Educate Thy Self

How do you learn new things?

Dec 10, 2025

red apple fruit on four pyle books — Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

Learning. Self-education. Autodidactism.

The irony isn’t lost on me.

Many spend years at school going through the motions, doing the bare minimum, barely paying attention, longing for the time when they can finally be done with school and get on with “life”.

I know that not everyone falls under the above, but I’ve known many. And, to a degree, I was one. I was doing more than the bare minimum, but I definitely wanted to be done with it all to get out into the world.

And, now? Well, I’m reading philosophy books and looking at personal curriculums to learn. Learn about topics that interest me.

Irony. You gotta love her!

My self education up to this point has been unstructured. I read articles and books on topics that interest me. However, I don’t test that knowledge. I don’t take enough notes and don’t summarise key points and topics in my own words as much as I should. That would test my knowledge. But I haven’t been doing that.

I believe this self curriculum trend started on TikTok and went viral but has quickly caught on and become a “thing” on many platforms now.

I came across it on Substack. There are a few writers that have well established systems for their self-education and write on this extensively. Some even offer structured learning options on the topic. It is definitely growing in popularity and adoption.

The biggest hurdle I can see to this is discipline. The discipline to pick a topic or subject matter that you want to go deeper on. The discipline to research and identify the reading material. The discipline to create a curriculum or syllabus. The discipline to identify learning outcomes and create deliverables that will achieve those outcomes.

Discipline. This underpins it all.

Unlike formal schooling, there’s nobody to take attendance and note whether you are present. Nobody to contact your parents and let them know that “little Johnny” wasn’t at school today. Nobody to remind you of deadlines and reinforce them. Unless you have an accountability partner in this, nobody else will care about it.

It is all up to you. And that is the biggest risk. Success or failure is entirely in your own hands.

While opinions vary on the benefits of formal education today, it does provide structure and guardrails to ensure you follow a set path to help you succeed within the system (I’ll concede that success is subjective). Self-education can also have these, but it’s on you to establish them and stick to them.

This has been an area where I have come unstuck. Often.

Firstly, let’s move past the excitement of a new topic or subject that you want to get your teeth into. Everyone experiences this initial burst. We need to quickly set this aside and start thinking realistically. What are you looking to achieve with your new learning?

Maybe you have a set goal in mind, maybe you don’t. But identifying what the outcome of your efforts will be, what success looks like, will go a long way to help maintain enthusiasm, momentum and focus when things start to drag. And they will. The motivation to keep going when it gets tough. Or lonely. And monotonous. And you have no peers to lean on.

I have read about the concept of an accountability partner over the years. Someone that can keep track of where you’re at, where you should be at, be a sounding board, a general support person, but one that knows the journey you are on. It would be ideal if that person was also going on this same self-education journey, but that would be unlikely.

During your journey you will question why you’re doing this. Questioning our choices is natural, especially when you’re yet to establish what the outcome or result will be. But this is a good thing.

We should never continue on any path blindly. You may have started something a month ago full of excitement and hope, but where are you at now? Is it still relevant? Does it still resonate with you? Do you have the same hopes and desires? Checkpoints throughout your learning journey can provide valuable insights. And can serve to adjust your path.

You’re not the same person you were when you started this learning journey.

Do not let the time you’ve already invested stop you from making changes or even abandoning the journey you are on. If your outcomes or priorities have changed, pursuing the original path will have little benefit or meaning now. Sunk cost is a fallacy - let your desires drive you.

The best advice I’ve read on self-education to properly set you up for success, is to setup a curriculum, like schools do. Set reading, set days of the week, set hours per day, set assignments, set revision. Leave nothing open.

While it’s fair to say that everyone learns differently, the common criteria to support successful learning is structure, and deliverables to test your knowledge throughout the learning. While I’ve not done research into it, this is common sense.

Try to maintain a regular cadence of reading, taking notes and revising. Same days and times through the week. Habits will form and support you to keep going.

Rewrite the notes into your own words to further cement your understanding. Then test your knowledge with assignments. Not revolutionary ideas - tested over hundreds of years of education.

Generally Speaking

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