Metalearning is the preparation required to start learning a new skill. The purpose is to determine the why, what, how, when, ****and where of your learning project.
As a general rule, you want to spend about 10% of your total time on metalearning.
For example, if you budget 30 hours of your time for your learning project, you should spend about 3 hours of your time figuring out the above. I’d say that no matter the duration of your learning project, you should spend at least 2 hours on this.
This step is to figure out your purpose behind wanting to learn your new skill. Ask yourself:
“Why do I want to learn this skill?”
Dig deep. What is it going to bring into your life? Why is this important for you? What are the positive impacts?
If you know other people who learned the same skill, ask them about their why. Get inspired by them.
In his book Ultralearning, Scott H. Young breaks this down into 3 sub-sections:
In this step, also figure out what your precise goals are using the SMART approach.
This is where you put your research skills to the test. Find out the different approaches that exist to learn a skill. Find articles, books, videos, podcasts, etc. At SkillUp Academy, we've curated a list of resources for over 400 skills, as well as vetted top experts to train you in a variety of skills.
How frequently do you practice? At what time?
This is a greatly overlooked concept, but if you practice ad-hoc without a schedule, you’ll fail. What is your learning schedule like? Do you practice when your mind is most sharp? Do you practice when your body is primed? Always practice when your brain is prone to learning.