A learning path can keep you focused on gaining the skills that are important to you.

It's a simple, but powerful list of what you plan to learn and why.

Here are the questions I ask myself whenever I'm charting out the next six months of my path:

Where are you now?

A frank self-assessment will help you understand the foundation you're building on. Taking a step back, you'll be able to see your own strengths and weaknesses.

This is also a great point to get feedback from managers and mentors.

Knowing where you currently are can help others make useful recommendations.

Also, list materials have you already completed, and the obstacles that may stand in your way.

Where are you going?

Establish what topics you're hungry to learn.

What will success look like when you're done with this part of your path?

Is there a gap between what you're interested in and what is useful to you? If so, how do these relate to your goals in life?

Then you can get tactical by figuring out, at a high level, what topics you need to study.

What courses, books, and tutorials can act as stepping stones to get there?

This is the fun part: gathering the materials that will help you reach your goals.

There's a lot to say about this topic, but one recommendation is to look for ways to 'play the whole game' early on.

Let's say you're learning web development with Rails. First, you would find a tutorial that guides you through creating a toy app. Then you'd commit to a more detailed video course.

Getting a picture of the whole first helps you see how the details fit together.

Your mission should be to create a scaffold of learning that equips you to reach your goals.