How to Learn Faster with AI

5 Steps to Learning That Lasts

Daniil Shykhov

Apr 22, 2025

I spend hours watching YouTube videos.
I listen to podcasts.
I highlight books like a scholar.

And yet…
Six months later, I’ve got nothing to show for it.

No finished project.
No visible progress.
Just the illusion that I’ve learned something.

Sound familiar?

The Learning Illusion

Learning feels productive.

You get a dopamine hit every time you highlight a sentence.
Every time you finish a video.
Every time you nod along and think, “Yeah, that makes sense.”

But learning isn’t nodding.

Learning is doing.

If you can’t explain it, use it, or build with it—
you didn’t learn it.

You just scrolled through it.

So how do you actually learn?
And do it faster?

Let me show you.

Step 1: Stop Studying. Start Building.

Before you learn, build a project.

Not later. Not someday. Now.

Want to learn design? Start designing.
Want to learn a new language? Start coding.
Want to learn marketing? Try selling something.

When you get stuck, ask AI.

That’s when the answer sticks.

Learning only happens when you struggle, then solve.

Step 2: Turn AI into Your Personal Mentor

Forget Google.
Use AI like this:

🧠 “Act as my brutally honest strategic advisor. I want to build X. What’s holding me back?”

📚 “Give me a 60-day study plan to master data engineering. Include books, videos, and weekly challenges.”

🎯 “I just read this. Quiz me on it. Make it hard.”

This isn’t chat.
This is clarity.

Step 3: Don’t Learn Alone

Use AI to summarize what you learn.
Then teach it back in your own words.

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it.

And here’s the twist:

The more you teach, the more you learn.
That’s the Protege Effect.
The best way to remember something… is to explain it to someone else.

Even if that someone is your future self.

Step 4: Write in Public

Writing is the final form of learning.

When you write a post, thread, or newsletter:

You think deeper.
You notice gaps.
You turn chaos into clarity.

And while everyone else is busy consuming...

You’re building reputation, proof, and momentum.

Step 5: Create a Simple System

Here's how your daily blocks could look:

Build (30–90 mins): Work on your project.
Learn (30–60 mins): Read, watch, or ask AI.
Write (30 mins): Summarize what you learned.
Walk (30 mins): Let your brain connect dots.

That’s it.
Four blocks. One routine. Massive impact.

Final Thought

Real learning is transformation.
And transformation only happens when you do something with what you learn.

So stop trying to memorize the map.
Start walking the path.

Use AI not as a crutch, but as a compass.
And remember what James Clear said:

“You don’t rise to the level of your goals.
You fall to the level of your systems.”

Build a better system.
Start today.
Every skill you want is just a few smart steps away.