Learn Like a Pro: Science-Based Tools to Become Better at Anything

In Learn Like a Pro, you’ll learn not only the most effective techniques to help your learning but also why those techniques are effective. Here’s a quick overview of key topics we’ll cover:

• Retrieval practice is the best technique to help you build strong neural links in long-term memory. In Learn Like a Pro, you’ll discover why.
   
• Taking a brief, five-minute breaks after approximately 25 minutes of studying can help your brain process new learning, so what you’ve just learned isn’t overwritten. We’ll show you how to take the best advantage of those breaks to boost your learning.
   
• Learning involves two fundamentally different modes of thinking: focused and diffuse. Focused mode is when you are paying close attention to what you are learning. Diffuse mode is when your mind wanders, as when you are taking a walk or falling asleep. Effective learners know how to alternate between focused and diffuse modes to boost their learning productivity. We’ll give you tips to help you with this process.
   
• Having some critical pieces of knowledge memorized, nestled nicely in your long-term memory, can be very helpful. We’ll provide a quick overview of some of the most effective techniques to help with memorization.
   
• Neural links in long-term memory are deposited through two different systems: declarative and the procedural. Both systems can learn the same information. It’s just that they allow you to use that information differently. Pro learners know how to learn through both pathways—we’ll show you how to do this.
   
• Good habits grow from the procedural system. They help you get on and keep on task without even thinking about it. We’ll help you move away from using effortful self-discipline and toward the development of habits that automatically help you accomplish what you want to accomplish.
   
• To increase the tonic dopamine associated with motivation, we’ll show you how to use techniques such as consequence mapping, mental contrasting, and reframing.
   
• Phasic dopamine is produced when you experience an unexpected reward. Phasic dopamine doesn’t help so much with motivation, but it helps a lot in allowing neurons to make stronger connections. We’ll show you some of the keys to producing more phasic dopamine.
   
• To be a pro learner, you need to have a toolbox of practical tools and know when and how to best use those tools. For this, you need metacognition—a sort of brain outside your brain that thinks about your learning. We’ll show you how to improve your metacognition!