Meta Learning

Meta Learning (learning about learning) has been a topic of interest for me for almost a decade now. As an autodidact, meta learning is an underrated skill. I used it heavily to geek out on subjects not taught in design schools (neuroscience/behavioral science/strategy/storytelling and more).

I used it mostly for the subjects that strengthens my circle of competence. Recently a friend challenged me around meta learning for fun 🤩

The productivity nerd in me was cautious not to fall for it but the experimenter in me felt, why not 😃

So I had to choose a fun project for meta learning. I picked Ukulele as my choice.

We set the project to be ON from May first week. I couldn’t wait till May to dawn so I started using some first principles already. Boy! it is fascinating to learn fun things.

Here is a framework if you want to learn anything (ai or ukulele or product design or PMing or anything for that matter).

Step by step process goes like 👇

1/ Figure out the terrain. Some terrains are complex. Some are simple. Start figuring out the glossary, people, courses, books, channels and more.

2/ Draw the map. Terrain is not good enough, you must map the roads, junctions, streets etc. this is where you will understand what streets take you where. Where to start and where to dig deeper for mastery etc.

3/ Put a pin and mark “you are here”. My ukelele YRH and my Ai YRH will be different. So good to know where you are.

4/ Mark where you want to go by when. I call this as my Point B. You can mark a series of points like C D E F and call them as milestones. It helps you progress.

5/ Make a social commitment. I shall play this in our next group meet or shall release a video or shall teach this to cohort 1 etc.

6/ Pick one accountability buddy and Start progressing towards point B. Find the shortest path to go there. Small wins are a huge booster in a learning journey. If you could use a GPS (aka Mentor) it will help you get there faster.

7/ Timebox your point B. Allocate time in your calendar to keep up the routine everyday. I have noticed 25 mins everyday including weekends is a good idea.

8/ Write your reflections everyday post your learn hour. Jot down your questions. Try and see what questions help you reach point B. Dump the rest in a parking lot. A separate space in a word doc or a figjam or Notion for that matter.

9/ Share your progress to an inner circle if you have one or your accountability buddy. Also share your rating scale around how you feel and what you did.

10/ Perform your social commitment at the end of your timebox. Serotonin is guaranteed. You will feel better.

Repeat the above steps for point C D E and more till you feel learning has become a part of you. Happy to share the documentation around application of the framework for my Ukulele project.

🥂 to Learning!

P.S: Original Post