It’s never too late to learn something new. We have our whole lives to explore different hobbies, skills, and interests. Too often, I daydream about skills I wish I had so I could live my best life, and then I become entangled in the idea of gaining these skills so quickly in a short amount of time, despite there being no rush to do it.

I’ve written about lifelong learning in the past and what it means to be a student for life. Teaching yourself new skills is one of the best ways to remain motivated and passionate about life. While I’ve written about this before, I’m continuing the story because I realized there are aspects I can talk about in more detail and shed some light on how I remain a student for life. If you’re interested in lifelong learning and being a student for life, stay a while and read the rest of this post.

Choosing the subjects you want to study.

The first thing you need to do when dedicating time to lifelong learning is to make a broad list or brainstorm about all the skills you want to learn. You can create categories like career, arts and crafts, health and fitness, personal development, and academic. Like I said before, you have your whole life to learn a range of new skills, so after creating this list, the next thing you want to do is choose which ones are the most important at present.

Use the system ‘smart’ goals to help you make this decision. These goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Usually, ‘smart’ goals appear in a professional environment, but they can also aid your studies. Chosen subjects should be specific. For example, not just painting itself but perhaps practising watercolours or oil paints, since both require different levels of skill and technique.

You should be able to track your progress over a length of time, and in a way that is achievable to you, consistent with your skill level or the available time you have for studying. The subjects also need to be relevant to you and what you want/need to accomplish. And, of course, you want to set yourself a date to complete the subject.

Finding resources for studying.

The next thing you need to do is find a wide array of resources for online studying. I have mentioned before about Skillshare, Udemy, and Coursera. It is always best to find a learning resource that is cost-effective and most accessible to you. It should also be something you can navigate easily. For example, some learn best when they visit websites, whereas others learn better by reading through books.

You can find books everywhere, in print and digital. You can access e-books and audiobooks online through places like Audible and Kindle. You can also explore the archives of your city’s local library or do a tour of second-hand book shops. Another way of finding good books for learning is to keep up to date with influencers in the subject you’re interested in. Such as bloggers and content creators, many of whom sell e-books and free resources on their websites.

Speaking of websites, there are so many opportunities to find free and/or cheap learning materials. Such as Khan Academy, Smart History, and more academic sources such as JSTOR or Google Scholar. I have also recently learned that the Met Museum has a variety of free online e-books, articles, essays, and journals. I have also explored The Open University and LinkedIn Learning, in addition to popular sites like Skillshare.

Video and audio are other, up-and-coming ways to learn something new. There are many ways to find video and audio learning materials online. Such as YouTube channels or playlists, or by signing up for webinars created by bloggers and content creators. With access to Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify there is also a range of podcast shows and episodes to listen to and study something new. Many content creators and bloggers also have podcasts that accompany their websites’ content.

Creating a long-term study plan.

The last thing you need to be a student for life is to create a long-term study plan for yourself. A study plan is necessary because it gives you a clear plan for the future and shows you what to focus on. A plan will also hold you accountable. Think back to when you were in high school or university, and you were given a set guideline for your classes. Not only when to study, but also how many hours a week to dedicate for studying. A long-term study plan can take many forms.

It can be a time table with colour-coordinated sections for each subject you want to learn in the week. It can be a written-down curriculum, like the slip of paper you might get in your first lectures that outline the content of the coursework. It can be a calendar, print, or digital, that outlines specific subjects and topics for each week, each month. It can also be in an organisational system such as Notion or Trello, that allows you to create boards, to do lists, timelines, calendars, and more for maximum productivity.

Similarly, while you are studying for yourself (and also for fun), you need to consider finding a way to test your progress over time. It is necessary to test your abilities. Doing so holds yourself accountable, and ensures you’re learning the things you need to. Like a study plan, tests can have multiple forms too. Such as flashcards, language apps, workbooks, projects, presentations, and essays.

To recap, being a student for life is not about spreading yourself too thin and trying to accomplish too much at once. Not everyone is capable of learning many things at once. We all set our own limits. When I say limits, what I mean is how much we can achieve at a time. Instead, lifelong learning is about using the time you have to learn meaningful skills and to enhance your life personally or professionally.

To do that you need to prioritise subjects and topics, find relevant, informative resources, and you need to create a timeline and test for yourself. This way, you make the most out of your passion for lifelong learning and you set yourself on the right path for learning your desired skills, hobbies, or activities.

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