On Autodidactism
I believe in learning. Having the drive and curiosity to learn new things, and understanding the method my which to acquire knowledge are the skills that I’ve noticed separate the very successful from the middle-of-the road.
I’ve always thought of myself as a learner and an autodidact. I’d much rather spend my free time learning a new skill or pushing deeper into my discipline than consuming mindless, escapist media. This isn’t to knock mindless entertainment; enjoy it if you can. I’m just constitutionally incapable of doing so (it’s a character flaw). This drive to learn independently is probably why I did much better in graduate school than in my undergraduate degree or in high school.
But even independent learners need structure. Learning requires building on a foundation of existing knowledge. You’ll suck at calculus unless you’ve mastered arithmetic. And so, understanding these building blocks, and developing a system that will move you toward your learning goals, is the only way to really acquire knowledge.
My learning system, based on the Marketing Trivium
I’ve hacked together my own system based on the Marketing Trivium, the idea that guides my thoughts on marketing. Every week, I try to set learning goals in each of the following categories:
Analytical: This is often a hard-skill kind of goal. Here I am digging into something quantitative and Mathematical, whether reading about metrics, statistics, data science, or just literally trying to brush up on my math skills on Khan Academy. Online guided learning platforms like Khan, Coursera and EdX are great for this kind of work, as I often find that I require guided study in this category.
Strategic: I have a long backlog of books I’ve been dying to read. And on top of my daily/weekly reading and podcasts of current news, I try to work my way through books that can expand my thinking on different subjects. By way of example, a few recent reads include: Marketing Performance, The Innovator’s Dilemma, and Building Strong Brands to give you a sense of what I’m talking about. This is less about picking up hard skills and more about deepening and broadening my knowledge.
Creative: Have you ever sat through a lecture only to realize you didn’t learn a thing. That’s because learning isn’t passive; it requires the act of creation. I aim to engage with the ideas I’m learning about in writing. Creating content, responses, arguments for or against various ideas I’ve read help me process what I’m learning. It helps the knowledge stick. In the past, I’ve kept a private journal, but now that I have this blog in place, I’ll probably post what I learn here.
Setting the course and finding the time
Monday morning before work, I sit down with a cup of coffee in my hand and sketch out an idea of what I want to accomplish in the coming week. I find that writing down actual goals and concepts I want to work to master leads to better outcomes than saying “2 hours of reading” or “30 min of analytics.”
Let the goals dictate the time spent. If it takes less, great. If it take more, that’s OK too, as long as I get where I’m going.
I close every week, Friday afternoon before I get up from my desk by reflecting on what I’ve been able to accomplish this week, anything notable from the workweek, and a list of five things I could have done better at work.
You have to remember — and I have to constantly remind myself — that learning is a marathon and not a sprint. Math, business strategy, technology — these are fields that require a body of foundational knowledge. Sometimes it can feel like you are running in place, but as long as you are moving slowly the right direction, you’ll eventually reach your goals.