Hi All,
I've been lurking on this site for a while, but figured I should introduce myself. My name is Quinn and I've been working in IT in one capacity or another for most of my career. My background is in Information Science/Knowledge Management, but I'm making a career transition into Systems Analysis and am currently completing a certification program through my local university's extension program.
My biggest challenge right now is that there is so much to learn and only so many hours in the day! I'd be very interested to learn how some of you manage to keep on top of the reading required to stay informed in the various related areas that impact the field.
I'm glad I found MA, as it's been extremely helpful in introducing me to the profession and I'm looking forward to learning further with all of you.
Thanks,
Quinn
Hi Quinn,
Greetings to you as well!
Yes - we are all faced with the challenge if needing to sort through mounds of information in order to get something useful.
What I do is skim - a lot... I'll find a book which sounds interesting and browse it in the bookstore for about 5 to 10 minutes. If I find one or two nuggets of information I write them down on my smart phone for me to consider later. If I find more then 3 or 4 great pieces of information then I buy the book and do a "fast read" at home. This way I know enough of what it covers to be able to refer to it at a later time when I'm faced with a problem or situation which could be addressed with the information.
I do the same with magazines... For example, I love the Harvard Business Review but it's an expensive journal if there's only one article you are interested in. Yesterday I found a recent special issue with "10 Must Reads from HBR" covering the best of their article of the last few years. I bought it in a heartbeat.
The bottom line is you need to learn to make quick decisions about the information without having to consume it all.
- Adrian
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