Three tips for effectively planning learning time at work [Article]

Finding time to learn at work can be daunting. Hundreds of emails, piling up tasks, follow-up reminders, and slow texts all at your door don’t really leave time for your brain to think about learning. The brain is a muscle and without training it every day it weakens. Having a workplace that values ​​learning can certainly change the efficiency of an organization. But what’s the use if you don’t know how to plan your learning time? You can check out our other article on how to create a learning culture in the workplace here. Below are three tips you can use to effectively plan your learning time at work.

Tip no. 1. Allocate time on your calendar

This advice is the most obvious but also the most effective. Blocking regularly scheduled time on your calendar ensures that learning time is at the fore whenever you open your calendar, and you will ensure that others do not mistakenly schedule meetings that conflict with your desired learning dates and times.

Blocking out time on your calendar also gives insight into the importance of learning. You won’t schedule something that doesn’t make sense on your calendar.

Tip no. 2. Prioritize what you want to learn

Learning is fun, but sometimes we get derailed and start learning or researching things we shouldn’t have been doing at the time. There’s nothing wrong with a constant thirst for knowledge, but at work you may want to stay focused on your initial learning goal. Especially if you need to learn a specific skill for your role or want to branch out and step into a new role.

The best way to make sure you learn what you need is to prioritize. Consider your learning goals and write a list of things you need to learn. An example could be:

Topics to learn this quarter:

• CSS basics
• HTML basics
• C# Basics

Once you have the basics of what you want to learn, you can break those topics down into smaller lists. A task manager like Trello, Monday or Asana might be useful for this.

Tip no. 3. Use the Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method devised by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s and still used today. This technique works well if you’re short on time or have trouble concentrating for extended periods.

With this technique, you can prioritize what you want to learn for 25 minutes at a time and take breaks in between. Not only does it give your brain enough rest for when you recover, but it avoids feeling overwhelmed as you only focus on one task at a time.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Choose a single activity to focus on.
2. Set a timer for 25 minutes and work only on the selected activity.
3. After 25 minutes take a five minute break.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 four times.
5. Take a longer break of about 15-30 minutes.

https://pomofocus.io/

Maintain consistency

These three tips should help you start learning on the job with the right foot forward. Keep in mind that this alone may not work for everyone right off the bat. Experiment with your learning and see what works best for you. Trial and error will be your best teacher. Watch Tree house and become a lifelong student with us! Happy learning!