How a Personal Curriculum is Helping Me Reach Goals

I felt bombarded with interesting information, but couldn’t seem to actually learn much.

My New Year’s resolution this year was to better structure my non-work/free/down time. I don’t have much of it and I want to put it to good use. 

In the past, I found myself consuming a lot of interesting information in micro doses (a helpful Instagram post, a thought-provoking LinkedIn post, or 30 minutes of a podcast), but I didn’t feel like I was assimilating the knowledge or stopping to critically think about it. So this year, I created a personal curriculum. It’s split into three tracks: learning, doing, and publishing. 

• Learning: One topic I’m actively consuming (books, podcast, etc.) 

• Doing: Most often a physical goal such as becoming a faster runner, but could also be a habit change (i.e. eat fewer protein bars or be bolder…)

• Publishing: What I’m writing about on my blog

Each track goes at its own pace. A learning goal might last a quarter. A physical goal might be a 30-day challenge. A publishing goal is typically monthly (I’ve failed this track so far).

My rules: 

• All free time is dedicated to the goals. If I’m commuting, I listen to books / podcasts relevant to the goal. If I read a book, it must be on topic. I take notes as I read so the information is not lost (I learn by writing). 

• If I discover something new (i.e. a friend suggests a book), I add it to the backlog.  

• While the annual plan was established in January, I can make changes based on what I think will add the greatest value to me personally or to my work. 

With 5 months down, I confirm the approach is mostly working for me! Per usual, I was ambitious so I can’t say I’ve 100% nailed the program, but I’ve had a few significant wins that I wouldn’t have had without this plan. 

Most notably, I set out to become a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and recently achieved this goal!

Things I haven’t done well: 

• It took me 4.5 months, instead of my planned 3 months, to accomplish my first “learning” goal which culminated in passing the CSCS certification. 

• I haven’t been great about my publishing goals at all… 

Things I have done well: 

• I was ruthlessly focused on my learning goal and physical goals.

I spend at least 4 hours per week commuting to and from Boulder. Every single trip, I listened to an audio study guide for the CSCS certification. I studied flashcards while drying my hair. I didn’t allow myself to pick up a single book outside of Essentials of Strength Training & Conditioning. 

Now, this might seem boring. But I am blown away by how a little bit of time most days added up to me passing one of the tougher certifications in my industry. When I look back on the last 5 months, would I have rather jumped from topic to topic … with little to show or little truly assimilated into my bank of knowledge…? Nope. The focus was worth it. 

Not every learning goal I have shall come to such a clear conclusion. So I’m curious to see how this process works as I move into the next phase, but I do think it will work. 

Much like I plan my training goals as if I were an athlete with “seasons”–working towards long term goals in 6-12 week chunks–I will continue to plan my learning goals in cycles for the time being. 

One thing really blew me away. 

I did not stick to a strict schedule. I don’t get up every day at 4am to read or write. I had weekends where I was only able to spend an hour on my learning goal. I still scrolled the damn gram. And I had commutes where I just needed to drive in silence. 

And yet, I succeeded. I cobbled together the in-between moments: a commute, 30 minutes in the morning, a Saturday afternoon, standing in line at the grocery store… 

To get all deep… do not underestimate the power of focus and consistency. A little bit of effort in a given direction everyday adds up to big results. Of course I have known this for quite some time. But it still amazes me. 

So what am I going to do with this certification? 

Keep learning. Put scientific principles to use in my own training which is currently focused on the Hyrox World Championships this Sunday!

Answer my friends’ questions about strength, power, and endurance with more confidence.

Along with my training partner, Peggy Nelson, help people get ready for their first Hyrox (let me know if you’re interested!). Spread the good word about palm cooling and how it accelerates gains in the gym. And hopefully one day, reach my goal of helping to inspire women to collectively gain 1 Billion Pounds of Muscle! 

As for my next learning goal, I’m going back to my professional roots and giving myself a crash refresher course on messaging. It’s one of the toughest, yet most important components of marketing, and it’s relevant to what we’re cooking up at Apex Cool Labs.