How to prioritize and schedule your learning

[Simke]

Hello everyone noob trying to self-actualize here :), i need some help while drowning in all the books i have.

A: I can't seem to prioritize what is the most beneficial book for me.

B: And even if i did, do you think i should just read one book, and then go to the next one or should i somehow choose for example...5 books that are most beneficial for my current situation and read each 1h/day or something like that?

I was thinking of having multiple topics and spread them across the week, like in school where you have many different topics each day. 

For example Monday: Relationships, communication, purpose

                       Tuesday: self talk, health, science

                       Wednesday: history, self esteem, enlightenment etc.

Trying to strategically learn as fast and as efficient as possible, but i end up totally lost and maybe over complicate things i don't know.

Anyways i would really appreciate if someone can guide me out of this confusion (or perfectionism???)

 

[Dan Arnautu]

@Simke I'm gonna provide a word of caution, as I've been doing this work for over 4 years now. 

You might be better of starting with a book, deriving actionable steps (after you have finished reading it), starting to take action on them and then moving on to another book. The biggest trap I've fallen into is reading lots of books, feeling all smart and fancy, but still having a shitty life because I wasn't taking enough action.

The ratio should be 10% reading, 90% implementing.

You can go the other way though (reading 40 books at once, like I do now), but be prepared for a massive backlash that comes with the radical increase in openmindedness and knowledge.

After your first book, you will feel good. After your 50th, you will feel like you know nothing anymore. LIke all you've ever grown up with was a lie and you might discover that you need to redraw your life from scratch at that point. It leaves you totally paralyzed. That's the critical point where you should not give up.

Only at the 100th book onward will you start to gain some clarity again and get a feel for the road.

So the path looks like this.

1st book - You feel good cuz you're learning something new and feel like you're making progress.

50th book - "All my life was a lie. Wtf. I don't know anything anymore. I know nothing. Nobody knows anything. What is next?"

100th book - Ooooh, ok. I'm starting to see patterns. I'm starting to get in touch with my own intuition and I can see concepts repeating and interconnecting. It's starting to feel like a dance, and I have to keep up the rhythm. Everything starts to be more clear and my confidence is increasing. I'm over the hurdle.

[ivory]

I second what Dan said. Take your time and don't fall into the trap of overloading yourself. As for what to read, pick books that address your immediate challenges.

Edited December 1, 2018 by ivory

[Equanimitize]

A really helpful acronym that I learned from one of Eben Pagans course is HOPE. It stands for Highest Opportunity for Potential Evolution. God issued everyone problems to deal with, but it's on you to figure out which ones are going to be your highest leverage. In your personal life it is the thing you don't really want to do, although the more you do this the easier it gets until you realize that it was all an illusion anyway. So I would put your focus on one domain in which you really want to transcend-you can only change something only after you have accepted it. @Dan Arnautu Is spot on, Action is most important-if left in a conundrum just take action first and the heat seeking missile will autocorrect. And, Thank you for the reminder on the taking action part. 

[Simke]

Thank you for your answers. I will try to explain the specific situation i found myself in i think i wasn't specific enough.

This happened this week while i was reading a book called Verbal Judo, as i am reading it i am making a mind map of the book and also implementing it in real life because as it happens at the moment i work with clients at health center as a receptionist. Clients in health center can be really angry and if you are not careful, very quickly you can find yourself in a lot of trouble. So i implemented the stuff from the book and it worked wonders, even the most pissed of clients i have been able to calm them down even if they didn't get what they really came for (and i am only at the middle of the book). 

So i got really good results from this book already and they seem to suffice for now.

A: Should i deepen my understanding, read all of it, master it and them move to another book. (it seems to me like i am trying to perfect my verbal skills, and using my perfectionism as a way of procrastinating) 

B: Or should i start reading a new book that seems more interesting and important to me at the moment? While still being aware of my verbal skills in every day situations and if i get some questions i revisit the book/or mind map.

[Dan Arnautu]

@Equanimitize No problem, man. We also need to remember that our life has it's seasons too. There are seasons to gather knowledge and to plan, and seasons to take action. You just gotta be self-aware enough to know where you're at. 

[Dan Arnautu]

@Simke Books that address the current challenges you face definitely have priority.

[thehero]

Ive had the same problem of reading and doing things in a reactionary way. 

My solution as of current is to be proactive and work on completing one thing then moving into the next. 

More than 1 endeavor at a time has consistently backfired.

I think only you know your limits and how much you believe you can handle at once

[Equanimitize]

4 hours ago, Simke said:

Should i deepen my understanding, read all of it, master it and them move to another book.

The problem is you just don’t have time to Master everything. You have to figure where it is that you will get your best ROI. Once you gain proficiency and integrate in your life I think it’s time to move on. I personally love the idea of being a “polymath” as there’s so much out in the Universe to be explored. Of course you have to be careful with this because the road to Mastery is to focus on a specific Niche-constant process to drive home your passion.

I think you just being aware that you are a perfectionist and you use it as a way to procrastinate will inevitably correct itself. I have this problem too. 

As far as what book you should read-I would say just try and figure out what works for you. Give yourself permission to play, experiment, and implement until you find the right balance. You have to take into account opportunity cost. 

@Dan Arnautu You’re spot on Man, I agree. 

[Simke]

I appreciate your help guys! wish you all happy growing

[zenjen]

8 hours ago, Simke said:

Thank you for your answers. I will try to explain the specific situation i found myself in i think i wasn't specific enough.

This happened this week while i was reading a book called Verbal Judo, as i am reading it i am making a mind map of the book and also implementing it in real life because as it happens at the moment i work with clients at health center as a receptionist. Clients in health center can be really angry and if you are not careful, very quickly you can find yourself in a lot of trouble. So i implemented the stuff from the book and it worked wonders, even the most pissed of clients i have been able to calm them down even if they didn't get what they really came for (and i am only at the middle of the book). 

So i got really good results from this book already and they seem to suffice for now.

A: Should i deepen my understanding, read all of it, master it and them move to another book. (it seems to me like i am trying to perfect my verbal skills, and using my perfectionism as a way of procrastinating) 

B: Or should i start reading a new book that seems more interesting and important to me at the moment? While still being aware of my verbal skills in every day situations and if i get some questions i revisit the book/or mind map.

@Simke It's okay to read more than 1 book at a time, I usually read two books at a time. If your getting really good results from one book, I'd suggest to continue reading that until completion. If your feeling antsy to read another book that will help you with your personal life, pick up that one and read it as well. However I wouldn't suggest reading more than 2-3 books at a time as it gets hard to implement things with information overload. This is just my suggestion from experience, hope this helps