Growth and evolution are essential elements of one’s life. Learning a new skill can aid this process. At a time when there is a cut-throat competition for every job, it is the person’s ability to upgrade himself or herself that helps a person to not only survive but also grow. Learning a new skill can:
- Increase your productivity: When you learn something new, you transmit that knowledge into your work and the quality of your work is enhanced. We all have heard the story of how Steve Job’s interest in calligraphy inspired him to develop Apple’s typography.
- Help in promotions and hikes: There is a direct monetary benefit associated with learning new skills. Learning a new software in an IT firm, for instance, can land you into new projects.
- Boast your confidence: Personal development and job satisfaction is a priority for many of us. Doing the same thing repeatedly can be monotonous. Learning new skills can keep us motivated and confident about ourselves.
- Explore new career options: Learning new skills does not only help us with our current job or profession, but it can also at times create new opportunities and new career paths for us.
How to productively learn a new skill?
Learning a new skill require time, effort, and personal commitment. The first and the foremost requisite for learning a new skill is to fight the human tendency to resist putting in time, efforts, and commitment. To stay motivated and productively learn a new skill, here are a following tips:
> Set your goal: To keep your motivation levels high, you should really be passionate about the new skill you are planning to learn. When you are passionate about something, it is easier to take time out and put in that extra effort. Keep reminding yourself why you are learning this new skill. Always have that goal in mind whenever you feel exhausted and think about quitting.
Be mindful that you set yourself a reasonable target. If you have a 9 to 5 job and can take very little time to learn the new skill, then make your goal accordingly. Setting a tough deadline in such a scenario would create extra pressure on you and might kill the joy of learning something new as well.
> Formulate a Plan: Every skill has several sub-skills. For instance, if you want to work on your personality development, you will have to work on several sub skills such as dress style, communication skills, body language and posture. Analyse which subs skills you need to work upon more and patiently work on each of them.
You can adopt a learning strategy according to the time, finance, and resources available to you. If you can’t take time out in the week, try to take it out in the weekend. If you cannot go for a formal degree, go for a certificate or diploma. If you can’t read a book, listen to audio books while travelling to-and-fro from your workplace. The point is to find a way out. Make a plan that suits your learning.
> Practice what you learn: Skills are practical in nature. They cannot be mastered without practice. Give yourself opportunities to practice the skills you are learning. If you want to improve your public speaking, volunteer for any opportunity where you have to be on the stage and speak in front of people.
> Explore different learning tools: The greatest advantage of learning in the information age is that there is never a shortage of learning tools and opportunities. One need not go to a library to read a certain book or go to a music school to learn music. Internet is full of several online courses and learning material that can be accessed easily. It is not being suggested not to explore the traditional learning tools, but to make use of different learning tools to suit your learning needs.
> Evaluate your new skills: A constant evaluation is important to assess how much of the learning objectives have been met. You might feel hesitant about evaluating yourself, but you must get over it. You did not put in all those time and effort not to showcase your skill in front of others. Even if you don’t do well, its fine, be patient with yourself. You can always work on your weakness and improve yourselves.
Learning a new skill can be challenging. It would take your time and efforts. It could feel painful at times, but it would surely be worth it.
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