A Friendly, Practical Guide to Learning Anything Faster
If you’ve ever typed “What is the fastest way to learn” into Google, you’re definitely not alone. People on Quora, Reddit, YouTube, and across the internet ask this all the time:
Many learners wonder what is the fastest way to learn, and they search for effective methods.
- How can you learn something new faster?
- Is there a study method that actually works?
- Why does everyone else seem to get it… faster than me?
The good news? Fast learning is not magic, and it’s not about being “naturally smart”. It’s about using a handful of proven strategies effectively.
There’s also a real cost to slow learning:
- Wasting hours on ineffective methods
- Paying for courses you never apply to
- Missing opportunities at work or in your personal life
Recognising these costs can actually boost your motivation to adopt faster learning techniques.
A lot of what you’ll read in this article is inspired by Dr Ali Abdaal’s article “How to Learn Anything Faster”, where he shares research-backed techniques like sharpening the axe, optimising focus, immersion, testing yourself, spacing, and teaching what you learn. These methods are supported by decades of cognitive science, which makes them not just trendy tips but genuinely reliable tools.
We’ll combine those ideas with real-world tips from learners on Reddit and transform everything into a single, practical guide that you can start using today.
1. Before Anything Else: What Does “Fast” Learning Really Mean?
Before we answer “What is the fastest way to learn?”, we need to be clear about what “fast” really means.
Fast learning is not:
- Cramming the night before and forgetting everything the next week
- Watching 20 YouTube videos at 2x speed and remembering almost nothing
Fast learning is:
- Understanding the core ideas quickly
- Remembering them for a long time
- Being able to actually use what you learned in real life
Main takeaway: Fast learning means understanding, retaining, and applying knowledge efficiently. Focus on these three goals for the best results.
2. Sharpen the Axe: Prepare Before You Dive In
Ali Abdaal’s first big idea is “Sharpen the Axe”—based on the quote often attributed to Abraham Lincoln:
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
Applied to learning, this means: before you start studying, spend a little time deciding how you’re going to learn.
Ask yourself three simple questions.
1. What exactly do I want to be able to do?
- Not: “Learn Spanish.”
But: “Hold a basic 5-minute conversation in Spanish in 3 months.” - Not: “Learn programming.”
But: “Build a simple landing page in HTML/CSS in 2 weeks.”
👉 Take action now: Pause for one minute, write down one specific skill or task you want to accomplish, and start turning your reading into real progress. Committing to paper is your first step toward faster learning.
2. What’s my main resource?
- One main course, not ten
- One main textbook, not a folder full of random PDFs
- One main YouTube playlist, not a new video every day
This prevents you from jumping around and never finishing anything.
Understanding what is the fastest way to learn can be transformative for your education.
3. How much time can I realistically give it?
- Even 30 focused minutes a day beats 3 unfocused hours once a week.
This “pre-learning” step may feel slow, but it is essential for understanding later material and dramatically accelerates progress in subsequent steps.
3. Use “Crutches” to Optimise Your Focus
We all know we should focus. The problem isn’t knowledge—it’s follow-through.
Ali Abdaal suggests using small “crutches” or hacks to help yourself start and stay focused.
a) The 5-Minute Rule
Tell yourself:
“I’ll just do this for 5 minutes. Then I’m allowed to stop.”
Most of the time, once you start, you keep going. The real enemy wasn’t studying—it was starting.
b) Physically Remove Distractions
Instead of relying on pure willpower:
- Put your phone in another room or a closed drawer.
- Turn off notifications on your laptop.
- Use one browser tab for studying—nothing else.
This frees up mental bandwidth, allowing your working memory to focus on the actual task.
c) Make a “Study Zone”
Train your brain: “When I sit here, I focus.”
- A simple, tidy desk
- Good lighting
- A chair you can comfortably sit in for 30–60 minutes.
Using the same spot regularly makes it easier to drop into “deep work” mode. Repetition makes the state of focus feel more natural.
4. Immerse Yourself: Learn in the Environment You’ll Use the Skill
Ali Abdaal’s next principle is immersion: we learn fastest when we’re surrounded by what we’re trying to learn, not just checking in occasionally.
For languages
- Change your phone or a few apps into the target language.
- Listen to short podcasts, YouTube videos, or TikToks in that language daily.
- Write a tiny daily journal entry—just a few sentences.
Many learners find that after a few weeks of this kind of immersion, they can engage in basic conversations much more quickly than with textbook-only study.
For coding
- Don’t just watch tutorials—code along
- Build small projects:
- A to-do list app
- A simple landing page
- A basic calculator
These projects bring abstract concepts to life.
For other skills (design, writing, editing, etc.)
- Follow people in your field on social media.
- Collect examples of good design, strong writing, or impressive edits.
- Try to copy or recreate them as a practice exercise.
Main takeaway: Surrounding yourself with the skill builds familiarity, keeps you engaged, and speeds up learning.
5. Figure Out Your Weak Links (and Attack Them)
Ali also talks about “Figure Out Your Weak Links”—the idea that your progress is usually held back by a few key weaknesses, not by everything.
Ask yourself:
“If I had an exam or a real-world test tomorrow, what part scares me the most?”
That’s your weak link.
How to turn weak links into strengths
- Make a list of 3–5 things you struggle with most
(e.g., grammar, word problems, debugging, speaking aloud) - At the start of each study session, spend 10–15 minutes on just one weak area.
- Use easier resources if needed, but don’t avoid that topic.
Progress happens fastest when you deliberately work on your weakest areas, not when you repeat the things you already know.
6. Test Yourself: Active Recall Is Your Superpower
If you remember only one technique from this article, let it be this:
Testing yourself (active recall) is one of the most effective ways to learn anything quickly.
Instead of just pushing information in, you train your brain to pull it out—and that’s what strengthens memory.
How to use Active Recall
Instead of:
- Re-reading the chapter 3–4 times
- Rewatching the same video over and over
Do this:
- Study the material once (text, video, lecture).
- Close your book or pause the video.
- On a blank page, write down:
- What was the main idea?
- What key points do you remember?
- What examples or steps can you still recall?
- Check the original and fill in anything you missed.
You can also:
- Make flashcards (apps like Anki work great)
- Answer end-of-chapter questions from memory.
- Explain the topic to a friend without notes.
When self-testing feels hard, that’s actually a good sign—it means your brain is doing the deeper work needed for strong understanding and long-term memory.
7. Space It Out: Use Spaced Repetition Instead of Cramming
Another powerful principle from Ali’s article is “Use Spacing,” often referred to as Spaced Repetition.
Your brain naturally forgets things over time (this is the “forgetting curve”). To beat that curve, you revisit information at intervals instead of all at once.
A simple spacing schedule
For something you learned today:
- Review it tomorrow (Day 1 → Day 2)
- Review again in 3–4 days.
- Review again in 1–2 weeks.
- Review again in about a month, focusing only on the key ideas.
You can:
- Set reminders in your calendar.
- Use spaced repetition apps (like Anki)
- Or keep a simple “review list” and tick things off as you revisit them.
The result? You remember more, with less effort, and you don’t have to constantly relearn the same material from scratch.
8. Get Real Feedback: Don’t Learn in a Bubble
People on Reddit’s r/getdisciplined often mention how powerful it is to get feedback—from teachers, friends, or online communities—rather than trying to figure everything out alone.
Ali Abdaal also includes “Get Regular Intense Feedback” as one of his core principles.
Who can you get feedback from?
- A teacher, tutor, or mentor
- A more experienced friend
- An online community (Discord servers, Reddit, Facebook groups, etc.)
- A coworker who’s skilled in what you’re learning
Ask for specific feedback.
For future reference, think about what is the fastest way to learn when choosing resources.
Don’t just say:
“What do you think?”
Instead ask:
- “What’s one thing you’d improve in this code/design/essay?”
- “Which part was confusing?”
- “If you were my examiner, what would you mark down?”
Good feedback helps you improve quickly, avoid bad habits, and stay on track.
9. Master the Fundamentals (Without Wasting Time)
Some people think faster learning means rushing past the basics. In reality, the fundamentals are your shortcut.
You don’t need to spend endless hours “overlearning” the same simple exercise, but you do need a solid foundation.
Examples
- In math:
Don’t just memorise formulas—understand what they represent and when to use them. - In writing:
Don’t just copy templates—learn what makes a sentence clear and easy to read. - In coding:
Don’t just paste code from StackOverflow—understand what each line is doing.
Mastering the fundamentals once makes it much easier and faster to learn advanced skills later.
10. Teach What You’re Learning (Even If No One Is Listening)
Remember to keep in mind what is the fastest way to learn if you wish to improve.
Ali’s final principle is “Teach What You’re Learning”—also known as the Feynman Technique.
If you can explain something:
- Simply
- Clearly
- Without notes
…you almost certainly understand it.
Easy ways to “teach” (even as a beginner)
- Explain today’s topic to a friend or sibling.
- Record a short voice note where you walk through the idea step by step.
- Write a quick blog post, tweet thread, or Instagram story explaining what you learned.
- Pretend you’re giving a mini TED talk alone in your room.
Teaching exposes your knowledge gaps and shows you exactly what to review next.
11. A 7-Day “Learn Faster” Action Plan
Let’s turn all of this into action. Follow this 7-day plan and notice how much faster you start learning.
Day 1 – Sharpen the Axe
- Pick one skill or subject.
- Write a clear 30-day goal.
- e.g., “Have a 5-minute conversation in Spanish”
- Choose your primary resource (one course, one book, etc.)
- Decide your daily learning slot (e.g., 7:00–7:40 pm)
Days 2–6 – Daily Learning Loop (30–60 minutes)
Each day:
- 5 minutes – Warm up & focus
- Put your phone away
- Use the 5-minute rule to get started.
- 10–15 minutes – Learn something new
- Watch a short lesson or read a section.
- Take light notes—don’t copy everything.
- 10–15 minutes – Active Recall
- Close the book/video.
- Write or say what you remember.
- Check and fill in the gaps.
- 10–15 minutes – Work on a weak link
- Choose one challenging area and tackle it directly.
- 5–10 minutes – Quick spaced review
- Review what you studied 1–3 days ago.
Day 7 – Review, Reflect, Adjust
- Review your notes and key ideas from the week.
- Ask yourself:
- What worked well?
- Where did I get stuck?
- What will I change for next week?
- If possible, share something you learned and ask for feedback.
Repeat this loop for 2–4 weeks, and you’ll almost certainly feel your learning speed and confidence rise.
So… What Is the Fastest Way to Learn?
If we had to compress this whole article into one answer to:
“What is the fastest way to learn?”
It would be:
Prepare smartly, focus deeply, immerse yourself in the skill, identify your weak spots, test yourself frequently, space out your reviews, seek feedback, master the basics, and teach what you’ve learned.
Reflecting on what is the fastest way to learn can enhance your educational approach.
You don’t need to apply all nine strategies perfectly from day one.
Pick one or two that feel easiest—like Active Recall + Spaced Repetition—and start there. As you build momentum, you can layer in the rest.
For anyone asking what is the fastest way to learn, these tips can guide your journey.
Ultimately, the question of what is the fastest way to learn leads us to explore various strategies.
To summarize, what is the fastest way to learn remains a question worth pursuing.
In conclusion, if you ever ponder what is the fastest way to learn, remember these strategies.
Lastly, explore what is the fastest way to learn through continual practice and adjustment.