Is September The New January?

September. We’re all busy; getting kids back on schedule, getting ourselves back on schedule. We may try to set our goals and resolutions at the start of the calendar year, but for most of us September is the true time for new beginnings. While you may not be buying pencils and binders, chances are you’re undertaking some new project or initiative right about now. Perhaps you’re taking some continuing education courses at a local college or finishing up your degree online. You may have signed up for a workshop or joined a group like Toastmasters to develop a new skill. Maybe you’ve just decided that this is the year you’re going to upgrade your knowledge and move forward in your chosen career. That area that you’ve decided to develop is called your ‘growing edge’. If you already know what yours is you are ahead of the game. Now let’s look at how to make the best progress possible.

Understand Your Motivation When we come to learning as adults we already have pretty full lives. Finding the time to study and learn is easier when we know why we’re doing it. Whatever your motivation is; if it’s to better service your clients, be more hireable in the future, for personal growth and enjoyment or to become the ‘go to person’ for a particular topic in your industry, be aware of it. It’ll carry you through when you need an extra little push.

Be an Active Reader Get out the highlighter, grab some post-it notes and be prepared to write in the margins. When we makes notes and mark texts we’re more involved in what we’re reading. We take in and retain more this way.

Blood Flow to the Brain Have you ever found yourself reading and then realized you have no idea what the last two pages were about? Getting regular exercise and taking frequent breaks while studying is key. It keeps the blood flowing and help those neurons keep pumping. Get up, walk around the block and breathe some air when you start to fade. The time you lose will be more than made up by renewed focus.

Learning is fun, particularly when you get to determine what you study and why. When we engage in it as a lifelong process it continually enriches, entertains and opens doors for us. Set an inspiring and motivational learning target. Apply some healthy study skills. There’s an old Chinese proverb that says “Learning is like rowing upstream; not to advance is to drop back.” Whether your classroom is a University, your laptop or a self-created reading list, press forward and you’ll be amazed by how much ground you can cover by the time the kids are out of school.