Does 5 Hours Of Learning A Week Need To Be The Official UK Adult Guidelines?
I read this quote in a blog last week
“5-Hour Rule: If you’re not spending 5 hours per week learning, you’re being irresponsible“
As soon as I read that my 1st thoughts were why are there no official UK Adult Guidelines for learning in the same way there are for exercise and physical activity
The guidelines for adults are 150 minutes of weekly physical activity i.e 30 minutes exercise on 5 days every week
Think about it
- The time people stop learning is the same time people often stop exercising – i.e after formal education
- Dementia is affecting more and more people and advice is along the lines of “Keeping mentally active by learning new skills or joining clubs can also be a good way to connect with other people and improve mental well-being.”
- There is a positive ROI for businesses when employees spent time learning and training
Here are 5 Ways To Improve Learning In Your Business
DAY TO DAY LIFE LEARNING – (1 hour per week)
Most of us learn and soak up new information every day without thinking about it
It’s part of your everyday life to look at BBC Business, Trade Publications or click on blogs such as Altrincham HQ to get your regular dose of learning
We might not note down how much time we spend on them, but chances are you spend 10-15 minutes a day learning and over a 5 day working week that adds up to around an hour a week
It’s still way shorter than the amount of time spend watching Love Island, so here are 4 more ways to improve learning in your business
PODCASTS (1.5 hours per week)
£17.99 was one of the best investments I made in my business
Yes – just £17.99
Each week I spend at least 3 hours in the gym as part of my exercise routine. My exercise routine also involves running a few hours a week but when I pound the roads it’s my one time I totally switch off from business and enjoy the sights around me
The biggest regret I have is not investing in the £17.99 earlier for a set of headphones and suffering chart pop on repeat for the several years I went to the gym previously
Now for those 3 hours a week I leverage my time to the maximum burning 600-700 calories a gym visit, whilst soaking up an hours inspiring information on podcasts each time
I have about 3-5 podcasts I regularly listen to and am always open to hearing recommendations of who I should listen to around marketing and business growth
If exercise isn’t your thing, think about the time spend driving or commuting to work each day or the time you spend walking the dog
BOOK CLUB (1 hour per week)
As I published this blog I went and counted how many books i’d read over the past 4 years and I counted around 70 books
35 business books and 35 non-business books as I like to alternate between business and personal interests
It’s not a huge amount, but where possible I like to read for 15-20 minutes a few nights a week
So many of my business books have come from recommendations on LinkedIn, but why not make it part of your organisation where everyone can recommend 1 book each year for others to read
It means reading and books become part of the companies culture and people start talking about the information they’ve soaked up
LUNCHTIME LEARNING SESSIONS (30 mins per week)
Lunchtime learning sessions are a great way to bring the team together
Whether it’s members of the team delivering 30 minutes seminars or workshops or bringing external business experts to deliver specialist subjects it’s a great way to help the business grow
Snack sized learning, as cheesy as it sounds, will spark the imagination and you’ll find by the end of the working day people are fired up with new ideas and contributions to the company
The key on lunchtime learning sessions are to make them interesting and only bring in the best speakers and topics possible
No one wants to be bored to death by powerpoint over their lunchbreak
FORMAL TRAINING (1 hour per week / half a day a month)
I said at the start of this articles that there is a positive ROI for businesses when employees spent time learning and training
Formal Training allows you to specifically look at area of the business that need improvement and areas that will help grow the business
Off the top of my head here are 10 courses you might want to think about sending your staff on
* Social Media Training
* Sales Training
* Email Marketing Training
* SEO Training
* Networking Skills Training
* Presentation Skills Training
* Photography Workshops
* Video Marketing Training
* Management Skills Training
* Advanced Computers Skills i.e Microsoft Word / Excel / Email etc
And that’s not including sector specific courses for your business
How many of the above have your staff attended and is it time for a refresh?
I’D LIKE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON LEARNING AT WORK
Do you think 5 hours week learning should be the Official UK Adult Guidelines?
Which of the 5 Ways To Improve Learning In Your Business do you think you will implement 1st?
Is it too much? Not enough?
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