I put most of my work on a weekly " to-do " list.
But I read this about another kind of list I’d never considered making.
Have You Thought About a To-Learn List?
Leonardo da Vinci made “to learn” lists. He’d get up in the morning and write down everything he wanted to learn that day. - Kleon, Keep Going, 26
Jessica Stewart shared one of da Vinci’s lists on the website My Modern Met. It included:
[Calculate] the measurement of Milan and Suburbs.
[Discover] the measurement of Corte Vecchio (the courtyard in the duke’s palace).
[Discover] the measurement of the castello (the duke’s palace itself)
Get the master of arithmetic to show you how to square a triangle.
Ask Maestro Antonio how mortars are positioned on bastions by day or night.
Some of these things on Leonardo da Vinci’s list are obviously things that needed to be done - but some of them are things “to learn.”
What if we approached our day like this? What if we not only thought of the things we needed “to do” but also the things we needed “to learn?”
How to Create a To-Learn List.
Vivek Gambhir shared seven insights to help create a to-learn list.
Venture beyond your field.
Dive into something you don’t know much about. Be willing to explore “unknown territory” as far as what you know.
Harness your curiosity.
Take the time to explore something you’re curious about. Write down things that make you curious, and give yourself time to learn.
Conserve your energy.
By writing down the things you are curious about and then returning to them when you have more time, you will avoid draining your energy by constantly switching tasks.
Own it, customize it.
The to-learn list is your own. It’s good to be specific about the things you’re curious about.
Turn it into action.
Da Vinci did this in his to-learn list given earlier. He didn’t just write, “Learn how to square a triangle.” He wrote down who he needed to talk to to learn how to do that.
Keep it accessible.
Make sure you can easily access your list. Keep it in a notebook you always carry with you, or type it on your phone or laptop.
Prune and refresh.
As you learn things on your to-learn list, update it. Try not to let your list get too long.
Learning shouldn’t become an end in itself - but the things you learn should be put into action in your life.
The things you learn should change your life - the things you learn should change the things you do.