Today I listened to the always-excellent Smart Passive Income podcast. In this particular episode, Pat Flynn interviewed Joseph Michael, creator of LearnScrivenerFast.com, a course which, unsurprisingly, helps folk to learn Scrivener fast. If you don’t know, Scrivener is an app for planning, researching and executing on long-form writing projects like books. I love the software, so I knew I’d enjoy the podcast. In it, one line from Joseph stood out.
He said that he often watches his own videos to re-learn stuff about the software he uses all the time. I actually laughed out loud, which, as I was listening on headphones when walking the dog, got me some funny looks from passers-by.
I laughed, because I do that all the time!
I’ve been a financial planner for 17 years, and worked with countless people over that time. I’m well-qualified at what I do, but when I have forgotten something I need to recall, the easiest way is to watch one of my own videos, or listen to one of my own podcasts.
I’m reminded of the need always to be learning, and also the power of creating your own repository of reference information. That isn’t what I set out to do here, but that’s what it has become.
Here are some tools which I use for turbocharging my own learning:
1. Evernote
I use Evernote as my digital brain, including the Evernote Web Clipper plugin for the Chrome browser which lets me dump stuff from any website into my Evernote archive.
Evernote is searchable and lets you store pretty much anything. There are companion mobile apps, as you can imagine, and a new addition is Scannable an app which makes scanning paper into Evernote easy with your phone camera.
Evernote is free, but I do pay for the upgraded version because I love it so much.
2. Feedly
Feedly is an RSS reader. Here I collate the content from various blogs into one place. Rather than having to check 100 websites for updates, the updates come to me in Feedly. It is so easy to use and free too.
I group the websites I check into categories like personal finance (natch), branding, technology and news.
3. Podcasts
I know that I would say this, but other podcasts are the most useful resource for learning about any subject. Whatever you want to learn about, from fly fishing to house maintenance to philosophy, there is a podcast on that subject.
The best thing about listening to podcasts is that they can be consumed on the move. So I frequently listen in the car on the way to work, while running or training indoors, while walking the dog, and especially while doing housework. I can fill otherwise dead time with self-improvement – perfect!
You can search for an subscribe to podcasts on iTunes or Stitcher
4. Udemy
This is a new tool I have only recently been introduced to. Udemy is an online academy with courses on a million different subjects. Some are free, some are paid for, but if you want to learn how to do something then this is a great place to start.
Those are my my four go-to resources for improving myself – do you have any that you use? Share them in the comments section!
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