{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "description": "feat: introduce Learning Hours for intentional learning at work",
  "path": "/posts/learning-hours/",
  "publishedAt": "2025-01-15T00:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://read.ryancowl.es",
  "tags": [
    "DevEx"
  ],
  "textContent": "Learning is one of the first things to get back-burnered at work. There's always a more urgent ticket, a meeting to attend, a deploy to ship. The intent to learn is there, but it rarely survives contact with the day.\n\nI rolled out a simple initiative called Learning Hours to address this. The idea is straightforward: scheduled sessions where people show up, state what they're going to learn, work independently for an hour, and share what they accomplished at the end. Peer accountability and a little bit of structure go a long way.\n\n  \n\nThe Format\n\nWe keep it intentionally simple so that it's easy to host and easy to attend.\nCheck in. Everyone shares their intention for the hour. This might be reading a chapter of a technical book, working through online course material, reading docs for a new framework, or writing code to solidify a new skill.\nLearn. Everyone mutes and works independently for the remainder of the hour. Camera on or off, whatever's comfortable.\nCheck out. At the top of the hour, the group reconvenes to share progress and reflections.\n\nThat's it. No presentations, no homework, no formal curriculum. Just protected time and a group of people keeping each other honest about using it.\n\n  \n\nHow We Started\n\nWe piloted Learning Hours for four weeks, offering a few time slots per week to accommodate different time zones. People signed up for whichever slot worked best. Some attended every week, others dropped in when they could.\n\nAfter the pilot, we looked at the numbers: 15 unique attendees, with nearly half returning for multiple sessions. The anecdotal feedback was positive too. People were making progress on things they'd been meaning to learn for months but never found time for.\n\nThe time investment to host is light (about an hour per week per host), so the cost of keeping it going was low. We continued.\n\n  \n\nWhat People Actually Learn\n\nThe range of what people work on during a Learning Hour has been broader than I expected:\nReading books about programming languages or concepts\nProgressing through online courses\nReading documentation for an unfamiliar framework\nWriting code to practice a new skill\nWatching technical talks or conference videos\n\nThere's no requirement for what you learn or how you learn it. The only expectation is that you show up with an intention and spend the hour on it.\n\n  \n\nWhy It Works\n\nI think a few things make this effective despite (or because of) its simplicity:\nIt protects the time. A calendar block with other people on it is harder to skip than a vague plan to \"learn something this week.\"\nStating your intention creates accountability. Telling a group \"I'm going to read chapter 4 of this book\" makes it more likely you'll actually do it.\nIt normalizes learning during work hours. When a team sees that learning time is sanctioned and structured, the guilt of \"I should be doing real work\" fades.\nLow barrier, high flexibility. No preparation required to attend. No commitment beyond the hour. No judgment about what counts as \"learning.\"\n\n  \n\nRunning Your Own\n\nIf you want to try this with your team, here's what I'd suggest:\nStart small. Pick one time slot per week and see who shows up.\nKeep the format tight. Check in, learn, check out. Resist the urge to add structure.\nPilot it. Run it for three or four weeks, then decide whether to continue based on attendance and feedback.\nLet anyone host. Once the format is established, it doesn't need to be the same person running it every time.\nDon't mandate attendance. The moment it feels compulsory, it stops working.\n\n  \n\nWhat Not to Add\n\nThe temptation to improve this format is strong. Resist it.\n\nEvery time I've seen someone try to add more structure, it backfires. Add a weekly theme and people skip the weeks that don't match their interests. Add a shared reading list and it starts feeling like homework. Add a facilitator leading a discussion and it becomes a class. The more you add, the more it feels like an obligation, and the more you lose the people who need it most.\n\nA few things that might seem like good ideas but aren't:\nAttendance requirements. The person who shows up twice a quarter is still getting value. The moment you require regular attendance, you've turned it into a commitment. Commitments compete with deadlines. Deadlines win.\nMetrics. The moment you start measuring Learning Hours, you've changed what they are. They become a thing people do to be seen doing, not a thing people do because they want to.\nA platform. Calendar invites and a video call are enough. If you build infrastructure around it, you've already overthought it.\n\nThe whole thing works because it's simple enough to actually happen. Protect that.",
  "title": "Learning Hours"
}