How to Force Your Brain to Study (when you don't feel like it)

Summary

The 'Ladder Method' is a learning technique designed to overcome the mental barriers that hinder studying, especially when feeling tired or overwhelmed. By breaking down complex subjects into manageable, low-effort rungs, the method helps to organize information and build understanding incrementally. It involves identifying easy-to-understand concepts, comparing them with known information, and deciding where they fit within a structured framework. This approach not only makes studying more manageable but also more efficient, as each rung of the ladder requires the same level of effort, leading to a stronger foundation and reduced procrastination.

Takeaways

• 📚 The 'Ladder Method' is a learning technique used to overcome the reluctance to study, especially when feeling tired or burnt out.
• 🧠 Our brain is energy-efficient and tends to avoid unnecessary energy consumption, which can make studying feel overwhelming due to the mental effort required.
• 💡 The brain processes new information by understanding, comparing it to existing knowledge, and deciding where to store it, which is energy-intensive.
• 🔍 The 'Ladder Method' involves breaking down the learning material into manageable parts or 'rungs' of low effort to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
• 📈 The first rung of the ladder focuses on identifying low-effort content that is easy to understand and compare with known information.
• 📝 Nonlinear note-taking and highlighting can be used to track thoughts and focus on important parts of the material during the ladder method.
• 🕒 Each rung of the ladder method is designed to be of low effort and progressively builds on the previous rung, making learning easier over time.
• 🔑 The technique works well because it maintains consistent effort across each rung, dividing the workload into manageable parts.
• 🎯 The method can be applied to projects or assignments as well, starting with easy high-level planning and progressively adding more detail.
• 🚀 Regular use of the ladder method can change one's perception of studying, making it less daunting and reducing the likelihood of procrastination.
• 🌟 The script suggests that while the ladder method is powerful, there is more to effective learning, hinting at the existence of other techniques.

Q & A

What is the 'ladder method' mentioned in the script?

The 'ladder method' is a learning technique used to break down complex topics into manageable parts, each requiring low effort, making it easier to study and retain information even when feeling overwhelmed or tired.

Why does the brain feel overwhelmed when faced with studying a large amount of information?

The brain feels overwhelmed because it has to organize new information, which is an energy-consuming process. It has to understand, analyze, and decide where the new information fits in relation to what is already known, and trying to do all three at once can be daunting.

How does the brain use energy while learning?

The brain uses energy to understand new information (through reading or listening), compare it with what is already known, and decide where to store the information based on its relation to existing knowledge.

What is the purpose of breaking down a topic into different 'rungs' of effort in the ladder method?

The purpose is to make each study session manageable and low-effort, allowing the learner to progressively build on their knowledge without feeling overwhelmed. Each rung focuses on easier parts of the topic, making it easier to continue studying.

How does the ladder method help in reducing the feeling of being overwhelmed when studying?

The ladder method reduces the feeling of being overwhelmed by dividing the study material into smaller, low-effort parts. This allows the brain to focus on one aspect at a time, making the learning process less daunting and more achievable.

What is the significance of the 'marbles and cups' analogy used in the script?

The 'marbles and cups' analogy represents how the brain organizes new information. Marbles are facts or concepts, and cups are categories or areas of knowledge. The brain has to decide which cup each marble belongs to, which is a mental effort that can be overwhelming without a structured approach like the ladder method.

How does the speaker use nonlinear note-taking in the ladder method?

The speaker uses nonlinear note-taking to track thoughts and ideas while going through the material. This helps in identifying low-effort parts of the topic and building a scaffold for further learning.

What is the speaker's experience with using the ladder method while working full-time and studying for a Masters degree?

The speaker successfully used the ladder method to study for a full-time Masters degree while also working full-time and running a business. They managed to graduate at the top of their cohort, highlighting the effectiveness of the ladder method.

How can the ladder method be applied to projects or assignments?

The ladder method can be applied to projects or assignments by starting with easy, high-level planning and progressively getting more detailed with each rung of the ladder, similar to how it is used for studying complex topics.

What is the secret to why the ladder method works so well according to the script?

The secret to the ladder method's effectiveness is that each rung requires the same amount of effort as the last, making every study session easy. As the learner progresses, the foundation becomes stronger, making it easier to understand and organize new information.

How does the ladder method impact procrastination and the perception of studying?

The ladder method can make studying seem less daunting, reducing procrastination. As the brain realizes that studying is manageable and not as hard as initially perceived, it becomes less likely to put off studying.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Ladder Method for Overcoming Study Procrastination

The speaker introduces the 'Ladder Method', a study technique used to overcome the reluctance to study, especially when feeling tired or burnt out. This method has been instrumental in the speaker's success, allowing them to study effectively while managing a full-time job and a business, as well as completing a Masters program at the top of their class. The speaker explains the brain's tendency to avoid unnecessary energy consumption, which can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed when faced with the task of studying. The brain's energy efficiency is highlighted, with a focus on how it organizes new information into memory, which is an energy-intensive process. The speaker uses a metaphor of marbles and cups to illustrate how the brain categorizes new information, and how the absence of a structured approach can lead to mental exhaustion and procrastination. The Ladder Method is presented as a solution to break down the study process into manageable steps, each requiring low effort, thus making the task of studying less daunting.

05:02

🔍 Implementing the Ladder Method for Incremental Learning

The speaker details the implementation of the Ladder Method, which involves breaking down the study material into 'rungs' of effort, with each rung representing a low-effort step. The process begins with identifying low-effort content that is easy to understand, compare, and organize. The speaker uses nonlinear note-taking and highlighting to track progress and focus on key areas, creating a scaffold for further learning. As the speaker progresses through each rung, they build upon this scaffold, gradually adding more detail and refining their understanding. The second rung of the ladder involves revisiting the material with a focus on deeper understanding and refining the initial general comprehension. The speaker emphasizes that each rung requires the same amount of effort as the previous one, making each study session manageable and the learning process cumulatively easier as the foundation of knowledge strengthens. The technique is also applicable to projects and assignments, starting with high-level planning and progressively adding detail with each rung. The speaker concludes by explaining that the Ladder Method can transform one's approach to studying, making it less of a chore and more of a structured, incremental process.

10:03

🎓 The Impact of the Ladder Method on Learning Habits

In the final paragraph, the speaker discusses the broader impact of the Ladder Method on learning habits. They mention that once the brain becomes accustomed to this method, studying becomes less daunting, reducing the likelihood of procrastination. The speaker also hints at the existence of additional learning techniques beyond the Ladder Method, suggesting that there is more to effective learning than just this one technique. They encourage viewers to explore further by watching the next recommended video by YouTube's algorithm, which they humorously acknowledge as knowing the viewers better than they know themselves. The speaker thanks the audience for watching and teases the next video, leaving the audience with a sense of curiosity and anticipation for more learning strategies.

Keywords

💡Ladder Method

The Ladder Method is a learning technique described in the video that helps overcome the reluctance to study when feeling tired or burnt out. It involves breaking down the study material into manageable parts, each requiring low effort, and tackling them one at a time. This method is central to the video's theme of efficient learning and is exemplified by the speaker's personal experience of studying while working full-time and running a business.

💡Learning Science

Learning Science refers to the study of how people learn and the factors that influence the learning process. In the video, the speaker uses the Ladder Method as an application of learning science principles to enhance their study efficiency. It is mentioned as part of the speaker's educational journey, indicating its relevance to the overall theme of effective learning strategies.

💡Energy Consumption

Energy Consumption in the context of the video refers to the mental effort and energy the brain uses during the learning process. The brain, being the most energy-consuming organ, tends to avoid tasks that require high mental effort, such as studying. The video explains how the Ladder Method can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed by breaking down the learning process into less energy-intensive tasks.

💡Information Organization

Information Organization is a crucial part of learning and memory formation, as described in the video. It involves the brain's process of understanding, analyzing, and categorizing new information. The Ladder Method helps in organizing information by simplifying the process into low-effort tasks, making it easier for the brain to manage and thus reducing the mental effort required.

💡Mental Effort

Mental Effort is the cognitive work the brain performs when learning new information. The video script describes how the brain groups new facts or concepts (represented as marbles) into categories (cups) based on similarities, which requires mental effort. The Ladder Method reduces mental effort by breaking the learning process into smaller, less daunting tasks.

💡Overwhelm

Overwhelm is the feeling of being excessively burdened or stressed, often leading to procrastination or avoidance of tasks. In the video, the speaker explains that the brain feels overwhelmed when faced with the prospect of organizing a large amount of information at once. The Ladder Method combats this feeling by simplifying the task into smaller, more manageable steps.

💡Nonlinear Note Taking

Nonlinear Note Taking is a method of recording information in a way that does not follow a traditional linear structure. The speaker mentions using this technique alongside the Ladder Method to track thoughts and ideas while studying. It is an example of an alternative learning strategy that can complement the Ladder Method.

💡Scaffold

A Scaffold in the context of the video is a metaphor for the foundation of knowledge that the learner builds upon with each step of the Ladder Method. The speaker uses the term to describe the process of gradually adding more information and understanding to their existing knowledge base, making the learning process more structured and less overwhelming.

💡Rungs of the Ladder

Rungs of the Ladder represent the individual steps or stages in the Ladder Method. Each rung involves focusing on low-effort tasks that build upon the previous ones, gradually increasing in detail and complexity. The video script uses this term to illustrate how the learning process can be broken down into manageable parts, making it easier to tackle and less likely to cause overwhelm.

💡Effort Distribution

Effort Distribution refers to the way the Ladder Method spreads out the mental effort required for learning across multiple sessions or stages. The video explains that by dividing the learning task into rungs, each requiring the same amount of effort, the process becomes more approachable and less daunting, which is key to the method's effectiveness.

💡Procrastination

Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing tasks or actions. The video suggests that by making studying less overwhelming through the Ladder Method, learners can become less likely to procrastinate. It highlights the psychological impact of the method in reducing the tendency to put off studying.

Highlights

Introduction of the 'ladder method' for studying even when one is not in the mood.

Use of the ladder method while working as a doctor and running a business, as well as in a full-time Masters program.

Explanation of why we feel overwhelmed by the thought of studying and how the brain conserves energy.

The brain's process of organizing information, comparing it with known facts, and the energy it consumes.

The ladder method breaks down the study material into manageable parts based on effort required.

Nonlinear note-taking and highlighting as part of the ladder method to track thoughts and focus.

Skipping parts of the textbook that require too much effort at the beginning stages of the ladder method.

Building a scaffold of understanding with the parts of the material that are easy to grasp.

The second rung of the ladder involves going deeper into the material with a focus on refining understanding.

Each rung of the ladder method requires the same amount of effort, making study sessions manageable.

The technique helps in making sense of the material as the foundation and structure become stronger with each rung.

Application of the ladder method to projects and assignments, starting with easy high-level planning.

The ladder method reduces the tendency to procrastinate by making studying feel less daunting.

Invitation to learn more techniques in the speaker's full guided program.

The ladder method is a game changer for those who have never tried studying in this way.

Encouragement to watch the next recommended YouTube video for more insights on learning.

Transcripts

there is a method of learning that I've

been using for years to force my brain

to study even when I don't feel like it

especially on days where I am feeling

tired and burnt out it's called the

ladder method I use this method to study

learning science while working as a

doctor full-time while running a

business I also use this for my

full-time Masters again while I was

working full-time and I managed to

graduate at the top of my cohort it's

probably one of the most used useful

techniques that I use on a daily basis

anyone can use including you and I show

you how it works on something like this

beefy textbook but first we have to

understand why we don't feel like

learning in the first place and once you

understand that the ladder method will

make a lot of sense now there's a reason

that we don't feel overwhelmed at the

thought of tying our shoelaces or

walking 20 steps but we might get

overwhelmed at the thought of climing an

entire Mountain even though walking a

few steps and tying your shoes are the

first steps of climbing a mountain

what's happening is that our brain is

making a judgment on how hard something

is going to be and how much effort and

energy it's going to require our brain

uses a lot of energy it's the most

energy consuming organ in our body

consuming 20% of our resting energy so

it is incredibly efficient at avoiding

unnecessary energy intake now when it

comes to study in one of the most energy

consuming things that your brain has to

do and therefore doesn't want to do is

to organize information it's a crucial

part of forming memory and developing

understanding so here's how that works

imagine these marbles represent new

information each marble is a fact or

concept that you need to learn and these

cups represent how your brain is trying

to organize it whenever you learn

something new your brain has to look at

it

understand it analyze it and make a

decision about which cup it belongs in

it looks at how similar it is to what is

already inside these cups and it groups

this information based on similarities

and all of this thinking takes energy

and we feel that as mental effort our

brain is working and once it figures out

where it belongs and then it organizes

it then the mental effort goes down cuz

it's stored away and this process

repeats with the next piece of

information it looks at makes a decision

and then decides where we want to store

it and then we repeat this process until

our learning

is

complete so then what part of this makes

our brain feel overwhelmed so that we

don't feel like studying well imagine if

I didn't have any cups at all

now instead of picking up a piece of

information looking at it and asking

ourselves which Cup Does It Go in we

have to ask ourselves how many cups do I

need which cup should I get what are the

alternative options what else do I need

to put into this hypothetical cup and

then what am I meant to do if uh a few

more pieces of information later I

realize that that was wrong after all I

don't know what other options there are

because I've only got this one piece of

information to work with and trying to

figure out all of that takes much more

effort and energy which creates the I

don't want to study feeling so there are

three main ways that your brain uses

lots of energy while learning first is

to just understand what it is consuming

reading listening to the second is to

compare it with what you already know

and then the third is to decide where

it's going to put that information where

does it belong based on how similar it

is or how related it is to the things

that you just compared it to and trying

to do all three of these things at once

while you're learning creates overwhelm

and is going to be very daunting so what

do we do instead so let's say that I

want to study this chapter in this

textbook immediately I look through this

and I feel like man there's a lot to

cover I feel like this going going to

require a lot of work I'm getting

overwhelmed and now I don't want to

study this is where the ladder method

comes in based on the ladder method we

are going to be breaking up this topic

this chapter based on different rungs of

effort and each rung on the ladder is

low effort so let me show you this

here's what I'm doing during this I'm

going through the textbook and I'm

looking for the things that are low

effort I'm saying what are the things

that feel easy for me to understand that

I can easy compare with the things that

I already know and that I can easily

think about and how the topic might be

organized I'm also using some nonlinear

note taking to track my thoughts which I

talk about in some other videos I'm also

highlighting the parts that I actually

focused on just for you to be able to

see at the end of this I wouldn't

normally highlight anything when I'm

doing this just a nonlinear notes is

fine you'll be able to see that but I'm

just trying to show you what I am

focusing on and what I am either skim

reading or just compl completely

skipping because I think it would take

too much effort to try to understand or

compare or to organize by the way don't

worry this is an old ass textbook uh

with highlighting all over the place

already uh I'm not ruining a new book

okay so as you can see I have skipped

basically you know like most things if

you look at the parts that are

highlighted most of it has been skipped

you know it's pretty bare however I have

managed to with just the parts that I

focused on build a pretty decent

scaffold for me to work off of and so

this topic has become a little bit

easier for me now than it would have

been 10 15 minutes ago so if I'm really

tired I can call that a day I can end on

that rung or the ladder and I can pick

up the second rung another day or if I

want to I can just do the second rung

now and on the second rung I'm going to

do exactly the same thing I'm going to

look for the things that feel easier and

feel lower effort I'm going to build on

my scaffold and build up on my knowledge

but the difference is that it's going to

take a little bit longer each successive

rung on the ladder takes a little bit

longer because now more things make

sense to us than they did before and

we're probably ready to go into a little

bit more detail having said that it is

still low effort because now I've

established some of those major cups I

need to fill so let's now do the second

rung

[Music]

[Music]

all righty and that was about 35 minutes

that I spent on that so you can see the

second rung took a little longer I was

able to get through more detail what was

surprising in a way is that the second

rung when I went through it there wasn't

a lot more stuff that I felt like I was

going through but it was more like I was

just going through the same ideas but

deeper and really figuring it out and

you can see that a lot of the time was

spent on just organizing the information

so you can see of the ways that our

brain can use energy before I was using

a lot of that energy on just trying to

understand things and put things

together in a very general rough way

again just figuring out maybe how many

cups I need roughly and in the second

rung I'm now refining that I'm spending

more of their energy not on just

understanding but now really on just

making sure those decisions and those

compar are correct so same amount of

effort just used in a different way

depending on the rung now the third time

I go through it should be enough to

cover off this topic I'd be going

through a little bit more of those

details either adding them to my map or

adding them to flash cards depending on

the type of information most topics I

find you generally can get through all

of it in just three rungs of the ladder

and so here's the secret as to why this

technique works so well it's because

each rung takes the same effort as the

last rung and I'm splitting all the work

that I need to do for this topic into

each rung it makes every study session

easy cuz we're just not letting

ourselves spend time on things that are

hard but also it gets easier the more

you do it even though with each rung

we're covering more content and more

detail it's easier to make sense of it

because our cups and our structure and

our foundations are so strong the more

you learn the easier it gets you can

also the same approach for projects or

assignments as well where you start with

the easy high level planning first and

you progressively get more and more

detailed with each rung of the ladder

now this is just one type of way that

you can use the ladder method and there

are so many other applications of this

principle that I teach in my full guided

program but for someone who has never

tried studying like this it is a

complete Game Changer by the way if you

are interested in my program you can

check out the link in the description

there's this technique and dozens of

other techniques that you can learn once

you start using this ladder method a

couple of times your brain will realize

hey studying isn't that bad and it will

make you less likely to put things off

and less likely to procrastinate and

although this technique is amazing there

is a lot more to learning than just the

latter method so make sure to check out

this video next which YouTube thinks you

will like and as we all know the YouTube

algorithm knows us better than we know

ourselves anyway thanks for watching and

I'll see you in the next one