M.A.T.H. – Four simple ways to not stop learning

Have you been affected by the sweeping changes in the humanitarian and development sector?

Have you been affected by the massive changes brought on by the U.S. administration?

You may be tempted to grind to a halt, hunker down, and hang on for dear life.

While I certainly urge you to take care of your mental and physical health and rest when you can, I’m also pleading with you not to stop.

Do not stop learning.

Keep growing.

Do not stop developing.

Keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Windows of understanding slam shut. 

Empathy takes a nose dive.  

Compassion disappears in a poof.

Instead, make time for learning.

In simple, easy, peasy ways.

Here’s how to do just that.  

Make time for learning, for growing, for expanding, for developing.

Do the M.A.T.H.

1. M – Motivational style

• If you know what motivates you, you’re halfway there.
• Check out my motivation survey style to discover just that and use that valuable information to fuel your learning.

2. A – Agenda

• It’s easy to forget about learning because it falls into that important yet not urgent quadrant.
• Get learning onto your agenda.  What do you want to learn this year?  This month?  This week?
• Get it written down.

3. T – Timing

• How do you learn best when it comes to timing?
• Are you a deep diver, carving out larger chunks of time every once in a while to inhale a topic from top to bottom?
• Or are you more bite-sized, dipping your toe in for a couple of minutes?
• There’s a big continuum of timing. Figure out what suits you best and then adjust your learning agenda accordingly.

2. H – How

• What’s the best way to learn something?
• An answer probably immediately jumped into your head. Right?
• Maybe you thought – read a book, listen to a podcast, take a course.
• Annnnnd there are A LOT of ways to learn in addition to whatever you thought of.  Have fun. Explore. Be creative in how you learn.  
• From LinkedIn Learning online courses,  using AI as a tutor and apps to LunchClub, mentoring, and the Learning and Development Roundtable, the world is your oyster.
• Check out my worksheet below to inspire you.

In times of rapid change and uncertainty, it’s tempting to pause personal and professional growth. 

But continued learning is essential—for empathy, adaptability, and impact. 

Use my simple, memorable framework called M.A.T.H. to help you stay motivated and make learning part of your everyday life. 

Discover how understanding your Motivation, setting an Agenda, choosing the right Timing, and exploring your unique How can keep your development alive, even when everything else feels unpredictable.

Now go on and learn, laugh, and lead

Learn

• Do the M.A.T.H. and find the equation that best suits you. Let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear.

Laugh

• There’s all sorts of M.A.T.H. equations for learning, including 25 / 5 = 14!

Lead

• Feel free to use my Learning Checklist to prompt you on different ways you can learn something

P. S.

• Speaking of learning, f you’d like to brush up on your public speaking skills, check out the Effective Public Speaking course I’m giving June 18th and 19th if you’re a UN staff member (and if you’re not but you’re interested, simply reach out. Let’s talk!).
• Here’s what some past UN workshop participants have said about the workshop:
  • I am now equipped with tips on how to be a good public speaker
  • Lee-Anne made it easy, fun, and enjoyable. Very informative.