

video saying so how does learning work

well it will probably be hundreds and

hundreds of pages hundreds of thousands

if not millions of words to write out a

full report of all the ways that

learning works because it's one of the

most complicated processes that we know

that occurs in the human body as you can

see here from this diagram there are

lots of components that are interacting

with each other and this is just the

basic outline and already there is a lot

to go through but just because there is

an insurmountable amount that you need

to know

doesn't mean that you can't start the

process and still gain knowledge and

information that can legitimately help

you right now because you don't need to

know everything to help you you just

need to know what's going to be relevant

for you right now that's a journey that

all my students running through my

program are going through

so here are three steps that you should

take if you want to never get burnt out

again first of all and number one map

out your learning system what i mean by

learning system is not just here's a

technique here's another technique it's

about how do the different techniques

that you use complement each other to

produce a singular unified purpose the

techniques that you use

during class the way you write your

notes when you revise how you revise and

review your material how you prepare for

your exams the techniques that you use

at each of these stages should be

strategic they should complement each

other now for most people they're not

aware of exactly what techniques they're

using they don't know why they're using

it other than the fact that someone told

them to and that's what they've done in

the past but you have to be very

critical about this we have to

understand what techniques are we're

using and why are we using it

if the only reason we're doing it is

because that's what everyone says you

should do then you really need to think

about that very carefully because if

you're doing the same thing that

everyone else is doing you can't really

expect to get a result that everyone

else isn't getting and again if you're

really early on in your academic stages

like junior high school maybe or like

primary intermediate then yeah you can

maybe get away with uh just putting in

more effort and trying harder than the

people around you and yeah you can maybe

get to the top but at a certain point

especially senior high school university

college especially competitive programs

and definitely so in professional life

when you're trying to aim for the top a

lot of people are trying very very hard

and it's hard to differentiate yourself

with effort alone and if you're trying

to do that you're gonna have to

sacrifice more than is necessary i'm not

saying don't work hard but i'm saying

work smart first and then when you work

hard it's going to be an unbeatable

combination so start off by noting down

all the techniques that you use as many

as you can think of the ones that you

are actually using obviously not just

the ones that you've heard of and have

planned to use i'm talking about the

techniques that you genuinely truly use

in everyday life from the moment you

consume your first piece of information

all the way through to your assessment

if you have one and start thinking about

why you use each technique that you do

and whether you know enough of the

learning theory behind it to see if it's

well and truly supported or not the

answer to that question for most people

for most of your techniques will be i

don't know why i use this technique and

that is fine because it's the beginning

of the process and you can now go on the

journey of learning more about each of

these techniques and therefore you can

start optimizing and modifying them but

it's perfectly normal to know absolutely

nothing about this at the beginning

that's exactly where i started from as

well the only difference is i didn't

have a youtube channel where i teach the

learning theory to make it easier for me

to learn off of because you know like

time travel reasons it's not possible so

the second thing that you want to ask

yourself is not just why am i using this

but also how do each of these techniques

complement each other and again the

answer may be either that they don't

complement each other or i have no idea

and again that's fine it just means

there's lots of things for you to learn

about but on the other hand there are

that many opportunities for you to

improve the second thing you want to do

is start scheduling 20 minutes every

three days or just twice a week during

your weekdays where you are reflecting

very critically on the learning system

that you're using now that you've mapped

out the techniques and it may take you a

few weeks just to figure out what

techniques you even use if you've never

thought about this before that's totally

normal too once you've mapped it out we

need to start reflecting on how

effective these techniques actually are

are they working for us are they

producing the desired result at the end

of using each of these techniques what

is the outcome that i expect and what is

the outcome that i actually gain from it

this is very important because it allows

us to break up an entire learning system

into individual components a lot of the

time people look at their learning

system as this one big chunk and they

say it's good enough it's working for me

because i'm able to get these results

however most of those results may be

coming from just one or two components

of their technique they could capitalize

on that turn them into huge strengths

and get rid of all the rest to increase

their efficiency so it's important that

we think about each component of our

learning system and how that affects the

outcomes that we get because that opens

up into the next thing which is to start

experimenting and reflecting on the

experiments every three days so now not

only are we thinking about how each

component interacts with each other

we're also thinking about how we can

modify that component we can learn a

little bit more theory about that

particular component we can watch some

of the youtube videos uploaded by this

very generous learning coach who puts

things out there for free despite

getting hate all over the internet

called justin sung

or you could go and read some research

articles and just you know waste away

your life like

a certain youtuber also called justin

sung did or you can save yourself all of

the hassle and have a nice streamlined

program of development like joining my

course where you can check out the link

in the description below either way

however you're gonna do it you now have

certain components about your learning

system that you know that you need to

get more information about so you need

to go and learn more about that

component you need to learn a little bit

more about the theory behind how that

technique is meant to work and what

result you're meant to get out of that

and as you learn more you're going to

have more ideas on how i can modify it

okay so this technique is meant to

activate this cognitive effect so maybe

if i instead of writing out my notes

here and then transferring it over here

maybe if i start by having an

intermediate step that would allow me to

activate this cognitive effect more

effectively okay we can try that and the

best part about this is that there's no

real risk because you're only going to

be experimenting with one or two little

ideas at any given time worst case

scenario you do it for a few days it's

not as effective and you've wasted 15 20

minutes but if it does work that's a

game changer that means you're one step

closer to having a truly optimized

individualized learning system that is

tailored for high efficiency and so step

three is really just bringing all of

that together again and reflecting on

the experiments that we've made so step

one and step two is giving us the tools

and the resources to engage in this

cycle of reflection and experimentation

step three is about looking at the

results from our experiment feeding that

into the next one and saying okay was it

a success or was it a failure if it

worked great we implement that if there

was a failure then why how can we modify

things in a different way we could go

back and we could work on a different

component or maybe we want to keep going

down this particular pathway this is the

exact process that i did tens of

thousands of times for several years

teaching students what i was learning

and discovering as well and that is what

allowed me to create an extremely

optimized learning system that allowed

me to cut down my study hours from 20

hours a day down to one to two hours a

day and get even better results it's

what's allowed me to finish my masters

in

a tenth of the recommended time it's

what allowed me to work full-time while

studying full-time but it's not a single

step

it is the culmination of thousands and

thousands of iterations and you may say

at this point

justin that sounds all good in theory

but it just takes too long

and you're right it does take a long

time doesn't it and to that i just have

to say that there's actually no

alternative you see if you don't engage

in this process you will inevitably end

up with the same results that you may

have always gotten which may be

increasing stress it's getting harder

every year you're less able to deal with

the challenges every year and you're

constantly cycling in and out of burnout

because your approach your strategy your

method and process is inevitably leading

you to that outcome and unless you

change that you can't expect the outcome

to change and this is something that i

think really characterizes someone that

is successful they're willing to do the

difficult work and the difficult work is

not just putting in more hours and time

anyone can do that the difficult thing

is the time and the effort spent on

evaluating critiquing going through this

process that other people are not

willing to go through reaching just one

percent gains every single day until you

get to the point where you can look back

and you realize you're at the top of the

mountain while everyone else hasn't even

bothered to start climbing because it

looks too high if you think it's going

to take too long it just means you

should have started earlier some

students that i work with will hear a

message like this and they will still

put it off for a few years and then once

they've racked up enough regret they

will then engage in this process and

it's still going to take them just as

long

all they did is waste a few years in

between now do you have to engage in

this process no you can succeed without

engaging in this process if you are

extremely extremely lucky and i'm

talking like you are selected by the

universe like you are you know like the

neo of the world we're living in a

simulation you're the one that's going

to set us free if you're that person the

once in a generation genius uh that just

the stars are lined for then you

probably don't need to do much to

succeed

but for all of us mere mortals who don't

want to rely on having universe level

luck and plot armor we probably need to

engage in a safer process and that is

this now i know that this might seem

quite logical and intuitive for you to

do but you also might be a little bit

skeptical or cautious because it's a new

method of tackling something like

burnout that other people don't often

talk about and you'll probably realize

if you watch my other videos that i tend

to talk about things in a different way

and frankly that's just because i live

and breathe this stuff it's literally my

job to work with people to solve issues

like this and there's a lot of things

that i've realized from my years of

experience so let's talk now to a couple

of students that have been in your type

of situation before and get a

perspective on how this type of approach

changed things for them so that you

don't have to just believe me you can

see it from other people that have been

in your exact situation but before that

i mentioned my program so if you're

interested in learning this type of

stuff as well as a lot of other

strategies for learning more effectively

managing your time procrastinating less

developing more self-management skills

an end-to-end process all those little

things that i went through years and

thousands of iterations of trial and

error to figure out package neatly in a

way that you can learn and develop for

yourself then check the link you can

join my full program it's a entire

guided incubation program that is

designed to fundamentally retrain the

way that you think and approach

different tasks like studying like time

management like task management and

prioritization so that you can become a

little bit more efficient i can

guarantee you it is going to be the

fastest way for you to make

long lasting transformative changes that

stay after you're finished that don't

require you to constantly be coming back

to a course or asking someone questions

how to do something it's about producing

a change that's going to last but anyway

let's now see what these students have

to say so throughout high school i

definitely observed a lot of friends who

would study a lot and grind endlessly in

order to achieve a certain goal and i

noticed that a lot of them didn't

necessarily know what processes they

were using or what techniques they were

actually experimenting with to get to

that you know particular goal and what i

saw was a lot of people would pretty

much lose motivation they would you know

take a break as many people say but then

it didn't necessarily get them better um

or better equipped to actually you know

face the goal because it basically made

like they were basically doing the same

thing again so nothing really changed

whereas i guess for me like initially

like i wasn't actually that successful

for like pursuing my personal goals but

then like after i kind of learned more

about like how learning works and like

how like you know life kind of works in

terms of productivity i was able to kind

of improve and reflect upon my

experiences more and that meant that i

was able to essentially produce like a

better version of myself every single

cycle of reflection and experimentation

so eventually i was able to be like a

much better equipped learner and more

able to tackle my particular goals than

i was like a year ago let's say from

starting the goal well i guess i it's

like a similar thing for me as well um a

lot of my friends would kind of run into

the same thing and problem and then

we'll kind of like repeat and repeat um

but i think one of the things that

worked very well for me is that when it

comes to finding solution to a problem i

definitely don't want to be doing the

same thing again but the really ironic

thing is like in the people who were

kind of you know often being the person

who burnt out they'd always repeat and

do the exact same thing so when it comes

to kind of like this approach where you

know always reflecting on how you can

improve yourself each day that's

something that i specifically did even

just in my year 12 and year 11

experience because i really don't want

to be doing the exact same thing because

that just has a higher chance of having

the same kind of result as well in year

nine i started to realize that i really

wanted to get higher grades and so i did

the typical thing of just like study

your guts away essentially um and so uh

year ten i basically studied every

minute outside of extracurriculars and

co-curriculars and such i didn't really

play video games much anymore and that

was something i really enjoyed and by

the end of it i got the grades that i

wanted and eventually became ducks but

then i quickly realized that for the

amount of effort that i had to kind of

put in to make that possible it kind of

really wasn't being reflected so much in

my results like i was still getting you

know high a's and a pluses but i was

really expecting just you know kind of

get near top all marks and and all a

pluses and so essentially what happened

is by the end of the whole year because

everything was kind of writing on the

end of your exams as well um essentially

straight after the exams were done i was

just like fully exhausted

and i still remember that

kind of the week afterwards my parents

were genuinely concerned because every

other holidays and such i'd try to just

go ahead and play video games but in

this instance i was basically just

trying to sleep and sleep and like pass

time um for as long as i could until i

guess my results came back

which is something that i haven't really

experienced much of before um

but that kind of told me that you know

looking at year 11 and year 12 i had to

do something different entirely

otherwise it was just going to be like

way worse a lot of the time when you do

actually get the results you want to

just get so badly it becomes

overwhelming and that kind of added to

the feelings that i had in year 10 where

it's like you know oh i got it but there

was so much attic expense for that to

occur making it just overwhelming in

general underwhelming it as well so i

think for myself i was one of those

students that really annoyed the rest of

my badge because it seemed like i wasn't

studying as much as they were my

classmates really worked very hard

putting in lots of hours of study and

here i was seemingly fooling around and

getting as good or even better grades

and the thing that actually affected me

quite a lot was when a lot of people

made comments although it seemed like i

wasn't putting in as much effort and

most of the time i'll be getting good

grades there were plenty of occasions

where i didn't get those good grades and

it felt quite

unsettling because i couldn't explain

why i couldn't explain why i was getting

good grades and i had no idea why it

wasn't working so having that black box

of not knowing where i went wrong or

where i even went right was a bit

troubling to know because i had no idea

what to do or where to go from here

that's why when i started learning about

how learning actually works and seeing

in theory where i might have gone wrong

or what actually might have led to the

success it actually helped me to produce

more consistent results rather than just

like flipping a coin and praying that

somehow i get good results

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you