TECC 44: The Engineering Career Coach Podcast – The Dos and Don’ts of Content Consumption in Your Engineering Career

Image by jcomp on Freepik In this session of The Engineering Career Coach Podcast, I will give you some strategies that will help you filter content consumption in your engineering career. In our Take Action Today segment at the end of the show, I will give you a tip on how to be more aware of the content you are consuming. “If you have an hour, will you not improve that hour, instead of idling it away?” – Lord Chesterfield There are different kinds of content that you can consume, e.g. podcasts, articles or books, events that you can go to, and much more. But how do you decide what content to consume or spend your time on?  What content will help you advance your engineering career? Listen to this podcast episode and learn which kind of content you should really focus on by asking some of the questions listed below. Events: Will this event bring me to closer to my engineering career and/or personal goals? Will this event bring me together with the kind of people I want to network with and surround myself with? Will this event bring me to a location that I will enjoy? How will I be able to measure the results? Reading an article or book: Will this article or book give me information that I can apply in my engineering career and/or life in the near future? Will it move me closer to my engineering career goals? How will I be able measure the results? Podcast: Will this podcast bring me closer to my goals in this area of my life? How will I digest and implement the information from this podcast? How will I be able to measure the results? Every ounce of your time, energy and effort really matter. Seven Do’s and Four Don’ts of Content Consumption Seven Do’s Ensure that each of your goals has a list of resources with it. Allot a specific amount of time each week for content consumption including social media. Maximize the resources from the professional engineering association of choice. When you find a great resource, focus on it and get the most out of it. Delete the social media applications in your cellphone. Do consume content in a way that can be digested and implemented easily. Consume content at the same time every day if possible. Four Don’ts Don’t consume information that is not aligned to your goals even slightly. Don’t just read every article or watch every video that comes in on your Facebook or LinkedIn feeds. Don’t consume only non-fiction self help information or articles. Don't go one day without reading something informative. Books Mentioned in this session include: The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod Clutter Free with Kids by Joshua Becker Rodale's Basic Organic Gardening: A Beginner's Guide to Starting a Healthy Garden by Deborah Martin Resources and links mentioned in this session include: Institute for Engineering Career Development Engineering Career Success Summit Engineer Your Goals Course Volunteer at Engineering Management Institute Click Here for Session #44 Transcription Are you able to identify which content is helpful for you in your engineering career? I would love to hear any questions you might have or stories you might share on how these strategies have helped you in choosing the best content to consume; or any of your own strategies. Please share! Please leave your comments or questions in the section below. If you enjoyed this post, please consider downloading our free list of 33 Productivity...