How I Learn Technical Things Fast
Developing the right habits for learning enormously impacted my life.
It’s equally as true for personal development as it is for formal education. When I was in art school I developed the habit of learning how to learn which was an essential skill needed to survive any semester.
Although I’ve pivoted my career into tech — learning is still a huge part of my life.
The habits I formed stayed with me. For example, when I decided to become a cloud engineer, it required a whole new set of skills. But I didn’t pursue a computer science degree. I pursued a new career without the comfort and time flexibility of full-time schooling. I relied solely on the habits I had already developed to see me through.
Here’s what they were and how they helped.
1. Sharpening the Axe
Abraham Lincoln famously said;
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
He was talking about the importance of preparation and it’s the foundation on which we should build our skills.
During my time in art school, one of my assignments was matte painting. These are painted backdrops used in movies to extend film sets. But before starting the assignment, I learned color theory, perspective, and more ways to build a compelling painting.
This preparation enabled me to pass the assignment with top grades than if I hadn’t studied fundamentals.
Similarly, when I left the film industry, 2 years after graduating, and pursued a career in tech, I started with the fundamentals of computing. I didn’t know much so I learned the basics before specializing.
Sharpening the axe helped to accelerate the learning process and achieve my goal ahead of schedule.
2. Doing One Thing At a Time
Something I first stumbled upon years ago in an audiobook called “The One Thing” is the 5-minute rule.
It’s a general productivity tip that’s often spoken about and you’ve likely heard it before. But thinking this way was instrumental in keeping me consistent. If you’ve never used it before, the general idea goes like this:
When you’re feeling lazy and reluctant to take action, spend 5 minutes doing the 1 thing you know you should be doing.
For example, if I had a goal to study for a certain number of days a week and constantly missed my target, I’d tell myself to spend 5 minutes on it.
Once I’ve spent 5 minutes, I can stop. But I often find I’m happy to keep going.
3. Allowing Immersion
It’s easy to learn when we’re in the right environment.
I always visited the library while studying for my first IT certification.
Libraries are a strong multiplier in our ability to learn and digest new information. Concepts that took an hour to absorb at home, took me 30 minutes here.
Studying in my room came with distractions:
- Video games
- Youtube
- Fiction books
In my local library, I was fully immersed in the experience of reading and note-taking. I first noticed this effect at university. Working from my dorm provided too many distractions. So if I wasn’t in class or out partying, I was in the library or the computer labs.
This manipulated my sense of time and I learned things faster.
4. Exploiting Weaknesses
Addressing my weak points early allowed me to optimize my study time.
When I started in tech, I'd be clueless if someone asked me to create cloud infrastructure through code. Yet this is a basic requirement for anyone aspiring to be a cloud engineer. I had to drill into my weaknesses if I was serious about my goal. So I spent most of my study time learning how to do this.
I always asked myself — if I got an interview tomorrow, what would I be least confident answering questions about?
This allowed me to focus on the areas that gave me the biggest return on my time.
When practicing a skill, staying in our comfort zone is tempting.
I used to take guitar lessons when I was 13. But I barely improved because I stayed in my comfort zone — only practicing the easy songs. Eventually, this frustrated me and I quit because I barely improved.
Learning only happens when we acknowledge our weaknesses and try to fix them.
5. Testing Knowledge
When I picked up new skills, I preferred to learn in a way that didn’t feel too easy, or too difficult. If the task felt too easy — it didn’t hold my interest. But if it was too difficult — I gave up too soon.
The sweet spot was somewhere in the middle.
This is a proven strategy used in the field of study known as desirable difficulty.
Most common learning strategies such as re-reading textbooks can slow the learning process because they’re completed easily. It feels like a good way to revise but the knowledge isn’t being internalized optimally. This is not to say this method isn’t helpful. It’s just not the best.
For example, say someone with no technical skills reads a book about how to build their first computer. A week later a friend asks them to help upgrade their graphics card. They’re not likely to remember how.
A better approach would have been to use flashcards when learning how to build a computer or assemble motherboard components.
This way they’re actively recalling the information in their brain, building stronger connections. Their brain has to work harder to process information and remember what they learned.
This is a study technique known as “Active Recall”.
6. Requesting Feedback
Feedback is the most basic and effective way to learn.
- We attempt an action.
- Someone tells us we’re doing it poorly.
- So we try to improve.
It’s a basic 3-step action that anyone can do.
One of the ways I implement feedback is at work. While working as a cloud engineer, It’s standard behavior to ask for feedback. Any code deployments or IT changes we make must be peer-reviewed and approved.
When we get caught making a mistake, it gets pointed out and addressed immediately. This feedback loop allows me to continue to improve my skills rapidly.
Anytime I want to learn something new, I try to get feedback as quickly as possible.
7. First Principles
Asking “why” is a key difference separating a beginner from a master.
I didn’t understand the importance of this until I started progressing in my career.
To illustrate — when I became a cloud engineer, I only thought about the technical aspects of a piece of work and how to complete it. I didn’t ask anyone why a project or task was required. But when a senior engineer approached work, they always operated from an understanding of:
Who authorised it?
Why is it needed?
What impact will it have on the business?
How should we approach this?
And if they didn’t have experience in a task, they still figured it out because of this first-principles mindset they cultivated throughout their career.
The lessons I learned were to avoid getting lost in the details and to keep fundamentals in mind. Since adopting this mindset, I’ve picked up new skills faster.
8. Teaching
Some people think teaching is for experts. The truth is — teaching is for anyone who’s learned something.
There is a concept known as “the curse of knowledge”.
The idea implies that people learn best from someone 1 or 2 steps ahead. On the other hand, an expert might assume prior knowledge before teaching something to total beginners.
In art school, the one thing that had the biggest impact on the quality of my work was feedback and guest lectures from recent graduates who had become industry professionals — rather than from faculty members with 10+ years of experience.
Additionally, there is “the Feynman technique”.
This has been spoken about countless times so I won’t go into too much detail. But to summarise this concept — teaching something you learn, helps solidify your knowledge.
This is one of the main reasons I began writing — to clarify my thoughts and reinforce my understanding of topics. So far, it seems to be working.
Thanks for reading.
