Planning

When I read the book "Ultralearning" by Scott Young, I found out that the deliberate nature of your learning plays an important role. We tend to do some of that organically, like reviewing something you don't understand multiple times until it sticks. One of the lessons I got out of it was the crucial role planning plays.

I usually try to focus on a few things I want to learn throughout the year, last year was about learning (so meta). Even before I read "Ultralearning" I started by making a list of books I thought would help me learn more about how our brain learns and how to make the best of it. After a handful of books, common themes surfaced, most of them backed by neuroscience and not just "fluff" or survivorship bias.

The focus and intent by which you learn is how you can make the best out of it. Reducing time-wasting activities and allowing yourself to have very focused learning sessions can give you a superpower. But it's not just that, you need to have a plan. Spending 10% of your time researching how you plan to learn something can save you a lot of time in the long run.

There have been a few things I struggled with. One of them is spending MORE time examining if a resource is worth my time by skimming through it. This is not always possible but most books allow you to browse the index at least. The other one is understanding when something is not worth my time after I already started. I made this mistake by committing to finishing "The Art of Learning" which didn't add any value to what I knew that far and was generally not a great book despite some reviews. There I should have been more respectful of my time and moved on to the next thing.

Also as a new parent, I just cannot afford to spend hours and hours learning something new like I used to. I was thinking about this today as between being sick and taking care of a little one, I had no energy left at the end of the day for the whole weekend. This made learning impossible and keeping up with my writing a chore rather than a daily habit. Additionally, I have invested some time exploring Software Architecture from veterans in the industry, while I have some experience under my belt I believe I could benefit greatly from other people's lessons throughout their careers. I realized that I spent less than 10% of my time putting together a list of books (my preferred way to learn) but I feel strongly about the first few. I plan on revisiting after I'm wrapped up with them to see if my list still makes sense and is worth my time.

Thoughts

I recommend to pause and dedicate more time to planning. If you're learning something new, start from the finish line. Where do you expect to be by the "end" of your learning? What books or projects can help you get there? How can you apply those learning in the context where you're more likely to apply them? These are just a few questions that should guide you in making those decisions. I just skimmed through Learning Go in 2024; From Beginner to Senior which can be a good blueprint on how to think about this. But don't stop there, where do you want to be ten years from now? What can you do this year to get closer to that goal or to make sure you're on the right trajectory?

Think about planning as a way to save time down the line. Create a list of resources, don't be afraid to skip one if repetitive, refocus on things that you're weak on, and revisit the plan regularly. Now get out there and learn something new this year!