[00:00] Welcome back to the Focus B show. This is Katie Sudddock here aka the focus b. And on this show, I interview high performers and leaders around the world to discover their secrets on peak performance, productivity, mindfulness, and leadership. So if you want to take your performance and your leadership to the next level, then you're in the right place. Listen up and connect with the magic.
[00:36] And we're kicking off with the first episode of Expertise. And this topic is constant learning. Why does it matter to always be learning, especially if you want to be an expert in your field? That's a good question, right? Why do you want to always be learning? If you want to be an expert in your field, obviously things can change and upgrade in your field. So if you don't learn them, you won't be an expert. But also it keeps you alive and it keeps you motivated. Because even if you know a lot, and even if you know enough to do your job very well, a you will start to forget things and B you will be less energized and motivated. Because our brain loves to learn. We get stimulated, we get dopamine, we get excited when we learn new things. If you're listening to today's episode, then you're a learner because A it's in the title Constant Learning. And B listening to a podcast is a form of learning and is a form of growth. So you're already hooked on learning. You already know it's important. So what tools and exercise and habits can you put in place to constantly learn and grow? The Japanese term for this is kaizen, which is constant improvement. They use this more in organizations and as a way of constantly improving their processes. But this can also be applied to continuous development and continuing to learn. Another important term here is beginner's mind. And this is in Buddhism often. And the idea is that when you tackle a challenge or problem or a situation, you use a beginner's mind approach. So you look at the situation as if you didn't already have the experience. This will enable you to think more creatively, to maybe step away from the autopilot that you have, and to have a renewed innovative approach. Of course, you don't need to use the beginner's mind every single day, but you can use it from time to time if you get really stuck on something and just think, what would me without this knowledge or without this training? What would be my instinct? Or how would I go about this? And this also enables you to be excited about your work and to renew that energy because you have a new approach to it. You no longer just default to what you normally do. So beginner's mind is also an interesting term when it comes to constant learning. There are several things that come to my mind. One of them is the 7th habit of the 7th habit of highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, which says Sharpen the Saw. And what he's saying there is that we need to continuously learn to continuously improve in order to be top of our field, to be an expert in what we are doing. Okay, so how can you do this? Let's say you're convinced you want to kaizen, you want to shop in the store, you want to be top of the game and continuously learning. What type of habits do you need to develop already? Just asking yourself that question. What habits can you put in place to continuously learn and improve in your field? Let's brainstorm together a few key ones that definitely come to my mind and that maybe you've also thought of. The first one that comes to my mind is reading. And this is because in books there is so much information that can be so incredibly valuable. And A you're getting it at a bargain price if you think that some people spend years writing a book and it costs you $10 or $20, that is insanely cheap for the amount of knowledge, and B you can actually implement a lot of it. And there's a lot of cases where there are online courses available for 100 or 200 or more dollars and they just cover all the principles in the book. So if you buy the book and you take notes, you are able to actually do all of this and you don't need the course. So, a few key things when it comes to reading a make sure that the books are something that are valuable, that is something that will teach you information that you need and you want in your field. Will it contribute? Because there are a lot of books out there and time is a precious resource, as we've discussed, so you also want to make it worth your while. So looking at the different books in your field, selecting the ones either that are directly recommended by other people in your field or that browsing through them, you can feel has a lot of information. So that's the first thing that is important with books, and the second one is take notes or do something. Because if you just read it from COVID to cover and then forget about it, you won't learn the key principles. I remember when I read Atomic Habits that I took maybe ten pages of notes in a notebook, and then I summarized those ten pages of note in one page. And every so often I would open my notebook, read that page and think, oh yes, I remember the two minute rule or have processing in place instead of goals. And these things would come back to me. And it helped me a lot to have these summaries to assimilate these principles, because otherwise you will forget. So books are fantastic way to continue learning, but you must ensure that you're proactive and that you take notes. If you don't like reading as much. You can listen to audiobooks, that is another way and if you don't want to listen to audiobooks you can even read summaries of books or use different types of apps to have a 15 minutes summary of the book. So there are other ways around it. If you don't want to actually read the entire book, I think it marks you more and you get more out of it if you do, but it's not a must. Okay, second method to continuously learn is obviously to do courses and training. Whether it's online courses or CPD, continuous professional development or working with a coach all of these are different ways to continuously learn and adapt. It can be a coach, it can be a mentor and these are different methods that you can use to facilitate and prioritize your training and your learning. One essential aspect here is to not let this disappear somehow, to not let this trail off and to ensure that you're focusing on it and you're prioritizing it. For this, you can either time block 4 hours a week or a month or however much you want to prioritize your learning. As I'm kind of a learning addict, I never had to do that. I really enjoy reading a lot in the evening and I actually have to prevent myself from buying too many trainings because I end up training and learning more than I end up doing my work. So this isn't something I've struggled with. And you might be like me, a training addict. But if you're not, and if this is something you want to improve on, then building the habit of at least once a quarter to have some form of training, some form of learning and something that you actually enjoy and that is helping you to improve. Okay, so we've covered the books, the learning and training and working with a coach. What's another way in which you can constantly learn? I think one way that is fundamental and really makes a huge difference is to review and review your week, review your days and learn about what you're already doing. As in learn where are you making mistakes and what are things that you can change and shift? So having that mindset of looking for the learning points at the end of every month, what have you learned? Ask yourself what have I learned this month? And it can be learnt in terms of mindset, it could be learnt in terms of different way of thinking, it can be learned energy wise, it can be learned practical and strategically rise. There are so many different ways in which you are constantly, constantly learning and that you forget and by reviewing and summarizing these learning points this will support you to embrace learning, to progress, to be more fulfilled and developed. It's a fun journey of constant learning. I know that it can sound like a challenge or perhaps that you never get there when you're always learning, but just remembering that life is a learning journey and that every little thing that you learn will support your growth and your progress in your life. So it's a fun journey to be on. I hope you've enjoyed today's episode on constant learning. Whether it's through books or courses or just reviewing your progress, this can support you to constantly learn and improve. If you've liked today's episode, if you haven't done already, please leave a review for the podcast on Apple podcasts or Spotify. Let me know what you've enjoyed so far, and also it supports other people to find the show. Thank you once more for tuning in today for the first episode on Expertise and wishing you a wonderful, wonderful day ahead.
[10:39] Thank you so much for tuning in today to the Focus Bees show. I would absolutely love to hear your feedback, so let me know in an Apple review or YouTube comment what was most valuable for you, and feel free to share this episode with a friend.
[10:57] Or a family member.
[10:58] Wishing you a wonderful, magical and focused day ahead.