How do you study at work?

f16jetman

My boss allows my to study at work as long as we have some downtime. I am grateful he allows this, however, I am so unproductive studying at work. I cannot for the life of me focus on the material. I end up going over the same stuff again.

At home I have good study habits. I eat dinner, help my wife with any cleanup and then proceed to studying.
I set timers in 25 min increments for studying with 5 minute breaks in between. I study 2-3 hours at night. I learn great using this method.

Work on the other hand is another thing! Any tips for maximizing study at work?

AGAM

I am finding the same problem. Watching educational videos and videos is very difficult for me in my work place as I am surrounded by all the little things that aren't due but I could do. I have found that what works best for me is; using a personal computer and not at my desk and doing practice exams during this time. For some reasons I can focus on those and not really anything else. Best of luck.

NetworkNewb

I try studying at work when I have a little downtime. But too much stuff going and makes it hard to focus. I'll still try, but I definitely don't count no getting much, if any, studying done at work.

PCTechLinc

Studying at work requires a LOT of self-discipline. If you're not going to put it in your schedule, then you have to think objective-based, i.e.: I will study Chapters A B and C by the end of my work day (as an example). I would put a lot of thought into your studying technique, otherwise you'll be wasting your time. Last thing I would ever want to do is waste my time at work and have nothing to show for it (especially when it comes to Performance Reviews). My last employer allowed me to study during off-times, and I was able to knock out CCNA Security and the new Security+ by primarily studying at work.

dontstop

Depending on your organisation I'd recommend finding an empty office/library or somewhere onsite/offsite that you can retreat too. I'd strongly discourage you from studying at your desk as you'll be open to any tasks or distractions that come your way. I'd also strongly advise against doing anything that needs requires undivided attention like taking mock exams. Block the time out in your calendar as DND. Also make sure whatever you're working on has been premeditated too. As said by PCTechLinc, you need to have your objectives and goals for the session already decided otherwise you'll waste time getting into gear.

Personally if it was me I'd set small goals and try do things that can be interrupted without too much context switching overhead (videos, small number of pages to be read 10-15, flashcards etc)

shimasensei

I try to maximize my downtime by studying. Just like pctechlinc said, it takes a lot of discipline.

PocketLumberjack

I am Help Desk and I work from home so my answer may not help too much but here is what I have found. When I was on site I tried reading/video watching and it did not work well. On a slow day I could get a chapter read but I felt like nothing was being retained. Then I started labbing at work and I found that was the best way gain the most knowledge at work, I would bring my laptop in or I would use Chrome Remote Desktop to connect to my iMac and lab on that.

Now that I work from home, and I think because I have been non-stop studying for a couple months I have found that I can watch some Videos during downtime or read about an area I am know a little about but need to know more.

When I was workstation support at my last job I would make sure my tickets were clear and I would shut myself in one of the network closets and get a scheduled hour in.

But I would say labbing on the clock has brought the most benefit to my studies, it forces me to document what I have done and what I want to do when ever the phone starts ringing. YMMV.

The best book I ever read was Deep Work by Cal Newport, after reading that I was really able to up my studying game.

hurricane1091

I had the best lab ever where I previously worked and had a lot of downtime at certain times of the year, it was great. I miss it for sure!

jamesleecoleman

I usually study what I need to know for work. So all the stuff in my signature, I study and if anyone has an issue with it... I'll explain to them that it's needed for something that I'm working at work. Its the truth too because I'm doing a lot at work since I'm the only IT guy.

twodogs62

Very hectic at work so hard to study.
i find my self studying when I am trying to solve a problem.
or after I solve problem.
after problem solved, I tend to try to spend extra time taking a deeper dive to learn more.
in this way, I am finding myself studying topics and not necessarily for a cert test.