The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything . . . Fast!

by Josh Kaufman

10. Honor your biology. Your brain and body are biological systems that have biological needs: food, water, exercise, rest, and sleep.

Here’s the checklist for effective learning: Research the skill and related topics. Jump in over your head. Identify mental models and mental hooks. Imagine the opposite of what you want. Talk to practitioners to set expectations. Eliminate distractions in your environment. Use spaced repetition and reinforcement for memorization. Create scaffolds and checklists. Make and test predictions. Honor your biology.

Putting Theory into Practice How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live. —HENRY DAVID THOREAU