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The Smartest Way to Go From ‘I Read That Somewhere’ to ‘I Know This’

Build a mental library that actually shows up when it counts — with 5-minute habits that work.

8 min readMay 16, 2025
Maria Laach Library. Credits: Marco Rothbrust

You just finished a book that lit your brain on fire. Or maybe you walked out of a workshop thinking, This changes everything.

Two weeks later?

Nothing. Nada.

You vaguely remember that it was great, but not the part that would’ve actually helped in today’s meeting. Or when you were writing that proposal. Or trying to explain the idea to a friend.

This isn’t just annoying; it’s a waste of time and energy. And no, it’s not your fault.

You’re not bad at remembering (I explained the forgetting curve in here).

You were just never taught how to learn, so you can remember (unless you’re a student in Estonia).

I wasn’t taught to remember either.

I was a first-gen student who thought hating school was just part of life. Later, I became a teacher hoping to fix the system… only to realize the system was the problem.

Even when I left the classroom, I kept seeing the same pattern: People learning like crazy — books, courses, coaching — but unable to use any of…

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Eva Keiffenheim
Eva Keiffenheim

Written by Eva Keiffenheim

Learning expert with 5M+ reads. Committed to building a fairer future, one narrative at a time. Start writing for millions of readers http://bit.ly/learnletter

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