You did it! You signed up for the course, registered for the seminar, scheduled a networking meeting. Now what?
- First, you need to regard this activity as an investment, even if you didn’t spend any money on it. You are investing your time and energy at the very least, and you want to see a high return for that investment.
- Second, you need to regard yourself as a lifelong learner. That means learning is not an isolated activity. It’s what you do and who you are.
Now that we’ve established the ground rules, let’s talk about the how. Lifelong learners maximize their investment on every learning opportunity because they start before it starts, sit in the front row, and don’t stop when it ends. Let’s explore these steps further using examples of three different types of learning opportunities.
VIRTUAL CONFERENCES
I first presented the information you are reading here during my keynote presentation that opened this year’s CPSI Conference. Naturally, it made sense to start with the example of a virtual conference.
- Start before it starts
- Choose sessions and put them on your calendar.
- If you do not do this proactively, your calendar can magically fill up with other things, leaving no room for you to fulfill your conference intention.
- Choose sessions and put them on your calendar.
- Sit in the front row
- Take notes in your journal/notebook.
- Act as if you are physically in the front row. Pay attention, take notes, and engage.
- Engage in chat/Q&A/activities.
- Connect with other attendees.
- Take notes in your journal/notebook.
- Don’t stop when it ends
- Review notes and plan/implement chosen actions.
- Don’t go crazy here. Prioritize as you normally would…pick your top 3 actions and get moving on them.
- Schedule follow-up meetings.
- Set up networking meetings with other conference attendees. It doesn’t matter whether you connected with them or not during the conference; you still have the conference in common and you can take it from there.
- The ideas you encounter at conferences often prompt a reason to reach out to someone in your network.
- Consider next learning opportunity to pursue.
- After the conference, take some time to reflect about the next learning gap you want to fill and/or the next curiosity you want to indulge.
- Review notes and plan/implement chosen actions.
ON-DEMAND SUMMITS
These are virtual summits such as the two I have hosted: Get Out Of Your Own Way and Time Is On Your Side.
- Start before it starts
- Make an intentional schedule for moving through the content even though there’s no deadline.
- Sit in the front row
- Dedicate and immerse yourself during the sessions.
- Take notes.
- Don’t stop when it ends
- Review notes and plan/implement chosen actions.
- Follow favorite speakers.
- Consider next learning opportunity to pursue.
NETWORKING MEETINGS
Networking should be part of your regular routine. Leave room in your schedule to periodically meet new people and stay in touch with established relationships.
- Start before it starts
- Learn about who you’ll be meeting.
- If you were referred to this person, ask your contact for more information and/or…
- Connect on LinkedIn.
- Review their profile, posts, etc. Look for common ground or anything that sparks your interest to ask questions when you meet.
- Check out their photo…it may help to identify them if you are meeting in person.
- Learn about who you’ll be meeting.
- Sit in the front row
- Be fully present, curious, and gracious.
- Embody “give first” approach.
- This approach is popular in the startup community and just makes good sense. You interact with the other person listening specifically for how you can help them fulfill their personal and professional mission. You don’t concern yourself with how they will repay you. Your good deed will return to you in some form at some point. But in the moment, your focus is on giving.
- Don’t stop when it ends
- Jointly decide on next steps.
- This could simply be an agreement to stay in touch and/or keep each other informed about matters of interest or significance.
- Inquire about future collaborations (if applicable) and relevant referrals.
- Not all networking results in collaborations, and that’s fine! You are always planting seeds in your relationships. People change their jobs and their minds over time, and your level of involvement with the person will likely ebb and flow as well.
- Jointly decide on next steps.
Continue the cycle
Lifelong learning never ends – that’s why it’s called lifelong! The steps above offer a simple, repeatable approach you can apply to any type of learning activity. When you get in the habit of being intentional about getting the most out of your learning, guess what happens? You’ll get the most out of your learning!
You can download the Hug Yourself Accountable infographic that includes the 3 Lifelong Learner steps reviewed in this post, as well as other free resources, by clicking HERE.
