We must remember that our brains needs rest to let information settle and before we can fully absorb it.Sleep, meditation, and regular breaks are all <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mental-downtime/">vital for optimal cognitive performance</a>. Sometimes you’ll have your biggest breakthroughs when you just walk away from the problem.

5. Don’t underestimate the importance of recovery time

Giving yourself time to think, without any goals or particular outcomes in mind is one of the most powerful and enjoyable parts of the learning process. That’s where you’ll find the deep connections, epiphanies, and pure joy in feeding your curiosity.

Feed your curiosity

1. Pick a goal but stay flexible.2. Warm up but stay challenged.3. Find the right environment and the right people.4. Get addicted to progress.5. Don’t underestimate the importance of recovery time.

5 thoughts on getting in shape

Don't be so much specific but flexible because great learning can also be spontaneous.Perhaps you pick up a book about labor policy that you find quite dense, but it points you to a biography about Frances Perkins. If you are too attached to your goal of finishing the first book and ignore your curiosity, it will become a recipe for killing the joy of learning.

1. Pick a goal but stay flexible

Sometimes we all tend to feel pressured. It could be as petty or big as solving a math problem and not reaching to a solution. These situations may make us feel inadequate and shake our confidence. We tend to see ourselves as inferior to others in terms of knowledge.But if you feel this way maybe you're just out of shape and you can use this idea to get rid of that internal dialogue.Being out of shape isn’t a permanent state, the same way that lack of knowledge isn’t fixed.

Maybe you‘re just out of shape

The rapid pace of technological change demands career-long adult learning for workers to gain new skills and retain good jobs.Traditional institution-driven mindset around learning: learning is passive. It’s something that happens to us, and is dependent on a specific context.We need to change this mindset. Learning is something that we must practice regularly on our own. It’s a health habit as important as exercise. It can be painful in the beginning but gets easier with time.

Lifelong learning is an increasingly important skill

Being in the right environment is key to continuous learning. Right people and these maybe your friends, colleagues or just internet groups can help you find the right solution. It’s also important to have the right equipment, like a whiteboard or your favorite pens in every color.

3. Find the right environment and the right people

Before you start exercising, you need to stretch. Before you dive into very challenging material, you ought to review. But also ensure you don’t get discouraged right off the bat. Don't lose focus.Everything gets easier with practice, and the end result is worth the effort.

2. Warm up but stay challenged

Start from the basic level and watch yourself progressing. Don't get discouraged when you see people who make it look easy.When we’re trying to understand something fundamentally new, we’re not going to see results right away. And the only difference between you and the people making it look easy is that those people have spent more time getting to that stage. With time and deliberate practice you will start to connect new ideas and notice minor changes in the way you think.

4. Get addicted to progress

Reason why we should care about learning: it is a source of limitless joy.Exercise your curiosity. You might feel fatigued or like you’re not up for the challenge, but with practice, patience, and effort, we are all capable of learning.

Learning for ourselves

Learning is something that we must practice regularly on our own. It’s a health habit as important as exercise. It can be painful and challenging, but ultimately it gets easier.