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by tappio 994 days ago
Learning takes a lot of effort. There are no shortcuts. To put effort into learning something, you need discipline and/or motivation. Biggest problem with learning for me has always been finding the motivation. When I'm motivated I'm switching between all the mentioned "learning methods". Also, the best suitable method depends on the topic too. And finally... I've always hated lectures, and have had a bad tendency to fall asleep... expect when I'm motivated and the topic is interesting!
1 comments

I found out recently that I have a tendance to "want to multitask" even though I know I don't hear a single word spoken to me if I'm attentively reading something.

I'll see an interesting educational video on YouTube but i'll wait until I'm eating to play it or else I'll have a feeling of wasting my time.

Or in class if I have my computer in front on me i'll go check stuff on my server or do some web searches even if I really like the topic of the class.

I don't know if I'm missing motivation or discipline or both. I really enjoy talking and reading about the aformentioned topics, but I can't devote 100% of my attention to lectures/videos, or maybe only in 15-30 mins incréments.

Sounds very similar for me. It is pretty annoying sometimes, especially on remote meetings. I think it is some kind of ADHD tendency.

My comment came out quite black and white, the reality is of course very nuanced. I personally have hard time focusing. Even if I find the topic interesting I'm constantly switching attention, unless there is a strong immersion, like with development work.

My point was just that the "life hacks" of learning are quite useless if you are not interested or disciplined in the first place, and if you are... you unlikely need them. At least my personal experience is that when the topic is interesting and I have motivation, I usually "find a way" to learn more.

be careful that the habit to watch tv while eating doesn't turn into the habit of eating while watching tv.

i am running into these too. i think it is mainly discipline and difficulty to focus, wandering thoughts. i don't think it has anything to do with wanting to multitask. i don't want to multitask (except for the eat/tv thing) but i get distracted by thoughts and those are what make me do a web search or check something else.