I used to be obsessed with people who did 8-10 hour study marathon live streams on the internet.

I thought the best student was:

So,

In my first year at college, I decided to try to become that "ideal scholar."

And it worked. (somehow)

I was on the Dean's List with a 3.9 GPA.

Now, if everything afterwards went so smoothly, I wouldn't be here writing about it since the very next semester I crashed out with the worst grades in my academic career and a 3.0 GPA.

This experience forced me to come to terms with the harsh truth —

Hard work alone isn't enough.

It’s like binging a game and expecting a win every time without even knowing the mechanics.

It’s inefficient, inconsistent, and just a waste of time and energy.

But, don't worry, I'm not here to be another one of those, "work smarter not harder" preachers.

I believe in the value of hard work.

But when it comes to something systematic, like getting good grades in college, you can cut down on the hard work just by learning a single skill that will get you success in school (and in life.)

In fact, this is a skill, an art, that all the top entrepreneurs, creatives, and academics use to become irreplaceable as individuals in society— The Skill of Meta-Learning.

Learning how to learn starts with understanding your mind.

One way to do that is by understanding the neuroscience of the brain.¹

Essentially there are two "modes of thinking"— two distinct ways of learning:

This is when the brain is at peak condition to problem-solve. Meaning this is when you should be in a "head-down-study" mindset. This was what I was attempting to maintain in my first semester that led to my burnout.

In practice:

Focus Mode → Deep Work.

Think:

This mode is, in my opinion more important mode. This is the missing piece that most people ignore when it comes to learning.

Essentially in Diffused mode, your brain is allowed to expand freely and connect new ideas with old ones. This is where new learning occurs.

Diffuse Mode → Creative Reflection

Think:

To make these 2 ideas more easier to digest here’s an analogy:

Imagine your brain as a pinball machine. The way the pinball bounces around depends on how the obstacles are arranged inside the machine:

In Focused Mode (L), the pinball machine tightly packed with bumpers, your thoughts follow structured, precise paths to solve specific problems.

Whereas, in Diffuse Mode (R) with the widely spaced bumpers, the pinball roams freely, exploring ideas and forming creative connections.

From experience, I've found that there is an 80-20 split between the time I find myself in focus and diffuse mode respectively.

Let's talk more about this split and why mastering it is the key to learning.

This is the fun stuff. This is how you hack your mind.

Finding the balance between focus and diffuse mode is how I made learning addicting and removed any risk of being burned out again.

Here are the strategies:

50-minute bursts of Focused Mode study followed by 10 minutes of a Diffused Mode activity. If 50 mins is a lot, start with 25 mins and slowly build up to more.

For the diffuse mode activity, I like to walk on a treadmill or do some posture stretches.

According to neuroscience, light movement or exercise is an excellent way to improve cognitive functioning. Plus it helps the brain reset for the next session of focus mode which helps reduce chances of burning out.

This is the best framework to follow the meta-learning principals.

Take a light nap. A quick walk. Break some sweat.

Again, this ties back to the importance of not burning out in the long term.

Learning isn't a sprint, it’s a marathon.

You want to build long-term memory; otherwise, what's the point of spending time and energy into something you'll forget after you give the exam or finish the project?

When you relax, the brain's diffuse mode network runs in the background, working on strengthening your conceptual understanding

This is when the magic happens.

Sleep is the ultimate Diffused Mode—your brain consolidates ideas and strengthens neural connections in sleep.

Shakespeare is making an analogy between knitted clothes and sleep that knits up the loose threads of experience and concerns during the day and weaves them into the tapestry of your life story.

Ever been stuck on a complex problem late at night and wake up with the solution cooked up in your head out of nowhere? That’s the magic of sleep.

If you take anything from this post, it’s this— sleep is the vital "glue" that holds all the information. Make 8 hours of sleep a non-negotiable in life. Not just to learn better, but to live better.

So,

You now know the core of meta-learning with the fundamentals of thinking modes.

The more you understand how the mind works, the more control you can have over the information that it processes and recalls in long-term memory and innovate.

In Part II, I'll covered how geniuses like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and many other intellectual figures came up with their world-shifting ideas and innovations.

Plus I'll go more in-depth on applied meta-learning skills that use neuroscience of memory and emotions.

That's it for now,

This is my first newsletter.

Exciting things to come in 2025.

Thanks for reading, see you in the next one.