Many Ways to Learn

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Julie Zhuo responds to the classic “What can I do to continue my growth?”:

One of the things I believe the most firmly is that everyone has something to teach you if you’re looking for the lessons. And these people don’t have to be other designers at your company! There are many paths to becoming an awesome product designer

She lists (and explains):

  • Learn from your users
  • Learn from people with different skillsets
  • Learn by doing 

I have a draft blog post called “Tech Books are Supplementary” that I started in 2011 and somehow haven’t gotten around to finishing. One of these days! The point I try to make in it, as you can imagine, is that tech books are just a slice of the learning pie.

I’m playing a lot more banjo lately, trying to level up the best I can. You know what it takes? Going to jams. YouTubing people playing the songs I want to learn. Asking for advice. Listening to tons of recordings. Playing along to those recordings. Buying and reading books on the topic. Finding tabs online.

Learning things well takes hitting it from all sides.

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