There was a book I saw last year on how to learn. I looked at it and laughed. Imagine reading a book to learn how to learn, like those who don’t know how to learn. Looking back now, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Knowing how to learn is not as easy as it seems. Let’s look at this from an academic lens and then a real-life lens.
Academically, some students manage to sit down and study for three to four hours and get excellent grades. And then there are others spending ten or more hours and getting nowhere. Sure, there are other factors like natural intelligence, interest, and focus that play a role. However, the question arises: how do you actually learn?
Say you sit down and decide that for the next three hours, you will study. You put aside your phone, set up your table, collect all the materials you will need, and you are ready. Now what? How do you actually learn this content? Do you open a book and start reading (please never do this, you will essentially remember nothing)? Do you start by doing questions? Do you begin making flashcards? You see what I mean?
This blog is not about learning but about why knowing how to learn is so important.
The real way to figure out how to learn, especially from an academic point of view, is to experiment. Try different things until you find something that works effectively for you. Then keep experimenting occasionally to fine-tune and find even better ways. The only way to experiment is to give it time. And the only way to provide it with time is to start early. The sooner you actually learn how to learn, the sooner you can focus on learning itself. That means better grades and, more importantly, actual understanding so you can use what you know to build things.
In real life, the dynamic changes.
Too often, people limit themselves to what they studied at university and build invisible barriers around anything new. For example, if someone studied politics, they will never try to code because it isn’t “their” field, or they feel they have a disadvantage. Similarly, engineers might never try something creative because they “are not creative people.” These are self-made walls. And they hold people back.
The truth is, anyone can learn anything. You have to be willing to go through discomfort, feel stupid for a bit, keep showing up, and eventually you’ll get there. The way not to learn is to do it without purpose. And to do it just for a certificate or some external checkbox.
You cannot say, “I will learn Python,” open a random Udemy course, complete it, and suddenly call yourself a programmer. Same with painting. Watching ten videos on YouTube does not make you a painter. The only way to actually learn is by doing.
Let’s take Python again. Python is huge. You cannot learn all of it. What you can do is learn what you need. But if you sit down to learn just the basics with no reason to use them, and you are doing it just for your CV, you will not enjoy it, and you will not remember much.
The better way is to pick a project.
Let’s say you want to learn how to design and 3D print something. Choose a product you really want to build and start doing it. This has four big advantages.
First, you stay more motivated because you care about the end result, as whatever you learn is to make something. Second, you learn exactly what you need to move forward. Third, the thing you build becomes proof of your learning. That is far more powerful than a certificate (you might still take a course while working on the project, but now you are doing it with an end goal in mind). You naturally connect what you are learning to what you are building. Fourth, and most important, you make the habit of becoming a continuous learner. You begin to trust yourself. You know that any time you want to build something, you can learn what is required.
In today’s world, that mindset is essential.
AI and tech are moving forward exceptionally fast. One of the most valuable things you can learn right now is how to prompt and how to vibe code. But most people hold themselves back. They say things like “I don’t have a background in coding” or “this isn’t for me.” I say to them, just get started and build your background now!
Everything compounds. When I built my first RAG model, it took me two months. Now, it takes me two days. The same goes for everything else. Purpose, persistence, and consistency are what matter.
Learning how to learn is one of the most important skills you can build. Whether you want to get better grades, start a project, change careers, or keep up with how fast the world is moving, knowing how to learn is what will keep you ahead.
Stay curious. Be okay with feeling clueless at the beginning. Keep improving your approach. Everyone starts somewhere. Those who keep learning are the ones who actually grow.
Keep learning. Keep building.
Saad.
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