An excellent guide to follow in your Lifelong Learning quest.<\/p>\n
1) Always have a book.<\/strong>It doesn\u2019t matter if it takes you a year or a week to read a book. Always strive to have a book that you are reading through, and take it with you so you can read it when you have time. Just by shaving off a few minutes in-between activities in my day I can read about a book per week. That\u2019s at least fifty each year.<\/p>\n
2) Keep a \u201cTo-Learn\u201d List<\/strong><\/p>\n
We all have to-do lists. These are the tasks we need to accomplish. Try to also have a \u201cto-learn\u201d list. On it you can write ideas for new areas of study. Maybe you would like to take up a new language, learn a skill or read the collective works of Shakespeare. Whatever motivates you, write it down.<\/p>\n
3) Get More Intellectual Friends<\/strong><\/p>\n
Start spending more time with people who think. Not just people who are smart. But people who actually invest much of their time in learning new skills. Their habits will rub off on you. Even better, they will probably share some of their knowledge with you.<\/p>\n
4) Guided Thinking<\/strong><\/p>\n
Albert Einstein once said, \u201cAny man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.\u201d Simply studying the wisdom of others isn\u2019t enough, you have to think through ideas yourself. Spend time journaling, meditating or contemplating over ideas you have learned.<\/p>\n
5) Put it Into Practice<\/strong><\/p>\n
Skill based learning is useless if it isn\u2019t applied. Reading a book on C++ isn\u2019t the same thing as writing a program. Studying painting isn\u2019t the same as picking up a brush. If your knowledge can be applied, put it into practice.<\/p>\n
6) Teach Others<\/strong><\/p>\n
You learn what you teach. If you have an outlet of communicating ideas to others, you are more likely to solidify that learning. Start a blog, mentor someone or even discuss ideas with a friend.<\/p>\n
7) Clean Your Input<\/strong><\/p>\n
Some forms of learning are easy to digest, but often lack substance. I make a point of regularly cleaning out my feed reader for blogs I subscribe to. Great blogs can be a powerful source of new ideas. But every few months I realize I\u2019m collecting posts from blogs that I am simply skimming. Every few months, purify your input to save time and focus on what counts.<\/p>\n
8 ) Learn in Groups<\/strong><\/p>\n
Lifelong learning doesn\u2019t mean condemning yourself to a stack of dusty textbooks. Join organizations that teach skills. Workshops and group learning events can make educating yourself a fun, social experience.<\/p>\n
9) Unlearn Assumptions<\/strong><\/p>\n
You can\u2019t add water to a full cup. I always try to maintain a distance away from any idea. Too many convictions simply mean too few paths for new ideas. Actively seek out information that contradicts your worldview.<\/p>\n
10) Find Jobs that Encourage Learning<\/strong><\/p>\n
Pick a career that encourages continual learning. If you are in a job that doesn\u2019t have much intellectual freedom, consider switching to one that does. Don\u2019t spend forty hours of your week in a job that doesn\u2019t challenge you.<\/p>\n
11) Start a Project<\/strong><\/p>\n
Set out to do something you don\u2019t know how. Forced learning in this way can be fun and challenging. If you don\u2019t know anything about computers, try building one. If you consider yourself a horrible artist, try a painting.<\/p>\n
12) Follow Your Intuition<\/strong><\/p>\n
Lifelong learning is like wandering through the wilderness. You can\u2019t be sure what to expect and there isn\u2019t always an end goal in mind. Letting your intuition guide you can make self-education more enjoyable. Most of our lives have been broken down to completely logical decisions, that making choices on a whim has been stamped out.<\/p>\n
13) The Morning Fifteen<\/strong><\/p>\n
Use the first fifteen minutes of your morning as a period for education. If you find yourself too groggy, you might want to wait a short time. Just don\u2019t put it off later in the day where urgent activities will push it out of the way.<\/p>\n