How to Learn Faster and Retain Knowledge for Longer – IC009

Jaz’s Introduction: Hi guys, it’s Jaz Gulati here with another episode of the Protrusive Dental podcast, it’s the interference cast version where I just sort of I got a little tangent. And this is all about how to make the most of learning from the courses that we attend. And the reason I came up with this is, I’ve been reading a book called Limitless by someone called Jim Kwik. Check it out if you want to, if you’re into sort of maximizing your potential and the human mind, and really so many gems in there, which I thought would be so useful for dentists to learn when we’re actually attending courses. More importantly, now that with COVID, a lot of the things are going online. And you commonly hear this term, I’m Webinared out, you know, people go into too many webinars nowadays, and over lockdown, it was definitely the case, you know, there was like, easily, you could fill your whole day with webinars during lockdown. And it gives you sort of like a digital fatigue of some sorts. So I want to just refresh and recap on what are the ways that you can maximize your learning while you’re on in person courses, but particularly on the online courses, so you don’t feel webinared out. We can also apply this to some websites like dentinal tubules, or ripe global, these are two websites, I subscribe to which you’ve got loads and loads of clinical videos and sort of courses online that you can watch on demand. But I think all of us are guilty of this, right? Like we have subscriptions to dental magazines or journals, subscriptions to online websites, but it’s about making time to actually watch that content and actually immerse yourself in that content. Like it’s almost like having the requirement of protected time. And that’s so difficult to make nowadays. And when you do find time to watch these videos on these online platforms to actually attend these webinars, your time is so valuable. So you really have to maximize what you gain for every single course that you do in every single video that you watch. So this is what it’s about. And I’m gonna introduce you the fast protocol, the F-A-S-T protocol on how to maximize your learning. Inspired by Jim Kwik, Limitless. Here we go.

Main Podcast:

So the FAST protocol starts with F. And the F stands for FORGET, right? I know that sounds crazy. But to actually learn and really gain as much as possible. Like let’s imagine you’re doing a course on veneers, right like an a webinar or an online course on veneers. The way to maximize how much you learn from that particular course is to forget everything you know about veneers. One of my favorite quotes is from someone called Malcolm Forbes, and it’s “The role of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” And it’s the same concept that if you actually attend a course or an online webinar or online course, with an open mind, the new art so much more likely to absorb and learn more. So the F in the FAST protocol is Forgetting what you know already about that topic.

The A stands for ACTION, and it can also be interpreted as Active learning. And for me, it’s definitely the case that I learn better when I’m taking notes. And one thing that Jim Kwik teaches his book is that we do not learn from consuming. We learn from creating. And for me when I’m creating notes, or when I’m creating mind maps, and some people like typing manically on their iPads or on their laptops, basically almost transcribing what the lecturer is saying. But you gain so much more from that process. So note taking or whatever you need to do, whatever creative way that you learn, is so important to have rather than just consuming blindly or consuming blankly, you need to be able to create and in that way you will learn more. And the other thing that comes with active learning is that the whole thing about multitasking is an absolute myth, right? We can’t multitask effectively. So have you ever been on a course. And maybe you’re sat in the front row with all good intentions. But what happens is that you get text messages from your practice manager or patient emails you and you sort of open up the email. And now you’re dealing with a staffing issue or a patient issue. And you nip out the course to make a phone call. And then you’re sort of thinking about the patient or the staffing issue. You’re absent from the course. And it’s basically trying to juggle a few things at the same time. It’s just not going to work, you’re not going to maximize your learning potential. So really, you have to focus intensely on that course in front of you and forget everything else. Forget these distractions. And one of the tip is that as humans, we can’t process a negative. So if I tell you don’t think of a pink tree, you just thought of a pink tree. So because we can’t process a negative, if something pops up in your mind or you get an email. You can’t just be like okay, I’m not gonna think about this. I’m not gonna think about this. The best way to handle that situation is Make a note of it somewhere or make a to do list, focusing on that task at hand, and then move on from it. Because you can’t process the negatives. Now you’ve actually written it down or typed it up somewhere, and then you refocus back on the course. And that’s the best way to manage your distraction in the middle of a course.

So far, we have Forget and Action. to action being actually taking notes and being creating and not being distracted.

The S is super important for all realms, but particularly online. And the S stands for STATE, like, what is your state, and that means your environment, your emotional state, and also physical state, you know, your posture was that like, so if you cover a one by one, like, what’s your environment? Are you doing an online course or a webinar, in your PJs, lying down in bed, you’re sort of sideways, it’s not going to make sense compared to working in a home office, far away from the kids as far as you can be. And you know, being actually looking the part and dressing up as if you actually go into a physical course, like that environment is so much more conducive to learning. And also, your posture is important. So if you’re laying down, if you’re slouching on the laptop, compared to the physiology, and the effect that has on your mind, if you’re actually on your desk, sat up straight, there has a huge bearing on how much you learn. So your actual physiology and your state in terms of environment is really important, but also your emotional state.

Now, the courses where I have learned the most from have been the ones where I’ve been really excited. So I remember when I saw Jason Smithson talk about onlays and veneers over two days, I was so excited about that. And also Michael Melkers, in Stockholm, I was mega excited. I was on this flight. And I was like, Okay, fine. I’m exploring a new country because that was in Stockholm. But also, I’m exploring, I’m actually going to Michael Melkers course. I was super, super excited to learn from these two amazing clinicians. So those two times is probably why those two courses had a massive impact on me, because I was mega excited to learn from these two masters. So you’re, the way Jim Kwik said it is that your ability to retain information long term is governed by a formula. And that formula is basically knowledge x emotion. So the knowledge that you gain that day, but it’s multiplied by your emotional state. So if you’re actually excited to be somewhere, if you’re actually excited to learn that content, like you know, if you’re excited, or like me, and you have, you know, real palpitations, excitement about going to these courses and learning from these great people, then you will learn so much more. So really have to tap into your mind and create a sense of excitement and eagerness and being keen and you will learn so much more, you will retain that information, because of your emotional state being multiplied by that knowledge for so much longer.

So the last part of the FAST protocol is T and it stands for TEACH. Now, what I don’t mean is you do one online course or webinar, and suddenly you start running your own bespoke courses. That’s not what I mean at all. What I mean is that if you attend a course, or an online course, with the intention of passing on that knowledge that you learned to a colleague, then you will learn so much more, because when you teach, you get to learn it twice. So when you teach, you get to learn it twice. And in such a great way, I’m a firm believer that the best students make the best teachers and vice versa, the best teachers also make the best students. So it goes hand in hand. And I think when you’re able to teach something, impart some information that you’ve gained from a lecturer on to someone else or apply it to a clinical case, that will really amplify your learning.

So there we have it, some things to consider about how to maximize your learning from attending online courses, but also physical courses as the FAST protocol. So once again, it’s FORGET what you know already. Be ACTIVE, learn actively be in the correct STATE, that’s your environment, that’s your emotional state. And consider TEACHing someone something you learn because that way you get to learn it twice.

Jaz’s Outro: So hope you find that little interference cast useful. And I’m hoping that over the next six months looks like a lot of the content is going to be online, you’ll be able to take away a few gems from that and really take it forward and learn and gain so much more from these courses. So thanks again for listening all the way to the end. I really appreciate it as always.