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Comment on Ask HN: Why is it harder to learn new things the older you get?

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I think the issue here is not learning new things, but having the time to sit down and focus on them. As a child and young adult, you usually have fewer distractions -- whether a significant other, a mentally or physically exhausting job, bills to pay, etc. -- and spending hours on a single task is not so difficult.

I have found a lot of success in waking up earlier to do the "learn a new thing" part of my routine, before the hectic work day begins.

In addition to the time factor, focus can get harder as you age https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/how-memory-and-.... Early am seems to be the best time for optimal concentration/focus, so your suggestion is a good one. It also heads off decision fatigue, which makes it harder to focus later in the day: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/magazine/do-you-suffer-fr...

I couldn't agree more. Waking up early is how I built https://cloudbuddy.cloud. Learned a ton.

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