Making Your Learning Effective and Efficient

In the previous article, I have explained quite clearly about causes which make our learning seems useless. Just as a remainder, let me state the cause once more here. Our learning becomes not so meaningful because we don't to it effectively and efficiently. We just learn, we just exercise, we just read, and so on and so on without considering whether what we learn is useful or not. Therefore, no matter how much time we have spent to learn something, it seems that there is no result for what we have done. It's because we do not learn effectively and efficiently.

So how can we learn effectively and efficiently?

Alright, based on our discussion of effectiveness and efficiency in the previous article, we have known that effectiveness is the level to which what we inted is accomplished no matter how much energy and cost it needs. Efficiency, on the other hand, completes the term effectiveness in that to accomplish our goal using the minimum cost or energy. In practice, we can make our learning more effective and efficient if we know what is the goal of our learning. Confused? Alright, let me explain this as follow:

In school while we are facing examination, for example, we have two choices: 1) reading all materials our teachers have taught us, or 2) reading only materials which predicted to be included in the exam. While both choices probably will give us similar result if done correctly, I prefer the second because I can save some of our energy and time while, at the same time, the result of our examination will not lower. I call the first as studying vocariously while the second studying effectively and efficiently.

Perhaps you have a question like how can our prediction is correct. Well, in term of school examination I will not recommend you 'just' predict. It is easy to have 100% correct prediction. How? By asking your teacher. Of course your teachers will not answer if you ask for the answer of the examination. But, if you ask for the outline or the curriculum of the subject matter or the lesson they are teaching, they will give you the answer.

Well, the above applies in the school examination. How about the learning in the general? Well, the keyword here is we have to have the goal of our learning. Whatever you are learning, whatever you are reading, you must have the answer if sometime someone ask you "what for you read that?" "Why do you study that?" If you have had the answer, then automatically your learning will be effective and efficient.

Now, the last question, what is your goal in reading this article? Please, write your answer in the comment box.

How to Learn Effectively and Efficiently

Do you ever feel like you have learned a lot but all you have learned seem useless? If you answer yes, don't be disappointed. There are many people out there who feel the same. They have read a lot, exercised so many times, and done whatever it takes but they feel that their brain is still empty. Exactly similar to what you feel, right? So, what's wrong with your and their learning?

Well, actually nothing is wrong. You and they have done the correct thing namely learning or excercising. The only thing which is probably not so right is the effectiveness and efficiency of your learning. So what and how is effective and efficient learning? Well, continue reading this article to know the answer.

Something is said to be effective if it accomplishes what it is intended to accomplish. If your plumb is leaked, for example, and you want to fix it, the your fixing effort is said to be effective when the leakage is gone no matter how much money or resource or energy you spend. As long as the leakage is successfully fixed, then you have done the fixing effectively.

Unfortunately, effectiveness alone is not enough. You need another thing namely efficiency. Since, just like what have been described above, to do some thing effectively sometimes results in wasting of energy, money, or resources. And I believe you don't want to do that. That is why you need efficiency in everything you do. So what is efficiency? Here it is.

Something is said to be efficient if it takes the minimum resources to gain the most result. Related to the plumb leakage case above, the fixing effort is said to be efficient if it takes the minimum cost, energy, or resources but with highest success of leakage fixing. Therefore, replacing the whole old pipe with the new one is not the most efficient effort even though this may result in success in leakage fixing. Perhaps, the most efficient effort would be to cover the leaked pipe with glue.

So, how about effective and efficient learning? To know the answer, please be patient and stay tuned in this blog cause I will discuss that elaborately in the next article. Bye for now...