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Bondi Media

Learning 📑 Learning

Dev.To has a series on efficient learning that we found interesting. But, as Angélique Weger describes, to succeed in learning new skills, one requires a flexible and strategic learning system — especially for subjects that are constantly changing like technology. And, what do you learn when you're overwhelmed by all that there is to learn? 😩

books + basics
@element5digital

General Learning Tips

  1. Basic Principles : Change mindset — go from no control — to control.
  2. Learning vs. Winning : Don't just think about how to get it done.
  3. Success? : Brains ≠ success; learning requires risks and errors.
  4. Obstacles : Eveveryone starts somewhere — get past it.
  5. Time Constraints: Figure out what's realistically achievable.
  6. Compound Learning : Improve with daily chunks.
  7. Failures Don't Count : Ignore your past failings — do not stop.
  8. It's Not a Chore : Chose to learn something.
  9. Resolve : Have a beginner's mindset and not a beginner's attitude …

I'm not 🙅 good enough. Cf. I'm not 🙌 there yet.

  1. 80/20 Rule : Figure out the 20% critical skills to develop the 80% result.
  2. Skill Stacking : Be good at multiple things combined to be more valuable.
  3. Productivity Time : Structure learning at your best study times.
  4. Self Learning Paradigm : Dedication and motivation are essential.

Accept that you don't need to learn everything; not all skills/knowledge are equally valuable. Using a system to establish what's necessary can defeat anxiety about how much there is to learn.

woman studying at computer
@dcbelanger

Learning System

Step 1 📋

Generate a list (in any format) of current and desired skills. Keep this list to edit as you continue to learn.

Step 2 📀

Digitise (if you haven't already) the list, as a spreadsheet or database etc. After giving each skill its own row, add two more columns:

i. Status/Level. How well do you know it? No Idea? A Bit? Profficient?
ii. Evidence. Describe how you'd show you know a thing.
iii. Review the list with ‘evidence’ criteria and make any necessary changes.
iv. KISS. e.g., Break JS down into areas of knowledge (too big otherwise).

Step 3 📊

Add four more columns for these skill subsets:

i. Motivation. Why do you want to learn this? Be specific about how it helps.
ii. Impact/Value. Estimate the value of learning this — High/Medium/Low?
iii. Resources. What will help you learn this? Link to books/tutorials etc.
iv. Effort. With H/M/L rankings, estimate the effort/time required.

Generally, edit this list as a ‘living’ document — add and subtract as required: