Course Overload by Steph Beth Nickel

Course Overload

I have a tough time passing up a deal … especially on writing and writing-related courses.

How about you?

I have a backlog of online courses awaiting my attention. And I almost always buy lifetime access to the summits you can listen to live. But seriously, who has the time to spend days sitting at the computer listening to so many speakers?

And then there are the YouTube channels I love to follow … and the podcasts … and on and on and on.

I feel like the monkey with her hand stuck in the coconut.  You know the story. The monkey has her fist clenched so tightly around the treasure she doesn’t want to relinquish that she can’t withdraw her hand through the hole in the coconut. She can’t enjoy her treasure and she grows increasingly frustrated.

While this may not be the way the original story goes, you get the idea.

I keep thinking, “Maybe this will be the course that motivates me to pursue my dreams … and gives me clear direction as to which dreams should take priority.”

And then there’s the song sung by Sister Bear in a Berenstain Bear video my children watched countless times when they were young, “I Want It All.” In this cyber age of virtually limitless possibilities, this is often my theme song.

So, how am I going to choose which courses to complete, which interviews to listen to? Maybe the following list will help you avoid course overload as well.

  1. Evaluate what opportunities are at hand and what courses will best develop needed skills.
  2. Before purchasing new courses (or books or lifetime accesses), assess those already “inside the coconut.”
  3. Choose one course and set a deadline to complete it. Schedule time in your planner to work on it so you can check off the course from your To Do list … and more importantly, so you can learn new skills that will help with your writing.
  4. In addition to, or in lieu of, the above, choose a dream you very much want to pursue (i.e.: writing a novel, beginning a podcast, becoming known as a “must have” speaker) and focus on a course that will help you develop the needed skills to make that dream a reality.
  5. Be ready to let go of “treasure” that isn’t doing you any good so you can open your hand and freely offer your gifts and talents to the world.

What course are you currently working on? At the risk of causing readers more opportunities for overload, why not share a link in the comments?

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