The Secret of Microlearning: Why Is It Better to Learn New Things for 15 Minutes a Day?

Traditional training consisting of several-day lectures in cramped classrooms of training centers has several problems that employers – and ultimately the participants themselves – are well aware of.

They are extremely time-consuming, which often means that despite the best intentions, it’s impossible to release people to attend them. And when they do attend, they still spend half their time handling “urgent” emails and phone calls.

This is also related to the fact that knowledge retention from such frontal training is rather suboptimal and at best reaches about 20%. In the end, this means that such classical training as an investment in the workforce has questionable returns, at least in the short term.

All of the above is an argument for so-called microlearning. This English buzzword combines “micro” (indicating small scale) and “learning” and accurately describes the reality of education for the 21st century. With adequate self-discipline, there is enough time for regular microlearning even in notoriously stressful environments.

Why does microlearning work?

By its very nature, microlearning is connected to how our brain works. From an early age, we receive valuable life lessons in short time intervals not exceeding a few minutes.

In kindergarten, we learn something new for maybe fifteen minutes, a school lesson lasts forty-five minutes, at university it extends to ninety minutes, and there are even demanding double lectures.

But as we age, our ability to maintain attention decreases again, and we subconsciously demand information in shorter blocks so we don’t feel overwhelmed and actually have a chance to remember something.

At the same time, the more interactive such training is, the higher the effectiveness and knowledge retention.

Where to find time to learn every day?

Surely you’re wondering how you can find enough time in your busy calendar for regular learning. From our long-term observations, it’s clear that in offices, hardly anyone can physically and mentally work on demanding tasks for eight (or more) hours straight.

Some form of break is necessary – for some it’s a coffee with colleagues, for others a cigarette outside the building, and for you it might just as well be a few minutes spent with a virtual teacher.

Of course, it’s ideal when daily learning is welcomed and supported directly by the employer. Deloitte notes in its research that only one percent of working time is devoted to learning new skills; this even includes the aforementioned “big” training sessions, often held off-site. That’s truly very little, isn’t it?

Let’s agree together that an acceptable share of time for education, which every employer should provide to keep their people skilled and ready for new challenges, is 3%.

A regular workday has 480 minutes, 3% of which equals 14 minutes and 24 seconds. That didn’t hurt – and your daily quarter-hour for microlearning is here!

Breakdown of working time by activity

Source: Deloitte

A blessing in disguise, or a new learning model?

Microlearning naturally became even more discussed in connection with the pandemic, which paralyzed traditional training centers. Employees still needed to gain new knowledge and skills! Suddenly, tens of millions of civil servants, teachers, administrative workers, and others around the world required regular, targeted, and meaningful digital upskilling in the form of short online lessons.

During this period, we got used to the model of remote microlearning, so it now feels completely natural. Just as it seems normal to check the news online five times a day for a minute or two, but we wouldn’t last half an hour reading a paper newspaper.

How to find the right micro-courses?

The idea of learning in short intervals alone won’t save anyone – content is what matters. At Digiskills, we are well aware of this, which is why we have prepared entire series of micro-trainings focused on specific skills you will need in the coming years.

All you need is a few minutes, and you can start applying the acquired skills immediately in your work life. When better to start than now?