The mental model for skill acquisition can be guided by these conditions and assumptions:
- They must always fit within your system
- You should enjoy them and approach them with interest and curiosity for the most part, while also struggling just enough
- They should be connected to solving small problems, building small features, and experimenting on a small scale with some form of feedback loop
- Consider the probability that they will be relevant and valuable in the coming years
These fundamental abilities:
- Critical thinking
- Creativity
- Collaboration
- Communication
- Developing taste and product sense
- Handling uncertainty
- Generating ideas
- Specific domain expertise
The question isn't just which soft skills matter, but how to prioritize them by value and impact.
At the same time, focus on hard skills that won't change: the fundamentals that remain relevant regardless of technology shifts.
- System design
- How to be the software and data engineer that creates value
These foundations persist even as specific tools and frameworks evolve.
Develop complementary skills. Skills that work together create more value than skills in isolation. Technical skills combined with communication, self-management, and independent value creation create a stronger foundation than any single skill alone. The combination is what creates leverage.
Prioritize strategically. Not all skills develop at the same pace. Some require more time, some provide more immediate value, some compound faster. Understanding which skills to prioritize and when matters. This is where time horizons become practical: some skills serve short-term needs, others build long-term capability.
Learning in Practice
The reality is that continuous learning happens regardless. Ideas emerge over time. The question isn't whether to learn continuously, but how to structure that learning to align with your goals.
Build concrete projects. Projects that integrate multiple skills serve multiple purposes: they demonstrate capability, accelerate learning, and create value simultaneously. The project itself matters, but so do the skills and understanding you develop while building it. This is where exploration meets commitment.