OMG! I LOVE LEARNING.
I mean, that’s what the cool kids say, right? RIGHT??? Nonetheless, whether online, in-person, hybrid, self-directed, peer-to-peer, credit, non-credit, formal, or informal—I love finding information and learning new things. My thirst for knowledge was shared genetically and developed by my education-focused, problem-solving parents. As children, when my brothers and I asked questions about a random topic or idea, my parents would often provide a little context before they directed us to look it up in the family encyclopedias, pulled out a massive dictionary for a teaching-learning moment at the dinner table, or sent us off to the local public library to find materials that would empower us with all we needed to know. So, figuring out how to locate and access information was not only expected but became increasingly necessary when taunted by an older sibling who knew more about a nature topic on PBS, or possessed superior paper snowflake crafting skills.
Fast forward thirty years and I can be found regularly clicking through blogs, articles, and YouTube videos because I fell down an informational rabbit hole. The need to know the what, as well as the how and why, proves extremely beneficial when troubleshooting technology or starting a new hobby. Yet, this insatiable desire for information—when paired with challenges like imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and ADHD—can quickly pivot into an unhealthy and exhausting obsession. Nonetheless, after spending five years at an organization lacking a strong professional development culture and budget, I am addressing some of my skills and knowledge gaps before I return to paid work. So, here you’ll find me, Monday through Friday (and beyond as I more strategically explore work-life blending) aggressively pursuing personal and professional growth opportunities through a variety of modalities. So, let’s unpack a bit of that and, for readers of my previous blog post, this may also explain why I am so busy during these unemployed days.
Project Management. I recently wrapped up the Project Management Institute (PMI) no-cost online Project Management for Beginners course. It proved beneficial for reinforcing project management fundamentals, while also having the pleasant side effect of seamlessly experiencing diverse narrator voices and accents in the content. The most important takeaway I had, however, was a change of heart about using my sabbatical time to pursue PMI’s Project Management Certification. Undoubtedly it is desirable to employers, but right now it isn’t a priority investment of human and financial resources. That said, for those who are interested, PMI has a wide range of fee-for-service and no-cost programs that are worth checking out, whether or not you are a dedicated project manager.
Branding & Marketing. On Tuesday, I started Google’s no-cost E-Commerce & Digital Marketing Certificate program via Coursera. (Spoiler Alert: While Google does not charge for the certificate, there is a monthly fee to access it in the platform after Coursera’s 7-day trial.) I’m a few modules into week one of the first course, Foundations of Digital Marketing and E-Commerce. It’s nicely done so far but I am eager to wrap up introductions and get to more of the rice and beans of it. (I’m not much of a “meat and potatoes” kind of gal, so rice and beans feels more fitting to my proverbial palate.) Likewise, I met with Fil, a brilliant designer (and equally brilliant sibling) who walked me through an hourlong discovery session on personal branding. Using the follow-up document he sent full of language assets and imagery, I find myself exploring the intentionality behind the look and feel of a personal website. Pair that with some Squarespace YouTube tutorials, and you’ll see I am slowly starting to figure out the platform logistics for building and branding LizVocasek.com. (I mean, did you see my new Connect form which funnels directly to my personal email? Watch out world, Liz Vocasek is coming to Interwebs City!)
Professional Coaching. I am most excited to start a professional coaching certificate at the University of Miami. This ten-month program is by far my biggest human resource and financial commitment. My interest in formal training was piqued again during lockdown when a friend, knowing my professional background and master’s degree focus, reached out and hired me to work with her daughter as a college coach. Despite feeling like a total imposter at first, I agreed to try it, fell in love, and took on a few additional clients who encouraged me to lean into that line of work. Alas, the timing wasn’t right, as I both appreciated and needed having access to things like health insurance and rent money during a global pandemic. (Sidenote to those of you engaging with youth, I published an article in English and Spanish to help adults have more inclusive conversations about the diversity of options available after high school.) Between that undertaking, the amazing experience I had in a discovery session with a coach I met in a DYL for Women course, and participating in employer-provided coaching through Bravely—now is the time. So, roll on, September!
Books. I am a book hoarder. Yes, I am aware that “bibliophile” is the proper term, but I find “book hoarder” better describes my literary packrat lifestyle, as you’ll find books piled on shelves, in drawers, on nightstands, and adorning my dining room table. (Hats off to my wonderful husband who despises clutter but tolerates this behavior…for now.) I have an assortment of library cards from places I’ve lived worldwide, as well as a new and used book collection for those times that I need to fold, highlight, and scribble on the pages. Since starting my sabbatical, I’ve read Vivian Blade’s Resilience Ready: The Leaders Guide to Thriving Through Unrelenting Crises. It was a good read, though perhaps not entirely novel to those who have lived through personal or professional trauma already. After that, I read Otegha Uwagba’s Little Black Book: A Toolkit for Working Women—a fun, quick read which fits in a purse and can be finished in a few Subway rides. This week I wrapped up William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White’s The Elements of Style, as recommended in Designing Your New Work Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, which I finished just before taking my sabbatical. I encourage giving both of these books some time and attention regardless of your line of work. Presently, I am working my way through Fiona Humberstone’s light and visually engaging book How To Style Your Brand: Everything You Need to Know to Create a Distinctive Brand Identity, for the reasons outlined above.
Online Resources. Because I am frequently awoken by my busy brain in the middle of the night and my ADHD gets the best of me while being idle too long, I spent what feels like hours of the day and night clicking on, searching, or getting referred to masses of online articles, tools, resources, organizations, companies, people, websites, podcasts, and more that I find potential useful for my personal and professional growth. Sometimes I access them immediately, while other times I email them to myself to catalog—and yes, when I say “catalog,” I mean exactly that. I have a formatted Excel spreadsheet shameless saved to my computer desktop where I organize and tag these items for a future look. (I’m currently at 333 items and counting.) Like my books, I may never actually get to them, but when I and others need information on a certain topic or want to learn something new—it’s always just a click away.
Informational Interviews. I am actively meeting with interesting people from around the globe, who are doing volunteer or paid work in areas that are of interest to me. I love chatting with friends, family, affiliates, and even strangers about what they are working on and how they got to where they are. While in the past I dreaded this type of engagement (also known as networking) —a result of the many clunky or awkward happy hour events I was forced to attend as a young professional—these meetings have become my new favorite learning experiences. I’ve been able to connect with amazing people like Jennice, founder of Chewlin Group, who provides health education and wellness coaching; Tali, a brilliant Integrative Systemic Coach at Hygieia Center For Functional Medicine; Cat at Delta DEI Consulting and Erin at ACT Consulting Group who run LQBTQ, women-owned diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) firms; and in a few minutes, I will be chatting with David from DS Cohen & Associates, who gave an impactful presentation on company values at the SHRM Annual Conference. If you haven’t taken the plunge to do this type of networking, I highly recommend it and, for those of you who aren’t quite sure how to begin, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans provide a useful overview of it in chapter six of their book Designing Your Life.
So, there you have it. While it may come off like a generic laundry list of learning, my hope is that my readers (all nine of you) are encouraged to take some time to reflect on what you are or aren’t learning, find something of interest to follow up on in the above and share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below. For those who don’t know me well or want to know how I do all of this, I find leveraging the challenges I have with things like ADHD or regular insomnia, looking for shortcuts with tools and technology, prioritizing paychecks for learning in lieu of luxuries, and strategically setting aside time (phone reminders really do help, y’all!) are all contributors. While I know this level of learning and engagement will not be sustainable when I return to paid employment, my passion for education and discovery will always inspire lifelong learning. Add a sprinkle of competitive spirit, practicing some new life design techniques, and the motivational guilt of not bringing in a paycheck—and there you have it: Liz’s Learning Elixir.
Until next time, friends. Y’all be kind out there.
