E is for Eskwelabs Issue 74 - Learners in Wonderland 🌄
Key-shaped people are never too early nor too late. In your learning journey, you’re always at the right place and time. 💗
We created this newsletter to keep our alums, partners, and anyone interested in learning skills for the future of work updated and connected to our ever-growing community. If you want to read our previous issues, you can check them out here.
Ciao! This is Meg speaking. 😉 Our mindful exploration of opportunities through Stepping Stones has brought us to the end of April—a time to hopefully get on with our own projects. ✅ But, are we out of the woods yet?
Picture a white rabbit in a waistcoat with a watch, a cane, and anxiety about time. 🐇🐰 Not only does the rabbit exhibit human-like features, but it can also exclaim “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!”
Alice was intrigued by Lewis Carroll's "Hurrying Rabbit," which symbolized an obsession with time. ⏰ As other characters in the story stressed the importance of age and wisdom, she began worrying about growing older. They, however, exaggerated the virtues and knowledge associated with the passing of time. 🍃
As lifelong learners, we can get a thing or two from the anthropomorphism in this literary piece—especially as we take on projects. Despite knowing what project we want to do and what initiative needs to be done, we catch ourselves wondering if we have enough time. 😔 What needs to be prioritized? Will I put other projects on hold to make way for a new one? Will I master my current skills or will I continuously learn new ones? 💭
Issue 74 is NOT a race against time, rather, it is an opportunity to reflect on our relationship with time and how it affects our approach to learning and personal growth. 🌌 This issue will answer questions like:
How do I efficiently execute my projects? 🚧
How do I work smarter AND harder? 👷
What is the best environment for project execution? 🌳
As Alice says, it’s time to get “curiouser and curiouser!” 📚 Happy reading~
Reading time: 9 minutes
How do I efficiently execute my projects? 🚧
Time is a finite resource, and we need to use it wisely to achieve our goals. However, it is equally important to avoid becoming overly anxious or obsessive about time, as this can lead to stress and burnout.
Instead, we should strive for a healthy balance between productivity and self-care. 💡 This means setting realistic goals, breaking down projects into manageable tasks, prioritizing our most important commitments, and making time for rest, relaxation, and reflection. 💘
To that end, let’s talk about Project Management and why it is a skill necessary in a fast-paced world. 👏 The Association for Project Management defines it as:
the application of processes, methods, skills, knowledge and experience to achieve specific project objectives according to the project acceptance criteria within agreed parameters. Project management has final deliverables that are constrained to a finite timescale and budget.
While traditional project management methods have been around for decades, Agile Project Management has emerged as a popular alternative approach in recent years. ✅ Agile project management emphasizes adaptability, collaboration, and continuous improvement throughout the project life cycle.
The Agile Manifesto lists four values and twelve principles that originally guide software developers as they do their work. But, over time, we can see a rise of various industries adopting these values. 🗒️ Overall, it explains how managing work demands means accepting change and remaining flexible.
The Four Principles are:
🧑 People over processes and tools. Projects are built around individuals who are given the necessary support to get the job done.
📈 Working prototypes over excessive documentation. Solve problems with experiments and see results in real market conditions.
⭐ Respond to change rather than follow a plan. Be happy to learn things, even if it alters the team’s direction.
🖥️ Customer collaboration over rigid contracts. Details and specifications evolve throughout the project!
Taking these values and principles to heart is a way to adapt to a world that requires continuous innovation to keep up. 💖 More on Agile Workflows in future issues of E is Eskwelabs, so subscribe now!
How do I work smarter AND harder? 👷
As lifelong learners, we should also recognize that our education and personal growth are ongoing processes that require time and effort. ➕ It is not a race to the finish line, nor is it a competition to see who can finish the most tasks with the least amount of effort. 👍 This is most especially true in doing projects.
Annie Murphy Paul through her work “The Extended Mind” claims that in an age of information abundance, we are actually using TOO MUCH of our brains. 🧠 The human brain is limited in its attention, memory, abstract thinking, and persistence (and this is true for EVERYONE’S brain! Intelligence is subjective!) 🪴 The solution? Exhibit a growth mindset and learn to think outside your brain.
Having a growth mindset is like working out your brain. 🏋️♀️ Like a muscle that gets stronger with every use, the brain gets stronger as you take on more challenges. This means that in terms of making projects, you are more persistent in the face of setbacks, and you’re more willing to exert effort to learn new skills and strategies to overcome challenges. 💪
Which brings me to the next point—learning how to think outside the brain. ✉️ “Outside the brain” refers to entities like feelings, movements, physical spaces, minds of people around, etc. Doing this with intention and skill meets the demands of a modern world abundant with information. 💯
To paint a better picture, allow me to give some examples in the form of questions and answers.
Q: Why does having a stomach ache, a headache, or uneven breathing make it hard to think or make decisions❓
A: Tuning in to the sensations in our bodies and making sense of the actions we must take creates a state of internal balance within us. For example, placing a hand on your chest to determine your heart rate before doing an exam is a form of thinking outside your brain.
Q: Why does taking a walk help me organize my thoughts❓
A: Physical activities enhance our cognition as more senses are engaged. An example of this is hand gestures being able to boost memory.
Q: Why do I think clearer when I’m away from the city—among the mountains, by the sea, or in a quiet park❓
A: Time spent in natural spaces can restore our attention because our brains and bodies evolved to thrive in the outdoors. Built or man-made environments signify a depletion of mental resources.
Q: Why is it easier to think when I converse with someone else or with a group❓
A: Social interaction enables intelligent thinking. Think of the people you’re talking to as socially distributed cognition, as an extended memory.
Q: How does Eskwelabs practice thinking outside the mind in our Learning Sprints❓
A: We use cheatsheets and projects to serve as the second level of information retrieval for our learners. 👏
A cheatsheet is a short, condensed summary of key concepts, procedures, and examples in a particular topic that can be viewed in a single glance. 👀 It is designed to help learners recall what they have learned in the Learning Sprints, without having to go through the entire lesson again.
Grab a copy of our Learning Sprints Catalogue and see cheatsheets in action across different teams—including Learning & Development, Talent Acquisition, Sales, Marketing, Product, Management, Data Teams, and Bootcamps! ✅
What is the best environment for project execution? 🌳
Discussions on agile project management and the extended brain led us to the realization that our bootcamp learners are in a unique position to apply both concepts to their current and future careers. ✨
For example, our Data Analytics Bootcamp allows the opportunity to make data projects using Power BI skills to investigate CO2 data. 💨 Because this task is highly collaborative, agile practices would bring structure to the group’s workflows.
In addition, learners are required to do a Company Business Review in which they provide actionable recommendations and insights to stakeholders. 💼 Here they are encouraged to use their extended mind and be creative in problem-solving.
Signing up for Cohort 11 of the Data Analytics Bootcamp is a guarantee of harmony between time, effort, and results. ♾️ It is your sure step towards creating impactful projects that make a difference in YOUR future of work.
🗓️ Classes start July 24. Sign-up today!
So let us learn from the Hurrying Rabbit, but not let our own anxieties about time control us. ⏰ Let us use time as a tool to achieve our goals, but also appreciate the value of taking things at a sustainable pace. 🪜
Alice sighed wearily. 'I think you might do something better with the time,' she said, 'than waste it by asking riddles that have no answers.'
'If you knew Time as well as I do,' said the Hatter, 'you wouldn’t talk about wasting it.'
I’ll leave you to your wonderland of project-making, Eskweloves! See you next time! 👋
💌 Learning with you,
Meg Ruiz
Junior Content Designer at Eskwelabs