-part of the N4L Series; celebrating Learning at Work Week-
It’s my great pleasure to introduce Michael Hodgson…
About Michael
I am a physicist who primarily works in engineering and manufacturing sector applying logical skills to practical situations. I have worked in academia, industry and research organisations.
What networked for learning means to me
Whether we realise it or not, we rely on others to progress in life. It could be a doctor to cure us or a tailor to cloth us, but there are always things we cannot do for ourselves.
The same goes for knowledge. Information is critical for our development as a race. We can only move forward by learning from our own successes and failures. We can leap forward when we learn from other people’s accomplishments, a sentiment best summed up by Sir Isaac Newton “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants”.
However, in the modern world there is simply too much information for any one person to know, therefore on a day-to-day basis we always have to rely on the fact that someone knows something that we do not. For some this sits uneasily upon their soul and they strive to know it all, an impossible and time consuming task. For others, it is reassuring that they can focus on what they are good at and call upon others when there is a hurdle to overcome.
When we are truly “Networked for Learning” we are open to help and driven to share; we work in synergy with a collaboration of minds to drive forward the group as a whole. Most of the major advancements over the last 100 years are based on this principle and I am confident that our successes moving forward will be to.
Gone are the days of know-it-alls, the future is being networked for learning.
My personal learning insights
Quite simply, prioritisation is key. Even as I write this, a “to do” list of around thirty items taunts me. Over the last 12 months I have come to realise that success and happiness follows when you can take that list and focus on those things that actually do need to be done.
But even more important (and difficult) than that is when you can filter out the tasks that don’t need to be done or that you will never feasibly be able to do, and simply forget them. This skill is easier said than done as even now, after around 10 years, I can think of some tasks I “needed” to do in a previous job.
If you can clear out that clutter of procrastination in your memory, it allows you to not only focus on the task at hand. It allows you to enjoy the success of completing it without the guilt of feeling that there’s still more to be done.
Career Energiser 
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