50. Are You Taking Too Many Courses to Start Something New?
How to Choose Training That Moves Your Business Forward
Learning never stops, no matter what stage you’re at. Whether you launched something this year or you’ve been building quietly for a while, the right training can save you hours and sharpen what you’re already doing. The trouble is that training is easy to overdo, and when your time is already stretched between a full-time job and everything else, overdoing it costs you more than it gives you.
I learned that the hard way. In my first year, I signed up for every free training I could find. Webinars, challenges, workshops: if it was free and it sounded helpful, I was in. Some of it was useful at the beginning. After a while, though, I noticed I kept hearing the same things. Most free training is introductory, designed to give you a taste and lead you to the creator’s paid offer. That’s a reasonable business model, but it means that after the first handful, you’re mostly collecting repeats. Eventually I stopped. Today I’m part of a couple of groups, and honestly, finding time to show up for those is its own challenge.
My advice depends on where you are. If you’re just getting started and already feeling stretched, hold off on stacking up courses unless one is truly necessary to take your first step. Training can quietly take the place of the thing you need most at the beginning, which is a simple, steady routine. An hour spent on another webinar is an hour you didn’t spend building the habit that gets your idea moving.
If you’re a little further along, or you have room in your schedule, training can be a real advantage. It can help you streamline a process that’s eating up your evenings, or fill a gap in something you thought you understood. It’s a double-edged sword. You have to make the time for it, but the right course at the right moment can make everything else run more smoothly.
Choosing the One Course That Matters Right Now
For me, that course right now is an AI boot camp focused on using AI to run more of your business systems. I’ve considered myself an intermediate AI user for a while. I use it every week to brainstorm ideas, research potential podcast guests, and draft scripts and outlines. It saves me a lot of time. But I knew I was only using a fraction of what it can do, and the boot camp showed me I had more to learn than I thought.
I’d also been comfortable using one tool for a long time. When a different one started pulling ahead, I didn’t switch right away. Learning something new felt like more than I wanted to take on, and these tools tend to leapfrog each other anyway. Recently I finally upgraded to the paid version of Claude, and the difference was immediate. When I started setting up my system, though, it turned into a rabbit hole. Suddenly there were a dozen things I wanted to build, and I had to stop and ask myself whether I had time for any of it.
Here’s where I landed: I need to make the time, because falling behind on this would cost me more later. But I also can’t let it take over. That’s the real question with any training. Not “Is this useful?” but “Does this support what I’m focused on right now?”
My Three Priorities Through the End of the Year
Getting clear on my priorities is what made that decision easier. Through the end of the year, I’m focusing on three things. First, publishing a podcast episode every week. Second, tightening up my offers, starting with my Designing Your Next Chapter workbook, which I’m adding to and refining. Third, building out my systems so the business runs more smoothly with the time I have.
That list matters because October is packed. Nearly every weekend has us traveling out of state, and my day job rarely slows down. If I don’t decide in advance what comes first, the busy weeks will decide for me. So I’m doing what I always encourage you to do: putting these priorities on my calendar like appointments and protecting that time. The podcast comes first. The offer comes next. The systems work fits into the time that’s left.
If you’re weighing whether to sign up for another course, try this. Write down the two or three things that matter most for your business over the next few months. Then ask whether the training directly supports one of them. If it does, and you can realistically make room for it, go for it. If it doesn’t, let it go for now. It will still be there when you’re ready.
What’s Coming on the Podcast
I’m also trying a new rhythm on Second Act Simplified. Each month will include one guest interview, two practical, educational episodes, and one storytelling episode like the one this post came from, which is more personal and less scripted. I’d love to hear what you think. Are the interviews helpful? Do you like the more conversational episodes? Your feedback shapes what comes next.
If you haven’t listened yet, my latest interview with Anne van Leynseele is one of my favorites. She makes the case that we shouldn’t plan only for retirement, and she has her own word for a broader, more intentional way to think about it. I’ll let her explain it herself. It’s worth the listen.
