The Sprint Learning Technique

The Learning Sprint Strategy Inspired by Chess and Running

Learning to program is a challenging yet rewarding quest. Given the sheer volume of stuff you need to learn, you might find yourself asking, how much do I need to dedicate to learning a few minutes every day? Engage in marathon learning sessions? Or reserve the learning for the weekend? Is this even effective? With inspiration from grandmaster chess player Mikhail Tal and insights from running, I want to explore a technique that may well hold the key to accelerating your programming proficiency: the Learning Sprint.

What are the main learning strategies?

The three strategies for learning are Daily Learning, Marathon Session and Weekend Learning

Daily learning, analogous to a steady walk, involves consistent and manageable doses of learning. This approach, which could involve spending a few minutes to an hour every day studying programming, encourages regular engagement with the material and promotes long-term retention of information.

On the other end of the spectrum are marathon learning sessions. In these intense periods of study, you’re trying to cram as much material as you can, kind of like attempting to stuff 5 gallons of jelly into a single donut. Yes, it’s as sticky mess and delicious as it sounds. This method might help you in the short run, but the long-term effects disappear faster than employees at work when someone mentions the word overtime. Need proof? Quick, try to remember anything you learned about dissecting frogs in high school biology. Can’t recall how the ventricle connects to the aorta, can you? Unless you’re now a renowned heart surgeon, chances are that frog’s noble sacrifice was all in vain.

Now let’s jog on (pun intended) to the next method — weekend learning. Weekend learning is kind of like eating a whole pizza by yourself on a Sunday. Sure, it sounds like a fantastic idea in theory (and oh so satisfying), but the aftermath leaves you feeling sluggish and regretful, asking yourself why you didn’t just spread it out over the week.

This approach provides a chance for the busy bees juggling weekday commitments to dedicate larger chunks of time to programming. It’s a blend of daily learning and marathon sessions, giving you the best of both worlds. But let’s be honest, on weekends, most of us would rather be sunk into the couch, binge watching the latest season of our favorite show, our hands buried elbow deep in a bag of Cheetos, can we find a middle ground? Stay tuned!

-Welcome back-

So, you want to be a better runner. What do you think will get you there faster? Casually strolling in the supermarket while pondering over which cereal to buy? Jogging for a solid 30 minutes once a week like you’re forever late for an imaginary bus? Or hitting the pavement every other day like a dutiful postal worker, come rain or shine?

Each approach will give you exactly what you put into it. But let’s face it, it’s not really realistic to expect yourself to run every day. Life happens, right? So, what’s the trick? Well, here’s a surprising fact about our wonderfully weird bodies: if we sprint 100 meters, take a breather, then repeat the four more times, our body basically thinks we’ve run 400 meters in one go. Mind blown? Mine too!

This practice, known as interval training, is a real deal in the athletic world. Athletes use it to boost endurance and speed without running themselves into the ground. In a nutshell, if you’re eyeing to run a mile, it’s the same as running four quarter miles. Your body gets the workout and you will be able to run this mile in no time.

Now, let’s swing back to our original mission: learning programming (or any skill for that matter). How can we apply this sneaky interval training principle to our learning regime? Well, here comes the Magician from Riga

The Mikhail Tal Approach to Learning

Grandmaster Mikhail Tal, renowned for his imaginative and aggressive chess style, offers a valuable perspective on effective learning. His approach involved studying chess intensely but variedly, incorporating playing games, analyzing past games, creating inventive strategies, and taking breaks.

Translating Tal’s technique into programming terms, learners would engage in writing code, reading and analyzing existing code, solving programming challenges, creating unique solutions, and interspersing these activities with regular breaks. This approach cultivates a deep, rich, and well-rounded understanding of programming, mirroring Tal’s comprehensive mastery of chess.

Learning Sprints and Myelin Production

Notably, the sprint and rest approach aligns with insights presented in Daniel Coyle’s book, “The Talent Code,” specifically regarding the production of myelin. Myelin is a neural insulator that boosts signal strength, speed, and accuracy in our brain circuits, enhancing skill acquisition and performance.

Coyle’s research suggests that deep practice, characterized by focused, intense periods of learning — much like learning sprints — stimulates the production of myelin. As myelin production increases, so does the learner’s ability to retain and apply new information. Thus, implementing the sprint and rest strategy in programming learning may not only improve comprehension and problem solving skills but also foster the neurological conditions conducive to effective learning.

I want you to think of Myelin as the broadband of your brain. Sure it might not look like much on the outside — But oh boy, on the inside, it’s the equivalent of upgrading your neural Internet connection to starlink.

The way to fuse everything together

I use a modification of the Pomodoro method. I initiate my study session and set a timer, starting with a modest 5 minutes or until I can feel my brain simmering like a pot of overcooked spaghetti. Once I hit this milestone, I get up, physically remove myself from the computer, and take as long a break as I need to return to a mental state of al dente.

Next, I’m back in the saddle for a new study session, and this time I aim to bump up the learning time to 6 minutes. This incrementing continues, session after session, until I can remain laser-focused for a solid 45 minutes.

However, if I find my attention wavering or if I begin to wander to that new Lock Picking Lawyer YouTube video in which he break a lock by looking at him, I circle back to my primary goal and my source of motivation (for more on this, do check out my previous blog post on setting goals and maintaining motivation). I recalibrate, do a little mental stretching, and get back on the learning horse.

By the way, this method has fringe benefits that extend into the professional realm as well. Often in the workplace, you need to maintain focus for extended periods, whether it’s during meetings that seem to last longer than a sloth’s yawn or intense coding sessions that make a Rubik’s cube look like a child’s plaything. The learning sprint strategy equips you with the mental stamina needed to tackle these scenarios with ease.