RSSNovember 21st, 2007
The Importance of Getting Better
For those of you that are passionate about your work, and love what you do every day, this post is for you. I get really excited during the holidays for a number of reasons. Personal things aside, one of those reasons is that I get to spend some of my downtime reflecting on work and hopefully learning some new things along the way.
The purpose of this article is to reiterate the importance of continuing education. No matter how “busy” you think you are, part of becoming great at something means making time to get better at it.
Google led the way in this regard years ago, when it started requiring employees to spend 20% of their time working on projects unrelated to their job. Employees get to work on stuff they chose, and learn a great deal in the process. And the result? Many of Google’s current products stemmed from ideas created by employees during their “20% time”.
Here are 3 ways you should be continuing your own education on a daily basis:
1. Reading Books and Industry Magazines
I am not a natural born reader, but I have learned to absolutely love it. Each day I attempt to spend at least 30 minutes reading something that can provide insight into my work. Even if you only have five minutes of downtime, see if you can pick up a book or trade magazine and learn something.
My first suggestion is to purchase an Amazon Prime membership. This allows you do get books at a great price, get free 2-day shipping and make the purchase in one click so you can get back to work. They have a 30 day trial, and I highly recommend checking it out.
I am currently making my way through 3 things at the moment. First off, I am reading a book called Maverick by Ricardo Semler. It has nothing to do with web development, but everything to do with building a great company. In short, it is a phenomenal story about how his company broke all the rules and became to this day one of the most successful companies in the world.
Another book I have just started is Web Analytics an Hour a Day by Avinash Kaushik. I definitely don’t have an hour a day to look at analytics, but maybe this book will provide some insight into the subject that I need to know. I definitely need to get better at it.
Lastly, I have been making my way through the latest issue of Internet Retailer, which is my favorite resource about the web and oh-so-exciting world of e-commerce. The cover story this month about shopping comparison sites and data feeds has sparked a great idea for our team that we will pursue in 2008.
2. Reading Blogs
If you are reading this article, you most likely don’t need to be told what a great resource blogs are for continuing education. I would simply encourage you to actively be reading a lot of blogs, like 50-60 of them. A good way to find some of the industry-specific blogs out there or other popular blogs is to browse technorati.com.
Reading blogs regularly depends on a great feed reader. We were all sad to see Newshutch shut down recently, so Google Reader is our feed reader of choice currently.
3. Look to Improve the Process
I have mentioned this before, but try not to ever go through a task without attempting to do it better, or find a new way to do it. Learning new things is definitely uncomfortable, but it’s the only way to get better. It is a MUST.
For example, I have committed to coding a layout over thanksgiving using the new blueprintcss framework. I’ve never used it before, and frankly, I am perfectly happy with the code I wrote for our layouts. But what if this is better? What if it can teach me one thing about CSS? Then it’s well worth it. Make it a point to think outside the box and find ways to constantly improve your process.
Not only are these 3 things crucial to becoming great at something, but they will make you a lot happier and more confident. Doing these things is usually fun, and it is a great break from the daily grind. Schedule at least 10-20% of your time from here out to work on getting better, and I think you will see an immediate difference.
Have a great (and educational) Thanksgiving!!
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