Most universities and colleges have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, most students have been forced to stay at home and adapt to the new normal. But you don’t have to stay idle and do nothing. Instead, you can take this time to learn new life skills that will help you once the lockdown is lifted.
Some of the key life skills you can learn are:
Leadership
It’s not managers only who should have leadership qualities. Any person who wants to advance their career must have basic leadership skills. Leadership does not mean controlling or supervising employees and junior colleagues. It’s about having a vision, creating a strategy, and getting people to implement that vision.
At the center of leadership is the ability to hold yourself accountable when things go wrong and know that the buck stops with you. Therefore, take this time to learn about negotiation, public relations, and communication.
Adaptability and Flexibility
The pandemic has shown us how well-laid plans can go astray. It has also taught us that adapting and responding to unexpected events is an essential life skill. During this pandemic, you should take the time to learn how you can be flexible and adapt to new changes.
Flexibility used to be about geographic mobility. Today, flexibility is all about prioritizing tasks, meeting unexpected deadlines, and performing exceptionally well under pressure. It also means being able to handle extra responsibilities. Therefore, you can use this pandemic period to learn skills that you don’t already have.
Tech Savvy
There is no doubt that people who have no digital skills cannot survive today’s business environment. Basically, every single job today requires some digital skills. The pandemic has made this requirement even more necessary. With people working from home and businesses trying to stay ahead, learning how to use technology is becoming more of a necessity than an additional skill.
The fourth industrial revolution has forced businesses to invest in tech-savvy people. That’s why you must take this time to learn some digital skills, such as artificial intelligence, the cloud, big data, and computer programming. It would be best if you also familiarise yourself with the blockchain and its impact on the internet.
Speed Reading
You may have been in situations where you had to prepare a report at short notice. This meant going through hundreds of pages to come up with the content. One of the skills that can help you tackle this problem is speed reading. Speed reading enables you to skim text while understanding what it means. It also eliminates the problem of subvocalization, which is the saying of words in your mind while reading.
By using speed reading, you can skim through emails and research reports quickly. Try to increase your reading speed to about 500 words per minute.
The Art of Delegating
In addition to learning leadership skills, you should also learn how to delegate. Micromanaging tasks is a major problem that taints any exceptional leadership skills. It exhausts your mental energy and makes you waste useful time on tasks that are not critical. You can enroll in an online course or download a step to step guide on how to delegate.
How to Play an Instrument
Many people regard instrument playing as a past time. But playing instruments can boost your memory, lower your heart rate, and make you more alert. It has also been shown to reduce the effects of dementia.
Learning how to play an instrument has many health and entertainment benefits. There are many courses online that can guide you to know how to play an instrument. Some of the instruments are also easier to buy online.
Prioritizing Tasks
Tasks are not created equal. Some are more critical to the strategy than others. Similarly, some tasks require immediate attention and have to be done quickly. In that light, learning how to plan your day and create a schedule is important.
This is the right time to create a to-do list and follow it faithfully. Measure your effectiveness and daily output. Ultimately, learning to prioritize will help you avoid concentrating on useless tasks and focus all your energy on the tasks that matter. By the time the lockdown is lifted, you will have learned how to achieve more with less effort.
Videography Skills
All social media giants are pushing more video content to users. Learning how to make a video and post it online is an essential life skill that can expand your network and earn you some money. Luckily, there are many tutorials on YouTube that can help you master the basic videography skills. This will help you take advantage of the current social media wave and put yourself on the path to an extra career.
Shooting Skills
Buying and owning a gun is a fundamental right of any US citizen. But having the right skills to use a firearm and owning it are two very different things. This is the right time to learn how to use a gun and how to store it properly. For instance, there are exceptional gun handling tips available at https://gunsnfreedom.com/best-6-5-creedmoor-muzzle-brakes-reviews/.
Final Thoughts Before deciding to learn a particular skill, you should evaluate your routine and budget. These tips will help you learn a new skill during this lockdown.
