Intro
Hi everyone,
I often find myself really motivated when I start to learn something new. It goes on for a day or even a week in some cases and eventually, it fades out. I fall into the same trap of starting something new.
Are you facing a similar problem or going through a similar situation? Are you questioning your potential and whether will this ever end? Asking yourself questions like can I find something to dive deep in and continue getting curious for a long time?
These are some steps you need to take in order to fix your indecisiveness related to skills to learn
STEP 1: Learn to Learn
Most of us were never taught how to learn a new skill. What is the process of effective learning which is backed by science?
Whenever I need a refresher on how to approach new skills to learn, I go back to this video. This video is by Barbara Oakley, PhD, PE is a professor of engineering at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. Her research focuses on the complex relationship between neuroscience and social behavior. She also has a course on Coursera as well Coursera Course.
Excellent video: will rate 4.5/5 do check it out.
STEP 2: Pick a skill (Stop reading headings only)
This is tough I know. You want to learn everything all at once. The realization that there are a gazillion things under the sun and your life is very limited is very obvious yet very uncommon.
Here are a few questions you can consider while choosing a niche:
What remotely excites you now.
What is trending and will be relevant for the next 5 years?
Understanding the job role with this tech skill and what day-to-day life feels like for you.
Once you answer all these questions and pick a niche you want to learn, you have done 50% of the job. It does not matter if you think you are wrong while making this decision (are there enough jobs? Will I even get paid ? blah.. blah..)
Fortunately, our tech industry is very interdependent. Every technology needs some other to work efficiently. So you don't have to worry, you will have to anyways stumble upon a lot of these areas.
Step 3: Start really slow(read the last para ik you are reading headings only)
When you start out, I would suggest starting really slow. Give 15 mins every day. This way you will not get burnt out. Think of it as a tv series give yourself a cliffhanger every day to come back again. It can be in form of a problem statement, a new efficient way to solve a problem.
Increase that time by 10 mins every 10 days. Let's do the math now:
10 days X 15mins = 150mins = 2.5 hours
10 days X 25 mins = 250 mins = 4.2 hours
10 days X 35 mins = 5.8 hours
At the end of a month, you have spent close to 13 hours on a tech skill. Woahh :) Congrats. You have achieved consistency, according to psychology our brain does register the fact that we showed up every day for a very brief timeframe more prominently than spending a whopping 13 hours on a single day.
Step 4: Do working projects
Any skill you will learn at least in tech was meant to solve a problem. Find and create problems to solve it can be a simple calculator to a complex website. There is no shortcut to this process. 70% of learning involves searching for error fixes and figuring out efficient code to solve a problem.
What you will learn at the end:
You will be more creative (Myth: Creativity is rare and it's a talent many people don't have.
Truth: Creativity is taking already an available solution or data and making it more efficient)Understand there is no shortcut, you have to get stuck.
Finding answers online or searching right questions.
Step 5: Sleep when you are stuck
When we were children whenever napping was a routine. As we grow older sleeping is a one-time activity prolly every night. Trust me to try it a few times there is no going back. Just take a nap when you are stuck and don't want to stress over it. You will come up with a solution 90% of the time after waking up.
Step 6: Take up more hobbies
I know it sounds dumb when we already are so much busy, but taking up more hobbies seems impossible right? An easy fix to this is to take up 2 hobbies that are different from learning a tech skill could be gardening, reading a book, exercising, etc. This is will give your brain a much-needed break so that you can come back to your learning process rejuvenated and relaxed.
That is it guys, do follow these steps and let me know your journey below. Happy learning. :))
Disclaimer: Sorry for lot of grammar mistakes in this article. Will improve along the way.