The Apple WWDC was a feast of innovation and another tiny glimpse into the distant future of technology. If you use your imagination and link the dots going forward and squint your eyes, you can see the future.

Also, take the time to read the technology media, bounce along inside the YouTube tech sphere and crawl across a couple of insightful websites, and you can see the exciting world of advanced technology heading our way. It is relentless, and it is a steamroller of a ride that might end like a Terminator movie. Who knows.

I am super excited (WWDC influenced my tone here) about what the future holds. I watched the opening keynote event and thought to myself, wow, this is getting exciting. There was a lot of cool stuff on show this year.

It was tongue-in-cheek cheesy at times, but what was shared was the best yet. It was some of the best advancements for improving your workflow I have seen in the last few years, and much of it can replace many of the things I already use.

I also felt a bit overwhelmed by the number of advancements because there was so many that I could see actual use for in my own workflow. I can see myself having to look again at some of my key workflows and reimagine them for optimisation. (again WWDC influenced my tone here)

Being overwhelmed is often the feeling when you are learning something new, especially if it is something from the technology world. It can be a slow learning curve and mind-bending to try and learn everything. Complexity and the sheer volume can compound the challenge around learning. It takes time. That’s the thing to remember. It takes time. You should learn at your own pace and learn in your own way. That is the best way to take the information into our deep learning state so that you know it verbatim. 

Have a personalised approach to your learning and learn to have a personalised approach to getting the most out of any software update coming our way. Maybe, like me, you have the desire to use all of the new elements of the updates and get the best bang for the buck so to speak. 

But in my recent learning experience with video editing, YouTube, blogging and website design, I adopted a different approach. 

I started without having too much knowledge and learned on the way. I asked questions in the help bar, checked YouTube, searched and surfed to find ways to get the best from my equipment and editing software. 

The more I searched, the more advice I got. I watched videos on the best ways to do something and also how to have the best workflow – 

‘follow my award-winning workflow’… 

‘I can teach you the best way to….’

‘The top ten tips for the quickest youtube workflow….’

‘Blah, Blah, Blah…’

Some of the content was great to get excellent tips and insight, and some content confused me even more. Some were a straightforward sales pitch, and others were just dumb. Sorry, but they were. 

It was all good because I learned and I explored. I made mistakes, got feedback and searched some more for the answers. I am still a million miles away from where I want to be, but I am moving in the right direction.

The critical thing that I did learn was that I had to develop my own workflow. I will refine it as I keep moving forward, but I have learned to use what worked for me through my learning process. I also learned to discard parts of the software because they are not suitable for me right now. Maybe, most likely, that will change in the future.

You do not need to eat the whole of the cake at once.

And that’s my point with the operating system updates, and it is always the point with the developers that create them. You do not need to use them all. Use what works for you and refine as you go. But keep asking yourself if there is an easier way to do this – depending on what you are doing. Search for the answer and make the adjustments you need to make to keep making the productivity gains you want.

You will in no way use all of the updates, but take what you need to make it a personal experience. 

Personalise your own user experience. That’s the point.

That’s always the point.

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