Top Tips To Boost Professional Development In Just 10 Minutes

Professional development is an ongoing process. Those who are willing to study throughout their lives are more successful. I’ve spent a lot of time every day trying to maximize my efficiency. That is to get more done in less time, with my hectic schedule at work and at home. I do my best to set aside at least 10 minutes on most days. Timely opportunities can change your course of events. And a well-planned PLN and media intake can help you take advantage of them. So let’s find out how to boost professional development in just 10 minutes of your day. 

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10-Min Professional Development For Busy People

According to my “10-minute rule”, no item on your to-do list should take more than 10 minutes to finish. If it’s going to take more than 10 minutes, you either need to do it in parts or find someone else to do it for you. Setting a phone alarm to go off at the 10-minute mark is simple. And it’s a very effective way to ensure compliance with this regulation. It’s hard to beat the wonderful ease and clarity it brings to your day.

Are you ready to give it a shot? Here are three ways to put the 10-minute rule to good use in your life.

Outsourcing Services

If you want to get more done in less time, assign someone else a task to finish in 10 minutes or less. An important part of the success of one of my most admired coworkers is that he says ‘yes’ to everything. But, he only actually performs the tasks that only he can do best. The rest he doles out to his underlings.

Delegating work is easier in theory than in practice. It’s difficult to let go of a task when you have doubts that the person you’re entrusting it to will perform a good job. Remember that “done is better than perfect,” and that you must let go of your skills to advance in your career. I also learned that excellent delegation provides chances for others. I now give my workers jobs and initiatives that help them improve and save me time. (Here is some extra guidance on the topic of delegation.)

Juniors rarely have difficulties delegating. That’s because they forget they can and should delegate upwards. Do not directly address a superior. Try this: Explain your behavior and provide aid with your “ask”. I need help pulling data for this analysis; could you call the other team leads?

Easy 10-Minute Professional Development Task

Rethinking the chores you want to do in 10 minutes can change your mind. Unbelievable, isn’t it? And yet you can do it. Do you have to learn more about something? Start by spending 10 minutes on Google reading news articles. Then, spend another 10 minutes writing down everything you know. Also, write the top few questions you still need to answer. Finally, spend another 10 minutes calling people to know how to solve your open questions. Bonus points: If you realized that calling someone is a form of delegation.

Voilà! You just completed a task that may have taken hours in 30 minutes.

After hours, this method remains effective. One of my coworkers was so taken with the 10-minute rule. It improved her work life so much that she started using it at home, too. She started a 10-minute shower, 10-minute breakfast, etc. schedule. And she realized that she could reduce her “getting ready” time, instead of her treasured sleep. Until she tried it, she wouldn’t have believed that a 10-minute shower was even conceivable.

Set Your Clock To 10-Min PD Schedule

Remember that keeping track of time is a vital aspect of the rule. All business professionals are aware of the adage, “We do what we measure.”

You should use a timer or clock to track your time even with the 10-minute limit. Smartphones with timer apps make it easier, but any minute-handled clock will do. Never take chances—if a 10-minute task takes 20 minutes, you’re wasting time.

Sometimes you’ll finish a task in under 10 minutes (bonus time). And other times you’ll be on the phone when the alarm goes off. Don’t worry about being rude by running over somebody; remember not to do it again.

One of your coworkers might have the tendency to go on and on. You could try starting your next talk with the caveat that you have 10 minutes to come up with some ideas. If you need more time, what then? Okay, that works too: You may learn a lot about your productivity and work habits by keeping track of your time.

The Pull Potential To Boost Professional Development 

You can get information from the web in one of two fundamental ways:

Push: Push technologies, such as search engines or queries, need the user to take part by pressing a button. You must now engage in independent activity. Nothing will happen until you actively participate by pressing the button.

Pull: You can get information via “pull” methods. Your Internet homepage is your most important choice for your personal development. Many of us have been using igoogle for this. But now that Google has chosen to shut it down, there are alternatives like Netvibes and Symbaloo. Pull can also mean the notifications you choose to get on your phone. Don’t forget that the more notifications you get, the less useful they become.

A rowing crew is a great example of the distinction between push and pull. Assembling a hub that pulls in relevant data is a lot like being on a rowing crew. It includes trending hashtags, feeds, and reputable, up-to-date sources. You have tremendous allies in the form of automated services and individuals to make up your PLN. Your efforts will bear far greater fruit as a result. Even though you’ve upped your effort level, you still have to put in time. You’ll be able to move faster even though you still need to board the boat. That’s because it was made to accommodate many occupants. This is the potential impact of pull technologies on education. Whom you let into your boat is entirely up to you.

Form A Collaboration (Teamwork)

A group of people to share knowledge with can greatly enhance the learning process. You may rely on them for encouragement, guidance, and support. Having someone else keep tabs on your progress might also help you stay on track with your goals.

See if your coworkers want to put in more study time. If they are, you should get together with them and study. You can also have lunch and learn, or just spend some time reading and studying together. You might take a course together, either in person or online.

LinkedIn and Twitter are great places to network. You can get together with other experts in your field sharing interests in training.

You could also look into specialist training options. Mentoring or “shadowing” programs allow employees to work alongside experienced colleagues. If it benefits you and the firm, your company may pay for your professional development.

Putting The 10 Minute Rule To Use

My best application of this rule occurred a few years ago. The team I was on got that dreaded 4 o’clock client phone call to change the presentation for the next morning. What a horrible way to ruin a peaceful evening!

We divided our four-person team into two. We needed to work on separate but equally important tasks. We tasked each of our two groups with updating roughly the same number of PowerPoint slides. Each group also had to provide roughly the same amount of analysis. Thus, we expected the work to take roughly the same amount of time.

I told my coworker that I was hoping to wrap up by six o’clock. I brought it up so that we could make dinner plans. He agreed, but he was skeptical that we’d be able to make it. So, we counted the pages. We divided them by the two hours we had remaining in the day. We determined that we could average 10 minutes for each page. There would be plenty of time for us to complete it. Plus there would be a safety margin for any unexpected difficulties. We regrouped, divided the papers, and got to work against the clock. We made it into a competition by keeping the score on the whiteboard. And counted how many pages we could read in less or over the allotted 10 minutes.

We were done by 6 o’clock in the evening, and we were ecstatic. The other group that chose to play past the 10-minute mark? At about 9 o’clock, they finished.

Conclusion

Effective methods of skill improvement are very important in today’s fast-paced world. In this post, we discussed ways to boost your professional development in just 10 minutes. Microlearning, SMART goal-setting, and mindfulness can help you maximize your time and effort. The use of online resources, networking, and self-reflection can enhance growth. To grow steadily, stay positive, make realistic goals, and learn for life. These recommendations can help you realize your greatest potential. They illustrate that even a little time may boost your profession.

It’s time for a challenge. Take out a timer for your next activity today and give it a shot. Time’s running out!