I often listen to courses, videos and podcasts on the side while doing something else, thus not giving them my full attention. But simple measures can greatly improve retention by breaking down what is in it for me.
I started cultivating the 30-second-recall (Scott, 2014): Taking half a minute after a conversation or finishing a resource to note down important points. This triggers reconsolidation of memory, preparing it for long-term storage.
As mentioned in the TEDx talk "The first 20 hours" (Kaufman, 2013), it is important to remove barriers. So I always carry a pocket-sized Levenger notebook with exchangeable pages with me to note down the nuggets of the day. This also solidifies the ideas by using handwriting as recommended by Barbara. In the rare absence of that notebook, I usually have my phone with me. If I have nothing on hand, simply taking the time to think about it and take a mental note, such as creating an absurd composite image, as well as verbalizing it, will have to suffice.
I will take about half an hour each week to revisit my notes on these resources, by
- checking my learning nuggets from the day as well as how my plan for the day worked out each evening before going to sleep
- writing and publishing a weekly blog post about the lessons of the week on https://barelybuggy.blog
The weekly review may also include older book and video notes, revisiting my notes from starting the module in 2021, as well as checking my experiences against lessons from the course and applying course corrections. Monday or Saturday morning might be a good fit for this.
Bibliography
- Robyn Scott (2014). The 30 Second Habit That Can Have a Big Impact On Your Life. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-30-second-habit-that_b_4808632 (referenced by the course)
- Josh Kaufman (2013). The first 20 hours – how to learn anything. https://youtu.be/5MgBikgcWnY?si=wskmZ1s8uyMpWeoD