How Ultralearning Can Help Your Career
When I was younger, I couldn’t wait to finish school. I’d talk about graduating from high school and university and then never having to worry about learning again. Boy, was I ever wrong.
Somewhere along the way though, I actually developed a pretty strong love for learning, especially about topics I’m passionate about. Learning now feels fun and empowering — but I suppose that because it’s now on my terms.
Since graduating from university, I’ve taken a ton of online and in-person courses to continue my education. I have certificates in user experience design, digital marketing management and career brand management, just to name a few. But, not only do I love learning about new topics to ensure that I’m always making myself more competitive on the job market, I’ve also started to develop an interest in learning about learning!
I picked up the book Ultralearning after doing some research and after a few pages, I was completely hooked. It provides a really practical take on why continually developing new skills is so important to succeed in today’s job market while also providing a methodology for learning more effectively!
Ultralearning: a strategy for acquiring new skills and knowledge that is both self-directed and intense.
Here are 4 of my key takeaways:
The future of work is based on skills
It’s simply not enough to get a basic education and just work hard to succeed. Today, our job market value as an individual is primarily comprised of our skills and competencies. As the book describes, the market is now comprised of those who are either high-skilled or low-skilled. For high-skilled individuals, learning is constant and you know how to learn quickly and effectively.
Ultralearning can help you fill the skills gap from your higher education
I know, I’m not the only one that left school still feeling completely unprepared for the workforce. Formal education is based on theory and general knowledge but often lacks the practical application. Becoming an ultralearner helps to continually ensure that the gap is minimal or even better, doesn’t exist at all. It is also particularly helpful if you’re looking to accelerate, transition or rescue your career. Let’s say you want to pivot into a completely different industry. For most people, it’s just not possible to drop everything and go back to school full-time. However, if you commit to ultralearning, you can continue to learn alongside your daily responsibilities — without breaking the bank.
Learning how you learn is just as important as what you learn
When you commit to ultralearning, you don’t just get to learn a new skill but you also learn a lot about yourself in the process, particularly you establish a set of general meta-learning skills. In other words, you learn how you learn. It’s useful for you to know your capacity for learning, what motivates you to learn and also how much time it takes you to grasp concepts so that when you commit to learning a new skill, you can do so in the most effective manner.
Pre-research and planning is a key part of learning effectively
The author actually recommends that we spend 10% of our expected learning time on research prior to learning. We should clearly identify: why we want to learn, what we’re going to learn and how we’re going to learn it. I’ll admit — I’ve signed up for courses pretty impulsively. Sometimes I’ve regretted it shortly after but there have been times where it has ended up being an excellent decision. That said, there can be nothing but value that comes from doing research ahead of time.
We’re lucky that today we have so many continuing education options at our disposal. I personally love e-learning platforms like Coursera that are quite affordable (also, many workplaces now provide free access to their employees!) but if you have a bit more budget, you can also explore institutions like Brainstation, General Assembly or even your local university or college.
What skill will you learn next?
Originally published at https://www.dowelldresswell.com on January 6, 2020.
