Tips for Self-Studying, Learning outside of Class

After dipping [and nearly drowning] into both schooling and self-education, I have tried to extract the best gemstones from both oceans.

In this blog, I will share the best of the self-study ocean.

First, let me introduce you to some terminology:

• Autodidact — a self-taught person
• MOOC — Massive Open Online Courses
• Self-Taught — having acquired knowledge or skill on one’s own initiative rather than through formal instruction or training.

My biggest reservation in regard to schooling:

It programs many to believe all of their education and learning should come from class.

That is probably the worst idea, I’ve ever heard.

Here’s Why:

• Competition: How the hell are you going to get ahead, advance research, discover new things, and make money, if you are learning and can do only what 10000s of others with the same curriculum are learning?
• Competence: One can’t truly have enough faith in institutions to believe they will teach them and thousands of others the exact amount they need for the rest of their life.
• Costly: Not only does it cost money, but more importantly time. It strikes me as inefficient to have to take classes, sign up, enroll, pay, and sit in a room in order to learn what you desire to learn.

NOTE: I did not say self-study was better than in-class learning, nor did I claim that College was a scam. Everything is necessary in its own way.

TIP #1 — Obsession and Deep-Work are highly Efficient

The amount I learned during the gap year, would’ve been cut into a fraction if I couldn’t sit for 1–4 hours and fully immerse myself in a field (reading, practicing, watching videos, listening to podcasts, writing about it).

You don’t need to do it for the entirety of the day, all that matters is that when you learn or practice, it is INTENTIONAL and UNDIVIDED.

It’s not only 10,000 hours to mastery, it is also intentional hours/reps.

Imagine manually manipulating your neuroplasticity and jamming incredible amounts of knowledge into that infinite storage cloud.

TIP #2 — Entertainment and Excitement is THE MOST Enjoyable

Enough of the “How to focus for hours on end” and “How to study for 12 hours straight”.

If you want to self-study, self-study something you find meaningful and interesting (or do it in a way that makes it seem so)!

Don’t try to build willpower as much, work more towards manipulating your passions.

It’s not hard to focus on something you love.

Look up: EXTRINSIC VS INTRINSIC MOTIVATION.

Love it for what it is, not what it will lead to.

You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction.

Bhagavad Gita

TIP #3 — Shift your Identity to a more conducive one.

For a while, I identified as a not attentive student. I just couldn’t find meaning in and passion for in-class learning.

At the time, I thought it was learning in general; until my gap year changed that.

I came to realize that I am someone who learns best via certain means of teaching, it’s not a matter of my ability to learn, but my inclinations to styles of learning.

It is up to YOU, to determine that, not your teacher, parents, advisors, tutors, or whoever else seems reasonable to outsource your future to.