Techniques for learning a new skill

I just found these notes in an old notebook and figured they deserved a blog post . This isn’t self-help type stuff, it’s just practical. I’m blogging this so that some day I find it when reading my old blog posts, just as I found the list in an old notebook.

Techniques helpful in learning any skill:

• Know your starting point (measure it, somehow) => “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.”
• Set objectives.
• Have techniques for improvement available.
• Assess your progress after a reasonable period.
• Have strategies for continuing improvement and maintaining the skill.

I’d add in there to have a good way to record your progress. Something like Daytum will probably work if you want a web-based tool. Excel spreadsheets and notebooks work great, too.