How To Be An Autodidact

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“What does it mean to be an autodidact and just how can you become one?”

These are the questions I’m going to try to answer today. 

After I published my article on “The Age of the Autodidact,” I got an usual amount of feedback and follow-up from the Profit+ community—thankfully it was all positive! I try to respond to each and every person that reaches out and had the pleasure recently even of meeting a few inspiring readers over Zoom. Even though I’ve been at this for years now, I still find myself surprised by the magical power of the Internet to bring people together. I know it doesn’t work perfectly all the time, but my experiences interacting with you all proves that it certainly can.  

Anyway, what people were really interested in learning more about were the tactics of self-learning—both what to do and how to do so. 

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It starts with forming the right relationship with your curiosity.

Now, I know this sounds obvious but, trust me, it is trickier than you might think. It’s easy, for example, to think you are interested in something when you actually aren’t. You can also be interested in learning something worthwhile but for the wrong reason—i.e. to do something evil, wrong, or morally dubious.  Also, many times, you’ll be absolutely convinced you want something until you actually get it and realize you don’t want it at all! 

This is such a problem that it has inspired whole branches of thought in both philosophy and psychology. To make a long story short, your culture, experiences, and circumstances can have a tremendous influence on what you think you should desire, so much so that they often have a co-opting effect and you end up pursuing things you might not actually want. If you are interested in learning more, the best place to start is Rene Girard and his mimetic desire theory.

When it comes to following your curiosity, what you are looking for are things that are authentic and genuine to you. To find these, you have to learn how to operate from a place of true awareness. This is easier said than done. Awareness is, after all, nothing less than the meta-challenge of existence itself. 

Here’s the thing though: curiosity can be a great ally in the pursuit of awareness. It is often directionally correct and stopping to ask ourselves questions like “Wait, am I really interested in this? If so, why? Does it feel good to engage with this material? Is it energizing or draining?” is often enough to set us on the right path. So, learn first how to tap in to the power of your true curiosity. 

The next step in the path of the autodidact is to master the art of day architecture. In all the reading and studying I’ve done on self-help and personal development, this might be the most important thing I’ve ever discovered. Indeed, of all the things I’m trying to teach my kids, I hope this is one that actually sticks, for good day architecture is the secret to all lasting success!

Why? It’s simple: most improvement plans or creative endeavors fail from lack of follow-through. It’s not so much that people lack the will power to succeed, they simply don’t make enough time to do what they want to do. As a result, they get whipsawed back and forth by the waxing and waning of their energy flows, distracted into complacency, or pulled in too many directions by life’s many external demands.

Something magical happens when you start thinking of yourself as the architect of your day. By assuming command of the direction of your life, not only do you establish a bias for proactivity that quickly builds a momentum of its own, you also manifest the subjective psychological conditions necessary for your mission.

At a practical level, day architecture is essentially an exercise in discipline, strategic thinking, prioritization, and time management. Ultimately, what you are after is a schedule that actually prioritizes what you care about rather than anything else. 

You can see instantly, for example, what I’m valuing just by glancing at the high-level architecture of my typical weekday:

3:30am-6am                    Reading, Journalling, Writing

6am-7am                          Exercise

7am-8:30am                     Family Time

8:30am-3pm                    Business, Writing/Podcasting, Short Nap, 2^nd Exercise

3pm-4pm                          Family Time

4pm-5pm                          Business, Planning for Next Day, Correspondence

5pm-8pm                          Family Time, Coaching

I know my start time is a little extreme for most but don’t worry, it’s not like there is some magic daily routine that works for everyone! There’s too much variability in energy patterns for that. Some people are better at night, while others are at their best in the morning. Some people can work for long stretches at a time while others need frequent short breaks. That kind of thing. 

However, there are some good rules of thumb to consider when setting up your day:

1. Schedule each activity at the time in the day when you’re most likely to follow through.

The idea here is to set yourself up for success. Don’t try to workout at 4am if you are a night person! Don’t force yourself to sit in front of blank page or screen for hours on end during your afternoon lull. Instead, try to find the time of least resistance for each activity. 

You see, proactivity acts like a tax on your will power but as the day unfolds, the price of action fluctuates. They are times when it is easier and harder to do something. Start by simply paying attention to the moment right before starting one of your priorities. How are you feeling about it? How much resistance is there? How much energy is it taking up? Notice the differences in how you answer these questions based on the time of day. Soon enough, a pattern will emerge and you’ll be able to figure out the time of day that requires the least amount of will power to get started. 

2.   Give yourself ample time for each activity.

This is about being strategic and realistic about what you are trying to do. If you are trying to learn something new or be creative, scheduling larger blocs of uninterrupted time is a way better strategy than trying to fit it in between calls, meetings and emails. Similarly, if you want to get a good workout in, schedule at a time when there is the lowest probability it will get interrupted by family or work obligations and give yourself enough time to do it right (at least an hour in my experience). Again, the idea is to be intelligent about how you decide to use your time. 

The best way to think about day architecture is as an on-going experiment. You should be trying different iterations all the time. Testing what works and doesn’t. Seeing how different schedules make you feel, noticing what you get done or not…. Eventually, you’ll find the ideal architecture for the season of your life and what you are trying to do, and you will be off to the races!

There’s one more critical tool in the arsenal of a good autodidact—learning how to balance the 3 modes of mental activity—but as this is getting long, I’ll save that for next time!

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