What kind of learning is wasteful?

Just after lunch, I sat down to figure out how I can use an ebook I recently created as a lead magnet on my website. I needed a form that saves user data to a CRM and automatically re-direct users to the ebook. I heard of ConvertKit from Amy Porterfield, whose podcast I’m a fan of. 

I spent three hours trying to integrate ConvertKit to my WordPress site, design the forms (gosh, I fiddled so much here), make them work, test it and get it ready for my next campaign. After much agony, I realised that it’s best to remove all integrations and just use plain old HTML to embed forms. 

At the end of the exhausting day, wow what a waste of time, I thought. 

But, this is exactly how I learned HTML, WordPress, Photoshop, presentation design, and just about anything. The only way I learn a new skill is to open up a file and keep fiddling until I get what I want — along with a lot of Googling, that is.

I rarely ever need these skills for my everyday work. emdash isn’t a web design firm, and we have a designer onboard. But I find that these skills come handy when a client needs to fix pesky problems in his website, create presentations overnight (that can’t wait for a qualified designer), needs a logo added on a stock photo and things like that. They earn me more brownie points than real money, but when you’re in business, every little counts.