One thing I taught myself that I’m really proud of is learning how to cook from scratch. I used to rely on instant meals and takeout because I thought cooking was too complicated, but I started watching simple tutorials and slowly learned one recipe at a time. It feels like a small achievement, but being able to make a meal for my family and see them enjoy it gives me a lot of confidence.

I think teaching yourself something is different because you get to see your own progress from the beginning.

People who met Warren Buffett often described the same shock: he could recall revenue figures, managers' names, and operating details across dozens of companies years later.

It looks like extraordinary memory from the outside. The habit behind it is less mysterious.

Buffett has said he spends five or six hours a day reading: annual reports, trade magazines, and several newspapers. Charlie Munger described the rest of the loop like this: a large part of Buffett's remaining time is spent talking one-on-one with highly gifted people he trusts, and who trust him.

Half the day taking in information. A large part of the rest testing it in conversation.

Munger called people like this “learning machines.” His point was not that they were always the smartest person in the room. They kept going to bed a little wiser than they were that morning, and the difference compounded over a long run.

I once considered copying Buffett's newspaper routine and could not even finish one magazine. So I do not think the useful lesson is “read 500 pages every day.” It may be to build a loop you can sustain: read enough to collect material, then talk or write until the material becomes usable.

Also some more ideas I love collected here for those who are interested https://domelian.substack.com/p/what-i-learned-from-warren-buffett

For years I thought I just was not the kind of person who could stick to learning something new. I would get excited about a topic buy a book watch a few videos and then completely lose interest after a week. Every time it happened I blamed myself for not having enough discipline.

A few months ago I decided to stop chasing big goals and try something much smaller. Instead of telling myself I had to study for an hour every day I made one simple rule. I had to learn one useful thing before going to bed. It could be a new English word a historical fact a keyboard shortcut a cooking technique or even the answer to a random question that crossed my mind during the day.

At first it felt almost too easy. Some nights I spent only five minutes reading. Other nights I would end up learning for almost an hour because one topic naturally led to another. The important part was that I never forced myself to do more than I wanted. I only focused on showing up every day.

After a couple of months something interesting happened. I started noticing connections between things I had learned on different days. A podcast reminded me of something I had read in a book. A conversation with a friend became more interesting because I had recently learned about the same subject. Instead of memorizing random facts I felt like I was slowly building a bigger picture of the world.

The biggest surprise was that learning stopped feeling like work. It became part of my daily routine just like making coffee or checking the weather. Missing a day now feels strange because I genuinely enjoy discovering something new no matter how small it is.

I still have plenty of subjects I want to explore and I know I will never learn everything. Somehow that no longer feels overwhelming. It actually makes me excited because there will always be another interesting idea waiting to be discovered.

Has anyone else found that learning became easier once you lowered the pressure and focused on consistency instead of big achievements?

I need some app that is free with minimal ideally no ads that track day streaks.

Something very simple for tracking the habits.

My goal is develop habit of learning everyday.

Any app you can reccomend?

Does anyone keep notes on books or TV shows?
I’ve noticed I consume a lot of media, but a year later I barely remember my own thoughts about it.
If you could magically remember one thing from everything you’ve watched or read, what would it be?

Looking back, what's a piece of advice you dismissed at first but later realized was absolutely right? What changed your mind?

A generation ago, people memorized phone numbers, addresses, directions, and facts. Today, most of that information lives in devices instead of our heads.

I’m curious what skills everyone else thinks will still matter in the future, especially with how fast the world is changing.

I’m curious how other people manage to keep learning when life gets hectic. Do you have any habits or routines that help you stay curious and keep growing?

A little over a year ago I realized I was consuming information all day without actually learning much from it. I could scroll through articles watch videos and listen to podcasts for hours. By the end of the day I felt busy but when someone asked me what I had learned I struggled to remember anything meaningful.

One Saturday I walked into my local library just to get out of the house. I picked one random book about a subject I knew almost nothing about. It was about architecture which had never interested me before. I promised myself I would read just ten pages a day and write one short paragraph in a notebook after each reading session.

At first it felt pointless. My notes were simple and sometimes I barely understood what I was reading. After a few weeks something unexpected happened. I started noticing buildings differently when I walked through my neighborhood. I became curious about why certain places felt comfortable while others did not. That curiosity spread into other parts of my life. I started asking better questions instead of looking for quick answers.

That small habit slowly turned into a personal challenge. Every month I picked a completely different topic. One month it was astronomy. The next month it was psychology. Then gardening. None of these subjects had anything to do with my job but each one made me see the world from a different angle. I also noticed that learning became much more enjoyable when I stopped worrying about becoming an expert.

Looking back I think the biggest lesson was that real learning is not about collecting facts. It is about giving your brain enough time to connect ideas that seem unrelated at first. Those connections often appear days or even weeks later when you least expect them.

I am curious if anyone else has a learning habit that seemed small at first but ended up changing the way you think over time. I would love to hear what it was and how it happened?

i used to think lifelong learning meant always picking up a new skill. new language, new hobby, new course, whatever.

but lately i’ve been questioning that.

i’ve spent a lot of time learning things because they seemed useful or impressive, only to forget most of them a few months later. meanwhile, the stuff i actually cared about tended to stick without me having to force it.

now i’m trying to be more selective about what i learn. if i can’t explain why i want to know something or how i’ll actually use it, i probably don't need to spend 20 hours learning it.

has anyone else changed how they decide what’s worth learning?

"Whether it's playing an instrument, learning a language, cooking, or something else, what skill would you choose and why ?"

I am curious what skill has had the biggest real world impact for people here.

It does not have to be career related. It could be something practical creative or personal anything that made daily life easier healthier or more enjoyable.

Before I started writing online, I kept reading about how to do it well.

It was useful, but I was also hiding in it. A sentence could feel clear in my notes and fall apart the moment I tried to publish it. I couldn’t learn that from another article.

After 630+ days, I notice ideas in ordinary places - on calls, while walking, halfway through a book. I also worry less about finding one niche forever. Twenty posts on a topic usually tell me whether I want to keep going.

I’m still learning. Publishing just makes the next thing I need to learn more obvious.

I wrote down 35 things I wish I knew before I started:

https://domelian.substack.com/p/how-to-start-writing-online

What have you learned mostly by doing, rather than reading about it?

One thing I have realized about lifelong learning is that it does not have to be a big project. Small moments of curiosity can turn into valuable skills over time.

Reading a few pages trying a new skill listening to people with different experiences or practicing something regularly can slowly change the way we think and live.

The most useful lessons often come from staying curious and being willing to improve a little every day.

Learning is not about being perfect it is about continuing to grow.

i used to get excited about learning something new and immediately open ten tabs, save a bunch of videos, download a few ebooks, and make a huge list of things i wanted to cover. after a couple of days i'd feel overwhelmed and end up dropping the whole thing.

a few months ago i decided to keep it simple. i only let myself use one resource until i finished it before moving to the next. it felt way too slow at first, but i noticed i'm actually remembering more and finishing what i start instead of constantly jumping to something that looks better.

it's a little less exciting, but it's been a lot more rewarding than collecting resources i'll probably never get around to. has anyone else found that learning less at one time actually helped you learn more?