Creating the Conditions for Learning

In the last blog post, I spoke about the importance of creating the conditions for learning, but I did not spend much time on how to actually do that. Let’s take a closer look. Here are five simple (but not always easy) things you can do to strengthen your learning outcomes:

#1: Give it your best energy

Learning requires energy. Your brain relies on limited cognitive resources to focus, process, and retain new information. When those resources are low, attention drops and learning becomes less effective (Kahneman; Baumeister et al.). Pay attention to when your mind feels most alert during the day and use that window for learning. Even a short, focused session during your peak energy is more effective than pushing through when you are feeling depleted.

#2: Go slower than you think you should

If something feels hard, it is often a sign that you are taking in more than your brain can process at once. Working memory can only hold a small number of new elements at a time, typically around 3 to 5 chunks of information (Sweller; Cowan). When too much information is introduced at once, cognitive load increases, and the brain struggles to encode it effectively. Slowing the pace reduces that load and improves comprehension, allowing information to move into long-term memory more efficiently.

#3: Clear the noise

A busy mind has less room to learn. Thoughts, stress, and distractions compete for the same limited working memory resources needed to process new information. When attention is divided, encoding becomes less effective and retention suffers (Kahneman). Even brief moments of mindfulness can help regulate attention and reduce internal distraction, improving working memory and focus (Mrazek et al.). Creating mental space before you begin allows your brain to fully engage with what you are learning.

#4: Take breaks

Learning requires periods of rest. Your brain needs time to consolidate and integrate new information, especially after focused effort. Memory consolidation continues after learning, strengthening and stabilizing what you have taken in (Walker; Diekelmann and Born). Without breaks, attention declines, and new information becomes harder to retain. Stepping away, even briefly, supports this process and improves both focus and long-term retention when you return.

#5: Find your why

Learning is easier to sustain when it matters to you. Intrinsic motivation increases attention, persistence, and depth of processing, all of which support stronger learning outcomes (Deci and Ryan). When you are genuinely interested in something, your brain is more likely to prioritize and encode that information. Research also shows that curiosity activates reward-related systems in the brain, which enhances memory and retention (Gruber et al.). When you connect what you are learning to something meaningful, your attention follows more naturally.

Works Cited:

Baumeister, Roy F., et al. “Ego Depletion: Is the Active Self a Limited Resource?” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 74, no. 5, 1998, pp. 1252–1265.

Cowan, Nelson. “The Magical Mystery Four: How Is Working Memory Capacity Limited, and Why?” Current Directions in Psychological Science, vol. 19, no. 1, 2010, pp. 51–57.

Deci, Edward L., and Richard M. Ryan. “The ‘What’ and ‘Why’ of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior.” Psychological Inquiry, vol. 11, no. 4, 2000, pp. 227–268.

Diekelmann, Susanne, and Jan Born. “The Memory Function of Sleep.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience, vol. 11, no. 2, 2010, pp. 114–126.

Gruber, Matthias J., et al. “States of Curiosity Modulate Hippocampus-Dependent Learning via the Dopaminergic Circuit.” Neuron, vol. 84, no. 2, 2014, pp. 486–496.

Kahneman, Daniel. Attention and Effort. Prentice-Hall, 1973.

Mrazek, Michael D., et al. “Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance.” Psychological Science, vol. 24, no. 5, 2013, pp. 776–781.

Sweller, John. “Cognitive Load During Problem Solving: Effects on Learning.” Cognitive Science, vol. 12, no. 2, 1988, pp. 257–285.

Walker, Matthew P. “The Role of Sleep in Cognition and Emotion.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 1156, no. 1, 2009, pp. 168–197.

Intention > Youth

Thanks to neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganize and form new connections, you can build new skills, habits, and knowledge at any age. This is not just a nice idea. It is well established in neuroscience (Park and Bischof; Lövdén et al.).

If you think about it, you are learning all the time. Your brain is constantly updating based on experience, even right now as you read this sentence.

So why do people say “old dogs can’t learn new tricks”?

There is truth there, but it is often misunderstood.

As we age, certain aspects of learning such as processing speed and working memory become less efficient. That can make learning feel harder and require more repetition (Burke and Barnes). But the ability to learn itself does not go away. The brain remains capable of meaningful change across the entire lifespan.

Here is the part I think does not get talked about enough:

Focusing attention is metabolically expensive. It takes real energy. The brain already uses a large portion of the body’s energy at rest, and effortful thinking increases that demand (Raichle and Gusnard; Attwell and Laughlin).

When we are younger, we often have more cognitive bandwidth and fewer competing demands. As we get older, life gets fuller. More responsibilities, more decisions, more things pulling at our attention. So learning is not harder because we cannot do it. It can feel harder because we are asking our brains to do it on top of everything else.

This is why being intentional matters.

Learning something new requires deciding that it truly matters to you and intentionally creating the conditions to learn it.

Set aside uninterrupted time to give the topic your full focus. Make time for it when you actually have the mental space to engage. Give it your best energy. (Let it be an energetic priority, not an afterthought.) Come back to it often. Allow for repetition.

P.S. If it feels harder than it used to, if you find yourself getting frustrated, it does not mean anything is wrong with you. It just means you might need a different pace. Try slowing down. One concept at a time. Be patient. Meet yourself exactly where you’re at. Oh, and breathe.

Works Cited:

Attwell, David, and Simon B. Laughlin. “An Energy Budget for Signaling in the Grey Matter of the Brain.” Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism, vol. 21, no. 10, 2001, pp. 1133–1145.

Burke, Sara N., and Carol A. Barnes. “Neural Plasticity in the Ageing Brain.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience, vol. 7, no. 1, 2006, pp. 30–40.

Lövdén, Martin, et al. “Experience-Dependent Plasticity of White-Matter Microstructure Extends into Old Age.” Psychological Bulletin, vol. 136, no. 4, 2010, pp. 659–676.

Park, Denise C., and Gabriele N. Bischof. “The Aging Mind: Neuroplasticity in Response to Cognitive Training.” Annual Review of Psychology, vol. 64, 2013, pp. 491–516.

Raichle, Marcus E., and Debra A. Gusnard. “Appraising the Brain’s Energy Budget.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 99, no. 16, 2002, pp. 10237–10239