The world moves so quickly as technology continues to evolve; working practices constantly progress, and new ways of becoming more efficient are always just around the corner. It’s incredibly important to continue seeking out new ways of improving your skills and to keep topping up your knowledge.
We’ve put together 6 top tips for lifelong learning and how you can enhance your professional and personal development:
1. Find ways to fit learning into your life – learning new skills doesn’t have to be stressful, and it needn’t eat up all your free time – find a slot where you could replace something else with an hour or so of online learning or plan to go to a training centre before or after work, to just expand your day slightly.
2. Don’t listen to the devil in your ear saying ‘you’re too old’, ‘what’s the point of doing that’, ‘you won’t be able to complete it’ – none of this is true – it’s just your subconscious trying to protect you from failure by encouraging you to not even get started in the first place – ignore the niggling voice and just go for it, there’s no reason why you can’t do it!
3. Make a case to yourself for why learning something new would help you. No-one likes to do things for the sake of it but if your efforts will genuinely make a difference to you, use this as your focus.
4. Find a learning ‘buddy’ – connecting with someone else trying to do the same as you means you have someone to call on for extra motivation. This can be helpful when you’re struggling to focus. You could find someone via a learning centre, or often through social media, where people share their experiences.
5. Set realistic targets and celebrate your success. Every extra thing you learn has a benefit to your career so make sure you reward yourself as you work through your training. Don’t make your goal too big, take it a step at a time – that way you won’t be too overwhelmed and you’re more likely to enjoy the process.
6. When you’ve learnt a new skill, make sure you practice and repeat it – this way you’ll continue to improve every day and it will become second nature.
For more information on how we can help you learn new skills and enhance your career progression check out our extensive range of specialist courses, diplomas and seminars, or contact your local centre to arrange a friendly chat with one of experienced course advisors.
