How to learn new skills fast
Brian Tracy, a successful entrepreneur, speaker, and author of numerous books on self-development, is sure that you can learn any skill. As usual, the question is why do this. “It would be great to learn kung fu someday” is an example of a very weak motivation. Brian suggests developing only those skills that will help you reach your goal faster. So think about what important skills you lack to solve your priority task.
Of course, we all are different, and everyone will spend a different amount of time developing this or that skill. Some things you can learn all your life, for example, a foreign language, because it is endless. Therefore, it is also important to decide at what level you want to stop. So, determine what skill you need to achieve your goal and how thoroughly you want to master it. To speed up the process of obtaining new skills, use the following techniques.
1. Remember that you do not need to become an expert
You’ve probably heard about the 10,000-hours rule which says that you need to devote 10,000 hours to something that you want to master. This is approximately 4 hours of daily practice for 7 years. Do you really have that much time and energy?
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The secret is that you do not necessarily have to become an expert. It is important to learn exactly to the level that will give you the desired result. For example, you want to learn how to cook because you want your children to eat healthy food. To achieve this goal, it is enough to devote only a few hours to learning and practicing. Of course, it will not make you a Michelin star chef, but it was not the task that you set for yourself anyway.
2. Develop 1 skill at a time
When you try to do several things simultaneously, it only leads to fatigue and distraction of attention. It is better to develop one skill at a time and, having finished, proceed to the next one. If you decide to do this throughout your entire life, then at the end of each year you will have a minimum of 10 new skills not to mention new big achievements as a result.
3. Use the Pareto principle also known as the 80-20 rule
The Pareto law states: 20% of efforts give 80% of the result. Any skill can be broken down into sub-skills. For example, to learn how to dance, you need to work on stretching, develop a sense of rhythm, master the basic movements of the chosen style and the art of improvisation. Which of these affect the result in the first place?
Your task is to focus on the most important sub-skills or find that 20% that gives 80% of the result. If you are not sure how to do it yourself, ask an expert or google it up. This 20% is just what you need to learn first. There’s a high chance that you will not even need the remaining 80%.
4. Make learning unavoidable
If you decided to learn how to play the guitar, you’d better not keep it in the closet. In this case, you will probably never learn how to play it. Have it in the place where you spend most of your time, for example, near your computer at home. When your goal is constantly in front of your eyes you will surely spend more time developing the skill and master it faster.
5. Make changes to your schedule
I don’t believe in the excuse “I don’t have the time”. Everyone has 24 hours in a day, and if there is no time for something, then it’s just not a priority for you. Let’s say that every day you have a very tight schedule. In this case, you will have to give up some planned things to make time for new ones. So, grab your calendar and decide how to change your schedule to find at least 30 minutes a day to learn a new skill. If you follow the updated schedule carefully, then in a month you will see impressive results.
6. Do not spend too much time on the theory but practice more
On the Internet, you can find a lot of videos, articles, and books that promise to help you develop any skill. But while you are just watching and reading those, the skill will not appear. Therefore, move from theory to practice as soon as you can. Spend more time practicing the things that seem difficult to you. The more time you devote to them, the faster you will master the necessary skill.
7. Start teaching what you are learning
A Roman philosopher Seneca said: “By teaching others, we learn ourselves.” Why is this happening? When we teach, we go deeper into the issue, structure it, break it down into clear steps. And, as a consequence, we learn it better.
To share your knowledge, it is not necessary to rent a lecture hall. Tell your friends about what you’ve learned; make posts or short videos on social networks. And if you are learning business skills that can also be useful to your colleagues, give a presentation in the office.
8. Find a mentor
One of the shortest ways to learn the necessary skill is to find a mentor who already has it. But do not ask him or her point-blank: “Will you be my mentor?” First, build the relationship with the mentor as you would do with any other person. You can find more on the subject in my article “Mentors for everyone. How to shorten the road to your goal using your mentor’s help.”
If you are not ready to work with the mentor one-on-one, an even easier way is to enroll in a course or a training program and learn a new skill in a group of like-minded people.
9. Create a long-term motivation for yourself
This is a familiar problem for many: starting something new with great enthusiasm and losing interest in a week or two. To avoid this, you need to create a long-term motivation that will help you not to drop everything half way. Here are some ways to do it:
- Join a community where people are learning the same skill as you. Together you will discuss mutual progress, support each other, share tips and life hacks on developing the new skill;
- Ask one of your friends to be your accountability partner;
- Create a file where you will make a record of your results. When you see your daily progress, you will hardly want to interrupt this series of victories.
10. Imitate the experts that you admire
Find a role model who has the skill that you want to learn. There is nothing shameful or illegal in imitating him or her at first. This is not plagiarism, because you are not stealing someone else’s product and passing it off as your own. Moreover, you will never be able to become someone else’s exact copy even if you try to.
Remember how many music bands started with the imitation of the Beatles, and then found their own voice. Clark Terry, one of the most popular American jazz trumpeters, said: “By imitating the players you love, you’ll begin to understand the music on a deeper level and begin to see a personal sound develop in your own approach to improvisation.” The same goes for any other skill.
Now you have all the basic tools to master any skill fast. Here they are:
- Determine what skill you need to achieve your goal and how thoroughly you want to master it. Remember that you do not need to become an expert, but simply acquire the skill to get the result you need.
- Develop 1 skill at a time.
- Use the Pareto principle also known as the 80-20 rule. Focus on the most important sub-skills or find that 20% that gives 80% of the result.
- Make learning unavoidable.
- Make changes to your schedule.
- Do not spend too much time on the theory but practice more.
- Start teaching what you are learning.
- Find a mentor.
- Create a long-term motivation for yourself.
- Imitate the experts that you admire.