’Tis the Season to Be… Counting CPE?

Some people count the shopping days until Christmas. Some count how many relatives will fit around the dining table.

And some of us open our professional development records and whisper, “Surely I did more hours than THAT?”

Welcome to the year-end CPE shuffle. A seasonal dance involving calendars, certificates, and the discovery that the course you distinctly remember completing was actually last year.

It happens. We spend months meeting deadlines, helping colleagues, solving problems, and promising ourselves we will make time for learning when things quiet down.

Things rarely quiet down. They simply put on a festive jumper and bring another deadline.

When the hours become the mission

If your reporting deadline is approaching and you still need credits, there is a temptation to grab whatever fits.

Available? Tick.
Enough hours? Tick.
Something you actually need?

Well… let’s not get carried away.

I understand the temptation. Sometimes we need to get things finished. But your time is still valuable, even when the calendar is breathing down your neck.

Before choosing your next course, try asking one question:

What would I like to find easier at work next year?

Perhaps you want to write reports that require fewer rounds of “Could you clarify this?” Perhaps AI keeps appearing in meetings and you would like to contribute something beyond a thoughtful nod. Perhaps a project has landed on your desk and you are wondering where to begin.

There is your starting point. A real need can turn a hurried course choice into something useful.

Give your learning somewhere to land

You do not need to emerge from every course as a completely renovated professional. Sometimes the value is smaller and more immediate.

A better question to ask a supplier. A clearer way to explain a finding. A warning sign you might previously have missed.

Before you close the course and file the certificate, finish this sentence:

“The next time I __________, I will __________.”

The next time I draft an executive summary, I will put the decision needed in the opening paragraph.

The next time someone says a project is “on track,” I will ask what evidence supports that assessment.

One sentence. One practical change. Something that travels with you into the working day.

A little kindness for your future self

Once this year’s requirements are sorted, give next year’s learning a small space in the diary. Choose a topic you are curious about. Keep your records somewhere you can find them without launching a search party.

And leave a little room for learning simply because it interests you. Curiosity deserves a seat at the table, too.

At LG3, that practical connection is what I enjoy most: helping people take something from a lesson and put it to work. If you happen to be looking for your next learning opportunity, you are very welcome to have a browse.

Wherever you choose to learn, I hope you finish the year with something useful tucked beside those certificates.

A fresh idea. A little more confidence. A better question.

Something you will still be glad you learned in January.