Before you start doing what you love or want to pursue, you must focus first to build a better plan. Creating a better strategy/method is one of the most critical factors to succeed. Setting a goal is a good skill because you know what, where, when, and how to start. You have the urge to accomplish and reward yourself after finishing what you’ve created. You are more prepared and motivated because you know which path to take.
Honestly, when I was in college, I was not aware of these things. I’m that person who follows what life can offer. My daily tasks are usually what a day might bring to me. I don’t have plans, to-do lists, schedules, or even an idea of how I will spend a day. Maybe that’s the reason why I barely completed my tasks. I usually forget some essential things to do because I don’t have a plan, and it sucks because I often mislead my priorities in a day, weeks, months, and even years!
As time went by, I started noting my tasks using an application. It helps me to track my productivity and progress in a day, and that new habit continues up to now. I am using Things 3 for my daily tasks and track my progress and check where I stopped and where I should start. I like the logbook feature because I can check my accomplishments and become motivated to finish everything left.
Once you know how your day-to-day schedule works, then you’ll see a routine where you can plot your programs and plans. To start your learning plan, you have to:
1. Identify first your main goal and the reason why you need to accomplish that goal.
2. Have a self-assessment and know your strengths and weaknesses
3. Prioritize the skills that you need to focus on by creating a quadrant
4. Create a learning preference table to group the prioritized skills you want to pursue
Formal Learning – learning with diploma or certification,
Social Learning – learning via observation or watching online tutorials, and
Experiential Learning – learning via hands-on, practical, or by simply doing it
5. Create how you will put your learning plan into action. Do with SMART guide
5. List down your learning resources and support
6. Track your progress and celebrate.
These are some of the most critical planning guides that you must follow when you are just starting. I’m not a professional advising the best plan that suits you, but you may consider these steps and see if it might work for you or not.
I will be providing a sample template on how I planned my Learning Plan for my UX Journey. I will put the link below if it’s already available.
Following different useful planner templates from the internet helps you to become more productive in your daily tasks because your plans are guiding you. But creating your way of planning is much better because you will know what’s suits your schedule and your learning type best.
