17. Scott Young: How To Learn Skills Faster & Retain More of What You've Learned

The Reader's Journey

Podcast Notes Key Takeaways  One of the best ways to learn a skill is to practice it as close to the real thing:Instead of practicing language vocabulary on an app like Duolingo or creating flashcards, hire someone from italki.com that you can practice having conversations withThe paradox of learning is that sometimes the learning techniques that make us feel worse can be the most effective ones“The techniques that we use that make us feel worse, that make us feel like we don’t know anything, are often the things we avoid and yet they’re the very things that we need to do to learn” – Scott YoungOne of the best ways to learn is to test yourself even if you don’t feel prepared:“It doesn’t matter whether you’re ready or not, doing the test is going to help you learn better than reviewing your notes again” – Scott YoungIt may feel counterintuitive, but it worksApply spaced-repetition to your learning:You’re going to have better long-term memory if you expose yourself to information over a period of time than you would if you expose yourself in a short-burst (like a cramming session)To remember more of what you’ve read, try to recall what you learned in your last reading session or practice recall after finishing a book chapter It also helps to write essays about the books you’ve read“In me writing this essay I have to practice recall, I have to synthesize, I have to make sure I understand the ideas, and so writing is often a very good tool” – Scott Young

Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org

My guest today is Scott Young, the bestselling author of Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career.

Scott is a prolific writer who writes about learning, productivity, and habits. He is known for documenting learning challenges such as completing 4-years of MIT computer science classes in one year and learning four languages in one year.

In our conversation, Scott talks about how to learn skills faster, the paradox of learning and why sometimes learning strategies that feel that easiest are the least effective, how to remember more from the books you’ve read, how to prevent yourself from forgetting a skill, and much more.

TIMESTAMPS:

[00:44] - What is Ultralearning?  [04:02] - How Scott completed 4 years of MIT classes in 12 months  [08:37] - How to deal with distraction and procrastination  [13:08] - The importance of direct learning  [20:20] - The paradox of learning (sometimes learning that feels easy is the least effective)  [26:31] - How to remember more of what you’ve learned & prevent yourself from forgetting information [29:25] - Why you want to space your learning and not cram for an exam [31:15] - How to remember more from the books you’ve read[37:55] - Advice to people starting their first ultralearning project  [40:26] - How to maintain skills and prevent yourself from losing them  [45:40] - How to raise your kids to be ultralearners [50:50] - Two books that changed Scott’s life

Learn more about the author:

Twitter: @ScottHYoungWebsite: scotthyoung.com

***

If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe & write a positive review.

Every week, I send out a free weekly newsletter with actionable advice from amazing books. Join 4,200+ readers here.

Connect with Alex & Books:

Twitter: @alexandbooks_Instagram: @alexandbooks_YouTube: Alex and Books