The GM's Classroom

I firmly believe that a GM never learns so much as when he isn't GMing.  Certainly you learn things when running a game, especially when things fall apart, but you learn so much more when playing.  That is why I consider the other side of the screen the GM's Classroom.

The key to learning is to experience a game in the role of a player.  Learning what you like and don't like as a player, paying attention to how the person running the game approaches things, and often just taking a break from the strain of GMing are all crucial. 

Gary Gygax believed that a well rounded GM must take on the role of player from time to time, and I couldn't agree more.  Though there are those who do nothing but GM and do so for years or even decades at a time, I have never gamed with such a person.  Everyone in my group, and I most certainly include myself, sufferes from GM burnout after running a game of great lenth.  Life is hard and full of stress and to a certain extent GMing is the same. 

Take some time off after running a game and hop over to the other side of the screen.  You'll be surprised how much you'll learn there and it will only make your next game that much better.