Skills Sprint: How to Learn as You Go (Without Finding More Time)

Summary

Squiggly Careers – Skills Sprint: How to Learn as You Go (Without Finding More Time)

Hosts: Helen Tupper (A) & Sarah Ellis (B)
Date: January 19, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode launches day one of the Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint, focusing on practical ways to integrate learning into everyday work—without carving out extra time. Using the metaphor of “learning like a lobster,” Helen and Sarah encourage listeners to outgrow self-imposed limits, rethink the notion that learning always require additional time, and discover ways to “learn as you go” through intentional, data-driven reflection.

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Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. The “Lobster Mindset”: Never Stop Growing

[01:09]

• Lobsters continuously grow throughout their lives; the hosts draw parallels to career growth.
• They challenge the common belief that time is the main barrier to learning.
• Reframe: Instead of finding more time, maximize learning in everyday activities.

“We want that to be the same for our careers. We never want to stop learning, but we know the biggest barrier to that is time.” – Sarah [01:26]

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2. Gathering “Data for Your Development”

[02:35]

• Being intentional in tracking and measuring your development can make progress tangible and boost confidence.
• The episode presents three actionable areas for data collection: Strengths, Listening, and Productivity.
• Real-time examples demonstrate how the hosts apply these practices themselves.

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a. Strengths Spotting: What Do You Want to Be Known For?

[03:38]

• Identify the top 3 strengths you want as your personal brand.
• Rapidly collect data by asking colleagues/managers: “What three words would you use to describe me at my best?”
• Compare your self-perception with others' feedback: look for overlaps, gaps, and surprises.

Live Example:

• Helen’s chosen attributes: “energy, clarity, pace.”
• Sarah’s feedback: “energy, agile, solver,” sparking reflection on undesired strengths.

“I don’t think I want to be known as a solver. It makes me think… I'm probably fixing too many things that I think I have the ability to, but it's not what I want to be known for.” – Helen [06:11]

Takeaway:
Look for alignment between intent and reputation—and note where you’re putting effort into strengths you’d rather shift.

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b. Listening: The “Listen/Talk Ratio”

[06:55]

• Effective learning requires active listening; if you’re always talking, you’re not growing.
• Assess your listen/talk ratio during meetings.
• Methods include self-reflection, tech tools (like Poised, Fireflies), or asking colleagues for feedback.

“If we’re not listening, we’re not learning. So if you’re in meetings and you are predominantly talking, you’re telling people what you know, but you’re not listening, really, so that you can grow.” – Helen [06:56]

• People often overrate their own listening skills compared to peer assessments.
• Notice when and why you’re least likely to listen (e.g., in moments of stress or lack of control).

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c. Productivity: “Smart Time” and Notification Awareness

[09:25]

• The distraction of notifications is an often overlooked time drain.
• Live demo: Sarah had 1 notification in a day; Helen had 371.
• Every notification chips away at your attention and learning ability.

“Every time you are distracted by a notification, your brain is less likely to be able to be present and learn from whatever you’re doing.” – Helen [10:30]

• Calculating your notifications can be eye-opening and direct you to small, impactful changes.

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Inspirational Quote

“The most successful people aren’t necessarily the brightest in the room…but they listen and learn better than most.”
– Ed Weiner (from Learn Like a Lobster) [11:17]

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24-Hour Action

[11:40]

• Take a screenshot of your daily notifications.
• Share with a friend or your team for accountability.
• Turn off one notification and check the number again the next day.
• Reflect on the impact—did you feel more present, focused, or less distracted?

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Lobster Facts: “Lobsters never stop growing…We want that to be the same for our careers.” – Sarah [01:09]
• Strengths Reflection: “Does my intent, what I want to be known for, match my impact, what other people say about me?” – Sarah [04:18]
• Self-Awareness Prompt: “It makes me think that I’m probably fixing too many things…It is not what I want to be known for.” – Helen [06:11]
• Listening Challenge: “If we’re not listening, we’re not learning.” – Helen [06:56]
• Productivity Shock: “371…Seeing the data makes the problem quite real.” – Helen [10:30]
• Growth Mindset: “Let go of time as a barrier and think differently about how we go through our weeks at work.” – Sarah [01:44]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:09 – Lobster growth metaphor
• 02:35 – Introducing “Data for Your Development”
• 03:38 – Strengths: What three words?
• 06:11 – Helen reflects on unwanted strengths
• 06:56 – Listening and learning
• 09:25 – Productivity: Notifications exercise
• 10:30 – Helen’s notification confession (371!)
• 11:17 – Inspirational quote from Ed Weiner
• 11:40 – 24-hour action: Know your notifications

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Overall Tone

Warm, playful, and practical with a focus on honesty, experimentation, and supportive self-reflection. The episode encourages trying small changes, finding fun in gathering personal “data,” and embracing curiosity about your own working habits.

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Next Up:
Tomorrow’s episode will cover learning in hard moments, with a focus on feedback.

Transcript

[A]

We're really excited that we are back again with another Squiggly Careers Skill Sprint. Over 25,000 people have learned with us on our sprint and we'd love you to come and learn with us in January. We are going to be learning like lobsters. And the reason this matters is because learning has never been more important at work, but it's also never felt harder to do. And we think that lobsters are the role models that we've all been missing. So sign up for the [e-mail] and you'll join a community of people who all get to learn like a lobster and overcome those barriers that are getting in the way of their growth. Hi, I'm Helen.

[B]

And I'm Sarah.

[A]

And this is day one of our Squiggly Careers Sprint where we are going to be diving in to how you can learn like a lobster. And before we get started with day one, we just wanted to remind you about some actions that are going to be useful so you can get the most out of the sprint. First thing is make sure you complete our Learn Like a Lobster profiler. It will help you to see where you're starting from so where you've got some lobster like learning strengths. And also make sure you are signed up for the sprint. Just go to squigglysprint.com that means you get all of our daily emails with all the tools and links that we recommend so you can keep learning.

[B]

So each day we're going to be talking about a different fascinating feature that a lobster has, which might feel a bit random, but we will very quickly then connect it to how it's going to help you to learn and grow in your job, but also in your squiggly career. So day one kind of fun fact, fun lobster fact. You're going to learn. A lot of them as we go through the week is that lobsters never stop growing. So they start off so small and so tiny and we've seen them and they really are really small, but they just get bigger and bigger and bigger and they kind of keep on. They keep on growing. It's very much sort of in there in their DNA. There's no point where they stop growing. And we want that to be the same for our careers. We never want to stop learning, but we know the biggest barrier to that is time. That's what everybody will always tell us, is like, I haven't got enough time to learn. The demands of my day are only getting bigger. How do I practically make this happen. I think there's often a bit of a knowing doing gap when it comes to learning. We all know it's really important, but then. But we can't quite convert that into action. And so today we're going to be talking about how you can learn as you go. And what is great about this is it doesn't mean finding more time, it means learning more from what you are already doing and really thinking about adding learning into your day rather than adding learning on. So it's a bit of a reframe. We're sort of letting go of time as a barrier and thinking a bit differently maybe about how we go through our weeks at work.

[A]

So to learn as you go, we're going to focus on how you can get more data for your development. And data for our development is quite useful because often when we're learning it can be a bit difficult to see the progress that we're making. Whereas when we create data for our development, it becomes a bit more tangible. There's often actually quite a lot of data that we are, we often don't see because we haven't intentionally looked for it, which is really what happens with learning a lot. We're not being intentional about how, what and where we can learn. But data for our development will help us. It helps us to create clarity and it gives you confidence in your progress. So when you, you start to improve, you can see that reflected in the data. And we're going to talk about three different ways that you can find data for your development. So we'll start with strengths. Then we're going to talk about listening. And then the one that I'm dreading is we're going to talk about how data for your development can help you with your productivity.

[B]

We are gonna have some fun with this, I think, today. And as always, we're going to practice what we preach. So we're going to do some of this data gathering and talk about some of the insights live so that you've seen it in action.

[A]

I feel like I'm the one that's not gonna come off very well. This is an area I have to focus on.

[B]

I'm already looking smug, like I'm already looking forward to enjoying this. So let's talk about strengths first and why we want to collect data around our strengths. So we know the more we use our strengths, the more we increase our impact in the jobs that we do. And also we want to make choices about our strengths. We really want to think about what do we want to be known for. I always think, what do I want to build a reputation for? What do I want to be recommended for? And so the way you can collect some data here is thinking for yourself first. What do I want to be known for? And the way we describe this action is what three words? So what three words do I want to be known for? You're never going to be known for 10, 20 things. So it's kind of good to be selective about those strengths you want to make really spiky. And then it's about asking other people to do some strength spotting for you, but really fast. So managers, people you work with, people in other teams, ask them that question. What three words would you use to describe me at my best? Get loads of quick data and you can start to figure out, does my intent, what I want to be known for, match my impact, what other people say about me? So let's have a go. So we are going to write down live. We've not practiced this. That's probably really obvious as we go through all of these things. We've thought about it, but we've usually not practiced. So Helen is going to write down now three words that she wants to be known for. And I'm going to write down three words that I would use to describe Helen as well, at her best. Not just describe her generally, but at her best, without looking.

[A]

Okay, I'm intrigued.

[B]

Okay, I got them. What three words?

[A]

I've got energy, clarity and pace.

[B]

Oh, interesting. Okay, so I mean, I've not written mine very neatly. You actually show me your own writing. So I also have energy. So let's circle together. Okay. I have agile, which is maybe. I think I was thinking about pay. So just to use a slightly different word, I think I was also reflecting on your agility across so many different things. Okay, so I was like all that. Your ability to go from, I don't know, a really big strategic conversation to fixing something fast or. Yeah, those agility just came up for me. So it's kind of close. It's not interesting. I'm not even sure this is a word. Solver.

[A]

Solver.

[B]

I just feel like you should think it's a word. Yeah, you just like, solve stuff. I wanted to write solve stuff, but I was like, trying to keep. Keep to like one. One phrase. What. What does that make you reflect on? So you've got your own data, you've got my data. It's only one person. But what does that make you think?

[A]

I don't think I want to be known as a solver. So it makes me think, and this is a point really, that you're collecting data for your development that helps you learn, in this case about your impact. It makes me think that I'm probably fixing too many things that I think it's an. It's an ability that I have, but it is not what I want to be known for. And so it just makes me reflect on, well, how. How am I spending my time? Is that what people are seeing? Which I think is. Is the useful insight. We want more people to have that reflection.

[B]

Yeah. So when you do this, look for overlaps. That's a good thing. Look for gaps, words that you want that you're not hearing. What are you going to do about it? And also look for words that you don't want. So that's exactly what Helen just said, that there's like a word I don't really want to be known for. I might be good at it, but it's not one of the top three words.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Should we talk about listening?

[A]

Useful exercise, yes. So let's talk about listening and why this is useful data for your development. So, I mean, it's quite simple. If we're not listening, we're not learning. So if you are in meetings and moments and conversations and you are predominantly talking, then you're telling people what you know, but you're not listening, really, so that you can grow. Because until I listen to you, I'm not gaining your knowledge, I'm not curious, I'm not challenging what I think. And so the action here for everybody is to start reflecting and capturing data on your listen talk ratio. So quite simply, this is in your conversations, your meetings, your moments at work, how much time in that meeting are you spending listening? How much time are you spending talking? And ideally, if we want to learn, like lobsters, learn as we go, we want to be listening more than we are talking.

[B]

It's also an interesting area just for people to know that we often overestimate our listening ability. So if you ask people to score themselves out of 10, so if you said to me, well, how good a listener do you think you are, Sarah? I might say, well, you know, I take that seriously and I'm an 8 out of 10. But then actually, if you ask the people around you, they probably score you a six or a seven. And actually, it's quite rare. Usually we are our own worst critics. But I think this is one where we maybe either like to think we're good or maybe we make that mistake if we think we're listening. But actually we're just waiting to speak or we're hearing, we're not being really active. So it's just worth having that awareness. I think as you go into this.

[A]

And there's a few ways that you can get your listen talk ratio so you can self reflect, so you can come away from meetings and think, what was it in that meeting? You could ask a friend, like I could ask you. I want to collect a bit data for my development over the week. I'd really appreciate it if you just sort of track my listen talk ratio and play that back to me. Or you can use tech.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Self effect. I've used, I've used like some of co pilot stuff. I've used an app called Poised before.

[B]

I've used Fireflies.

[A]

Yeah. And I feel that is probably the most accurate. So I think after the moment. But pick one of those ways. Self reflect tool or a friend. And then I think the really useful thing here is to see when are you at your listening worst. And sometimes that might be because, well, your role was to talk in that meeting.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So there could be a very real reason why. But sometimes it might be, oh, in that meeting I, we were talking about when are we at our listening worst? And sometimes it's when we are feeling a little bit out of control of a situation and so we talk a lot as a way of directing control. Yeah, being in control, gaining control. And so the thing to learn there really is, well, how do I feel more confident so that I'm letting other people fulfill the role that they need to do rather than filling the gap.

[B]

So shall we go on to the final data for your development?

[A]

Sure.

[B]

So this is productivity and we call this one smart time. There's loads of ways, of course, in.

[A]

My arms because I'm really nervous.

[B]

She looks defensive before we even get started. So there's loads of ways to think about your productivity and this is just one quite fun quick way which is about knowing your notifications. It's fun for you and the time equation. So the reason we care about this, so we talked here about going, we don't want to encourage people, we don't want to try and find more time. But let's say you get 100 notifications a day and each take 30 seconds of your time, that's 50 minutes. So if you could get 50 minutes more time to learn a day, you're like, wow, that's.

[A]

It is appealing. It is appealing.

[B]

It is appealing. So we're going to do this live. I'm going to give Helen her Phone. I took her phone away from her and I'm now going to give my phone away from her and I'm not going to give her her phone.

[A]

Thank you for returning my phone to me.

[B]

And we both screenshotted without telling each other our notifications for yesterday. Yeah. Would you like to know how many notifications I got yesterday?

[A]

No. 1. How many notifications did you have yesterday, Sarah?

[B]

I mean, I'm furious. I need to find out how. But one?

[A]

Are you joking? Mine has the number one in it.

[B]

Right, go on.

[A]

371. 371. And I guess the thing to learn, this is the point because I think getting data for your development, it can be quite confronting. Yeah, of course the. There is a problem there that I, that I'm clearly ignoring and actually seeing the data makes the problem quite real. And when you think about, well, every time you are distracted by a notification, your brain is less likely to be able to be present and learn from whatever you're doing.

[B]

Attention. You're multitasking. Yeah. And so there's loads of other things you can do, but perhaps that's quite a fun one to just get started with.

[A]

So we hope that has given you three useful ideas so that you can start learning as you go. We're going to end every day of our sprint with some inspirational advice to keep you growing and a 24 hour action so that you can keep going.

[B]

So our inspirational quote today comes from Edwinaden and these are all from part four of the book in Learn Like a Lobster where we asked loads of lobster like leap leaders and learners for their advice for people who want to learn more at work. And Ed Weiner says the most successful people aren't necessarily the brightest in the room. Good news for me, but they listen and learn better than most.

[A]

And to keep your learning going after the sprint today, we would love you to know your notifications. So our suggestion is screenshot your notifications, perhaps share them with a team if you're sprinting with a team or with a friend if you want to. Just have a bit of an accountability partner. But make one change, turn one notification off, see what your notification number is tomorrow and reflect on how that makes you feel.

[B]

So thank you for sprinting with us on day one. We hope you've had fun, you've learned something new and you're going to go away and take an action. Join us tomorrow where we'll be talking about how to learn in hard moments and a bit about feedback.

[A]

See you then.