Getting the Most Out of Your Time - For Further Education

With time management, it’s easy to detect the time wasters and get rid of them with discipline. And with billable hours, it's just a matter of using time and billing software. But what about those activities that further your professional skills? There’s so much information out there, it’s easy to be running around to webinars, conferences, articles, books, and more. This can be overwhelming. So which one deserves more attention? Which one has a lower ROI? To get the most out of your time, try learning according to your learning preference. If it fits you better, it’s less of a struggle to learn. For all types, make sure you prioritize and not be too ambitious. We will treat each type individually. Which one are you? For The OrganizedrnLook at your calendar and go beyond all those scheduled webinars and tweetchats. Try scheduling some time for just reading and self-study. Having it on your calendar, you are in control over your time. And treat it like an appointment. Do something almost ceremonial to put yourself in that zone. It can be as simple as lighting a candle or going to your favorite reading spot. For The Sporadic OnernTwitter may be a good fit. Receiving information in real time would work better for you. Try following some thought leaders in Twitter and make a Twitter list just for them. Read or just scan the articles they recommend. Don’t have the time to read them just then? Bookmark the article with Delicious.com and read it later when you have the time. For The StudentrnTry taking a class. There are some classes that only are one day a week for a month. Scheduling it makes it more “official” and in a class you are more committed and focused. With the homework – which I could imagine wouldn’t be that rigorous – there’s a sense of accountability. No class available? See if there’s a webinar for it. Many of them are free. For The ReaderrnSo many books - so little time. What to do? Try an hour a day on a single book to better your profession. Just an hour, now. We want to pace ourselves. Have more than one book you’re reading? Start off with one book and make some headway through it before going to another one. For The Social ButterflyrnProfessional events and tweetchats would be better. In events, you can interact with your contemporaries and ask questions with the presenter. Can’t make those? Try tweetchats. It’s exactly what it’s called: it’s a chat event that people on twitter engage. It’s super easy (and free) to join the conversation. Questions are asked by the moderator and people respond to it. You meet some really friendly and helpful people on Twitter. Don’t forget the individual studies. Start with only 15 minutes of reading per day. You would be surprised how quickly you can get through a book. For The Family GuyrnUse your own judgment to assess with of the other categories you fall in. If you have more time, try attending an event from a local professional club. If you have less time, try reading an hour a day from either a book or articles recommended by the thought leaders you could follow on Twitter. Experiment and see what works for you. These are good starters to get you going in furthering your professional education. Experiment and see what works for you.