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A handshake to your future self
I have no idea if this makes me unique and weird or if everyone kind of thinks this way: when I was growing up, I had the idea in my head that all the “things” would basically get done. I had a mind for the start and finish of a given task or project.
As an adult, I’ve gained a deeper acquaintance with reality and understand now that the “things getting done” is a river. Life is in motion.
So I’ve learned to name projects aptly, and document well, because what I’m working on now will inevitably be put aside for later completion. And when I come back to it, I need to understand where I left off. Memory alone cannot be depended on for this “handshake.”
The handshake to your future self is in the notes, not the content alone. Take quality notes, considering the reader won’t remember/know everything you know when you were writing it. And name things well. Sorting, organizing, especially in the ephemeral digital ecosystem that is so commonplace today, are critical habits worth forming.
How to Learn Skills Faster
I’ve written a lot on failure. Probably more than on success. That seems to be in the right proportion. Dr. Andrew Huberman’s recent podcast episode How to Learn Skills Faster offers up 3 key strategies to accelerate learning.
First he discusses the importance of repetition, specifically failures, in a repeated cycle. Failure here does not mean poor form or repeating a process erroneously; it means persisting until you can no longer continue or you find failure through persevering into uncharted territories. This is akin to the expression famous in the startup world: “Fail fast.”
Second, Huberman talks about letting your mind rehearse the motion or process of the repeated skill, after you complete a training. Whether you are learning to ski or learning a new language, the mind after training – in the absence of distraction – rehearses the correct motor sequences and continues to “practice”. Do not go on social media right after you finish training!
Huberman also mentioned a couple other strategies like supplements and range of motion exercises but the most noteworthy perhaps was the third point he made about syncing repetitions to an external rhythm, like a metronome. This can help you to keep good rhythm and increase speed.
A movie I watched
The Protector is a classic Kung Fu cop movie. Two NYC cops go to Hong Kong to rescue a businessman’s daughter, kidnapped by the local crime boss. Made in 1985, starring Jackie Chan and Danny Aiello, The Protector is jam packed with everything a man wants in a movie – action, suspense, thrills, plot twists, bad guys with guns in helicopters and of course kung fu. It is rated R.
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