The Benefits of Learning

The word learn means to acquire knowledge or skill. Learning something new can take many forms: taking a class, reading a book, or even watching a video online. But the key is to actively interact with the information – to make it part of your life. This can be challenging in a busy world, but putting the time into learning will pay off. Whether it’s listening to an audiobook on the commute or making it a point to discuss what you learned that day at dinner, you’ll find the benefits are far-reaching.

When it comes to learning, our capacity is unlimited and organized study seems to expand that capacity. However, when we learn something, it becomes stored in our memory, but not always accessible, due to interference from new memories. It’s also not a case of our ability to remember fading over time; rather, the retrieval process (think recalling an item from memory) weakens that item by creating a connection with other memories that can trigger it.

To speed up the process of learning, it’s a good idea to create a roadmap. Write down the end goal of what you want to learn, the sections or “milestones,” and the best way to go about learning each piece (i.e., should you start with Javascript or how to build?). This gives you a clear plan and lets you check off items as you go, which feels great. The more you learn, the more you will grow – both personally and professionally. And more knowledge may mean a bigger paycheck too, since employers value workers with the skills they need. learn