How do you learn?

So many different types of learners out there. Unique in many ways, similar in others. My type of learning is to pretty much jump head first in and figure things out at I go. I am often too excited to make or do whatever it is that I can't wait to learn. I'll just learn as I go. Sometimes this works wonderfully for me and other times it helps me crash and burn.

In embroidery, it's more of a crash and burn. Not to say all is going badly, as you can see, here is the bandanna stitch I am working on:
Back of the stitch.


Front of the stitch.




It's actually looking quite nice and I like how it looks from both sides.

However, I am so out of practice again that it is going slowly. I did pick a stitch that takes a bit of time, but not only am rusty, but I am still very much a beginner. This also caused problems when I first went into this project, because it took me a few times to find something that was even suitable. This is definitely a discipline that requires more planning, more practice. Something I am going to have to work on because this is not a strong suit of mine at all.

So how do you learn? How do you approach new things or projects? Does this cause you problems in the things you try to achieve?