Setting Up a Learning System

One of #my3words for 2024 is Fusion, and by that, I mean to learn a lot of important things and then synthesize that learning into more capabilities to serve the people I choose to work with. To do this, I decided to cut down MASSIVELY (almost to zero) my time on social networks (besides LinkedIn, for obvious benefits rendered here but not elsewhere these days).

But learning isn't the same as just consuming. It requires a few things:

• The ability to consume useful information in a format you value
• A way to take first impression notes
• Some method to test or challenge what you've learned and how much of it you retained
• A way to share what you've learned because teaching is one of the best ways to really sink learning into your mushy gray and pink brain.

I decided to be a little bit more formal with my learning this year. Here's what I came up with.

My System for Learning

In the absence of great 1:1 conversations with smart people (probably the best way), I feel I learn best either through reading or through audible/less so visual methods. So, my consumption methods are videos, audio books, paper books.

My notes, I'm keeping in obsidian using Morgan's approach. Why? Because this gives me a way to cross-reference, to search easier, and to link everything together for future observations and reflections.

As far as testing and challenging it, I ask smart people who I think know about the topic and I bounce my new understanding off them. I'm also setting up private little GPTs to train this information into them and then ask the GPT questions. I guess a lazy Socratic method, if you squint.

As far as teaching what I've learned, I'll probably do a bit of that here, and a bit of that on chrisbrogan.com. I've got a post coming out later this week that will be where I keep an ongoing update of the things I'm learning.

What a Learning Session Feels Like

If I'm reading a book, I either keep my laptop open, or a notes app on my phone so I can shuttle the info to Obsidian later. If it's an audiobook, I keep some speech-to-text notes. If it's a YouTube video, I listen to the video and throw notes into Obsidian at the same time.

Sometimes, I spend just a little bit of time. Even ten minutes. I don't spend more than 20-ish minutes in any one sitting. I read somewhere that 40 was the max one could sit still and learn. Why not stop short of the max and give my brain a stretch.

During those breaks, I check in on the rest of the world. I don't go on social. If I'm not needed somewhere, I might throw a note in my paper journal (you saw my method for that last week, right?).

We learn better when it's something we love, and when it's something that doesn't feel like work. I'm learning more in this format than I did in any of the several colleges I forgot to finish.

Another Learning Method: Trying Things

I saw a little video about how to make blank books like journals to sell on Amazon. I decided to give it a go and try it out, making a journal for the #my3words project. It's not "published" yet (Amazon is reviewing it). But watching the video, seeing how the guy did it, and then submitting my own a day or two later was a fun way of learning the process end to end.

I love to try things. I fail a lot when I do this, but I scoop up the learning, clean up the mess, and keep going. I've tried hundreds of things in my career. I'm getting a little better at not committing deeply and fully to an idea, though. Better at just dipping some fingers into the batter and trying to bake.

Just One More Thought

If I ranked ways to learn, you might be surprised at a few thoughts I'll share here:

• 1:1 learning with a smart mentor is probably the best
• Second for me is trying, failing, figure it out, then succeeding
• Next comes audio/video learning
• An online course MIGHT help. Just scary how big the commitment might be
• Dead last is a book.

I am a book author. A New York Times bestselling book author. I spent a chunk of last week looking through the books I've been sent over the last year. Do you know how many teach actual useful skills in a way that you can apply to your business? Precious few.

It's got me re-evaluating everything when it comes to books, courses, teaching, exchange of valuable knowledge. All of it.

So, I'll let you know how this year goes. Are you learning new things? How? And what?

Chris...