It’s never been easier to learn a new skill. It’s probably one of the easiest ways to level up in today’s society. With the information provided at our fingertips: YouTube, online certificates, online resources, etc.
If you dedicate 1 hour of the working day for 6 months and put in an extra 5 on the weekends, you will be way ahead of the population. If you are planning to upgrade your career or earn a side income, learning a skill could probably be one of the easiest ways to do it.
The information is there but not a lot of persons are doing it. Most “normies” want to stay exactly where they are and don’t want to change even if it means coping with the forever hardships of life.
In this guide, I hope to enlighten ways that you can use to learn a skill so that you too can become more valuable in our society. If it’s computer-based, all the better as a whole world of opportunities are opened up to you.
If it doesn’t require computers, it still doesn’t matter as long as you are leveling up.
Passion vs Competence
Persons usually wrestle with this question when they want to learn something new or double down on a skill. Should they learn what they double down on what they are passionate about or tackle a skill they are competent.
This is a question that only you can answer. It also depends on your goals as well. If you are in a position where your main competency can lead to career growth and unlimited potential, it makes sense to go that route over your passion. Your passion might be fulfilling and could be done in your spare time.
Practice
Whenever you are trying to learn a skill, you have to practice. Depending on the skill you have to practice consistently for years. You would be amazed how many geniuses and productive individuals were literally incompetent in the beginning.
They just kept showing up and slowly chip away a piece of the block at a time. If you are working a job and you also have a lot of responsibilities, you can spend at least 30 minutes per day practicing that skill.
30 minutes per day is better than none. 0.001 is still more than 0 and if you persist within those short blocks, it will add up over time. Lastly, if you should add up all the hours you wasted throughout the day, 30 minutes seems like a low bargain.
Practice the Art of Learning
This concept changed the way how I thought about knowledge acquisition when I first found out about it. I never knew that learning was a skill, I thought just like walking and talking, it was instinctual.
To a certain degree, it is instinctual but those instincts can be refined and be built upon. Before paper was a necessity within society and computers which made us more productive and yet a bit lazy.
Scholars and scientists of their period had to rely on techniques to remember vast amounts of knowledge. They also never had computers and most of the calculations had to be done by hand.
In today’s world, there are techniques that you can use to enhance your learning abilities. Learning how to learn wasn’t taught to us in school in just the same way as learning how to read well.
Most of us had to rely on instincts and we often develop bad habits over time. Here are some techniques you can use below:
Spaced Repetition
Spaced repetition is a technique you use to remember information over a long time period. This technique is suitable for the information that is item-based such as vocabulary or formulas.
You would normally use index cards with the information on them. Typically, you would study the cards and recall them over a period of time to get that spacing effect.
You would start the first session today, then start the second one three days’ time. Next, you could do a recall session the other week and then space it out again another two more weeks.
Feynman Technique
The Feynman technique might seem simple and basic common sense. But common sense is often not common practice. In fact, this method was developed by Richard Feynman who was one of the most famous scientists in the latter part of the 1900s. It is comprised of 4 steps.
Step 1
Study the topic and then seek to write down everything you deem to know about the topic on paper. You are basically exercising your mental muscles at this moment.
Step 2
You are then going to teach the topic to someone or an imaginary audience. Studies have found that teaching about a topic will help you to retain the information better. Refines your thinking.
Step 3
You are going to go back over the studies and fill in the gaps that were lost. Oftentimes, when you are learning all the information, will not seem so clear.
Step 4
Lastly, you are going to simplify the information and break it down to a level where you can easily explain it to others or even a 5-year-old. If you can be able to explain it to a 5-year-old and they understand, it means you have understood the topic.
Mind Mapping
Mind mapping is a skill that can help you to work according to how your brain works. Our brains can be seen as connection machines, we are always making connections with the outside environment.
For every new information that comes in, we have to use some past data as a reference to understand it. This process happens very quickly.
Whenever we are mind mapping a topic, we are starting from one focal point and then create branches of information that relate to that topic. This process will happen repeatedly until all our information has gotten exhausted. It might seem simple but it’s pretty effective if you do it right.
Climbing Plateaus
When you are learning, you will hit plateaus. This is different for everybody. It’s the point when it seems like nothing is working or connecting properly. It can also be the point when the learning becomes a monotonous activity and it’s not exciting anymore.
You have to challenge yourself during this period and don’t get lost on the top of the plateau. You have to challenge yourself to get to another level.
If you used to put 30 minutes into a daily study, why not add 10 more minutes to make it 40? Take on more projects, research tests, or challenges online and try them out. Learning is an iterative process.
Like anything worthwhile achieving, it’s going to be messy in the beginning. Continuous improvement is a must and that should be your aim. Even 0.00001% improvement is better than being at the same place.
Learn the History of the Topic
When you are trying to learn about a topic. First-principles thinking is important. You are not going to truly understand a topic unless you understand first principles, the mere essence of the topic. Whether you are studying computer science, mathematics, biology, law, etc.
Learning the history of the topic can help you to have a different perspective on the entire topic. In school, for example, we are often taught mathematical rules and at the end of the day, we have to just accept them without knowing how they came about.
You do have schools out there that teach mathematical history but oftentimes, that is attached to a Ph.D. and is not easily accessible unless you are really out there seeking it.
When you are trying to learn something, try and understand the history of the topic. Even if it’s just a grasp. It’s not necessary but if you are extremely curious and want to know how everything is put together within your domain, it would do wonders for you.
Keep a Journal
Journaling is an important skill that you can develop not just for studying but for life in general. It helps you to jot down ideas, track progress, write down your roadblocks, etc. It can provide a swath of information for future use.
If you are solely focusing on studying, having a journal can push you a far way. Even if you are basically writing down what you’ve learned in very concise sentences.
Get a Mentor
Depending on your skill, learning can be a lonely process. Especially if you are trying to tackle a topic where you are basically an outlier. Thanks to the internet, that can easily be solved if you can research and find online communities that are in line with your interest.
This will help the journey to be easier as you are going to find persons above you in terms of skill and below you. For the ones above you, you should seek their guidance.
You would be amazed how nice people on the internet can be especially if you are one of them. Having mentors can be one of the fastest ways to learn a skill. They can point in the right direction which took them years to learn. You will 10x your learning rate and focus on the things that matter.
If you don’t find any mentors in the beginning, search for videos on YouTube, there is probably someone uploading videos in your niche.
