Lifelong Learning: The Power of a Personal Curriculum

About Laura Gooch

A personal curriculum might sound like something you receive on the first day of school, but it’s less about what you have to learn and more about what you want to learn. It’s a simple yet engaging way to stay curious, no matter your age.

Whether you’ve recently left school or it’s been decades since you sat in a classroom, education doesn’t have to stop. Here’s everything you need to know about personal curricula and why lifelong learning really matters.

What Is a Personal Curriculum?

Originally used by TikTok creator Elizabeth Jean and popularized across social media, a personal curriculum is a self-guided study plan you create about a topic or skill you are interested in learning. What makes personal curricula so enticing is the fact that you get to choose what you want to learn about. There are no teachers or grades, which means there’s no pressure—it’s completely dependent on your fascinations and motivations.

One of the other major draws of a personal curriculum is that it’s designed to help you cut down on social media consumption, while improving your attention span and critical thinking skills. Whether you find yourself online a lot and you’re ready to reclaim your time or you’re looking to challenge yourself to learn something new, a personal curriculum is a great place to start.

Benefits of Lifelong Learning

As we grow older, it isn’t uncommon for our thirst for knowledge to decrease. For many adults, curiosity and learning start to plateau and then decline between their 30s and 40s. But why is that? Surely there’s no shortage of things to discover. One study shows that intellectual curiosity declines as we age because we perceive our time to be more limited. This perception lessens the importance of intellectual curiosity to many, meaning we invest less time into learning new skills or subjects.

You may be wondering why learning matters. Yes, you’re not in school anymore, and nobody is grading your work, so why should you bother? Well, research suggests that lifelong learning can contribute to improved psychological well-being, including higher self-esteem, resilience and life satisfaction. Self-education can also help you maintain and improve your cognitive abilities, with one study suggesting that later-life learning may help prevent or slow the development of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Additionally, our brains are programmed to hold on to novelty, which is why everything in childhood feels brand new and time seems to move more slowly. As we age, fewer experiences stand out, but learning reintroduces that newness and offers a challenge for your brain. While lifelong learning can’t actually slow time, it can make life feel longer and more fulfilling. So don’t let the fear of not having enough time keep you from studying Greek or reading about the American Revolution. There’s no better time to get started than now.

How to Create Your Own Personal Curriculum

1. Pick your topic(s) or skill(s)

Arguably, the hardest part of creating a personal curriculum is deciding what you’re going to learn first. The options are pretty much endless. Start by asking yourself, what is something I wish I knew more about? Choose subjects you’re genuinely interested in so the work feels engaging.

If you find the topic or skill you’ve chosen isn’t clicking or doesn’t feel interesting, try something else. You should always feel free to change your mind. That’s the beauty of self-education—you have the freedom to investigate and pursue almost anything you want.

2. Gather your sources

Examples include primary sources like novels, poems, journals, original research and photographs. Other great sources are podcasts, video essays, tutorials and free online courses from institutions like Harvard and Stanford. If you use digital sources, be mindful of screentime and try to mix in physical media so you’re not online too long. Make sure that any sources you use are reputable, and don’t be afraid to question what you’re reading and consuming. The more sources you pull from, the better!

3. Assign yourself homework

Fun, low-stakes homework is an essential part of any personal curriculum. It’s where you take what you want to learn and put it into action. These assignments should be manageable, so they fit easily into your daily life, but still challenge you mentally or physically and ask you to think critically about something new. Whether it’s close reading a poem every week or trying a new knitting stitch, the choice is yours.

4. Build a learning schedule

Whether you’ve got a jam-packed calendar or lots of time on your hands, it can be hard to sit down and do something you didn’t plan ahead of time. That’s why it’s important to build a learning schedule that fits into your daily life. Building a realistic schedule makes learning feel manageable without being overwhelming.

5. Take time to reflect

Learning can be overwhelming at times. Taking in so much new information, even things you find exciting, can feel like a lot. Each week, or however often you would like, take some time to reflect on what you’ve learned. Jot down some notes, write a rebuttal to something you read or talk to someone about what you learned. This can also help you see what’s stood out so far and what you might want to investigate further.

A personal curriculum isn’t about productivity or perfection; it’s about looking at the world with genuine curiosity. Without the pressure of a traditional classroom or the fear of a failing grade, you’re free to learn whatever you want, whenever you want. There’s no shortage of possibilities. So, what subject or skill do you want to learn first?

Looking for a place to start? Explore these senior-friendly online classes and find what’s right for you.