Learning vs Doing: How to Get the Most Out of the Courses You Buy
There’s a big difference between watching a class on how to do a thing and DOING the thing. And for most learning, you can’t simply absorb the “lecture” and then be able to do the process.
For example, I bought a workshop on Instagram Reels from Marta Spirk. BUYING the workshop didn’t impart any knowledge.
I wasn’t able to attend the workshop live (story of my life) so I had to make time to watch the workshop replay. Because it was a replay, I was also able to pause it (over and over) to open popsicle wrappers, change a diaper, and queue up an episode of Blaze and the Monster Machines.
But just WATCHING the replay still didn’t give me the confidence to create a reel.
I had to watch the workshop, whip out my phone, open Instagram, and DO THE ACTIONS.
Which I did. While I’m far from good at creating reels, and I’ve yet to figure out how to create one that has anything to do with writing a book, I was able to shoot and edit a reel that was far more complicated than what I’d done before.
Total time: about three hours.
Don’t panic that it took me three hours to create a 15-second video!
That time includes watching the 90-minute workshop, asking questions in the Facebook group, and doing the steps to create the reel. But now that I’ve DONE IT, the next reels will be significantly faster. Minutes instead of hours.
Learning isn’t instant.
And you won’t be able to write a book from JUST watching my training videos.
You’ll understand the theory. You’ll THINK you “get it.” But without taking the actions in the lessons, writing, and doing the steps, you won’t ever actually WRITE a book.
Frustrating but true.
A few months ago, I took a class on how to scan in my watercolor artwork and use Photoshop to digitize it for art prints and products. It is so much more involved than just “scan and print!” Currently, I’m working on taking a set of four of my paintings and turning them into notecards – so I can send you mail.
Even though I’d taken this class to learn all the steps to color correct, crop, resize, etc. my art, I STILL tried to shortcut the system. Scan it into Photoshop, try a few automatic color corrections, load to Vistaprint to make notecards.
And it looked like CRAP. Nothing I wanted to spend my money on to print, let alone to send to YOU.
WHY this surprised me, I’ll never know. The instructor was VERY CLEAR that I couldn’t do what I’d just tried.
I know why I’m trying to shortcut it. It’s a four-hour long class. Yes, I’ve watched it – but I didn’t take notes, let alone TRY any of the steps she was giving.
Is the time I spent watching the class wasted?
Only if I don’t watch it again!
- Watching without doing gave me the language of this new, technical skill.
- Watching without doing gave me the foundation of the process.
Next I’ll need to watch and take notes. (So I don’t have to watch it over and over when I want to DO it.)
And while I’m watching and taking notes, I’ll have my computer in front of me to ALSO follow along.