Today I learned about the concept of TIL - “Today I Learned” - a format for sharing small, digestible pieces of knowledge.
What is TIL?
TIL posts are:
- Short and focused - Usually just a few paragraphs
- Practical - Something you can use immediately
- Informal - Written conversationally, like notes to yourself
- Frequent - The low barrier encourages regular posting
Why TIL?
The TIL format serves several purposes:
- Personal knowledge base - Quick reference for things you’ve learned
- Learning reinforcement - Writing helps solidify understanding
- Knowledge sharing - Others benefit from your discoveries
- Low commitment - Easier to maintain than full blog posts
TIL Best Practices
- Keep it under 5 minutes reading time
- Include code examples when relevant
- Link to sources for deeper learning
- Don’t worry about perfection
- Date your entries for context
Example Topics
- Command line tricks
- Programming language features
- Tool configurations
- Debugging solutions
- Workflow improvements
The beauty of TIL is its simplicity - if you learned something today that made you think “oh, that’s neat!”, it’s worth capturing in a TIL.