What is Continuous Learning & How to benefit from it

Examples of Continuous Learning

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." - Mahatma Gandhi.

Continuous learning can take many different forms. Some require obvious effort, time, planning, and money, while others are much simpler and can sometimes happen spontaneously. The good news is that no one person is locked into a particular style of continuous learning. For curious types and those looking for hardcore knowledge, they can mix and match what works best for them. Here’s a look at some of the most common forms of continuous learning.

Formal Education is one way to kickstart Continuous Learning

By far, one of the easiest to recognize forms of continuous education is seeking a formal education. While primary education in the country is mandatory, continuing the journey of learning upon graduating high school is almost expected, but not everyone follows this route. Examples of formal education can include:

• Higher education degrees - This can include pursuing undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral degrees and taking community college courses. Typical fields of study are business, science, engineering, and the arts.
• Vocational training - Young adults not interested in pursuing traditional college and university degrees can continue their education by enrolling in vocational and technical training schools. Areas of study can include automotive repair, plumbing, electrical work, and healthcare.
• Professional certifications - Obtaining certifications from accredited organizations can help not only validate current skills but also expand on levels of expertise and understanding.
• Continuing education programs - Enrolling in continuing education programs offered by universities and professional associations can help increase knowledge in your present career by keeping current on trends and technological changes.
• Online courses - Many universities and online learning platforms offer online courses to expand your knowledge on various topics. These don’t need to be based on resume building or career advancement and could be as simple as learning more about something you are interested in.

Informal and Social Learning as means to Continuously Learn

Informal learning could possibly have the most significant number of participants actively living the lifestyle of continuous learning. Choosing your subjects and topics to study and selecting how you’re learning keeps this style of continuous learning fun, light, and entertaining. Examples of informal learning can include:

• Blogs and podcasts - Pick a subject, and you’re sure to find more than enough blogs and podcasts that cover the topic in depth. Many are created by industry experts and those with actual first-hand experience.
• Videos - With millions of online videos, spending a few minutes or longer each day watching educational content on subjects that interest you is easy. Informal learning via curated ideas from popular videos is a form of continuous learning as long as it’s not endless scrolling without taking the time to learn something.
• Reading curated digests - Books are the classic way of attaining knowledge. Reading curated insights from books is an ideal way to practice continuous learning to acquire new insights, information, and perspectives that contribute to intellectual growth and stimulate critical thinking. Advantages that we're often overlooking while doomscrolling socials.

• On-the-job training - On-the-job training, formally or informally through observation, is a form of continuous learning. Learning new skills in your current position is vital for career advancement and boosting job satisfaction.
• Networking - Developing relationships with those more knowledgeable than you can help stimulate your mind and move the learning process forward in a casual way. Surrounding yourself with people with intimate firsthand knowledge of your career or a subject you’re sincerely interested in can develop into mentoring situations.

What is the difference between Lifelong Learning and Continuous Learning?

These two terms can be used interchangeably so often then we never really think about their differences, if any. Calling oneself a lifelong learner is a beautiful way of describing the acceptance of this never ending journey and that life always has something to teach. Yet, when it comes to continuous learning, this is where this playful view on learning becomes a little bit more pragmatic. Continuous learning is thus another way to describe personal development and self growth, rather than embracing our nature as information sponges.

• Lifelong Learning: Lifelong learning is a mindset, a lifestyle that has you embrace and become open to every lesson or insight you come across naturally, something more akin to mindfulness.
• Continuous Learning: Is a form of Self Development that focuses on harnessing the power of bite-sized learning and microlearning by splitting information into chunks, so that the process of learning is constant and thus more gratifying than a fixed, project-like approach to learning.

Benefits of Continuous Learning

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." - B.B. King.

Stagnation occurs when something stops moving. The same can be said for our minds, lives, and spirit. Without continuous movement, growth stops, and we’re stuck in the same place, going nowhere. Individuals who don’t seek constant mental stimulation tend to lead unhappy, unsuccessful, meaningless lives. Continuous learning may take some effort, but it takes less effort than you may think.

Pushing ourselves, either through formal learning by pursuing advanced degrees and certifications or by merely continuing to learn something new daily through informal methods such as podcasts, blogs, and informational videos, keeps life interesting and engaging. Continuous learning has many benefits, and it is a lifelong journey.

• Career Growth

  One of the more obvious benefits of continuous learning is career advancement. To move up the ranks of your profession, constantly moving forward by acquiring more skills, knowledge, and qualifications can help to ensure steady career growth. Having a competitive edge is key in the marketplace. While a bigger salary may not be your end game, it is a part of the equation.

• Personal Development

  Expanding your knowledge and skills helps professionally but, more importantly, benefits your personal development. Those who have changed their habits to incorporate daily learning become more well-rounded and develop the ability to adapt more easily to change. By improving their problem-solving abilities, they become much more resilient.

• Increases Confidence and Motivation

  Nothing can quite compare to feeling confident and knowing that you can handle any situation that comes your way. Those who embrace lifelong learning have the knowledge and skills to overcome obstacles and are more motivated to seize the day. Increasing one’s knowledge helps build self-confidence, leading to a more productive and happy life overall.

• Better Use of Free Time

  We’re all guilty of mindless, empty scrolling on our favorite social media platforms at one time or another. Not only is this a waste of valuable free time, but it can also lead to unhealthy encounters with faceless keyboard warriors whose job is to taunt and argue. Doomscrolling doesn’t add anything positive to our lives; it detracts from them.

Expanding our knowledge is a much better use of our downtime. As we say, “Knowledge is power,” right? Spend your free time diving into your interests. There’s nothing wrong with becoming more knowledgeable on your favorite topics, and it is a much more valuable use of time than wasting your time liking short-form, mindless content.

Easy Ways to Incorporate Continuous Learning Into Your Life



"Learning never exhausts the mind." - Leonardo da Vinci.

Incorporating continuous learning into your daily life doesn’t have to be overwhelming, time-consuming, or unenjoyable. With a small amount of daily dedication and a plan, anyone can increase their knowledge or skill sets without much deviation from their lives. There’s so much to learn out there in the world, so why not fill your brain with information that will ultimately improve your life? Here are some ideas on how to do so.

• Set Aside Daily Time for Reading

  Commit to reading for at least 15 to 30 minutes a day. This could be a book, article, or video about a topic that interests you or a specific skill or concept you’re trying to tackle. Focused and uninterrupted reading is a good way to increase your knowledge. Building daily habits like committed reading can lead to other healthy lifestyle changes.

• Listen to Podcasts and Audiobooks During Chores or While Commuting

  

  Instead of listening to music while doing household chores or commuting to work, why not listen to something educational about a topic you want to learn more about? History Facts, interesting tidbits about Entrepreneurs, maybe cool things about science fiction? Using your time more effectively will increase your knowledge and make a mundane chore like vacuuming much more tolerable. By multitasking in an educational way, you can kill two birds with one stone.

  Deepstash has a library of hundreds of podcast, book, and even article summaries available here. Easily locate your favorite topics by either searching for your favorite or by scrolling through a collection of handcrafted journeys. Deepstash is an excellent resource for developing healthy learning habits.

• Try Bite-sized Learning

  The concept of bite-sized learning is to study a broad or far-reaching topic by breaking it into smaller, more easily digestible chunks. The goal is to master a much larger topic by focusing intense attention on each of its concepts in small pieces. Tackling smaller chunks of information can be more easily retained and understood without worrying about learning everything all at once.

• Set Learning Goals

  Setting learning goals helps you measure how much you are learning. It can also keep you on track and motivated to continue your quest for lifelong knowledge. Break down larger goals into smaller ones. Keep your goals attainable, and be sure to celebrate each victory. A clear focus on what you want to achieve can help to keep you on track.

  

• Use Learning Apps

  There are many learning apps available. Many facilitate learning through Microlearning & gamified lessons that can help keep learners motivated. Interactive learning sessions can be more engaging and enjoyable by masking learning with exciting graphics and a rewards-based experience. These learning apps, especially those focusing on Microlearning & Gamification, can become quite addicting, but in a positive way. What may feel like playing a game is a profoundly engaging learning session.

  Deepstash harnesses Microlearning & Gamification to reward the users for their commitment to continuous learning. Our ever-expanding idea cards, curated by users, will help you find genuine and unique insights across various topics to increase your general knowledge or surprise you with subject specific insights like behavior economics or product management tips.

• Experiment and Explore various Topics and Subjects

  

  If one learning method isn’t providing results or begins to feel more like a chore than a challenge, you have the freedom to experiment with different learning techniques. Not everyone absorbs knowledge in precisely the same way, so there’s no harm in exploring other media to expand your knowledge. For some, reading books is the best learning method, while others may respond better to videos or podcasts. Don’t be afraid to change the teaching method.

Keep Continuous Learning Fun



"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." - Dr. Seuss.

Whether pursuing a formal education or something less serious, keeping your learning progress fun is crucial. While the pursuit of degrees and certifications may be necessary for career advancement, any type of learning is beneficial in more ways than simply job growth. Many who practice continuous learning do so to better themselves, to keep their minds open, and to better handle all that life can throw at them.

Quench your thirst for knowledge with lifelong learning in a fun way with Deepstash. We are committed to assisting anyone who wants an easy and fun way to increase their knowledge. With our 200,000+ books, blogs, and podcasts, continuous learning can be achieved in one place.

Further Exploration: Learn more about Continuous Learning and related Concepts

Continuous Learning is one of the concepts that is very close to Microlearning, as it represents the desire to aquire knowledge that drives us to look towards ways of simplifying our learning journey while making it pleasant. Discover our Journey Collections related to this concept and explore unique curated ideas:

1. The Wisdom of Continuous Learning : Continuous Learning is often the source for major breakthroughs in our society, explore curated ideas from books, articles, podcasts, videos and more!

2. Creating A Culture Of Learning: Continuous Learning is among the first and foundational steps when it comes to encouraging learning as a culture. Discover curated ideas on learning culture from various media others found useful!

3. Doom-Scrolling & The Dark Side of Social Media: Social Media can be credited to kickstarting the continuous learning concept. Learn about how Doomscrolling epidemic and its link ot Contiuous Learning.

4. The Key Benefits of Micro-Learning : Microlearning is enabled and can work because people are inclined to continuously learn! Discover interesting insights about Microlearning curated by our community from books, articles, videos and even podcasts!

Continuous Learning is a topic worth exploring as it is a fundamental concept for us here at Deepstash, we deeply belive that self growth is achieved through small habits leading to larger gains. Deepstash embodies continous learning to its very core, down to every idea to allow you and others to make every minute & idea flick more meaningful.