I’m done with consuming endless YouTube videos for everything—learning technology? YouTube. Cooking? YouTube. Improving my writing skills? YouTube and pen and paper. Keeping my brain in check? YouTube again.
It’s great and all, but there’s one problem. Initially, you are in control. But over time, the YouTube algorithm takes over. It suggests what to watch next, and you end up going down a rabbit hole—completely unaware that three hours have passed and you had somewhere to be.
I’ve been facing this issue for the past few years. During COVID, YouTube was my savior. I was working from home, stuck in my rented apartment in Mumbai for two and a half months, with no one to talk to. I used to watch YouTube videos and learned a lot about cooking and plant care.
Now, after realizing how much time I’ve been spending on this and the total cost of YouTube Premium I’ve paid so far, I’ve come up with a new learning structure.
My employer has been kind enough to provide learning licenses for Udemy and O’Reilly. So, the tech part is more or less sorted. Recently, I revised all the technologies I use in my daily work and picked up some cool tricks and new ways of doing things. On top of that, I’ve also enrolled in a React Native course to learn how to build mobile apps.
For cooking and gardening, I’ve started learning from my wife—she’s an expert in my eyes—and it also makes for great conversation.
For everything else, I’m planning to buy physical books. Over time, I’ve lost the habit of carrying physical books with me. I still remember my college days, when I used to read a lot of tech books and comics. I never really finished the course books, but if a topic caught my interest, I would dive into at least two or three different sources.
To stay grounded, I’ve bought a collection of books from Gita Press, Gorakhpur. They delivered a bundle of around 32 books—some small, some large. I think they’ll last me a lifetime.
What’s next?
I’ve had a long-standing desire to learn accounting—at least the basics and the double-entry system. I’ll get started as soon as I find a suitable time slot.
