Skillbuild #1 – Learning Fast, Flawed and Forward
Learning new skills through small projects, fast feedback, and deliberate practice.
Welcome to the first edition of Skillbuild — Weekly notes on rapid learning and skill building.
Like most people, I have a list overflowing with skills I've promised myself I'll learn "someday.”
Trust me, I love to learn — it’s just that most learning efforts slowly die in an word document, a half-used notebook, or the Kindle highlight graveyard. There’s no urgency holding my attention. No structure holding it together. And nothing holding me accountable.
I’m a victim of the collector’s fallacy—gathering insights without turning them into anything, and spending more time consuming than creating.
I knew what I needed: a project. So I’m trying something new.
Skillbuild is an experiment in learning faster by being more deliberate.
“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.”— Vincent van Gogh
Here’s how it works:
I’ll focus on 2-3 skills or topics in parallel at a time – usually for a few weeks or months, long enough to make real progress.
I’ll make a learning plan and show up through practice, small projects, and experiments
I’ll publicly share what I’m learning - both the skill itself and how I’m learning it (tools, processes, principles)
And I’ll refine the metalearning system into something useful for others too.
I’m calling it Skillbuild because because that’s how learning feels. You pick a direction, unlock new abilities, and slowly shape your skill tree through practice. It’s not linear. You experiment with builds. You show up each day, hammering away at the fundamentals, slowly shaping skills through effort and intention. And of course I’m wrapping it in some nostalgic fantasy RPG energy to make it a little more fun—a nod to all the hours I spent grinding levels and unlocking abilities on my PS1 as a kid.
First-up: Writing ✍️ and Vibe-coding 💻
Learning to write is a core skill for sharing they journey and the insights. I’m hoping to write more clearly, more often, and with less hesitation. The great part is, this newsletter is part of the flywheel — the more I learn, the more I write, and it takes off from there.
Secondly, vibe-coding. I’ve joined the “Building Your Own App” course by Nat Eliason, I’ve always been a learn-by-hacking things together so this is right down my alley and I’ve got a long list of ideas I’d love to build.
If this sounds interesting. Subscribe to join the quest.