5 Tips to Become a Lifelong Learner

Reading is one of the best known ways for individuals to increase their knowledge. However, research reveals children today are reading less than ever. In fact, the National Literacy Trust states that only 26% of under 18’s read each day in 2019. 

A lack of reading can inhibit one’s development and reduce their literacy skills. A common phrase associated with this is known as “Summer brain drain”. This refers to young people who stop reading and learning and resultantly forget most of the content they have learnt over the academic year. 

This is much like anything in life; whereby if you stop being consistent, bad habits can form. For example, not doing a sport can make you lazy and not learning can slow your learning and development. This blog explores 5 tips why being productive and consistent and specifically committed to online learning with Sherpa online tutors is your master plan to be a lifelong learner. 

Critically, many education systems do not prepare students in life for the real world. Informal education is the spontaneous process of cultivating learning, it works through conversation and the exploration of new ideas and experiences.

When you stop learning, you stop growing. With these 5 tips you will be able to consistently better yourself. 

1. Get Out Of Your “Comfort Zone”

Everything you do in life is what creates who you are as a person. More importantly, the simple phrase “challenge creates character” is inherently true to all humans. By undergoing challenging tasks and placing yourself out of your comfort zone, you are able to learn new skills and information that you would likely not have discovered in your comfort zone. 

Getting out of your comfort zone is a good thing to follow for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is normal to be scared to do things you really do not want to do. However, once the task is complete you will feel proud of yourself. Secondly, you may discover new hobbies or interests you had never thought of before.

This ties towards the idea that humans are always wanting to learn and getting out of your comfort zone is a great way to achieve this. 

2. Online Learning

There’s no shortage of worthwhile opportunities to learn from online lessons. Revision and teaching experiences online have become the new norm in recent times which many people have now become very adapted to. Tutors being able to teach online enables all people to have a consistent learning pattern which allows for new skills and information to be constantly learnt. 

Sherpa epitomises such a fantastic opportunity by being a suitable online tuition platform that is right at the forefront of education and technology. It offers school children and adults the chance to have tailored lesson plans by Maths tutors, online English teachers and many more.

Such a large spectrum of tutors offer dozens of different topic areas allowing you to choose a whole wealth of new areas to learn. 

Additionally, with hundreds of qualified teachers all experienced in their field, there are huge possibilities to learn skills that you might not conventionally get the opportunity to learn within your school or university.

3. Build or Make Something

While consumption causes us to learn, creation gives us the opportunity for a practical application of whatever we have learned. Research has shown that hand activity from knitting to woodworking or growing vegetables are useful for decreasing stress, relieving anxiety, and modifying depression.

One can be moved or transformed by a thought or idea along the way as well as by the endpoint.

Furthermore, building new equipment can also help build relationships with friends and your children. The ability to work in a team can create a strong bond between all parties and this establishes stronger relationships. This is vital to develop from a young age as you are able to understand the importance of teamwork and listening to others when undergoing a task. 

4. Connect

The internet provides a variety of opportunities for people with an open mind. Not only are we able to read lots of different books online, but we can also book tickets to museums or to travel around the world. 

This is important to consider because often visiting a place is the best way to learn new information. For instance, going to a country is the best way to learn a new language. The internet additionally enables us to listen to local radios or read foreign newspapers to boost the chances of becoming fluent in a language. 



5. Listen and Watch 

Listen to podcasts. Watch TED talks. Between iTunes and YouTube, you have a fountain of knowledge that could last you a lifetime. There’s a podcast or YouTube channel for virtually any subject you might be interested in.

Take this video by Kurzegesagt. A YouTube channel that takes fascinating educational topics from Biology to Space Exploration and presents them in a beautiful and engaging format.

School might be where your formal education ends, but it shouldn’t be the place where learning does. Make a commitment to lifelong learning and you’ll give yourself an informal education that beats your formal one. Booking a session with a GCSE tutor, A-level tutor and many more professional tutors at Sherpa can ensure your life skills remain persistent. 

Sherpa's infographic on how to become a lifelong learner.