It’s back to school time! 2016 has been a great year for 10x Management, it’s hard to believe the year is more than halfway over. As kids head back to school for all kinds of new learning, it can make you feel nostalgic for the good old days, when back to school time was indicative of new beginnings. For adults, the months of August or September generally mean you’re doing the same thing you did last autumn. And wait for it…you’re a year older too. But there are all kinds of ways to adopt the back-to-school mindset, without spending the kind of cash it would cost to actually go back to school. The key is building learning opportunities into your life. Fear not, 2016 isn’t over yet…there’s still time to be productive and make meaningful change within your career or life.
Here are some tips from a great article by Fast Company, 13 Ways To Create Your Own Back To School Season. We’ve also included a few of our own tips for inspiration.
Ways to keep on learning:
- Start Carschooling: Build in a few minutes on Sunday night to download listening material for the week (check out OpenCulture.com for some free audio versions of classics) or learn a new language.
- Use Tiny Bits Of Time: If you’ve got 10 minutes, you could mindlessly check social media, or you could watch a Khan Academy video, read a segment of a classic novel via DailyLit, or check out random knowledge via Now I Know.
- Create A Power Hour: Once a month, carve out an evening or weekend morning for working on a longer course. Peruse Coursera, CreativeLive, or Lynda for ideas.
- Start A Work Book Club: Social book clubs are more fun, at least as measured by wine consumption, but herding busy people together one evening a month is often difficult. You have to go to work, so you may as well embrace the possibilities.
- Watch TV Thoughtfully: About 80% of people watch television on a given day, so upgrading your selection is an easy win. Peruse Netflix’s documentaries for options.
- Volunteer your time or skills — Consider volunteering some of your time or skills for causes that you care about. Check out VolunteerMatch.org. It’s a free website that matches volunteers with nonprofits based on your location and interests. Also check out a good article by Huffington Post, 13 Websites That Will Match You With The Perfect Opportunity To Make A Difference.
- Take a low cost professional development class — Check out the article by The Muse, 50 (Cheap!) Professional Development Classes Anyone Can Take.
- Read our blog (shameless plug) — Our 10x Magnified blog is filled with a variety of topics from the future of work to career development tips…whether you’re a tech freelancer, consultant, or business manager you’ll gain new insights.