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The Time-Boxed Scanning Technique

Amr Saeed

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How many times have you decided to learn a new topic and eventually got distracted by the unlimited amount of resources on the internet? Lots of times, right?

One of the techniques I came up with after lots of trial and error is what I tend to call the Time-boxed Scanning technique. This technique consists of simple steps that might help you find the appropriate resource quickly. Despite its simplicity, I believe it’s very effective.

Set a Learning Objective

The first step in the technique is to set a learning objective. For instance, I want to learn the programming language X for the Y reason. Setting the learning objective is a critical aspect of finding the appropriate resource. Most times you do this implicitly, but it’s always a good idea to set it explicitly to revisit the reasons behind learning the new topic and make sure they’re still valid.

Set Search Criteria

Searching without criteria is a very exhausting process. The more options are available, the more we tend to be distracted and fail to choose. So, you should set some criteria to filter the resources against. For instance, a criterion could be that you prefer textual resources over videos. It could be that you want only resources that have been created within the current year. The more you add criteria that achieve your learning objective, the more you will get better results.

Search Within Time-Box

One thing that you need to be aware of is that you don’t have unlimited time. Wasting lots of time on finding the appropriate resource will eventually lead to losing the main goal, which is to start learning the topic you chose.

Set a time box and collect the resources based on the learning objective and the criteria you’ve already set. I believe 30 to 60 minutes is a reasonable time box.

Pick the Best Resource

By the end of the time-boxed search process, you will find that you’ve collected a few resources. Pick the best one that achieves the learning objective and meets the criteria.

If you got two resources that are somehow similar, you can randomly pick one or add more side criteria to choose one of them.

Start Learning and Never Look Back

At this point, you have a resource that meets your expectations. Trust the process, start learning, and never look back. Even when you find a new resource, you don’t need to check it. You already have a good one that you selected through a well-established process. Also, beware that it will not be your last resource, it is just your starting point.

Finally, you have to know that I came up with this technique based on personal experience, and now I’m doing it unconsciously. Because of it, I could barely remember the last time I struggled with resources. But, you might want to tweak it a little bit to fit you more.

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Amr Saeed

A software engineer with 5+ years working in back-end, front-end, and DevOps. Love building cool stuff that scales and making life easier for fellow developers.