Keep Learning Always: Personal & Professional Development
Let’s talk about learning! No matter what stage of life you’re in, there is always the time for a little professional or personal growth/learning. If you’re a professional, you may be sent to courses by your boss to up level your skills and to keep up with the changing times. If you’re your own boss, you may have to be on the look out for courses and learning experiences that help you in your journey. Even for stay at home moms, or retirees who are currently not in the workforce - find something you enjoy or are passionate about and watch a YouTube video on it to learn more about it. Whatever it is, learning should never stop past high school or post secondary. Let’s continue the growth mindset with personal and professional growth and development!
Professional Development Courses
There are a lot of different options available. I think the biggest issue here is narrowing down a focus to figure out what to be on the lookout for.
The first step is determining where you are, what you want to learn and what you’re interested in. For example, personally, I’m interested in:
planning
goal setting
time management
productivity
mindfulness
These are things I focus on in my own videos when I talk about planning and goal setting. However, recently, I just completed a course by Jane Wild from Janes Agenda called Masterplan 365. It was completely free, with the option to purchase inserts from her shop for added learning and notes. In addition to that, each month, there were two books to read that helped to support the course material. (Those videos are still up if it’s something you’re interested in!)
There are free courses available online, in the form of YouTube videos and tutorials. There are also free business courses available, it’s just a matter of looking for them. Of course, there are paid ones as well, but taking these is determined by your budget.
Other things that you might want to look at are things that would help you with your hobbies or business. For example, if I wanted to get better at brush lettering, I would watch YouTube videos and invest in good brush pens to start practicing with.
Most of the time, to improve a skill, the best way to do it is to practice it or do it yourself. No amount of watching someone else do something will improve your own skill, but it will tell or show you how to do it.
Something that I would like to learn is how to use Final Cut Pro. It’s another editing program, and is quite different from iMovie. There are multiple YouTube videos showing how to use this software. While the software itself costs money, the videos are free.
Perhaps you need to learn how to use a tax software or Quickbooks for your business. There are a variety of courses out there for you to watch, follow along and learn.
Alternate Learning:
One of my favourite ways to learn is to read. A lot of the time, if I’m reading a book for learning (as opposed to reading a fiction book), I’ll highlight the important information I want to retain and then I’ll take notes on it later.
I keep a notebook, called a commonplace book to record this type of information, but you could use anything - loose leaf notepaper, a notebook. I take notes from books, podcasts and YouTube videos. Depending on the subject and what you want to learn, some subjects don’t necessarily require a “reputable source” - YouTube videos can be uploaded by anyone. For example, I used to watch this one YouTuber who would give lists of journaling prompts so I would make sure to write them all down.
In the end, it doesn’t matter what resources you use to learn from. The important thing is that you make your learning fun and interesting so you’re more likely to keep up with it. Learning is something that should be lifelong! Enjoy the process and practice your craft until you become a master!
Sandra
