Ways to improve your ability to learn (applies to all ages!) - Life skills

We never stop learning. It is a cliché but throughout life, no matter what age, your ability to learn never actually stops. Many leave school and full-time education and never take part in any formal learning again. Some people become involved in business learning as part of their jobs, whilst others attend college or university or merely enhance their knowledge through regular reading.

Whatever your level, wouldn’t it be great to know a few tools to improve your ability to learn? Although you may not be actually studying, improving your ability to retain facts and information can help your career, business, relationships and even your ability to parent!

Useful skills such as good grammar and comprehension, the ability to speed read and accurate factual retention will all improve your ability to learn. There are lots of tips for effective learning; whilst most are relevant to the classroom environment, many can be applied to learning situation.

Take good notes.

It can sometimes help if you cannot listen and take notes at the same time, to listen and then write down everything immediately after.

Get organised

if you make notes by hand or on a computer or tablet, make sure that the pages or files are correctly named. Being organised significantly aids your ability to retain information.

Establish your learning style

Are you a visual learner who loves reading? An auditory learner who learns from listening or a kinesthetic learner who gains the most information from actually ‘doing’ rather than listening or reading. If you establish your learning style you can do things to improve your learning retention. Audio learners can play CDs in their cars to utilise the time spent in traffic jams. Reading learners may find it easy to learn whilst exercising in the gym. You may be someone who can learn whilst listening to music or do you need complete silence? There is no right or wrong way – we are all different, but knowing your ideal learning style can really improve the effectiveness of your ability to learn.

Be prepared

if you need to do some research on a subject to refresh your knowledge, don’t be afraid to read/use apps/watch ‘how to’ videos or download helpful software.

Information is constantly coming our way in many shapes and forms. Sometimes it is difficult to identify what is important. Our poor overworked brains can struggle to find ‘space’ to retain the important data at times! Try being selective in what you learn and take ‘on board’ and develop effective learning skills to make your life easier.

Looking for more information? Check out our more recent blog for strategies to remember more information.