As the old saying goes, you are never done learning and that is especially true if you wish to grow in your profession and take your career to the next level. You must be aware that nowadays employees and companies are always on the lookout for people with a growth mindset.
Self-education is the most critical and valuable skill you can learn. Many of the things that you know how to do, you have picked up on your own.
Value of Self-Education
Nowadays, a college degree is just not enough to get a good job. Only a self-directed and motivated learner can stand out in a job interview.Teach yourself new things so that you can take advantage of the new jobs and opportunities created by new technology .
How to Learn Anything Easily
Learning is easy for people who possess the following qualities:
1.Curiosity
Curious people are always interested in learning new things and feel unhappy when they discover that they lack knowledge about certain things. They see new ideas as challenges and show enthusiasm in understanding them.
2.Patience
Depending on how complex a topic is, learning can be highly time-consuming and frustrating. You have to encounter new terms, models and a whole lot of irrelevant information. There is no one to guide you to make sure you move from basics to the advanced concepts. Patience with your topic and yourself is crucial.
3.Figuring out how things are connected
This is the most difficult talent to inculcate, when you start with a new topic. You have to connect it with what you already know. The more attention you pay to these connections, the easier it is to learn new concepts.
Educate yourself Effectively
Learning is a highly personal process and there is such a wide variety of subjects to learn.With learning attitude by your side, you can get off to a very good start by following these set of steps:
1.Identify the subject you wish to learn
The first step is to pick the skill or subject that you want to learn. The idea should be specific and not vague. The next step is to set a goal for yourself. You can break the goal into several smaller goals so that you have an action plan to get started. This gives you benchmarks to monitor your progress. Choose personally meaningful goals.
You can also consider just-in-time learning where you learn new information or skills as they become relevant, without any goal oriented approach.
2.Determine your Learning Style
After choosing the learning goal, determine how you learn best. However, if you learn well in multiple ways, experiment to find out what works best for you. Different techniques like reading, watching videos, making flash cards, learning projects, and traditional classrooms can be considered. A mix of different techniques can also be tried for effective learning.
3.Look for Available Resources
Today, you have almost unlimited resources available at your fingertips. If you are totally new to a subject, find out the existing curricula or learning resources, in order to put together a more personalized plan.
Focus on resources that are meant for absolute beginners so that you do not miss the fundamentals. Then you can move on to the work of experts. Choose the resources that work best for your style. The resources include blogs by researchers, articles, ebooks, guides, online courses, workshops, seminars, presentations, in-person classes and demonstrations, video tutorials, forums, websites, magazines, library books, reference manuals etc.
4.Just get started
You may also jump right in and get started without any planning or research. Experiences can turn out to be the best teachers sometimes.
5.Learn in Sprints and schedule time
Learn things in two-week sprints. Every two weeks, focus on a particular aspect of the skill in your practice session. This way you won’t be bored. It also allows you to evaluate your progress.
Give yourself a deadline, and work out a schedule to reach that deadline.
6.Practice incessantly
Practice deliberately with complete focus on the activity. This way, you are honest and are in constant search of improvement. There develops a better understanding and memory. A lot of books offer exercises and self-test. Online assessment is also available.
7.Network
Try to find a partner or a mentor so that you stay accountable to your goals and the learning timeline. If that person has some expertise or experience in the area you are trying to master, you can turn to them when you get stuck. They will act as sources of enlightenment as well as encouragement.
You can broaden your horizons and learn new things from different people. When you ask questions, seek clarifications, you might be receiving some valuable information..
Social networks like online communities, conferences, friends, etc. are powerful sources of understanding and knowledge. Networking also allows you to test the knowledge that you have acquired against others’ understandings, giving you an opportunity to grow and develop further.
By putting full-time effort into learning something, you can progress very quickly. Learning not only serves practical purposes but is also a source of pure joy. It is exciting, immersive and rewarding.
Never let anything make you set aside the possibility of learning. History is full of self-taught successes.
