You are reading a translation of Danny Forest's article “The Top 10 Skills People Want to Learn in 2022 and How to Learn Them”. Worked on the translation: Olga Zholudova and Rinat Shaikhutdinov.
In previous articles, I talked about the 3 most important skills and the 8 evergreen skills you need to master to be successful in 2022.
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In this article, I will talk about the top skills that, according to a survey in SkillUp your Life, most people want to master. I divided each skill into several subskills that will be easier to master, plus I selected useful resources.
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In the applications, I have collected unique tips that will be useful for any of these 10 skills.
#10. Paint
Photo credit: rawpixel on Unsplash
My definition: Be able to illustrate an idea.
Drawing is an art that takes many years to master to achieve perfection. Fortunately, this is a very broad skill that can be easily broken down into “sub-skills.” Each small sub-skill can be learned fairly quickly.
Subskills:
- sketching techniques (on paper or in software)
- line drawing (on paper or in a program)
- color selection techniques (on paper or in a program)
- using tools (Photoshop, Illustrator)
- how to hold a pencil correctly
- how to control line weight
- faces, people, creatures, objects, landscapes
- shadow techniques
- realistic, cartoon, cartoon style
- technical drawing (architecture, electrical engineering, engineering, scientific fields, etc.)
- and much more!
My story about drawing
Drawing was the first skill I decided to learn using the SkillUp method. And I was always sure that I couldn’t master drawing, so I wanted to prove to myself that this was not so. And I proved it.
I trained for 30 minutes every day for a month, mostly learning on YouTube. I learned sketching, shading and color matching in Photoshop.
The results exceeded my expectations.
How to learn to draw?
Since drawing is a very broad skill, I recommend first mastering the basics of any sub-skill (from the list) with 5 hours of practice (30 minutes per day). You'll be surprised how quickly you can master most sub-skills if you don't skip classes and choose good learning materials.
Resources
Free
- Youtube.com
- We type in the search engine: “how to <enter subskill>” or “how to quickly learn <enter subskill>”
* I do not provide links to specific lessons, because everything changes very quickly and, moreover, it is a matter of taste.
Systems thinking
Refusal of prejudices, a broad outlook, development of creativity and leaving your comfort zone: the ability to think systematically will allow you to significantly improve the quality of your life and learn to objectively assess what is happening. Experts believe that systems thinking is one of the skills that a person of the 21st century must have in order to build a good career, find family happiness and financial well-being.
#9. Be more productive
My definition: Make the most of 24 hours of each day.
This is a rather controversial skill, since productivity itself is a rather abstract concept. The key metric of progress here is time saved, as well as the quality and quantity of results achieved.
Being more productive isn't about work. This is about activities that are important to you: time with family, meeting with friends, work, entertainment.
Subskills
- clearly define your passion/purpose
- clearly state your values
- commit to personal growth
- develop introspection
- concentrate
- enter a state of flow
- achieve the “infinity effect”
- create SMART goals
- really understand the Pareto principle (80/20 rule)
- use the Eisenhower matrix
- plan your career
- master time management
- learn to learn
- have KPIs
- master the maximum speed of the mouse/trackpad
- Type faster on your computer or phone
- and much more!
My story about productivity
After 13 years of working in professional software development, I acquired a number of skills that allowed me to be more productive on the computer than most people.
Years later, as I became more self-reflective, I realized that I had these skills and began to use them even more actively. That's when I decided to start writing on Medium. My first article was dedicated specifically to productivity tips.
How to learn to be productive?
I suggest starting with those sub-skills that will help you develop self-awareness. Learn to identify your values/passions/goals, commit to personal growth, master the Eisenhower Matrix. Why is it important? Peter Drucker has an excellent answer to this:
“There is nothing more useless than doing something efficiently that doesn’t need to be done at all.” - Peter Drucker
Looking back, this is the best advice.
Next, make sure you understand the Pareto principle and start applying it in all areas of your life. Also, learn to set SMART goals.
Now that you have the basic skills to accelerate productivity, you can get down to specifics.
If you often work on your computer:
- Learn to use your mouse/trackpad at maximum speed
- Learn to touch type quickly
- Learn the key hotkeys in your operating system, as well as in programs that you often use.
At first it will seem that you are working even slower, but in just a week you will get into the rhythm. Thanks to these skills alone, I work on a computer 2-3 times faster than 90% of people. It's worth investing time and effort into.
Resources
Free
- Article: 34 Quick Tips for a More Productive 2019
- Article: Completely and Consistently Smash Your Goals with The Limitless Effect
- Tool: Limitless Calendar
- Article: Smart Goals
- Article: Eisenhower Matrix
- Course: Learning to Learn (free)
- Book: How we Learn (referral link)
- Article: Pareto Principle
- Article: How To Move Around Your Mac At The Speed Of Light
#8. To play guitar
Photo by Jefferson Santos on Unsplash
My definition: Learn to play a musical instrument.
The most popular instrument that SkillUp your Life participants want to learn to play is the guitar. You can sing so many songs with a guitar! And isn’t it cool to take it and play it at family gatherings or with friends? And there is such a variety of guitars that finding a suitable instrument is not difficult.
Plus, once you learn to play the guitar, you can quickly master most stringed instruments.
Subskills
- Terminology
- Types of Guitars
- Guitar playing styles
- How to read sheet music
- How to hold a guitar correctly
- How to place and move your fingers correctly
- Main types of guitar strumming
- 4 most popular chords
- Play one song
- Play in the same style
- And much more!
My guitar story
Oh my God, it’s even embarrassing to talk about...
I've been meaning to learn guitar for years. To tell the truth, I have owned two guitars in my life. One even still lies somewhere in Colombia. I never had the patience to learn how to play. When I was younger, I tried to learn guitar on my own, but back then there weren't as many learning resources as there are now. You had to either hire a teacher or study diligently yourself, loading chords via a super slow Internet.
When I met my future wife at 17, it seemed to me that the guitar made me cooler. Of course, I couldn’t play, but she didn’t know that - so I was still “cool”
