Alicia Kollmar MS, OTR/L
Next Level Mentor
alicia.kollmar@gmail.com
Those of us who start our own business are usually visionaries who love to learn new things. We love signing up for webinars, continuing education classes, and seminars. Many of these are free, or relatively cheap, and easily accessible since they are often online. If you can’t be there live, then you can watch the replay. Unfortunately, we often want to sign up for all of them, especially the free ones (after all, they are free, so why wouldn’t we?). This can cause some of us to become what is called a “Course Collector.”
Are You a “Course Collector”?
Course Collectors love to click links to sign up for webinars and online classes. Unfortunately, we are often easily swayed by the easy access and price and don’t evaluate whether it is worth our time, or if we even have the time to devote to it. As a result, we become overwhelmed and don’t watch any of it, or we watch all of it at the expense of using that time to take valuable action that will actually propel our business forward.
Decide: Is This a Good Course for You?
I was guilty of being a Course Collector in the past. I have had to set boundaries for myself so I don’t get sucked into every interesting-looking course, webinar, and summit. Here are some questions I ask now before signing up:
1. Do I currently have other courses waiting to be watched?
If yes, I won’t sign up no matter how amazing the deal is. I allow myself one business course and one therapy course at a time.
2. Do I have time to actually watch this webinar or course live?
You are more likely to watch something when it is tied to a time on your schedule, but if you can’t make it live, then schedule the time for the replay into your calendar so that you actually watch it.
3. What are the objectives of this course and will it provide value to me as a therapist or business owner?
Some webinars don’t actually have much content and are just a sales pitch. While you can expect a free webinar to have some of that, it shouldn’t be the bulk of it. If you don’t get into the content within the first 7-10 minutes skip that one and go find something else to do, it’s probably not going to be of much value. You don’t need more than 10 minutes of the presenter’s back story. Also consider, what are you actually going to learn from it? Are there course objectives? Check the sponsor and their credibility to make sure it’s worth your time. And don’t assume that just because someone has a good reputation that they are going to present something useful.
4. How long is it?
Summits that have a lot of speakers may result in feeling overwhelmed and keep you from taking the initiative to watch any of it. If it requires hours of your time, when will you put that time in? Are there actually specific topics of interest? If so, this can be a good way to get all of your CEUs in one place. If not, it could mean having something on your “to do” list that is hard to ever finish.
5. How much information is packed into it?
It once took me over a year to complete a continuing education course that was 22 hours because it was packed with so much information and because I did not plan my time well to make sure I watched it regularly. It was great and I learned a lot, but I spent much longer than 22 hours because I paused it at times and repeated parts. After a long gap between viewings I ended up rewatching some of the modules. If it doesn’t have much information in it then it may not be worth your time. If it is packed with content, it may take more time.
Prioritize Your Time
Save time and set boundaries to make sure you are spending your time on things that will actually help you in your business. You don’t need to watch everything that is free! And if a replay is available, consider waiting to hear feedback from those who attended live to make sure it’s worth your while. And most importantly, be mindful that being a Course Collector may cause you to lose valuable time that you could be using to take action for your business.
