If you’ve got extra time on your hands, think of it as the perfect opportunity to reflect inwards, evaluate how we want to improve our lives, and seek out learning and self-development opportunities.
Learning a new language, dancing, painting, coding, photography, gardening, crafting, DIY home projects, mindfulness practices—opportunities for learning and growth are boundless. And with so many delivery mediums available these days, you can find a method that best meets your learning style. You can read books, watch webinars, listen to podcasts or audiobooks, attend online workshops or courses, and even take a live class with an online instructor.
Whether you are trying to find ways to boost your career, challenge and improve yourself, or just pass the time, learning and developing new skills and competencies can only prove to be beneficial. If you do decide to invest in online classes or certifications, you will find that self-development can be especially rewarding and offer fulfillment in your everyday life.
Before we hop into ideas and learning tools, I wanted to share with you 5 benefits to acquiring knowledge and new skills:
It Fights Boredom
If you find yourself feeling bored or anxious—you may need something to focus your energy towards. Because learning is exciting, it can help offset those feelings. Instead of mindlessly scrolling your Facebook or IG feed, pick up a book or the instrument sitting in your room, or look through YouTube or other free online options to see if there are new skills you can learn.
It Rewires Your Brain
Studies have shown that whenever something new is learned, fresh connections can form between neurons. This process is known as neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to change throughout life.
It May Improve Your Memory
Just like you can train your body physically, you can train your mind to remember things more efficiently. Learning new skills – especially when you share that knowledge with others – helps build your memory muscles. The act of learning something new, and then repeating it, helps improve your overall recall capability. So, feel free to share the wealth of your new knowledge. It’s a win-win situation.
It Helps Improve Productivity
The more you know, the more efficiently you can operate. Regularly learning new skills will allow you to do your job more quickly and easily, rather than having to take the time to look up the information every time something arises.
It Increases Empathy and Improves Relationships
Every new skill you learn makes you a more well-rounded person, therefore creating more common ground to help you relate to more people. This can prove to be helpful in all kinds of situations where building rapport is essential, as the more you can understand and empathize with others, the better all your relationships will be.
We are going to break down development into three primary areas: skill learning, personal development, and health improvements, followed by tiers of investment: free, small investment, premium. Pick your learning medium based on preference, budget, and accessibility.
Skill Learning
Language
- Free—Duolingo, YouTube
- Small investment—Drops
- Premium—LanguagePod101, online personal instructors
Arts and Crafts
- Free—YouTube, various online magazines and virtual blogs
- Small investment—Creative Bug, Skill Share, MasterClass
- Premium—online personal instructors
Cooking
- Free—Epicurious, Kitchen Stories, YouTube, various online magazines and personal blogs
- Small investment—cooking books, Rouxbe, Udemy, MasterClass
- Premium—online personal instructors
Dancing
- Free—YouTube
- Small investment—Steezy Studio, Dance Plug, Skill Share
- Premium—online personal instructors
Career Development
- Free—YouTube, Open Culture, Academic Earth, 41 Classes You Can Take Right Now to Advance Your Career (and They’re Free!)
- Small investment—Coursera, Lynda, Udemy, Skill Share
- Premium—online college courses
Personal Development
Meditation
- Free—Smiling Mind, Headspace
- Small investment—10% Happier
- Premium—various online mindfulness meditation teaching certifications
Gratitude
- Free—Bliss, 365 Gratitude Journal
- Small investment—Day One Journal, New Gratitude Journal
- Premium—Learn with Gratefulness
Relationships
- Free—Love Nudge, Lasting: Marriage Health App, Raft: Couple and Family Calendar
- Small investment—Udemy
- Premium—various remote therapy options
Health Improvements
Healthier Cooking and Eating
- Free–100 Days of Real Food, Tasty, YouTube, personal blogs
- Small Investment—Yummly
- Premium—working with a personal health coach, online personal instructions with a chef.
Exercise
- Free—Coach, Care, Connect, Charity Miles, YouTube
- Small Investment—Anytime Fitness App, My Fitness Pal
- Premium—working with a personal trainer
Sleep
- Free—Sleep Cycle
- Small Investment—Noisli
- Premium—Pzizz, Calm, working with a sleep specialist or a therapist (remotely or in person)
Now that you have different tools and mediums to explore, you would benefit from getting clear on what it is you want to accomplish. We’ve got some tips for you on how to explore, set, and accomplish your learning and self-development goals. These tips can also apply to different areas in your life that could benefit from intentional improvement!
Tips for Setting and Accomplishing goals
Get Clear with What You Want.
Ask yourself: what do I want to accomplish, experience, learn, acquire, feel or be?
Set Goals in Important Areas of Your Life.
- Financial
- Career/Business
- Self-Care
- Family time
- Health/appearance
- Relationships
- Mental health
- Making an impact in your community
Make Sure You Are Creating SMART Goals
S: Specific
M: Measurable
A: Attainable
R: Realistic
T: Time-Bound
Create a "Breakthrough" Goal
Choosing a goal that will force you to stretch and grow in order to achieve is important. This is the kind of goal that may make you get out of your comfort zone, and may even be a little frightening. Ultimately, it will push you to become more masterful in a skill or in life. Think big, and remember, the process itself is where the biggest gifts lie.
Work on Your Goals Daily
Every day, identify and write down five specific things you will accomplish to get closer to your goal and don’t call it quits for the day until you cross each one off your list.
Continuously Work to Create and Maintain a Positive Mindset
Through meditation, visualization, gratitude practice, positive re-framing, affirmations, support from others, self-care, a growth-mindset, learning attitude.
Check Your Expectations
Remember, success takes time and hard work. Manage your expectations.
Keep a Record of What Is Working
Focus on the parts of your efforts that are working in order to stay determined and positive.
Celebrate Big and Small Successes
Reward yourself for a job well done to keep yourself motivated and feeling positive.
We’re confident that with a little exploration and introspection, you’ll be well on your way to the new and improved you!
