On Tuesdays, we learn - top tips for learning when you don't have time

I find it hard to make time for learning.

I know I’d be better at my job and happier if I spent more time learning, but it never feels urgent.

There are always Slack messages to answer, emails that need replies, or a cinnamon bun which I'd rather give my attention to. Sound familiar?

I’m two months into a new job and determined to do better.

So, here are my top tips to build learning into your job when you don't have time:

1.??????Learn first thing in the morning

Each week, I book myself an hour calendar slot called ‘weekly learning’.

I do it at 8.30 or 9am. In this time, I do not open email, Slack, Teams [insert productivity tool of choice] until that hour is done. I read. I watch videos. I make notes. I stare out the window.

I always feel slightly guilty during that hour. I know colleagues want things from me and I feel I should be available.

Realistically, it’s 60 minutes, and my colleagues probably don’t notice.

If I do this later in the day, I tend to move the hour or work through it.

Book the hour in for first thing, before you get swept up by the rhythm of the day. And don’t open anything with notifications.

2.??????Do it on a Tuesday

Mondays get the week in motion. By Thursday, my brain is fuzzy with thoughts.

Tuesday is my sweet spot - I feel like I have a good hunk of the week left and I’m fresh enough to think properly. ?

When is your sweet spot?

If you work part time, juggle caring responsibilities or shifts, think about the shape of your week and where you have peak energy and brain power. That’s when you’ll learn best.

3.??????Get to know your learning style

I like reading articles and I take notes to stay focused. I struggle with live webinars (my attention drifts) and I can only watch so many videos before the information slides off me.

My brother (hey Ben) seems to learn and code best when he’s got an American TV sitcom playing in the background. A good friend can only learn in total silence.

Know yourself, know how you learn, and do that.

Bonus tip: Screw what anyone else thinks of your learning style.

If you learn best watching back-to-back YouTube videos in the bath whilst wearing a woolly hat, do that (yes, this is a real person).

4.??????Book external training

It’s easier to keep a commitment to someone else than to yourself.

When you book external training, it’s a date you can’t move, your colleagues (hopefully) respect that you’re busy and you get to learn with and from other people.

If your organisation is a bit slack about training, do some online hunting and send your line manager three options.

Make at least one option absurdly expensive and the other two reasonable (so the option you want looks better). Make a case for why you need it and how it will help you and your organisation.

Most managers respect someone who leans into learning. Be that person.

5.??????Work out your why

Why do you want to learn? Do you want to make a career move? Does it bring you joy? Do you want to feel more confident in your subject?

I’m motivated by mastery (thanks Tom Wynne-Morgan for this insight) so I get a kick from knowing a subject really well.

I also write and speak a lot. This motivates me to learn so I feel more confident (aka less panicked) in what I’m saying when I’m standing in front of an audience.

Bonus tip: if you want to learn something really well, teach it to someone else.

6.??????Go to a conference or event

I have my best ideas when I’m sitting in a conference room half-listening to someone else speak.

This sounds narcissistic, but I think listening to ideas outside of my usual frame of reference makes my brain spark.

Last week, a colleague returned from a conference in Edinburgh – he said he was tired but also really refreshed.

We spend so much time with our heads down, working hard. We need new ideas and new people to lift our heads up and spark those learning neurons.

7.??????Keep a record

If you enjoy the dopamine hit of ticking things off a list, write down what you read, what you’ve learned and where you’ve been.

Caveat: this won’t work for everyone. If you’re not a list-fiend, don’t bother.

8.??????Be kind to yourself when you don’t learn

All work habits go through seasons. We commit to our learning hour, then we get slammed with a project / deadline / LIFE and it falls off a cliff.

This is inevitable.

The sooner we accept that our habits are seasonal, the more likely we are to stick with them.

I cannot possibly balance work, exercise, creativity, socialising, community, family and everything else with a consistent learning pattern. I would burn out.

Instead, I choose seasons of work and learning, seasons of art, seasons of socialising and I shift between them.

Pick a learning season and build in a weekly a pattern. Then forgive yourself when it doesn’t work and pick it up again when you can.

How do you learn best?

Share your tips and tricks - I’m always interested in how other people learn.

For my fellow user-centred design nerds out there, here’s what I read in my learning hour this week:

Design thinking was supposed to fix the world. Where did it go wrong? - Rebecca Ackermann

Let’s talk about sex* - Emma Parnell

Do you need another map? Probably not - Vicky Houghton-Price?