Hacking Learning

I have been learning a lot in the past one year. Almost everyday I know way more than what I knew the previous day. And I don't just mean experiential learning but a lot of formal learning too. 

image: dmlcentral.net

Below are the list of the learning I am undergoing:

1. Online MBA. Last year September I got an admission to University of Nicosia for an online MBA programme. There are 12 modules (courses) and we take about 7 weeks to do each module. It is more intensive than I originally imagined. The reading requirement is a lot and the assignments are tough and stressful. Yet I am pulling through. I have managed to combine it with not just my work but also other numerous learning.
2. Excel Programming. I have learnt more Excel programming in the last one year than I have all the previous years put together. I have done Excel programming projects that seemed impossible. 
3. PHP Programming. I am currently undergoing a PHP course and learning to program PHP from scratch. It's interesting but also demanding. It's part of my web development career move. I am now sure than the future lies in my building enterprise solutions that do not have to reside inside Excel or be installed on a computer. Enterprise web applications are the new cool and money grossing software.
4. Android Programming. I am also currently taking an Android programming course by the amazing Tim Buchalka. I have been dabbling in and out of android programming but now I hear with the new Android Studio it is much easier to make android apps.
5. C#. I began learning C# more intensely immediately after I quit my job last year. It is a language I want to be proficient in and I hope to build phone apps, office add-ins, companion desktop software for my web apps and even web apps with it.
6. Small business and consulting management. I have also been learning a lot on how to grow my small business and be a thriving consultant. It has been tough internalizing what I learn and practicing them hasn't been smooth either, but all those knowledge leave me better than I was before I acquired them. The little I succeed in internalizing are worth all the stressful efforts.
7. Other web app and phone app development courses. I am also enrolled in an iOS app development course using Swift, an Angular JS course, a Python for data analysis course and a game programming course. My ultimate goal is to become a full stack web developer. It requires a knowledge of all aspect of web development such that you can manage to get a great web app done by yourself. But you'll also be required to be a master in one or two languages and aspects of web development.

All these are a lot of learning. And I combine them with trying to make money to survive and thrive each month. So I have had to find a way to hack learning.

Hacking learning is all about learning very fast and learning a lot using means that are natural to you. It requires a deep knowledge of yourself and your learning pattern. Then building your learning experience around your most convenient ways of learning.

I am very comfortable with reading ebooks that have close to a thousand pages. I even prefer them to video lessons and audiobooks. So I go for them more. I also can read for long hours a day, so I give myself an almost impossible target. I buy lots of ebooks. I also don't worry when I don't understand something. I simply read on and try to find a book on that problematic point later. I can read a lot and understand what I have read more easily than a lot of people. So I build my learning experience around my learning strengths.

And that is hacking learning.