Being good at learning something is a skill or a virtue?

Learning is something which we do generally in life multiple times. We do learn lot of things and are interested in learning different things.However everyone has their own way to learn anything .Some are very good and learn things fast and some are a little slow.So this brings us to the question, is learning a skill or is it a virtue ?

I believe that learning fast is just a skill.Most of the people who learn something fast must be following some process by which they make learning anything easier and others.So if you ask me, how do you think one can read something understand it and then able to memorise it for a long time? Well, this is how they probably do it.

After just one reading of anything without any conscious effort of memorising, if we try to recollect what we have read, we get to grasp may be 5-10 % of the actual conept.But now if we try and read with an intent to know what are the main points we have missed, we would tend to grasp things better.

Now, the idea in here is to get something like an image of what ever we are reading, so that we are just placing the points in that mind image.Now for the 2nd time we could surely get a better idea that then earlier reading.So now you have got a rough idea of what the author is trying to say.Now we can make a note of what the key points are in the note are. Now if you can just remember this sequence and understand these points clearly, we can remember anything and also quite easily recollect.Doing something like this is important because you actually remember a lot lesser that what the author is trying to and and since you are trrying to pick up the key points you would remember it better.

Why is it revising in the middle a better way to learn? Here is a story.Two men joined a plantation where their work is to cut off trees and who ever cuts more would get more money.Both started by cutting 10 trees in 8 hours.Now slowy the 2nd person among them even though didnt spend any extra time was able to cut more trees than the 1st one. The 1st one gets motivated to do better but could not get good results like the 2nd one. So once these two guys met and the 1st one enquired about the 2nd one's secret and the 2nd one said this "After successfully cutting a tree I spend some 10 minues in sharpening the axe I have so that my efficiency is better". So we can infer that revising things while we are learning something, gives better results.

Multitasking helps you manage time better!

Time management, as these words clearly say managing the time available.In here,I have used the word available because time is something which is not what we have in abundance and it is extremely important that we use it in the best possible manner.Ok, now enough of stories and back to business.

From the time since I have started seriously into studies, I have found that I have a lot more to do than and the available time is less than that and I always wished that I had 26 hours a day which might help me finish everything.Apparently its an impossible one to be fulfilled, I have started experimenting with things,by which how this could be manage.I have clearly realised two things are very important for this to happen.

Firstly, its very important that you clearly know what you want to do in advance in a day and also in a position to decide which ones are of higher priority and which ones are a little lesser.So that you have a fare idea of what are the things which you must do for sure. Its would be even better if you could jot them down in brief.You know what are suppose to do in priority order things get a little easier.

Secondly the tougher one is executing part of your list.This is where most of the planning is involved.
The works that you do may be different and needs you hand,legs,mouth,brain to interfere at different times for them to get compelted.If we start doing things one by one it takes more time than usual so its important that we multi-task.The point which I have discussed just now seem trivial but the most  important one as far as managing time is concerned.Its important that you segregate roughly into physical and mental activites and multitask them.

Take for instance my typical day start in the evening, the moment I return home from office.I had this habbit of switching the TV and start flipping channels with the advent of rest before I start any work.This is something which I later felt is a problem. Instead of switching on the tv, I quickly change my dress into my track and start with a physical activity like pressing my dress for the next day,washing my under-pants,cleaning my room etc depending upon the list prepared. Having said that I do not do everything at once. I make sure that I do not take more than 20 minutes for this. I generally exercise in the evening everyday if I can because I comeback walking and so I do not need any warm up. Now I go for a bath and in 30 mintues I am fresh and can start some activity which needs more mental thinking and more of a sedentary work.

I never stretch typically for more than 1 hr and take 10 min break. In the mean time I continue my physical work which do not need any concentration and relaxs my brain quite a bit and since physial parts have been resting for 1 hr and so are quite ready for some physical work. But this we can work continuously.This is quite an advantage because sitting at a place for more than 1 hour causes lower back pain and also brings down the concentration and might feel sleepy at time and this list goes on by doing physical work in the middle it compements the body and brain quite well.

I wake up early in the morning and I brush and sh*t at a time which saves 10 minutes of my time and since my dress is pressed and kept ready,I dont need much time to prepare for going back to office in the morning.Since we just wake up early in the morning we might just take more time in the morning than what we actually take in the evening and so we can work better and do more in the available time.

Thus,mutitasking by switching between physical work and mental work parallelly and also if possible doing 2 physical works at a time leaves more time for us and hence better management.

Cheers!
 JKV