The Importance of Slack Time and Learning in Public

Hatched by Kazuki
Aug 04, 2023
4 min read
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The Importance of Slack Time and Learning in Public
Efficiency is often seen as the ultimate goal in our fast-paced world. We strive to do things quickly and with minimum waste. However, there is a hidden danger in being overly efficient. This reminds me of a story about ants' colonies. In an ant colony, around 70% of ants are not working and 20% are not really working. At first glance, it may seem like they are lazy and taking advantage of others who are working. But in reality, this distribution of labor is necessary for the survival of the colony.
The ants that don't work are essentially on standby, ready to spring into action when additional tasks arise. If all ants were to work 100% of the time, they would quickly become exhausted and unable to deal with emergencies. This would cause serious damage to the colony. We can learn a valuable lesson from nature in this regard.
Efficiency and effectiveness are not the same thing. Efficiency is about doing something with minimum waste, while effectiveness is about doing the right thing. It is important to recognize that without slack time, we won't be able to deal with new tasks straight away. If someone insists that we should, we would have to drop whatever we were previously doing, leading to a lack of flexibility and responsiveness.
Having a little bit of slack time allows us to respond to changing circumstances, to experiment, and to do things that might not work. It is the time when reinvention happens. When we are not 100% busy doing the operational business of our lives or our organizations, we have the space to think ahead, to consider whether we're on the right trajectory, and to mull over information.
In the words of Amos Tversky, the secret to doing good research is to always be a little underemployed. Wasted hours are necessary to figure out if we're headed in the right direction. We are more productive when we don't try to be productive all the time. This is where slack time comes in. It allows us to make better decisions, to walk away from bad deals, and to focus on long-term growth rather than short-term gains.
Similarly, in the realm of learning, there is a powerful concept called "learning in public." Often, people tend to learn in private, lurking in the background and consuming information without actively participating. However, the fastest way to learn is to learn in public. This means sharing your knowledge, asking questions, and being open to being wrong.
When you learn in public, you attract the support of others. People notice genuine learners and they want to help you. It's important to try your best to be right, but not to worry when you're wrong. Embrace discomfort and the feeling of being an impostor, as it means you're pushing yourself to grow. By wearing your "noobyness" on your sleeve, you create an environment where others can correct you and help you learn.
Avoid the walled gardens of private communities and instead, engage in public platforms like Stack Overflow or Reddit. These platforms provide opportunities for open collaboration and learning from a diverse range of perspectives. Whatever your area of interest, strive to create the resources that you wish you had found when you were learning. Share your knowledge through workshops, conference summaries, and open-source projects.
It's important not to judge the success of your efforts by the number of likes or retweets you receive. The true benefit of sharing your knowledge is the impact it has on your own growth. By helping past versions of yourself, you are setting the stage for future success. If others also benefit from your contributions, that's an added bonus.
In conclusion, slack time and learning in public are two powerful concepts that can enhance our personal and professional lives. By embracing slack time, we allow ourselves the space to think, adapt, and reinvent. It is the lubricant of change and growth. Learning in public, on the other hand, accelerates our learning journey by inviting the support and knowledge of others. By sharing our knowledge and being open to correction, we can achieve rapid growth and make a positive impact on ourselves and those around us.
Actionable advice:
- 1. Embrace slack time in your daily life or organization. Set aside moments of open space to think, reflect, and make better decisions.
- 2. Engage in public platforms and share your knowledge. Don't be afraid to ask questions, be wrong, and learn from others. The collective wisdom of the crowd can accelerate your learning journey.
- 3. Focus on personal growth rather than external validation. Judge the success of your efforts by the impact they have on your own learning and development.
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