I believe the ability to learn fast is the most important trait one can have, especially given the pace at which the world is changing. It’s clear that this skill can be developed simply, with discipline and by setting our closest environment to play to our advantage. Everything related to the learning process I call The Learning System, which you can read about below.
Memory
Over the years I’ve observed how my memory has become incomparably better. I can easily recall details about pretty much everything that matters to me, no matter how distant in the past a given fact is. The reason may be related to activities such as:
- reading books about psychology, science, economy, philosophy and biographies
- lots of writing, both for social media, blogs and newsletters, and personal notes about everything I do
- reducing stress through body and mind training, e.g. breathing exercises
- adjusting my closest environment so it becomes easier to do the things I care about
How do I learn?
Learning is a process that starts with surrounding myself with a given topic, based on the best available resources, which I choose carefully, as I believe this choice defines how effectively I learn.
A rule of thumb here is to stay as close as possible to the source of a given topic, by following people who stand right behind it, or by surrounding myself with products and businesses directly connected to it. From there, I look into who those people follow or recommend, and over time this shapes a sort of network of connections.
Books are the foundation of acquiring new knowledge, as they tend to be the most reliable source, especially in areas that are well grounded and opinionated. The tricky part is choosing the right titles, and here websites such as goodbooks.io or goodreads.com are super helpful.
As a result, my learning process is all about:
- reading books, since doing so is, in a way, like having a conversation with the author
- having fun, lots of it
- openness and detachment:
- openness, an assumption that a given piece of information may be true and useful
- distance, an assumption that not everything is true, and that some of it is simply an opinion or a particular perspective
- when both openness and proper distance come together, we can develop our own unique perspective on a topic and at some point even become better at it than the people we learned from
- seeking the best possible sources, such as long-form articles, blogs, newsletters, paid communities, YouTube channels, Patronite accounts, X accounts and online courses
- following people who can be considered to be at the root of a given topic, such as developers behind a given technology or researchers who make the discoveries
How much do I learn?
I don’t measure it in any way, it’s simply my core habit and a part of my life. This means I learn things pretty much all the time, especially since my work naturally forces me to do so. To make the process complete, there is also proper space for “non-thinking” (sitting in silence) and proper sleep.