Formal education is your first priority when you are studying in a school, college, or university. It is a pre-requisite and is necessary to acquire the basic skill sets that would qualify you for employment. However, you can acquire knowledge and develop skill sets from anywhere and at any point in your life.

Learning is not restricted to formal education as it is a continuous process. Continued learning later in life is gaining importance with each passing day. With the growth of technology and the new ways of learning available at your fingertips, you can learn whatever you feel like. You are never too old to learn something new.

One of the main purposes of continued learning is to create a personal and professional attitude. Keeping an open mind will improve your understanding of the subject matter at hand. This positive attitude will also help you make the most of opportunities to improve the overall quality of your life.

There are many benefits of continued learning. Some of them have been briefly explained as follows:

Improved cognitive function
Learning is a great exercise for your brain and results in significant improvement in brain function. This cognitive exercise also reduces the chances of brain-related illnesses as your mind will be engaged in various activities.

Exposure to technology
Most of the learning techniques and education modes are online today. This gives the elderly a chance to develop and use the innovations in technology to acquire knowledge and develop skill sets.

Online courses
Retirement can be boring or uneventful and many seniors prefer to keep themselves occupied post-retirement. This is easier said than done; however, technological advancements have made it possible to kick-start some of their very own dream projects by studying and understanding the subject online.

Some useful tips for continued learning later in life
Motivation
It is important for you to feel positive about learning and your overall ability to learn. Self-motivation is one of the driving factors of continued learning later in life. It is important to keep yourself motivated as you will get to learn many new things.

Sources of information
You can acquire knowledge from anywhere. Sourcing for information will be highly effective after you develop good reading, listening, and observation skills. Experiences also play a key role in interpreting information.

Applied learning
Sourcing for information is just one part of the spectrum, you have to apply what you have learned in practical scenarios. This helps in your overall development be it for professional or personal goals.

Information triggers
It can be difficult to retain specific information as aging tends to gradually impair memory retention. Make notes and, if necessary, refer to the same information from time to time. This trigger technique will help you retain information more efficiently.

Reinforce information
The next step after retaining is reinforcing. This should be done objectively, so ensure to incorporate suggestions and the opinions of others to what you already know about a particular subject.

Reflect
Spend some time and reflect on your thoughts. Assess the knowledge you have gained and determine its practicality. Find out avenues where this knowledge can be put to good use.