During August and September, in many places around the world, it can seem like everything from business hours to retail sales to marketing themes shift into a back-to-school mindset. Even if you’ve long since completed your final degree and don’t have any students in your own home, it’s still possible to harness this back-to-school energy to boost your own work life, especially if continuing professional education (CPE) is a part of your job requirements.

Lean Into the “New Start” Energy

Like January, September is a month that many people associate with fresh starts. Teachers and students head back to the classrooms, parents anticipate a return to a "regular" schedule, and school and office supplies go on sale. Even if no one in your home is headed back into the classroom you can take advantage of the “new start” energy in the air by assessing your current work routines, organizational methods, and personal schedule to see what’s working for you and what isn’t. If something is not working as well as it could, back-to-school season is a great time to make some needed changes to your habits or routines. Even something as small as purchasing a new planner or a fresh set of pens while they are on sale can make a surprising difference in harnessing “beginning of the year” energy to give you a boost.

Schedule Your CPE Credits

If you still need to earn continuing education credits this year (or want to get ahead on planning your CPE for next year), September is the perfect time to make a plan for what webinars, online courses, conferences, or in-person trainings you plan to attend to fulfill your requirements. Taking a page out of a college student’s playbook by spending some time mapping out the what and when of your CPE needs will help ensure you don’t end up with overlapping live events, or saving too many self-paced courses for the very end of the year. Using an online CPE platform like Illumeo will help you accurately track your completed credits and find the webinars and courses that meet your needs.

Set Aside Time to Work on CPE

All-night study sessions and last-minute cramming may have been par for the course in university, but as a working professional, you have the opportunity to learn from past mistakes and avoid these exhausting routines. Just as students are beginning new study schedules at the beginning of the school year, August and September are the perfect months to set aside time on your calendar each week to work on your continuing education requirements. Setting calendar appointments and reminders to attend live webinars or blocking off time on your schedule to work on self-paced courses can help ensure you are earning your CPE credits at a steady pace that won’t leave you scrambling at the end of the year. 

Using the annual back-to-school rhythms of this time of year can help you jump-start your focus and energy, stay organized, and reset your habits and schedule so you can simultaneously accomplish your work tasks and goals while working to complete the required CPE credits you need. Illumeo’s CPE platform includes both free webinars and premium content that are designed to help you expand your skills and knowledge to help you reach your certification requirements and career goals all year long.