Simple Ways to Challenge Yourself to Learn

Life long learning is a critical part of living an intentional life and success. Here is a list of things that we do or have done and are trying to get back into that contribute to our being students of life.

1. Watch TED talks. Preferably not just the ones that are on a topic that already interests you, but every single one as they are released. Watching something you might not gravitate towards is a great way to challenge your brain and expand your experience. I (Mark) like to watch every one, I am sadly behind, but when I keep up with them I find it a great learning experience. 
2. Turn off auto correct. Perhaps, unlike us, you might be astounding at English and spelling. We are far from amazing (numbers are more our thing), but we write a decent bit. Writing without the safety net of auto correct helps us remember how to spell things. We do use spell check, and try to think and remember how something is spelled before simply right clicking it.
3. Looking stuff up. If you make a point of looking out for it, there are frequently things that come up in conversation or that you bump into when online that you don't understand or are not familiar with. I try to remember them when they come up and take a few minutes later to learn a little more about it. It could be anything from what is "nae nae" anyway, all the way to what is the United States history of immigration and how does that relate to the recent Syrian refugee crisis? You won't become an expert, but if you make it a habit you'll understand the world a lot more.
4. In a word, podcasts. Listen to educational podcasts while working on mindless tasks (we're glaring at you dishes). It is a simple way to learn throughout the day, assuming of course there are no kids screaming... alright, so maybe it is only simple some of the time. But taking time during a commute or other non-brain intensive duties to listen to an audio book or podcast is a great way to make better use of that time. There are tons out there that cover anything you could imagine. My favorite though is Michael Hyatt's This Is Your Life. 
5. Edutainment. YouTube is awesome. There are a bunch of really entertaining and informative YouTube channels that allow you to fill some of your mindless Netflix time with things that broaden your understanding of the world. A few of my favorites: Smarter Every Day, Veritasium, CGP Grey, CrashCourse, and Extra Credits. 
6. Read stuff. Read more stuff. Books, articles, magazines, and anything else that looks interesting. It's the best thing ever. Now, some things really aren't worth reading (50 shades of grey comes to mind) so be discerning, but still... read. Find good, entertaining, educating, living things to read, and do so.
7. Answer your kids questions. This goes back to number 3, but is so much more than looking stuff up. Kid's have such a natural curiosity of the world, and can ask some incredibly good questions from that. Everything is a wonder, and parents are a fountain of knowledge in their eyes. So, when they look up and see clouds floating they go to their very own wikipedia/encyclopedia/professor and ask. Now, depending on what you know a decent bit about you might be able to give a really thorough answer, but if you don't have a (good) answer, say so then try and figure it out together. Don't just brush off "silly questions", you might be surprised just how complicated and awe inspiring it is that clouds can float.

Being a student of life is a life long pursuit. The key is not how much you can cram into your day, but just being consistent about it. If you added listening to a 30 minute educational podcast while doing the dishes every day you'd end up listening to 160+ hours of learning in a year. That's the equivalent of more than three university classes. That's not inconsequential.

Little steps over time become great journeys.