💌 23: How to #learninpublic

some practical resources & tips on how to learn in public

Hello!

I mentioned in the 18th issue that I'm experimenting with learning/building in public. That’s the main premise of an Invested Learner: applying what you’re learning in public in a consistent manner will yield compounding results.

I've always seen the hashtag #learninpublic or #buildinpublic being used mostly by developers on Twitter. But I'm sure you've done it in one way or another. It can be as simple as sharing a highlighted passage from a book you're reading on social media. Or sharing a recent lifehack you've used.

Take this newsletter as an example: I share what I’m learning about learning in public (yay, how meta!).

Shawn Wang, who started the #learninpublic movement defined it as having “a habit of creating learning exhaust”.

The essence of doing this is that you're creating a habit of using what you've learned instead of letting it get buried into a messy pile of hoarded information.

Jack Butcher aka Visualize Value calls it “selling your sawdust”.

Jack Butcher @jackbutcher

One of the fundamental ideas behind building reputation online is consistently generating proof of work. The beauty of this idea is that most people are already doing it (they're just not sharing it).

December 2nd 2020

3 Retweets100 Likes

When you're making something bigger, you share the byproducts of what you're making online. It documents what you're learning, and at the same time showing to the world your progress.

You don’t have to sell or market anything (at first). The point is to start a practice of sharing. No matter how small or mundane you think it is. The point is, it’s something new for you.

Showing what you're building is such a powerful way to build your credibility in your current field. It's even a necessity if you want to shift to a new industry or to earn good money online.

It doesn't matter if it's incomplete or imperfect. This is not your masterpiece, but the sketches and swatches of paint you're using.

For the past few weeks, one of my favorite Facebook groups inspired me to build 2 pages on Notion curating two topics that are close to my heart: the works of James Clear and about being a "jack of all trades."

The idea didn't come from thin air, it's a combination of these two things:

• David Perell's Thought Leader and Idea Strategy for the content

• Tem's How to build a personal website on Notion, where I copied the main page format from

I made the 2 pages in less than 6 hours in total. But remember that I collected everything for years. I made the sketchnote more than 2 years ago. I finished reading Range last year.

I’ve also been dabbling with Notion and some of the tools mentioned in the tutorial. They’re not a result of a single big action but tiny tasks that happened over time.

You don't have to spend a lot of time thinking of what to show in public. Look through your stuff, find a person whose career you've been following. Talk about an idea that you've been obsessed with lately. Compile your favorites using a new tool.

Then publish it online - it could be a Facebook post, a Twitter thread, a Notion page, or even a Google doc. One of the people who I find doing this well is Zoe Chew. Check out her site and you’ll see why.

The important thing is to get it out there!

How's your journey so far with learning in public? Share what you're currently building and your thoughts! If sharing in public is new for you, you can share a part of something you’ve built in private in this Padlet.

Here are some other resources about this topic:

on learning in public | Ava | 🕰 8 minutes

“Anyway: on learning in public. For longer-term projects like a novel, I think it’s bad to talk too much about it before you’re finished. Things that are in the process of being created tend to be fragile, and being quiet about them protects the work from too much input before it’s ready. It also protects you from overpromising and overdelivering. However, for something like a Twitter account or a Youtube channel or a blog, where you’re basically building up a body of work, you have no choice but learn in public. It’s scary, but the good thing about learning in public is that you get continuous feedback, which means you aren’t delusional about the quality of your work. Even in the case of the unfinished book, you probably want one or two people to read over the draft to make sure it’s not terrible.”

Building in Public Definite Guide | Kevon Cheung | 🕰 ???

I’m not done reading this because it’s basically a book. But I’ve picked up a lot so far.

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‘til next week!

Bituin 💫