We’ve all had those, “Aha!” moments when we finally get an idea. The problem is most of us don’t have a systematic way of finding them. The typical process a student goes through in learning is to follow a lectures, read a book and, failing that, grind out practice questions or reread notes. Without a system, understanding faster seems impossible. After all, the mental mechanisms for generating insights are completely hidden.
http://calnewport.com/blog/2012/10/26/mastering-linear-algebra-in–10-days-astounding-experiments-in-ultra-learning/