There is a funny thing about putting something out there and saying that you are going to do it – you kind of feel that you have to. So here it is, my second blog, as promised!
As I continued jogging with my couch potato to 5k app this week I realised a few things, firstly I realised how quickly I was going off Sarah Millican (sorry Sarah I love you really) but honestly going from a 90 second run to a 3 minute run – you could have warned me!
Secondly, it got me thinking about the importance of training, not the running type I was doing, but training for the brain.
I have proudly completed my CIPR Continual Professional Development (CPD) programme for so many years that I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t doing it. Learning is such a big part of my life.
The industry that we have chosen to work in is fast paced and constantly evolving and without training and spending time keeping up with those changes how can we offer the best, most up to date, strategic advice to our clients?
This week at Sidekick HQ we were looking at our own individual training needs and identifying areas that we felt we would really benefit from investing in. Thankfully through the CIPR and PRCA (other training providers are available) there are plenty of courses, webinars and conferences to attend.
We’ve selected the ways of learning that suit us best and are now planning the how, when and where. I’m looking forward to developing my skills further, hearing about the latest best practice and even if it is just reiterating that what we are doing is right, sometimes that in itself is enough.
I have a few months off from my Masters course in Strategic Communication (I’m a mere dissertation away from finishing and it and believe me, it has been a long slog) and will be using that time wisely, learning more about topics that will help me to provide the best service I can offer.
As an undergraduate student I worked throughout my degree and one of my jobs was at a bank. Whilst there a customer in her early 80s came to my desk and as I was serving her she said that she was off to her graduation, she had completed a degree in creative writing, I was so impressed and her motivation really stuck with me.
As a mere spring chicken, in my early 40s, my message is that you are never too old to learn, there is always something new to discover and even if it feels tough, like that jump from a 90 second jog to a three minute jog, it will be worth the effort.
Charlotte's Sidekick Blog 