Time and attention are finite resources and we are constantly making trade-offs to get through the day -- some of them are good, others not so much. By constantly reacting to what is in front of us we adopt a just-in-time approach to information. Choosing familiar tools and known resources is a way to close the door on learning new things.
I still read a lot of blogs, articles, and books. But the best way for me to learn new things effectively continues to be quality resources -- people who take time to parse information and to infuse their take, to offer a specific point of view, and to point to what they are reading and doing as guideposts of their thinking.
To learn new things and expand our options, we need to be open to explicitly consider alternatives, and invite serendipity and creativity into the mix.
I've been experimenting with both offering and subscribing to many newsletters over the years. I still subscribe to several weeklies -- from service providers where I do business, partners, and individuals. Below is a short list of the ones I actually read and use consistently (sample issues inked):
- Austin Kleon -- creativity, visual expressiveness, and poetry mix
- James Victore --role of surprise in creativity with a dose of motivation
- Hugh MacLeod -- role of culture in business and transformation through art
- Brain Food -- by Shane Parrish, author of Farnam Street blog focused on mastering the best of what other people have already figured out
- Almighty -- dark matter's lens is user experience and service design
- Rosie & Faris -- strand of genius is high energy, curated culture
- Open Strategy -- it's not rocket science, but it is part science / part art
- Strategy Hack -- is about using startup methods and it's for agencies and brands
- Sloan Davidson -- for those hungry for information about farming, farm-to-table and table
Newsletters are a more focused and intimate way to share information. The more time someone spends learning about themselves and what they think, the better the experience for a reader. Daily posts help me stay the course, and I continue to follow a theme as I write. But a weekly makes sense for those who prefer a summary view in one place to return to for reference.
How we think about things has a transforming effect on what we do. Choosing what we read and think about is a great place to start. The spirit of curiosity, a desire for connection, and an understanding of our personal culture shape what we do in the world. The best way to learn things is to do them habitually – hence Learning Habit.
It is an evolution of the weekly links on making sense, making do, and making it I have been publishing on Sundays -- see for example this, this, this, and this -- directly to your inbox. To start, it will contain curated links to things I am finding on the web on culture, business, technology, creativity, philosophy, and psychology, posts I have written, books I am reading, upcoming events, and much more.
Learning Habit is a weekly shortcut “where ideas surface, diverge, and converge into actionable steps,” in the words of a long time reader, for those who understand the value of continuous learning to human potential.
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