I Taught 2000 People How To Study. Here's What Actually Worked
Summary
TLDRThe video script introduces the 'Broken Barrel' approach to learning, a strategy that has helped thousands reduce study time while maintaining excellence. It contrasts the ineffective 'Silver Bullet' method with a personalized approach focusing on individual strengths and weaknesses. The speaker emphasizes the importance of identifying and improving upon the five dimensions of learning: deep processing, self-regulation, mindset, retrieval, and self-management. A free quiz is offered to assess these dimensions and guide learners in applying the Broken Barrel method for effective study habits.
Takeaways
- 📚 The 'Broken Barrel' approach is a personalized learning strategy that focuses on identifying and improving one's weakest learning links first.
- 🔍 The 'Silver Bullet' approach, seeking a single best study technique, is ineffective because there is no one-size-fits-all solution for learning.
- 🧠 Deep processing is the ability to understand and extract meaningful learning from information, which is crucial for forming stronger memories and solving complex problems.
- 🤔 Self-regulation involves awareness of one's learning methods and the ability to adjust them to achieve goals, which is often a common weakness.
- 💡 Mindset is the response to stress, challenges, and mistakes, and it's critical for learning to learn as it involves trial and error.
- 🔄 Retrieval is the process of recalling and testing what has been learned, which is important for filling gaps in memory and improving fluency.
- 🕒 Self-management involves time management, prioritization, focus, and avoiding procrastination, often a frustrating dimension to fix.
- 🔑 Each of the five dimensions of learning (deep processing, self-regulation, mindset, retrieval, self-management) is equally important and a limitation in any one can hinder overall learning.
- 📉 The 'strengths first' approach, focusing on enhancing natural talents, isn't as effective in learning as addressing weaknesses because learning is often limited by the weakest link.
- 📈 The speaker offers a free quiz to assess learning strengths and weaknesses, which can help identify areas for improvement more accurately than generic techniques.
- 🚀 Personalized learning strategies, like the 'Broken Barrel' approach, are more effective than generic ones because they target individual learning weaknesses.
Q & A
What is the 'Broken Barrel' approach mentioned in the script?
-The 'Broken Barrel' approach is a learning strategy that focuses on identifying and improving the weakest links in one's learning process. It suggests that instead of focusing on strengths, learners should address their weaknesses first to enhance their overall learning ability.
Why is the 'Silver Bullet' approach ineffective for learning?
-The 'Silver Bullet' approach is ineffective because it assumes there is a single, magical solution to all learning problems. However, there is no universal technique that works for everyone in every situation, making this approach a waste of time.
What are the five dimensions of learning mentioned in the script?
-The five dimensions of learning are deep processing, self-regulation, mindset, retrieval, and self-management. These dimensions collectively determine a person's learning ability.
What is deep processing and why is it important?
-Deep processing is the ability to understand and extract meaningful learning from information. It is crucial because it allows for stronger memory formation, deeper understanding, and the ability to solve complex problems.
How does self-regulation impact learning?
-Self-regulation involves the awareness of one's learning methods and the ability to adjust them to achieve goals. It is important because it helps learners adapt their study techniques to different subjects, time pressures, and levels of difficulty.
What role does mindset play in the learning process?
-Mindset refers to how learners respond to stress, challenges, and making mistakes. It is crucial because learning involves trial and error, and a positive mindset helps learners embrace challenges and learn from mistakes.
Why is retrieval an important dimension of learning?
-Retrieval is important because it involves recalling and testing what has been learned. It helps fill gaps in memory and ensures that learners can apply their knowledge effectively.
What is self-management in the context of learning?
-Self-management in learning refers to how learners manage their time, prioritize tasks, manage focus and distractions, and avoid procrastination. It is essential for ensuring that learners spend their time effectively.
How can learners identify their learning strengths and weaknesses?
-Learners can identify their strengths and weaknesses by using a personalized quiz created by the speaker, which assesses the five dimensions of learning and provides a report on the learner's strengths and weaknesses.
What is the recommended frequency for re-evaluating one's learning weaknesses?
-The speaker recommends re-evaluating one's learning weaknesses every 3 to 4 months to see if they have changed and to adjust the focus of improvement accordingly.
What is the significance of the 'Broken Barrel' approach in improving learning outcomes?
-The 'Broken Barrel' approach is significant because it personalizes the learning process by focusing on the learner's specific weaknesses. This targeted approach is more effective than general techniques, leading to faster improvement in learning ability.
Outlines
📚 The Broken Barrel Approach to Learning
The speaker introduces a learning strategy called the Broken Barrel approach, which has been effective for thousands of people over the past decade. This method contrasts with the common but ineffective 'Silver Bullet' approach, which seeks a single, magical solution to all learning problems. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding one's learning strengths and weaknesses, rather than chasing a universal technique. The Broken Barrel approach focuses on identifying and improving weaknesses, which is more personalized and effective. The speaker mentions five dimensions of learning that need to be understood to apply this strategy effectively.
🔍 Identifying Weaknesses in Learning
The speaker explains the Broken Barrel approach in more detail, suggesting that learning is like a barrel with five planks, and one's ability to learn is limited by the shortest plank. The five dimensions of learning are likened to the planks of a barrel, and the speaker argues that focusing on improving weaknesses is crucial for overall learning improvement. The speaker also discusses the difficulty of identifying one's true learning weaknesses, which is often shrouded in what is referred to as the 'black box of learning.' A free quiz is introduced to help individuals assess their learning strengths and weaknesses, based on nearly 20,000 learners and validated by a study with Mones University.
🧠 Deep Processing and Self-Regulation
The speaker delves into the first two dimensions of learning: deep processing and self-regulation. Deep processing is the ability to understand and extract meaningful learning from information, which is crucial for forming stronger memories and solving complex problems. Self-regulation involves awareness of one's learning methods and the ability to adjust them to achieve goals. The speaker notes that while top learners may have good deep processing, it's essential not to copy their techniques without considering individual differences in self-regulation and other dimensions.
💪 Mindset and Overcoming Learning Challenges
The third dimension discussed is mindset, which is the ability to respond to stress, challenges, and mistakes. The speaker highlights the importance of a growth mindset in learning, as it enables individuals to experiment and learn from errors. Those who are afraid of making mistakes or feel overwhelmed by uncertainty may struggle to improve. The speaker shares that significant transformations often occur when individuals who were limited by mindset overcome it.
🔑 Retrieval and Self-Management
The speaker continues with the fourth dimension, retrieval, which is the process of recalling and testing what has been learned. A good retrieval practice involves a spaced retrieval schedule and challenging oneself at various difficulty levels. The final dimension is self-management, which encompasses time management, task prioritization, focus management, and avoiding procrastination. The speaker emphasizes the frustration of fixing self-management issues and the importance of sustainable and consistent practices in this area.
🚀 Implementing the Broken Barrel Approach
The speaker concludes by encouraging the use of the free quiz to identify learning strengths and weaknesses, which is essential for applying the Broken Barrel approach effectively. The quiz provides a personalized report on the learner's type and areas for improvement. The speaker reflects on their own experience with the quiz and the significant progress made by focusing on the right weaknesses. The link to the quiz is provided for viewers to try it out and improve their learning abilities.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Learning Strategy
💡Silver Bullet
💡Broken Barrel Approach
💡Strengths and Weaknesses
💡Deep Processing
💡Self-Regulation
💡Mindset
💡Retrieval
💡Self-Management
💡Personalized Learning
💡Black Box of Learning
Highlights
Introduction of the Broken Barrel approach, a strategy for improving learning efficiency.
The Broken Barrel approach helps reduce study time from 20 hours to 2 hours a day while maintaining top grades.
Common learning methods and why they often fail to improve learning outcomes.
The Silver Bullet approach to learning is criticized for its ineffectiveness.
Historical context of the term 'Silver Bullet' and its relation to seeking a single solution.
The importance of recognizing individual learning strengths and weaknesses.
The Strength's First approach and its focus on enhancing natural talents for learning.
The analogy of the barrel and its broken planks to represent learning weaknesses.
The five dimensions of learning: deep processing, self-regulation, mindset, retrieval, and self-management.
Explanation of the Broken Barrel approach focusing on addressing the weakest learning links first.
The difficulty of identifying true learning weaknesses due to the 'black box of learning'.
Offering a free quiz to assess and evaluate learning strengths and weaknesses.
Description of the deep processing dimension and its role in forming stronger memories and problem-solving.
Self-regulation as the awareness and adjustment of learning methods and thought processes.
The mindset dimension and its impact on handling stress, challenges, and mistakes.
Retrieval as the process of recalling and testing previously learned information.
Self-management focusing on time management, prioritization, focus, and avoiding procrastination.
The effectiveness of the Broken Barrel approach in improving learning ability week by week.
Invitation to use the free quiz for personalized learning insights and starting the Broken Barrel approach.
Transcripts
there's a strategy for getting better at
learning that I've been using for the
thousands of people that I've coached
for the last 10 years it's a strategy
that not only helped me go from studying
20 hours a day to 2 hours a day while
maintaining top marks but also create
that kind of change in other people as
well I call it the Broken Barrel
approach and although everyone is
different I found that when used
correctly this approach is effective for
virtually every person I've ever coached
I'm going to show you exactly how you
can use the Broken Barrel approach as
well as explain the five Dimensions that
you have to understand to use the
approach in the first place but before
we get into that we need to understand
the more common ways that people try to
get better at learning and why that
absolutely does not work there are
generally three ways people try to
become a better learner the first one
which is the most common is the Silver
Bullet approach now if you have ever
asked what is the best studying
technique then you're probably using the
Silver Bullet approach
and this approach is pretty much doomed
to be a waste of time from the very
beginning so 80 years ago there was this
French writer called HRI purah who wrote
this novel about werewolves and this
werewolf was causing havoc in the town
but no one could stop this werewolf and
then at the end of the book this Hunter
comes up and shoots the werewolf with a
bullet cast out of silver and everyone
is sa and thus the term Silver Bullet
was was born so why is it that asking
what is the best studying technique the
Silver Bullet approach because it
assumes that there is a single almost
magical solution that solves all of your
learning and studying related problems
if this was true then learning to learn
would be very easy becoming a genius
would be a walk in the park uh but
unfortunately there is no such thing as
the best technique there is no Universal
trick or hack that works for everyone in
every circumstance uh for every
challenge for example flash cards are a
great technique for memorizing and
recalling isolated facts but they're
pretty useless for complex problem
solving this is why it's not a very
popular method for post-graduate study
or professional work likewise you can
have 10 different people using the exact
same studying technique and have very
different outcomes and as long as you're
looking for a silver bullet solution
you're never really going to get any
better at studying cuz you're looking
for something that actually doesn't
exist
once we accept the fact that there's no
such thing as a best studying Technique
we can ask the real questions that make
a difference like what are the parts of
the way that I learn that are helping me
which parts are holding me back and
importantly what are my learning
strengths and weaknesses everyone has
different strengths and weaknesses and
is the combination of these strengths
and weaknesses that determine the
results that you get which brings us to
the second less common but smarter
approach to improving studying which is
the strength's first approach and as the
name suggests this is when we focus on
our learning strengths and we enhance
them to get better at studying unlike
the Silver Bullet approach figuring out
our learning strengths and then making
them stronger is a lot more personalized
and when it comes to learning
personalized means effective so what
even is a learning strength well a
strength is something that you find
naturally easier to be good at they're a
manifestation of our natural talents and
tendencies which means that when we put
effort into improving them they can
become our Ultimate Weapon at least
that's the idea but when it comes to
learning and studying that doesn't
actually work and the reason is because
for learning you are only as good as
your weakest link so imagine this wooden
barrel is our ability to learn now if
one of these pieces is broken it doesn't
matter how high the other pieces are
when we try to fill the barrel with
water the highest level it's going to
reach is the level of the broken plank
now when it comes to learning there are
five planks that make up your learning
ability Barrel I call these the five
dimensions of learning and and these are
deep
processing
self-regulation
mindset
retrieval and
self-management I'll explain those
dimensions a little bit more later but
let's say for example I have great
processing skills which means I'm able
to understand Concepts deeply connect
information together for complex problem
solving but I have terrible retrieval
skills which means that I'm never really
revising what I learn therefore I'm
forgetting things needlessly and
therefore I'm going to be missing out on
marks it doesn't matter if my processing
ability is Sky High if my retrieval is
the broken part of the barrel then I'm
always going to be limited by that or if
I have great learning skills but then I
procrastinate like crazy well then again
I'm going to be limited by that which
means that for learning our results
reflect our weaknesses more than they
reflect our strengths which is why
instead of focusing on the strengths
first approach I'm going to teach you
the Broken Barrel approach the Broken
Barrel approach starts with addressing
the weakest links first the parts of our
Barrel that are the most broken and the
Broken Barrel approach is a GameChanger
because it ensures that your method of
learning is person personalized to what
is actually holding you back from being
better and remember when it comes to
learning personalized means more
effective so the Broken Barrel strategy
in itself is pretty straightforward
figure out your weaknesses and then
improve them until they're not your
weakness anymore re-evaluate see where
your next weakness is and rinse and
repeat I recommend re-evaluating to see
if your weaknesses have changed every 3
or 4 months the hard part is figuring
fing out your strengths and weaknesses
in the first place and for learning
figuring this out is not easy in fact
it's so not easy that there's even
research around something called the
black box of learning which basically
says that people know that in order for
them to get good results they need to
put in time and
effort but in terms of how that time and
effort becomes a result is inside what's
called the black box it's basically a
mystery and inside this black box are
the processes of learning and until we
are able to open up this black box and
see what's inside it we're never going
to be able to effectively translate our
time and effort into better results this
is the reason why I said that the Silver
Bullet approach was doomed to waste time
from the very beginning most people have
no idea which dimension they're weaker
in fact most people are not even
thinking about which weaknesses they
have in the first place and research has
repeatedly shown that people are pretty
bad at identifying their true learning
weaknesses which means you could spend
an entire week trying out a new learning
technique to see absolutely no
improvement because it's not targeting
the right part of your Barrel AKA you're
not targeting your weaknesses in fact
when you do this it actually makes it
even harder to improve than doing
nothing at all because now you've just
given yourself more things to think
about which is taking time and effort
and energy away from the things that
could be directly helping you to improve
as if you didn't have enough to worry
about already so how do we actually
figure out our learning strengths and
weaknesses when I coach people on a
one-on-one basis I'm able to open up the
black box for them I guide them to
figure out where their strengths and
weaknesses are and as a result I've been
able to help people who have strugg
strle to improve for years make multiple
breakthroughs in Just 2 or 3 months
obviously I can't do one-on ones with
every single one of you but I still want
to help you out so I've created a free
quiz that will ask you a series of
questions that assess and evaluate your
learning strengths and weaknesses the
calculation and questions are ones that
I've not only tested and refined across
almost 20,000 Learners going through my
paid program that I can study but I've
also conducted a study with Mones
University to assess its validity it's
free to use it only takes a few minutes
and at the end you'll get a personalized
report on your learning strengths and
weaknesses based on three of the most
important dimensions for most Learners
based on the combination of your results
it will also tell you your learner type
which helps you figure out which
dimension you should work on first I'll
leave a link in the description for you
to check that out now the reports will
go into a little bit more detail but
I'll briefly describe each of the five
dimensions and when they become
strengths versus weaknesses each
Dimension is equally important and
remember that a limitation in just one
of those Dimensions can limit your
overall result now the First Dimension
is the dimension that defines genius
when people talk about learning or
intelligence or or someone who's a
genius they're usually just talking
about this Dimension and that is deep
processing deep processing is your
ability to understand and extract
meaningful learning from from
information deep processing is what
allows you to form stronger memories
understand information more deeply form
connections between ideas and ultimately
use what you've learned to solve complex
problems deep processing is probably a
strength for you if you find it easy to
do well you don't have to study as much
as other people to do well and you feel
like your memory and depth of
understanding tend to be stronger than
most other people on the other hand and
it's probably a weakness if you struggle
to do well despite studying a lot it
takes you a long time to understand
Concepts or you struggle to apply your
knowledge in ways that are different to
how it was directly taught to you most
top Learners have pretty good deep
processing which is also why you
shouldn't just copy the study techniques
that top Learners use because they can
get away with using pretty mediocre
techniques and do well anyway because
they can compensate for it with just
better deep processing I like to think
of deep processing is how powerful the
engine is in your car but remember each
Dimension is equally important so if de
processing is the power of your engine
then what also matters is how well you
can drive the car and that's the next
Dimension the second dimension is self
regulation and I find that this is a
common weakness in most people that
haven't been trained on learning skills
which is most people self-regulation is
the awareness of how you learn the
methods you use the way that you think
and then your ability to then make
adjustments to those methods and
processes to achieve your goals this is
probably a strength if you have a clear
idea about how you study and which
methods you use you also know how you
think while you're using those methods
you understand which techniques are
helping you or harming you and you can
make adjustments to those techniques to
keep your learning effective even when
you have different time pressures uh
different subjects levels of difficulty
or different levels of energy now I'm
saying probably these are your strengths
and weaknesses because these are all
pretty generalized descriptions I still
recommend taking the quiz because it's
going to give you a much more
personalized look at which of your
weaknesses is limiting you the most and
to what magnitude anyway self-regulation
is probably a weakness for you if you
don't really know where to start with
improving the way that you study you
don't have a clear idea about what
methods or processes you use and you're
not sure how You' make a predictable
change in your results by adjusting your
techniques or processes self-regulation
becomes much more important usually in
the later years uh especially if your
deep processing isn't as high or your
deep processing is high but you're
aiming for a competitive result amongst
lots of other people that also have
highd processing now I would argue that
although every Dimension is equally
important the next Dimension is
potentially the most crucial of all I
say that because it's the most limiting
weakness and over 70% of Learners I've
assessed this is a dimension that
focuses on how we respond to stress
challenges and making mistake this third
dimension is called mindset here's the
thing learning to learn takes trial and
error it feels uncertain a lot of the
time most of the time and it requires a
lot of experimentation which means if
you are afraid of making mistakes and
you don't know how to handle
uncertainty you're not really going to
improve this is the kind of situation
where people can spend years trying to
get better at learning and make almost
zero progress the mindset Dimension is
probably a strength for you if you're
able to jump into new challenges and
experiment very easily you're also able
to make mistakes and learn from them
quickly on the other hand it's probably
a weakness if you don't like
experimenting because it feels uncertain
and you avoid making mistakes because
you're afraid of making them you might
feel a significant blow to your
confidence or self-esteem when you don't
do well and you might ask a lot of
clarifying questions before giving
something new AO these clarifying
questions are basically an attempt to
reduce the level of uncertainty and
avoid making mistakes having said that
hands down the most impressive
Transformations I've ever seen are the
ones who originally started off being
limited by the mindset Dimension and
then improved it now the next Dimension
is what takes a roar diamond and
polishes it into a sparkling gem you see
human memory is far from perfect and no
matter how good your deep processing or
self-regulation are there's always going
to be gaps uh there's always going to be
things that we forget and we can always
be faster or more fluent with applying
what we've learned this is the fourth
dimension retrieval retrieval is how we
recall and test ourselves on what we've
previously learned it's probably a
strength if you have a good space
retrieval schedule and you challenge
yourself at multiple levels of
difficulty it's probably a weakness if
you don't really review what you've
leared before at all or the way that you
challenge yourself isn't reflective of
the way that you actually need to use
your knowledge retrieval is actually a
dimension that many students score
pretty highly on and that's because
they've heard lots of great things about
space retrieval and flash cards uh
however most of those students also
aren't seeing great results and that's
because it's usually not their limiting
weakness in other words they weren't
using the Broken Barrel approach and
finally there is potentially no other
dimension that is as frustrating to fix
as the next one if you've ever wasted an
entire evening scrolling through social
media or binging your favorite series or
youve struggled to manage your time or
stay focused then you have been limited
by this final Dimension and that is
self-management self-management is the
dimension that is focused on the way
that you manage your time how you
prioritize your tasks how you manage
your focus and distractions how you
avoid procrastination basically ensure
that you're spending your time in the
way that you should be and it's probably
a strength for you if you can manage
your time and tasks sustainably and
consistently you prioritize your tasks
effectively ensuring that you're
spending your time on what really
matters you can manage your focus and
reduce distractions and you can mitigate
the procrastination tendencies that
everyone has it's probably a weakness if
basically you struggle with all of those
things uh or you can only do those in
short bursts of intense concentration
which is not sustainable once we figure
are where our true strengths and
weaknesses lie we can usually improve
our learning ability week after week in
fact when I'm coaching someone if I
don't see progress on a weekly basis it
tells me that we're probably not
focusing on the right true weakness so
please do make sure to use that free
quiz that I made for you guys it goes
through the first three dimensions which
are usually the most important for most
people in fact I I'll actually show you
how to use it so this is the quiz first
I'll start off by answering the
questions I'm not going to answer this
the way way that I used to study like 10
years ago when I was an amoeba floating
through the the learning
universe so you can see the results that
I've gotten here it said I'm a sprout
it's rated My overall score 65% honestly
feels kind of high compared to uh how it
felt at the time but I guess I did end
up doing pretty well in that year so uh
it goes through tells me exactly uh
which each dimension means for me how
much of an impact it has and what I need
to do about it and I also get a more
personalized uh comprehensive report
sent through in my email and I can now
take that information and start using
the Broken Barrel approach which I can
tell you is about a thousand times
faster than trying to figure out my
learning strengths and weaknesses like
years ago which required me to spend
years and thousands of hours trial and
error to figure it out again I'll leave
the link in the description for you to
check out I hope this approach gives you
as much success as it has for me and my
students thank you so much for watching
and I will see you in the next one
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