Hey,<\/p>\n
In this email:<\/p>\n
1. Pick your learning mission.
\n2. Accomplishing your learning mission.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
If you aren’t in strenuous classes right now, now is the perfect
\ntime to master learning tactics. But, more importantly, it’s a time
\nto learn things you actually want to know.<\/p>\n
Over the last few summers, I’ve made a dedicated effort to take on
\nnew self-education missions. Two years ago I decided to sit down
\nand finally learn PHP and MySQL. A year before that, I bought a
\nlarge stack of books that had been on my to-read list for awhile.<\/p>\n
The key to a successful mission is to pick something *you* are
\ngenuinely interested in, not just because you “should” do it.<\/p>\n
Whether you want to learn Spanish, program in Python or study
\nJapanese cinematography, the point is it needs to be something that
\nexcites and interests you.<\/p>\n
If you’re sick of book-studying, why not take classes in jiu-jitsu?<\/p>\n
If you’re tired of math, why not try musical composition?<\/p>\n
Or maybe you can use all the skills you learned in your classes,
\nbut apply them to more interesting projects? I’ve done this in the
\npast where I’ve made games outside of my duller computer science
\nassignments or worked on business projects outside of my
\naccounting classes.<\/p>\n
It doesn’t need to become a chore. You just need to plan a few steps
\nso that the mission becomes a part of your routine.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Once you have an idea of what your learning mission will be, you
\njust need to take a few steps to make it relatively easy to invest
\nthe time.<\/p>\n
The first step is to immerse yourself in the material. Try picking
\nup a few do-it-yourself books on the subject and put them in the
\nroom you spend most of your time in.<\/p>\n
If your mission is a social one like learning a dance or language,
\ntry to identify some places you could go to practice on a regular
\nbasis, like a club that does tango or a group that meets to speak
\nTagalog regularly.<\/p>\n
If you are genuinely interested in the subject (i.e. you’re not
\njust doing this because you feel you “should”) then you shouldn’t
\nneed too much discipline to practice. It should come fairly
\nnaturally.<\/p>\n
My feeling is that most people give up on missions like these
\nbecause they forget and don’t get fully immersed from Day One.<\/p>\n
You can avoid that trap by making sure your environment reminds you
\nof your mission–try changing your desktop background or put post-it
\nnotes around the house.<\/p>\n
You can also help make it a routine by making a light 30-Day Trial.
\nYou don’t want to suck all the fun out of your mission by making it
\ntoo painful, but establishing a minimum routine can help you dive
\nright into your immersion.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
An even better idea? Post about your mission in the forums, I’m sure
\nwe’d all love to hear about it!<\/p>\n