The Dripping Spigot: Learn Something New

One of the great things about working at WEST, is that I am exposed to so much new technology. Luckily for me, learning new technology has always come easy, however I understand that is not the case for everyone.

Early in my technology career, a mentor of mine told me, that in order to be successful, I would have to be a life-long learner. Not only would I have to learn new stuff, but I would have to be willing to let go of that knowledge, when it was inevitably replaced by something newer. It was back then that I developed my learning system: The Dripping Spigot.

We all know how costly a dripping spigot can be; it drips all month long, one drop at a time, driving up our water bill. But how can such a small amount of water end up costing so us much? The answer is simply time. The great thing is, we can use that same principle to power our learning process.

Here is how it works: After you decide that you want to learn something, you simply dedicate and commit to training on it for thirty minutes a day for thirty days. Now, I am not saying you will be an expert after thirty days, c’mon, we are only talking about fifteen hours here. What I am saying is, if  you do this for thirty minutes a day for thirty days, you will be much better versed than when you started; also you will be well on your way to creating a strong habit of learning.

I know what you are thinking: That’s it?

Well, yes, that is it!

As simple as it sounds, unfortunately, it is often out of the reach of most people. The most common reason for failure, is most people do not think that thirty minutes a day is enough time to learn something. What they end up doing is trying to cram the fifteen hours, that would have been over thirty days, into two or three days; ultimately overwhelming themselves. I refer to this method of learning as the Fire Hose; same amount of water, just in a shorter amount of time. I think you get the idea.