I am a learning/self development junkie so I’m very excited that it’s learning at work week 2022! This year the theme is ‘learning uncovered’ which has three strands:
- learning potential
- hidden powers
- new dimensions
I think the first strand is the most powerful because everything else begins from understanding – and stretching – your potential. In this post I’m going to look at five easy and free ways to benefit from lifelong learning. But first…
Why bother with lifelong learning?
There are people out there who just don’t see the point in learning – maybe you’re one of them. Learning is something children are forced to do, sitting in musty classrooms and dreaming of the day they will be grown up and finally free.
But life doesn’t work like that. Leaving education usually means discovering a whole new set of learning situations: work, managing finances, running a house, bringing up children – the list goes on.
Being open to learning has many benefits such as:
Increasing resilience
Life is uncertain – the last two years have certainly proven that. Being open to learning can’t protect you from massive upheavals that are out of your control, but it can make you more resilient. Not only by being able to develop new skills, but also through helping to develop a growth mindset. Being more open to change makes you more able to make informed decisions.
Building confidence
Mastering something new helps build confidence. And it works the other way too – the more confident you feel about your ability to learn, the easier it becomes. A virtuous cycle – what’s not to like?
Beating the ageing process
You never lose your ability to learn. Stretching yourself to learn new things, whatever your age, can help to keep you more youthful and, some studies have shown, reduces cognitive ageing and may slow the onset of dementia.
Five simple and free ways to engage with lifelong learning
The only assumption I’m making here is that you have access to a PC, smartphone or tablet. (You are reading this post, after all!)
Teach or mentor others.
I’ve written a post about how helping others to learn boosts your own understanding of a topic. Helping colleagues at work to master something you’re good at will help you to become the recognised expert in no time. No colleagues? Start a blog – you can create one for free with WordPress.
Make the most of your daily commute.
There are podcasts on thousands of topics – so why not download some and use your daily commute to work as an opportunity to learn something new? Delays and traffic jams will be far less frustrating if you feel like you are still achieving something. (Needless to say – make sure you listen safely and are not distracted when walking or driving.) And if you don’t travel to work? Listening to podcasts during tedious house-hold chores is a really good use of time.
Sign up for free online courses
If you like a structured approach to learning, there are lots of free online courses on a wide range of topics. Here are a few options to get you started:
The Open University offer around a 1000 free courses on a wide range of topics.
Coursera have thousands of free-to-take online courses using material from top universities, as does Alison. If you want to learn a language, Duolingo offers fun and free courses in over 30 languages.
Get the reading habit
Reading is probably the easiest way to discover new ideas. Joining a library is free and most offer e-books, audio books and access to newspapers.
Turn everyday activities in to a chance to try something new.
Such as exploring different cuisines by researching and testing out new recipes. (Ok, this one isn’t technically free, but we all need to eat…)
Or dive into an everyday topic you don’t know much about and see if you can master it. This could be anything from taking control of your personal finances by discovering how a spreadsheet can help you set up and control budgets to fixing an old bicycle.
Above all…
Stay curious!
Discover more about Learning at Work Week 2022 at www.campaign-for-learning.org.uk, including their Daily Doodle Challenge.