It’s a strange time we live in.

We’re expected to be experts in all the technology things and be both effective and efficient in all of it. But for the most part, we’ve never been taught the most basic of things. We just figure it out. More magic than science. And it’s all a lie.

Most of us can generally fumble along with email and calendars and stabby-stab our pudgy fingers at Word and Excel until something comes out the other end. Most of us can get pretty good at it. But there ain’t a single one of us who couldn’t be better.

I was in the IT industry for a full decade before I ran into the wall. I was very young, a decent developer, could fix computers, and even run some networking. I ran a small computer repair shop and did some consulting. But there was a ceiling. Learning through self-discovery and trying/breaking things could only get me so far. I crashed and burned. So I had to formalize some learning. I took a program and certified myself up on all the computery bits. 

After another 25 years, I can confirm that there’s two main ways to getting ahead. The first, and probably the biggest, is circumstance. Luck and good timing. It’s so random in some ways and in other ways, maybe not. I’ve had a lot of privilege and good fortune, even if little of the journey felt particularly easy.

The other main thing that has helped has been a personal curiosity and interest in learning. I take courses, read books, and try things. I adopt:

• a beginners mindset where I try my hardest to shed any preconceptions before exploring a topic, and 
• a scientific approach to my own life. I hypothesize. I experiment and collect data. I analyze the feedback and refine my approach. 

Lather, rinse, repeat.

All that to say, I have a sizeable collection of bookmarks with respect to what I know about technology and how I learned to be reasonably decent with productivity tools. Here’s some of the ones I use a lot lately:

• Linkedin Learning (https://www.linkedin.com/learning) is a great resource for all kinds of knowledgework, both hard and soft skills. Many local libraries provide access via your library card. Nova Scotia for sure. 
• Microsoft 365 Training Center (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/training) has a huge library of resources, straight from the source.
• Microsoft Learn (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/) is a little more IT-focused, but if you’re a technologist, start here.
• If your organization has a Microsoft 365 subscription, you may have access to Microsoft Viva Learn (https://learning.cloud.microsoft), which is a packaging of all three above into a single offering. I find it easier to find what I’m looking for.

You can also use your favourite generative AI tool as well. Try this prompt: 

You are an expert productivity coach using Microsoft technologies. Your goal is to help me be the most effective version of myself. I have had a long career as an electrician. Now I am a new faculty tasked with training a new generation of electricians. I don't have a lot of experience using Microsoft tools, but I want to be able to prepare course materials that are inspiring and help my students succeed. Please end each response with a question to help me improve. 

Do you understand?

Now that you’ve set the context for your chat with the AI, you can ask it any question you want to help you learn whatever you need to know about. Try this one on for size:

Thank you. I'd like to use OneNote over Microsoft Teams to share equations and some diagrams. 

What is the best way to go about it?

You can be as specific or as broad as you like. You can change the context. Use plain english. And be polite. That helps. For some reason.

Anyhoo, that’s all I have for today. 

If you have some really great learning resources, drop them in the comments. Also, if there’s a topic anyone wants me to explore, feel free to hit me up. I’m game.