Let's Spend THIS Fall Learning!

This month I’m finishing up a year-long life coach training program. I’ve learned so many amazing tools in the past year – tools that I’ve been able to put to good use with the ladies I coach. However, knowing that this course is ending, I’ve been giving some thought as to how I’d like to fill that time. I definitely want to spend more time learning about and enjoying my essential oils, but there are also SO many other topics I’m curious about. So, how can I thoughtfully not only learn about new things but actually APPLY them to my life?

Since I love to read, I’m always picking up interesting books that I’ve got in a big basket for “someday.” A lot of those books are programs/ courses/ etc. For fun, I made a big pile of them and discovered if I read one or two a month, I’d have a full YEAR of learning on my hands. All on topics that have sparked my interest at one time or another! And I didn’t even pull out my e-books (at least not yet!).

After a bit of organizing by category, I’ve come up with a plan for the rest of 2015. I’ve got a nice variety of topics (productivity, simplification, meditation, and crafting – see the picture to the right for a sneak peek), and a loose plan as to how I’ll attack each one.

Want to follow along? I truly believe motivation and accountability is the BEST way to actually apply learning to your life, so each month I’ll share what I’m studying, and how I’m applying it. Feel free to join me every month or just for those that interest you. We’ll tackle productivity in September, simplification in October, meditation in November and crafting in December. Before each month begins I’ll share a blog post with the resources and a plan for how they will be used – that will give you plenty of time to purchase or borrow anything you need to learn alongside me.

September feels like the perfect time to start with productivity. The kids are back in school, the year is winding down, but there are still FOUR months left – plenty of time to accomplish something exciting. It’s also a good time to get productivity systems in place before the busy holiday season comes along and threatens to derail your schedule completely, right? Here are the two books we’ll dive into:

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Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time is one of my favorite books about productivity. It is short, concise and full of fantastic tips. Although I make a daily effort to “eat that frog,” I’ve never actually gone through the 21 days and applied the entire program to my life. So, that is about to change! I think the structure of a 21-day “course” will be a great way to kick off my Fall of learning. Starting September 1st, I’ll read and implement one chapter of the book each weekday. That should take me right through the end of the month. If enough people are interested, I think it would be a lot of fun to share our experiences each day on my Facebook page. Let me know HERE if you want to play along and I’ll set up a daily post with the “lesson” for the day.
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I read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change over twenty years ago as part of the training for my very first job out of college. (Well that sentence makes me feel pretty old!) It was full of wisdom then and is one of those books that has truly stood the test of time. There are 7 habits outlined (hence the title), and since there are only 4 weeks in a month, this one will bleed into October. But that’s okay – the point of this exercise is to take the time to not only learn something new but to apply it to our lives. Since there will be a daily task from the other book, I’ll be picking and choosing which of the suggested experiments and practical applications at the end of each chapter to complete. No point in getting so overwhelmed that I end up accomplishing NOTHING! Look for a weekly update on this blog as to my thoughts and experiences with this book.

So what are your plans for learning something new this Fall? Want to join me? Or try something else? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. I truly believe that sharing experiences with others and depending upon each other for accountability is the BEST way to grow and learn, so let’s have some fun learning TOGETHER for the rest of the year!

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