A step-by-step guide to designing a 70-20-20 plan for remote learning
Learning in a remote area is different compared to traditional office environments. When working from home, you can’t learn new skills by simply observing the colleague next to you or casually chatting with your manager. Therefore, remote work requires a more intentional approach to learning and development. This is exactly what the 70-20-10 model does. As already discussed, the 70-20-10 model suggests that 70% of learning takes place empirically, 20% through social interactions, and only 10% occurs through formal training . But how do you apply the 70-20-10 model in a remote configuration?
The key is to build a structured yet flexible learning plan that fits your personal goals and remote work challenges. Without a clear plan, it’s easy to sign up for the wrong online courses, complete them, feel isolated, or not apply what you’ve learned. However, don’t worry. We’ll explain how to create a step-by-step 70-20-20-10 remote learning plan and balance all three components of the model to get the most out of it. Whether you are an employee looking to win that promotion in the workplace or an organization that wants to develop a stronger learning culture, the following steps make the process extremely simple:
Please see the remote learning plan on 70-20-10
Step 1: Assess your study habits
Take a step back and observe your study habits before creating a remote learning plan for the 70-20-10. Have you learned something you didn’t stick in the end? Have you signed up for an online course you’ve never finished? Or have you read a lot about the topic and still couldn’t apply your knowledge? This assessment of study habits will help you understand how to learn best before you spend time and effort on creating a study plan. Ask yourself how you can best learn your skills, how they work, and whether you prefer structured courses, practical practice, or social learning. If you’re not sure, you can think about your past learning experiences, ask your manager for feedback, or get online assessments to understand your learning preferences.
Step 2: Set clear goals
Without direction, it’s easy to feel lost with the amount of information available. You can also switch between different courses without real progress. So you need to define what you want to achieve. First, set short-term goals that motivate you. Maybe you’ll want to learn new project management tools in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, long-term goals take time to achieve. Where do you think you’ll be in five years? Want to win promotions, change careers, find another position, or find another location? These goals give you a sense of purpose to ensure that your learning efforts actually contribute to your growth. Aligning your personal and professional goals with learning goals makes it easier to stay focused and motivated. This is because you know exactly why you are learning something and how it will help your future.
Step 3: Implement the 70-20-10 framework
The 70-20-10 Remote Learning Plan is to find the right balance between hands-on experience, social learning and formal training. Most of your learning comes from what about 70% do. So, look for real-world projects that you can tackle, volunteer to new responsibilities, work on side projects, and find creative ways to apply new skills. If your current role doesn’t allow much experimentation, ask your colleagues to find case studies, try simulations, and observe them to get new skills. Second, 20% of learning should come from social interactions. So, you can provide guidance, join an online community, brainstorm sessions with peers, and start collaborative projects to gain knowledge and find mentors who can learn from other perspectives. Finally, formal learning accounts for 10% of the model. Online courses, certifications, and webinars provide valuable knowledge, but when combined with practical applications, they work best.
Step 4: Create a realistic schedule
Finding time to study in a remote setting can be difficult. Between meetings, deadlines and personal life, adding a full study program to your schedule can lead to burnout and therefore it is ineffective. But the secret to making it work is not overloading yourself. Instead, create a realistic schedule that fits your routine. What you want to do is treat learning like an important task. So please block time. For example, in an afternoon when energy is low, set a time slot, such as 30am. Similarly, if you’re an owl at night, a quiet evening session with courses and books might be the best. The key is to be consistent. Another thing to remember is the milestones. Learning is a process, so don’t forget to break it down into manageable tasks and celebrate small victory.
Step 5: Make adjustments
It’s good in theory to match the remote learning plan of the 70-20-10, but in practice it can be difficult. This is because workloads can increase, lose motivation, or forget one or two modules. Therefore, you need to be flexible in your approach and adjust it along the way. How do you do it? By measuring your success. In this way, you will know how you are performing and whether you are applying what you have learned. Ask your manager and peers for feedback and check the metrics yourself with the LMS. If your progress is not at face value now, make adjustments. You may have realized that a particular course is not for you, or you may have noticed that theory takes too long and not enough to practice. So change things up until you find the one that’s best for you, and until you’re completely satisfied with your remote learning plan. And don’t forget that as you evolve, so do your needs. Therefore, check in regularly and don’t hesitate to experiment.
Conclusion
The best way to start building a remote learning plan for 70-20-10 is to see how you are already learning. Do you practice a lot? Do you learn best from others? Or is it primarily dependent on the course? Once you know where you are standing, you can make small changes. However, think about it simply with one adjustment at a time. In general, don’t forget to stay consistent, track progress and improve your approach. After all, learning is continuous and if you don’t try a different approach, you’ll stay behind.
