Overcoming Learning Fatigue
Sometimes my brain gets noisy and it becomes hard to focus when I’m learning something new. Perhaps you feel the same way.
If you can relate to feeling overwhelmed, I’ve got some good news for you. I recently attended a virtual lecture with Class Central and FreeCodeCamp (a non-profit organization for skill and career development). Virtual learning is a blessing and a curse for me, as I am one who benefits from structure and can become easily distracted. Thankfully, the lecture was about learning how to learn. One of the presenters was Dr. Barbara Oakley, an engineering professor researching the relationship between neuroscience and social behavior. The other presenter was Zach Caceres, a tech mogul with a scrappy, unconventional background. Together they shared some useful and encouraging information I’d love to pass on to you.
A Neuron
Dr. Oakley presented some hard science about the perks of taking breaks when we’re facing a difficult challenge. Our brains have neurons that make links to information stored in our memories. We have more neurons than grains of sand on the earth, so don’t worry about running out of them! These neurons are like an octopus. They have tentacles, called dendritic spines, that form suction cups (dendrites) when we’re making discoveries. The neuron uses its tentacle-like-dendrite structures to connect with another neuron to create knowledge links. When our neurons hold hands, we can successfully use our working memory.
If we cram knowledge into our brains and never come back to that subject again, our links begin to atrophy. It’s like neglecting a potted plant. To strengthen our working memory, our brains have to revisit the information we’ve learned. If you’re an artist, you can try reproducing the same subject (like Monet’s Haystacks). If you’re an athlete, you can practice on the field before a game. If you're taking a class, you can reread your notes, use flashcards, journal a summary of the main points, and think about the new class before you go to sleep. It’s important to note that nobody learns at the same rate, especially when some of our brains have chemical imbalances and none of our brains are the same.
Dr. Oakley’s co-presenter, Zach Caceres, shared insights on how to improve learning effectiveness for every learning style. One of the biggest things you can do, and one of the most difficult and most rewarding, is to limit distractions when you focus on the problem. Zach shared constant distractions can overload your brain and fuel procrastination, which in turn fuels anxiety. When we think of doing a task that we don’t want to do, our brains experience pain and we might reach for social media to alleviate it. Closing unnecessary tabs, limiting your screen time, and prioritizing the problem at hand can free up cognitive space. Not only feel good to give your brain some air; lightening your cognitive load can make you a better problem-solver.
Don’t forget to take care of your brain!
Distractions don’t always have to be negative. Dr. Barbara Oakley talked about the diffused state of learning. When we step away from the focused state of learning to take a shower, do the dishes, call a friend, or play a game, the puzzle pieces literally fall into place (as long as we come back to the focused state to strengthen our links). Check out the Pomodoro Method if you’d like help with planning focus and diffusion sprints.
Because I’m curious about art, storytelling, and technology (and because I have some time before my day job), I’ve been attending virtual game development classes and lectures. To visualize a clear path for reaching your goals, professional 3D modeler Marlon Nunez suggests drawing a mind map. To draw a mind map, you’ll first need to draw a big circle. Write your dream in that circle. Each task and challenge needed to achieve the dream shoots out from the circle like sunshine. When you are finished, prioritize the most useful piece of information you need to learn, focus on it, and set a soft deadline. Be kind to yourself and trust yourself to keep the momentum going.
One more important thing: Dr. Oakley stressed that being slow to understand something doesn’t mean knowledge is unattainable. Everyone’s learning style is different. Some people learn fast, like a racecar, and others learn slow, like a hiker or a climber. Age, chemical imbalances, learning disorders, physical challenges, and mental health disorders may affect the speed of your learning, but a lower age and a faster learning speed aren’t always indicators for success. Dr. Oakley and Zach repeatedly stressed that your age and your baseline ability to focus doesn’t matter. Your intentional approach to learning matters. Your demonstrable knowledge of the subject matters.
People have successfully learned new languages in their 60’s. There’s coders in my cohort who are in their 50’s. Hokusai kept learning until his last days, and didn’t paint his most famous painting, The Great Wave, until he was in his 70’s.
Here’s a Hokusai quote that I love:
“From the age of six, I had a passion for copying the form of things. And since the age of fifty, I have published many drawings, yet of all I drew by my seventieth year there is nothing worth taking into account. At seventy-three years I partly understood the structure of animals, birds, insects and fishes, and the life of grasses and plants. And so, at eighty-six I shall progress further; at ninety I shall even further penetrate their secret meaning, and by one hundred I shall perhaps truly have reached the level of the marvelous and divine. When I am one hundred and ten, each dot, each line will possess a life of its own.” -Hokusai
Don’t give up on yourself. I know it can be hard. Focus, deliberation, and rest are excellent weapons to equip for the battles against fatigue, self-doubt, and fear. There is so much more in these lectures, click here for Dr. Oakley and Zach’s “Learning how to Learn” presentation, and click here for Marlon Nunez’s.
I’d love to talk your ear off some more, but alas, my brain is beginning to fry and I must go diffuse the situation.
As always, thank you for reading, and be kind to yourself.
