Who says you can’t change your brain—or your life—after your twenties? Barbara Oakley did exactly that. At 26, with no technical background and a, let’s be honest, pretty horrible relationship with math, she made the risky decision to pursue electrical engineering. For many, it might have seemed impossible. But for Barbara, it was an opportunity to challenge herself and redefine how she approached learning.
Her journey from struggle to mastery wasn’t just about gaining knowledge; it was about learning the tools to rewire her brain and help others do the same.
In this blog, we’ll share five of Barbara’s top lessons for mastering the art of learning:
1. Look Before You Cross
When Barbara first began studying engineering, she would spend hours trying to master a single page of her physics textbook before moving on. Frustration would build until, by accident, she flipped ahead—and everything suddenly made sense.
“I had wasted hours because I hadn’t skimmed the chapter to get a sense of the bigger picture,” she explained. So before getting right into the details, skim the material to understand its structure.
2. Understand the Power of Curiosity
Curiosity didn’t kill the cat, in fact it cured it! Curiosity is a biochemical cheat code for learning. Barbara explained that curiosity triggers dopamine, which helps strengthen neural connections and improves retention.
You need to genuinely get interested in what you’re learning. If you’re struggling to care about a topic, find creative ways to make it engaging. Even tools like generative AI can help spark your curiosity by offering fresh perspectives.
3. Take Your Time
Cramming might help you pass tomorrow’s test, but it won’t stick for long. Instead, Barbara recommends spaced repetition: revisiting material over time to strengthen long-term memory.
Your brain works like a garden—it needs time for new connections to take root. Revisiting topics periodically ensures those connections grow strong and durable, rather than wilting away.
4. The Pomodoro Technique
Barbara swears by the Pomodoro Technique for boosting focus and productivity. Here’s how it works:
- Set a timer for 25 minutes of focused work.
- Take a five-minute break—but don’t reach for your phone! Use the time to relax your brain, letting your thoughts settle.
- Repeat the cycle, and after four rounds, take a longer 30-minute break.
This method prevents burnout while helping your brain process and organise what you’ve learned.
5. Broaden Your Passions
Barbara learned this lesson the hard way. Early in her career, she followed her love of language and earned a degree in Russian—but struggled to find meaningful opportunities afterward.
Don’t just follow your passion—broaden it. Explore interests that combine what excites you with skills that are in demand. You should be combining your curiosity with practicality so that unexpected opportunities can find you more easily.
Go Learn!
Alright, now you’re ready to learn Russian! Just kidding—unless you actually are, in which case, you’re certainly ready now. Barbara Oakley shows us that it’s entirely possible to go from being a struggling student to becoming a distinguished professor. It’s never too late to change how you learn—or what you believe you’re capable of.
“Whatever you are, it always seems like everybody has a background that suits them for their field,” she said. “But that’s not true. You can create the background you need by learning how to learn effectively.”
It was a privilege to have Barbara on the latest episode of Greatest Minds. To listen to the full episode, as well as our back catalogue of guests, see here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6RAN2vOfHdmOVn6ltgfOnY?si=YqRLomQwRF2YScDY3a_qYw
