Getting our money’s worth out of new learning (Archived)

Studying as a young adult, I’d fall asleep in class. I drooled on blank pages, gossiped with a mate or doodled in the back row. Having my bum on the seat counted for something, right? Maybe learning would soak in through my skin or get filed away somewhere as it flowed in one ear and out the other?

I am a lot older and wiser now. If I invest time and money into study, whether for work or play, I make sure its something I’m interested in and I ensure I wring every drop of learning out of every resource I wrap my hands around.

With COVID-19 and all this extra time on our hands, many of us are taking the opportunity to up-skill ourselves through a range of live-streaming events and online courses. Free or significantly reduced online courses are being offered through many centers and learning spaces.

Learning is more than just plopping ourselves down in the vicinity of wisdom and absorbing it through our skin. Running an online course in one ear and out the other is unlikely to facilitate significant change to our routines, capacity or productivity.

How do we get the most out of the resources available to us in this time?

Everyone’s learning style is different. These are the steps I used to shift myself from a passive listener into an active learner:

1. Notebook

I take a big, fat, A4 size study notebook to every training opportunity. I prefer writing on paper, with a pen. It needs to be big enough for me to sketch out concepts. Yes, writing with a pen cramps my hand and my hand-writing is ghastly, but I don’t need to write down everything that’s being said — just the main points. Writing out the main points in what I am hearing ensures I stay awake (the bane of study as a young adult was early mornings combined with the drone of the lecturer’s voice). Even if the facilitator provides notes, I still take my own. Writing out what they are saying helps me stay awake and focused and ensures I am actively engaging with what is being said.

2. Action points

Things pop up that sound like a good idea. I jot these down with a small empty square beside them as a check-box. This could be an exercise, a good idea I want to try or something I need to research. As the course flows, numerous checkboxes appear on most pages. The more the better!

3. Review

A day or so after the course or training, I set aside time to review my notes. If my notes don’t make sense I can usually remember enough of the presentation to jot down context. I pay special attention to those little checkboxes. I pull those to-do items into my weekly/monthly planner to ensure I do them. If I can do them there and then, they get a tick. Otherwise, the box stays empty.

4. Tags

I use narrow plastic sticky tag from Officeworks to organise my workshop or training book. For most courses I flag it with three colours: do now, do soon and do eventually. Not all gems that drop out of training are things I have the capacity, platform or interest in doing now. These tags flag check-boxes. The ‘do now’ and ‘do soon’ ones should already be in my weekly/monthly planner.

If the training is very broad or I am reading a resource book that covers everything from A to Z, I have a different set of coloured tags that flag things by the stage of my project they will be useful, ie: writing exercises and games, structure, editing, social media etc. Whilst I jot notes out of a resource book (to keep myself focused and awake) I put the coloured stickers into the resource book itself to flag the pages. Books bristling with tags get referred back to a lot. Books without any tags are less useful and will eventually be donated.

5. Review again

I set aside time around two weeks after the training to go back through the notes, reading the main points and paying special attention to the checkboxes and tags. Did I actually do these? Can I tick them off? Do I need another reminder to get them done?

6. …and again!

If the training was very good or very expensive, it’s worth a third look. I put a reminder in my diary to review the training three or six months later, depending on how useful the training was and when a review would be most helpful. By this point, the ‘do eventually’ tags should be more pertinent. Some of the ‘do now’ tags that I tried and forgot about may be worth a re-visit.

7. Reflect/assess

Some training is fantastic. Bucket-loads of great ideas drop out of it and are caught through the above strategies. Some training is so-so. I am determined to be a life-long learner, actively launching myself opportunities to stretch my mind across as many topics and perspectives as possible. Having said this, we do need to weigh up what we have invested (time and money) with what we have gained and modify our plan in the future. It’s also worth reflecting on our study practice. Is it working? Is it time to try something different?

These strategies turned me from a lazy, passive listener warming a seat in the back row into an active learner who weaves new ideas and routines into my practice. Some of these gems work for me and get pulled forward into ongoing practice. Others feel clunky and awkward, but I give them a red-hot go. I learn more from giving them a go then I would from listening to someone talking about giving them a go.

How teachable are you? What strategies do you use to implement new ideas, styles and routines into your world?

(Posted 7 May 2020. Follow me at: https://nicolewalshauthor.com/)