Convenience Learning has got a new fan. That’s me!

You have to give it to Instagram and their ad targeting. Sometimes it works like magic. Something similar happened with me recently.

I have been an Android phone user since start and somehow I resonate better with the Google ecosystem. Yes, we all know that unlike Apple, Android users are more like an ‘open book’ for the advertisers. But somehow it worked in my favor. I believe, that if the companies know you better and are able to target you with right products and services, there is nothing wrong in that. Ultimately, whether to buy that product or service is completely your choice. But at least you’ll have a choice! There are millions of things in this world, which are being sold or promoted. We will never be able to explore them all, unless they reach out to us.

In December 2020, a company called FrontRow started targeting me on Instagram with their ads. ‘Learn Comedy with Biswa Kalyan Rath’. Of course, this was happening because I was watching more of Stand Up Comedy videos on YouTube. But I also genuinely wanted to know how this stuff works. How these people perform 30 to 40 minutes set on stage. More so because I have been a fan of Biswa and I had already attended couple of his live shows. Meanwhile many of my friends keep telling me that I should do something in comedy and I will do great there (that story is for another day). So I went ahead and purchased the course at Rs. 500. And this course was surprisingly good! What it taught me was some simple but effective techniques which can be helpful for someone who is genuinely trying to start something in Stand-up Comedy.

This made me think a bit. Throughout our lives, ‘learning’ as a concept has always been showcased less from the ‘receiver’s’ point of view and more from the ‘giver’s’ point of view. Have you ever thought of learning any new skill, any language or a music instrument? We often tend to postpone and avoid these small opportunities with reasons like, right time, value for money, benefits of this in future etc. Today you can literally learn anything over the internet. Right from learning coding to playing Veena. And here’s when ‘Convenience Learning’ comes into picture. If you have to take maximum juice out from Convenience Learning, following points might help you out!

Do not compare your money’s worth with learning. Instead, use the 100-40 formula.

We are somehow very much attached to the concept of ‘Value for Money’. This concept does not work in Paid Online Learning. Rather it will make you disturbed, if you try to compare your money’s worth with the outcome. The trick I can suggest is that the moment you start with the course or the lecture, try to forget that you have paid money for this. This will help you focus more on the content, rather than constantly trying to think about ‘is this worth this much of money’. Today, the market is so competitive that in most of the cases, you have to assume that the offered price is the best price for the course. By applying this process, you eliminate all those unwanted thoughts in your mind which become a hindrance to your actual learning.

I suggest using the 100-40 formula. Which simply means that if the cost an online course is X and the complete value derived from that course is 100, then even if you are able to consume 40% of the content, you should be satisfied with yourself. 40% as a number psychologically sounds low or below average, and in majority of the times you end up achieving much higher value than 40% in reality. This gives you a peace of mind and helps you concentrate more on the content and the learning part.

Play. Stop. Repeat.

Millennials have a very low attention span. And if you are someone like me who needs a revision, then definitely follow this step. Most of these online courses have been made into multiple and smaller video sets. The idea behind designing the course in this way is that you learn the step by step process and you can always refer back to the previous steps whenever you want to. The disadvantage though is, since we are so much used to binge watching nowadays, we end up watching 3 to 4 videos in one sitting. Sometimes it also happens due to limited time available with us. What it does is that it makes you forget few important points because you have not given time to sync it with your mind. Hence, once you have watched the entire set, after 1 week, play it once more so that the content is fixed up in your mind even stronger. The second streaming does not require 100% focus. You can let it play on your mobile while working on your laptop or while cooking in your kitchen. But subconsciously the content is registering in brain much better compared to a single time play.

An Amateur is a better teacher than the Expert!

Author Austin Kleon in his book Show Your Work! explains the idea of Scenius. Scenius is a person who is opposite to Genius, who believes that great ideas are often birthed by a group of creative individuals. And it is completely okay if the people in this group are amateur. He says that today’s amateur is the enthusiast who pursues his or her work in the spirit of love. Therefore, collaborative effort teaches you better because an amateur knows how it works in the early stages and his memory of learning is fresh. Quite opposite to an expert who has passed that stage years ago and he may not give a right advice to the early starters. Hence, do not hesitate to join common online groups who share similar interests. It will only help you improve your knowledge on top of what you have learnt in the online course. You will always find such groups on WhatsApp, Facebook, Reddit or Twitter. Who knows you might be able to share more knowledge than you expect to gain.

Curious to give a shot to Convenience Learning? Go ahead and do share your story with me. Thank you !