Okay this is my first blog... and today's block is a documentation block as per my hobbies and interests plan and weekly plan.
What I would like to talk about today is the start of a new project. You are going to be hearing this a lot. This project today comes from a problem i've encountered during learning. I read many books and consume content in order to solve problems but then I can't remember anything but the most important and key factors, which are commonly things I knew already, just by thinking and reasoning. The important things that I wish I was keeping hold of, more intricate ideas that are foreign to me are often lost. As all problems, as soon as I realized it, I wrote it down into my reminders and based on its importance it would become a task on my weekly plan. This problem, not being able to recall things i've consumed is a massive problem, because I'm constantly consuming content in order to improve, meaning the quicker this problem is solve the faster ROI will come of it.
To solve this problem, I took the AI of my choice and spoke about my problem and reasoned with it to understand it better, filter misconceptions and come to the conclusion that the issue isn't that i'm not reading/learning/consuming, its that my brain is not using the information, and its being discarded soon after consumption. To solve this problem I would need to recall the information and implement it often and purposefully to make it stick. Unlike studying for an exam where the intention is to know what the content says, the intention for self improvement is understanding what the content means and how this can be implemented to have positive impact.
In order to achieve this I brainstormed with the AI building a SOP that I can implement when learning. The AI coined the SOP, The Learning OS and I'm keeping that name, it's fitting. Here's how it works (no gatekeeping here):
The Learning OS (Standard Operating Procedure) TEMPLATE
Phase 1: Before Learning
Create a note:
What are you learning (title)
Why are you learning this (subheading)
What problem am I trying to solve? (extract)
Phase 2: During Learning (After each section)
What was the main idea?
###
Why does it work?
###
Where have I seen this before?
###
How could I use this?
###
Phase 3: After learning
Explain what you learned in your own words:
Write out 3 examples:
Key Principles:
##
Actionable Lessons:
##
Real Life Examples:
##
Flashcards:
##
Phase 4: Recall
Create 3 - 5 key principle flashcards (hand written or typed not generated or off the internet)
Question: X Y Z
Answer: A B C
Phase 5: Principles Vault
write down the most important principles you pick up into a principles vault while learning.
Phase 6: Weekly Review
Ask: What are the most important things I learned this week? (Active Recall, write from memory, no notes)
Check notes after. Write the difference.
Phase 7: Monthly Synthesis
What changed about how I think this month? (Braindump / write)
So this is the process, the SOP that will be used and tested while reading 48 Law's of Power, which is what I'm reading at the moment.
But I've immediately encountered a new issue, when creating new... new anything, onboarding and integration is very important. As i've learned from Atomic Habits which i've read previously, to build a habit or start doing something new, I would have to reduce the difficultly of undertaking the new task to make it more desirable and unavoidable.
The immediate issue with this SOP is that it requires creation, each and every time it's used. All creation consumes/transmutes energy. The Learning OS SOP requires creating documents from templates to track learning objectives and outcomes, the creation of flashcards and requires thinking to complete. This is real energy that needs to go into the completion of this task and since there is no immediate positive outcome its charged as negative pain.
Negative pain means, doing it in the moment feels bad, but long term will do you good. Since doing The Learning OS is so difficult, i've decided that I will be building the SOP into a digital solution, to automate and reduce the friction between thought and action. I will be developing it as the first project I've done since creating Erik Labs (which was yesterday lol).
I'm going to round up my ideas here by saying, actions towards success are good only if implemented successfully and executed consistently. Reading and learning are actions towards success and this Learning OS SOP will allow me to more efficiently learn and recall information i've deemed valuable.
Another step towards unachievable perfection.
- Erik