I'm sure you recognize this:
'This year, I'm really going to focus on developing my professional skillset and learning more.' January comes first, February has passed just as quickly, the month of March is already halfway through, again too late. Okay, no, we really start in April! Failed again...
Do you also have that feeling that you really want it, but every time you fail because you don't know how to do it right?
Well, we'll help you to get it all sorted out!
It all has to do with building the right learning habits. But how do you create such a good learning habit?
'This year, I'm really going to focus on developing my professional skillset and learning more.' January comes first, February has passed just as quickly, the month of March is already halfway through, again too late. Okay, no, we really start in April! Failed again...
Do you also have that feeling that you really want it, but every time you fail because you don't know how to do it right?
Well, we'll help you to get it all sorted out!
It all has to do with building the right learning habits. But how do you create such a good learning habit?
We have 5 tips to help you create learning habits.
1. Define your why
Everything starts with your why. Why do you want to learn? It is crucial to have a specific goal in mind. Without a truly meaningful reason, it will be challenging to create a learning habit. Establish your purpose and motivation because that is what gets you started and keeps you going.
2. Make a schedule
Learning does not happen by itself. It is essential to schedule learning moments in your diary. Moreover, it is crucial to make these learning moments visual as a reminder and a hold on to yourself. Research also shows that it is better to learn based on specific learning moments than when you only learn sporadically. Regular learning, according to a particular schedule, will ensure that you will grow a learning habit that will positively influence your learning effort for the long term.
3.Split your main goal into small bite-sized sub-tasks.
It's better to learn four times a quarter of an hour, instead of one time an hour. This way, you'll better digest the information you've learned. Moreover, you will make progress in small steps, which will motivate you to continue to the end. Start with 5 minutes. 5 minutes of new knowledge. Sounds pretty doable, no? The next week you can increase those to 10 or even 15 minutes. Before you know it learning in small increments is one of your best habits.
4. Integrate learning into your daily structure
Not only is it important to plan when and what you are going to study, but it is also essential to build this learning moment into your daily structure. Try to find a rhythm, try to be consistent. Only in this way will it really become a habit and part of your life.
For example, it can help you plan your study time every Monday and Wednesday after your coffee in the morning. Or maybe on Tuesday and Thursday evening after you had dinner. In this way, you will always be mentally and emotionally prepared for this learning moment because it's linked to another event. Because of this preparation, you will be more productive, and the return on investment will be higher.
5. Don't procrastinate your learning time.
Something unexpected may come up, that you can't keep your planning at that moment. It happens, and that's okay. But make sure that you are back on the right track as soon as possible. Never skip on the goal twice. When you postpone your learning, it will suffer. Your learning efforts will become less effective, and you may not reach the goal you set yourself. Besides, procrastination can cause you to want to compensate for the missed time at another time, but this, in turn, will cause you to not process the subject matter as efficiently as you would otherwise.
We hope that with these five tips, you will successfully reach your learning goals in 2021. Go for more in 2021. Make learning a habit.
Spark that positive change in your life!