Acting on the Obvious

As much as I am a fan of learning, I’ve also become more and more aware that I often don’t need to learn anything new. I simply need to recognize what I already know and do something about it. I need to act on the obvious. This means, among other things, that …

… I need to unsubscribe from all those e-mail newsletters that I haven’t read for months (or that somehow, mysteriously started arriving in my inbox)

… ditto for all of the blogs I am subscribed to but never read

… I really need to re-read at least one book from the past for every two or three new books I read

… I need to take my own advice and be consistent about taking notes and reviewing them

… I need to take my own advice about asking “Why?” more often. (A lesson my toddler son is really schooling me in these days!)

… I need to stop checking e-mail every ten minutes

… I need to make reflection a more consistent habit

… I need to stop piling up things I know I am never really going to read, listen to, etc.

… I need to be more consistent about filing and bookmarking the things I do plan to read or reference later

… I … well, you get the point.

The above, highly-incomplete list applies only to my learning and productivity habits. I could go on and on about other areas of my life. What about you? A big part of being an effective lifelong learner is learning to act on the obvious.

Jeff