Unfocused and going nowhere fast

Is this how you feel? Do you feel this way all the time, or just on certain days? Are you overall just disappointed where you are in your career? Or where you are in your career at this point in your life?

If this is you, on today, on all days, or on any day then its time to change it up a little in your day-to-day life. People say “set a goal” ok that is so general – what goal? And what about all the goals you have set up to this point? Did they matter? Did you achieve them? Do you even know how to set a goal that matters?

If I know anything after having a life, is that it changes when we least expect it. We get good news, bad news, people come in and out of our life, and sometimes change happens so fast – our life changes on a dime. No one likes to change like that – no one.

You may find yourself unfocused and going nowhere fast. We know we need change; we know we need focus. We know we want to be somewhere other than where we are. We know that “goals” achievement can make a difference.

Life changes and we are forced to change with it. What if we decide we are going to make the changes, and life will go with it? This is the key for me, and I wanted to share it with you. I decided – yes, I am going to roll with the punches, and then I am also going to throw some.

For me it was forcing myself to do something that I knew I could not do, because I tried it and was terrible at it. It was running. Disclaimer: Someone like me who averages 10.5-to-11-minute miles is hardly considered a runner but tell my body that… because it clearly thinks its running.

When I started, I couldn’t run more than a 15-minute pace and less than .35 of mile. It was depressing. I realized if the zombie apocalypse did go down – I was going to get eaten in the first rounds. So, I set a goal – run a half marathon in 8 months. It felt unrealistic, but I knew that I needed to prepare, and I needed to learn all things that I didn’t know.

What I discovered is that I could tackle achieving this goal a little bit every day before the final months where it would get intense, and I would be prepared for those intense days.

Learning data analytics is no different. You have little to no experience and you can be eaten alive in a matter of minutes. Look at it this way there is nowhere but up.

Set yourself up for the days it is going to get intense, by preparing all the days before.

If you are interested in pursuing data but unsure, or if you just want to gain more data literacy keep scrolling. I have developed a 14 day plan for you with a few checkpoints along the way. My hope is that you can get started and it will be enough for you to know if you should continue the pursuit, and well, I hope you'll continue your pursuit. For each day the first video in each chapter is linked for your convenience.

Just like I have tracked every run, its good to document where you are at in the process of learning data. You can just gauge yourself but keep this document handy. Here are few questions to answer to get you started.

Checkpoint 1: Start your personal documentation. Ask yourself a few questions.

1. Why am I doing this?
2. What do I think I know about data analysis today?
3. How would I define a data analyst?
4. What tools do I use today on data, and what is my experience level with them?
5. What do I hope to gain after I am done with this?

Learning Data Analytics - Total Time Commitment: 1h 39m

Day 1: 35m - Getting Started with Data Analysis - Defining data analysis and data analyst (linkedin.com), Fundamentals of Data Understanding - Learning to identify data (linkedin.com), Key Elements to Understand when Starting Data Analysis - Learning to interpret existing data (linkedin.com)

Day 2: 26m - Getting Started with a Data Project - Getting started with data best practices (linkedin.com), Repurposing Data versus Remanufacturing Data -Repurposing data (linkedin.com), Working with Business Data- Understanding business rules (linkedin.com)

Day 3 - 37m - Chart Data Anytime and Anywhere - Building basic charts visual (linkedin.com), Pivot Data Anytime and Anywhere, Build in basic pivots (linkedin.com), Excel Tips and Tricks for Data Analysts - Selecting data and naming data (linkedin.com)

Checkpoint 2: Document your progress. Review your first answers on before you got started, and now it’s time to ask yourself a few questions.

1. Did I learn anything new?
2. Did anything make me curious?
3. Did I look forward to the content coming next?

Learning Data Analytics: 1 Foundations, Total time commitment: 3h 29m

Day 4: 50m - Getting Started with Data Analysis - Defining data analysis and data analyst (linkedin.com) , Fundamentals of Data Understanding - Learning to identify data (linkedin.com)

Day 5: 57m - Key Element to Understand when Starting Data Analysis - Learning to interpret existing data (linkedin.com), Getting Started with a?Data Project - Getting started with data projects (linkedin.com)

Day 6: 27m - Data Importing, Exporting, and Connections - Learning about data governance (linkedin.com)

Day 7: 40m - Getting Started with Data Cleaning and Modeling - Understanding ETL in data (linkedin.com)

Day 8: 31m - Applying Common Techniques for All Data Analysts, Convert data in Power Query (linkedin.com)

Checkpoint 3: Document your progress. Review your last check point questions and answers and then ask yourself a few questions.

1. Did I learn anything new?
2. Did I gain a deeper understanding of anything??
3. Did anything make me curious?
4. Did I look forward to the content coming next?
5. Did I implement or attempt any of the techniques learned?

Learning Data Analytics Part 2: Extending and Applying Core Knowledge- Days 9 - 11

Day 9: 50m - Working with Business Data - Understanding business rules (linkedin.com), Building Data Sets with Queries - Understanding queries (linkedin.com)

Day 10: 32m - Chart Data Anytime and Anywhere - Ad hoc reporting (linkedin.com)

Day 11: 27m - Pivot Data Anytime and Anywhere - What are pivots? (linkedin.com)

Checkpoint 4: Review your last check point questions and answers and then ask yourself a few questions.

1.?????Did I learn anything new?

2.?????Did I gain a deeper understanding of anything??

3.?????Did anything make me curious?

4.?????Did I look forward to the content coming next?

5.?????Did I implement or attempt any of the techniques learned?

Learning Data Analytics Part 2: Extending and Applying Core Knowledge- Days 12 thru 14

Day 12: 41m - Building in Power BI Desktop - Building dashboards (linkedin.com)

Day 13: 22m - Power Query Tips and Tricks for Data Analysts - Using column profile to learn the data (linkedin.com)

Day 14: 26m - Presenting Data in Meetings - Consider how to present data in meetings (linkedin.com)

Final Checkpoint 5: Review your last check point questions and answers and then ask yourself a few questions.

1.?????Did I learn anything new?

2.?????Did I gain a deeper understanding of anything??

3.?????Did anything make me curious?

4.?????Did I implement or attempt any of the techniques learned?

5.?????What I am going to do next in my pursuit?

Once you have completed let us know how you did, what you learned, and just keep learning.