In a previous blog post, I wrote about how I learned to learn:
Armed with a new-found perspective, I embarked on the learning journey once again, albeit with a different strategy. I started with the end-product in mind, and focused on absorbing information related to getting me there. Through my journey, I chanced upon a really interesting tweet by Shawn. (update 23rd March 2020: tweet got deleted. Replaced it with a quote and a link to Shawn’s website.)
Learn In Public: The fastest way to learn
If there’s a golden rule, it’s this one, so I put it first. All the other rules are more or less elaborations of this rule #1.
You already know that you will never be done learning. But most people “learn in private”, and lurk. They consume content without creating any themselves.
From https://www.swyx.io/writing/learn-in-public
If CheersKevin from Youtube taught me how to learn, Shawn taught me that just learning “in private” was not enough. We are all inadequate when we are just starting to learn something new. Most likely, we will require help from people on forums and blogs who are better than us. But at what point do we start giving back? At what point do we stop consuming content, and start putting something out on your own to help others?
Shawn reminded me that it is not about the likes or the up-votes. It is about helping others, documenting your own progress, and letting the Internet teach you.
At times, I still find it hard to take time out to type out a blog post instead of pouring that time into my personal projects and learning. However, there are no two ways about it. I have to block out some time on a regular interval to document my process, and hopefully someday, help someone else.
Start Learning in Public.
