Most working adults would agree that they are generally busy, regardless of the profession they are pursuing. If anything, the rise of hustle culture has led us to be busier than ever due to a bigger workload. Being busy at work may reflect how dedicated and committed you are to your career. Yet, spending all of your time at work is not enough; if you to achieve career growth, upskilling is mandatory. The stake gets higher now: how can you make time to learn amidst your busy schedule – when you hardly have time to watch your favorite web series after work?
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is essential. You strive to reach your best at work while maintaining your mental and physical health, spending quality time with family and friends, as well as engaging in your hobbies. Not to add that when you have to put in extra hours, 24 hours in a day might feel insufficient. As an individual seeking personal growth, you want to achieve and do more than simply following your routine in order to build both personal and professional excellence. The problem is that you hardly have time to read books, attend a course or class, or engage in other time-consuming learning methods.
So, how do you strike a balance between staying sane and learning new things? Here are some tips:
Learning by Watching (in a Fun Way)
One thing you need to remember about learning when you are busy is to take it slow and easy. If you push yourself too hard in acquiring new skills, you may end up with a burnout at work, since you barely have time to rest. You should not put aside time for leisure because it is essential to keep you healthy and sensible. While you cannot compromise relaxing time to study, choosing the right way to learn through videos can be a great idea.
The internet has made it simpler for busy people to learn new skills and information without sacrificing their jobs and YouTube is a free option to start. YouTube channels like How Money Works, The School of Life, and Simplilearn are some examples of many free resources to learn new things quite effortlessly thanks to their fun-to-watch animations! These kinds of videos are interesting to watch since they provide insight as well as pleasure. While this might sound trivial, watching such videos cannot only refresh your mind but also give you meaningful information.
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Use Audio Learning
Sometimes you get all too tired once you hit the bed after work, especially if you have returned to work from the office, and this keeps you far from learning new things. So, why not make use of the ‘time in between’ going back from the office and arriving home? Whether you are driving by yourself or taking a commuter line train, audio learning can be a practical way to study. Plug in your earphones and play podcasts of something you want to learn about. Spotify has plenty of free podcasts about self-development, which can help you increase your career value, such as Life Kit, and Personal Branding Playbook. Audio learning is probably the best choice if you get tired of listening to the same old music on your playlist, but are too reluctant to explore new genres. While you keep yourself engaged with audio during your commuting after work, you will gain new insights too! However, this method may not be suitable if the thing you want to learn needs some note-taking or hands-on practice.
Make the Weekend Fun
What if you still need to finish your online video course and the earlier methods do not suit you? Then consider using a little bit of your weekend for learning, but make it less stressful by doing it somewhere other than your home. Go to your favorite coffee shop or city park and bring your laptop to spend 2-3 hours learning from that place. Getting a different scenery from your usual office desk or home can be refreshing, as it gives you the feeling of being away from your routine while still managing to finish your online course. Once you find places that you think can be your “getaway”, you will not mind taking up 2-3 hours of your weekend to effectively learn new things. After all, it is going to affect your career positively in the long run, right?
One important thing to keep in mind is that your well-being, both mentally and physically, should come first. These methods can be helpful if you need to learn new things that do not require lengthy research and learning. However, it may not be enough if the hard skill you are trying to learn is something too technical. If you still need to upskill but have no time, ask your employer about the possibility of reducing your workload. If you think you cannot squeeze in time to learn new things amidst your busy schedule, do not push it too hard and jeopardize your work-life balance. What good would it be to be knowledgeable, but unhappy and always tired?
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