A study method that works for any discipline, language, or technical subject

  • Step 1 - Preparation: find an authoritative book that covers most of the fundamentals
  • Step 2: skim through the whole book quickly once
  • Step 3: locate a reliable mentor, work through the course, and correct misunderstandings
  • Step 4: break the material into chunks, then study each deeply in cycles
  • Step 5: take a comprehensive test to verify you truly understand what you learned
  • Step 6: keep cycling—practice and produce output. Above all, do not waste the time you invested in the past

Mastery comes down to one rule: keep taking steps without stopping, and even a lame tortoise can travel a thousand miles; pile up grains of earth and before long a hill stands tall. In other words: only practice makes perfect.