• Does your loop match the skill or subskill I'm trying to improve? A vocabulary drill that is aimed to improve your words in a real conversation, but only lets you recognize words by their spelling misses the point. You may recognize the words in print, but may not be able to speak them aloud.

• Can you get better, more accurate feedback after each iteration? In public speaking, you could videotape yourself performing the skill to look for mistakes later. 

• Do you understand the process? Repeating an inefficient technique won't make you a master. Sometimes a different method will create better results.

Step one involves figuring out what your loops are. These are the activities you repeat over and over when learning something.

Next, analyze the loop for different parts to see whether you can make improvements. It will result in faster learning.