Tools and Techniques for Better Learning: My Personal Playbook

If you’re navigating exams, technical certifications, or just a long list of things you want to learn—welcome. Over the years, I’ve explored and refined a few learning strategies that have helped me retain complex material, stay motivated, and actually enjoy the process. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the tools and techniques that work for me—and might work for you too.

📝 1. Taking Notes: From Paper Trails to Cloud Maps

Gone are the days of crumpled notebooks and disjointed scribbles. If you’re in school—or even self-studying—mindful, structured note-taking is a game-changer.

I use a tablet (like the iPad) with Goodnotes or Notability to:

• Record lectures while taking real-time notes
• Snap photos of complex diagrams during a session
• Keep all notes in synced cloud folders, organized by subject notebooks

The Apple Pencil makes handwritten annotations smooth and personal, which strangely helps with recall. This setup feels more like a digital sketchpad for my brain than a static doc.

🔁 2. Revising Smart: Active Recall + Small Incentives

Revision isn’t about rereading—it’s about challenging your memory. I follow Ali Abdaal’s Active Recall method, which forces me to pull concepts out of memory rather than passively reabsorb them.

A few techniques I lean on:

• Write questions while studying. Test yourself later.
• Use the Pomodoro Technique to stay focused in short bursts.
• Reward loops work too: Revise for 25 mins → 5 mins of guilt-free scrolling.

Ali’s YouTube channel is a treasure trove of brain-friendly methods if you’re keen to experiment.

🔄 3. Context Switching: Flip the Format, Not the Topic

Let’s be real—sometimes your attention just won’t cooperate. When motivation dips, I lean on context switching, not topic switching.

Say I’m prepping for a certification:

• I’ll start with a video series to get my brain into gear
• Then shift to reading material once I’m more engaged
• If I’m on the move, I plug into a podcast on the same subject

The content stays consistent, but the format flexes to suit my energy.

📊 4. Progress Tracking: Build a System, Not Just a To-Do List

Whether I’m learning for a class or preparing for a cert like CISSP or ITIL, I create a custom Google Sheet tracker that might include:

• A study timeline
• Resource links
• Progress bars by module or topic
• Notes on pain points

I often use AI tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, or Gemini to build an efficient prep strategy. A prompt like “Make me a 4-week prep plan for [exam name] using [resources]” yields surprisingly useful scaffolding.

🔑 Final Thought

These techniques aren’t magic bullets. They just help me learn consistently. And that’s the real unlock. Try things out, mix and match, and listen to your rhythms. You’ll find a system that clicks.

If you’ve got a favorite method or tool, I’d love to hear about it—drop a comment or subscribe to stay in touch. Let’s keep learning, experimenting, and leveling up together.

Image courtesy – FreeImages.com/champpixs