Learning Habits
Learning Habits
Pandemic 2020.
Half of the world was sent home. The joy of not having to travel to work every single day was so short-lived. Amidst all the household chores, cooking four meals a day, making sure the kids attend their online school, and the added responsibilities of keeping everyone in the family safe, sanitizing everything, and washing hands, my partner and I totally lost ourselves. Careers definitely have taken a back seat.
After overcoming this stressful and intense initial phase of adapting to the new normal and forming new routines, I eyed an opportunity for myself here. With no time getting wasted in dressing up and commuting to and from the office, I planned to utilize this time to upskilling myself.
With newfound motivation and no concrete plan, I set out on my learning journey. It did not work. I tried remaining committed to my goal and planned to dedicate my late nights or early mornings to work on them. That did not work either.
It was then I realized that learning was more than waking up one day and deciding to pick up something new. Although intrinsic motivation opens the door, it is the ‘plan for implementation’ that makes it effective.
As I was looking for ways to integrate learning into my daily flow, I got particularly convinced about these practices which I have tried.
1. Design habits so they fit around your routine. — I tried to spare half an hour every day for my personal learning/reading and the time slot was after lunch. I chose this slot because in the mornings I am usually in a rush to start the day’s work and in the evening I am in a rush to wind down. The afternoon seemed like a perfect time when things were settled and quiet. because everyone is fed. I tried this routine for few weeks and it fit so well into my day. Just like a missing piece of the puzzle.
2. Theme of the month — Based my learnings and actions on one particular theme for a month. This helped me put focused efforts into that amount of time. I tried to break the theme into smaller 4–5 days bite-size portions. At the end of that month, I committed myself to some action or visualization for that learning.
3. Identifying the boundaries of my comfort zone — I wrote down my barriers or reservations and planned small actions that would help me take a step beyond the boundary.
They say the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step and I for one have realized this more so over the course of the last two months. The thrill of going to sleep having gained a few ounces of knowledge has been high in itself and is something I wanted to share with you all.
