A Surprisingly Easy Way to Learn About Anything (That Also Happens to Be Free)

Rich Washburn
4 days ago
4 min read

This wasn’t a grand strategy. It just kind of… happened.

As part of the AI side of my web business, I’ve been doing more blog content—mostly for SEO. That means publishing articles for myself and for clients across a bunch of different industries. Some of them I know well. Others? I had no clue.

So, I’d kick off my morning by pulling together source material, having AI summarize it, then co-write a draft I’d come in and clean up. Nothing fancy—just part of the job.

But over time, I started noticing something weird.

The more I went through this process—even just reading the summaries, scanning a few articles, rewriting a paragraph here or there—the more I found myself actually learning stuff. Not memorizing headlines. Not parroting back sound bites. Like, real, contextual, “I get what that means now” kind of learning.

Not in a “wow, I’m now a subject-matter expert” kind of way. I’m not. I wouldn’t even say I’m particularly good at this stuff. But when a client brings up some industry-specific thing, I don’t nod politely and zone out anymore. I get it. I can track the conversation. Sometimes, I even have a useful take.

And that came not from trying to get smarter—but just from showing up, running through the reps, and letting the process teach me along the way.

What the process actually looks like

Here’s what it looks like on a normal day:

I speak into my phone or laptop mic (literally—just hit the button and talk), asking ChatGPT to pull together some solid research on a topic.
It comes back with articles, podcast links, maybe some video transcripts, and a first-pass draft.
I scan through 2–3 of the sources that jump out. Watch a clip. Skim a transcript. Open a tab or two.
Then I edit the draft. Not obsessively—just enough to clean it up, punch it where needed, and make sure I’m not saying something dumb.
I feed it back to AI, ask it to polish in my voice, and boom—done.

Now I’ve got an article. I can publish it, queue it up for a client, or just let it sit in a folder somewhere. But either way, I’ve learned something.

Why this works (even if you’re not trying that hard)

It’s not magic—it’s just exposure + repetition.

When you force yourself to write (or co-write) about a topic, you’re not just reading about it—you’re explaining it to yourself. That’s when the learning sticks. You start finding holes in your understanding. You look things up. You dig just a little deeper. And every time you do that, you level up a bit more.

Even if it starts as a mechanical process (and believe me, sometimes it does), it still plants the seed. And that seed grows. Fast.

You don’t have to publish—unless you want to

This doesn’t have to be public. You can dump your articles into a private folder, a notes app, whatever. But I’ll say this: publishing does help.

When you know it’s going out into the world—even if it’s just Medium or a no-audience Substack—you hold yourself to a higher standard. You double-check your logic. You care a little more about clarity. And that little bump in effort = a big bump in learning.

Plus, who knows? If you pick a topic that resonates, you might attract people, build a little community, or even monetize it down the line. But don’t make that the goal. The goal is: learn through doing.

I didn’t set out to build a learning ritual. It just kind of became one. It’s easy. It’s free. And if you’re even a little curious, it’s honestly kind of fun.

You’re not going to turn into a subject-matter expert overnight—but you will pick up more than you expected. And that’s the win.

Try this: a one-week experiment

Here’s the challenge: One article a day for one week.

That’s it. Pick a topic that matters to you—maybe something your business touches, maybe just a curiosity you’ve had kicking around. Ask your AI to bring back solid sources. Skim a few. Edit the draft. Publish if you want.

Do it first thing in the morning and you’ll walk into your day already dialed in. You’ll hit the ground knowing something you didn’t know 90 minutes ago.

One-Week Learning Challenge Prompt

Before You Start:

Make sure you’re using ChatGPT-5 or later (not the legacy model). This process depends on the newer model's research and writing capabilities, so double-check that you're on the right version.

Prompt:

I want to write an article on the topic: [insert your topic here].

Please research this topic using high-quality, reputable sources—think industry publications, research journals, expert blogs, credible media—not spammy content farms.

Then:

Summarize the key points I need to understand in order to grasp this topic deeply—even if I'm not an expert. Break things down clearly and simply.

Pull in helpful context—explain why this topic matters, and if relevant, show how it's used in the real world.

Write a first-draft article that is clear, well-structured, and information-dense. Keep it engaging—use analogies, examples, and explain like you're talking to a curious, smart friend.

This will be a co-written piece—I’ll come in after to revise and shape it, but I want you to give me a solid, well-informed draft to start with.

📝 Pro Tip:

You can ask for multiple versions. For example: