Leveraging What You Learn
A content creator’s guide to turning consumption into meaningful creation
In this digital age it has become all too easy to become a passive consumer of information. We read, listen and watch hoards of content — all with the vague goal of ‘learning’. But for what. Are you doing something useful with that information? Does it tie into some emergent purpose, an ultimate goal? Is it meaningful? I hope after reading this blog post you will be equipped to face the endless legions of interesting, but meaningless information — and leverage what you learn.
This blog post will detail three fundamental aspects of applying what you learn: 1) Strategic consumption; 2) Getting more out of information and; 3) Using consumption to aid creation.
Strategic learning
Algorithms dictate much of our learning and consumption. I want to share a few tips with you that will allow you to take control of your learning process, helping you consume only what directly applies to your current goals.
Project-oriented consumption
This is the idea that whatever you are consuming should apply to something you are working on. This allows you to consume with intent — the things you read, or listen to, will be inherently valuable to you— that information is now part of a project. You are working towards some goal and your consumption is therefore meaningful. You will not only make use of it but also remember it longer through this process.
Reading list
An important part of this is maintaining a reading list of articles, videos, podcasts and books. When you find something interesting save it there. Then, at a later stage, you can read or listen to that piece of content when it directly relates to what you are currently working on (this also applies to courses — don’t take a course on negotiation if your current goal is getting fit).
This allows you to take control of what you consume, but still save those little nuggets buried among troves of junk.
Getting more out of information
Consumption is a process inextricably linked to creation. To write you must read. To draw you must see. The trick here is to consume with creation in mind, actively and with purpose, recording the insights and valuable tidbits along the way. We can then use these snippets in the creation process.
Note-taking
First, you must start taking notes. This does not have to be an arduous process. Record only what resonates with you and information relating to your current projects. By taking notes we not only consume more actively but also record what we learn for later use.
An important concept here is to make your notes atomic and self-contained — each individual note should pertain to one idea. This allows for easier review and linking of ideas later on.
Building a second brain
Now you’ve made some notes, great. But currently they’re just sitting there, collecting dust. The next step is to enter them into a personal database, a collection of your knowledge, which can be easily reviewed.
The ‘second brain’ is a system, devised by Tiago Forte, for capturing and reviewing knowledge. It will allow you to collect information, connect ideas and ultimately create something original.
The basic idea is that your brain is for having ideas, not storing them. By using an external system for storage it allows us to more easily review and draw on this bank of personal knowledge — using it to further our goals and create good content.
I recommend you check out Tiago Forte’s overview of building a second brain for more information (I recommend Roam Research or Notion as platforms for this).
Using consumption as a tool for creation
This is all about using what you have learned, and your external system, to fuel the creation process. All without having to go through the drudgery of extended research.
Link ideas
Once ideas have started filling your knowledge bank, you should get to linking them. Don’t worry, this is easy. While writing notes on something all you should be doing is thinking in the back of your mind, “what other information that I have encountered applies to this”, and create a link to it(this should be simple in most applications).
You create a web of ideas, representing a broader understanding of some topic. You begin to understand things in the context of everything else you have learned — promoting deeper insights and more original ideas. When this web becomes intricate enough, you will be able to navigate the various fields of your knowledge simply through accessing linked ideas.
Having a web of ideas to support any single one works wonders for content creation. When writing this blog post for example I first referred to my notes on “applying what you learn”. From this node I was referred to many other valuable notes — “basics building a second brain”, “project-oriented consumption”, “PKM” among others. This allowed me to jot down some key points from these and create the framework of this post.
Keeping an ongoing collection of ideas
You should be keeping an ongoing collection of ideas for pieces of content (this post started out as “applying what you learn — blog post”). Within one idea you should add and link any relevant pieces of content, or your notes on them, that you come across. This allows you to gradually build up collections of knowledge that have a specific purpose. When you feel you have enough information there, you can start writing or recording.
This slow-simmer approach allows the information to well, simmer, and accumulate. You will draw connections and gain insight as you collect. This continues until it reaches a critical mass — then you start creating.
This foregoes the hassle of first of all trying to find an idea and then having to research it. You have many ideas, already fleshed out, at your fingertips.
Creation
The process of creation should be simple enough. All you are doing is scanning the content you have collected and using it to draw up a general framework for your thoughts on the subject (here is how Nat Eliason outlines a blog post — a brilliant demonstration of a master at work). Afterward, you get to the nitty-gritty process, but with a broader understanding and ideas already there.
I hope this blog post provides enough insight to help you get started on your content creation journey. Good luck!
