How To Be a Speed Learner in 5 Minutes

Summary

Squiggly Careers Podcast

Episode: How To Be a Speed Learner in 5 Minutes

Date: November 13, 2025
Host: Helen Tupper (Amazing If / Squiggly Careers Podcast)

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Episode Overview

In this Squiggly Shortcuts episode, Helen from the Squiggly Careers podcast delivers a rapid-fire guide to “speed learning” at work. The main aim: to equip listeners with five practical strategies to accelerate workplace learning, enabling continuous growth and resilience in the context of a busy career.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Speed Learning vs. Slow Learning

Starts at 01:05

• Slow learning: Involves deep dives, reflective thinking, and multi-perspective analysis.
  • “Slow learning for me is when you dive really deep into a topic. You are spending time with that topic, you are considering it from different perspectives, you are questioning what you are learning.” (01:12)
• Speed learning: Accumulating more knowledge quickly and more often, albeit more surface-level.
  • A practical necessity for most professionals.
  • “Speed learning is perhaps a little bit more surface level... you accumulate more of it more quickly, more often.” (01:33)

2. Five Ideas to Become a Speed Learner

a. Instant Inspiration

Starts at 02:12

• Avoid the trap of procrastinating on what to learn by setting up a repository of instant materials.
• Helen’s tactics:
  • Downloads useful videos or podcasts on YouTube and Spotify in advance.
  • Uses apps like Inoreader and Feedly to curate articles.
  • Utilizes idle time (e.g., between meetings, waiting for children) to engage with stored content.
• “So get yourself some instant inspiration. Makes it a lot easier when you kind of want to get some of that speed learning in.” (02:38)

b. Fast Feedback

Starts at 02:46

• Feedback is vital for learning, but asking for it can be awkward.
• Solution: Use the simple, structured question—
  • “What worked well? Even better if...”
• Suggests weaving this question into your weekly routine for actionable insights.
• “If you ask that once or twice a week, you will automatically get more lear[nings] about your impact, about where you can improve.” (02:58)

c. Curious Questions

Starts at 03:18

• Prepare a set of “go-to” curious questions to stimulate learning from others.
• Example prompts for meetings:
  • “What might I be missing?”
  • “How else could we look at this?”
  • “Who could we learn from?”
• Lean on the “what, when, where, who, why, how” structure.
• “Have two or three [questions] in mind before you go into a meeting... you’re not having to think about the smart question to ask.” (03:33)

d. Everyday Experiments

Starts at 04:00

• View experiments as low-stakes tests—embrace being a beginner and possible failure for learning’s sake.
• Examples:
  • Experimenting with new ways of running meetings or using new tools (Helen mentions trialing Superhuman AI for email).
• Ask yourself: “What am I learning?”—whether the experiment works or not.
• “Finding one experiment a week... one thing you are doing for the first time, one thing that you’re not 100% sure if it will work... learning is the best outcome.” (04:22)

e. Real-Time Reflection

Starts at 05:00

• Reflection doesn’t require new input—simply review recent actions and conversations.
• Examples:
  • After meetings, reflect on your role: supporter, solver, or sounding board.
  • Analyze your listen-to-talk ratio and consider adjustments.
• “It’s useful for you to reflect on how you showed up in that conversation and whether that was really what that person needed.” (05:20)
• This method avoids overwhelm and facilitates ongoing improvement in real time.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On balancing depth and speed:
  “I still think slow learning is really important... but the reality is that takes quite a lot of time and most of us struggle with that at work.” (01:14)
• On curating learning, not scrambling for it:
  “What is hard when you’re trying to learn is if you spend all of your time procrastinating about what to learn... get yourself some instant inspiration.” (02:14)
• Making feedback easy and accessible:
  “Fast Feedback... Easiest way to get fast feedback... is, what worked well? Even better if...” (02:53)
• On the power of experiments:
  “What matters most is what you learn from it and what you might do differently next time.” (04:13)
• Reflection as learning:
  “Learning isn’t all about union [i.e., inputting] knowledge... real time reflection is another good way that you can learn without having to add more stuff into your very busy brain.” (05:09)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:05 — Introduction to speed vs. slow learning
• 02:12 — 1. Instant Inspiration
• 02:46 — 2. Fast Feedback
• 03:18 — 3. Curious Questions
• 04:00 — 4. Everyday Experiments
• 05:00 — 5. Real-Time Reflection
• 06:49 — Closing thoughts

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Conclusion

Helen’s five practical techniques for speed learning—instant inspiration, fast feedback, curious questions, everyday experiments, and real-time reflection—are presented as tangible, low-barrier ways to weave more learning into a hectic work schedule. By making speed learning a habit, listeners can keep growing even when time and focus are scarce, helping them remain adaptable and resilient in their “squiggly” careers.

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Contact for feedback: [e-mail]

Transcript

[A]

Hi, it's Helen from the Squiggly Careers Podcast. And before you listen to today's episode, I just wanted to let you know about some news that Sarah and I are very excited about, and that is that our new book, Learn Like a Lobster, is ready to pre order now. We really care about everybody learning and growing at work, but we know it is not easy to do, and so we're borrowing some brilliance from lobsters to help you to do it. The book takes three inspiring and surprising abilities of lobsters in terms of how they grow and applies it to how.

[B]

We can learn at work.

[A]

So if you want some inspiration and you need some practical insights to support your learning, growth and development, this is the book for you. And if you pre order now and send your Pre order to helloearnlikealobster.com you can join the Lobster Library, where we have a community of lobster learners ready for you to learn with some live sessions. And this will all happen before the book arrives. So pre order the book now, send it to [e-mail] and get started with.

[B]

Your learning straight away.

[A]

Now let's get onto today's episode. Hey everybody, it is Helen from the.

[B]

Squigglycareers podcast and you are listening to another one of our Squiggly Shortcuts, where we take about five minutes of your time to talk through an idea or an insight which we think is going to help you in your Squiggly career. And today I want to talk about speed learning. Specifically. I have five ideas to talk through in five minutes. It's going to be a challenge on how you can be a better speed learner at work. Before I get started, I just want to talk about the difference between speed learning and slow learning. And actually, I still think slow learning is really important, so let's start there. Slow learning for me is when you dive really deep into a topic. You are spending time with that topic, you are considering it from different perspectives, you are questioning what you are learning, and it's a really important way of acquiring knowledge. But the reality is that takes quite a lot of time and most of us struggle with that at work. So speed learning is perhaps a little bit more surface level. We're not always diving deep, but you accumulate more of it more quickly, more often. And I think it is a reality for most people that we can more easily add speed learning in than we can slow learning. So I'm going to start with five ideas for you to be a better speed learner at work, starting with Number one, Instant Inspiration. So what is hard when you're trying to learn is if you spend all of your time procrastinating about what to learn, you're trying to find the perfect book that's going to help you or the perfect podcast or whatever it is. So I would recommend getting some instant inspiration. The way I do this is I use YouTube, I use Spotify, and I also have some apps that I'll tell you about. So what I do on YouTube and Spotify is I have downloaded videos or podcasts that I think I want to learn from that. And so whenever I've got 15, 20 minutes between meetings or even to be honest, at the weekend while I'm waiting for my kids to do something, I will go to my Instant inspiration and it's already there for me. I don't have to waste time searching. I've also got these apps, innoreader and Feedly, which curate articles and I can just scroll through those and have a quick read. So get yourself some instant inspiration. Makes it a lot easier when you kind of want to get some of that speed learning in. Second thing Fast Feedback Feedback is a brilliant way that we can learn at work. What makes it harder though is sometimes we kind of don't quite know how to ask for it and it feels a bit awkward. Easiest way to get fast feedback and regular listeners for no, we love this one is what worked well. Even better if if you ask that once or twice a week, you will automatically get more lear about your impact, about where you can improve. Please add that question into your week to be more of a speed learner at work. The third one is curious questions. So questions are an amazing way that we open our mind up to knowledge and also benefit from other people's experience and insights. So you just want to have a couple of go to curious questions which might be in a team meeting. A good one could be what might I be missing? Or how else could we look at this? Or who could we learn from? I often find using the what, when, where, who, why and how as a kind of question starter, it forces me to think through some curious questions. But I think the trick is to have two or three in mind before you go into a meeting. And then it just makes it easier to ask because you're not having to think about the smart question to ask. Idea number four is everyday experiments. Experiments mean that you are probably being a bit of a beginner. You're opening yourself up to potential failure because with an experiment, to be honest, whether you succeed in what you're experimenting with or whether it doesn't go the way you want it to. What matters most is what you learn from it and what you might do differently next time. So experiments could be anything. It could be from a new way you're running a meeting or I'm experimenting with like new email software at the moment and I'm really having to like relearn how I manage my emails in case it's useful for you. I'm using this thing called Superhuman AI and it's, I'm finding it really helpful but I'm experimenting with it to see does it make it it easier for me to do my work. And so finding, I think one experiment a week, one thing you are doing for the first time, one thing that you're not 100% sure if it will work, but then just keep asking yourself, and what am I learning? And what am I learning? Because learning is the best outcome. And then idea number five is real time reflection. So speed learning isn't all about union, union knowledge. Like I think that's overwhelming if you're, I don't know, only learning by listening, reading, watching. It's just a lot for you to process. And so I think real time reflection is another good way that you can learn without having to add more stuff into your very busy brain. So real time reflection might be you coming away from a conversation you've had with a colleague and reflecting on how you showed up in that meeting. So Sarah and I often talk about whether you are showing up to support someone so that's like high listening. Whether you are showing up as a solver so you're solving their problems for them, or whether you're showing up, showing up as a sounding board so you're kind of bouncing ideas between you and it's useful for you to reflect on how you showed up in that conversation and whether that was really what that person needed. I often find that a useful thing to reflect on. Also things like your listen talk ratio, like come away from a conversation and think what percentage of time did I spend listening in that conversation versus talking in it? Because maybe you might want to adjust the ratio next time. But these five ideas are quick ways in which you can add more. Learning in it speeds the learning process up and it means that you, you never stop learning and growing at work, which is what we really need to remain resilient in our squiggly careers.

[A]

So I hope you found that helpful.

[B]

If you've got any feedback for us, you can always send it to helenand sarahquigglycareers.com.