Velocity Metrics

Are you accelerating, maintaining, or decelerating? What gets measured gets managed.

What is Learning Velocity?

Velocity = Distance traveled / Time elapsed

For learning: - Distance = Skills acquired, modules completed, projects shipped - Time = Hours invested

But also consider:

  • Acceleration = Is velocity increasing or decreasing?

  • Momentum = Consistent progress or stop-start patterns?

  • Direction = Progress toward the right goals?

High velocity in wrong direction = wasted effort

Track Velocity by Domain

Technical Skills

Track Jan Feb Mar Trend Status

Regex Mastery

20%

40%

55%

↗ Accelerating

ON TRACK

Python/netapi

60%

70%

80%

→ Steady

ON TRACK

k8s/k3s

40%

45%

45%

↘ Stalled

BLOCKED (NAT)

Vault/PKI

80%

85%

90%

→ Steady

ON TRACK

RHCSA

5%

8%

10%

↘ Slow

AT RISK

Language Skills

Track Jan Feb Mar Trend Status

Don Quijote

30%

40%

50%

→ Steady

ON TRACK

Spanish Writing

B2

B2+

B2+

→ Steady

ON TRACK

Spanish Listening

B1+

B2-

B2-

→ Stalled

AT RISK

DELE Prep

0%

5%

10%

↗ Starting

ON TRACK

Certifications

Track Jan Feb Mar Trend Status

SIELE C1

Planning

Planning

Q2 Target

→ Upcoming

ON TRACK

RHCSA

Ch 1

Ch 2

Ch 2

↘ Stalled

AT RISK

CISSP

N/A

N/A

N/A

- Future

DEFERRED

Momentum Indicators

Signs of positive momentum:

Indicator Evidence Current

✓ Daily progress

Something moves forward every day

Yes

✓ Streak building

Consecutive days of practice

~14 days

✓ Compound connections

Skills reinforcing each other

Yes (regex → Python)

✓ Energy increasing

Work feels easier, more enjoyable

Moderate

✓ Obstacles shrinking

Problems feel more solvable

Yes

Signs of negative momentum:

Indicator Evidence Current

⚠ Avoidance patterns

Putting off specific tasks repeatedly

Some (RHCSA)

⚠ Context switching

Jumping between unrelated things

Moderate

⚠ Perfectionism paralysis

Polish instead of ship

No

⚠ Energy depletion

Work feels harder than it should

No

⚠ Stale items

Carryover > 7 days

Yes (k3s NAT)

Velocity Killers

What slows learning velocity?

Killer Mechanism Antidote

Context Switching

Cognitive reload cost (~23 min per switch)

Batch similar tasks, protect focus blocks

Perfectionism

Diminishing returns past 80%

Ship then iterate

Tutorial Hell

Passive consumption feels like progress

Build something after every module

Scope Creep

Moving target never gets hit

Define "done" upfront

Shiny Object Syndrome

New > Important

Finish before starting

Technical Debt

Friction compounds over time

Allocate 20% to cleanup

Unclear Priorities

Energy scattered across too many things

Max 3 ACTIVE tracks

No Feedback Loops

Can’t improve what you can’t measure

Weekly retrospective

Acceleration Levers

How to increase learning velocity?

Lever How It Works Implementation

Deliberate Practice

Targeted discomfort → rapid growth

30 min daily on weakest area

Spaced Repetition

Review at optimal intervals

Anki for facts, practice for skills

Teach to Learn

Explaining reveals gaps

Document everything in domus-*

Build in Public

Accountability + feedback

netapi, domus-nvim, architectus.dev

Stack Skills

A + B > A, B

Regex + Python = powerful automation

Immersion

Constant exposure compounds

Spanish podcast, English technical

Remove Friction

Easier = more likely

Aliases, scripts, dotfiles, workflows

Protected Time

Deep work > shallow work

2-hour blocks, no interruptions

Weekly Velocity Check

Quick assessment every Sunday.

The 5 Questions

  1. What shipped this week? (velocity evidence) - - -

  2. What’s in the same place as last week? (stalls) - -

  3. What’s accelerating? (momentum building) -

  4. What’s decelerating? (momentum dying) -

  5. What one thing would most increase velocity next week? -

Velocity Score

Rate your week 1-10:

  • 10: Massive progress, everything clicked

  • 7-9: Good progress, some friction

  • 5-6: Maintenance mode, holding steady

  • 3-4: Slow week, distractions won

  • 1-2: Lost ground, recovery needed

This week: /10 Last week: /10 Trend: ↗ ↘ →

Quarterly Velocity Analysis

Deeper analysis every 3 months.

Progress Visualization

Domain Q Start Q End Delta Assessment

Technical

Spanish

Certifications

Projects

Creative

Velocity Trends

  • Fastest growth: _

  • Biggest stall: _

  • Surprise progress: _

  • Surprise regression: _

Root Cause Analysis

For each stalled area:

  1. Why is this stalled?

  2. What would unblock it?

  3. Is it still a priority?

  4. Should it be parked instead?

Predictions

  • Next quarter’s fastest growth: _

  • Next quarter’s biggest risk: _

  • Commitment for next quarter: _

Current Assessment (2026-03-17)

Velocity Summary

Area Score Notes

CLI Mastery

8/10

2 weeks of intensive terminal use, embracing the suck

Regex

7/10

Curriculum progressing, PCRE still learning

Python/netapi

7/10

Polish phase, 65+ commands across vendors

Spanish

6/10

Reading strong, listening needs work

Infrastructure

5/10

k3s NAT blocking, Keycloak down

Certifications

4/10

RHCSA stalled, SIELE planning

Overall Velocity: 6.2/10

Interpretation: - Holding ground, not accelerating dramatically - Technical skills progressing well - Infrastructure blockers (NAT, Keycloak) dragging down average - Spanish and certifications need attention

Priority Unblocks

  1. k3s NAT (days 8 carried - unacceptable)

  2. Spanish listening (SIELE Q2 at risk)

  3. RHCSA momentum (stalled for weeks)