How can the Hourglass method help structure learning?

It is really quite amazing how useful having a broad range of knowledge and expertise can be. Mostly because with knowledge from other fields to your own, there are many tricks or methods that can be transferred successfully, often in novel ways, to something else. Here is a good example of a common framework found in academic writing that could easily provide content creators with some ideas on how to structure some of their content.

The hour glass method is a staple go to in academic writing. There are many variations to some of the wording involved, but the general overarching principle is the same. The pattern goes general-specific-general. Now this may not look like much but it provides quite a logical, critical and academic approach to synthesising knowledge or information.

The first general relates to the current context that surrounds your insight - the raw primary data of life. It includes what you have observed and experienced. It also includes the work others have done. The first general is all the relevant (or sometimes what appear irrelevant at first) information that provided the basis for the lesson you learned (and are about to teach others) in this particular area.

The specific comprises the rules or insights that can be gleaned from the raw contextual data. These are the epiphanies you had. The lessons you learned. The thing that makes you and your content special. But rather than just stating your epiphanies, a rationale is now provided by the preceding context.

The final general is how your epiphany can be used or applied. A great question whenever you are presented with a finding or something new is - So what? Why are you telling me this? Why is this useful? How can this help me? This last part is where the benefits from applying your epiphany are explained. This is how you and your content can help your content consumers?

Let's look at an example to help illustrate this more. Let's say you had been reading about how gain muscle mass. You had tried a bunch of different stuff and in the end you had done some of your own trial-and-error and found a blend of approaches worked best for you. Your results were great. You gained weight (the right kind). You looked great. And you felt great. This can then be presented using the general-specific-general structure perfectly.

general - I read this book and that book. I watched YouTube videos on this and that. I tried this and then I tried that.

specific - After all the research and testing, I found this worked best. The benefits were A, B and C. I did some digging and actually there is some solid science behind this (or even more mysteriously - there isn't any research on this at all). The secret formula (or golden rule) is ...

general - The secret formula helped me look great and feel great. Now I feel more confident and people even ask me for tips. If you do A, B and C, then these doors will open for you too.

And hey presto! A simplified version of an academic writing model has just provided guidance on how to structure the content you create. This structure can be used during the creation aspect of the content but also for the delivery as well. That means less stress for you when thinking ‘Now what?’ as you can follow the structure. More time for you as you procrastinate less by following the structure. And finally more impactful content, as the steps you follow provide more logic and rationale to the benefits of your content. It's a win-win-win!