Following on from my previous post about how I’m tackling being furloughed, I’ve been chatting to a couple of people recently about how I’ve settled on some learning opportunities during this period and I thought the tips might be useful to share.
To be honest, it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with the extra time I’ve found myself with. I’m now on week three of furlough and it’s only really this week that I’ve got into a proper self-learning programme. I spent the first couple of weeks really doing things that were more about being kind to myself, I did lots of baking, knitting and reading and didn’t try to force it. Towards the end of last week, I naturally started to feel like I wanted to do more and started looking at options.
I appreciate that many people have not suddenly got more time on their hands, in fact the opposite is true for many. But for those that are looking for a personal development opportunity I wanted to share the steps I went through and the questions I asked myself:
What are your short term and long term goals?
This could be career or personal goals. Remember that learning doesn’t just need to be about your career, it could be something more personal like developing skills to build a new hobby. You may want to work on something that will contribute to your CV for future roles, or you may want to develop a skill that will benefit your current job
I had recently completed a one, three and ten year goal setting exercise with my line manager which I went back to during this process. It is worth taking some time to write this down and think through what would help you to achieve those goals.
What is your budget?
Making a big financial commitment right now is probably not high on the to do list for many people and that was certainly the case for me; but deciding how much you can afford to or are willing to invest is a key step – come up with a figure and stick to it. It’s ok if this is ‘nothing’.
Do you need a formal qualification?
Going back to your goals, is this something you want to do for the sake of the knowledge itself or do your goals need a certificate or professional learning points to achieve your personal outcome? Many online courses have variable prices for how much you get access to, for example, this might include a certificate or specific assignments for an extra price.
How much time do you have?
This was a difficult one for me. Right now, I have lots of time but the unknown factor is how long I will have that time for. I may be called back to work in a couple of weeks or may find I have another month to play with. It’s worth thinking through whether a bitesize, modular approach or a longer-term programme fit better with your circumstances or goals.
What is your learning style?
There are lots of options for how to learn with online study and everyone is different. Ask yourself both what you enjoy, what motivates you and what will make knowledge ‘stick’.
Your ability to self-motivate is also an important factor. Some courses will be self-paced with no deadlines where others will have deadlines, set assignments or perhaps access to a real-life person online to keep you accountable. This may be limited by cost and the type of skill you want to develop, but it’s important to reflect personally and honestly on this one.
What factors impacted my decision?
Based on my goals and circumstances it was really important to me that I kept the cost to a minimum, which aligned well with the fact that what I wanted to do was about personal knowledge rather getting qualified for something specific. I am also self-motivated and happy to learn at my own pace as long as I have access to good resources. I know I like a test and learn style, with lots of opportunities to try my new knowledge in a practical way.
Based on my goals, I wanted to do a mixture of things with some short and long-term benefits so opted for a mix and match approach where I could achieve something tangible in a few weeks but could build that knowledge further with more modules if more time came to me.
What have I decided to do?
Finance for Operations Directors course with Go Skills – this is self-paced learning with lots of clear explanations and exercises. I’m hoping to fulfil a non-executive director role later this year and this will support both my ability and confidence in this area.
Coaching and leadership – Coursera offer an ‘Inspired Leadership’ specialism which looks like it has some great modules. I’m particularly interested in the role of coaching, leadership and culture within workplace wellbeing so this one will be materially beneficial to achieving my job role when I return from furlough.
The Science of Wellbeing – this one is a well-known course from Yale but they are offering it for free around the pandemic outbreak, also via Coursera. I feel very much that I need to keep up with the wellbeing conversation during my time away to be able to plan and strategise effectively for the best approach in the future. The modular approach will work well for the unknown time period I find myself in.
During this time, it may be difficult to focus or you might feel guilty for doing something for yourself. I will admit to feelings of guilt or feeling selfish but really the most effective thing I can do is stay at home right now and adding something fulfilling to my days is helping me deal mentally with the situation and making me feel happier through identifying a sense of purpose and allowing myself to think about a brighter future.
I’ll update on progress in a few weeks time.
Anna x
Mrs Davison: Project 39 