Ever wondered about what it's like to be a learning experience designer? Here's what an average day looked like for me as an LXD at a small-sized training company.
7:15 AM
I wake up before my alarm and start getting ready for the day. It's a short walk to my desk where I'll spend the day working. I fill the food dispenser with kibble, catching the attention of my dog Dolly who never skips breakfast.
7:48 AM
While my dog eats, I open my laptop and check my inbox. I respond to a few emails from vendors with deliverables ready for review, and a coworker who wants help laying out a publication in InDesign. I then plan the rest of my day, intending to work on a design document in the morning and an upcoming presentation in the afternoon.
8:12 AM
I peel away from my desk to take Dolly out for a walk around the block. It's a warm June morning with an unwelcome layer of summer humidity. Yuck.
8:31 AM
I fry up some eggs for breakfast, with probably too much cheese, and start working on a design document for the first section of an instructor-led course. I start by scouring source materials the subject matter experts provided and my notes from our discovery interview. I then do some online research into the topic. I jot down notes and questions in OneNote and start organizing an outline and brainstorming activities.
10:18 AM
Has it already been two hours since breakfast? I stare into the pantry until some crackers speak to me. Grabbing a handful, I return to my desk to prepare for my next meetings.
10:30 AM
Our project team has a 30-minute standing status meeting. This meeting is led by our project manager, and she calls on me to talk about plans for launching a train-the-trainer experience for the new product line. We get some useful input from stakeholders, and I add an action item to my to-do list to follow up with the training manager.
11:02 AM
I'm a few minutes late to a standing collaboration meeting between the product and marketing teams. We review marketing assets created by the graphic designer and talk about product messaging needs. I add another action item to my to-do list: start draft of product marketing copy for a marketing brochure and review with marketing team.
11:58 AM
After my meetings, I'm famished and heat up some leftovers for lunch. I catch up on some emails while finishing my broccoli.
12:27 PM
I'm back to working on the design document and manage to put together a rough draft that I'm ready to share with the course subject matter experts. I add my questions to the document, send a link by email, and mark off the task in the project planner. Such a satisfying feeling.
1:35 PM
Time for another walk break. I meet up with a neighbor and we circle the block with our dogs.
1:51 PM
Back at my desk, I look over my notes and pull up the files I'll need for a review meeting with subject matter experts. We're discussing their feedback on a facilitator guide for a different course. I ask them some questions, make notes in the document about potential changes, and spend much of the time trying to build consensus between the two experts. The meeting wraps up on time thankfully.
3:03 PM
I send a follow-up email to the two experts after the meeting and make a note to discuss some of my recommendations with the project team.
3:14 PM
I'll be giving a talk on learning science in a company-wide town hall next week, so I spend some time creating graphics and notes for my presentation before sending it to my team for feedback. I've tried to gamify the presentation to make it engaging, and I'm feeling both excited and nervous for the talk.
4:07 PM
Where did the day go? I grab another snack (banana and peanut butter) and give Dolly some badly needed attention.
4:29 PM
Towards the end of the day, I don't quite have the focus for development work, so I read a chapter in Wired to Grow, a book about the neuroscience of learning, and jot down some new ideas in the "Think Tank" section of my OneNote.
5:15 PM
I sign off for the day and get ready to meet a friend at the climbing gym. All-in-all, I'm pretty happy with the day's work!
コメント