Career Month discussion: Are you learning anything new?

[Kristen Roth]

Continuous learning is when we expand our skills and knowledge for personal, professional, and organizational improvement. At work, we can learn new hard skills as employees, allowing us to move up to more complex and challenging roles; and we can also work on developing our soft skills such as leadership, communication, collaboration, and time management. Many of us also choose to apply a continuous learning mindset at home and take on new hobbies and skills there.

When was the last time you learned something completely new? 🤔 Have you been focused on learning anything new this year?

---

(And speaking of continuous learning… ICYMI, check out this article from our Atlassian University team for tips on how to go about starting your Atlassian Certification journey!)

[Amanda Barber]

Honestly, it feels like every day I'm learning something new (yay!) This year, I've been spending most of my learning time on PMI.org trainings. I'm almost done with the Disciplined Agile Scrum Master course and will be taking my exam in the coming month. I'm so grateful that my company opted to push everyone to select professional development this year and set aside money for everyone. It no longer feels like a question of if I can take a class... I still have to run it by my manager, but she's of the mindset that she wants me to grow professionally (and not just for this job, but for my future career path as well!) 🎉

I'm always a huge fan of personal growth as well - my favorite recent read was Soul Shift by Rachel Macy Stafford. I'm also reading Crucial Conversations as a book study with colleagues, as well as Impact Players on my own. Winter (or wintry weather, anyway) is for reading, haha!

[Kristen Roth]

That's awesome! I love your manager's mindset. 

Ooooh, thanks for that book list! I've been meaning to check out Crucial Conversations but haven't heard of the other two! I'm a huge fan of personal development and self-improvement books.

[Amanda Barber]

https://www.handsfreemama.com/soulshift/ :) 

Would love to hear what you think! 

[Andy Gladstone]

I often lamented that when I moved over from my previous company to my current one, which is in a completely different industry, that I went from being the SME in the room to the town dunce. It took years for that feeling to wear off, and TBH, has not until recently. 

What changed? We launched a new product line that I was initially on the periphery of, knowing just enough to be involved in conversations around the product line, but not enough to really have any tangible affect on the direction or development. The product launched and ran that way for a few months, but then as we learned how the market was reacting to the product, and a shift in some of the people responsible for the product line, I stepped in to fill some gaps. As a result I have had to learn almost every facet and detail of the specific product line and have become an SME on it. It's the first time that I have felt restored to my former confidence and it has changed the way I approach work, my schedule and productivity. 

I know this is not really a soft or hard skill that is portable, but the satisfaction and challenge that it provides is something that is making me a better leader and team member overall.

[Amanda Barber]

I'm about 1/3 of the way into Impact Players, but think it sounds like you have traits of an impact player. If you haven't read it yet, you might enjoy it!

[Andy Gladstone]

@Amanda Barber thanks for the recommendation. I'll add it to my growing backlog of books.

[Amanda Barber]

Haha, yes! I've been eyeing up this shirt as my pile grows... :-D 

[Marjorie]

Yes, I learn every day. But in my job as a Project Manager, it is mainly management skills that I am learning. As a mentor to someone who is trying to change careers and develop boundaries for a better work/life balance, I am learning quite a bit about myself. 

I know I have improved my work/life balance dramatically in the past 3 years. I learned from a situation where I was doing so many things, that I felt tired, taken for granted, and overwhelmed. When I left that job and company after 12 years, they replaced me with 2.5 people.  I immediately learned that boundaries are important and saying No is ok.

Setting boundaries that work for me:

1. A separate office with separate equipment at home (I work remotely)

2. When shutting down for the day, close the office door. Resist the urge to go check on things. Resist looking at email. Only look if you are working on something that you know will have a urgent need after hours or on the weekend (such as a proposal with an impending deadline).

3. Take breaks often throughout the day.

4. Prioritize home items instead of just work items.

[Kristen Roth]

@Andy Gladstone, that is awesome! It's inspiring to hear how the curve of learning something completely new ended up leaving you feeling so confident. Thank you for sharing this! 

[Kristen Roth]

@Marjorie setting better work/life boundaries has been a work in progress for me, too, since I went full-time remote at the end of 2015. I agree — we learn so much about ourselves in the process! The separate, dedicated office space has been a game-changer for me as well!

[Marjorie]

@Kristen Roth What other things have you instituted in work/life boundaries? 

[Kristen Roth]

@Marjorie, another big one for me has been not eating lunch at my desk! I'm always flexible on timing for my lunch breaks since the people I work with span several timezones, and sometimes, noon meetings just need to happen, but making sure to get away from my computer while having lunch has been another really nice brain break for me in the middle of the day.

[Marjorie]

@Kristen Roth that is a great idea. I am flexible for lunch due to spanning several time zones. I ALWAYS eat at my desk, breakfast included.  Maybe if I pick one, it will be a great place to start and to move out in front of the monitors.  Thanks for the tip!

[Dan Breyen]

With a new employer and a totally new product for me comes a whole new area of learning opportunites.  I've been in IT for Healthcare, HR, and now IT Manufacturing.  Plenty of opportunities for continuous learning.

[Kristen Roth]

YES! Congrats on the new job, Dan!