Work at Home Productivity Tips –

Learning can be a lot of fun.

Part of the fun is the dream.

All the time that you are involved in a course, you are dreaming of the outcome.

You have someone guiding you, holding your hand.

Telling you what to do.

HOW CAN YOU GO WRONG?

There are a few ways.

• The first and obvious one is by taking the wrong course. Ask yourself seriously – is this really something that I can use to increase my bottom line?

• By taking too many, either at the same time, or too often. If you are overdoing, you can't get full use out of any of them.

Which brings us to the next and most important point.

• The biggest mistake in becoming a perpetual student is that often we're so busy learning – reading about – brainstorming – laying plans – and dreams – that we are not doing.

SO IS LEARNING A WASTE OF MY TIME? 

Do I believe that we shouldn't learn?

That we shouldn't take any courses?

That learning is a waste of time? 

Not at all.

Being a student, learning from others who know something that you want to know – and are teaching it – can be a postitive… even crucial… thing in your business. 

It can keep things fresh and cut the learning curve.

But at some point you need to take action and apply what you are learning to your business.

You need to do it consistently.

You need to find balance.

While learning is beneficial, you need also to step out of the role of student and into the role of teacher – or facilitator – or leader – in your own business.

Too many courses, too many teachers, too often can be stifling.

In order to have a successful business – a business that is unique and that stands out in the marketplace – it has got to have one thing.

And that thing is you.

This is another reason that it's important to apply what you learn – often.

The more you use it, the better you will become at it.

As you become more skilled you will become more confident and better able to let you own voice shine through.

If you are always learning but never doing you will always be a subordinate.

To have a successful business you have to step out.

You need to be a leader, an expert in what ever you do.

It only makes sense that you need to be doing it.

WHAT IS A GOOD LEARNING STRUCTURE? 

There are some situations were an ongoing arrangement can be a good thing.

Some courses are ongoing, usually 1 lesson per week.

This kind of arrangement is very good because it gives you a built in time limit t have the lesson completed, and you get a reminder every week. If you have to hand it in all the better.

And these types of courses usually build incrementally in some way, either step by step or by giving you a new task to complete every week. 

As long as you are seeing consistant improvements and are applying the information, this can be a good learning experience to participate in.

As long as you don't over do and take more than you can handle.

WHAT ABOUT LEARNING THROUGH A BUSINESS OR PERSONAL COACH? 

Another thing that can be beneficial is a business coach.

The main requirements are

1) they know what they are doing and have seen success themselves.

2) they are willing to teach you what they know.

3) this one is crucial. They have a genuine interest in your business and a desire to see you succeed. Anything less will diminish your confidence, is bound to send you down the wrong path as they are unlikely to be really looking at the needs and direction of your business and simply will not give you the full benefit of a good coach – that is to encourage you in your strengths and lift you up in your weaknesses – to give you confidence and set you on the right path.

The right coach can be very instrumental to your success. 

The wrong one can be a waste of your time and your money.

It can take a few tires to get the right one.

Sometimes it is not necessarily anything wrong with the coach, they just may not be a good fit.

If you are being coached but find that it doesn't sit right, you are not progressing in your goals – you do not feel that you are being listend to or worse – you feel like you are being "fluffed off" don't waste another minute with them.

Finding a good coach can be an expensive undertaking. They don't come cheap.

There are a few tips and tricks to finding a good coach or to find a learning environment that works for you.

We will explore deeper into this in a future show.

Be sure to send me any questions that you may have.

The main point to remember is to become a student with 2 objectives in mind – to learn – and then apply.

• Don't take a course if it's not something you need to know. In some cases it's better to hire someone to do it than to learn it at all.
• Don't take a course if it is going to take you away from something that you're already doing. Finish one thing before you go onto the next.
• Don't take a course if you won't have time to take action on it.
• Don't take a course if it's going to cause you to deviate from your main business objective.

BALANCE WITH FOCUS AND OUTPUT 

One of the biggest dangers and causes of failure on the internet is distraction.

Some input is necessary, but this is one instance were balance can go completely out of whack.

Always focus on output in your business.

Ask yourself what this course can give you that will allow you to either increase the quality or volume of your output.

Of course, by volume I don't mean as in mass producing junk, I mean will it teach you to be more efficient ro teach you methods that you can use to produce more quality offerings for your business than you would have otherwise.

If you keep these tips in mind, you should find yourself spending less $ on courses and getting more from them.

Have you got one sitting on your shelf?

Why not dust if off and use it? 

Looking for the right course to help you learn something that you need to apply to your business?

I've listed my current favourite courses on the Perpetual Student WAHM Podcast page.