There’s a reason most of us can’t retain new information—it’s called the “forgetting curve,” and the mental blank this phrase refers to is oh so real.
The truth is, most of what you learn is forgotten within the 48-hour timeframe. But does it always have to be this way? No, according to Superbrain founder and Mindvalley’s resident learning wizard, Jim Kwik.
His ethos: it’s not only possible to overcome the curve, but you can also master how to learn faster than you’d ever thought possible. That’s where the F.A.S.T. method comes in.
This framework is designed to help you learn anything 10x faster, from marketing strategies to Mandarin. But before you make it a muscle memory, let go of what you think you know about learning.
The F.A.S.T. Method by Jim Kwik
This method is a formula that Jim—who coaches leaders, A-listers, and high-performing entrepreneurs all over the globe —established to help boost your process of learning how to learn. And believe it or not, it starts with… forgetting.
Yes, you read that right. Let’s get to the bottom of this.
F is for forget
Forgetting helps you remember more—isn’t this wild?
One of the reasons people do not learn any subject or skill faster is because they feel like they already know something about it,” Jim says. His point? If you approach learning, say, a foreign skill or language with a full cup, nothing new can fill it.
Most people walk into new learning experiences carrying the weight of what they already “know,” and that’s where they go wrong. When you’re open to new ideas, your brain creates new neural pathways. Forgetting isn’t about erasing knowledge—it’s about making room for more.
So, forget your preconceived notions. Clear your mind of distractions—whether that’s today’s to-do list or self-doubt clouding your focus.
Your mind is like a parachute, and it only works when it’s open. — Jim Kwik, learning coach and trainer of Mindvalley’s Superbrain Quest
How to do it: You can’t focus if part of your brain is thinking about work, the kids, or an argument you had yesterday. Let those thoughts drift away. To learn better, be fully present.
A simple way to practice this? Write down any nagging to-do’s and release the mental clutter, allowing yourself to fully immerse in learning.
A is for active
As Jim would say, learning is anything but a passive affair.
If you’re always sitting back, waiting for knowledge to pour in, you may just be sabotaging your process. “Learning is not a spectator sport. You have to roll up your sleeves,” Jim advises. This means you need to be actively involved in the learning process.
How to do it: What does active learning look like? Taking notes—nope, not just copying information but processing it. Write down your impressions, thoughts, and how you might apply what you’re learning. This technique taps into your cognitive skills, making your brain work harder to retain information and connect any dots.
If you’ve watched the critically acclaimed sci-fi show Dark Matter, you may remember the scene where the main character, Jason Dessen, who accidentally entered the multiverse, explains to his alternate-reality wife, Amanda, that writing helps anchor oneself in the present moment. He tells her that you can’t handwrite about something and think of another thing at the same time—and that this way of being present is how they can get back to their original realities.
Jason’s point corroborates Jim’s: taking notes forces you to focus on the present by stabilizing your thoughts and grounding your mind. Now imagine this skill accelerated.
This is why Jim suggests keeping a separate notebook for creating notes: you can capture as much information as you can in your reality for later review.
S is for state
Here’s something most people overlook when learning: the state of your body and mind. According to Jim, it’s crucial. “All learning is state-dependent,” he explains.
Think about it—have you ever noticed that you remember information tied to an emotional experience more vividly? That’s because emotion embeds information deep into your long-term memory.
It’s like perfecting your favorite recipe. You remember every step, every flavor because you love it, and those sensory details stick. Or when you think about a song you can’t get out of your head—not just because of the melody, but because it’s tied to a specific memory or feeling.
The opposite rings true: if you’re bored, frustrated, or stressed while learning something, the information won’t stick. But if you’re curious, excited, or even joyful, your brain lights up.
How to do it: To achieve the latter when acquiring new knowledge, Jim suggests influencing your state of mind through simple acts such as:
- Changing your posture,
- Moving your body,
- Standing up more, and
- Smiling frequently.
In other words, change your physiology to change your psychology. So, whenever you’re feeling stuck, remember that information, combined with emotion in a given moment, can make or break long-term memory acquisition. So, make learning fun, even when it’s challenging.
T is for teach
If you want to truly master something, demonstrate what you know to others.
According to Jim, there’s something to behold about the power of sharing knowledge. When you impart onto others what you’ve learned, you reinforce the material in a way that reading or studying alone can’t achieve. “When I teach something, I get to learn it twice,” he says.
Teaching sharpens your focus, makes you pay closer attention, and encourages you to ask better questions—transforming passive learning into active mastery.
It’s like in Good Will Hunting, where Will, despite his natural brilliance, only truly anchors his knowledge when he steps into the role of a mentor. For instance, he helps Chuckie navigate a job interview, using his sharp mind to outwit the employers. In this experience, you can say that Will isn’t just helping his friend; he’s also solidifying his own understanding by teaching and applying what he knows.
Whether you’re guiding a colleague through a new process at work or explaining a concept to a friend, teaching is the step that locks in what you’ve learned as a learner.
How to do it:
- Break down a topic or focus material into simpler parts
- Explaining each part clearly in succession, and
- Encourage questions to ensure genuine understanding.
By sharing your knowledge, you reinforce the material, turning the information you know into second nature.
How to learn anything 10x faster
Speed learning is vital because, ultimately, there’s so much information to appreciate in life. To do so requires you to leverage the proper techniques.
For inspiration, look no further than Jim himself. He’s made a career out of training people to unlock their brain’s potential—and the key takeaway from his experience? Learning doesn’t have to be slow or tedious.
The foundation of faster learning comes down to a few core principles:
- Laser-sharp focus.
- Continuous engagement.
- Solid, reliable habits.
Combined, these principles can help information land and stick in your mind.
Now, let’s break this down further into seven simple but effective steps.
1. Practice spaced repetition
It’s easy to fall into the trap of cramming various ideas and tips at once, thinking you’ll retain it all in one go. But this could easily backfire, leading to information overload.
That’s why Jim emphasizes the value of spaced repetition. This technique involves revisiting the information over gradually increasing intervals of time. The more frequently you revisit the material, the stronger the neural connections become, and the less likely you are to forget.
For instance, you’ve probably noticed that cramming for an exam leads to forgetting most of what you’ve learned soon after—the very basis of rote learning. What works better, as Jim would suggest, is reviewing any notes you’ve taken or key points the next day, then two days later, and again a week after. The longer you space out your review, the more permanent your memory of the information will be.
In fact, spaced repetition isn’t exactly new; it was first formally studied by German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus in the 19th century. But today, it continues to be a reliable method for improving long-term retention.
To take it a step further: if you’re thinking to improve this technique even further, strengthening your cognitive skills could also take your learning to the next level.
2. Take micro-breaks
Your brain isn’t designed to maintain a high level of focus for hours on end. In fact, working in shorter, focused bursts can help you achieve far more than pushing through without a break.
Jim recommends the Pomodoro Technique. It’s quite simple:
- Work for 25 minutes straight
- Then, take a 5-minute break
This method works wonders because it aligns with your brain’s natural rhythms, keeping you fresh and energized throughout the learning process. By incorporating brief movements or breaks, you help reset your focus and maintain mental clarity.
The science behind this is rooted in cognitive psychology. Our brains are wired to perform better when we allow short breaks, preventing mental fatigue and information overload. Even something as simple as standing up, stretching, or taking a walk around the room can reset your focus and re-energize your learning.
3. Learn through visual play
You’re never too old for play. Jim highlights that one of the best ways to speed up learning is by introducing play and visualization into the process.
When you use your imagination to visualize concepts, you engage more parts of your brain, making it easier to recall and apply later.
Think of it this way: instead of memorizing facts, create stories in your head around the material. If you’re learning a new language, for example, visualize yourself in a conversation using those words. Visualization not only boosts memory retention but also increases your creative streaks.
Take Christopher Nolan’s groundbreaking sci-fi film Inception as a perfect example. In the movie, dream architect Cobb and his team manipulate entire worlds within their dreams, allowing them to control complex environments.
Well, just as they shape realities through imagination, you, too, can craft powerful learning experiences. How? By playing with ideas and visualizing concepts that tap into your mind’s creative power… the same way the characters navigate their dream worlds to learn lessons.
For real-life evidence of the power of imagination, you can just seek wisdom from children. Why? The thing is, these little humans are the fastest learners because they naturally incorporate play and visualization into everything they do.
By reintroducing visual playfulness into your learning curves, you unlock your brain’s capacity to learn faster, more effectively, and with greater enjoyment.
4. Meditate for mental clarity
Meditation isn’t just for mindfulness enthusiasts—it’s a powerful tool for learning, too. It’s been proven to increase alpha brainwaves, which are linked to states of relaxation and creativity.
How does it relate to supercharged learning? Well, when you’re in this relaxed state, your brain absorbs and processes new information more quickly, so you can learn faster and better.
Regular meditation doesn’t just calm you; it literally rewires your brain. Through increased gray matter in areas linked to focus and memory, your ability to concentrate and retain information gets accelerated. The results? A mind free of clutter, reduced stress, and increased focus.
By setting aside just 10 minutes each day to meditate, you can calm your mind and tap into deeper levels of awareness, creating the perfect mental environment for learning.
You can start now by listening to this guided meditation:
5. Fuel up on brain-boosting foods
What you eat can directly impact your brain’s ability to learn.
Certain foods, like blueberries (which Jim calls “brainberries”), avocados, and walnuts, have been shown to improve memory and cognitive function. They are:
- Packed with antioxidants, healthy fats, and nutrients
- Iimprove mental clarity, and
- Support the brain’s overall health.
By incorporating these brain foods into your diet, you’re essentially giving yourself the mental clarity you need to perform at your best.
So, the next time you’re gearing up for a learning session, don’t forget to grab a handful of walnuts or a smoothie loaded with blueberries. Your brain will thank you.
6. Dopamine detox
Constant dopamine hits from notifications, social feeds, and instant rewards? It’s killing your focus. If you’re serious about leveling up how fast you learn, a dopamine detox might be your secret weapon.
By stepping back from endless distractions, you’re giving your brain the chance to reset, restore balance, and sharpen that razor-sharp focus you’re after.
This detox is necessary because taking a break from dopamine-fueled activities boosts attention spans and cuts down impulsive behaviors. Think of it as mental deep cleaning that weeds out the junk so you can absorb information quicker, sharper, and better.
Every time you dive into a new learning sprint, consider hitting pause on the noise. Unplug, disconnect, and watch how your brain comes back sharper than ever.
7. Lower body workouts
Turns out, your leg day isn’t just about the gains—it’s about your brain, too.
A groundbreaking study revealed that your brain’s health depends just as much on signals sent by your leg muscles as it does on what your brain tells them to do.
Yes, weight-bearing exercises using your legs, like squats, brisk walking, and lifts, send crucial signals to the brain that help create and maintain healthy neural cells. These cells are the building blocks that allow us to process stress, adapt to challenges, and—yes—learn faster.
So, skipping leg day? Not an option if you’re trying to keep your brain firing on all cylinders. When your legs are active, your brain is sharper, making it easier to absorb new information and push your mental limits. It’s all connected.
How to learn to read faster
It’s no secret that a lot of us don’t read as efficiently as we could. Thankfully, Jim has perfected a method that allows you to speed up your reading without losing comprehension.
Here are three core strategies that will help you read faster—and actually retain more.
1. Reduce your internal monologue
One of the biggest hurdles to reading faster is subvocalization—the habit of silently “saying” each word as you read. Most of us do it unconsciously, and it’s a significant speed bump that limits how fast you can process information. The key? Learn to silence that inner voice.
Jim explains that fast readers process words visually, not by “hearing” them in their heads.
To break this habit, try visualizing the words as images, or use a simple trick like counting while reading to keep your inner voice occupied. You don’t have to entirely eliminate subvocalization; reducing it can significantly increase your reading speed.
2. Use a visual pacer
Contrary to what you may have been taught in school, using your finger or a pen to guide your eyes across the page can improve your speedreading prowess by up to 70%.
This technique, known as the visual pacer, forces your eyes to move smoothly and quickly, reducing backtracking and increasing focus.
It’s a strategy used by speed readers and has a solid foundation in psychology: our eyes naturally follow movement. And by using a visual pacer, you engage your brain’s tracking system, allowing for smoother and faster reading.
3. Skim through strategically
Learning how to skim effectively is crucial to reading faster while retaining key information. When skimming, you’re essentially identifying the core ideas and skipping over the filler.
“When you’re reading, not every word is important. You want to focus on the key ideas, the main concepts, and not get bogged down in the details,” Jim explains. He recommends zeroing in on keywords, phrases, and bolded or italicized text to get the gist of a passage quickly.
It’s also about prioritizing what’s important and letting go of the rest. “You don’t need to read every single word to understand the message. Train yourself to spot the core ideas and move on from there,” he adds.
To master this technique, try reading headlines, subheadings, and topic sentences first, then filling in the gaps if necessary. This method is particularly useful when you need to digest large amounts of text in a short amount of time.
For more tips on learning more in less time, check out what Jim has to say below:
Unlock your superbrain potential
Mastering how to learn is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal. You can do anything you set your mind to when you absorb information faster, retain it longer, and apply it daily.
And with the F.A.S.T. method, you now have the blueprint to get started and become the best version of your learning self.
Dive deeper into brain-boosting techniques with Jim Kwik’s free Superbrain masterclass. In this 87-minute session, you’ll unlock groundbreaking tools, such as:
- 10 simple hacks for bumping up your cognitive capacity,
- A 5-minute brain exercise to stretch your learning limits,
- 10 delicious brain foods to remove mental fog, and
- Much more.
Check out how Superbrain has supercharged opera singer Milica Lazovic’s memory techniques by leaps and bounds:
“Before this program, I was struggling to remember things… Now, I have learned so much… and my memory got better, my morning routine got more structure, and I could follow through better… This program has literally transformed my whole life. I am getting up early, so happy to start my day with it.”
Your superbrain is waiting, and the only thing left to do is step into your highest potential.
