I confess: I'm addicted. For knowledge, for new ideas, concepts, for the next good approach that can make everything, or at least some things, better. 

New learning: What interests me 

That's also when I discovered Jaqueline Novogratz and Acumen, who I wrote about in my Review of the year have written. But also doctors who use stem cells to reconstruct missing heart parts in children and much more.

It is wild, wonderful and hopeful. 

The interest part of the hunger to learn is just lovely. My body releases dopamine. I am fascinated and enjoy what I can learn. 

New learning: What I should, must and could learn....

Then there is the "but you should look into the subject!" The part comes from challenges that I face in my life and that I have not yet mastered: 

• Order: How do I keep my home permanently slim - Hello Marie Kondo, why doesn't it automatically work for me with the slim home or even just with getting slim for my body? Somehow something new always comes along. 
• Biohacking: How can I optimise my health and fitness?
• Business: What can I do to stabilise my business, to continue serving people and creating income for others and myself?
• Faith: How could I grow spiritually - this is sometimes a "hunger" topic full of longing, sometimes a pressure topic "But I should..." 
• Coaching: How can I continue to grow and develop as a coach? Which additional topics are relevant
• Cooking: Actually, I should expand my repertoire
• Present: How can I give better presentations on Zoom and live? 
• AI: What do I do in relation to artificial intelligence? How do I familiarise myself with this huge subject area? 
• and much more...

Sometimes there is so much that I want to learn and that I think I should learn that it just overwhelms me inside. Because of all the "it's all too much for me", I sometimes don't do anything at all. 

That's not true. Of course I don't do nothing. You always do something. At least breathing. But usually a few other things like scrolling through social media or playing bubbleshooters or Candy Crush or eating chocolate. 

I was wondering how to get out of the "I want to or should learn this" overload. I've already shared a few strategies in my webinar A thousand ideas and no plan presented. They work too. At least when you do them!

I have now developed a new one. I read somewhere about the 6×6 strategy that helps you become an expert: You pick a topic and find the 6 top experts on that topic. Then you add the 6 top books, the 6 top blogs and the 6 top podcasts for 6 months. After 6 months, you know more about the topic than 99% of other people and are suddenly an expert yourself.

But I don't want to become an expert. My goal is to become more confident in some areas where I am unsure, e.g. investments or what the best fitness strategies are (for me) or how I can become more focussed. 

New learning: The 80-20 strategy

So I quickly learn the most important things 

I don't necessarily want to become an expert. At least not if I have to invest 6 months in it. But I do want to master a topic quite well. Three weeks is enough for that. 

In these three weeks I acquire the most important knowledge on the subject, e.g. through 

New learning. The 3 x 3 strategy 

Why 3 weeks to learn something new? That's pragmatic. 

• I can read or listen to three books in three weeks. That suits me. I can do it in a month 
• I still have time to put what I have learnt into practice
• I have a week's buffer to learn more about the monthly topic or another topic, or to do nothing for a change

Example of learning new things: Finances

I have read a lot about finance in the past and even published a good, introductory booklet about money. But I hadn't put everything I'd learnt into practice and felt unsure about investments, retirement planning, etc. So I chose the topic of finance as my first "3 x 3 new things to learn" 

Three and a half books, one magazine and two experts

• Madame Moneypenny by Natascha Wegelin (great as an audio book!)
• Making Money is killing your business from Chuck Blakeman 
• On the psychology of money by Morgan Housel (also as audiobook)
• Smart Women Finish Rich by David Bach (This is more bedtime reading)
• A financial magazine
• Expert 1: A school friend who used to work at Cortal Consors and knows a lot about shares 
• Expert 2: A financial advisor

* The links to the books are affiliate links, i.e. I get a small commission if you order through them.

I will write a summary of what I have learnt in another blog post. 

Learned new things and applied them for myself 

Theoretical knowledge is nice and exciting, but it was important to me that I improve something in this area in a very practical way. 

To this end, I have developed small programmes for myself as an implementation of "3×3 New Learning". "Sprints" about finances: 

• Overview updated: I checked what I would already receive in the form of a state pension - a manageable 293 euros - and what other investments I have for my retirement provision, such as a piece of forest in Panama. And I finally updated the overview I already had
• Take interest with you: I automatically transfer a certain amount from my current account to a call money account every month. It earns more interest there. I keep filling it until I have a 6-month buffer for emergencies (cancellation due to illness or unforeseen expenses)
• Invest money: I invest around 10% of my income per month in ETFs to gradually build up a pension. 

At a later date, perhaps in the summer or autumn, I want to delve deeper into the topic of finance. Learn more about sensible investments. But for now, other topics are at the centre of my "3×3 new learning sprints" on it. 

And yes, for the two Cs, cooking and AI, I have a goal of investing 30+ minutes each week to grow in them.

More articles on the 3 x 3 strategy:

• 3×3 Focus: Become unstoppable
• 3×3 Organise your finances