Just-in-time production methodologies had a major impact on manufacturing. Rather than a given worker receiving inputs well before they were needed, the workers began to receive their inputs “just-in-time.”

This meant that inventory levels were reduced to almost nothing, virtually eliminating the cash stuck in in-process product and bringing production issues to the surface so they could be addressed.

A similar mindset can be applied to learning.

A lot of learning is done “just-in-case.” We learn about negotiating just in case we ever find ourselves in a heated negotiation. We learn how to put out a fire so we’re prepared in case the situation presents itself.

In some situations (particularly the fire example, or others with related importance), it is certainly best to acquire information just-in-case. We don’t have time to pull out our phone and search YouTube for how-to videos when our sleeve is burning. We need to know what to do before we need to execute on the knowledge.

But there’s a limit for how much information we can gather just-in-case. We don’t have the time to prepare for every hypothetical in every aspect of our life.

Further, we can get paralyzed when we convince ourselves that we need to be completely prepared before diving into a new endeavor. A parent doesn’t need to know how to handle every future situation before having a kid.

For some (and maybe even most) of the topics in our life, we have to be confident in our ability to acquire information just-in-time.

I don’t need to know how to perfectly paint a wall before putting up the wall frame. Sure, it helps to have some knowledge to avoid obvious traps, but it isn’t necessary.

I can generally put up the frame, take care of the drywall, and then worry about painting techniques.

Same thing with the child example. There’s no need to worry about high schools when we’re changing diapers. We have to trust our ability to learn as we go.

As life continually becomes more complex, it seems more and more important to rely on just-in-time learning rather than just-in-case.

-Brandon