It's no secret that many people who attend seminars, workshops and conferences have great difficulty in implementing the ideas.

They get all hyped up and excited on the actual day, write a book full of notes and proclaim to everyone in earshot that "this is it! I have found the magic pill that will transform my work and my life."

I know how overwhelming it can be when participating at these events. By the end of the day my brain goes into overdrive. The question I always ask myself is "what am I going to do next?"

Here are some useful tips you can use so that you do something with the knowledge. Because if you do nothing with what you learn, the time, money and energy that you have invested to attend would have been a total waste.

Taking Action

Read your notes immediately after the event or within 24 hours.

Summarise the ideas to take action on.

Number each idea with No. 1 next to the highest priority and continue until each idea has a number next to it.

Get your diary and plan when you will action idea No. 1.

Do the same with the rest.

Then just do it!

Planning

The key to implementing this knowledge is all in the planning.

When working out when you will take action on each idea, be realistic with timeframes.

I find that the majority of people do not follow through because they underestimate the amount of time it takes to get things done and end up being overwhelmed.

They then put all their intentions into the "too hard, can't be bothered, I'm too busy" category and move on to another seminar for further motivation and newfound knowledge.

Unfortunately, the cycle continues. They become educated derelicts.

Attending the event is the easy part. Taking the action is much harder.

Plan for Time Out

Always allow time afterward to assimilate the ideas and plan in your diary the actions you will take.

It's the small steps that you take consistently which will make the difference.

Remember "inch by inch, it's a cinch, yard by yard is too hard" or as Neil Armstrong the astronaut said, "one small step for man, one great leap for mankind".

It's the one percent improvements which will make a huge difference overall in your life.

Take action on what you learn because "to know and not to do, is not to know".

About The Author

Lorraine Pirihi, principal of The Office Organiser is Australia's Personal Productivity Coach.

Lorraine specialises in working with businesspeople showing them how to dramatically boost their productivity, reduce the stress and the mess in their lives and have more time for enjoying their life. www.office-organiser.com.au, lorraine@office-organiser.com.au