Managing Your Own Learning

1TAKING CHARGEDeveloping a Plan for Learning

YOUTH IS WASTED ON THE YOUNG, so it is said, and maybe education is, too. For most of us, at the stage in our lives when we had the most time for learning we also had the least appreciation for its benefits. Going to high school or college cultivates the mindset of blocks of years and plenty of time for learning. As people enter the workforce, develop personal relationships, and accumulate responsibilities, the need and desire for learning multiplies but the time available diminishes. We begin to sense that without a plan, we will never be able to learn all we want to learn.

When people take on a new job or project, or begin advanced studies, they often say, “There is going to be a steep learning curve.” ...