How to practically learn a subject in 4 hours

I made a comment in a previous thread about practically learning a subject in 4 hours. Here's what I said there, in a more polished format.<br><br>**Step 1: 10 minutes - Identify what to learn.**<br><br>* If you're a university student or something similar with an "outcome" to meet, then this is what you need to learn. Read the syllabus thoroughly to get an idea of what topics you need to learn. Otherwise, there's no effective way (imo) to learn a subject. There needs to be boundaries. <br>* If you're self teaching yourself a subject, or you have a very open-ended outcome to meet, then you can go on Google Maps and zoom out as much as you can and see what areas to start. Or if you feel really motivated, then start reading a text book to get an idea of the boundaries of your subject. <br><br>**Step 2: 30 minutes - Find cheat notes**<br><br>* Look for resources on the internet that will give you a good overview of all the topics in your subject. I specifically recommend looking for past student's study notes. Chegg, Quizlet, the Grey chamber student notes, are good places to start. <br>* These are especially good for students in university because they will have notes that tell you what topics in a subject they didn't study, and what topics they did. You can ignore the topics your teachers didn't bother with and focus on the topics they did. <br><br>**Step 3: 30 minutes - Identify what you want to focus on**<br><br>* Read through the cheat notes and pick out anything that you need to learn. If you're studying for an exam, then you should pick out anything that you don't know. <br>* Make a list of all the topics you don't know. If you're motivated, you will want to learn it all. But if you really only have 4 hours to study, then you can use a strategy like the Eisenhower Matrix to categorise your topics into importance vs difficulty to learn. For example, you might find that a topic is very important to learn, but it's also very difficult. In this case you might want to skip over it because there's no way you can learn it in 4 hours. <br>* Take all your topics and put them on flashcards. (I won't go into how to make flashcards, but the simplest thing to do is to get a piece of paper, divide it in two, and write the topic on one half and the answer on the other). <br><br>**Step 4: 2 hours - Learn the topics.**<br><br>* Go through the flashcards and try to remember the answer. If you don't know it, then flip it over and read the answer. <br>* Don't worry if this takes a while. You will be making many mistakes and that's how you learn. <br>* Every time you flip a card over and you got it wrong, then put it aside and try again in 10 minutes. <br>* If you get a card correct, then you can put it away and focus on the cards you don't know.<br><br>**Step 5: 1 hour - Practice what you've learned**<br><br>* If you're a student, then you will have assessment items to practice. For example, past assignments or exams. <br>* Read through your cheat notes to find out what kind of skills you need to demonstrate. For example, do you need to write essays? Make a budget? Calculate numbers? <br>* Find resources (like past assignments or exams) to practice your skills. <br><br>**Why this works**<br><br>* For any specific topic, you will remember it best if you review it regularly. The optimal amount of time to review is every 10 minutes, then every 30 minutes, then every 1 hour, then every 2 hours, then every 4 hours, then every 8 hours, then every 12 hours, then every 24 hours, then every 48 hours. <br>* This is called the Leitner System. What is happening is that you are changing the way your brain is storing the information. The more you review it, the more your brain will move it from your short term memory to your long term memory. The more you review it, the less chance you will forget it. <br>* It also helps to practice because it forces you to recall the information. The more you recall the information, the more you will cement it in your long term memory. <br><br>**Conclusion**<br><br>* This system works to teach you anything in a short period of time. I use it myself to learn new skills very quickly. For example, if I need to learn a new software I can be proficient in it in a day. If I need to learn a new language I can have a basic understanding of it in a few days. <br>* Obviously I am not an expert after a few hours. But I can become proficient in a subject in a very short period of time. I can then build on my proficiency to become more expert in a subject over time. <br>* I know that what I am saying here is obvious, but the biggest challenge in studying is overwhelm. There's just too much to learn and it's hard to know where to start. Your brain will give up before you even begin. That's why it's important to focus on one topic at a time. <br>* The second biggest challenge is staying motivated. If you want to stay motivated, then you need to see results. That's why I recommend reviewing topics every 10 minutes then every 30 minutes then every 1 hour. You will feel like you're making progress and you will start seeing results. <br><br>Please let me know if you have any questions or need further clarification.