What do you do if your ongoing education is taking up too much time as a customer support professional?

If ongoing education as a customer support professional is becoming too time-consuming, it's important to reassess priorities and find a balance. Consider discussing with your manager or supervisor about managing workload expectations to accommodate educational commitments. Look for ways to streamline your learning process, such as focusing on key areas relevant to your role or leveraging online resources that offer efficient and targeted training. Additionally, try to allocate specific times for learning during less busy periods to minimize disruption to your customer support responsibilities. Finding a sustainable balance between professional development and daily tasks is key to maintaining productivity and growth in your role.

Allocate specific time slots each day or week dedicated to your education. This could be before or after work hours, during breaks, or on weekends.

Identify the most critical aspects of your ongoing education and focus on those that align with your career goals or immediate job responsibilities

Setting priorities is a sound way to keep on track. Also being aware of when you need to shift priorities as life goes on is arguably even more important. Goals may change and then so too must the priority.

Support others when they need it and seek out leaders that will support you as well. Don’t confuse managers for leaders, anyone that does not value supporting your personal development and limits your potential is not offering you guidance. Leaders will get the best out of you, bad managers simply want to best you.

Look for ways to make your learning more efficient, such as using audiobooks or podcasts during commutes, utilizing online courses with flexible schedules, or studying in bite-sized chunks during downtime at work.

Efficiency can be important, but should never be confused with effectiveness. It’s important to recognize if your effort to be the most efficient doesn’t produce effective results you have a problem

Regularly assess the effectiveness of your ongoing education efforts and adjust as needed. It's okay to scale back or refocus if necessary.

Finding the right balance between your job and ongoing education may take some trial and error, but with careful planning and perseverance, it's possible to manage both effectively.