This article examines the effects of synthesising existing theoretical approaches to understanding the effects of adult learning. The paper focuses on aspects of the findings of a small Australian research project that explored the significance of everyday learning in people's lives. One key part of the research involved examining and synthesising two key approaches for understanding the effects of adult learning with another, different approach and then applying this to the collected snapshots of six people's everyday lives. In the paper it is argued that this application of a synthesised framework to the participant's stories was able to reveal more of the complex and interconnected nature of the effects of the participant's everyday learning than either of the two original approaches on their own. This research is significant for two key reasons. Firstly, the findings of the research suggest that the effects of adult everyday learning are more complex and further reaching beyond the individual than previously established. Secondly, the work can be seen as a demonstration of the benefits of a synthesised approach to adult learning that seeks inclusivity, breadth and depth in understanding, thus contributing to the growing body of work, and understandings of adult learning.