{
  "author": {
    "name": "Dylan Fitzgerald",
    "url": "https://dylanfitzgerald.net/"
  },
  "blyg": "0.4",
  "changelog": [
    {
      "at": "2025-02-12T04:52:00Z",
      "note": "Imported from the Ctrl+Shift archive",
      "version": 1
    }
  ],
  "content_hash": "sha256:dec3ced6dea2298d069a8f5b260e802f03d67eed6fdf268dda3622fceebf5839",
  "content_html": "\u003ch1\u003eDecide what not to learn\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt least, for right now.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://dylanfitzgerald.net/ox-hugo/het_not-one-word.jpeg\"\n\t\t\talt=\"A riff on the \u0026#39;HET!\u0026#39; Soviet anti-alcohol propaganda, with a man refusing a book\" width=\"50%\"\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can learn anything, but you can’t learn \u003cspan class=\"underline\"\u003eeverything\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCareer-adjacent learning can be one of the most compelling ways to spend your time and energy. It promises open doors and Possibility, new abilities that you can use to build grand new dreams and advance yourself, and the sheer enjoyment of gaining knowledge.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s also bottomless and neverending.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you start digging in to learn every interesting thing you come across, you\u0026rsquo;ll only ever glean a Wikipedia-depth summary of each topic. And if you\u0026rsquo;re working in technology, this risk is all the more tempting: there\u0026rsquo;s every day a new language, framework, process, or entire field of study promising to make the life of you and those around you somewhere from better to utterly transformed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe only way to get to a level of depth where you can competently apply a new topic of learning is to concentrate on it to the exclusion of all that other noise. Which comes down, mostly, to deciding \u003cspan class=\"underline\"\u003enot\u003c/span\u003e to learn most things.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you, like myself, struggle with this, a tactic: write down all the things you want to learn, are in the middle of learning, haven\u0026rsquo;t quite had time for, know you \u003cspan class=\"underline\"\u003ereally\u003c/span\u003e would benefit from\u0026hellip;you get the idea. Pick the top one. The rest of the list\u0026ndash;especially #2 and #3!\u0026ndash;is the stuff you \u003cspan class=\"underline\"\u003eabsolutely must avoid at all costs\u003c/span\u003e. That\u0026rsquo;s not your \u0026ldquo;next\u0026rdquo; list. That\u0026rsquo;s your \u0026ldquo;DANGER\u0026rdquo; list.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou\u0026rsquo;re allowed to start on the second topic \u003cspan class=\"underline\"\u003ewhen and only when you put the first one down for at least a month\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can tell yourself you\u0026rsquo;ll get to everything else on the list someday. Maybe you will! But if you try to do them all today, you\u0026rsquo;re not really getting to any of them.\u003c/p\u003e\n",
  "content_md": "# Decide what not to learn\n\nAt least, for right now.\n\n{{\u003c figure src=\"/ox-hugo/het_not-one-word.jpeg\" alt=\"A riff on the 'HET!' Soviet anti-alcohol propaganda, with a man refusing a book\" width=\"50%\" \u003e}}\n\n\u003e You can learn anything, but you can’t learn \u003cspan class=\"underline\"\u003eeverything\u003c/span\u003e.\n\nCareer-adjacent learning can be one of the most compelling ways to spend your time and energy. It promises open doors and Possibility, new abilities that you can use to build grand new dreams and advance yourself, and the sheer enjoyment of gaining knowledge.\n\nIt's also bottomless and neverending.\n\nIf you start digging in to learn every interesting thing you come across, you'll only ever glean a Wikipedia-depth summary of each topic. And if you're working in technology, this risk is all the more tempting: there's every day a new language, framework, process, or entire field of study promising to make the life of you and those around you somewhere from better to utterly transformed.\n\nThe only way to get to a level of depth where you can competently apply a new topic of learning is to concentrate on it to the exclusion of all that other noise. Which comes down, mostly, to deciding \u003cspan class=\"underline\"\u003enot\u003c/span\u003e to learn most things.\n\nIf you, like myself, struggle with this, a tactic: write down all the things you want to learn, are in the middle of learning, haven't quite had time for, know you \u003cspan class=\"underline\"\u003ereally\u003c/span\u003e would benefit from...you get the idea. Pick the top one. The rest of the list--especially #2 and #3!--is the stuff you \u003cspan class=\"underline\"\u003eabsolutely must avoid at all costs\u003c/span\u003e. That's not your \"next\" list. That's your \"DANGER\" list.\n\nYou're allowed to start on the second topic \u003cspan class=\"underline\"\u003ewhen and only when you put the first one down for at least a month\u003c/span\u003e.\n\nYou can tell yourself you'll get to everything else on the list someday. Maybe you will! But if you try to do them all today, you're not really getting to any of them.",
  "created": "2025-02-12T04:52:00Z",
  "id": "0jb6vcwh3t6aj32qq12nygdca2",
  "kind": "thread",
  "media": [],
  "origin": "https://dylanfitzgerald.net/blyg/",
  "page": "https://dylanfitzgerald.net/blog/decide-what-not-to-learn/",
  "transclusions": [],
  "updated": "2025-02-12T04:52:00Z",
  "version": 1
}