The Learning 4 Doing Method

What?

Let X = anything that can be learned. Examples: history, welding, law, critical thinking, skiing, Django, speaking Icelandic, statistics, managing, playing the saxophone, engineering, and parenting.

The Learning 4 Doing Approach is a method for learning X that focuses on two thing.

1. Start building fundamentals right away.
2. Start doing useful things nearly right away by applying these fundamentals.

Step 1: Map the Territory (1-2 hours)

• Find 3-5 authoritative sources (books, courses, experts) in your field
• Scan their tables of contents or curricula to identify the core concepts that appear repeatedly
• Look for the “prerequisites” - what do beginners absolutely need to know first?

Step 2: Identify the Minimum Viable Skillset (30 minutes)

• Ask: What’s the smallest skillset that lets me actually do something useful right away?
• Examples:
  • Django → simple views, templates, models.
  • Statistics → averages, probability basics, simple hypothesis testing.
  • Icelandic → 100 common words, present tense, basic sentence patterns.
  • The test: Could someone with just these skills create something they’d be proud to show?

Step 3: The Spiral Approach

Instead of linear learning, cycle through these phases:

1. Quick Context (20% of time): Learn just enough theory to understand WHY you’re doing something
2. Active Practice (60% of time): Immediately apply it to a small, real project
3. Fill Gaps (20% of time): Return to fundamentals when you hit walls

Step 4: Project-Driven Learning

• Week 1: Choose the simplest possible real project that uses your minimum viable skillset
• Each week: Add one new fundamental concept by applying it to improve your project
• This creates a feedback loop where theory immediately proves its worth

Step 5: Practice with Feedback

• Learn → Try → Get feedback → Adjust → Repeat.
• Feedback can come from:
  • Running code and fixing errors.
  • Checking answers against worked problems.
  • Conversations with native speakers.
  • Mentors, peers, or online communities.
• Speed matters: Shorter feedback loops = faster learning.

Step 6: The Teaching Test

• Every few days, explain what you’ve learned (to a person, a journal, or even a rubber duck).
• If you can’t explain it simply and teach it, you’ve uncovered a gap—go back and spiral through again.

Step 7: Reflect and Adjust

• Ask weekly:
  • What fundamental did I strengthen?
  • What useful thing did I accomplish?
  • Where did I struggle, and what’s my next smallest step?