Building a Learning System

Part of being a developer is the need to consistently learn, but it can get overwhelming quickly. You’ve probably got a pile of tutorials you want to read, a long Google doc of technologies to check out, or maybe a collection of video courses gathering digital dust. How do you know what to spend time on? How do you make sure you’re learning effectively? Most importantly, how do you actually start crossing things off of that seemingly endless list of what to learn? In this talk, I’ll share with you what’s been working for me as a self-taught developer turned developer advocate. We’ll talk through the need for a learning system, how to build one customized to your own style of learning, and how to use your learning system to produce measurable results that can help you in your career.

Transcript

1. Building a Learning System Leveling Up Predictably and Repeatably
2. My Suspiciously Familiar Plight as a Dev Advocate
4. How can I consistently learn useful, practical stuff without getting burned out?
5. Top Take-Aways The value of a systematic approach to learning Ingredients to predictable and repeatable growth Practical tips on building your learning system
6. @samjulien Sam Julien samjulien.com Sr. Developer Advocate Engineer at Auth0 GDE & Angular Collaborator UpgradingAngularJS.com, Thinkster, & egghead @samjulien
7. Feedback Welcome
8. The Need for a Learning System
10. Learning as a Developer Overwhelming to know what to learn Difficult to cross things off the list Unclear what’s useful (lack of context)
11. Don’t think of dev as a dictionary to memorize.
12. Think like an explorer.
14. Wandering vs Exploring
15. You make less progress wandering aimlessly.
16. One reason for this is that we’re programmed to seek comfort and familiarity.
17. Comfort is the enemy of growth.
20. @samjulien Systems > Motivation
21. @samjulien
22. ⚠ Comfort !== Self Care!
23. @samjulien “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” James Clear, Atomic Habits
24. Qualities of an Effective Learning System
25. @samjulien Good news! If you’re working in a dev job right now, you’ve already got some version of this in place.
26. Predictable and repeatable growth
27. What causes us to grow?
28. We grow by doing challenging things quickly and getting feedback.
29. We grow by doing challenging things quickly and getting feedback.
30. Doing Challenging Things Quickly Trackable Measurable Production-Focused
31. We grow by doing challenging things quickly and getting feedback.
32. Getting Feedback Learning in Groups Learning in Public Does it work?
33. Accommodates Different Depths of Learning
34. Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy Source: https://medium.com/@theo_dawson/blooms-taxonomy-vcol-the-lectical-scale-d7851729ab2b
35. Source: https://www.winstonk12.org/10/Content2/834
36. Works with Your Style of Learning
37. Fun
38. Components of a Learning System
39. This can and will look different for you! Focus on the concepts. If you don’t think the same way I do, that’s totally awesome. Think of these as signposts.
40. One “inbox” for each learning area
41. Regular review process
42. “Heavy lift” vs “slow burn”
43. Reliable project management system
44. Areas vs. Projects
45. “Learn JavaScript” vs. “Display my name on the page.”
46. Identify the smallest unit of work you can get done and do it fast!
47. Then repeat.
48. Stuck? Break it down smaller.
49. Remember: small = doable!
50. Stuck? Zoom out a level.
51. I need to… build a system with it or fit it into an existing system. solve a problem with it. do something small with it. do literally anything with it. Zooming Out While Learning a Framework
52. The learning is in the speed of action.
53. It’s not a failure, it’s a test!
54. Three Tools Scratchpad, task manager, knowledge system
55. Scratch Pad Examples: Notepad++, Google Docs, Drafts Look for: speed, ease of use, ability to export
56. Task Manager Examples: OmniFocus, Things, Google Keep Look for: works with your brain, ability to add context/tags
57. Knowledge Base Examples: Evernote, Roam, Notion, Foam Look for: cross-linking, collections, multimedia
58. The Learning Snapshot
59. The Learning Snapshot Organized by Area Anchor Resource Progress Ancillary Resources Project Progress All Notes in One Place
60. The Learning Snapshot Drafts for quick notes Notion for storing and tracking OmniFocus for projects and tasks
61. Demo
62. ⚠ Don’t over-engineer too quickly.
63. Quick Recap
64. Quick Recap: Strategies Think like an explorer Action + Speed + Feedback = Growth Systems > Motivation
65. Quick Recap: Tactics One inbox per learning area Project management system Review process
66. Quick Recap: Tools Scratchpad Knowledge base Task manager
67. samj.im/ls-talk @samjulien
68. samj.im/ls-talk Thank you! @samjulien