Building a Learning Habit
Sometimes I really miss school. It’s mostly because I would kill to spend my whole day learning (Learning nerd alert)!
And while learning as an adult is not easy, it is not impossible. Over time I have evolved my own rituals, here are 5 ways in which you can do to build a learning habit (& stick to it!):
1/ Block an hour to learn everyday
Everyday from 9:30am - 10:30am my calendar is blocked with a ‘Learning Hour’. Calendarising 60 mins everyday reminds me that this is something I need to get done. I use this time to learn new things - dig deeper into a rabbit hole, read, write. On days when I’m attending an event or a course - I tend to move it around.
You have no idea how much you can do in just an hour everyday. Learning compounds. Pick your time of the day, pick your duration and get cracking!
2/ Share it with someone
We learn best when we share our learning with someone. I try to share what I’m learning with my partner, family, friends and colleagues. My writing also is me learning in public.
Sharing what you’re learning with someone else helps in crystallising your own thoughts and get different perspectives. A little debate never hurt anyone! At NextLeap we close our week’s by sharing what we’ve learnt over the past week.
Bring up what you’re learning over dinner table conversations, coffees, start meetings with one learning. It will only add to what you’re learning.
3/ Weekly roundup
I know I learn best when I document/ write things down. I love physically writing but it’s not very retrievable so I have shifted to Notion now. During the week as I am reading, watching movies talking to people - I put them down on a Notion database.
At the end of the week I take about an hour to go through everything. I use this time to reflect, analyse my ‘information diet’ for the week and stretch. This is where most of my ideas for my writing come from. It also helps me identify when I haven’t prioritised my learning or times when I’ve really learnt a lot.
Take some time at the end of the week to reflect on what you have learnt in the week. Pick your format! Here is how I do it.
4/ Make a learning charter
I am as guilty as anyone to get excited about a new shiny toy - a new book, an exciting course, a book someone recommended. But over time I’ve realised I learn best when I get into the trenches and don’t just snack on learning. Instead of having multiple tabs open, keep only one or two.
Every year, I outline a learning charter - list down a couple of things I want to dig deeper into. Now these could be related to work, fitness or anything else. This helps me stay focussed. I revisit the list every quarter - and tweak things, change them around. I don’t outline how I’m going to learn just the what and why. The how I let emerge a little bit more organically.
What is it that you want to learn in the next 6 months? Pick 1-2 things. Go deep.
5/ Make a learning budget
Rabbit holes can be great to explore. But when you’re looking at learning something quickly & efficiently, structured learning is great. Structured learning is often not free. Budgeting for your learning is a great way to make sure it gets done.
I’m fortunate enough to have worked in organisations that give a learning budget like NextLeap. But even before that, I would set aside some money every year that I want to spend on just learning. It could be a dance class, a course that helps you in your job or just a budget for books!
Budget your learning like you budget your groceries and rent!
Do you have something else that you do to build your learning habit? Tell me!