Talk with most people who know me, and they’ll probably agree that I’m a learner. My top two “strengthsfinder” strengths are “learner” and “input” (a third is “intellection” which kinda goes along with this as well). I love to ask questions. My office walls (and a few walls in my home) are lined with bookshelves. The one piece of artwork in my office is a picture of a guy reading. I constantly invite “referrals” to good sources of information and each week get a few emails with websites I can visit and where I can soak in learning. My iTunes downloads a number of podcasts that “re-fill” each day or week with yet more chances to learn.
There’s just one problem: I don’t have time to spend sitting and learning for 40-50 hours each week (or even a fraction of that). And even if I did, that probably wouldn’t be enough time to satisfy my love of learning. In fact, the time I have to devote to learning seems to be shrinking as my kids get older and other responsibilities (understandably) demand my attention. What’s a philomath (“lover of learning”) to do in this situation? Here are some of the ways I’m learning (pun intended) to answer that question:
