How do you measure your progress and impact as a learner?

When considering goals, particularly on an annual basis, go small. I'm on overcommitter and each new year, I think I'm going to do 10-12 big goals and you know what happens? I do about 3-4. And that's ok! But for many people, setting goals and not reaching them is disheartening and downright demotivating. So start realistic, start with just a handful of goals you can honestly and authentically commit to and check back in 6 months from now. Ask yourself, how are things going? Can you add more to your list? What needs to change? Nothing wrong with tweaking thing as you go.

A useful tool in reflection is counterfactual thinking. Upward additive: What extra could I have done that would have led to a better outcome? (Regret) Upward subtractive: What could I have avoided doing that would have led to a better outcome? (Guilt) Downward subtractive: What did I do which would have resulted in a worse outcome if I hadn't done it? (Satisfaction) Downward additive: What did I avoid doing that would have resulted in a worse outcome if I had done it? (Relief)

Ahhh feedback and reflection! It' important to learn HOW TO properly reflect on things. It's not enough to say, well that didn't work, ok, oh well. Now is the time to get really clear and honest with yourself. If something didn't work, ask why. Who were the people involved? What were the processes or procedures you took? What about the impact of your environment? Was technology involved? Understanding what specifically isn't working for you is the most important way to strategize how you make changes going forward that will have impact on your goal success.

What I like to do here is consider how I would have approached something before applying my learning and now after. So for example, my initial response to a stressful work email might be to immediately draft a reply filled with emotion. Having taken courses on empathy and patience and developing my own practice of patience, I now sit with that email for a day or two and try to consider the position of the sender more empathetically and curiously. That impacts my reply from a place of annoyance to a place of considerate thought and care. I like this version of me better and it's a great application of how I'm learning to be a more well-rounded professional.

Excel tracking all the way! I love having a digital representation and plan for my continuing education in a very simple, easy to manipulate format. Consider adding columns and categories that matter to you. For example, I do a lot of training in the DEI space and much of that is asynchronous learning, which is fine, but at a certain point, for subjects that are about people, you should be doing some learning and growing alongside said people. So having an array of trainings types and modalities is important to me and I track my trainings to ensure I'm not just learning in a silo.

One technique to help with tracking your learning is to take a test before you start learning. You'll do badly (unless you don't really need to do the learning) but it will help you to have a marker for the start of your learning journey. Analysing what you got wrong can also help you to identify specific learning goals. Take the same test again as you go along.

Much of LinkedIn is about celebrating your wins! Be sure to get out there early and often and let your network know how you are growing. As much as people are celebrating you, be sure to turn up for your community in helping others celebrate their wins and accomplishments. LinkedIn is a social media platform after all, get social with it!

I would add: 'Learn about how you learn best' When you reflect, don't just think about what you have learnt about the topic. Think about what you have learnt about yourself and how you learn. Do you tend to learn better from visuals, text, audio, practicals, discussions, etc? Do you find it easier to start at high construal levels (theories/models) or lower levels (details/case studies)? Do you like to explore topics sequentially or by exploring connections to other topics? And so on...

Don't put too much pressure on yourself! Learning can be as small as a YouTube video or even an Instagram Reel. Be kind to yourself, give yourself space and grace in your learning journey and whatever is no longer serving you, feel free to let it go now.