Friends

Many people say that one should find their own passion in life and should work towards it, but the key question is “How do I find out what I am passionate about?”.

Demonstrating curiosity and making the most of the opportunities to learn, improve and innovate is the passion of learning.

We all know the benefits of learning. If you find learning to excite, you’ll develop a passion for it, but to keep learning to be exciting, you need to find a way to make it enjoyable. I always have wish to learn new things.

We also know that learning takes lots of time, that we simply don’t have.

Yes, it is very difficult to find enough time for learning new skill as our most time is consumed around a daily commute, our everyday work, household chores, and, especially, our precious time with friends and family.

During my professional life , I could not spend enough time learning new skills with the excuse that I don’t have time . After retirement, I feel that learning new skills and knowledge is so important because not only it makes our life exciting and purposeful but also generates passive income .

Learning New Skills

And there is no excuse for the paucity of time . So I have drawn a strategy  for doing so, no matter how busy I am..

Yes, I had a challenge before me about learning a new skill and could spare enough time to do it. I have read somewhere that many of us spend 72 hours a week working, leaving precious little spare time each day which can be utilized for that purpose..

Accordingly, I have made some strategy to prioritize our goal and find time out of a busy work schedule.

Focused Learning 

Whatever we are eager to learn, first, we think of the benefit from it. And then its importance in our life. No doubt, there are so many benefits in doing so.

  We should have a strong sense of purpose when it comes to drawing up our learning objectives. I want to learn so many things at a time, but it is not possible at all. Then I have made a list of the skills and knowledge that I wanted most to learn.

Yes, I had started learning my favoured hobby of drawing and painting skills two years back. I had made goals for the year and then broke them down into short-term goals that had been added in my to do list . I am always focused on my learning . It has helped me to organize my learning time more effectively, and boost my motivation. I am happy to share that I have already made 500 sketches till now. Of course, they are not good because of my initial learning stage but certainly improving day by day.

Manage Distractions

Sometimes, I find obstacles that make it difficult to stick to my learning schedule. I get distracted often by social media and email notifications and for some other work, while I indulge in my drawing session to follow my schedule .

Now I try to manage all these distractions and usually switch off my mobile during my session . And avoid opening emails or looking at any other work until my in hand work gets finished . This is my promise to myself and try to manage manage distraction accordingly.

Set Boundaries

Yes friends, often, one of the biggest distractions is other people. You may have set aside some time for lunch break and some emergency work in between. It also helps to get refresh. Sometimes some other work requests keep on coming, which can be avoided.

We should be hard to say “no”  when this happens. But doing so assertively will definitely help us protect our valuable learning time. This doesn’t mean we should be rude with the people. Instead, be friendly but firm.

Of course, it would be unwise to ignore a genuinely urgent task that needs attention. We should make sure to prioritize what’s most critical and return to the learning plan as soon as we can.

Every Minute Count

Time is precious, and we should spend it wisely. Many of us assume that learning something new things requires large chunks of time. But we can make short blocks which can be effective and helpful to be focused.

Our efforts are to maximize the impact of every moment that we have available. I just have a look at my To-Do List on a daily basis and that has really beneficial to achieve a maximum in the available time available.

My drawing teacher has said that even if you have just 10 minutes to spare, grasp the opportunity ! Use this time to fit in a bit of extra learning. Make sure that you focus your energy effectively.

We have to , manage distraction by going somewhere, and make sure that we switch our phone off during that period.

I used to adopt some other strategies: mind mapping and focused reading. This also helps me to maximize every moment as we have limited time available.

 Make learning meaningful.

Sometimes we noticed that there was a problem in memorizing information, and not concentrating on doing the work at hand. We feel that learning new things is difficult, and not have fun. So, first we have to make it meaningful. And realize the importance of context as relevant meaningful tasks. “Learning can and should be natural, fun, and engaging.”

Yes, learning has to be meaningful and have a purpose.

Learn at Your Best

Many people opt to work on their Learning session after they have completed everything else. But, I used to schedule my learning times of the day when energy level is high. For me, Feel a little slow straight after lunch, but buzzing with energy in the morning, as such, my morning session is  used as best time of my learning .

It is true that most of us looked upon learning as something to be endured in order to get a degree, or get a proper job, and get on with living,. But that attitude of mine has been changed now. I want because it gives me happiness and boosts my confidence. I am the direct beneficiary of my learning and those who are with us also get benefited.

I am now trying to be a better conversationalist, more empathetic, more engaging, and more alive for learning new things.

Please click the link below for Budding Photographer..

BE HAPPY….BE ACTIVE….BE FOCUSED….BE ALIVE…

If you enjoyed this post, please like, follow, share, and comments

Please follow the blog on social media … visit my website to click below.

        www.retiredkalam.com 

Categories: me and my Art