Write Your Own Documentation
Reminder to self: When you are exploring a new concept, or getting familiar with a new technology that you intend to implement, write your own documentation about it. By this I mean going beyond "keeping notes", where you say "Tech X allows you to do a,b,c". Instead expand it with how YOU would use Tech X, or how you ARE using it. "We use Tech X at Widgets Unlimited to overcome issues 1,2,3. Standards: We always enable Option A because Option B proved unreliable across a WAN" etc. This doesn't have to be glamorous. It just has to be personal. Why, and why bother? The act of summarizing everything you've read/seen on a topic helps you synthesize and internalize it. Fuzzy parts become clear. You are forced to really think through the topic, and make it real for your life. You've just created a great documentation resource that will be personally twice as valuable as anything you'll find online or in a book.