[PODCAST 52]: Unlock Your Courses

At LearnDoBecome, we help people to architect a life of excellence. We want to have a life where we can’t wait to wake up in the morning, and when we go to bed at night, we actually feel content. We feel peace and excitement, because we are living our purpose and strengthening their families.

But sometimes when you think about doing what matters most, it feels overwhelming. There is just too much to do all at once. We’ve particularly noticed this problem as online courses have become easier to access; You may end up with so many courses, books, and ideas that you want to implement that it feels like you are drowning.

Today, we’re going to change that. Eric and I have invested a lot of money and time in courses, conferences, books and programs–because we have learned how to implement them. Online courses have changed our lives.

But the courses themselves don’t do anything unless we know how to implement them. So, if you have a bunch of programs sitting on a digital shelf, here are seven simple steps that will help you to unlock these courses:

(1) Select your courses carefully.

You want to be REALLY committed to the topic. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you consider a new course purchase:

• Will I have limited or lifetime access?
• Given what I have on my plate, does this make sense to commit to right now?
• Are additional bonuses available through affiliates?
• Is this a NEED? Will it bless my life?
• Is there a money-back guarantee?
• Is this the most important course for me to take or invest in at this time?

(2) Calendar triggers for when the refund window closes—and when to start.

The goal is never to go into the program expecting to request the refund; rather, I go in planning to make this program worth 10x what I’ve paid because of the value I get out of it. But if a course turns out to be something I wasn’t expecting, I don’t want to miss that window.

I also sometimes sign up for a course knowing I won’t be able to start right away.

I set up calendar triggers for both (the day I’d like to start the course and the refund close date) using Google Calendar, so that it will pop up on my phone and send me an email. Then I can take care of it when I’m processing my emails.

(If you haven’t learned yet how to bring and keep your email inbox at zero, come learn how to do this in our free training!)

(3) Do a 10-minute review of the content right away.

Sometimes the idea of a course feels more overwhelming than it really is. There is no monster in the closet. Join the support groups (Facebook, etc) and print your checklists or any related printables.

(4) Keep login in @logins—email yourself your password.

Inside of my email, I use the @ symbol to bring folders to the top of my folder list. I’ve created a folder called @logins to hold emails containing login information–especially those handy auto-login links!

Some other handy tips:

• In your phone, you can create a keyboard shortcut for the email associated with your course to make it quicker to type in. To learn how to do this, do a google search for your phone: “Set up keyboard shortcuts on iPhone.”
• If you use a password manager, this would also be the time to make sure your course login is saved to your password manager.
• Consider saving the course login page (or even the auto-login link) as a bookmark in your browser of choice. If you’re looking for instructions on how to do this, a quick internet search can help you (ex: “How to add bookmark in Safari”).

(5) Use a Projects List to prioritize your courses—and a Routines List to remind you to study/utilize the course.

If it’s a monthly membership, establishing a routine to use that membership is a project—then it goes into routine mode.

I hold my routines in Asana. If you’re interested in learning more about how I do this, you can check out this video or this podcast!

(6) Use your Current Project Support materials to hold digital or physical resources related to this course.

Record what you are learning. Screen shots, written summaries, etc. are all examples of things you would want to keep in your Current Project Support materials.

Physical resources could be kept in folders or cubbies. Digital resources can be kept in an app like Evernote. Having one place to look for your resources will help you find them quickly and easily when you need them!

(7) Extract project, task and routine ideas as they come and put them into your system.

I hope these seven ideas will help you to feel more excited about implementing the courses you’ve already purchased, so you can get into a flow where projects, routines and tasks just happen naturally. When you know how to carefully select courses that will move you towards the areas you feel drawn to move, you will begin to feel stronger, happier and more motivated. I’m so excited for you!

If you’re looking for one course to get started with–come join us in our STEP (Steps to Everyday Productivity) Program! Setting up your own STEP Command Central will unlock every course you have previously purchased and will set you up for success!

Interested in learning more? Come join our free class, How to Stop Drowning in Piles. We’ll teach you how to create and use a Next Actions List and Current Projects list. Just click here or on the picture below to sign up!

And if you have friends and/or family who would like to learn how to unlock their courses, just click here to share with them on Facebook!