Learning new skills is challenging- we all know this. It takes a real investment of time and energy to create expertise in an unfamiliar area. The best way to get started on this process is to find a resource that simplifies the time cost and focuses your energy so it is more efficiently spent. One of my favorite websites that does this is called euclidea.xyz, and it trains a very specific and often hated skill- geometry. But wait! Before you go storming off, upset that I would try and trick you into thinking about math, hear me out.

Euclidea is named after the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid, who is known as the founder of geometry. The site is basically a puzzle pack of a bunch of different incomplete geometrical constructions, and your goal is to complete it with certain very simple tools (like a circle tool and line tool), ideally in the most efficient way possible. I will not deceive you- these puzzles are very difficult. In my experience, some of them took upwards of half an hour to make real progress into. However, despite or even because of this difficulty each puzzle feels extremely rewarding once you do make that progress and eventually find the solution.

More importantly than the satisfaction of solving a tough puzzle (although that is much of the appeal to me) is the fact that these puzzles all deal with geometry and require you to think in a very specific way to make progress. This analytical, geometrical approach that the website requires is a very useful headspace to practice working in, and it can be applied widely to areas beyond math problems. I find Euclidea to be fun and engaging, and while it still may not be everyone’s style I maintain that there is value in just sitting down and dedicating your brainpower to a tough problem. Try it yourself, and see if you feel that satisfaction when you get it right.