Managing to learn new things and not forget about them.

[kitki83]

Basically I want to get some idea what's everyone approach to information when it comes to learning new programs, tutorials, tips, shortcuts and other professional improvement skills.

How do you remember that awesome tutorial that you can recall it in the future?

As people who use design programs, there is always new things to learn and expand but when does this information get overwhelming that you learn something new everyday but you forget something else.

Just give me advice what you do to retain such information either with journals, archives, portfolio, repeat and rinse trick, if you forget just google again the information(read and recall) or other.

Thank you

ps. This is for a research I am doing for my graduate program, trying to learn more how information is dealt in the design fields and methodologies around it.

 

[RITZFit]

So far I've found that repetition works best for me. like when I was learning autocad and solid works, a lot of exercise modeling and repetition helped me.

 

[TMorris]

Rinse and repeat

Repetition is always the best way to remember. It also helps to print out tutorials you go through and keep a book of cool things. The best things learned are the ones that you happen upon by accident. Like when you need a character from Zapf Dingbats on the fly: hit control|option|z and then hit the letter of the corresponding dingbat. Viola - you have the character and then you default back to your original font.

 

[troyhark]

Use it or lose it.
Works for all learning processes.

I do a lot of dances [social partner dances, not ballroom] and they have different approaches to learning. The best structure is where you have a lesson and immediately have a session where music plays and you put what you learned into practice. And if you practice several times a week, you then reinforce and build on what you need.

The other very, very effective way is to try and remember. Sounds daft but it works. Say you learn something new, ten minutes later try and recall what you learnt and go over it. A few hours later do the same and again the next day. Doing social dancing just after a dance lesson is doing just that.

A problem I have with some computer stuff I learn is that I then do not use what I've learned again for maybe a year or as there is no need and no real way to practice. This includes such thing as installing tweaks or fixing problems that occur occasionally. Making notes would be the suggestion there.