HOW TO MANAGE YOUR LEARNING

All around, people are broadening their knowledge, acquiring skills to meet the demands of modern day society and developing a better understanding of the world and themselves.Managing your learning is not that different from managing anything else. It requires good planning, use of effective methods, control over the learning resources and constant assessement of your progress.

All the signs are there

The tools, the resources, the methods, the teachers, the facts are all there. You can learn not just online but everywhere in your environment; at home, at work, at school. Everyone, young and old, is discovering the power and the benefits of learning and jumping at the chance to develop useful life and business skills.

The present circumstances call for a different course of action whereas learning is concerned. No longer is learning limited to the classroom and you needn’t wait for anyone to decide what, when you will learn and why for that matter. There is no set curriculum and no deadlines for the most part, unless you have opted for an online course with distinct rules you have to follow. You can begin learning anything of interest, of use or necessity to you but how can you be sure you are making the most of the experience?

Learn for business or pleasure

You can’t learn anything overnight. Some learning takes priority over other. Make a list of things you wish to learn. You can break them down into must learn, need to learn, and want to learn. When you have to choose between learning a foreign language which will qualify you for a position and one which you like the sound of but you will never use, there’s no contest.

All is not in a day’s work

Have a certain time frame in mind- days, weeks, months- you are willing to put in to acquire the knowledge you seek. Keep it realistic; you needn’t rush learning. Use a calendar to mark the days you will work on the subject of your choice and also allow for extra time since daily distractions, last minute emergencies, and holidays tend to take you off course.

A variety of resources

Do some preliminary research to note down the basic concepts and essentials of the topic in question. Study different sources. Keep all the information, notes, articles, pictures, videos, tapes, tables, graphs, maps, and other related literature together to use for reference. Have a learning log or journal and note down what new information you are picking up, what made an impression, what you can use at work and what you need to look further into.

Your know best

Set aside some time daily or weekly for your learning pursuit. Disciplining yourself is not such hard work considering the fact that you can forgo all you dread in the learning process and adopt all the means which you feel comfortable with. Choose the method that works for you. Studying, reading , observing, researching, experimenting, outlining, rote-learning, participating are common knowledge but everyone learns in his own unique way. No one can tell you how to learn but of all the ways you have been taught only you know what works for you. Use it to facilitate and enhance your learning experience.

Learning never stops

The fun in learning is that it is an endless pursuit. No matter how well you master something, new branches of knowledge will emerge with time. Once you set about on the learning path there is no saying what new interests will arise. To avoid becoming overwhelmed, you need to keep as sense of proportion. Focus on your learning objective, understand the concept, work out the learning method or process and appreciate the knowledge it offers you before you go off in discovery of something else.

Being in charge of your learning requires commitment. Since there is no one there to assess your progress, you owe it to yourself to set aside some time for self-improvement through learning. See it as the opportunity it is. Learning is a blessing and not a necessary evil. Learning always pays off sooner or later and the more you engage in it the faster the rewards will come.