I could have learned this years ago...

Recently, I decided to learn how YouTube works.

That might sound a bit odd given that I’ve been making videos for years. But it's one thing to make videos and another to truly understand what makes people want to watch them. I’d put a lot of time into the first without really studying the second.

So I started learning. All the information I needed was available for free. I watched, listened, took notes and began making changes to the way I put my videos together.

Almost immediately, my viewing numbers doubled. One video went viral, reaching ten times my usual viewing numbers within its first two weeks.

That got my attention!

Of course, I was delighted that more people were watching. But what really struck me was that I could have learned this years ago. I’d been putting in the effort all along. I just hadn’t understood some of the things that would help that would really make a difference.

It made me think there are cheat codes for almost everything these days. All of the knowledge about everything is available to us at the click of a button. We are the first humans who can say this.

By "cheat codes," I don’t mean ways to skip the work. I mean things you don’t know yet that could really help you - something someone else has already figured out, that you could learn if you decided to look.

For example, I’ve lost count of the people who’ve told me Instagram doesn’t work for them, that they can’t get any attention there. But when I ask whether they’ve tried trial reels, most don't even know what that is. 

And I do understand. There’s always something new to learn, and keeping up can feel like a job in itself. We definitely can't do it all.

I could put the same attention into learning Instagram that I’ve been putting into YouTube, but I have to decide where I want to spend my time and I've decided I only have bandwidth for one thing.

The same applies in the studio. I’m fascinated by all sorts of things, but I can’t become a fantastic printmaker, an accomplished ceramicist, a brilliant painter and an exceptional draughtswoman all at once. Certainly not while doing everything else I want to do with my life.

I can explore them all and I can enjoy being a beginner, but if I want to get really good at something, I have to give it enough of my attention.

And once I’ve chosen, there’s so much available to help me.

When I think about how I’ve learned to paint, I’ve taken a few courses, but most of the learning has come from making things. Practising, trying, getting it wrong, trying again. Watching other artists work, reading about them, looking closely at their paintings. Going back into the studio and doing some more.

There hasn’t been one book with all the answers or one course that taught me everything. I’ve had to put the learning together for myself, following one question to the next.

Sometimes that means seeking help. Often it means closing the book or switching off the video because I need to get my hands dirty.

I'm saying all this because think we can forget how much is learnable. We say “I’m no good at drawing” or “I don’t understand social media” as though we’re describing something permanent about ourselves, rather than simply something we have chosen not to learn.

Just to be clear  - I'm not saying you HAVE to learn anything. We’re allowed to decide we're just not interested. I’m sure there are things I could become reasonably good at that I have absolutely no desire to spend my days doing (framing my art for example). But I’d like that to be a choice, rather than a conclusion I’ve drawn about my abilities.

My YouTube experience has reminded me to question those conclusions. I am learning to notice where I’m working hard but not learning much. I'm starting to ask where there’s something I could understand better that would help me move forward.

And then I'm learning to choose. What matters enough to me to study it, practise it and keep going through the awkward bit? What matters to me enough that I'll watch educational videos or read books rather than slump in front of Netflix?

We definitely don’t have to learn everything and we couldn't even if we wanted to.

But what's the thing you keep wishing you could do?

Perhaps you could give yourself the chance to learn how.