how to rapidly assimilate new information - by Dhruv Methi

Increase the quantity of your experiences — this is fairly straightforward. Try new things! No matter how it goes, you have to try really hard not to get a single thing of value from it.

Increase the amount you extract from each experience — this is much less straightforward. I don’t think it’s inevitable at all that a certain experience will naturally create a corresponding improvement in your knowledge; I think it takes a certain skill or intention to turn something you’ve seen or experienced and leverage it effectively.

I’m going to spend the rest of this article diving deeper into the second point above because I truly believe it’s one of the most essential skills anyone can attain. It’s a force multiplier; while we don’t have complete control over the quantity of experiences we have and the opportunities available to us, we have a dramatic amount of control over how we engage with and extract meaning from the things that we do experience. It then becomes a positive feedback loop because as you improve that skill, you hop on a fast track towards mastery over certain domains that then inevitably increase the opportunities available to you, putting you in more interesting and dynamic situations that push you to the boundaries of your existing knowledge and give you more opportunities for further learning.

Map out your current understanding — this is a crucial step that people often skip. Without making an honest attempt to explain the status quo, you won’t have a good grasp on what you know and what you don’t. This self-awareness is necessary for improvement in any domain (hence why the first step of any coaching program is always an initial skills assessment).

Leave a Comment