Learning Never Stops (And That’s Why I Love It)

Learning Never Stops (And That's Why I Love It)

I picked up quite a few gems from Tash Corbin’s podcast where she reviews her 3 years in business. Now, I really love it when small business owners cover how they got started and review what worked, didn’t work and how they learned as they grew.

 

In the past few years I’ve learned to happily declare that I don’t like detail oriented work, and I prefer strategic things where we can go for a vision. The good news is that I often do detailed work in my day jobs so I’m strategic but also have the practical skills to go with it. I like research so that I can learn new things and see how I can apply them.

 

Learning Never Stops (And That’s Why I Love It)

 

Learning Never Stops (And That's Why I Love It)

 

One of the earliest things I picked up on in this podcast episode is about turnover. Oh boy. Tash said that turnover should have been a red flag for her in a job. Years and years ago, I had an interview with a business in London and had been getting weirdly icky vibes. They weren’t gelling with me. So I asked one of my stump-them questions: “What is your staff turnover like?”. Oh boy. This is an enlightening thing to ask. In this particular instance, they spoke non stop for about half an hour about how they don’t have any staff turnover but the staff turnover they have is normal for their industry. Yep, red flag about working there confirmed.

 

The other thing Tash talked about that really resonated with me was getting excited about things, learning about them, then not doing them. Look, I learn fast. That is a skill I’m pretty sure I already had but I honed it in years of contract work and it has served me very well. But I also get bored fast. It’s why I also study while working and blogging. I need things to challenge me and keep me interested. When I was writing my Time Management eBook for Bloggers and Bacon, what informed the specific content was thinking a lot about what melded that area between me being interested and me being consistent. I have to write things when I think of them. My writing has a better level of energy and ideas and coherence (well, that would be better if I proofread my blogs more often, but hey) than if I note it on paper and try to fill it out later. That’s why I have so many drafts sitting in the back-end of WordPress that will likely never get published. I have to capture things when they are fresh because that’s when I care about them. And in the application sense, this is why I’m finally finding my way with consistency that works for me – batching is not a mindless, soulless, computer driven logical efficiency tip for me – it’s how I actually capture myself. I like it. You can write now and publish later and unless the topic is ultra-news related, the energy and relevant is still there no matter when you hit publish.

 

Less time = more action was a big lesson mentioned in the podcast. And I found it similar. When I was working part time, I wasn’t making enough money to pay my bills, so my mind was on that (and job hunting, and balancing all the not-enough factors) and I couldn’t create. Or when I did, I felt like it wasn’t representative of me. Now that I’m backing working full time, I find I create more. It might not work for you but that’s really how I work! Maybe it’s the Einstein thing (because who doesn’t want to make themselves into an analogy Einstein?) – having a totally unrelated job gives my mind time to swim with ideas that it’s not consciously focusing on. Plus, it focuses my giant shiny object syndrome!

 

Having the right people behind you – oh boy, this is something I wrote about the other year. It matters a LOT who you spend time and energy with. And as much as I say how my day job helps me, I do feel like unrelated work is a downside in this area.

 

Do you find it helpful when people review their businesses? 

 

5 Replies to “Learning Never Stops (And That’s Why I Love It)”

  1. I have a job with lots of down time (it’s entirely reactive) so that’s where I do the bulk of my writing, because I have time to do it. Don’t get me wrong, the down time is punctuated by intensely busy and stressful periods but thankfully we get breaks from those!

  2. Sounds like an interesting podcast. I think it’s so important for all businesses to go through a review process. I never thought of listening to or reading their reviews, but I can see how it would be helpful. #teamIBOT

  3. I have found this too – the busier I am, the more I get done. I first noticed it when I joined a choir in Year 12 – my mum was chucking a mental coz she thought I should concentrate on my studies, but knowing I had practice 3 times a week, meant I got stuck into my study as well 🙂 .

  4. Less time = more action, for sure! I work better under pressure. I think that is why I am always sorting things at deadline. Eeeck!

  5. I am definitely going to check out that podcast, it sounds great! I too find that I have lots of creativity the more busy I am, it’s a weird thing. I wrote more blog posts when I went back to part-time work after having Punky than at any other time before!

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