#44: Learning vs. Doing: How to Know When It’s Time to Make a Move

What if all your “research” is actually a really sneaky form of procrastination?

Let’s be real — I’ve spent way too much time thinking I was making progress just because I was learning. I had tabs open, courses saved, notebooks full of ideas… and still felt totally stuck.

At one point, I even signed up for a course on how to code my own website. (Yep. Coding. Me.🙃)

But here’s what I’ve learned — and am still learning:

Gathering information only get's you so far.

In this episode, I’m going taking you behind-the-scenes of how I got stuck in learning mode when I started by business (because, well, I"m a learner 🙃), and what finally helped me break the cycle and move forward. We’re talking about the two powerful seasons we cycle through in any growth process: Learning and Implementing — because both seasons are important.

It's when you learn how to navigate between the seasons of learning and implementing that you move the needle on your dreams.  

Whether you’ve been consuming all the content, or stuck in hustle mode with no breathing room, this episode is a loving invitation to pause, reflect, and ask yourself:

What season am I in — and is it still serving me?

3 KEY TAKE AWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE

1️⃣ Learning can become a comfort zone in disguise.
If you're overwhelmed and unsure where to start, you might not need more information — you might need to start building your dream.

2️⃣ Implementation is where your dream gets real.
All the PDFs, downloads, and digital courses? They only work if you use them. Otherwise, they’re just clutter.

3️⃣ Every season serves a purpose — but no season is meant to last forever.
Sometimes growth means taking action. Other times, it means letting go.

If you’ve been circling the same project, waiting for clarity, or collecting knowledge like it’s your full-time job… this episode is your permission slip to shift gears.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE START DREAMING AGAIN GUIDE

Check out all my coaching and course offerings - Coachcarlene.com

MORE FROM ME

Follow me on Instagram: @coach_carlene

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your support helps me reach more dreamers who need these insights. 🎙️ Thanks for tuning in to the Distracted Dreamer Podcast! See you next week!

FOLLOW NOW
Also, if you haven't done so already, follow the podcast. I'm adding episodes every week, and if you're not folllowing, there's a good chance you'll miss out. Follow now!

Episode Website

Transcript

Speaker 3 0:01

You're never too busy, too tired, too old, or too anything to pursue your dreams. Welcome to the Distracted Dreamer Podcast, where you'll learn how to move all those never ending distractions aside and chase your dreams with confidence.

0:23

Well, hello there. I'm Carlene, your host. Welcome back to the Distracted Dreamer Podcast. And if you've been here before, you know how much I love having these chats with you. And if you're new, I am so glad that you found your way here. Truly, you are in good company. Before we dive in, can I ask you a tiny favor? If this podcast has ever helped you feel just a little bit more clear, a little more seen, or just a little less alone, would you share it with a friend today, you know that one person you know who's circling their dream but hasn't made a move yet. Send it their way. They're gonna wanna hear this now. Speaking of circling dreams. Yeah, I've, I've done that many times and I wish I would've had this perspective around what we're talking about today, which is that our dreams and our growth, it has seasons. But first I have to take you back 11 years when I first started my coaching practice, so that you understand what I'm talking about here Now, way back then, I had no idea what I was doing, like truly none. And one of the first things that I did was I signed up for a class on how to code my own WordPress website. Yeah, coding me like no tech background. I have no idea what I was thinking, but back then that's what was available. There weren't all these drag and drop platforms and design tools that we have now. So I dove in because I didn't have any money to hire anybody. I was just starting out. I didn't even have a client yet. And then once I had a website up, somehow I had a website up and it was awful. Truly awful, and I look back at that website sometimes just to see how far I've come, but Okay. I, I digress because I also threw myself into a lot of coach training, like all of it, all of the certifications I signed up for every coaching practicum, every feedback session. Some of it was deeply uncomfortable, but it was also incredibly valuable. And then came all the behind the scenes stuff. I bought so many online courses, how to build an email list, how to price my services, how to write better sales pages, how to ask for testimonials. How to, how to, how to. It never ended and eventually it stalled me. Because there's a tipping point where learning stops being momentum, and it just starts becoming avoidance and procrastination. So one day I just remember saying to myself, okay, I've had it. That's it. I need to get one client, just one, and I need to actually implement all this stuff that I've learned. And that's when things started to shift. Yes, all that learning, it had tremendous value, but without action, it was just a lot of noise and a lot of expensive noise. And if I'm being honest, it's a trap that I still fall into from time to time because I'm a learner and learning feels really productive and it feels safe. But our dreams, they don't just need knowledge, they need action. They need us to implement, they need us to try. They need us. To move and to build. And learning doesn't move the needle by itself. It's learning, plus implementing that brings our dreams to life. And that's exactly what we're gonna talk about today. Let's start with the basics. There are two main seasons that we cycle through when we're growing. On one side is the season of learning. This is where the energy, it feels new and fresh. You're reading the books, listening to the podcast, you're watching all the YouTube videos. You're following the new ideas, and you're letting inspiration just spark everything for you. And it's exciting. It's a little chaotic, but it's full of possibility, and you're gathering and you're exploring. And then on the other side, there's the season of implementing. This is the focus zone. You are not chasing every shiny new idea anymore. You're refining, you're building something, you're taking consistent action. In this season, it can feel quieter and sometimes a little less exciting. But it's where the real momentum happens. You're not exploring anymore, you're actually executing. Now, both of these are part of our growth. Neither is better than the other, but here's the catch. The danger comes when we get stuck in one for too long. So there are traps of staying too long in the season of learning. All right. Where are my learners? Raise your hands. Are you a learner? If you love, love, love to consume information, you're a learner. If your idea of a good time is diving into a new course, downloading a juicy freebie, watching an inspiring YouTube video, or devouring another podcast episode, mm-hmm. This part's for you because while the season of learning it can. Wildly energizing and expansive. It can also become a sneaky form of procrastination. Your brain actually tells you, I'm doing something productive. I'm learning, and you are. But here's what tends to happen. All that new knowledge, it just gets jumbled up in our heads, some of it's in your head, some of it's in your downloads folder. Some of it's in a half finished digital course. You promised you'd get back to someday. You feel busy, you feel like you're moving forward, but underneath that, you're really stalling. When you're in the learning season, you're collecting, but you're not creating. You're consuming, but you're not committing and you're inspired, but you are overwhelmed. And the moment you try to shift into implementation, you're stuck searching for that one amazing idea or resource that you saved somewhere. Huh? Was it in your email? Was it on your desktop? Is it in that Google Drive folder? It takes forever to find if you ever do find it. When you are in the learning season, you have to build yourself some infrastructure, and I'm gonna tell you exactly how to do that so that you can actually find the information that you found so valuable. So when you download something, don't just toss it into the digital void. What I do is I create a dedicated folder for the project or the topic that it relates to. Then what I do is I make a spreadsheet or a tracker. It does not have to be fancy. Do not make this the other thing that keeps you from taking action. This is a system that once you have it set up, you can continue to use it over and over again. So you're gonna make the spreadsheet, and then what you're gonna do is you're going to put the title of the resource in the spreadsheet. In the next column, you're going to put a quick note on why it sparked you. What was the thing that you said, oh my gosh, I need this. And then third thing you need to put in there is how you plan to use it once you move into the implementation season. Now, this doesn't have to be fancy. It can be a Google Doc called Dream Notes or implementation ideas for whatever the dream is. Title it so that you can find it. Now you are not building a research library, you're building a launchpad. This is what you're gonna go back to, to launch, to implement. And yeah, I know this does take a little bit of time and subdiscipline upfront, but I am telling you it is going to save you hours of frustration down the line. There will be no more digging through tabs and folders or random screenshots. Your inspiration has a home now and a purpose. Let's use a real life example of this. Um, let's imagine that you're trying to plan your next family vacation, or just your vacation in general. You're in full research mode, you're looking at all the destinations and you're reading the blogs and listening to the podcast, and you're saving those Instagram posts. Oh, man, that is where I just get lost. I'm like, oh, doesn't that look cool? I wanna go here and I'm gonna save this. And then, I can't remember, was it on Instagram that I saw that? I don't even know. Okay. And then there's like watching YouTube and then you're checking flights. You're like, ah, do I need nonstop? What about this airline? Can I use points? And then you're googling all the things to do with the kids in Portugal or wherever you're going. And your brain is literally, is just buzzing because you've found a ton of great stuff. And you've got the screenshots and the open tabs and all the saved reels, and you maybe even have a few travel PDFs. But if you don't organize all that information, guess what? It's three weeks later and you are overwhelmed. You've forgotten which resort had that family suite or where that amazing packing list even went. Now imagine instead that you had a folder called Summer 2026 Family Trip, and inside that folder you had a document with Flight Options. You have another document with links to the top three destinations that you're considering and why you're considering them, and then you have a spreadsheet labeled. Inspo Plus ideas, and you're going to have the name of the article or the post with a link. Do not forget the link. And then you're gonna write just a brief sentence about what the article was about. And then you can put, you can kind of rank it, you can say, oh, is that like a must do? Like, yes, we absolutely have to do that, or maybe we should do that. I need to talk to the family about that. Or would this just be something nice to do now that is a season of learning with structure. And when it's time to book the trip and go, you are ready. You know where your folder is, you know where all your information is. So just like your dream projects, whether it's a podcast or a product or a personal goal or a vacation, you need a system to turn the learning into action because your downloads folder, that's not where dreams go to live. That's where they go to die. If you don't have a plan and you don't have structure. Okay. So I'm hoping that helps you when you are in that learning season to give it a system that you can keep going back to. And so now we're gonna move into the season of implementing. So let's talk about that. This is the season where you put your head down and you follow through. You're building, you're showing up, you're making decisions, you're making your way through the messy middle. And sometimes this season gets hard or it gets boring. Or sometimes it just gets confusing and you're doing the work, but maybe you're starting to feel disconnected. You're, you're forgetting your why, like, why was this even important to me? Or you hit a wall and you start wondering, am I even on the right track here, let me just remind you. Being stuck in implementation doesn't mean that you're failing. It might just mean it's time to revisit the season of learning intentionally. It means go back and open up that folder and then you're gonna get inspired again. But don't stay there. In the season of learning, you need to bring that back right away, back into the season of implementing. Okay? Because sometimes you just need a new spark and sometimes you need to open your old notes and remember what excited you in the beginning. And sometimes you're done and you're afraid to admit it, like maybe you're done with this dream and that's okay. But first, ask yourself some questions. What excited me about this in the beginning? What was I hoping it would become? And is this still aligned with what I want? If yes, that's amazing. Reconnect with that and keep going. And if not, that's okay too. Letting go isn't quitting. It's making space for whatever's next for you. But make sure if you're gonna let go do it intentionally. Don't just put it off to the side and forget about it and say, someday make a decision that you're done. Okay. Let's go back to using a real life example of implementing the family vacation. Let's go back to that trip. Now you've done the research, you chose the location, and now it's time to act. You have to book the flights, you gotta confirm the hotel, you gotta make the packing list. This isn't the dreamy part. It's the logistical part, but without it, the trip doesn't happen. I mean, I can tell you there's one thing that I. Cannot stand to do. I love to travel. I hate packing. Isn't that terrible? The packing? Oh my gosh. The packing to leave is terrible for me. Packing to come home is easy, but packing to leave, ugh. And if you start to feel overwhelmed, revisit that beach photo that made you say, yes, that's the beach that we're going to, and remember why you're doing it like. I want to have memories with my family on vacation. This is our special family time. If that's your why, use that. Because that spark right there, that lives in the details, those family memories, they are in those details. You just have to look. Implementation it's not about hustling through it, it's just about taking action. That's it. And it's okay if you have to pause and ask. Is this still what we want? Do we still want to take this vacation? Asking that question. That's growth. All right, my friend, now it's your turn. Take a moment right now and ask yourself. Around the dream that you're starting, that maybe you're circling or that you're in it ask yourself, what season am I in? Are you learning or implementing? And neither one is better. Neither one is right or wrong, but knowing your season, it gives you some control and some power. Here's what I invite you to do. Identify your season. Name it, own it. Decide how you're going to show up in it. And if it's time to shift seasons, do it with intention. If you're learning, organize it. Organize all the learning. And if you're implementing, focus and reconnect with your why. And if you're stuck, that's okay. Go back to the beginning. Look at all those sparks that are buried in all learning materials that you have gathered. Or ask yourself, is it time to dream in a new direction? Because dreams, they don't grow in a straight line. They grow in seasons, and you are allowed to grow with them. Thank you for being here with me today, and if you had a light bulb moment from any of these episodes, I would be so grateful if you could leave a review. It really does help this podcast reach more people who may be circling their dreams too.

Carlene 16:36

Alright, my sweet friend Thank you so much for being here with me today. And remember your dreams. They are waiting for you and your time. It's now and I'll be back next week. Ready to welcome you to our next conversation. Oh, and one more thing. This is the legal language. You know, the stuff that the lawyers put together, and they say that I need to read this to you. So here we go. This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. I'm just your friend. I'm not a licensed therapist. This podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professionals. Got it? Good. I will see you in the next episode.