{"id":117100,"date":"2023-11-05T17:09:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-05T21:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=117100"},"modified":"2023-11-07T15:18:53","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T19:18:53","slug":"what-skill-do-you-want-to-learn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-skill-do-you-want-to-learn\/","title":{"rendered":"What Skill Do You Want to Learn? How to Take the First Step"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What skill do you want to learn? How should you go about choosing among the countless options?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Skill acquisition expert Josh Kaufman provides a step-by-step process for mastering the basics of any new skill with only 20 hours of practice. His system favors efficiency, so the first step is to choose a skill wisely and then attach a specific goal to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Continue reading to learn how to take the first step toward learning a new skill in a way that sets you up for success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-skill-do-you-want-to-learn\">What Skill Do You Want to Learn?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ve decided you want to pick up a new skill. So, what skill do you want to learn? Kaufman suggests you <strong>choose the skill you\u2019re most excited about. <\/strong>The more interest you have in a skill, the more motivated and focused you\u2019ll be and the faster you\u2019ll improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Interest is a state of engagement that acts as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.slj.com\/story\/the-science-of-interest-the-latest-cognitive-research-can-help-us-engage-students-and-foster-real-learning\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an \u201capproach urge<\/a>\u201d\u2014it encourages you to approach new things. It also counteracts your \u201cavoid urges,\u201d which compel you to stick to what\u2019s safe and familiar. In other words, when you\u2019re interested in a skill, you\u2019re more driven to engage with it as opposed to procrastinating or avoiding it altogether. Interest enhances learning because it affects how you feel and think. It makes you feel energized and captivated. You also pay closer attention to things, process information more efficiently, and can work harder and longer on the task at hand.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kaufman advises against trying to learn multiple new skills at the same time. Acquiring skills requires focus and concentration, and switching between different skills distracts you and slows down your progress. Concentrating your time and energy on one skill allows you to improve as fast as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: While multitasking might <em>feel<\/em> productive, it actually increases the time you spend on a task by a significant amount. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/eat-that-frog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Eat That Frog!<\/em><\/a>, Brian Tracey explains that people can only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing-at-a-time\/\">focus on one thing at a time<\/a>. Once you switch your attention to something else, you need <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/eat-that-frog\/chapters-17-20#the-myth-of-multitasking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">17 minutes to fully refocus<\/a> on the task you\u2019ve been working on. Thus, by concentrating on one skill without interruption, you\u2019ll be able to learn it in half the time than if you switched between multiple skills.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\u2019ve chosen the skill you want to acquire,<strong> set a goal for how proficient you want to become.<\/strong> To do this, Kaufman suggests you ask yourself <em>why <\/em>you want to learn the skill in the first place. Be specific and describe what you hope to accomplish with the skill so you can focus on practicing the aspects of it that are most relevant to your goal. For example, if you want to learn how to bake so you can make homemade cookies to share with friends and family, your goal could be to successfully bake three types of cookies from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Other experts recommend making your goal clear and specific enough to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-rise-of-superman#method-2-set-appropriate-goals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">visualize what it looks like when you achieve it<\/a>. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-rise-of-superman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Rise of Superman<\/em><\/a>, Steven Kotler says being able to imagine yourself accomplishing your goals improves your focus and performance. This is because visualization activates the same neurons in your brain that fire when you actually perform the action. Thus, by having clear goals you can visualize, you\u2019re preparing your brain to make them happen.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kaufman suggests you avoid aiming too high when deciding your goal. Ideally, the goal should be just out of reach. He explains that the more relaxed your goal is, the more quickly you can reach it and acquire the skill. Hitting your goal doesn\u2019t have to signal the end of your skill-building\u2014you can continue to practice and progress more if you\u2019re still interested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: In <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/atomic-habits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Atomic Habits<\/em><\/a>, James Clear provides advice that expands upon Kaufman\u2019s. Clear explains that you should make it easy to <em>start<\/em> a new behavior, but then you must increase the difficulty to keep yourself challenged and engaged. He specifies that you should set a goal that\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/atomic-habits\/chapter-9#the-goldilocks-rule\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">4% harder<\/a> than what you\u2019re currently able to do. In order to do so, make sure your goal has a 50\/50 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/success-is-luck\/\">chance of success<\/a> or failure. This way, you achieve the right balance of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/failure-is-a-part-of-success\/\">success and failure<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-keep-yourself-motivated\/\">stay motivated<\/a>.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What skill do you want to learn? How should you go about choosing among the countless options? Skill acquisition expert Josh Kaufman provides a step-by-step process for mastering the basics of any new skill with only 20 hours of practice. His system favors efficiency, so the first step is to choose a skill wisely and then attach a specific goal to it. Continue reading to learn how to take the first step toward learning a new skill in a way that sets you up for success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":86282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,15,43],"tags":[1317],"class_list":["post-117100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career","category-education","category-self-improvement","tag-the-first-20-hours","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Skill Do You Want to Learn? 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