Breakdown: How I'm Learning a High-Powered Skill 🔥
Behind the scenes with Develop Daily!
In this letter:
We walk step-by-step through my latest upskilling effort. Along the way, we'll talk about 5 stages of the Develop Daily learning system.
- Start with "why"
- Refine your goal
- Gather resources
- Develop daily
- Celebrate small wins
Ready to grab high-powered skills in record time? 🚀
Let's go.Hello, Design
I’m diving head-first into a new skill.
👉 Design.
For years, I’ve wanted to know more about design best practices. How the principles of hierarchy, contrast, balance, and more make an image POP off the screen.
So, I’m committing to a learning plan.
Want to take a look?
To demonstrate the Develop Daily system, I thought it’d be helpful to share exactly how I’m approaching this learning plan.
How I settled on this skill
How I’m structuring daily development
What challenges I’m running into
What success looks like
And more!
Ok, let’s get to it.
Step 1: Start With “Why”
“Working hard for something we do not care about is called stress, working hard for something we love is called passion.” - Simon Sinek
Before launching a course, watching a YouTube video, or even setting a learning goal, I start with something deeper.
👉 My “why.”
As Simon Sinek says eloquently, there’s a dramatic difference between pursuing work and pursuing passion. Often, this difference comes down to a clearly defined “why.”
So . . .
Why am I launching a learning plan around design?
I sit down with pen, paper, and a simple framework to answer this question. The framework? It’s called The Five Whys.
The Five Whys originated as a technique to solve problems in an agile work environment. It helps teams get to the root cause of any issue. But it’s also incredibly effective at getting to the root of any life situation, including learning plans.
Here’s how to deploy it:
Identify your question or topic.
Ask yourself “why” you’re pursuing it.
Then, dig deeper by asking “why” another four times.
The goal is to push past surface-level reasons and tap into your personal values. What truly drives you to throw hard work behind this goal?
At the surface level, my “why” looks like this:
“Every time I interact with design principles, the learning side of my brain smiles.”
“I want my content on LinkedIn and this newsletter to stand out and gain more impressions.”
“I don’t want to pay a designer to do work I can do myself.”
These reasons are fine. Good enough. But they won’t propel me through the barriers that come with any skill development effort.
So, I dig deeper.
“Design will help me communicate more effectively.”
“Design will prop up my business efforts.”
And deeper:
“I want to help people grow. That’s my core mission.”
“I want my business to be successful so I can spend more time with my family.”
Mission + family. These are the kinds of deep-seated values that provide powerful motivation. These are the kinds of values that will help me develop daily.
I write them down in big, bold letters.
Step 2: Refine My Goal
“Learn design.”
This is the first iteration of my learning goal.
It’s a fine start. But if I stop there, my efforts will inevitably go sideways. The goal is too generic, broad, and limitless to be much help.
Instead, I’m going to reach for two additional frameworks. S.M.A.R.T. Goals and N.I.C.E. Goals.
There’s a raging debate among productivity experts as to the best way to structure your goals for maximum effect. Personally, I like to take advantage of these two frameworks to set myself up for success.
S.M.A.R.T.
I start with this time-tested approach to goal-setting.
Specific: I don’t need to learn everything about design. And I don’t need to learn every tool. To fulfill my “why,” I need: (1) to know the foundations, (2) to become proficient in a single tool, and (3) to feel confident in my work.
Measurable: How will I measure progress? Here, I can use my LinkedIn impressions as a helpful benchmark. I can also solicit feedback from other people in my community.
Attainable: By lowering my goal from “learn design” to something more targeted, I’ve improved the attainability of this goal.
Relevant: I’m focused exclusively on design skills that will amplify efforts I’ve already committed to — i.e. creating great content (LinkedIn, newsletter) and supporting the businesses my wife and I run.
Time-Bound: I’m launching a 30-day goal to start. Then, I’ll assess and consider an additional 30 days if needed.
N.I.C.E.
Next, I take a look at Ali Abdaal’s N.I.C.E. framework for further refinement.
Near Term: This learning goal aligns directly with my near-term goals. I want to publish more visual content on LinkedIn. I’m considering expansion to other visual platforms. And I want to reduce my design time every week.
Input Based: This is the counter-point to “measurable.” Sure, I’ll measure my output as LinkedIn impressions, but my input will be built around a Develop Daily framework. 15 minutes of protected time each day.
Controllable: I can’t control how my designs are received online or elsewhere. But I can control how much skill and effort I put into the designs. That’s where I’m focused.
Energizing: I’m interested in this skillset. And I’ve tied it to a clear and compelling “why.” This learning goal will energize me, not drain me.
Ultimately, I narrow my goal across a few key areas.
I’m going to focus on Canva. I’ve already invested time in learning the design tool, and I like its interface. Focusing exclusively on Canva designs will shorten my learning time and speed up my output.
I’m ignoring anything related to design careers. I don’t want to be a designer. So, I can eliminate 50%+ of the content that’s out there on design. I can skip straight to skill-building with my niche focus.
My final goal looks something like this:
Over the next 30 days, I’m going to invest 15 minutes each day in rapid skill-building. My focus is on design foundations and proficiency in Canva, with the result being high-impact visual communication on LinkedIn and through my newsletter.
That sounds doable, right? 😏
Step 3: Gather Resources
Next, it’s on to learning resources.
I conduct a quick survey of design education. There are 1000s of options on the market, but I’m filtering through the lens of my learning goal. With this limited scope, I quickly eliminate large sections of learning sources.
Degree programs are out. They’re too long, broad, and expensive.
Anything that focuses on graphic design careers, tools beyond Canva (aka Illustrator, Figma, etc.), and website design is out.
Here’s where I focus instead.
First, I check my email and find Udemy is running a promotion. They are always running a promotion. For a total of $30, I grab two highly-rated courses that support my learning goal. Plus, their content is broken into microlearning lessons (5-10 minutes each). Perfect.
Second, I head to YouTube. I’ve stumbled on design videos there in the past, and I know designers publish high-quality content on the platform.
I build a playlist.
I fill it with videos that directly fit my goal.
I use recommended videos to continue expanding.
Through this process, I stumble on some amazing channels (like Satori Graphics) that immediately amplify my knowledge. Plus, the YouTube video format is perfect for seeing design lessons taught in real-time. Yes, please.
I organize my content for easy access and move on.
Step 4: Develop Daily
Now, it’s time to get after it.
But I take one more step before launching my first lesson.
👉 I time-block.
Time-blocking is an essential part of the Develop Daily system. It ensures I’m fully committed to growing 1% every day. And it carves out dedicated time I can throw into development.
My approach to time blocking is simple. You can read more about it here.
In short:
Prioritize
Anticipate unpredictability
Don’t miss twice
Surveying my schedule, a shiny block of time begins to emerge. Monday through Friday, I drop my children off at school and return home around 9am. Then, my routine is to make a quick breakfast before diving into work for the day.
Solution: Grab 15 minutes of development while eating my morning oatmeal.
Of course, this doesn’t happen every day. Since launching this learning plan, I’ve had to jump on client deliverables or reschedule my development window.
But I don’t miss twice.
That’s key.
Step 5: Celebrate Small Wins
I’m pretty thrilled with the results so far.
Here’s a quick side-by-side of an infographic I built before this learning plan, and an infographic I built during this learning plan:
Even if you don’t know anything about design, you can probably recognize the difference between these infographics.
Design #2 stands out more (i.e. better contrast).
Design #2 is easier to read (i.e. stronger hierarchy).
Design #2 took less time to create (i.e. proficiency).
Is it perfect? No.
Is it better? Yes.
And this is just the tip of the skill iceberg.
To Wrap
Looking to level-up your skills and do it fast?
This simple approach to learning has accelerated my skill-building. And it can do the same for you.
If you’re planning to invest in a new skill, here’s the formula:
Start with “why”
Refine your goal
Gather resources
Develop daily
Celebrate small wins
Hope this helps! ✌️
P.S.
The LinkedIn Career Content Library features 380 pieces of curated content. Plus, you can easily sort through the library using filters like “Job Search,” “Networking,” “LinkedIn,” and more. Happy learning!