My New Year’s resolution for work this year is to be proactive in making time for learning.
My workload is high, and I have decided it is time to stop pretending that if I just work hard this week, I will have more time for developing next week! Thinking and working this way means that making time for learning constantly becomes secondary.
Making time for learning is important for any individual for many reasons.
Work Smarter – There are lots of new things I want to learn because I know that new knowledge and techniques will help me work smarter, which saves me time which gives me more time to learn new things – it’s an obvious virtuous circle. However, instead, I remain trapped in the vicious circle of doing things how I have always done them because I don’t have time to find better ways to work.
New Technologies – With the rapid increase in AI tools, being a human who doesn’t learn is a dumb decision. My strategy to survive and, in fact, thrive is to apply the mantra, “If my work is changing, I need to change how I work”.
General Improvement – The biggest mental shift for me is accepting that I could do things better. I need to be open to new approaches. If not, I will not search for new techniques, shortcuts, or tips from others.
Accepting that I need to make time for learning has taken some soul-searching. It’s hard to be your own coach, but looking back through my schedule over the last year, I can see some repeating patterns that are not fit for the future. There is too much doing, and not enough thinking and learning, is my observation.
There are always pressing deadlines that squeeze out time for reflection on how best to do something. These deadlines will not stop.
I understand that my workload is not magically going to shrink overnight, and I’m not advocating a 50/50 split between doing and learning for myself. But…I am going to commit to 5% of my time to be spent learning each week. For me, with an average of 50 hours of work each week, this means 2.5 hours.
Even that small percentage feels a bit daunting until I remind myself that thinking doesn’t mean sitting at my desk. In fact, to make my goal more achievable, I’m going to combine it with other things I want to do.
One of my dogs needs additional exercise so on top of the daily walk with the others, I am taking him for an extra 20 minutes every lunchtime. Over a full week that will give me at least 2 hours to think, have ideas and plan.
I learn best when I have fewer deadlines, so I have booked a 45-minute personal learning session every Friday at 8 am – for me to watch videos, read articles and create checklists and templates to capture my new ways of working.
So far, that is 2 hours and 45 minutes. I’m already ahead of my target!
So, you can see how making time for learning can be less daunting when you find the recipe that suits you. I’d recommend starting the way I have, with a percentage of your working time and go from there.
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