lifelong learning

After I finished law school, I was so tired of studying that at the end I walked out, laughed, and said something like, I’m never learning anything ever again.

Of course I didn’t mean that. Even in law school, I took community college classes just for fun: yoga, life drawing, French. (Highly recommend all.)

What I meant was, I was not going to ever take a class where I needed to be graded by someone else. I didn’t need any more degrees. I didn’t need to be rated by anyone else. I was done with formal education.

But that hasn’t stopped me from lots and lots of informal education—from book stuff (how to write, how to market) to online language lessons (in Spanish, French, Italian, German, and even Basque) to all kinds of books or courses on personal development, cooking, and so on. Hell, I even watched Steph Curry’s Masterclass on throwing three-pointers. Even though I don’t play basketball. (Recommend.)

I think I got into this habit because my work had no training when I started, so I had to identify areas in which I was weak—say, negotiation—and take classes in them. I learned to be in charge of my own education because choosing not to would have been very dumb.

But I’ve kept going.

There are still a lot of things I want to learn. Take Swedish for one. I’m in my second year of Duolingo. But if I did Swedish lessons all day every day I’d go insane. So, I break it down into about 10-15 minutes increments per day. Or I’ll read a chapter a week to implement David Allen’s Getting Things Done. Or whatever I’m currently reading about character development, writing, or so on.

A few times, though, I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of topics I want to tackle.

Like now.

It’s the end of the year. Time to review and reflect. Time to think about improving in the future.

Time to get anxious about the sheer number of things I want to change.

This is my solution: for a few years now, I’ve done something akin to designing my own university course, just for me. I’ve decided topics I want to study, what kind of time I’m going to devote to them on a daily or weekly or even monthly basis. I’ve written all this down and scheduled it. Sort of. And I’ve been reasonably successful with following through.

So, that’s what I did just now. I have a list of books I want to reread and study. Webinars I want to take. Audiobooks I want to listen to. And rather than feel overwhelmed—as I am wont to do—and think that I have to learn them all at once, I’ve decided to create my own personal program. RuPaul’s Masterclass on authenticity included.

I wanted to write this in case it inspired you to follow up with something you’ve always wanted to learn. I mean, what are you waiting for? You don’t have to do it all at once. You can break it down into small, easily digestible units. And by this time next year, you (and I) will know a whole lot more.

It’s your one life. I recommend designing it how you choose.