Ways To Get On Track with Professional Development

If there was ever a week where we needed some real talk, it’s this one. If you’re an Edmonton business owner you’re facing an unanticipated challenge. As a photographer, a part of my business thrives on events. Those events are on standby or are already canceled. This means I’m left with an unanticipated amount of time extra on my hands. This post will share the four ways I’m going to make the most of that time. 

I’m a professional development enthusiast. I attend conferences, watch a zillion free webinars and I’m even working towards an online certificate in Adult Learning through the University of Calgary. As a small business owner professional development is in our own hands. 

I’m also guilty of purchasing courses and content and not putting enough time aside to work my butt through them and get stuff done. SO! Here is my action plan over the next month to stop making excuses and work through the free and paid content waiting in my inbox. 

Get Social With It

Share (without stealing!) your takeaways from what you’re learning through your courses/professional development journey. Sharing on social will keep you accountable for following through with what you’re learning. Telling your audience how you’re going to implement what you’ve learned is an amazing way to showcase your drive badassness as a business boss. 

Here’s a personal example of a key takeaway from RISE Toronto:

RISE Toronto inspired me to reflect on what is currently going “right” in my business. In order to achieve my future goals, I need to recognize what is working and what is not. Chip away at the “not” and I can better focus my energies on what is working to generate more consistent revenue.

This is a summary of a key takeaway from the conference without sharing the exact content from the conference. I am spilling no secrets, only my insight.

If you’re like me, you’ve signed up for a course that you really don’t want to take, but you really really should take (I’m looking at you Taxes 101). If you’re really like me, you constantly push back a course like Taxes 101 each time you find a new and exciting course that aligns with your passion. Let’s promise each other that we’re going to find a balance. 

Make a deal with yourself, you’ll do a module from a course you’re not enthused about (let’s not get out of hand and do the entire course all at once) and follow that module with another one from a course you’re in love with. So, get the dirty done fast and then move forward towards that golden light.

Look For Free Content

There is so much free content out there! YouTube is amazing. You do not need to sign up for an expensive coaching course if it’s not in your budget (and that’s okay!) If you’ve got a major crush on a coach, do a deep dive into all their free YouTube content first. 

Download a Podcast app stat. Podcasts are my favorite source of online inspiration and growth. There are a few podcasts out there like the Start Today Morning Show and Boss Girl Creative that sometimes include monthly or weekly challenges for the listener. These challenges are a form of professional growth and development. Yes, they count! 

Find a Balance

This will help you create strong habits once schedules are back to a regular pace. Time blocking an hour or two per week to sit down and only focus on professional development keeps it a priority. 

I block off Wednesday mornings as my professional development time. It’s in my Google Calendar as a non-negotiable. I don’t always do a course during this time, sometimes it’s market research, some youtube tutorial time or time to sit down with a favorite coaching book. 

Block Your Time

This is the part where I let you know that I work from home and don’t have children. It is fairly easy for me to make time for this each Wednesday morning but I know that won’t be the case for many readers. Do what you can, even if it’s 15 minutes a week. Block that time into your calendar and don’t let your other business items take priority over it. 

Investing time in yourself is never going to be a bad thing. If you’re like me and faced with more open time on your hands than you were anticipating you might feel stuck. Right now is a hard time to make plans when it’s tricky to anticipate what’s going to happen a week from now or the week after that. If you’re finding yourself stuck, look to professional development as a source of inspiration.

Here are a few of my favorite online resources for professional development:

Audile 

Coursera 

www.masterclass.com

youtube.com 

Academic Earth

TEDEd

Written by Janelle Dudzic

7 Life Areas To Consider When Crafting Your Vision Board

A vision board is a powerful manifestation tool that will help inspire, motivate and drive us to the direction of what we desire.

I used to think that vision boards only contained the fancy things and the travel destinations on our bucket lists but I learnt that it is and should be so much more than that! Our vision board should encompass all areas of our lives.

I believe that we could live the life that we want simply by choosing to intentionally and consciously design it.

Putting not only the dream house, dream car, dream destinations but also our values, empowering quotes, photos of people who inspire us, it helps in making the board even more effective and powerful. Because the primary purpose of the vision board is to inspire us and to keep us focused.

We should have a clear and specific idea of what we want, where we want to go, the things we’d like to accomplish. The values our next level self embodies. The experiences, feelings, possessions, state of being that she has.

These 7 Life Areas method is what Tony Robbins uses for Date with Destiny when he lets his attendees create their own life boards. I loved how he divided several life areas in a different way than most people. This really got me thinking what matters first and to actually consider other sides of life and not just the usual (goals, destinations, bucket lists, etc).

1. Physical Body

This may include way you want look, how you want feel about your body, a fitness/weight goal. What do you want your health to be like? Every part of your body should be operating at its peak.

Our body is the vehicle with which we do things so it is important that we start to determine how we want it to be and our relationship with it. There are many outside factors that we don’t have control over but for most people, our body and health is something that when we have enough discipline and determination, we can control it.

2. Mind + Emotions

This can include attitude, beliefs that will determine your behavior, emotions or your experience in life (example: bliss, ecstasy, peace) and of course, your mindset and education.

This may be represented by words or symbols. For example, you would like to acquire more knowledge on business, you may put a picture of a bookshelf, or personal development books. Or for happiness, it can be a picture of someone happy and thriving.

3. Relationships

This particularly pertains to our life partners. The most important decision you’re going to make in your life is who you’re going to share your life with. Other relationships such as family will be in number 6. But for now, what’s the kind of relationship that you want? More than physical attributes, we should also set standards on what kind of principles, values and mindset they have in life. I learned that when you don’t share the same values, it’s never going to work and you’ll spend days secretly hoping they’d change. What kind of marriage do you want? What kind of experiences and lifestyle would you like to share and have together?

4. Career/business

I think my current vision board is mostly filled with this one. Haha! This is my favorite part and for my current stage in life and for the future that I want, I feel like it’s just right that this is one of my top priorities. This is also something that I took my time curating pictures for especially as a multi passionate like me who literally wants 700 things at once. It is important for me to be as specific as possible but at the same time, allows freedom for my ever changing heart.

If you’re an entrepreneur or are aspiring to be one, this can have our business goals, products you want to create or services to offer, how will you provide value. It can also have symbols for a sense of fulfillment, how you are learning, job promotion, location independence, etc.

5. Finances

This is the most famous part. Haha! Finances and money in general. This can be about your dream income but not just the amount. You may also put pictures that symbolizes what you’re going to do with that money or the things it allows you to have such as material possessions, dream home, dream car, designer items, equipment. It can also be about travel destinations on your bucket list and other experiences that can symbolize wealth and abundance for you!

For my new vision board, one of the things about finances that I put was my giving goals. I remember an experience where I only realized I reached my monthly income goal was when I was counting my tithes. It was the best feeling ever! Like, I forgot I set that (aka detachment!!) and then it came. That “YES LORD! We did it!!!” feeling is the best feeling ever and it’s super nice to have felt like I’m business partners with God. I want to partner with Him on everything.

6. Social

Who we surround ourselves with determine the course of our life so it is important that we become aware of the people around us. This area may include your network, your friends, and of course, your family. What’s your relationships like? What kind of people are they? What kind of impact do you make on each other’s life? What are the activities you do together?

I really want to have a girl best friend. Like, you know the ones in movies where you share literally everything and are super goofy around each other? That’s what I want. Haha! In my vision board, I put a picture of two girls working out together and having fun. LET’S GROW TOGETHER, GIRLY.

And of course, this includes your hobbies and the ways you nurture your inner child! What are the fun stuff you want to fill your life with? Although when you love what you do it never feels like work, you should also have other hobbies and experiences that fill you with joy.

Do you have new experiences in your list? Restaurants, places.. (Not even) the sky is the limit!

7. Spiritual

We’re not human beings having a spiritual experience. We’re spiritual beings having a human experience. Our vision should include things and experiences not only of the physical realm but also of the spiritual one.

You may put your relationship with God, alignment with your higher-self, self-Mastery and awareness, meditation and prayer practices you would like to stick to. It is also nice to have your values and beliefs up on your board to set a reminder of why you want these things and what grounds you.

I also created a PDF guide for creating your first vision board! It contains lessons I learnt while creating my first vision board. Some from my visualization exercises that taught me what I connected to most, and others I learned recently as I compiled photos for my new board!

I hope you have fun crafting your own dream board!

Posted Curated by: Nicole Constante ! NicoleConstante.co
The Get It, Girl Radio
instagram.com/nicole.constante