Passive Learning Is Just Entertainment

02 Nov 2024 #misc

Passive consumption is procrastination in disguise.

If you’re like me, you’ve been watching another YouTube video, reading another book, and consuming online content as procrastination.

Mindless consumption isn’t learning.

Learning should be active. We truly learn when we engage in our learning process. Instead of simply reading or watching pretending to learn, engage with what we’re learning.

Start taking notes by hand

That’s the easiest way to engage with your learning.

Yes, taking notes by hand! When we take notes by hand, we get “physical” like the 80s hit. Touching a pen and feeling the paper create brain connections that reinforce our learning.

Ditch your laptop and go back to pen and paper.

After taking notes, create something new

Taking notes is only the first step.

The best way to truly learn is to create something from what you consume.

Instead of reading to show off a book count, read with intention: answer a question or face a challenge. Once you read, write a summary or explain it to others in your own words.

If you’re a podcast lover, don’t simply listen to the next episode until the end. Write down 3 main points you learned, transcribe your handwritten notes, and share them online.

The next time you find a new programming concept, incorporate that concept into a small project. And, if you’re reading an open-source project, create a simplified version of its main feature to make sure you understand the main decisions and concepts behind it.

And, if you like writing, do copy work. Recreate a piece from a writer you want to imitate. Again by hand. This is an exercise attributed to Benjamin Franklin. After reading a piece, he looked away and tried to rewrite what he read.

Separate the exploration phase where you only gather resources from the engaging phase where you create something new after consuming.

If you listen, you will forget. If you write, you will remember. But if you practice, you won’t forget.