The Lonely E-Learning Instructional Designer

From time to time, all instructional designers experience the feeling of working in an “austere and lonely office,” to borrow the words of poet Robert Hayden. Even those of us who are fortunate enough to be part of an instructional design and development team must face the fear of the blank screen at some point as we try to do our best for our learners.

So, what keeps us going? How do we stay motivated? What gets us through the dark night of content-driven courses that we know are tortuous to learners?

Everyone must answer that question for himself or herself. I can tell you, though, what motivates me when all else fails: ATD E-Learning Instructional Design Certificate. I have the privilege of teaching this course every few months, and I always leave the workshop energized, hopeful for our industry, and recommitted to my job as an instructional designer.