You're Not Slow: Become a Speed Learner in 20 Minutes

The prevalent problem with studying is that people have the expectation that quantity is better that quality. You are expected to take pages and pages of notes, many of which contains useless fillers, and are expected to memorize them all. I'm glad that you've made this video to show us a better method, Liz.

as someone with ADHD, i've been always describes as the kid who "has potential but just isn't trying hard enough". i have extremely low self esteem because of it, and instead of learning being something that should be enjoyable or something that should thrive out of my own curiosity, it became strictly about impressing others, like my teachers or my parents. learning became about winning their approval and validating me as a capable person, because at one point i used to think (and tbh i still kinda do) that not doing well in school= i have absolutely no value as a person. i'm starting to realise i wasn't doing it for myself but rather to make others proud, and in the process i lost my sense of self. i think i'm finally starting to let that ideology go, haven't reached there yet, but i'm slowing getting there.

I recall my first year in Grad school at Stanford when I commented to the Dean of the Engineering School that I may not be smart enough to do this. He calmly replied, "It's not how smart you are that enables learning, it's how organized and motivated you are."

As someone with ADHD in grad school, this is lovely. Categorizing helps to almost dumb things down, or make the learning material feel less impossible to grasp. This can help lectures/studying feel much less overwhelming. Love this!

I realised how much important curiosity is for learning. When i was young and not allowed to do make up i would watch tutorials on it and i knew so much abt makeup without ever doing it actually. The same goes with studies if we manage to raise curiosity on a topic we can master it in no time

As a teenager with hf autism, my problem is struggling to focus on learning things which don’t interest me. Your videos have really helped me to reevaluate this, especially on another video where you mentioned searching things up and actively looking for subjects in relation to the topic you need to learn which pique your interest. In the space of a month, I’ve totally turned this around thanks to your videos. Thank you so much :)

I am old enough to be your father - it's actually quite scary how much you are teaching me about learning, kind of thought I should already know this stuff. Obviously, I didn't. Thank you for your insights.

“I’m the sort of person who can study a disease and tell you everything about it but not know what it’s called” this is absolutely me, I can understand concepts and ideas very easily but then can’t name them 😭 I like to work up from the point of singularity of any concept and start filling the gaps once I understand the generals idea

TLDR (because i’m adding this to my notes) 1. Safety Netting: Making sure you have the reasons on why you want to learn something Questions to ask: what are we talking about? why is it important? how important is this? what can i do when i learn this? what can i NOW do even after i learned this? where can i find further knowledge? these makes sure you have a more realistic and calculated expectation and reduce disappointment when you feel like you haven’t learned enough more realistic scenario like in lectures: what we’re talking about is…? what you actually meant by that is…? so when this happens, this happens? 2. Focusing on the Core Basics Making sure that the rules that are SO simple that teachers and educators forget about them because they think that people learning about something already know about the core basics these are the things that can make learning faster as this is the backbone of what you’ll need to continue to learn further ask yourself “what are the core basics i can teach myself?” things to ask: what are the things you do every day/week without fail what’s essential here what distinguishes the pro from the amateur how fast can i learn this then focus deep on the basics progress: - identify a core skill - test the core skill in different contexts - find where i can’t use the core skill (basically the limits) - strong core basics means better and faster learning later 3. Categorizing Information - Safety net: the logical backbone. Everything relies on this - Core basics: Significant and Immediate - Admin: Hard for me and not that much of a priority - Good for you: You don’t really care and aren’t important slowed read the information and slot the main topics in the categories and prioritize the safety net and core basics 4. Jumpy Learning don’t learn the things in the order given to you, learn them by how interested you are in it. this keeps your attention and motivation high and avoid early dull parts.

I feel like my brain works very similiarly... I never need to learn for school because I just listen and think about what actually matters and try to understand instead of remembering. So watching your videos is amazing, because it shows me what I could do if I put a bit of effort in

What an amazingly excellent video. School, uni and even post-grad studies are mostly info-dumps of what to learn and rarely teach you how to learn. You are a credit to humanity.

Safety Netting --> Priming your brain for learning - Giving it the space and context optimal for learning - Ask: - "What are we talking about?" Answer it preferably simply, drawing experiences and knowledge that are already there. - "Why and how should I care?" Makes you understand its importance. - "What can I do when I learn this? What can't I do even though I've learnt this?" Basically understand the connections & limitations related to this thing you're learning. - "Who and where are the experts?" Helps you know the sources of information you can use to learn this topic. Core Basics --> Understanding the very basics - Involves studying the very basics (especially the ones often skipped) of the topic so you have a good a foundation in learning new ideas - How to - Core Basics: - Identify a core skill - Test the core skill in many different contexts - Find where I can't use the core skill (the limits) - Strong core basics --> fast learning later Admin & Good for You --> Actual studying - Speed-read/learn and divide things into Information Categories - Safety Net (Logical backbone, AKA context) - Core Basics (Significant & immediate, AKA stuff you already learned + easy for you to learn) - Admin (Hard for me & less important, AKA "I'll learn this later") - Good for You (Don't care & unimportant Jumpy Learning & Strategic Drowning Jumpy Learning --> Learning non-linearly - Not studying things based on the order given, but based on your level of interest. - Helps you preserve motivation & attention, which makes things faster & longer (while still enjoyable) Strategic Drowning (already discussed in other videos) - Tendency to drown (perform not-so-great) first, before performing exceptionally well

Elizabeth is honestly raising us to be superhuman istg <3

This is invaluable. Most of us tend to ignore theory and clumsily memorize all knowledge. Only by changing this mindset can we learn more efficiently and quickly.

As someone with ADHD in grad school, this is lovely. Categorizing helps to almost dumb things down,or make the learning material feel less impossible to grasp. This can help lectures/studying feel much less overwhelming. love this! As a teenager with hf autism, my problem is struggling to focus on learning things which don't interest me. Your videos have really helped me to reevaluate thhis, especially on another video where you mentioed searching things up and actively looking for subjects in relation to the topic you need to learn which pique your interst. In the space of a munth,totally turned this around thanks to your vodeos. Thank you so much

Your content is rlly high value. Often times we're used to creators uploading videos on the same topic w a diff title or thumbnail but this is unlike anything I've ever seen. Thank you so so much for providing us with high quality and really valuable content. Keep learning and teaching the rest of the world ur wisdom 🙂👍

As a male who sits on the Asperger spectrum. I have struggled with learning for years. I have learned more from your videos than I did from 99% of my teachers growing up. You have a beautiful and succinct method of expression/explaining. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. 🙏🏻💯

I was taking notes fast and furious during your video and then came the part where you said you didn't take notes during university lectures...... Elizabeth, you are great!

I'm trying to let go at the moment. This doesn't seem like an issue for you, but it's difficult to learn in an environment where you feel like you're not wanted to be in the same space as your peers, feeling isolated, not liked by others. Being an empath, the slightest murmer if I ever speak, or the overall energy I feel from people in my presents is hard to deal with. There are a few genuinely lovely people, but what I find is people seek acceptance by showing off, trying to empress overs by taking the mick and try to put you down, I guess to make themselves feel better! I'm still working on strategies to deal with this by trying to stay focused and learn as much as I can. The problem is, it's like a catch 22, as the more I have negative feelings, the less motivated I am! I'll continue trying regardless.

I have consumed hundreds of videos on this topic and this is the absolute best. Very refreshing and genuine take.