How to learn a new subject by yourself
How to learn a subject varies greatly depending on what subject you want to learn. But through my trials and many errors, I’ve come to identify some key aspects that will probably work for you too, regardless of which subject you’re trying to learn by yourself.
The most important thing when learning a new subject by yourself is to substitute the feedback and accountability you would have gotten from peers and teachers.
Learning a subject by yourself is both a challenging and rewarding process. To be a master of one’s own fate is something we all dream of, but few have what it takes. If you’re reading this, you’re off to a better start than most.
Let us explore some things you can do to overcome the hurdles of having to study by yourself.
This can be done by doing practice problems, trying to implement the knowledge for a specific purpose, or explaining it to someone else.
How to figure out what you want to do
The first step is to figure out what you want to do. This is not as simple as “I want to learn Python”, or “I want to learn a new language”. Studies show that you are more likely to achieve your goals if they are difficult, public, and group-oriented [1]. Also, try and make the goals as specific as possible.
You might take this step for granted, but you should probably put more thought into it. What I’m getting at is; what specifically do you want to be able to do that you cannot do right now?
This does not mean that you will only be able to do that one thing. This is a stepping-(mile)stone.
Examples:
I want to create a simple calculator in Python.
I want to be able to solve ODEs.
I want to learn a certain skill that will give me a specific job at that company.
How to find relevant course material
Online courses are not only meant to explain things to you, but they also open doors to other areas for you to dive deeper into.
The easy way is just to search for “Online courses in …” or “Textbooks for …” and just enter the subject you’re interested in.
You can also just search for the subject itself and let Google bring you relevant information.
How to schedule your learning sessions
You know what you want to do. You have some idea of the course material you have to get through.
Most of us usually tend to over plan. To schedule, plan, and revise our system before we’ve actually done any significant work.
For all your studies, you got two options:
Learn first and only remember what you use, or
Try first then learn what you need.
If you struggle to get going, focus on short but frequent sessions. The typical Pomodoro Technique works great. But for some of us, we need to go as low as a 5- or 10-minute session to get it going.
How to practice what you learn
Practicing what you learn is integral to the learning process. But sometimes we have trouble finding out what we should do. Good online courses will provide you with exercises and problem sets for you to solve. As will good textbooks.
You’ll find plenty of ideas and resources by just searching for “exercises for …”. If you’re learning to program, I’d highly recommend https://exercism.org/.
How to stay on track when studying
There are countless resources available to tackle our, sometimes, illusive productivity.
Envision failure rather than success.
This might sound weird, but it’s actually rooted in our biology. We, humans, feel a much stronger drive to avoid failure and embarrassment than we are drawn to success.
Something that’s very important for this step is that the failure has a social connection.
Will it be embarrassing if you don’t learn what you’ve set out to learn?
Will people look down on you, pity you, or laugh at you behind your back?
This might seem harsh and demotivating, but it’s just a mental trick for you to stick to your plan. Envision the embarrassment if you don’t do the things you’ve planned.
Conclusion
We all want to learn new things. But we sometimes get overwhelmed by the amount of work it might require. And without a dedicated teacher or fellow students, we might give up.
What we generally mean when talking about learning by yourself is that you set the learning tempo and the content you consume. Thankfully, we live in a digital world where people from all over share their questions, thoughts, and answers for any subject imaginable.
Ask questions on relevant forums. Compare your work with that of successful people in the field.
1 Epton, T., Currie, S. and Armitage, C.J., 2017. Unique effects of setting goals on behavior change: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 85(12), p.1182.