“I love deadlines” — said no one ever.
Until now.
Learning has always been strongly tied to the dreaded concept of ‘deadlines’. Even the name sounds daunting: dead lines.
But things are changing. As microlearning and tight, frequent deadlines replace long courses and far-away deadlines, so do positive thoughts replace negative ones when it comes to learning.
Microlearning in a nutshell
Let’s first take a step back and explore what microlearning is.
We all know that keeping focus can be challenging sometimes. Really challenging. With a constant influx of digital and real-world distractions, keeping your mind at the task at hand for prolonged periods of time often fails.
Microlearning doesn’t try to overcome your short attention span. On the contrary, it takes advantage of it.
By utilising short training sessions in place of longer ones, microlearning keeps you engaged throughout — making you stay focused. And what happens when you’re engaged and focused? You got it: you remember more!
Just think about it: imagine sitting for hours on end at a seminar, while the speaker babbles on for what seems like an eternity. You zone out on occasion — possibly even a lot. And even if you manage to listen actively throughout, how much can you really recall once the seminar is over?
And the day after that?
What about a week or a month later?
Not much, right? On the other hand, there’s microlearning. Imagine watching a five-minute learning video, followed by a few quiz questions that reinforce the new information. The results are obvious: the information really sticks!
This is for two simple reasons: one, you were engaged and motivated throughout, and two, the amount of information was smaller and hence much easier to understand and process.
For a short and sharp summary of what microlearning is, watch this video.
A popular example is the countless language learning apps you can download to your mobile device. They all share the same concept: instead of hour-long sessions, simply take a few minutes here and there to learn. Not only do the apps keep you motivated — but they also reinforce learning by repeating the key points. And better yet? They work.
Now let’s go on and see how this whole thing relates to tight versus long deadlines.
Tight versus long deadlines
Deadlines are — whether you like it or not — unavoidable.
But, as a very popular man once said:
“If we didn’t have deadlines,
we’d stagnate.”– Walt Disney
And this is backed by science: the longer the deadline, the higher the likelihood of procrastinating and quitting.
This is a result of a few things.
Firstly, a far-away deadline may make you feel like the task at hand is complex, time-consuming and difficult — even before you know what the task is! Secondly, when the due date is many days, weeks, or even months ahead, you — quite naturally — prioritise more urgent tasks instead.
Combined, this lowers your motivation. After all, a difficult task that’s not due for a while? Pfft, you’ll just do it tomorrow.
Or the day after that.
Or next week.
And then? Boom. The deadline is finally right around the corner, and you don’t have enough time.
Contrary, when working with a tighter deadline, you work more efficiently, and knowing that your task needs finishing sooner rather than later makes you prioritise it. In fact, tight deadlines even boost your motivation and ‘keep your head in the game’, so to speak.
So, in summary: if you’re struggling to finish that report, or if you’re taking forever to get through that learning-course material, consider simply giving yourself a tighter deadline and see how you suddenly race towards the finish line.
Where does this leave us?
Combined, we’ve now learned that tight deadlines boost motivation and efficiency, while short training sessions, or microlearning, help you concentrate and remember.
That’s exactly why Canity Customer Service works.
Canity is an efficient learning tool with around 10 mini-videos per topic, followed by short and sharp quiz questions. It’s microlearning by definition! And, to boost motivation and make sure you get through the videos, Canity utilises short deadlines that encourage completing the scheduled training quickly.
This means that you can learn everything you need to learn about customer service in bite-sized lessons that easily fit into an otherwise hectic workday. And better yet? With the engaging, motivating videos, you’ll enjoy every part of it.
Give tight deadlines and microlearning a try with Canity! Sign up for a free, no-commitment trial here.
