Notes-revision of the book “The First 20 Hours” by Josh Kaufman - 2014. Components of rapid acquisition of skills. Principles of fast and effective self-learning.
Contents of the article:
- Preface
- Acquiring a skill quickly is a 4-part process
- Three-Step Model of Skill Acquisition
- 10 principles of fast learning
- 10 principles of effective self-learning
Definition of skill
First, let's understand the terminology and find out how skills differ from skills. There is also a third participant in this chain – skill.
A skill is an automatic, conscious action aimed at achieving a specific goal. It is developed through constant exercise, practice and effort. It can be improved endlessly.
Skill is the ability to perform some action efficiently, quickly and on time under different conditions. Ability is formed on the basis of skills, i.e. it is, as it were, the next step.
Mastery - having achieved it, a person is able to perform actions or work with minimal expenditure of time and resources. To achieve mastery in any matter, you have to work hard and study.
It is impossible to clearly define the boundary between the stages. Therefore, it is impossible to understand what level you are at now. There is no highest point of mastery in any task, because you can improve endlessly.
More than 100 cool lessons, tests and exercises for brain development
Start developing
What you definitely don’t want to confuse are skills and habits. A habit is an unconscious automatic action that is formed as a result of repeated repetition. At a certain point, it becomes a need and is often consolidated without any effort on the part of the person.
Habits can be not only useful, but also harmful. They have no conscious purpose and are often unproductive. And skills develop and move forward; they are associated with solving a problem. Although one does not exclude the other, it happens that a skill is based on good habits.
Let me give you an example. Drawing is a wonderful skill that is worth learning even if you have no talent. To make the process of learning to draw easier, you can develop some habits:
- put tools in a certain order to tune into the desired mood;
- carry a notebook with a pencil and constantly make sketches;
- Every day add at least a couple of touches to the picture.
Each skill has sub-skills. The same drawing can be divided into many sub-skills: how to hold a pencil and use line weight, different styles, line and technical drawing, sketching, portraits, landscapes, etc. Always start learning from the base and highlight what interests you most.
Classification
Human skills have several classifications, but we will look at the most popular one. According to it, skills are divided into three groups:
- Motor – the ability to perform some kind of movement. For example, the ability to write, dance, sew.
- Intellectual – automated ways of solving a previously encountered mental task. For example, counting in your head, planning things.
- Perceptual - a sensory reflection of the properties and characteristics of previously perceived objects. The object is perceived and correlated with existing information. For example, determining by eye the distance to an object, reading.
Also in the modern professional environment there is a division into hard and soft skills:
- Hard skills are professional skills that can be learned and that can be measured in different ways (exams, tests). Examples: foreign language, driving a car, computer skills.
- Soft skills are universal competencies and personal qualities that are difficult to measure with specific indicators. They depend on character and are developed with experience. For example, the ability to work in a team, eloquence, creativity, perseverance.
It is necessary to develop each group of skills, then your personality will be harmonious and you will be able to achieve success in all areas of life.
Setting goals
In 1979, at a lecture in the Harvard MBA program, students were asked the question: “Do you have clearly defined goals for the future and plans to achieve them?” Only 3% of students responded that they had written goals and plans. Another 13% admitted that they have goals, but not in written form. The vast majority, 84%, had no clear goals at all. Ten years later, the graduates were brought together again. They were asked how much they earned, and the incredible thing was revealed. The 13% of graduates who had goals earned, on average, twice as much as the 84% who did not have goals. And the 3% whose goals were clearly stated ten years ago earned ten times more than the other 97% combined! Targets work like a camera lens. If you focus correctly, you will get a clear picture. If the focus is not achieved, the image will be blurry.
The most useful skills a person can develop
The list of skills that a person can develop is huge. Looking at this diversity, one feels powerless, because life is not enough to master everything. But there is basic knowledge that will be decisive for a person’s development both as an individual and as a professional. It's worth starting with them.
Ability to learn
This experience will become the most important on the path to self-improvement. The more developed this skill is, the faster new material is absorbed. This means it will be easier to learn other skills.
To make studying easier, you need to study the laws by which new information is absorbed, understand effective methods and understand how to choose a teacher for yourself.
16.03.2021
114
How to Learn to Learn: A Guide to Effective Studying
Greetings, dear readers! Today we will talk about how...
Proactive Thinking
Proactivity is a conscious choice of reactions to stimuli. A person understands his deepest values, has life principles and subordinates his reactions to them, regardless of conditions and circumstances. In other words, he is able to subordinate the reaction and choose how to perceive the world around him.
By the way, Stephen Covey in the famous bestseller “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” considered proactivity to be the main skill and put it in first place.
Critical thinking
Allows you to analyze all the data received, draw conclusions and make decisions based on them, and not guided by emotions. Such a person almost always has his own opinion and knows how to defend his position, sees different options for the development of the situation and their dependence on the environment.
Critical thinking questions everything. Inconsistencies and contradictions become visible, and the ability to see distorted and misinterpreted information develops.
Creative thinking
It will perfectly complement critical thinking, as it allows you to see the world differently, expand your inner horizons and find alternative and innovative solutions. In other words, it is openness of thinking and rejection of prejudices.
Everyone has creative inclinations, but for some they are clearly visible, while for others they are clogged with other mechanisms. The good news is that they can be stimulated and trained, while achieving great success.
06.04.2021
107
How to develop creativity: detailed instructions
Advice from psychologists and experts on developing creativity and creative thinking
Eloquence
Oratory is useful not only for public speaking, but also for simple communication with other people. Well-constructed oral speech, clear diction and precisely formulated and beautifully expressed thoughts will only decorate any person.
6. Empathy
Empathy is empathy for the emotional state of other people, the ability to understand and sympathize. The skill is necessary when building relationships because it helps us put ourselves in the other person’s shoes and understand their position.
This is a very difficult job that requires a lot of internal resources. But pumping it up is achieved by regularly performing special exercises.
Financial management
This is a whole set of skills necessary for competent money management. They teach you to analyze and keep track of income and expenses, find gaps in the budget, save and save. Financial literacy also implies the ability to choose banking products and loans, understand tax issues and investments.
Time management
There is a separate article on time management on our blog. There you can read more about what it is and how to master it. Let me just briefly say that this is the art of time management aimed at increasing the efficiency of its use. Helps set goals, set priorities, organize work and personal time.
Setting goals
Goal setting is part of time management practice. But I will highlight it as a separate paragraph so that in the process of drawing up a to-do list and organizing working time, goal setting does not get lost. It is what creates the basis for effective activity, since it allows you to determine where you are moving and why all other steps are being taken.
Ability to rest
This is an absolutely necessary component of life, without which it is impossible to study and work effectively. But this must be done correctly so as not to cause even more harm to the body than from work.
It is advisable to learn how to properly spend time on vacation, how to relax after a working day and how to restore strength in 10 minutes.
14.09.2021
1 398
How to learn to relax properly without feeling guilty and not only on vacation: 8 valuable tips
Greetings, dear readers! If you often feel like a hero...
Habit Formation Skill
We have already said that good habits can be an excellent help for the formation of new competencies. So first, learn to reinforce good habits. There is a technique for this, following which will help you go through the stage of introducing innovations quickly and almost painlessly.
And, of course, along the way, get rid of bad habits that interfere with happiness and self-improvement.
12. Meditation
It could be considered one of the ways to relax, but in fact, meditation is much more than just relaxation. Practice heals the soul and body, allows you to find harmony within yourself and transmit it to the world. Having mastered meditation, rarely does anyone give it up, because the effect is truly impressive. Give it a try.
Negotiation
The ability to negotiate is one of the key skills in professional activity. The successful outcome of the transaction depends more on how confidently and convincingly you present your statements. Even the essence of the arguments is not as important as the tone, demeanor and disposition towards the interlocutor.
And don’t think that negotiations are only relevant at work. Convincing your husband that you simply need those shoes, or agreeing with your three-year-old to leave the playground without hysterics are also negotiations.
Computer skills
They are especially useful for those whose work involves a computer. But they are also useful for household needs. The following skills come to mind:
- knowledge of Word tools (Office, Excel, PowerPoint) will help you print a report, do home accounting, and make a slide show of photos for your mother’s birthday;
- touch typing will significantly speed up time, improve the quality of typing and protect your eyes from overstrain;
- hot keys - instead of searching for a command in the menu for a long time, you simply press a couple of buttons and, voila, the task is completed;
- graphic editors - you will beautifully process photographs for the family archive.
26.01.2022
1 883
20+ Best Online Computer Literacy Courses for Beginners
Greetings to everyone who has decided to conquer the computer! Modern teenagers and young...
Writing craft
Business correspondence, posts for social networks, and even a message to your daughter’s teacher must be written correctly and clearly. Who knows, maybe you want to publish a book or a fairy tale. Or, conversely, mastering the art of writing will push you to create your own work.
And if the work is directly related to texts, for example, copywriting, journalism, coaching, then this is one of your professional competencies.
Visualization
Setting goals is something you can do consciously. Your brain is great at generating ideas and thinking about them, but it is powerless when it comes to putting them into action because it is constantly distracted by various external events. The subconscious mind works differently: it is able to see the full picture. When the conscious and unconscious go hand in hand, they help you achieve your goals. Visualization works best immediately after waking up and a few minutes before sleep. By imagining the smallest details, sensations and emotions as if you had already achieved your goal, you force yourself to believe that achieving the goal is, in principle, possible. But be careful! This is not the law of attraction, which says that all you have to do is imagine a Ferrari, and the next day a brand new car will be waiting for you outside your window. It doesn't work that way. Visualization is only one side of the coin. Hard work and dedication are the other side of it.
Skills needed in everyday life
I won’t lie: you can do without any of them. But living without these skills, which everyone should still learn, is more difficult, and in extreme situations, some will even save lives.
Providing first aid
No one is safe from trouble. So it is better to know how to help yourself, your family or a stranger in case of injury. Practice shows that many do not even know how to properly stop nosebleeds or what to drink for a high fever.
27.08.2021
65
The Best First Aid Courses You Can Take Online or In-Person
Good afternoon, dear readers! Every year thousands of people around the world...
Self-defense
Nobody knows what kind of people you will meet in life. Perhaps not everyone will have good intentions. Therefore, basic self-defense techniques, rules for using a gas spray, a stun gun or an air pistol will help you feel more confident.
Behavior in an emergency situation
It’s a pity that so little attention is paid to life safety lessons at school. How to suppress panic, how to behave in case of a fire, what to do if you are drowning or have fallen through the ice, how to get out of a sinking car, how to survive in the forest - you need to seal this in your memory. Then you’ll see there will be fewer tragedies with drowning fishermen and people suffocating in fires.
Parenting
Looking at some parents, it seems reasonable to argue that only people who have undergone special training should be allowed to give birth to children. After all, clothing, feeding and putting to sleep is not enough. It is necessary to understand how to communicate with a child and how to raise an integral, self-sufficient, mentally healthy personality.
Many parenting methods that worked for our parents and grandmothers are now irrelevant. Society and the position of the individual in it have changed, which means that different upbringing is needed. Read at least the book by Lyudmila Petranovskaya “Secret Support. Attachment in a child’s life.”
5. Driving
There is no point in talking about how convenient it is to have a car and how much time is saved if you have your own wheels. But what it is advisable to pay attention to is mastering extreme driving skills. And not to feel like a cool racer and ride without looking around. But only in order to be able to get out of difficult emergency situations, to feel confident on any road and in bad weather.
Foreign languages
Learning and using foreign languages is a great way to train your brain. In addition, this skill will be useful in work and travel. New facets in cinema and literature will open up before you, because watching and reading works in the original is much more interesting.
The most universal language is English, but more and more people want to learn Chinese. After all, it is the most common in the world today.
7. Cooking
The ability to cook deliciously is considered the prerogative of the female half of humanity, although men are often even better at this craft. It’s not for nothing that most famous chefs are men. But culinary knowledge will certainly be useful to everyone in life, and gender does not play a role here.
Housekeeping
If you do not have a staff of servants, then the subtleties of housekeeping will certainly be needed. Proper washing of clothes, secrets of maintaining cleanliness, floriculture - this is only a small part of what you need to know in order for comfort and order to reign in your home.
Interior Design
For those who want to reach a new level in arranging their home. Interior design is not only about beauty, but also about convenience and functionality.
Think over the layout and color palette, plan the arrangement of furniture, select different lighting scenarios - it’s quite possible to learn this by spending a certain amount of hours and effort.
Style Basics
No matter how sad it is, we are greeted by our clothes. Therefore, you need to know how to dress appropriately for different situations and events, what outfits are suitable for your body type, how to combine colors in clothes and select accessories. You don't have to become a stylist to understand the basics, which will be enough for everyday life. By the way, this also applies to men.
Cosmetology and makeup
There is no need to understand the intricacies of makeup and spend half your salary on cosmetics if you are not interested. Find some good products for yourself and get familiar with basic makeup techniques.
It is more important to learn how to take care of your skin. At least cleanse, moisturize and protect from the sun. This will get rid of acne, age spots and other problems, delay the appearance of wrinkles and even maintain health.
12. Massage
This skill will significantly elevate you in the eyes of your family. They will line up to get their portion of relaxation and relaxation after a hard day.
You can master massage techniques yourself using video lessons and books, but it is better, of course, to take courses. A professional will tell you and show you the right techniques and techniques.
Hairdressing art
Even a novice hairdresser can trim the ends and bangs, do the styling and haircut, and cut the hair of her son and husband. This will give you the opportunity to get rid of the unnecessary hassle of going to the hairdresser. And it will save the family budget.
Photographing
Taking beautiful photos at an amateur level is not that difficult. You don't need a professional camera or super expensive equipment for this. The skill of the photographer is crucial to successful photographs. Knowing the basic rules and principles will significantly improve the quality of your photographs.
15. Chess
After the release of the TV series “The Queen’s Move,” this intellectual sport is experiencing a new round of popularity. And one can only rejoice at this, because chess perfectly develops both hemispheres of the brain, logic, abstract thinking, memory, and helps train attentiveness and the ability to maintain concentration.
There are even studies that older people who play chess are at lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
05.04.2021
117
35+ chess courses: the best online lessons for adults and children
Good afternoon, dear chess players! Chess is an amazing and ancient...
Finding your own philosophy
The internal compass tells us whether everything is going according to plan or whether something has gone wrong. But it’s not enough to feel it - you need to soberly assess the situation in accordance with your own value system. To define this value system, ask yourself: “What do I value in _______ (work, relationships, friendships, life, etc.)?” The listed set will be your system of value coordinates. Then ask yourself, “What good and bad do I see in this world?” Once you focus on the positive, “Oh crap, it’s Monday again...” will miraculously turn into “Oh yeah, it’s Monday!” Shall we begin? Do you feel the difference?
Planning
Hundreds of books have been written about the art of managing everything, in which one idea is presented under different sauces - break all big tasks into several small ones. Newfangled IT methods - Scrum, Kanban and others - have a similar idea for microplanning.
If you look at planning as a management skill, things get a little more complicated. When working on a plan for completing any task, you need to pay attention to two important factors:
- Is the task really formulated for the result, and not for the process? What is needed is not to establish a system of painting works, but to paint a specific fence by a specific date.
- Is it possible to complete the task with the available resources?
Separate types of planning:
- Strategic - when you need to understand where the company will move.
- Tactical - how the strategic task will be solved.
- Operational, or micromanagement, is the distribution of tasks of different employees according to the calendar.
Healthy lifestyle
Everyone wants to be healthy. Right? For me, for example, the goal is not just to be healthy, but also to have enough energy. Plus look good.
Example. I played football for 11 years and then gave it up. My weight went from 65 to 86 kilograms in less than 9 months. I became fat. For anyone who once boasted great abs, this is frustrating. So I decided to do two things:
- find a suitable diet that would help me return to a normal weight, and stick to it;
- In addition to nutrition, exercise regularly.
It took me about a couple of years to find a suitable diet and sports activities to my liking. But now I am happy with my body, healthy and energetic during the day.
How to create your own brand
Personal growth is one of the main goals in my life. It’s curious: everything I did was somehow related to this topic. My degree in Adult Education, my work at Mindvalley Academy as a Director of Learning, and starting a blog (Zero to Skill) are all about helping people learn faster and gain useful skills. People often talk about me like I'm obsessed with learning. This once again shows how values (in this case, personal growth) can influence your life and show the way. To create your brand, you will need very little: just develop your strengths and set them free to swim.
Optimization
When tasks are planned, processes are organized, achievements and errors are under control, and employees are developing, it is worth doing optimization. Management is a large complex mechanism, in the construction of which any leader makes small mistakes. Analyze all processes and try to correct shortcomings.
The main questions to ask yourself are: how to improve the work system, reduce time and effort per unit of result. Being able to optimize processes is a critical management skill that will move you up in any leadership ranking.
Education
Without constant professional development, a talented employee will quickly lose motivation, “average” workers will simply work the required number of hours, and newcomers will not be able to understand the profession and will not be able to improve productivity and quality of work.
An important managerial quality of a manager is to develop a professional. What's important here is this:
- Who to teach?
It is usually impossible to send an entire department to courses at once. Think about which employee's training will bring maximum efficiency. Is it worth investing in a “star” right now if he starts working 1-2% better, or is it better to improve the average level, and the quality will immediately increase by 20-30%? - What to teach.
Is it really so important for a manager to get an MBA now; perhaps his “soft skills” are less developed? Study the results of employee monitoring, note in which area each of them is developing worse, and correlate this with the quality of work. - How to teach.
It is useless to introduce only one format of education into a company - for example, force everyone without exception to engage in business games. The learning process should begin with analysis: try it, listen to the opinions of employees, compare them with the “before and after” results.
Learning is a constant process. But this is not only about gaining new knowledge and practicing it through practical cases. It is important to provide opportunities for learning on real projects. Plan your work so that people in new projects and tasks have the opportunity to make mistakes and correct them themselves - this is one of the most effective pedagogical tools.
Delegation
If a successful employee becomes a leader in a company, then almost always his first mistake is the desire to do everything on his own, without involving others. Although the skill of delegation is what distinguishes an effective manager from a professional performer.
When you plan to delegate a task to a subordinate, pay attention to several factors:
- Does the specialist have enough qualifications to solve the problem?
- Is he able to complete the assignment on time?
- Is delegating the task to this particular performer, and not to another, really an effective solution?
- Is the task clear to the subordinate, and does he have enough responsibility and authority to complete it?
Renowned management expert Brian Tracy warns: remember that delegation is not just a way to hand over tasks. This is a managerial skill, a two-way process in which the manager acts as a teacher. First, the manager empirically finds out whether the performer should be developed. Then he invests resources into it, including his time. Only then will delegation not require the manager’s attention and become a way to save time.
See also on our Youtube channel: How to determine management scale
How to manage personal finances
Everything is simple here. Rule #1: Spend less than you earn. Rule #2: Find an additional source of income (passive if possible). Rule #3: Invest in assets (things that generate income).
Want to immerse yourself in a business environment for five weeks and further develop career-ready skills? Practice solving real business problems at the online intensive School Changellenge >>. Your teachers will be practical experts from rating companies, you will make new useful contacts and get a significant line on your resume. Register!
We recommend:
- 7 Skills You Need to Work in Consulting
- Why strong motivation can ruin everything
Time management and productivity
I constantly think about time, because it is the only resource that we will never renew. Where can I get more time? Optimize your sleep time. Perhaps to feel healthy, instead of the standard nine hours, seven or eight are enough for you. Check it out! How to use time more efficiently?
- Make good use of your so-called “dead” time (at the computer or in front of the TV).
- Focus on high-impact activities (remember the 80/20 rule: 20% of tasks produce 80% of results).
- Focus on what will help you grow (reading, talking to inspiring people, working on goals).
Work organization
After planning, you need to establish processes and demonstrate organizational skills. Generally speaking, it is important to answer the question - how best to solve the problem. This block includes the ability to determine the necessary functions of each subprocess, explain the task to a specialist, and find resources: employee time, special tools. It is possible to distribute responsibility between performers or add a reporting schedule to the calendar.
Organization of work is included in the list of key professional skills of a manager. There is no universal formula; each task requires its own approach. Therefore, as a manager, you will also have to develop the skill of quickly analyzing the situation and the ability to organize work with limited resources.
Control
The necessary managerial knowledge and skills of a manager include the concept of control. Sometimes this term is mistakenly perceived as the responsibility of the manager to check every step of the performer. But such an approach is more likely to harm the motivation of employees - they feel distrust and subconsciously begin to sabotage processes.
Instead, try to think of control as the ability to organize a seamless system for tracking results. For example, a task can be divided into stages, set milestones and explain to employees what results you expect and on what day.
