Visions to learn a skill or learn about a topic usually are slightly different. They are less about a series of tasks and more about submitting oneself to a curriculum and approach for learning. Some techniques I’ve found helpful here:

• Create a “syllabus” for yourself. Break the topic into smaller blocks.

• Consider using GPT3 to help you write this. For example:

  

• Again, interviews with experts can be useful here in terms of figuring out the optimal path for learning. They can save you a ton of time.

• Don’t be afraid of “for dummies” books. I wouldn’t put them on my bookshelf, but they can often be an incredibly useful primer.

• Quora is a great question and answer site that probably has an answer to the question “what are the best books to read about X?”

• As you read, highlight passages. Wait 2 weeks after you complete the book. Then come back and transfer the stuff you found most relevant into your Knowledge Management System (which we’ll talk more about next week.)

• I like to have a single page summary of topics that I work on throughout the process. It’s like my “unified theory of <TOPIC>” that summarizes the most important stuff from all the things I’ve read.

• You can create pneumonic devices or acronyms for yourself to aid in memorization of key ideas. This is called “encoding”.

• Spaced repetition is incredibly helpful - one you transfer your highlights to notes, set a task in your Task Management System (which we’ll also cover next week) to review the notes later. The optimal review cadence I’ve found is:

  • One week later
  • One month later
  • Three months later
  • Every six months