The REAPS Playbook: A Framework For Skill Acquisition and Personal Growth
You're not leveling up in life because you're not learning new skills.
New skills open doors you didn't know existed. The impossible becomes possible. A new world of light enters your life due to the latest knowledge you've gained.
Learning new skills allows you to reap the rewards.
Speaking of "reap", a playbook called REAPS can help you take those steps to learn a new skill.
The REAPS Playbook
Relevance
Energy
Agency
Portfolio
Serendipity
(Note: This is not related to the educational model by C. June Maker.)
The REAPS playbook is a skill acquisition framework designed to help you take the steps to learn new skills. We'll break down each element into actionable steps you can take to build new skills.
Relevance
In an ever-changing world, you need to stay relevant. Learning new skills is what keeps you from becoming irrelevant and a burden to society.
When deciding on a new skill to learn, you need to find one that intersects market demand and your goals.
Take a piece of paper out and write down different skills that interest you that can solve problems. Consider the audience or potential clients you're solving that problem for. This is where that cross-section between market demands and your goals is essential to keep in mind.
Once you have these listed out, you need to decide on one to start with. Choose that now.
It's time to define your success criteria for the skill. It might involve completing a project using said skill or finding your first client. Make sure it's something that involves taking action on the skill you will be learning. Think about your "why?"
Today, we are at the forefront of an AI revolution. It's going to change how we interact with the world.
I recently decided to learn how to run a local AI model on unconventional computer hardware. The goal was to use an AMD 6700 XT GPU instead of an Nvidia graphics card and have it run on a Linux operating system with Ollama. My success criteria were really about finding a way to get it all working together so I could run local AI instances on hardware I already had.
This project was more challenging than I expected, but it was worth the time taken to learn about.
Energy
At the beginning of learning any new skill, you get a dopamine boost. This motivates us to continue to learn. Motivation only lasts for so long, so we need to design a plan that sustains that momentum and energy.
That is where an "Activation Plan" is needed.
Schedule daily 30 to 60-minute blocks to learn your new skill. Remove friction from learning by making your work or learning area the most inviting place to be. Make sure your desk is clean with no distractions around. Turn off the TV or Podcast and turn on some focus music.
Some find it helpful to have "Energy Check Logs", something where you record your progress after each session. This helps to show you how long your streak is going.
When I started my local AI project, I planned to work on it daily after my day job. I found that I needed to document the process to help me pick up where I left off, and in some cases, start from scratch. This showed me what I learned, what did and didn't work, which helped me identify the next steps needed to continue.
This project boosted my energy to learn more about how AI can work for me.
Agency
Learning new skills builds your agency.
Agency is the sense that you can control the direction of your life. It's the ability to influence your own thoughts and behaviors that gives you the capability to handle a wide range of tasks and situations.
Your perspective shifts, which allows you to see better outcomes.
This is where the rubber meets the road. You want to learn by building, not binge-watching. No "procrasti-learning" here; we learn by doing.
Break down the skill you're learning into easy-to-swallow bites. As you complete them, record your progress.
Create decision rules. If you are blocked or stuck for over a couple of sessions, reduce your scope by half or ask for help. This is how you ensure progress is made.
My experience with building the local AI instance was all about doing it hands-on. I learned by doing; if I got stuck, I researched or asked AI for help.
The core of having high agency is taking action.
Portfolio
"Learning by doing" pretty much covers our portfolio. You need to make your skill visible for others to see.
Create deliverables; these can be a README, how-to, short demo videos, a Git repo, an online gallery, and so on. Your portfolio is the proof that you have learned the skill.
During my time of building the local AI instance, I documented what I did. As I go through that documentation, I will be putting together a "How-to" on the process. That "How-to" will be tested by me first to ensure it's accurate and yields the expected results, and then I'll release it to the rest of the internet for others to use.
Making your portfolio public provides you with feedback that can and will help you improve further.
Serendipity
Each new skill you learn opens doors and creates opportunities.
When learning a new skill, it's essential to get the word out. Talk with others about what you've learned and how well you're able to use the new skill. Post on social media your progress. Often, a random conversation with a family member, an old friend, or a perfect stranger on the street leads to a serendipitous moment.
The people you know, or a random follower, might need that exact skill. If they don't, someone they know might.
I happened to mention to my brother about my AI project and how it has inspired me to learn more about AI and explore ways it can be implemented in other systems. It turns out the company he works for is struggling with AI integrations on some of its systems.
This conversation provided me with confirmation that this is indeed a problem that real companies are struggling to solve.
Opportunities are everywhere; the skills you build and conversations you have around those skills are what create serendipity. This is where you find leads to that new job, client, or product.
Each step in the REAPS Playbook works towards the next one, leading you to new horizons.
Stay Relevant, grow your Energy, become high Agency, build your Portfolio, and let Serendipity happen.
If you have a new skill you're learning, please tell me about it in the comments. You never know if I or another reader happens to be looking for your talents.
