“Lifelong learning for everyone on board could well be the most sustainable advantage an organization of any flavor can have!”
― Tom Peters
Introduction
As we envision our working lives and careers, a clear divide between a period of education followed by work no longer applies. Our technology is updating, our understanding of the world is shifting, and our workplaces are changing. In order to just keep working, we need to keep learning. When you listen to the stories of successful achievers in almost any field, learning is a part of their success stories.
So how can we conceive of learning for our life-long needs or challenges?
Sharpening your saw
Sharpening your saw
In his seminal book, the Seven Habits, Stephen Covey included the habit of “sharpening the saw” where he described a woodcutter preparing to cut down and tree, and regularly stopping to check if the axe is sharp. While many have referred to this as both taking care of your tools and your ability to “cut down trees”, this has also included the deliberate practice of getting better at what you do, what you know and keeping up with a VUCA context. As people, we now live and work in an environment where we need to constantly improve. Stay “sharp” is an active and deliberate strategy.
The even better news is that learning can keep your brain younger and functioning better for longer. There are studies which show undertaking qualifcations and learning in mid-life can improve brain functioning and reducing or delay aging impacts. For example Kris powers quotes research from Science Daily, that describes how our mental facilities are best protected when they are used often. Continued learning activities can even slow the physical process of illnesses like Alzheimer’s. Other benefits of deliberately learning include reducing boredom, improving self-confidence, developing skills, improving strategy and relationships, and even improving sleep.
Reconceptualising learning
Reconceptualising learning
Learning is a verb, it therefore requires action, deliberate intention and often planning. A traditional definition of lifelong learning is “all learning activity undertaken throughout life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competences within a personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective” (European Commission, 2001). And yet, life long learning is more than this. It also includes making time to deliberately reflect on your life, your relationships, your goals and where your gaps are. Documenting lessons learnt and learning from mistakes, failures and successes helps us improve. So including a reflective practice and planning how to implement what you are learning needs to be included in your learning-process.
An important shift to make, is that learning, and especially life long learning is self initiated. What this means, is that instead of someone telling you what to learn, how to learn and when to assess, like at school or post-school institution, you are now in the educator’s seat. While there are learning coaches and mentors who can help and advise, in the end it will be more up to you than anyone else. So pause for a moment and chose an area of your life that will improve other areas, perhaps your health or nutrition, shifting habits perhaps learning to type faster, perhaps MS Excel. You may want to separate your work and a personal or leisure learning goals. Once you have set a goal, explore how you can achieve this goal. You may be surprised at what is available (often at no additional cost) within your own organisation. Several large corporations provide access to LinkedIn’s learning platform or something like future learn.
Planning for learning
Planning for learning
When you commit to a qualification, it becomes easier to put aside time to show up to lectures or classes and do required readings. Deadlines also help a person focus and prioritise. When you complete a qualification it can be difficult to sustain the pace of learning without having a structure or external motivation. So the most important part is to either set a goal or find ways to sustaing your identity as a “learner”or “student”. This may be as simple as planning to read a book each month or signing up for a course online, participating in work training or more deliberately working with your employer on a personal development plan. You may also want to meet regularly with a mentor, join a professional association (which has the added benefit of networking) or join a hobby club (which has the added benefits of developing creativity, often problem solving and improving relaxation).
While learning is important, unless you plan for it or schedule it, learning can wait in the face of urgent to do lists and people who engage… learning doesn’t pay immediately. Planning to sharpen your saw by learning regularly is about frequently investing in yourself so that you, your colleagues, your family and community can reap the rewards. If its not in your calendar, on a weekly or daily basis, its unlike to happen. So an important aspect to consider is how to make progress on a daily or weekly basis. If you choose to read a book each month, book time to purchase the book and then read 15 minutes a day. If you want to watch tutorials on how to use Word or Excel or another software better, subscribe to a learning channel and then show up once a week. Enroll in a course through a platform like Udemy or Coursera and then follow the recommended time allocations (which vary depending on each course). If you are going to listen to podcasts while commuting, pre-download a selection onto a device you can safely listen to.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Life-long learning can help you achieve the goals of your life and improve the quality of your life. Making this a deliberate part of your life is essential to make this work for you. Thinking about your learning, planning to learn, setting goals and showing up to learn will be the only way to move forward.