Get rid of these 3 learning misconceptions immediately, applicable to both adults and children! Forgetting is our best friend, not our enemy!

• It's time to read now, not later. Please avoid these mistakes.

But where exactly did they go wrong?

In this article, I will discuss some important thoughts that subconsciously influence our learning.

Their viewpoint may seem harmless, but unfortunately, they are wrong.

This article is specifically written by me for those who want to cultivate children and develop lasting and effective self-learning habits. (Thank you for not leaving, I saw here o (~)~) o)

My good friend - we call her Sora (username) - has encountered a problem.

Sola told me how her daughter's new violin was left unused in the closet and covered in dust?

Her daughter once tried to learn to play on her own, although she didn't play very well.

She said: Her daughter did not intentionally slack off.

Before purchasing the violin, they developed a very reasonable continuous practice plan together.

Practice starts at 6:00 pm every afternoon.

Misconception 1: Never forget after learning

Most learners, whether adults or children, dislike forgetting what they have learned.

However, successful learners have slightly different perspectives on things (go the opposite way!).

They consider forgetting as their closest friend.

I know this is counterintuitive, but please continue to listen to me.

Firstly, recognize that forgetting is a necessary rational mechanism.

Your brain will forget unimportant details and retain relevant content.

Imagine how chaotic it would be if you remembered every conversation from kindergarten.

Forgetting can reduce distractions and prevent you from losing focus, thereby improving your cognitive and creative abilities.

Forgetting becomes our enemy only when we want to preserve information.

However, in order to learn effectively, it is still necessary to forget some things.

What is the trick to remembering important phone numbers?

Would you repeat this action quickly and continuously?

It seems effective because you still remember this number after 5 to 10 minutes.

But in a few weeks, it will disappear as if it never existed.

Quick repetition is like quickly flipping through a phone number in your working memory.

You have not created or strengthened neural connections for long-term retrieval.

Over time, when other things catch your attention, you will forget this number.

Your working memory is just a temporary data warehouse.

In order to remember what you have learned in a few weeks or even months, you need to leave some free time during the repetition period.

This is what learning scientists call interval repetition.

You learn a concept, leave some free time, and then make modifications and adjustments.

Some people will spread repetitive exercises over several hours, days, or even weeks.

As a busy person, when I learn a new concept that I want to keep, I record four important moments:

1. Day 1: This is the first day of actual learning. I won't waste time repeating learning content. I just carefully studied the content to ensure that I understood it at the time. Then, I let the memories fade away. In other words, I allow myself to forget the knowledge I have learned.
2. Day 2: Two days later, I can't remember everything clearly, it's okay. We can try to recall through retelling. You can also write a summary article based on your memory, depending on what you are learning. The harder it is to recall, the more beneficial it is for strengthening neural connections.
3. Day 7: Attempt to retrieve brain memory again. At this point, it usually doesn't require too much effort and only requires a small amount of time.
4. Day 30: At this point, you have created powerful search clues and neural links. This memory session is your last verification, which means that memories will exist when you need them in the future.

I personally tested this interval repetition method and it worked very well. If you don't believe it, you can try it yourself.

• Misconception 2: Learning anytime

Most people assume that all time is equal.

Don't overthink when to study. Just choose a convenient time and stick to it

I don't completely agree with this viewpoint.

As someone burdened with heavy life and work responsibilities, you hope to make the most of the time available for learning.

Convenience is important, but it is certainly not the only criterion for choosing study time.

You need to reflect more and conduct more self experiments.

When arranging study time, the following three factors should be considered.

Be alert

Throughout the day, your energy level will have peaks and valleys.

When you are mentally prepared to give up, procrastination becomes difficult to resist.

Do you remember how you felt after coming back from work?

To me, it looks like this:

The motivation for learning is almost non-existent.

I really want to enjoy the instant dopamine stimulation brought by browsing various short videos on Tiktok and YouTube.

Even on days when I force myself to study, I may still form less effective memory traces due to fatigue.

Consolidating these memory traces into lasting long-term memories that can be retrieved later is even more difficult.

After a period of time, the entire study effort seemed meaningless.

This is exactly what happened to my friend Sora and her daughter's violin.

I told her:

Schedule learning or reading during times when you are less tired and have a clearer mind.

For me, it was morning.

Before stepping into the busy life waiting outside my door, I had already completed an hour long AI teaching course and review.

distraction

You will inevitably encounter "easily distracted" time periods throughout the day.

Noisy interference from roommates or neighbors, phone interference from family and friends, etc.

When you study hard, you cannot completely avoid all distractions.

But if you refuse to reduce distractions, you will cause your learning progress to deviate from the track.

Choosing to wake up an hour earlier is my top recommendation.

You will have a peaceful study time, which may have been difficult to obtain before.

But it depends on your work and schedule.

Choose a time when you can concentrate, set your phone to 'Do Not Disturb', and then give yourself a whole hour to focus on studying.

consistency

When you schedule your study time, daily investment is the goal.

Sometimes things happen unintentionally in life, and you may miss them once or twice.

If you need to go out before 7am on three of the five-day workday, then 7am is not a feasible study time.

You need to create a rhythm that allows you to easily immerse yourself in every day.

Choose free time every day or at least five times a week.

• Misconception 3: Don't sleep too much when studying.

This concept has recently received various severe criticisms. I don't think we can generalize, we should distinguish between adults and children.

You also know that in an ideal situation, adults need about 7 to 8 hours of sleep. Children require 8 to 10 hours of sleep.

Obviously, sleep should not be sacrificed for extra knowledge learning. But for adults, improving sleep quality and reducing time appropriately are necessary. For children, it is important to make full use of their daytime study time and ensure adequate sleep to promote their growth.

Sleep before and after studying is equally important (this is not something I made up)

Sleeping the night before studying helps you stay alert and focused.

Remembering the knowledge learned before bedtime is also very important.

By taking a whole night off, you can combine old knowledge with new knowledge.

Sleep is crucial for encoding, consolidating, and reconsolidating memories.

You can master the key points of the knowledge you have learned, summarize the content you have learned, and engage in creative thinking.

Our main purpose of learning is to forget and improve the knowledge we already know.

How do you view reshaping your own views on these three misconceptions? Welcome to leave a comment in the comment section.