5 essentials to building a personal learning cloud

Do you have an uneasy feeling about continuous learning? About the need to take initiative and be proactive about it? You don’t have to be. These 5 steps will ease you into it and make you realize that you can indeed do it, and with joy. And stay with it, too.

Continuous learning is a must these days. A recent issue of the Harvard Business Review (March-April 2019) tapped into the topic, specifically about building a personal learning cloud. A personal learning cloud is the idea of ongoing learning put into action, that means, each of us builds their own collection of new information, of resources, of links, of certifications, online training courses, whatever is helping you to learn and advance in your field. This collection is your cloud.

This sounds all great, but how to start? What would be 5 essentials in successfully building one for yourself or initiating building such for others?

First comes the attitude. You need an inner “Yes” to the fact that you need to take initiative regarding learning. What can you do if you just don’t have this attitude (yet)? If you are resisting, just don’t see the point, or really feel you don’t have time? Surround yourself with people who do have the attitude, who do something about ongoing learning. It will rub off. You might just not have been exposed to the need of it yet, maybe everything has worked just fine so far without learning. Listen to a TedX or podcast of a topic of interest to you. Pick up a business magazine and just put it on the coffee table. And keep doing so while giving yourself grace and time.

Got the right attitude? Then comes making the attitude tangible, building this cloud. It includes strategizing, prioritizing, scheduling. Depending on your position the focus could be more on soft skills or hard skills. it could mean working on a certificate, visiting workshops, participating in training organized by HR. It also includes anything less structured or “official”: Reading business magazines, a good book, listening to podcasts. Stress level going up again? Relax. You work enough. Make continuous learning joy. How?

Go natural. See what way to build fits you. Be you. Don’t just do it the way others do it. Find a way that fits you. You love to read and have the time for it? Great. Busy driving a lot? Listen to podcasts. Listen and drive. Or listen and cook. Listen and do laundry. See where and how learning can fit organically into your schedule without it adding stress. What area of your field are you most curious about, are you good at and are naturally curious to learn more about? Focus on it. Build on it. Again, be yourself. If necessary and none around you shares your attitude, dare to be the odd ball. Then, next to learning about your field, include learning about yourself. Strong soft skills are key these days, so investing into it will pay off. Expand your network. See what platform works for you, may it be LinkedIn or something else. Connect with (the right) people. Reading an inspiring blog post adds to your cloud. Also, be honest to yourself about how self-directed you learn. Are you very self-motivated? Then learning can be very spontaneous, too. Need a little push? Schedule time when you want to invest into your learning. When lacking self-motivation, having others keep you accountable or being part of a training program can be the solution. The key is: What works for you so that you really make learning happen and that it (although it might be work) gives you joy and not additional stress?

Now this next step is maybe my favorite. Me personally, I’m such a head-oriented person, that I might learn and devour one book or course after the other, but not care to live by it. So, this step is: Apply what you learn, put it into action. If need be, with the help from outside by making yourself accountable to someone. I suggest that when you have read, listened to, learned something, make it a routine to take a few minutes along with a notebook, open document on your laptop or whatever works for you, and take note of how you could make practical use at work of what you have learned. Next, put into your schedule the what, when, where and how of the implementation. Set reminders, write a sticky note, do whatever it takes to really put it into action, no matter how rudimentary. If you think the new information can not be applied at your workplace yet, no worries, you took note and it’s all about forming a habit. The rule here is: Whatever you learned, what action step goes with it?

You have the right attitude. You are building your learning cloud. You are applying it. Now multiply it. There is something unexplainable about giving. It will come back to you. So this step is about sharing with others what you have learned. About influencing them, teaching them. It’s first and foremost about the attitude again. It could happen in the form of a one-liner. It could be in a quality conversation. It could go as far as teaching a course, but it doesn’t have to. Dropping little bits of “goodies” here and there can be totally enough to keep a flow. Not in an arrogant top-down, know-it-all attitude, but just being you, willing to inspire.

There you go. You did it. But wait. Weeks and months go by. You got a demanding season at work, maybe the flu hits, a new baby keeps you up at night and - lo and behold - your learning cloud is deflating. What now? Totally normal. We are not machines, we are humans. The key is - and this is step number 5 - to pick it up again. Take a deep breath. Give yourself grace. Put that magazine back on the coffee table, and maybe at night when you rock that baby, you can take a glance at the cover. Go step by step. Anything little is better than nothing. Repeat. Be in it for the long run, with all ups and downs. And as you go, this cloud will develop. You will learn, possibly shift focus, add new areas of interest. And you will be right on track with the times.

Let’s azurate.

Christiane

(This article first appeared as a blog post on azurate.com in June 2019.)