Naiman Labs #26. Favorite problems

Hi friends! Welcome to another issue of our Naiman Labs newsletter!

First and foremost, I want to share how proud I am of myself because this is our 26th issue! It's been 26 weeks of writing and sharing content with all of you. Considering my commitment issues (😈), this is a great achievement!

Lately, I've started learning, researching and working on people's development. One of the most important projects I'm working on at the moment is building career development systems for our team members. However, I consider people development at a wider scale, approach to development in general.

📖 How we learn

I strongly believe in the concept of lifelong learning. Learning should be a continuous process because without it, we're actually moving backward instead of simply standing still.

I also believe that learning is not just about sitting down and absorbing information. Remember how we were taught in school? It mostly involved lessons, lectures, and homework, which predominantly relied on auditorium-style learning.

In reality, 70% of our learning happens through hands-on experience, by actually doing something and applying it in real life. Only 10% of our knowledge comes from auditorium-style learning. Have you ever attended a great training, an insightful lecture, or even an entire course, only to realize later that you hardly remember anything from it or never applied what you learned in your day-to-day life? I have countless amount of

When we learn, it's crucial to apply that knowledge in our real lives. Applying what we've learned is easier when it's directly related to our work. For example, researching the use of specific databases or tools that we can immediately apply in our work provides practical and applicable knowledge. However, it can be more challenging with conceptual knowledge, especially if it's about topics that we find interesting but have little practical application in our lives.

❓"Favorite Problems" Approach

Recently, I came across an approach that I find incredibly useful for focusing our knowledge, learning, and curiosity. This approach can solve the problem I described earlier.

Define your favorite problems. Think about the big questions or problems that have fascinated you throughout your life. Favorite problems follow you. These favorite problems tend to stay with us as we move through different jobs, projects, and careers.You'll likely discover several problems like this.

Write them down.

🛠️ Something to help you identify these favorite problems:

  • What were you obsessed with as a child or teenager?

You can ask your parents here, they will know 😉

  • What are the longest running hobbies you’ve had in your life?

  • What kinds of stories, art, or music give you goosebumps and makes you hold your breath?

  • What pursuits that others consider challenging do you find fun and engaging?

  • What do you find your mind wandering during your day?

  • Books, films and articles on what topics can keep you up all night?

ProTip: It is also a good practice to ask your close friends and family, what do they think are your favorite problems. They must have observed it over the years.

Now you have the list of some topics that keep your mind wondering, keep it curious and these are the topics you will be passionate to learn.

Creating a list of favorite problems will reveal the most relevant topics for your learning journey. It guides you on what information to seek and which courses to pursue.

These problems may not be at the forefront of your mind, but your subconscious mind continues to process them in the background.

The best part about favorite problems is that they continue to inspire us over the years. Don't misunderstand the word "problem" here. It doesn't refer to something pressing or anxiety-inducing. In this context, a problem is a set of big questions that ignite our minds and bring about sparks of inspiration.

🗒️ How you can use these favorite problems?

  • First of all it is a list of some topics that you will like to learn

  • You can also think of them from the career perspective. Does your current job relate to one of these favorite problems? (Most likely your answer will be “yes”).

  • Favorite problems will also help you structure your knowledge and notes

📚 Want to read more?

Try this approach and I am sure you’ll have more motivation to learn and to make discoveries. And remember when we don’t learn, when we don’t develop, we are going back, not standing still.

Have a week full of knowledge and discoveries!

Vlad from Naiman Labs.