Let’s be honest… when it comes to raising a child, most of our energies are directed at keeping them safe.
Fed.
Clothed.
But how many of us have actually stopped to think about grooming them to be good humans and, eventually, well-adjusted adults?
Today, more than ever, raising a healthy and grounded child is critical to their success… not to mention one way to make the world a better place for them in the future.
By implementing house rules of kids, you can both accomplish this feat… as well take a handful of things off your parental plate.
It’s a win/win.
So, in the article, I’m going to outline 21 house rules for kids that will surely send them merrily on their way towards becoming amazing grown-ups.
The rules don’t have to be terribly complex. And, if I’m being honest, after reading what I have to say… you may find yourself uttering, “why didn’t I think of that one?”, as the lightbulb goes off in your head.
You’re welcome.
But don’t thank me now… continue reading and save the silent applause for later.
21 House Rules for Your Kids
House Rule #1: Knock on Closed Doors Before Entering
This is a pretty basic rule, but important nonetheless.
It’s more about instilling the importance of respecting one’s privacy and personal space.
I suppose I could have just said that.
But, many younger children won’t really understand the concept in its truest sense until they are a bit older (say 8+) and start to actually covet some privacy for themselves.
The age when they feel like they need some alone time.
When they don’t want their siblings going through their bookshelf, desk or drawers.
Or, dare I say, they begin to feel bashful getting changed in front of others. Even you, mom.
While the littlest lads and lassies may not yet care about these things, it’s not lost on them to teach the concept of knocking before you enter a room… waiting to be invited in.
It’s about boundaries and privacy… and one lesson they will certainly thank you for teaching later in life.
House Rule #2: Limiting Screen Time to an Hour a Day
This is one house rule for kids that you probably know you should enforce… yet often don’t.
Why?
Because it’s so much easier to keep the kids occupied with screen time when you’re busy, then have them bother you every few minutes with trivial things.
Snack requests after they just had breakfast 15 minutes ago.
Or the class, “I’m bored outside”.
Don’t feel bad. Every parent has been guilty of leaning on the tech crutch at one time or another… I’d wager my tablet on it.
See what I did there?
Yes, technology is great! We wouldn’t be where we are as a society without it.
That being said, too much screen time can have all sorts of negative impact on your child’s development.
For starters, it runs the risk of sending the message that you’re too busy to tend to their needs or spend time with them.
And while this is likely not the case, kids won’t always connect the dots. As much as you try and explain that “mommy needs to work for an hour” or “dad wants to mow the lawn before it rains”… kids will often just not get it.
They believe they are the center of your universe and that you will stop whatever it is you’re doing to put them first, which may instill a feeling of self entitlement in your kids… which will often carry into adulthood.
And don’t we all just secretly despise those people?
The trust fund baby who has never held a job in his life.
The woman who will only date a man who makes a certain amount of money.
The guy at work who treats his assistant like she’s a servant.
Your kids need to understand the art of patience and self sufficiency.
By limiting the screen time, you are sending a message that they need to find some other way to entertain themselves… or grab themselves an apple if they are hungry and can’t wait for lunch.
Too much screen time can also result in passive listening in children, which will be a hard habit to break as they get older.
I have lost track of the number of times I’ve had to call my children repeatedly to come for a meal, while they’re playing their video games or tablets.
Or the times they almost missed the school bus because they were in the middle of a level and never got their shoes on like I asked.
And then there was the time I burnt myself on a pan making them homemade donuts… and only after my third shout for help did 1 of our four children (yes, only one) stop playing Roblox to check what was wrong.
Sadly, it’s not entirely their fault.
Think of screen time as holding your breath under water. You’re concentrating on your breathing, but you can still hear muffled noises coming from the surface.
Do you come up right away? Likely, no.
The same goes for screen time. Kids can hear you speaking, but they are so engulfed in what they are doing, they can’t quite make out the words.
So they won’t stop right away. They are passively listening.
This nasty habit is one they may be able to get away with as children; but, as they grow up, it will likely land them in trouble at school, work… even relationships.
Last, but not least, too much screen time means less time using their imaginations… and more time developing unrealistic expectations.
Both can be extremely detrimental to a child’s development.
Tweens and teens should be able to actually carry their dirty clothes basket to the laundry room. Maybe even do a load or two.
Obviously, you know your child’s limitations better than I… but each child is capable of cleaning up a bit.
Not only will their future college roommate and spouse thank you for instilling this house rule, but you’ll possibly gain an extra few minutes for yourself in the process.
House Rule #4: Make Amends When You Hurt Someone
The art of saying “I’m sorry” is not an easy one for children to master… especially when they don’t think they’ve done anything wrong.
Whether it’s pinching another child for taking their doll, or shouting “I hate you” at their brother for taking their turn on the swing, a child needs to be taught to understand action and consequence.
Raising conscientious children will instill a moral code in them.
That by harming another person with actions or words, they are accountable for making amends.
You are not only teaching them how to behave properly, but you are also teaching them to be conscientious.
Raising conscientious children will instill a moral code in them… one where they are able to differentiate right from wrong and, ultimately, be better adults for it.
They will learn to think twice before hurting someone and, when they inevitably do, they will apologize for it.
House Rule #5: Tell the Truth
We all lie.
In fact, society even coined the phrase “white lie” to define those bits of truth we like to stretch from time to time… even referring to them as half truths.
After all, is it really a lie if you go golfing with your friends… but tell your wife that you were entertaining clients?
I mean you did go golfing… that is true.
But it wasn’t work related.
Maybe you were afraid she’d say “no” if you just wanted some time with your buds? Or that you’d have to reciprocate by watching the kids one day so she could go for a massage?
Conversely, what if your teenager says she is going to the mall with her girlfriends… but instead winds up at the beach for the day with a group of co-eds?
As trivial and harmless as these white lies or fabrications seem, they will often still land you into trouble.
What’s worse is they can also lead to a diminished sense of accountability for one’s actions, which can result in a lapse of judgement when it comes to what you consider an acceptable lie.
Eventually the lines will blur between fabrication, white lie and actual lie… and once that happens, there is no going back.
Once trust is broken, it is very hard to gain it back.
Establish house rules for kids that do not tolerate lying.
While the punishment may vary by degree of lie, the message still needs to enforce that lies are wrong and won’t be dismissed.
House Rule #6: Teach Them the Value of Please and Thank You
As a mom of four, many days leave me feeling unappreciated.
I wake up early to get a start on the day… make coffee, breakfast, pack lunches, start the neverending load of laundry, clean up their messes, get them out the door on time.
Then I try to squeeze my writing into the mix during my precious “down time”… and if I’m really lucky, I get my exercise in.
Once the kids get home, it’s back to the grind. Activities, dinner prep, homework, showers, bedtime.
And if I had a nickel for every time they said “please” or “thank you” to me in a typical week… I’d have a dollar.
Maybe.
Look, I’m not complaining. Really I’m not.
I love being a mom. Their mom, especially. They are great kids… but they are somewhat lacking in the affirmation department.
All that is partly my fault.
If I don’t stress the importance of these words, then I’ve failed them. And, in turn, they won’t say it to their dad and I… let alone other people.
It’s less about the words, as it is what they represent. They indicate respect and gratitude, which is key in any meaningful relationship.
House Rule #7: Practice Good Dental and Body Hygiene
Teaching your child to practice good hygiene is another rule that may seem like a “no brainer”, but it is also one that tends to fall to the wayside when life gets hectic.
I will be the first to admit that, after a long day, unless the kids have swarms of flies around them or mud in their ears… I have no problem replacing a bath for a quick wipe down.
Similarly, if it’s late and the kids are cranky, I’ve been known to just let them use a little mouthwash instead of brushing.
They can just do it in the morning.
But, here’s the problem with that…
Many times the mornings are even crazier than the evenings and the first thing that gets skipped is, you guessed it, the hygiene habit.
And if your kids think you’re ok with letting them skip those things, why on earth would they take ownership of their hygiene as they get older?
They won’t.
So, as tempting as it may be, don’t gloss over these important house rules for kids.
If it helps, try making a chart so they can be accountable for checking off that it gets done.
House Rule #8: Attend Family Socials
I was going to use the phrase, “family meetings”… but I’m not a fan.
Meetings seem so formal and are often associated with a problem that needs fixing; but, socials sound like fun.
A regularly scheduled mandatory family social fosters closer relationships.
Put a family social on the calendar and make it mandatory.
Then grab a hat and have each family member write on a piece of paper one topic they would like to discuss. Have everyone pick one of the topics to read aloud and start talking.
Make sure you have some snacks and a movie or board games lined up to watch at the end… so that the social finishes on a positive note.
House Rule #9: Choose Your Words Wisely
In the same way we are responsible for our own actions, we are responsible for the words that come out of our mouths.
Nobody can tell you what to say.
Sure, they can make suggestions; but, ultimately it’s your call.
And words are powerful, often more than we realize.
They say actions speak louder than words, but that is not always the case… especially if your words hurt someone else’s feelings or disrespect them in some way.
Once the words are spoken, they can’t be taken back.
Sure, you can try and retract… apologize… but the initial damage has already been done.
Teaching your children to think before they speak is a must on the list of house rules for kids. It will save them the embarrassment of being seen as a lesser person, and you the embarrassment of being seen as “that parent” who can’t control their kids.
House Rule #10: Following Through, Put Words Into Action
Tomorrow.
Later.
One day.
Eventually.
These are words we have all been found guilty of using when it comes to crossing something off our to-do list.
Maybe it’s a school assignment.
Work project.
Household chore.
A personal goal.
Whenever we don’t want to do something, we have a tendency to put it off.
Similarly, if we are scared of change, we have a tendency to put it off.
We always think we have tomorrow, but that is no guarantee.
Not to mention, sometimes the things we are putting off are things others are counting on us to get done.
Teaching your children to follow through and finish what they start is a crucial house rule to impart… as not only will it make you a little less crazy, but it will let others know your child is someone to be counted on.
While the use of the word may seem a bit dated, the sentiment is as true now as it was when it was first written in the book of Leviticus.
We’re talking Old Testament stuff.
Today, people tend to age differently than they once did… trying to fight it off for as long as possible. But the term “elder” is really less about physical aging and more about the wisdom that comes with age.
Well, for most of us.
A big part of life is learning from our mistakes. This way, when we get older, we are able to share what we’ve discovered with others.
Hopefully.
Teaching your children to listen to and respect their elders is also a good way of
teaching them to have an open mind and accept direction and guidance from adults… adults who have seen and done things that have earned them the right to be treated honorably.
House Rule #12: Keep An Open Mind, Embrace Other’s Differences
Speaking of an open mind…
Our world is filled with all different types of people… people with different color skin, different religious and political beliefs, different opinions and different ways of doing things.
Set the tone.
All people deserve our respect until they’ve given us a legitimate reason not to.
Teach your children early that different doesn’t mean wrong. And having differences with others is not always a bad thing.
If you are picking and choosing which of the house rules for kids to exercise, this is a must.
This one teaches tolerance in diversity.
Today, more than ever, we need this to be instilled in the minds of our youth.
All lives matter. All points of view should be considered. And all people deserve our respect until they’ve given us a legitimate reason not to.
House Rule #13: Don’t Be a Bully
Mean people suck.
I think I read that on a bumper sticker once.
But it doesn’t matter… because it’s true.
Bullying is a very big problem among kids. And, sadly, if the bully’s aren’t stopped when they are children… they will likely continue to bully when they’re grown.
The art of bullying is not always about actions, it’s about words. Harmful, ugly, belligerent words that are often meant to tease.
I told you they were powerful.
If you catch your child in the act of bullying, stop it in its tracks… even if it seems somewhat trivial.
Sit them down and explain why what they did or said can be construed as bullying… and that it is not ok. If you don’t, it is likely to spiral out of control and your child will end up in trouble and likely unpopular.
House Rule #14: Teach Active Listening & Empathy
You may recall that active listening is a term I used earlier when discussing the house rule for kids regarding limiting screen time.
It is not only important to teach a child to listen when they are being spoken to, but to actually hear the words that are being said so as to grasp the true meaning behind them.
Active listening typically involves questions and answers, such as:
Do you understand what you are being asked to do?
Do you need me to explain anything?
Can you repeat back to me what we discussed?
If you turn the process of listening into a Q&A of sorts, it will likely be more productive.
Teaching active listening will also instill a sense of empathy in the child, letting them know that what you are saying is important to you.
Maybe your feelings were hurt because they didn’t make you a card for your birthday, even though your husband asked them to?
Maybe you were frustrated with them because you asked them to clean their bedroom multiple times before finally doing it yourself.
Other people’s feelings matter… and teaching your kids to be active listeners can help drive that point home.
House Rule #15: Teach Them the Value of Money
You may have heard your parents tell you once or twice that “money doesn’t grow on trees”.
And maybe you rolled your eyes because you honestly had everything you needed… and most of what you wanted.
Your parents provided for you, it’s true. They didn’t concern you with their finances and likely worked hard to keep a roof over your head… to keep you fed, clothed.
I bet there were times when they even spoiled you.
As children, we rarely stopped to wonder how we got to go on that great vacation? Or where those expensive sneakers came from.
Perhaps your parents both worked. Or one of them had two, even three, jobs.
In some instances, they may have put their own needs and wants on the back burner just to give you what you desired.
My parents did all of these things… but they also taught the value of money as I got older. As far back as I can remember, my brother and I had chores to earn an allowance.
We were told the money was ours to spend as we wished… that we could save it up for something we really wanted, or just go buy ourselves an ice cream cone on a hot day.
Having to work to earn my own money made me place a value on the things I thought I wanted. It forced me to decide if something was really worth spending it on.
Every purchase now had a particular value in my mind. For instance, $20 to spend on a movie and popcorn with a friend held greater worth to me than spending $20 on a tee shirt.
I made my choice.
Start teaching this house rule to your kids by giving them chores and allowance.
Give them a bank to keep it in.
Then start letting them add money from birthdays, the tooth fairy, etc… to the bank.
Finally, work together to help them set a savings goal for a list of things they want.
House Rule #16. Take Care of Your Pets
Whether you had a pet growing up or not, I bet you heard the words, “pets are a lot of responsibility” at least once during that time. From a goldfish, to a dog, pets need to be taken care of in order to thrive… let alone survive.
Owning a pet and involving your children in their care is a vital life lesson that will teach them not to only be responsible for another living thing, but to take ownership of something in general.
Teaching kids responsibility and empathy by taking care of pets.
Today it’s feeding a guinea pig… but in a few years, it’s providing for a family or overseeing employees at work. If you don’t teach your kids the art of proper supervision and liability for others, you’re doing them a disservice when it comes to where they can go as adults.
House Rule #17. Choose Your Friends Carefully
The truth is, our friends are often a reflection of us. If one attracts or chooses to spend your time with negative, lazy, rude or narcissistic people – there is a good chance others will assume that you are the same way, which may or may not be the case.
Still, more times than not, we judge books by their covers. And while this isn’t the best way to live, it’s a fact that most people don’t take the time to ask “why” when it’s much quicker to just assume. This can impact your social and personal life, as well as your career.
As a parent, you need to teach your child that friendships should always be reciprocal. For instance, when my child comes home talking about a new friend, I almost always ask this:What do you like about this person and what do you get out of this friendship?
The latter is obviously the more important part, yet the first part of the question gets them talking. Sure, we all want a friend who is funny… but are they also able to cheer us up when feeling down?
This goes back to reciprocity, but it also starts your child thinking about what makes a true friendship work. If the friendship is potentially toxic, encouraging them to examine the situation early may help them see the warning signs before going down a rabbit hole they can’t climb out of so easily.
House Rule #18. Do Well in School
Before we delve into this one, let me clarify that I’m not saying your child must get straight A’s as a house rule. That may just not be possible for some kids, whether due to a learning disability or some other issue that comes into play.
What I am saying is that your child needs to do their best in school. This means, asking for help when they need it and not letting laziness get in the way of their success. It also means behaving properly and paying attention in class.
For instance, if they truly don’t understand math and work with a tutor all marking period, but still earn a C+… then that is them doing their best because they never gave up. Perhaps they will improve as time goes on, but the small victories will matter moving forward.
Joining extracurriculars is another way to be an active participant, make friends and earn respect from their peers. Doing well in school means more than getting good grades, it means being well-rounded and always striving to improve.
So far, my husband and I have four children who do very well in school academically. They are also involved in a handful of outside activities – sports, the arts and even religious education. They are busy, which means we are busy… but it makes them better and keeps them out of trouble.
It’s like the saying goes, “idle hands are the devil’s playing”. If you foster an environment where your child is constantly trying to improve and find new outlets of self-expression, they are much more likely to keep that motivation going into adulthood.
House Rule #19. Stay Active
It’s been proven that physical activity not only keeps your body healthy, but your mind sharp.
Today, a frightening number of American adolescents are considered obese. In fact, epidemiologists forecast the total prevalent cases of obesity in the US to increase from 16,882,000 in 2023 to 17,135,000 in 2031 among people aged 5–19 years.
If we can’t control our child’s diet and exercise habits early, they will likely have a very difficult time with self-regulation as they grow. They will also be more prone tobullying and psychological issues, such as depression and anxiety, could arise.
Staying active is important for kids’ physical and mental health.
Exercise increases endorphins, which helps with stress, among other things… but it also helps increase confidence. If your child looks good, chances are they will feel good. And if they feel good about themselves, nothing will stand in their way.
If you’re having a tough time getting your child in gear, suggest an activity you can do together. Training for a charity 5K, biking and hiking are great places to start – and will allow them to go at their own pace.
House Rule #20. Develop a Growth Mindset (Dream Big)
If you’re not familiar with the term, a growth mindset is one in which a person believes they can improve themselves with time and experience… and that their efforts will directly impact their success. People who think this way are convinced they can become more proficient at things, and smarter, if they are willing to put the effort in.
Have you ever heard the expression, “things can only get better from here”? Well, that is the mantra of someone with a growth mindset in a nutshell.
This is the complete opposite of someone with a fixed mindset, who often feels that they are simply dealing with the hand life has dealt them when it comes to success. Many believe that they are only as smart as they were born to be… and that their life’s journey will fall within those confines, for better or for worse.
Teaching your child to accept and foster a growth mindset is essentially teaching them to dream big and believe “the sky’s the limit” when it comes to where their life will go! You’ll seem like their biggest cheerleader, without them even realizing you simply provided the tools they need to get ahead on their own.
House Rule #21. Family Always Comes First
Depending on who you ask, you’ll come across people belonging in one of two camps of belief when it comes to family values. Residents of the first camp will tell you that “family is everything” and talk about how they will always be in their corner.
Those in the second will tell you that “family is something you’re born into, whereas friends are the people we choose”. Some of them may even say things such as, “anyone can be a father, but it takes a real man to be a dad”.
Sadly, there are a lot of angry people in this world with mommy or daddy issues and dysfunctional families. But why?
Despite the back and forth arguments, a happy childhood can have a serious impact on adulthood. By putting your child first, and teaching them to do the same, you will directly influence the way they view their life and themselves later on.
In fact, one study suggests that as the primary nurturers of their children – and because they have at least some measure of control over the environments and contexts in which their children are raised – parents have a tremendous impact on whether or not their children grow up into happy adults.
If you constantly assure your child that you love and support them for who they are, and will forgive them for their mistakes, they are more inclined to believe it. They will also be less likely to fall in with the wrong crowd and be there for you one day in return.
Create a relationship with your child in which they would choose you… even if their birth certificate said otherwise. Family first is a house rule that, if executed correctly, is all about love and compassion, which will help create a world of more empathetic and tolerant human beings.
Final Thoughts on House Rules for Kids
Rules are important. The world would be in utter chaos without them.
As adults, we know this to be true.
Our kids, however, tend to live a somewhat sheltered version of reality because we want to protect them… which is understandable. But that doesn’t mean they don’t need to understand the value of rules and what they represent.
Rules aren’t just about doing whatever it is you’re told… they are about living by a good set of values. A moral code.
These rules for kids may seem somewhat basic on paper, but they are actually going to help shape them into thoughtful and functional adults.
Nicole Krause has been writing both personally and professionally for over 20 years. She holds a dual B.A. in English and Film Studies. Her work has appeared in some of the country’s top publications, major news outlets, online publications, and blogs. As a happily married (and extremely busy) mother of four… her articles primarily focus on parenting, marriage, family, finance, organization, and product reviews.
There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.
Did you know that people only retain 5% of what is heard in a lecture?
Thinking back to some of the classes I took in high school (I’m looking at you, history), I completely believe that this may be the case.
One factor that probably makes this statistic accurate is our short attention spans. A study by Microsoft in 2015 found that humans have an average attention span of only 8 seconds. Keep in mind that a goldfish’s attention span is 9 seconds.
So, while listening to lectures is the primary teaching method in our educational system, it’s the least effective learning method. Many students have difficulty understanding new concepts after only hearing about them in a lecture-type learning setting.
If this is the case, how are we supposed to retain the information we are taught enough to recall it in the future? There’s no point in spending time learning things that are almost immediately forgotten.
This is where The Learning Retention Pyramid comes into play. This pyramid illustrates various methods of learning and how effective each one is when retaining the information you’re learning.
In this article, we will define the Learning Retention Pyramid, discuss each level, and discuss how you can use this information in your life.
First, let’s look at what the Learning Retention Pyramid is.
What is the Learning Retention
Pyramid?
The Learning Retention Pyramid is a theoretical model that illustrates the various methods of learning and each method’s respective expected percentage of retention.
This concept illustrates how well you may be able to retain information based on the various learning methods (e.g., listening to a lecture, reading a book, etc.).
Knowing about the Learning Retention Pyramid can help you better comprehend how to comprehend new information effectively.
The Learning Pyramid was originally created by the National Training Laboratories Institute in the 1960s. While some have recreated it over time, the primary information from the original model remains the same.
This model posits that teaching information to others is the most effective way to learn it yourself and the best way to ensure that the material is stored in your long-term memory.
Here is a visual depiction of this model:
According to this graphic, here is the
percentage of information you will retain based on the specific actions you’re
taking:
5% lecture
10% reading
20% audio-visual
30% demonstration
50% discussion
75% practice doing
90% teaching others
While some have criticized the learning pyramid, its idea remains in line with research demonstrating that students can retain information more effectively if they do something rather than hear it.
Taking an active approach to learning, such as interacting with other people or physically doing something related to the material, is the best way to ensure you retain new information.
I’m sure you can recognize the relevance of this model if you think back to some instances in your life when you were learning something.
For example, think about when you were learning to drive. You probably sat through many hours of lectures regarding the rules of the road, but were you ready to hop into the car and drive off after those classes?
Hopefully not, and that’s why driver’s ed includes a “behind the wheel” component in learning this skill.
Driving with an instructor allows students to practice doing the information taught in lectures so it can be recalled more quickly when students are moving on their own.
Let’s look a bit deeper at each level of this pyramid.
7 Levels of the Learning Retention Pyramid
1. Lecture
The Learning Pyramid shows that listening to a lecture is a passive way of learning and is among the most ineffective ways to learn and retain new information.
Now, this can vary a bit from person to person. Many people find it difficult to comprehend new material through lectures. However, students who are auditory learners are better at learning through this teaching method than those who are visual or kinesthetic learners.
However, there are some things you can do to help you retain information presented in lectures a bit better than if you sit back and listen.
You can make the most of listening to a lecture by integrating another learning style into the process, such as actively participating in any discussion and taking notes by hand.
One study conducted by researchers from UCLA and Princeton found that while typing notes on a laptop may be more convenient than writing them by hand, taking the extra step of physically writing new material helps students not only retain more of the information but also results in a greater understanding of the concepts being taught.
The researchers found that those who took handwritten notes were more likely to express the information in their own words (instead of writing it verbatim), which helped these students process and reframe the material in a way that made the most sense to them, leading to greater retention rates.
If you struggle to learn new things, this video about ten powerful mind tricks can help. You can pick up new skills quickly with just a few simple tweaks to your learning approach.
2. Reading
Reading is marginally more effective than listening to a lecture in terms of the likelihood of retaining the information.
Reading has the advantage over listening to a lecture because it provides you with reference material that you can refer to later to help you recall the material.
When you’re reading, you can highlight anything that stands out to you and take additional notes. However, this model still considers reading a relatively ineffective method of learning.
While reading does add a visual piece that listening to a lecture doesn’t offer, you’re still passively absorbing new material.
3. Audio-Visual
The
Learning Pyramid indicates that learning through audio-visual methods will
typically help you retain 20% of the information offered. This method of
learning may integrate learning aids such as:
Pictures
Handouts
Videos
Flip charts
Whiteboards
Slide shows
Audiotapes
Projectors
Multimedia
3D objects
…and more
Audiovisual learning may include a lecture in addition to a series of visual aids or an individual instructional video. As time has progressed and technology has evolved, innovative forms of audiovisual presentations have made it easier for students to retain new knowledge.
Like the other learning methods on the Learning Retention Pyramid, audiovisual learning is most effective when combined with other more active learning methods.
4. Demonstration
Learning by demonstration involves observing a teacher showing students how to do something by walking them through a step-by-step process. As the teacher shows how to do the task, he or she tells the students what they’re doing.
The demonstration is the first method of learning on The Learning Pyramid and is considered to be “active.” Because demonstration often provides information in a more clear manner than passive study methods, it leads to a greater understanding, especially when information is vague or confusing.
Let’s say you’re learning how to fix a flat tire. If someone is telling you about this process but there isn’t a car present to allow them to show you what they’re talking about, you likely won’t be leaving the conversation anywhere near ready to start changing tires.
You need to watch someone actually do it so you can get a better idea of the process they’re trying to explain.
5. Discussion
Discussions offer an active, cooperative learning environment that leads to greater information retention. They are the first form of kinesthetic learning on the Learning Pyramid.
Discussions don’t always look the same; they can take various forms. However, they always involve a collaborative, open-ended exchange of ideas to help:
Prompt learning
Develop new ideas
Engage in problem-solving
Gain a better sense of understanding
Those participating in a discussion offer a variety of points of view, respond to others’ ideas, and engage in self-reflection to further their understanding or interpretation of a given subject.
A discussion between two people, a small group, or a large group with a teacher or student leader may occur. It can focus on any subjective topic or issue based on a text, something in the media, a social justice issue, a societal norm, etc.
A defining factor of a discussion is the considerable agency that participants have in determining their understanding or interpretation of the topic.
When participating in a discussion, students can decide if they agree with the credibility or validity of others’ responses, which requires comprehension and reflection on the information.
6. Practice Doing
Gaining “hands-on” experience is one of the most effective learning methods. This learning method allows you to apply what you’ve learned to everyday practice, which helps you recall the information in the long term.
When you practice doing something, it makes the information more meaningful, which also leads to a deeper understanding of it and a higher retention rate.
One way technological advances have furthered opportunities to “practice doing” is through simulation. Simulated learning allows people to safely manipulate systems and then observe the impact of the change, which allows them to receive immediate intrinsic feedback.
Cognitive tools such as these offer practical hands-on training to help learners practice and gain experience that they can easily translate into real-world scenarios.
Research on brain scans of learners has shown that physically experiencing a concept helps people retain new information.
Taking this hands-on approach to mastering a topic activates the areas of the brain associated with sensory and motor skills, which was later associated with improved test performance.
Just-in-time learning makes good use of practice. The key to mastering a new skill is to focus only on the information that can be immediately applied. The video below shows an overview of just-in-time learning and the simple steps you can use to master any skill in a short amount of time.
7. Teach Others
The most effective way to master a subject is to teach it to others. If you can teach other people about a subject correctly, it means that you understand the concepts, you have a high retention of the information, and you’re able to recall it easily.
In a learning setting, this commonly takes the form of study groups or peer tutoring. It’s important to remember that a critical component of learning by teaching is internalizing and comprehending the information before attempting to pass it on to others.
Learning by teaching is not effective if you rely solely on your notes when presenting the material to others.
Learning by teaching is effective for many reasons, but one main reason is that as the teacher, you can gain feedback from your students, which can help give you a new perspective and further enhance your own learning.
You have the opportunity to examine the information objectively and recognize any gaps in your knowledge, which may prompt you to do further research.
Your students’ questions can encourage you to think about the material in different ways and require you to devise unique ways of explaining it to help others who may have a different learning style understand it.
Further, watching students solve problems lets you see your knowledge being put directly into action.
Teaching others is the most effective way to master a subject.
How to
Use the Learning Retention Pyramid in Your Life
The Learning Retention Pyramid shows that it’s safe to say that it’s not enough to listen to someone lecture you on a topic in a webinar if you’re trying to learn about it.
You have to be interested in the topic enough to want to read additional related materials, review the PowerPoint slides after the webinar, highlight your notes, and come up with actions you can take to practice the skills right away to retain the new information.
This model also shows that practicing with someone else who is learning the same material and exchanging feedback is a very effective method of storing new lessons in your long-term memory.
You have to be engaged in any learning process rather than sitting back, being a passive learner, and expecting the information to stick. Taking the initiative to engage with any material is critical to retaining it.
This points out that a significant barrier to remembering things isn’t the content or your brain’s capacity–it’s not new or unique information versus familiar information.
Instead, your sense of interest and engagement is the most significant potential barrier to remembering something.
Final Thoughts on the Learning Pyramid
The best ways to learn anything well enough to recall it in the future are toward the bottom of the Learning Retention Pyramid.
This model illustrates that actively participating in the learning process results in a more remarkable ability to retain new information.
This doesn’t mean that listening to lectures isn’t also important. Even if it’s a challenge to recall information from a lecture, your notes may end up being a critical component of your preparation for a discussion of the material later on or a good resource to reference if you’re teaching the material to others.
In order to get the best long-term results, it’s best to vary your study methods and incorporate a few of them.
Because being a lifelong learner is so important these days, it’s best to make the most of your time while learning by ensuring a high retention rate of new information.
It’s good to listen, but becoming engaged and gaining hands-on experience is better.
If you’re looking for some inspiration to start learning, check out these blog posts:
Connie Mathers is a professional editor and freelance writer. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and a Master’s Degree in Social Work. When she is not writing, Connie is either spending time with her daughter and two dogs, running, or working at her full-time job as a social worker in Richmond, VA.
There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.
Does the challenge of learning something new seem overwhelming? Or have you ever felt at a loss when faced with a new skill you want to learn but don’t know where to start?
The key to learning something new is to focus on a specific skill or information that can be immediately applied. This is called just-in-time learning.
This concept can be implemented in all areas of life. Most people, however, use it in the workplace, where it effectively boosts productivity.
Just-in-time learningboosts productivity because it is motivating to constantly and immediately see the results of the knowledge you have just acquired. Naturally, this gratification encourages you to gain even more knowledge and put it to good use.
The trick here is to switch back and forth from production to research mode so you’re consistently growing and getting the experience right then and there with whatever you’re learning.
In this article, we’ll define just-in-time learning (or JITL for short), the origin of this theory, and a five-step process for implementation.
Let’s get started.
What is Just-in-Time Learning?
Just-in-time learning involves quickly taking in small pieces of content when the learner needs the information. People are able to absorb information quickly when they need to, especially when they face a knowledge gap that is preventing them from getting their job done.
JITL in the workplace is an excellent way for employers to communicate essential knowledge to their employees. Once a company has a learning platform that can be easily accessed by all employees quickly at any time, training assets can be available when needed.
As a learner, JITL happens when you pay attention exclusively to the information you can immediately implement. This means that you are only learning the knowledge or skill applicable to a current challenge you’ve identified. Once you have learned it, you immediately apply your new knowledge to the problem you are facing, which helps ingrain the lesson in your brain so you can truly make sense of it.
Research has linked deliberate practice with knowledge retention. This means that it is often not enough to simply hear information to remember it and implement it later. Instead, learners must apply their new knowledge in a real setting, where just-in-time learning comes in.
What is the Origin of the Just-in-Time Learning Theory?
The origin of just-in-time learning is usually attributed to the Toyota car company. This Japanese company created a production system in which parts arrive at the warehouse exactly when they are ready to be distributed or “just in time.”
By doing this, Toyota could significantly reduce the amount of inventory they had lying dormant.
The previous method of having a large stock of parts lying around in a warehouse has now been replaced, and most major car companies have copied this production system in some way. This concept has also been applied to the way that people learn.
When it comes to learning, technology is continuing to progress at a rapid pace, which has raised people’s expectations. Unlike 15 years ago, we now expect information to be available at our fingertips immediately. People put a great deal of value on their time and don’t want to wait around for the information they need.
For example, people used to have to wait for the newspaper to come out to check out movie theater times or wait for the evening news to learn what is happening worldwide. Now, all that information is available on smartphones and can be accessed anytime.
These cultural shifts have altered how we approach learning and training in the workplace and our personal lives. Today’s employees expect job-related assistance and training to be accessible whenever needed, just like other sources of information. This is where the JITL approach comes in.
Although there is no definition for just-in-time learning, the main idea is that it’s an approach to providing individuals (e.g., employees) with the information they need at the exact time they need it.
This way, employees can learn the solution to a problem they are experiencing and then immediately apply it to meet their needs. Companies often use just-in-time training methods to give employees access to the right information when and where they need it most.
This on-demand service is beneficial for training someone with a specific need because that need can be met immediately, and time is no longer wasted while the person sits on a roadblock.
In the workplace, companies provide accessible learning resources that contain bite-sized chunks of information needed for a specific on-the-job task or problem.
For example, an employee might need to solve a product issue immediately. With just-in-time learning, he or she no longer has to wait for a training session to address the problem because the needed information is accessible on their smartphone.
In such cases, learners typically don’t have much time to dedicate to training, so they access easy-to-digest information that covers the fundamentals. These small bits of information can also point learners toward more detailed information if necessary.
Determining what training resources should be available to your team “just in time” can be difficult, but it is important. It is critical to talk to the team first and ask for suggestions because they are the ones who know what they need and who will be using the learning solutions. Figure out what information would benefit your employees the most to have on hand each day.
These learning resources have valuable content, and companies make an effort to ensure that their employees are aware of this and know how to use it.
Like everything else, there are disadvantages to just-in-time learning.
One downfall is that JITL can be risky for people struggling to stay on topic. There needs to be a concentrated effort to use the knowledge you just gained before jumping to another topic. When using just-in-time learning, jumping from goal to goal can be tempting without genuinely accomplishing anything.
Once you’ve applied the initial steps, you learn the next step, implement it, and so on. All of these microlessons add up quickly, and before you know it, you may have completed a whole process of steps for a new skill that you were unfamiliar with before you engaged in just-in-time learning.
JITL involves taking in small pieces of content in a short time when the learner needs the information.
5 Steps for Implementing the Concept
1. Fully immerse yourself in a skill.
Dive directly into a particular topic. Learn everything that you can. Reading books on the subject is helpful, listening to podcasts, taking an online course, and learning through YouTube videos. You can even hire a coach or meet people with the same interests online or in your community.
This will help you change your learning from passive to active. Instead of sitting through a one-hour training session for information that you “might” need to know one day, you are being proactive with your time by surrounding yourself with the information that you know will be useful for you.
People learn best when they can link what they are learning and real-world examples. Putting the information you are learning into context will help you develop the necessary confidence to apply it.
2. Identify your current need or challenge.
Identify what skill or knowledge you need to learn. This need is your “current challenge.” Learn everything that you can about this specific challenge. Master it. Then, put the information you’re learning into action. You can make the necessary adjustments as you go along.
Understanding where your knowledge gaps exist is a critical place to start when assessing the kind of help you might need. The unique thing about JITL is that you will often not know where your knowledge gap is until you run into it.
If you have a just-in-time learning tool available, however, you can quickly fill this gap at the last minute and be able to move forward with your project.
3. Take notes and create action items.
Identifying your current challenge helps you know which information is valuable for your self-education. Take notes. Record all the ideas and information you come across while learning a new skill in a central hub that you can refer to later.
This means that you can cut out the fluff irrelevant to your work if you’re watching a video on a topic. You can boil information down strictly to what is helpful for you and ignore the rest. Create a step-by-step plan to overcome the hurdle you face so you can work on it efficiently.
Take notes and record all the ideas and information you come across while learning a new skill.
4. Be consistent with daily practice.
Work on the new skill you’re learning for at least 30 minutes daily. Make it a habit to set aside time at least once a week to schedule tasks related to your self-education. Create personal deadlines for habits you’re developing for a specific skill. Doing these things will help you incorporate your new knowledge into your life until it becomes second nature.
As you continue to learn new things using JITL, you can build upon the skills you develop. Practicing these skills is an important part of learning how to incorporate them into your everyday life and expand on what you learn.
5. Say “no” to distractions.
One of the biggest distractions you’ll have when implementing the just-in-time learning habit is the activities you’re “somewhat interested in.” Learn to say no to distractions unrelated to your current topic of interest. Filter information and save ideas worth pursuing one day in a file. I store them in a specific folder in Evernote.
These topics can be considered “just in case” learning issues instead of “just in time.” However, once you use the information, you will likely have forgotten what you learned. Keeping these distractions at bay and revisiting them only if they come up in your practical, everyday life is essential.
Information overload is a real thing that can hold you back from learning valuable information. When you are learning something, you should ask yourself:
Is this all the information I need?
Is this source reliable?
Am I looking for the right information?
Answering these questions will help you eliminate some information you probably won’t need.
Final Thoughts on Just-in-Time Learning Theory
Today, we learned about the concept of just-in-time learning. This self-education tool gives us mastery of anything new by focusing on learning specific skills that can be immediately implemented.
We’ve also learned that there are five steps to developing the habit of just-in-time learning:
Applying this learning concept dramatically improves productivity in all areas of your life. Overall, having a good mix is vital. It is essential to spend some time learning the fundamentals of your job or new skill while also creating a framework of resources that you can turn to when you don’t know something.
There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.
Are you searching for the right language-learning tool?
These days, more people are using apps and software to learn a new language. Babbel and Duolingo are currently two of the most well-known platforms. Both provide accessible and affordable courses. But which platform is better?
It depends on your needs.
Like any product or service, both apps have strengths and weaknesses. We will be discussing the differences between each one in this article. We’ll provide an in-depth review of Babbel vs. Duolingo to help you decide which app is right for you and your learning style.
So, let’s dive in…
Babbel Overview
Babbel is a premium online language-learning app and e-learning platform that was launched in 2007, with headquarters in Berlin, Germany
It is a subscription-based service that is more affordable than other paid language-learning platforms. You can choose to subscribe monthly, quarterly (every three months), bi-annual (every six months), or annually.
Lessons are delivered in quiz format (fill in the blanks, multiple choice; flashcards, and oral response)
The platform is ideal for serious learners who are in the beginner to intermediate level
Babbel’s subscription rates are as follows (at time of writing):
1 month (charged monthly) – $12.95
Quarterly (charged every 3 months) – $26.85 (or $8.95/month)
Semi-annually (charged every six months) – $44.70 (or $7.45/month)
Annually (charged every 12 months) – $83.40 (or $6.95/month)
All of that sounds pretty great, but what are the things that make Babbel stand out from the other language learning programs? Let’s take a look.
Pros of Babbel App
Lessons are helpful in real-life interactions
Rather than just teaching single words to learners without putting them in context or teaching learners how to put all the words together, Babbel helps perfect your grammar skills and offers lessons that users can practice right away in real conversations.
Audio tracks are clear, with accents like those used by native speakers
Babbel offers opportunities to practice pronouncing words from the very beginning. Rather than having robotic voices speak to you in the language you are learning, you can learn to truly understand a language and sound fluent and natural in it if you can learn the correct accent and pronunciation of the words right away so others can understand you.
When using Babbel, you can hear a variety of authentic native speakers using the words in their everyday language so you can pick up on the enunciations.
Lessons follow a coherent pattern, building up on what has been previously taught
You will constantly be using what you have learned in future lessons, so you won’t forget any material you learn early on. Also, the app can analyze your strengths and weaknesses as you go, so it won’t repeat the things you have already mastered over and over again.
This comprehensive format allows you to use the words you have learned in the proper context and practice with them in future lessons.
Explains grammar rules and cultural context of word usage, e.g.,pronouns (formal and informal)
Babbel breaks down complex grammatical concepts using tips in your native language. It includes pop-ups alongside each lesson to help you understand the content and context of the words.
The tips and tricks can also be accessed separately on a different page for convenience. Because our brains are wired to analyze new languages as we learn them, Babbel’s tips help you comprehend concepts that may be difficult to grasp in immersion programs.
Cons Babbel App
A limited number of language courses are offered
Some popular foreign languages Babbel does not offer include Mandarin, Japanese, Arabic, and Korean. If these are some of the languages you may be interested in, Babbel might not be the right choice.
Before signing up, check to make sure that Babbel offers your language of choice. Additionally, less popular languages that Babbel does offer (like Swedish) have less content than more popular languages like French and Spanish. Less popular languages will have a collection of very effective beginner courses, but their range of intermediate material is almost non-existent.
You need to pay for each language course
One subscription does not give you access to all of the information Babbel offers, so if you want to learn two languages, you must pay for two subscriptions. This makes it difficult to “try out” a language to see if you like it before committing to learning at least a little bit.
It is not ideal for higher intermediate or advanced learners
Although Babbel does focus on lessons that will provide you with real-life skills, it does not dive too deep into the explanations or give many examples of sentences. This means that if you already know the basics of your language of choice, Babbel will not help you focus on everyday interactions as much as possible.
With Babbel, you aren’t required to develop your own phrases or sentences in the language you’re learning. There is a recall component, as it offers users quizzes, but you generally choose from a multiple-choice selection of answers or fill in the blank.
This would be equivalent to knowing most of the words in the English language but having no idea how actually to put them together,
Duolingo Overview
Duolingo is a language-learning platform that aims to serve practically everyone who needs or wants to learn a foreign language. It was publicly launched in 2012 and has headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Duolingo uses a gamified format for its language courses. As the learner completes a lesson level, he or she can earn points and “lingots” (the Duolingo currency) that can be used to purchase power-ups in the app’s online store.
It currently offers 88 language courses, with almost a dozen under development (or in the “hatching” stage); 33 of the courses are available for English speakers
As the most popular free online learning platform, Duolingo has over 100 million users. Its Spanish course (the most popular) has over 22 million learners.
Duolingo is practically for everyone who wants a basic introduction to a foreign language. To access its services, you need only a smartphone or computer and an internet connection.
All Duolingo courses are free.
Recently, a premium service called Duolingo Plus was launched. For $9.99 a month, the subscriber can have ad-free access and download the lessons for offline access.
Let’s look at some specific reasons people may choose Duolingo over other options to learn a new language.
Pros of Duolingo App
All courses are free
This puts less pressure on you to learn a language in a specific amount because you aren’t charged month-to-month. Also, if you start learning a language and find that you don’t like it, you won’t lose anything.
Over 80 language choices (and counting), including fun ones like High Valyrian andKlingon.
Duolingo uses users’ opinions and contributions when adding new languages to its library. It uses crowdsourcing to keep its app up to date and consider users’ opinions so it can continuously improve its lesson plans. Duolingo is constantly improving and adding languages that other apps don’t offer lessons on.
Allows tracking of your study time.
When you use this app, you can see the number of points you have received so far, the streak of days you have used the app, and how much of the course you have completed by clicking the “course progress” button on your sidebar.
Whether you are using Duolingo PC or on the app, your home page will give you information regarding where you are in your learning and how many lessons you have completed. As you advance by completing the lessons, you can track your progress with shiny achievement notifications.
Gamified lesson serves as a motivation for learners who are into a gaming format.
The learning process of Duolingo is very similar to that of playing games. You are given three hearts at the beginning of each exercise, each of which stands for a mistake you can make.
The exercises consist of translations to and from the language you’re learning, listening to words and then writing them down, matching exercises, and speaking exercises. If you make two or more mistakes (or lose two or more hearts), you should restart the exercise from the beginning.
Allows you to take different language lessons for free simultaneously.
Because Duolingo is free, you can study multiple languages simultaneously at no additional cost. You can even learn various languages simultaneously and save your progress as you switch between them.
So far, Duolingo probably sounds pretty ideal. However, let’s look at some of the downsides that may make you reconsider.
Cons of Duolingo App
It is ideal for beginner learners who want a quick introduction to a language.
Duolingo’s lessons have a strong focus on the direct translation of words and phrases, which makes learning quick and simple but not very immersive. This means that learners are not often put into real-life scenarios and forced to start thinking using the language they’re learning. If you are an intermediate speaker, you will have passed these critical cornerstones of using the language.
Tests you on words not covered/introduced in the lesson.
The progress tests quiz you on the entire Duolingo course you are taking, whether you have covered that specific material or not. The idea behind this is to help you gauge your progress, so a score of 5/5 indicates that you completely understand the course. Taking these quizzes when you have just started lets you have a benchmark on which you can base your progress.
Does not have in-depth explanations of grammar rules nor the cultural contexts ofpronoun usage.
This means that learners have to fill in the gaps themselves. You can pick grammar rules up by example while using the app, but having a grammar text that helps you look up grammar rules when you are unsure may be more helpful.
This is another downside that makes this app a bit simpler than others, which can prevent learners from gaining a deep understanding of the language they are learning.
Accompanying audio for full sentences sounds robotic, unnatural, and something thatyou wouldn’t use in real-life conversations.
This doesn’t help you with pronunciation or feeling like you can relate to the person talking. It also prevents you from having a “real-life” conversation with the app because the robotic nature of the voice may be difficult to understand. Some may find it difficult to learn another language without hearing a fluid and fluent speaker teaching it.
Which is Better: Babbel or Duolingo?
What is the verdict for Babbel vs Duolingo?
Although both learning platforms provide a basic introduction to a foreign language, Duolingo has a certain appeal because of its gamified style, which motivates learners to stick to the lessons.
Nevertheless, Babbel takes time to provide in-depth explanations of a foreign language’s different aspects, grammar rules, and cultural contexts of phrases and sentences, allowing for a better understanding of the learning material.
There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.
Looking for the best
educational podcasts to check out this year?
You have landed on the right page. Today, we share with you 31 of the most informational and inspiring podcasts that can help you learn something new. No matter what you want to learn—general knowledge, science, finance, history, personal development—we have got you covered.
Let’s get started!
Best Educational Podcasts
1. 99% Invisible
99% Invisible focuses on the overlooked areas of architecture and design. It is hosted by radio producer Roman Mars, one of the founders of Radiotopia—which broadcasts several podcasts, including this one.
In each episode, Mars
talks about a specific design and asks his guest to explain the history and
influences behind it. Currently, 99% Invisible is one of the most popular
podcasts on iTunes, on the Internet, and on most radio stations.
The You Are Not So Smart podcast is hosted by David McRaney, a journalist and psychology enthusiast. It started as a blog about the exploration of self-delusional thoughts and irrational thinking. McRaney wanted to share how human perception can work to explain things people are unaware of.
Later, the blog expanded
and became a podcast. The show is simply a reflection of the blog, relating
psychology and science to self-delusion. It revolves around the human mind’s
ability to reason, judge, and decide.
Hosted by Josh Clark and
Chuck Bryant and published by Stuff Media, Stuff You Should Know (or SYSK) is
an award-winning video series and podcast with millions of followers all over
the world. Clark and Bryant are former senior editors at HowStuffWorks.com
What makes this one of
the best educational podcasts? That’s simple. This podcast literally talks
about anything and everything under the sun.
As the title suggests, this podcast is literally about Dan Carlin delving deep into history. But we aren’t talking about your typical academic history. Instead, it consists of a unique blend of masterful narration and high drama. Some of its most notable episodes are The Celtic Holocaust and Blueprint for Armageddon.
Dan Carlin is a
political commentator. He was once a professional radio host, but has decided
to shift his focus to podcasting. He is currently also hosting another podcast titled
“Hardcore History: Addendum.”
The Ear Hustle podcast is produced by former inmate Earlonne Woods and current inmate Antwan Williams at the San Quentin State Prison located in California. They collaborate with Nigel Poor, an artist who volunteers at the prison to help with reformation.
Ear Hustle is a rather
unique show that explores the lives of men and women behind bars. It tackles
the stories of inmates and how they cope up with everyday living. Some episodes
also cover the lives of former inmates after incarceration.
The Reply All podcast is produced and broadcasted by Gimlet Media, a podcast network that focuses on producing various narrative podcasts. It premiered in 2014, and is hosted by PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman.
Reply All features stories
about how people and the Internet shape each other. As The Guardian has put it,
it is an “unfailingly original exploration of modern life and how to survive
it.”
Radiolab features topics that are mostly scientific and philosophical in nature. As its tagline puts it, it is devoted to “investigating a strange world.” It aims to use radio as a means to make science accessible to all types of audiences.
In each episode, hosts
Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich try to approach difficult and sensitive topics
like time and morality, but in a very friendly and light-hearted manner.
Overheard at National Geographic is not about a bunch of people sharing what they have watched and learned on the NatGeo channel. Instead, it is “the” podcast of the National Geographic Channel—and you probably are aware of how much knowledge you can gain there.
From underwater pyramids
and the ancient Maya Cave of the Jaguar God to the graffiti of Pompeii and
alien invasion possibilities, no matter what you want to learn about life and the
natural sciences, this podcast has you covered.
If you are looking for a philosophy podcast, then this may be the perfect one for you.
History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps gives you lessons about the major
philosophers and a timeline of how philosophy evolved through time.
The show is hosted by
Peter Adamson, a professor of late ancient and Arabic philosophy at the Ludwig
Maximilian University located in Munich, Germany.
If you want to learn more about the tricks and tips of writing, Mignon Fogarty (also known as the “Grammar Girl”) is the person to turn to. Her website has been called by Writer’s Digest one of the best websites for writers and her Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips podcast has been awarded the Best Education Podcast five times by the Podcast Awards.
Hosted by award-winning journalist Guy Raz, TED Radio Hour is where you will find information and inspiration related to thought-provoking and innovative ideas, excellent discoveries and inventions, and success stories of influential people.
Radio Hour delves deeper
into the motivational speeches that are brought to the TED Talk stage. Raz
invites professionals from different fields like psychology, sports, and
entrepreneurship to discuss and explain their areas of expertise.
Each episode of this
podcast is around four or five minutes long, but they tackle the lives and
adventures of exceptional women from throughout history. Some of these women
include Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Cleopatra.
Encyclopedia Wommanica is hosted by Jenny Kaplan, and is a favorite among podcast listeners. Not only does it support gender equality and female empowerment, it also introduces new topics that are rarely covered in history books.
The Accidental Creative provides effective tips and strategies related to the work/life balance. It offers ideas on how one can stay healthy and family-oriented while remaining dedicated to his or her professional life.
Hosted by motivational
author and speaker Todd Henry, this podcast is great to listen to if you want
to learn how to perform well and excel in all the things you do.
Ever wondered about the
world and how it really works? Or perhaps you looking for someone who can
answer your questions regarding cosmic mysteries?
If so, then this podcast
is worth a visit. Stuff to Blow Your Mind is hosted by Robert Lamb and Joe
McCormick, with each episode lasting for approximately an hour every Tuesday,
Thursday, and Saturday.
You surely know Tony
Robbins—everyone knows him as one of the most prominent motivational
speakers in the field
of life and business success. He shares proven tips and strategies on how to
ace your goals without sacrificing your health and happiness.
Educational and at the same time motivating, the Tony Robbins Podcast can surely help you become successful, one dream at a time.
How to Do Everything is
a podcast that can help you survive life, teaching you everything from the
simplest activities to the most difficult ones.
Hosts Mike Danforth and
Ian Chillag help you learn things by answering how-to questions from their
subscribers. They also have guest experts that help explain everything you need
to know about particular questions.
Smart People Podcast is very straightforward in communicating its goals: to help people improve their lives while expanding their views of the world. Brought to you by Chris Stemp and Jon Rojas, this podcast will satisfy your insatiable curiosity about things that matter.
Some of the topics that
this podcast cover include psychology, education, leadership, entrepreneurship,
and relationships.
This is another
educational podcast that lets you revisit old times with hosts Tom Standage and
Seth Stevenson. They relate historical events to today’s current news so can understand
them better. Then, they predict how these events would play out in the near
future, and provide suggestions on how pitfalls can possibly be avoided.
The Secret History of the Future is a product of the Slate Group, a magazine and podcast network that focuses on culture, business, politics, and modern technology.
This podcast has one
main goal, and that is to produce well-developed content that can help
entrepreneurs be bold and brave when it comes to turning their ideas into
realities.
Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders is broadcasted every week at Stanford University, where entrepreneurs and innovators share their experiences and discuss how they developed and launched their inventions.
Revisionist History is the brainchild of Malcolm Gladwell, in collaboration with Pushkin Industries. In each episode, he revisits the past by talking about an event, person, or idea from history. Then he interprets it and gives it new meaning, exploring things that might have been overlooked or misunderstood.
As Gladwell likes to put
it, the past deserves a second chance. If you love both history and analysis,
this podcast is for you.
The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe‘s main goal is to promote critical thinking and science literacy among its listeners. It is hosted by Dr. Steven Novella, a neurologist from Yale University School of Medicine, and is broadcasted weekly with a run time of around an hour.
Generally, Dr. Novella
discusses the most recent scientific developments using layman’s terms. He also
interviews authors and experts in different fields of science. Most notably, he
debunks myths and pseudoscience in health and medicine.
If you want to hear people debate and talk about the most remarkable issues affecting society, Intelligence Squared has you covered. Intelligence Squared is a platform where influential thought leaders share their insights about different ideas and topics.
These debates and live
forums are held 40 to 50 times a year in around 12 countries. The podcast
version is a compilation of all these discussions that the community has held
over the past few years.
This podcast is a collaboration
of a group of friends, including Karen Chu, Colin Felton, Dana Nelson, and
Chris Kohler. It started as a Kickstarter initiative in December of 2011, but
ended up receiving positive reviews and high ratings on Stitcher, SoundCloud,
and iTunes.
Good Job, Brain! is part quiz show and part offbeat news show at the same time. Together as a team, the hosts play pub trivia, which they call “Baby Dog Time.” They also have an “All Quiz Bonanza” episode where each of the hosts has to prepare a non-themed trivia quiz for the listeners.
Techlandia was initially a collaborative effort between Curt Rees, Alison Anderson, and Jon Samuelson. After five years, Rees and Anderson were replaced by four bright minds in Brian Briggs, David Theriault, Greg Garner, and Scott Bedley.
The podcast claims that
it is an “authentic talk about education.” It tackles everything tech-related,
from coding to micro bits to trash bots. However, the show also features
interviews with teachers and professors who share tips about how to be a
hardworking student.
As the name suggests, Freakonomics is the combination of the word “freak” and “economics”—making it a podcast for those who are enthusiastic about socioeconomic issues and concerns.
The show is hosted by
Stephen Dubner, a journalist for the New York Times Magazine, and Steven
Levitt, a prominent economist. It is released every Wednesday, and you can find
it on most podcast apps, including iTunes and Google Play.
Science Friday (or SciFri) covers everything science-related—physics, chemistry, biology, health, and space. However, it also features other subjects like ethics and policy, arts and culture, history, and mathematics.
The podcast is hosted by
Ira Flatow and has around 1.8 million listeners every week. It is sponsored by
various science health and research foundations, such as the Research
Corporation for Science Advancement and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
This podcast is presented by BBC News World Service, with Tim Harford as host. Harford is also the host of several other educational and motivational podcasts, such a Cautionary Tales.
This particular show
talks about the relationship between science and economics, explaining how
technology has evolved, changed, and adjusted the economy. Some of its most
recent episodes include the Gutenberg Press, Chess Algorithms, and Slot
Machines.
Hosted by Erik Fisher, this podcast offers tips and tactics for choosing the right projects, tasks, and goals for your success. You can learn how to be productive and efficient in all aspects of life, and, most importantly, how to live a meaningful life.
Fisher interviews people
who know how to implement productivity in their lives. He aims to inspire and
motivate people to succeed and progress by finding a balance between work and
life.
The Infinite Monkey Cage is presented by BBC Radio 4 and hosted by Brian Cox and Robin Ince. It is mostly about science, technology, and inventions. As its tagline states, it is a show that takes a “witty, irreverent look at the world through scientists’ eyes.”
This podcast has been
around for over a decade now. It started broadcasting in 2009, and currently
has 19 seasons and 125 episodes. If you are a science enthusiast, you will
surely enjoy this show.
The Week Unwrapped is the podcast project of The Week Magazine, which covers the various stories of the week. It is hosted by British writer and gadget correspondent Olly Mann, who is also the man behind the Answer Me This! podcast. Most of the stories that the podcast covers involve political and local news.
Educational podcasts are
becoming more and more popular—and for good reason. Since technology is now an integral
part of life, why not
make good use of it through the podcasts and streaming shows? These tools can
be helpful for both kids and adults who are looking for new ways to learn new
things.
Each of the educational
podcasts we shared above has its own style, format, and structure. Nonetheless,
they are all good sources of information to satisfy your thirst for knowledge.
You can pick one or two and subscribe to them, or you might want to give them
all a try.
Have you found this article helpful? If so, please share this post on your favorite social media account and invite your friends to learn new things with these educational podcasts.
There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.
While they can mess with your head from time to time, philosophical movies also compel you to question the dynamics of our existence. These films make us pause and ponder society’s long-held beliefs, impart powerful life lessons, and give new meaning and purpose to our existence.
They make us consider that there may be something beyond the reality that we see and know.
In this article, we’re sharing a curated list of the best philosophical movies of all time. We highly recommend that you watch these films at least once to develop an appreciation for humanity’s attempts to answer questions that are as old as civilization.
17 Best Philosophical Movies of All Time
1. Interstellar
This movie is lauded for its cinematography and adherence to the science governing various phenomena in space. It won the award for best visual effects at the 87th Academy Awards.
The film was released in 2014, but is set in the year 2067, when crop blights and massive dust storms have caused a great famine that threatens to wipe out human civilization. A NASA pilot turned farmer, Joseph Cooper, is recruited as a pilot for the spacecraft Endurance in a bid to search for an inhabitable planet.
A lot of things go wrong during the mission. Will Cooper’s team be able to find an inhabitable planet for everyone, or is this the end of the human race?
A couple of philosophical questions that you might want to explore through this movie include:
“Is it okay for us to create human colonies on other planets?”
“Are we morally obliged to look for other places to live when the planet we are living in is no longer able to support human life?”
The Matrix was released in 1999. Created by the Wachowskis, the movie is set in a near future, when intelligent machines farm humans for their bioelectric energy.
Its dystopian feel, cyberpunk influences, pioneering special effects, action sequences, and philosophical questions it addresses earned this movie multiple accolades from prestigious award-giving bodies, and secured it a spot as one of the top science fiction movies of all time.
Throughout this movie, you’ll be compelled to ponder questions such as whether the world is real, or simply an illusion; are your thoughts your own, or is something else controlling them; and is there such a thing as predestination, or do we chart the course of our lives through the choices we make?
This film was directed by Akira Kurosawa and was first released in 1950. It quickly became a cinematic classic.
In Rashomon, witnesses recount the occurrence of a crime—the murder of a samurai. The narrators include a woodcutter who discovered the dead body of the aforementioned samurai, a priest, a bandit, the samurai’s wife, and the murdered samurai himself (speaking through a medium).
The film explores the nature of truth. It uses several narrators to walk the audience through their own retellings of an event that they witnessed or experienced. During the narrations and various flashbacks, we begin to doubt our convictions of what is true and what’s not.
The movie implies that there is no concrete definition of truth. It also implies that a real world does not exist. Our lives are created based on our perceptions of the events around us.
Award-winning Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski directed this film that won the best foreign language film at the 2015 Academy Awards. It is hailed as a “masterpiece” and received other prestigious awards following its international release.
The movie takes us to post-war Poland and is set in the 1960s. A novitiate is about to take her vows, but before she does, her prioress urges her to visit an aunt who is her only surviving relative. Having been raised as an orphan in the convent, the nun is unary of the aunt’s existence.
The nun’s aunt reveals that the nun’s real name is Ida Lebenstein. They go on a trip to find out what happened to their family during the war, and in particular Ida’s parents. While on the road, they come face to face with grief, guilt, and violence.
Ida is presented with an alternative to the life she was about to enter as a nun, and her choice will determine the course of her future.
This film is considered one of the greatest movies of all time. Directed by Ingmar Bergman, it is praised for its striking imagery and bold narrative.
The story opens on a disillusioned knight returning from the Crusades. He finds his country in the grips of the Black Plague. He enters a church with the intention of going into confession, but meets Death in the sanctuary. Death then follows the knight on his journey home.
Some of the questions you’ll be left to ponder after watching this film include:
If God is real, why does he allow for suffering to happen?
This highly acclaimed film incorporates the elements of a psychological thriller, drama, and science fiction to explore the characteristics of romantic love and the workings of memory. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2004.
The film introduces us to Joel and Clementine, a couple whose relationship has gone sour. In the movie, there is a procedure that makes it possible to erase certain memories from a person’s mind. We witness how this procedure affects not only Joel and Clementine’s lives, but the lives of other people as well.
The movie explores several philosophical dilemmas. Some questions you might ask after seeing the film include:
What are you willing to do in order to forget a painful life experience?
Does forgetting a bad experience bring happiness to the one who forgets?
Do our experiences, memories, and relationships define who we truly are, or is there some other marker of our sense of self?
Waking Life captured the interest of moviegoers for the philosophical ideas it dished out. It is animated through a technique called rotoscoping, adding to the surreal feel of the movie.
In the film, viewers encounter an unnamed guy who lives in a perpetual dream world. He interacts with characters from different walks of life, including restaurant diners, scholars, artists, and his friends. The discussions frequently touch on topics such as existentialism, film theories, and politics. From time to time, the names of well-known thinkers are mentioned in these dream-state discussions.
The rotoscope technique imbues this film with added visual appeal, and the philosophical questions posed encourage deeper discussions in order for viewers to arrive at their own truths.
This dark fantasy film by Guillermo Del Toro is lauded for its rich visual effects, the performances of the actors, the quality of the direction, and its cinematography. It won three awards in the 79th Academy Awards (best cinematography, best art direction, and best makeup).
The film is set in 1944, when Spain was in the grips of a civil war to overthrow the fascist government. It follows Ofelia as she and her pregnant mother begin their new lives in the countryside. Ofelia’s stepfather is a sadistic military leader hunting down guerillas.
This film explores the true definition of innocence. Moreover, it questions our blind obedience to authority figures—from our parents to leaders of the government—even when what they are doing is wrong.
This was Andrei Tarkovsky’s last film. When the Russian filmmaker created The Sacrifice, he was diagnosed with cancer. The film was first released in Sweden in 1986, the year he died. It was re-released on what would have been Tarkovsky’s 75th birthday.
In the film, we get to know Alexander, a retired but well-respected actor and journalist. On the day of his 50th birthday, the world is threatened by a nuclear holocaust.
Although Alexander declares that he has a non-existent relationship with God, the war makes him ask God to spare the people he loves. But what must he give up in exchange?
Fight Club was released in 1999 and was considered one of the most impactful and controversial films of that year. In the years that followed, it developed a cult following.
This is the story of an unnamed insomniac who narrates the film. The unnamed narrator is unfulfilled in his life, but finds temporary relief from his ennui by attending support group meetings for different disorders and diseases.
In one of these meetings, he meets a woman, Marla Singer, who turns out to also be an imposter using the meetings for her own gains. Later, on one of his business trips, the narrator meets a soap salesman, Tyler Durden. Both Marla and Tyler have a significant impact on the narrator’s life. With Tyler, he forms a fight club, but things quickly get out of control.
The movie touches on the topics of consumerism, rejecting society’s expectations, violence, and self-destruction.
First released in 2006, this American comedy/drama road trip film was a box office success that earned two Academy Awards—best original screenplay and best supporting actor (for Alan Arkin). The movie went on to win more accolades from other prestigious award-giving bodies.
In Little Miss Sunshine, we join the Hoover family on an 800-mile road trip from their home in Albuquerque to Redondo Beach, California. They’re making the drive in support of their youngest child, Olive, who qualifies to join a kiddie beauty pageant. For various reasons, all members of the family must go.
Because of budget constraints, they can only drive to the pageant venue in a Volkswagen T2 Microbus. The family members, already fraught with interpersonal tensions, have to deal with each other during the trip.
This movie deals with society’s expectations and the lengths we all go to meet them. The meaning of life is also explored, as well as the true definition of happiness.
The film Persona is considered to be Ingmar Bergman’s magnum opus. It was first released in 1966, and is one of the most analyzed and talked about films of all time.
Persona introduces us to two women: the nurse Alma and the actress Elisabet. In the film, Elisabet is unwell and does not speak. For the purpose of speeding up her recovery, Elisabet’s doctor prescribes that she spend time in an isolated cottage together with her nurse Alma.
In the cottage, the two women must assert their wills to keep their sense of self amidst the merging of their identities.
The movie makes us ponder topics such as identity, sexuality and gender, and the human mind.
This experimental film by Terrence Malick was awarded a Palm d’Or when it was first released at the Cannes Festival in 2011. It has been praised as one of the best American films of all time. In 2019, Associated Press made The Tree of Life number one in their list of the best films of the decade (2010–2019).
The film introduces us to the O’Brien family. We witness the pain and longing experienced by their eldest son, Jack, who has a difficult relationship with his father. We also see Jack’s recollection of childhood memories in 1950s Texas. Interspersed with Jack’s memories are images of the origins of the universe and the beginning of life on our planet.
This fantasy drama was created by Frank Capra and first released as a Christmas film in 1946. It flopped at the box office during its theatrical run, but It’s a Wonderful Life is now considered a classic. It is included in the American Film Institute’s list of 100 greatest American movies of all time.
In the movie, we meet George Bailey on Christmas Eve. He is contemplating ending his life, but an angel named Clarence appears and shows George an alternate reality where he is absent from the lives of the people he cares about.
This film compels us to consider the following questions:
This film from South Korea was directed by Kim Ki-Duk, and released in the United States in 2004.
In Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring, we witness the tranquil life of a Buddhist monk and his young disciple. They live in a raft dwelling in the middle of a lake. However, their tranquility is disturbed by the arrival of a woman. The disciple leaves his master to follow the woman.
Years later, the disciple—now middle aged—returns to the dwelling in the middle of the lake. The dwelling gains a new master, a new apprentice appears, and the cycle of life begins anew.
This movie compels us to ask is acts of goodness can lead to evil?
This controversial, thought-provoking crime film was adapted by Stanley Kubrick from the novel of the same title written by Anthony Burgess. The film was first released in 1971. Because of several highly explicit scenes (sex and violence), the National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures rated it as “Condemned” at the time of the film’s release. Numerous countries have banned the showing of this movie until quite recently.
In this film, a young criminal named Alex DeLarge narrates his story of crime sprees and his eventual capture. An experimental procedure (the Ludovico Treatment), approved by the government, is performed on Alex, causing him to have a negative reaction whenever he feels extreme emotions such as sexual pleasure and rage.
The movie compels us to contemplate the consequences of free will. It facilitates discussions on the nature of good and evil, and the choices we make.
This movie was released in 1997, at a time when the world was feverishly focused on the human genome project. It is set in the near future, when eugenics has become the norm. People are categorized either as “valid” (conceived through genetic selection) or “in-valid” (conceived through “traditional” means).
The main character, Vincent Freeman, is an in-valid. His genetic profile relegates him to a menial job. However, he has dreams of going into space and is willing to do all that is necessary to realize this dream.
This movie compels us to ask the following questions:
Is there more to us than what our biological makeup determines?
How ethical is genetic engineering?
Are there determiners of success in our physiology? If so, what are they?
You may already have a favorite from among the philosophical movies on our list today. After all, these films are all masterpieces in their own right.
Their ability to inspire deep thought about commonly held beliefs, our idea of right and wrong, and other topics transforms these movies into portals of truth.
We hope that this collection of the best philosophical movies of all time inspire you to explore the deeper meaning of the things we take for granted in life.
There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.
Want to do something cool in 2024?
One of the best ways to leverage your spare time in the upcoming year is to learn a new skill.
Just think about the most successful people in the world. Those who consistently succeed are those who are best at learning new skills.
With that in mind, there are countless things you can learn in your spare time. This list puts a number to that list and shares with you 101 valuable things to learn that will improve your life — both personally and professionally.
With this list it will not be difficult to find those new skills to learn, it will be difficult narrowing down your list of what you want to learn.
In the following article, we will cover 101 new skills you can learn (with an hour of dedicated time each day) that can dramatically improve your personal and professional life.
And if you’d like a few resources that can teach you all the skills on this page, then I recommend checking out these platforms to learn any skill.
Let’s get to the new skills to start learning today!
Don’t Have Enough Time to Read the Entire Post?
This post is pretty lengthy. So, if you don’t have time to read it, then we’ve simplified this list into a list of courses, each teaching a great skill you can master for the upcoming year. Here are the favorites that other readers love…
Get the Ultimate System for Planning Your Week, Month, Quarter and Year in 60 Minutes Each
General Skills to Learn (The FUN and USEFUL Skills)
The “general skills” are a mixed bag. They do not fall into any specific category of life skills to learn. These are the type of skills we often think of when we want to learn something new, but never invest the time and effort involved to actually learn them. (Here are some life skills worksheets to help you learn faster.)
New skills to learn can be useful, fun, and are often great at making a “well-rounded” person. Who wouldn’t like to be able to play guitar, fix a car, cook a 5-star meal, grow a lush garden, and be able to protect yourself with martial arts?
1. Speak a New Language
You’ve probably heard this before…
Learning a new foreign language can provide a number of amazing results in your life.
How much more work could you accomplish if you were able to complete all of your required reading in one-third of the time? Or even half the time?
Speed reading is basically learning to understand the fundamental principles of the human visual system, allowing you to eliminate inefficiencies in your reading and increase the speed at which you read while also improving your retention.
Even slight improvements in reading time can save a lot of time long term. And many people report massive gains in reading speeds after building the speed reading skill.
Also, if you’d like a quick primer on speed reading, Tim Ferriss has a quick video that teaches a few basics of the process.
3. Basic Home Repairs
I am no expert at-home repairs, but I would argue that most people should be learning the basics of keeping their own home in tip-top shape.
One of the best reasons to learn how to do basic home repairs is because having someone come out to do them for you is incredibly expensive and time-consuming. There are several resources online to help walk you through some basic home repairs, such as DIY Pete and Home Made Modern.
Drawing is actually a basic skill that we were all born with. While we have to be taught to read and write, people are actually born with the natural ability to draw.
Drawing is essential for human survival because it is a form of communication that everyone can understand, no matter what language you speak. Toddlers begin drawing before they start to read or write and continue to do it throughout life.
Take a drawing course that will have you drawing like a professional in no time at all, and perfect your skill and express your creativity with drawing.
Car repairs can drain your wallet quickly, but there are a lot of repairs that you can actually do yourself if you take the time to learn new skills. Even if you don’t have technical skills, you can still do things like changing your oil, fixing fuel filters, and changing alternators. This can help save you time and money.
Check out this video channel and this video channel to get started on learning how to do some of your own basic car repairs. It can also help you learn a bit more about problem-solving.
6. Organize and Declutter Your Home
Have you heard of the Kon Mari Method of decluttering? It is currently the hottest and most popular method of home decluttering.
The Kon Mari Method was created by Marie Kondo, who owns a business in Tokyo, where she teaches her method to help people turn their homes into peaceful and inspiring spaces. It starts with discarding things that you do not need in your home anymore and then organizing what is left. Having a clean home will help you de-stress your life and live in a place that is free from clutter.
The class linked below is actually taught by Marie Kondo herself. Even if you have read her popular book, this organization training will show (in video format) many of her cleaning methods that are difficult to follow in the book. (Like her folding method)
And here’s a talk that Marie Kondo did at Google where she talks about her book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and the many benefits that come when you declutter your life.
7. Master Photoshop
Everyone should know some Photoshop basics. Learning Photoshop is an important tool if you want to work in graphic or web design or even just use it at home for your own pictures. Because it is such a valued skill, it is great to be able to add to a resume as well.
It is also important to learn Photoshop if you work in a hands-on marketing role. For example, if you create flyers, email newsletters, or brochures, knowing Photoshop will help you optimize your creations and retouch your images. Photoshop actually offers some resources to get you started.
But if you want a bit more “hands-on” training. The course linked below gives over three hours of video training that will help you master the Photoshop basics.
Can learning to play the guitar change your well-being?
Research actually shows that the brains of guitar players work slightly differently than those of everyone else. The process and art of learning to play the chords on a guitar and read sheet music can open up new neural pathways and rewire the brain in a positive way that can lead to cognitive benefits.
If guitar playing has always been a dream, or if you are looking for a skill to build from scratch, check out this guitar training course, made for beginners, but taught by experts. It removes many barriers from learning the guitar. You will find yourself playing recognizable tunes in hours, rather than months.
A criticism that is often heard today is that people spend too much time taking pictures of their experiences instead of living them. However, the photographs play an important role in allowing people to hold on to memories and show the rest of the world a peek into their lives while also telling a story.
In the photography masterclass linked below, you can learn a complete guide to photography with 15 hours of training. It will teach you everything from understanding how your camera works to what gear you will need. It will also give you tips for selling your photographs.
And if you want a quick overview of the photography basics, this video tutorial covers specific elements like ISO settings, aperture, and shutter speed.
10. Gardening: How to Grow Anything
Maybe you’ve tried to grow things in your garden before, but your previous results made this seem like it was not a skill you could master.
However, if you learn how to grow your own flowers, herbs, vegetables, and fruits, you can save a lot of money and have a beautiful yard to look at. Also, eating food straight from your garden is the healthiest way to get the nutrients that your body needs.
Here is a helpful video on growing your own greens to create your own healthy salads. This video will walk you through a garden tour in Southern California. Finally, take a look at this video to learn more about organic gardening.
11. Learn to Cook Like a PRO
While it is certainly one thing to be able to create a four-course meal at the last minute, it is another to be able to at least make a decent pasta dinner, a nice pot of soup, and a winning batch of chocolate chip cookies without the help from a box. Having the skill of cooking well will help you out for your entire life.
First, you will be able to know what is going into your food and therefore what is going into your body. You can control how much fat and salt goes into your dishes to create a healthy diet for yourself and your family. Also, you can impress your friends and family when you have them over for dinner, even if you just make something simple.
Lastly, you will save a lot of money eating at home versus eating at a restaurant. You can make enough food at home to have leftovers for lunch the next day and even to freeze meals for a future dinner.
Learning to play a musical instrument, often a piano or guitar is on many people’s bucket list. The problem with learning these instruments is the perceived high barrier to learning the new skills of playing these instruments.
Many people have tried traditional methods of learning these skills and been turned off by the slow going of plodding through the basics and learning to play “exciting” tunes like “row, row, row your boat.
The Piano for All course is different. It starts you in with the basics and the foundations but as you learn them by playing exciting modern piano songs. With this method of learning, you will love learning how to play the piano and will want to show off your skills after only a handful of hours of lessons and practice.
Nothing feels better than being confident that you can take care of yourself, whether it is mentally, financially, or physically. Being able to physically protect yourself in all situations is a reassurance that can only be gained through self-defense classes. While many people automatically think about women and children when they think about self-defense, it is really a skill for everyone.
And if practicing martial arts isn’t something you can do at this time, then perhaps investing in a 9mm pistol and going to the range to practice would be best. Just don’t forget to have the proper hearing protection.
14. Make Your Own Furniture and Decorations
If you are like me, woodworking seems like a dream. I remember my grandfather making fancy wooden home decorations. I remember my dad building a deck to our home when I was a young boy. But everything I have tried has turned out to be a big mess. I think the woodworking gene skipped a generation with me. It is a skill I don’t seem to have.
This is why I am so intrigued by this woodworking course. It breaks the process down into simple steps and offers many detailed plans. It makes major woodworking projects seem so easy that even someone like me with zero woodworking skill might have a chance of success.
Learning Tai Chi is great for your body and your mind. This practice can help alleviate natural health conditions that come along with aging and encourage people of all ages to relax and let go of nervous tension. The main benefit of Tai Chi is its ability to mitigate the effects of stress.
Learning Tai Chi imparts the six principles of flow and imparts grace and flow to the practitioner.
Find out more about this healthy form of exercise that reduces stress, builds confidence, imparts grace and strength, helps you live longer and helps your mind reach a state of clarity.
Also, if you want to learn the basics of Tai Chi, here is a great free 45+ minute video to help you learn the skill of Tai Chi from Dr. Paul Lim.
16. Perform Basic Dance Moves (For Guys)
Guys, how embarrassing is it to go out to a club and try to impress some ladies and then find yourself completely unconfident and timid on the dance floor?
I have been there.
Trying to do some fancy moves – but only looking like a spastic monkey. Or even worse, sitting on the sidelines, afraid to embarrass me.
You do not need to be a master dancer to go out and meet people and have fun. But having a few good moves in your back pocket will go a long way toward helping your confidence. That is why I think basic dance moves can be an important skill to learn.
To get started, here’s a funny (but helpful) video on how to not dance like a dork.
Get in the habit of reading through things. Articles, blurbs, drafts, books, and volumes of material are all worthy of your time.
How good quality the information is directly proportional to how informative what you read is. Reading comic books, for instance, is worthwhile, but not as good as reading a good non-fiction text on a subject you are interested in.
Flat tires are either silly inconveniences or serious issues. The difference between the two is often in the ability to fix them quickly.
Even with improvements in tire technology and “run flat” tires, everyone gets a flat tire from time-to-time. And, of course, Murphy’s Law will make sure those flat tires come at the most inconvenient time possible.
Don’t rely on a car service to fix your change your flat tires. It is a very easy process and keeps you from being reliant on others.
Plus learning the skill of changing your own flat tires may save you a few dollars in expenses.
Here is a quick video that shows the basics of changing a flat tire.
19. Gain the Skill of Humor
You’re trapped on a desert island with two people. One is annoying, and one is funny. Just about everyone would prefer to be stuck with the guy with a good sense of humor while leaving the annoying one back at camp.
The ability to be humorous is rooted in the ability to recognize absurdity, chance, circumstance, tonality, language choice, and emphasis. These are all powerful skills independently, but together, they form the basis of humor.
When you are able to use humor effectively in writing, speech, and socially, you will find yourself a sought after commodity, like the last hamburger stand before you get to an all-vegan community.
Someone on this planet, at this very second, has a dead battery. What’s worse is that they probably don’t even have jumper cables. A dead battery is not as easy to fix as a flat tire because it inherently requires another person. (Unless you have one of the new battery powerpack jumper cables.)
But what if the other person only has the battery to offer? Or doesn’t really know how to set up the cables either? Will you be ready to affix the cables, go through the motions and get your car up and running? Or will you be left at the roadside?
This is another simple skill that every single adult should know.
And here’s a quick video tutorial on how to jump start a car.
When you are in the wilderness, one of the most important resources is fire. You need fire to purify water. You need it for warmth. You need it to scare off wild animals.
Most people think that starting a fire from scratch is a difficult skill to learn — something to daunt survivalists with years of learning experience.
Well, most people would be wrong. Starting a fire from scratch is painfully simple. With nothing more than friction, airflow, kindling, and a mass to hold the flame.
And here is a video that has fourteen ideas for starting a fire without matches.
22. Survive A MAJOR Crisis
Starting a fire without matches is probably about the limit of my personal “woodsman” skills. (and I am admittedly slow at making fire).
I know I am woefully unprepared for any sort of major worldwide crisis. But like with most things, there is training I can take to get the training I need in case the unthinkable happens.
I am an optimist. I don’t like to think about, and generally don’t believe, any doom-and-gloom prophecies of the world (as we know it) coming to an end due to currency crisis, war, chemical/nuclear/biological attacks, unnatural weather phenomenon or any other disaster situations. But the fact remains that there are many nasty ways the world could change for the worst in minutes.
I don’t think it will ever happen. But it would be nice to have some understanding of what to do and how to help my family to survive if the unthinkable and unbelievable ever happened.
Learning to sew, stitch, and patch is an excellent skill because it is as diverse as it is useful. While it’s been typically considered feminine, there’s nothing feminine about saving an expensive pair of pants from destruction.
The short course below will teach you the basic skills of sewing, using sewing machines and even a few advanced techniques to set you toward the next level of sewing.
Most people want to find love at some point in their lives.
However, it can sometimes seem impossible to find that perfect soulmate. They are out there, but you have to be able to have the confidence and social skills to be attractive to them when you first meet them.
If you are shy or have some doubts with your self-confidence, but it is important to learn how to overcome these things if you want to be able to put yourself out there and meet someone special. Learning how to meet and attract a perfect life partner is important for many people in the quest to live a fulfilling life.
If shyness or social anxiety hold you back from meeting that “perfect someone,” the training below will be a surefire, “must-have.”
or social anxiety hold you back from meeting that “perfect someone,” the training below will be a surefire, “must-have.”
You’re in the middle of a crowded restaurant, and a man is choking on his dinosaur chicken nugget. Not only is he embarrassed to be eating chicken dinosaurs, but he might also die.
His only hope is that someone knows the Heimlich around him. The technique is simple, and anyone can learn it with a little bit of care and research.
This is a skill that every single adult should not only know but have practiced it until it is second nature. Learning this skill just might save a life.
And here’s a quick video that shows the basics of performing the Heimlich maneuver.
26. Perform CPR
CPR is another skill that every adult should not only learn but have practiced many times. The time to learn this skill is not when it is your child or father needing CPR but in your own free time.
CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is the simple art of knowing how to jump-start someone’s heart and lungs with a little bit of your own air and chest compressions. This is an absolute must-have skill in emergency situations, and it’s one of the first things that professional emergency medical transporters are taught.
It is also an easy skill to learn, but the potential payback is immense. Learning this new skill could easily keep a loved one alive until the first responders arrive.
All the skills to learn are not fun things like learning to play guitar, speed cup stacking, or learning a new foreign language. Some of them are far more useful skills than that.
For example, you are learning how to learn. When you learn the intricacies of how to learn, every skill or bit of knowledge learned thereafter just a little bit more quickly and easily, due to the fact that you fully understand the process of learning new skills.
Many of the mental skills to learn are like this. They build on essential skills that will help you learn more, do more, achieve more or generally succeed in life.
Want to learn how to improve your learning? Check out my book: Novice to Expert
27. Ask the Right Questions
The first and most significant mental skill any human being can learn in their lives is knowing how to ask the right questions. Many people seek answers for questions they have never even asked. When we ask ourselves the right question, we cut away any chance of wasting our precious time seeking that which is not what we truly need.
A great way to develop this skill is to constantly ask yourself the following:
It’s a shameful thing to start a conversation if you’re not truly interested anything. You deny all of your listeners your better self. Likewise, it’s a shameful thing not to act, work, and behave in ways that genuinely interest you. It won’t be the real you if you don’t really care.
This is why it is important to truly care about your work, relationships, success, your future, and the rest of the laundry list. Find things in life that hold your attention and that you ENJOY doing.
“Having passion” for the things you do may be a bit trite… but it is true. If you really get behind the things you do, then keeping up the learning process for new skills will not be a chore, but something that you actively pursue.
Critical thinking is the ability to chances of success and understanding by using a higher level of thought. Critical thinking is a mass mix of separate skills that all come together to form thought processes that lead to better results.
Critical thinking is a magnificent tool for achieving higher success, and you can easily improve your results in life by simply being aware of what it’s like to think critically.
I consider mindfulness a “mental” skill, but it touches on many aspects of our lives. It decreases stress, helps reduce suffering from many pains and illness, and can help us feel healthier, happier, and fitter due to the mind-body-spirit connection it fosters.
In short, mindfulness means paying extreme attention to the things you do. Since our world is a busy place and it is hard to be 100% mindful about all things 24/7/364. Mindfulness is usually broken down into specific activities where you pay extreme attention to what is going at specific times, such as “mindful eating.” (If you’d like to learn more about it, then here are 71 mindfulness exercises.)
This is the perfect example of mindfulness as a whole. When you eat mindfully, you do so slowly. You savor the taste and the flavors. Try to discern what ingredients which were used in the cooking process while reflecting on both the heat of the food on your tongue and the crispy “feel” of the food.
Want to learn more details about mindfulness and how you can become more mindful? Why not check out some books I have written with my writing partner Barrie Davenport.
Resources: Our Mindfulness Books and Journal
31. Be Comfortable With Change
If your life sucks, it’s pretty obvious that you’re going to want it to change. Likewise, if it’s amazing, you’re going to want it to either stay the same or get more amazing.
Both of these scenarios present the potential for change. Why fear it if you’re going to want it for the rest of your life potentially?
Change. Specifically, habit change is right in my wheelhouse. I have written dozens of article about how to make a positive change in your life by changing your habits.
There are many ways to go about changing your habits. Some will have extra steps than the skill resource below. Other may have some additional steps. But at its core, all effective change boils down to following the 8 steps below.
If we define useless here as having zero or worse of an impact on your goals, then simply cutting these things away would have dramatic results. Stop reading silly information you don’t really care about if there’s something you already know is better that you could be reading.
Stop watching TV that contributes nothing to you, and you will suddenly find yourself with far more time on your hands for your own success.
Not sure what constitutes a bad habit, that you might want to change? Check out this bad habit list. And take a moment to think about changing out some of these bad habits for their better counterparts from this list of good habits.
Someone asked me how I can take risks so calmly and comfortably. My answer was, “I’m kind of amazing.” The only problem I have with that sentence is that I told them “kind of.”
Now let me be clear. I do not have a superhuman ego. I rarely brag about accomplishments and spend far more time encouraging others than I do talking about myself. I am actually a bit of an introvert.
But it is important to project confidence. Adding qualifiers to statement like “kind of” shows a lack of confidence. It basically means, “if you don’t think I am awesome; I was just kidding.”
Confidence is in recognizing your own strengths and living, breathing, and speaking them. Confident people can have weak moments, but confidence is never weak.
Life can be tough. Bad things happen to us all the time. Sometimes a bad past haunts us every day. It is easy to fill your mind with negative thoughts, but it is essential not to do this.
Positive thinking is a skill. It is something you need to work at intentionally to improve. Learning the skill of positivity is certainly worth the time invested.
When you have a positive mindset, you can take control of the way that you feel, behave and move forward, but you first need to start thinking in those positive, productive ways that provide energy rather than draining it.
If you love quotes, poems, lyrics, or excerpts, you need to be able to memorize them. While it’s great to be able to repeat them to others, we cannot remember everything that crosses us.
By learning to remember the significant words we cross, we become better at instilling them within ourselves. If it’s important enough to remember, it’s probably important enough to embody.
If you are a student, learning to have a sharp memory is even more important. Being able to memorize large amounts of classwork will keep you churning ahead of your peers.
Remember: a good memory is not something you are “born with” unless you are one of the 1 in a million who is born with a truly eidetic memory. For the rest of us, memory is more like a muscle. It is built through work, repetition, and training. It is a skill that needs to be fostered, trained, and built.
Check out some of the best memory exercises below to learn more about building a powerful memory skill.
And iff you’d like to learn simple ways to improve your memory, here is a video that covers the good habits that will immediately improve your recall.
36. Maintain Self-Awareness
Most people get trapped in their own plans, goals, memories, and ideas. Life happens around them without them being aware. As John Lennon said, “Life happens while we are busy making other plans.”
The self-awareness skill is about keeping one foot in the present and truly understanding what is going on in your life even as you reach for the stars of the future.
Being present to everything that’s happening as it happens with no need to judge or analyze it. Embodying what it means to experience life, and awareness will come.
Focus is another meta-skill that influences many other mental skills. The ability to fully focus your mind on a single topic is essential for getting the most creativity and productivity out of your time.
If your mind is jumbled with other thoughts or busy trying to multitask your ability to focus greatly suffers. Like many mental and physical activities, focus can be increased and improved with effort.
Think your skills with focus are good? Try the White Bear Experiment. Try to go 5 minutes working on other things and NOT have the thought of white bears cross your mind.
When you seek the information here in this list of skills to learn, remember that one source can only give you what it has to offer rather than what’s truly available. Be sure to seek more information, even if you think you have all the answers because one little epiphany could change everything.
Neuroplasticity is the ability to rewire your brain. You can increase IQ, recall, reading speed, cognition by using ideas from this new brain science. The idea behind these activities is to create new information pathways. These new pathways will often help you learn like a child would, quickly and with an ease few adults possess.
The science behind neuroplasticity is new and constantly growing. With the skill of neuroplasticity when you learn something new, you are actively forging new pathways in your brain for learning that will help make learning future skills a bit easier.
Think about basketball. You have two guys practicing. Both spend one-hour practicing. The first guy is running around doing a bit of everything. He does some jump shots. He practices dribbling. He chases after balls as they get away from him. He is not focused on his practice; he tries to do everything.
Now, guy number two is focused. He uses deliberate practice. He spends his hour practicing shooting from the key. He has a coach with him to catch his missed shots, gives advice on improving his shots, and make sure there is little or no downtime.
The laser focus on a particular type of shot means guy number two’s practice will be FAR more effective than the same amount of practice time as the first guy.
This is the power of deliberate practice. Deliberate practice is a habit. Once you learn to practice deliberately, everything you practice in life becomes easier to learn because you know how to build your skills the right way.
Many people encounter a problem and immediately react with an emotional, erratic train of thoughts. They panic, worry, fear, or generally become overwhelmed by negative emotion.
Logic is mathematical; it is the process of finding appropriate answers. Remember that the appropriate answers are what matters, not what you are feeling in times of trouble.
Everyone likes to have money. They may not have a need to be rich, but it is certainly nice not to scramble to find creative ways to pay your bills.
However, money and finances are certain skills, and unfortunately, they are skills that most people have not learned.
There are skills in frugal living, budgeting, personal finances, debt management and reduction, saving, investing, and more…
If you want to learn a new skill, and you don’t know the skills of finance these would be a great place to start. They can help you make more money, spend less, keep more of what you make and even save money for an investment, property, or a future, “something special.” (For more on this, check out the article on 26 better money habits.)
42. Creating a Personal Budget
You need to start early to set yourself up for financial success in the future. If you spend beyond your means, you are setting yourself up to accrue debt and develop a poor credit score. Budgets are a lot easier with some good software to back it up.
I recommend you check out Mint to help you to create a personal budget that is reasonable for your income and lifestyle. MINT is a great system that links together many essential services that will help you create (and manage) your budget.
If you are clueless as to what a budget is, how to make one that works and how to manage a budget once you have one, I recommend you check out this class on basic budgeting below.
One of the big problems in our credit-heavy society is all the little fees you pay. You pay to get money out of an ATM. You sometimes pay a small fee to HAVE a credit card. You pay huge fees if you are late with payments. And, of course, you pay interest on your purchases.
It can be nice to turn that around by getting cashback from your purchases. One of the best ways to make and save money is to have an app do it for you automatically on purchases that you make every day anyway.
Tracking receipts is one of the keys to keeping a good budget. These days you don’t need to keep every document on hand. You simply need some system to store you receipt documents.
I take pictures of all my receipts with my phone and store them on Evernote for when/if I need them.
But there are even simpler methods. Using software like Neat allows you to track your receipts and documents. The software extracts the key information from your receipts and integrates it with accounting and business software to help simplify how you work. This will help you keep your finances organized.
To use this, it is best to have a NeatReceipts Mobile Document scanner so you can scan in all of your purchases as you make them. The software will then organize them for you.
45. How to Repair Credit
If you do find yourself in a financial pitfall, you will need to restore your credit to be able to make large purchases in the future such as a home or a car.
It is important to learn how to repair your credit in case you find yourself in a situation where you don’t have the credit you need to buy something that is important.
The simple answer to repairing credit is to make deals on defaulted loans, getting that huge minus off your credit record and then making payments larger than the minimums to pay down debt quickly.
But these are the broad strokes. There are a lot of little things that can be done to improve your credit. Check out the resource below for more bad credit busting tips.
Some people are too scared or lazy to apply for loans and credit cards. Using money that isn’t yours can be extremely powerful, both for better and worse. But you can never enter the territory of trying if you never even applied.
You DO need credit cards to build your credit rating. The important thing to learn is that you don’t need to build a balance. If you only buy what you can afford, and pay it off almost immediately, you get all of the good parts of a credit card, with none of the negatives.
But if credit is still a major issue or fear, there is still the option of secured credit cards, though.
If you learn something new every day, I wish more people would learn the skill of managing debt. This simple skill can help get you out of mountainous debt and get you to the point where your money goes to buy YOU things. Not pay off interest to corporate fat-cats.
After you owe money, remember that managing your debt is a simple matter of making timely payments and paying in a way that pays off the debt in the fastest way that’s reasonable.
In other words, don’t use your rent money to pay off your debt, but it might also help to brew coffee at home sometimes and put that extra money towards your debts.
One of the best skills to learn in relation to managing your debt is the skill of frugal living. Making those simple day-to-day choices that save you small amounts but can add up to real debt reducing amounts.
Spending money is the art of using your money as you see fit to improve your current situation.
Saving money is the art of cutting back and resisting the urge to spend for the sake of your future situation. Investing money is the art of spending money on future gains.
All of these arts are essential financial skills to learn. But the most dangerous can be investing. Investing has an incredible upside. It can make money on top of your money, and hopefully, at some point, lead to independent wealth or comfortable retirement.
But there is also risk involved, and it is important to understand the risk vs. reward of investments.
With all decisions come risk and reward. Some situations are riskier while others are more rewarding. The trick to making these decisions is to consider all potential risks alongside all potential rewards and try to figure out whether or not the choice is really worth the risk.
Part of managing your money is learning how to save it. It is important to live within your means and keep some money aside for when you might need it in the future. You don’t want to have to always take out a line of credit when an emergency comes up, so having a healthy savings account is a great way to have a safety net.
Saving money is a skill. Check out the link below for some tips to help you save more of what you earn.
Sure, it may be easy to walk out of a room and forget to turn the light off. However, making an effort to turn off your lights and appliances when they are not being used in your home, office, or apartment can help save you a significant amount of money when it comes to your monthly utility bill.
You might be surprised how many people do not conserve utilities and by how much can be saved by being diligent with this specific skill.
And, of course, as an added benefit being good about not wasting gas and electric is a nice positive for the environment.
There are a few extra things you can do each day to really benefit from this and get the most out of your efforts:
Make sure that you turn off all of the lights whenever you leave a room.
Turn off your electronics when you are not using them. While many electronics will automatically go into a “standby” mode if they are not used for a certain amount of time, this still uses some electricity.
If the weather is nice outside, open up your windows and use fans around the house to circulate the air and cool down in the summertime. This will help you save money by only using the air conditioning on days that are oppressively hot.
Open up your blinds and shades in the winter to allow sunlight in and warm up your home. Warming your home naturally with the sun will keep you from spending additional money on heating.
When you are cooking, match your pot size to the size of your burner. If you use a small pot or pan on a large burner, you are expending additional energy to get the same result.
Use the smallest pot or appliance that you need. If you are heating up one chicken breast, don’t preheat your entire oven. Rather, heat up your small convection oven, or consider cooking it in a pan.
Wash your clothes in cold water. You will achieve the same results as washing in warm water, but you will save about 40 cents per a load of laundry.
If you are going out of town, turn off the water heater. It only takes an hour for a water heater to reheat the water in your house and turning it off saves quite a bit of energy while you are gone.
Don’t leave your electronics on the charger once they are fully charged. This wastes energy and can possibly harm your batteries.
Whether you’ve inherited some money or you’re saving money every month, you might be wondering about how you should invest your money to make it work for you. Learning how to invest your money is actually easier than a lot of people assume it is.
You do not need to be an experienced trader to be successful in the stock market and in fact, it is often best to not move your money around very often.
While you may have heard that the best time to begin your investments is ten years ago, but the next best time is today. In other words, it’s never too late to get started with investing. So take your time to learn about the stock market, bonds, mutual funds, and trades. But once you learn the basics, you should challenge yourself to take that first step.
Property investing is not a “get rich quick” scheme. But having real estate education will give you a solid foundation to a long-lasting business. There are a lot of possibilities that come along with investing in real estate and getting a step-by-step guide to analyzing, investing, selling, and flipping real estate can be very beneficial to you in the long run.
One of the best resources for this is the Bigger Pockets brand, which includes books, in-depth blog posts, and an active forum for you to talk with other people who are investing in real estate to learn from their mistakes and their successes.
You don’t need to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to learn about the real estate business. Just do a little research to see what part of real estate interests you the most and go from there. Below are links to some of the best property investment books — the same ones I used to research before buying my first two investment properties.
Okay. This one is more of a hack than a skill. One easy way to invest your money is to use a service like Acorns. Here, all of the purchases you make are rounded up to the next dollar, and the change is sent to your savings account. For example, if you buy a cup of coffee that is $4.50, you will pay $5, and 50 cents will go directly into your savings.
Making purchases with whole dollar amounts also makes tracking your money easier, and the money that is put into your savings account will add up quickly. You will likely not notice the change slowly coming out of your checking account, but it can be invested quickly.
Health & Fitness Skills
Of all the skills to learn, developing your knowledge of health and fitness principles should be a major priority.
Many people want to learn about business, money, and relationships skills. They want to meet people, enjoy their lives, have success, and achieve their dreams of achievement.
However, if you skip on health and fitness skills, in the long term it will come back to haunt you.
These are the skills that keep you alive longer. They are the skills that build a health reservoir, so you are going strong when you reach 60, rather than breaking down like some other peers.
These skills to learn are potential lifesavers and should be approached with that level of importance and reverence.
So, let’s learn something new from health & fitness.
55. Breathing/Deep Breathing Skill
Learning how to breathe properly can make you happier and healthier. It is a key to meditation and mindfulness, and also has a huge positive impact on your body, health, and life.
During difficult times, it’s especially useful to know how to practice deep breathing to keep yourself calm. Just a few minutes of deep conscious breathing can positively affect one’s state of mind.
Oxygen is a catalyst for our bodies that’s so important, we take breaths constantly and hardly even notice. We need a constant supply, or we will lose consciousness in short order.
With that said, it’s important to remember to breath in deeply. It should feel good to let the air in, almost like a reverse hug from the inside. The exhale should be calm and comfortable.
The effects can be felt immediately. Develop this skill and powerful breathing will become second nature. It’s important to remember that you won’t become perfect at breathing better overnight, but it’s well worth the wait to develop.
Swimming is an amazing skill because it’s half recreation and half survival. The ability to swim produces nearly the most health benefits of any form of exercise.
There are a few other good reasons to learn to swim.
First off swimming is the most complete exercise in the world. It exercises just about all the muscles in your body.
Second is that it is no “impact” exercise. In most forms of aerobic exercise, constant movement means constant impact with the ground. Swimming on the other hand, is easy on the joints and muscles.
Finally, due to the last reason, swimming and water exercise are the perfect “rehabilitation” exercise for any time when you get injured in your primary sport or exercise.
At these times a passable ability to swim could be an important plus.
Ideally, you should be prepared to swim in the ocean for a few hours while you wait for rescue, but swimming from the middle of a lake is a decent secondary goal. Start small.
Yoga is a mixture of physical exercise, breathing control, and meditation that has both physical and mental health benefits. Yoga is one of the most popular complementary and alternative medicine therapies to traditional medical care, and its effectiveness is supported by a plethora of evidence.
If you are new to yoga, chances are you can get some great beginner-level instruction at your local gym. If you are too shy, you may want to try a video-based Yoga class.
Resource: Yoga Burn, which provides a natural way to lose weight and build a fun exercise habit at the same time.
Sleep is one of the key health factors few people think about. When you don’t get enough sleep, both your body and mind suffer. Your thinking is unclear. You make bad decisions. Your stress and anxiety increase leading to a whole host of possible medical issues.
While one bad night’s sleep is not likely to kill you, the cumulative effect of months of poor sleeping certainly could lead to some mistake or health issue that actually could kill you.
Yes, poor sleep is nothing to joke about. In this extensive sleep tips post, I covered just about every single method you can use to get better sleep. If none of these methods works, you may seriously want to consider consulting your doctor because it is highly possible you have sleep apnea or another sleeping disorder.
Sleep Apnea is a condition where you actually stop breathing at times during the night. This leads to very restless sleep because you rarely reach the “deep sleep” stage that truly nourishes your body.
Aromatherapy uses aromatic plants and plant materials (often the pressed plant’s oils) to create a sense of both psychological and physical well-being.
Aromatherapists are experts who understand the exact blends, amounts, mixtures, and application methods to achieve desired effects for their clients.
Most aromatherapy is done through smell. Using essential oil diffusers to spread the aromatic and healing oils into the air around the client, but aromatherapy also includes topical application, massage, and water immersion as methods of application.
Aromatherapy not only includes the simple skills of using these relaxing and wonderful smelling oils to get your own personal spa experience, but you can learn the process of making your own collection of spa materials from aromatherapy.
Learning aromatherapy can teach you to make:
Homemade Soap
Spa quality bath bombs
Bath salts
Body Butter
Essential Oils
Specialized essential oil mixes
Soothing creams
Exfoliating body scrubs
Moisturizing body lotions
Basically, any aromatic fragrance products that any spa enthusiast would be proud to use.
Staying hydrated and drinking enough water are keys to health and fitness. Just like getting a good night’s sleep. Poor hydration can have effects that are both far-reaching and often go undetected.
Water is an important aspect of personal responsibility. There are children in third-world countries that literally beg on street corners for water, and yet there are so many people who take their unending access to water for granted.
When you are properly hydrated, your urine should be clear and colorless. This often means 64 ounces of water in a single day. But can mean quite a bit more if you exercise or if you live or work in a hot/ humid area.
Learn exactly what hydration is and feels like. Seek to stay properly hydrated at all times, as it is life-changing to go from being under-hydrated to constantly hydrated.
Good health is not all about “picking things up” and “putting things down.” It is not all about eating right, living a healthy lifestyle, and being aerobically fit. It is all of those things but more. Being healthy also includes your state of mind.
Someone who is fit, eats well and exercises may still have a lot of issues if they are constantly depressed, anxious, and stressed.
We don’t need to live in some false state of nirvana and happiness. But it is important from a healthy mental health perspective to try to put your “best foot forward” mental health-wise when you can.
This means trying to be happy. Having an overall optimistic viewpoint. And being positive. Check out some of the books linked below to get a better grasp on positive thinking, happiness and how to can get your mind in a better place for improved health.
Having a mind-body connection means that you are able to learn to use your mind to positively influence some of your physical responses, which can help you manage anxiety and decrease stress and even help you to get rid of physical ailments.
The idea of a mind-body connection and a truly scientific connection was first introduced by Dr. John Sarno in his book Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection. In this book, Sarno, an expert in back pain relief, pointed out how many of his back pain sufferers were having their conditions created by or exacerbated by stress, and how sometimes mindfulness techniques and meditation were better for relieving their pain than dangerous spinal surgery.
This idea has been taken by others and expanded outside the realm of back pain. Whether the effects are psychosomatic or show true body healing via mental health techniques is a question that could be debated. Using your “mind” as a cure is certainly not an answer to every medical problem. But there are certain aspects of healthy living like back pain that can be helped by understanding the potential healing powers of a strong mind-body connection.
63. Massage Therapy
Most people enjoy a good massage. If we could give ourselves relaxing massages, the world would certainly be a much nicer place.
Learning a little bit of the skills of a professional massage therapist is not going to directly give you more massages. But if you give a good massage, there are many people who would be glad to reciprocate with a return massage after getting a dose of your healing hands.
Walking is another key to fitness and health. Yes, there are many exercises that are more energetic, calorie-burning, and muscle building.
But walking is and will always be a good baseline. When you get injured from any other sport, walking will always be a way to recuperate. When you get older, and fitness gets difficult, walking becomes a great source of activity.
Walking is low impact. It moves most muscles, groups. It is easy to do, and one of the only places where multitasking is not suboptimal. Walking gives you the time and energy for creative thoughts while also helping you to pad any other daily fitness.
In fact, as a marathon runner, I still find time to incorporate a few long walks into my weekly routine. I think walking is essential to keeping fit and healthy and can easily be used as an addition to existing routines.
Resources: Learn Everything About the Walking Exercise Habit
66. Understand Portion Sizes Without a Need to Measure
This is a key to healthy eating. Many people have no idea how much it is “too much.” So, they either starve themselves by living off of celery, and the lime in their water or they think they are eating reasonable amounts but eating much more than they believe.
Part of these problems stems from the supersizing of the world. Plates used to be 8-9 inches. They now average 12 inches and are growing. Going out to eat you once got the proper amount of food. Now you get handed a plated topped with such generous portions it is impossible to finish it alone.
Here are your proper portion sizes. These sizes represent 1 serving of each item. Some balancing in your mind needs to go on. If your apple is extra-large, you need to realize you have had 1 ½ serving and not just a single serving. You should have these portion measurements stuck in your brain.
Piece of cheese. NO bigger than your index finger
Apple: No bigger than your closed fist
Dry cereal: no bigger than a closed fist
Canned Peaches: No bigger than a fist
Milk: No bigger than a fist
Salad: No bigger than two closed fists side-by-side
Protein: Meat, Nuts, Pork, Chicken” No bigger than a deck of playing cards
Bread: No bigger than your hand
Peanut butter: Spoonful no bigger than your thumb
Noodles, Rice, Oatmeal: NO bigger than the palm of your hand
The above gives you a good idea of what portion sizes really are; probably a little less “per portion” than you thought. Eat the proper portions, and there is little reason you shouldn’t be able to eat ANY food. As long as you are recognizing how much you are actually consuming.
To make this process a little bit easier, you can use some of the portion control plates linked below to make the process of eating right a little bit easier.
Resource: Learn aboutPortion Control Platesto help you get a handle on proper portion sizes.
67. Relax Effectively
You’re going to be doing a lot of work once you absorb the skills on this list. Some of the skills are easy. But some quite difficult.
Time for rest, recuperation, and recovery is going to be essential. For many, this skill may seem amazingly simple: just sit around and do little (or nothing). However, for “go-getters” and “type “A” personalities,” effective relaxing may seem as difficult as swimming for someone who has never been in the water over their waist.
Quality rest is as good as quality work time. When you need a break, take one. Never let your work damage you so much that you have to stop working.
They call stress the silent killer because it is easy to miss the day-to-day damage stress does to your body. By the time you notice these cumulative damages, it may be too late.
Stress matters. If you are constantly stressed, you need to either find a way to reduce your amount of daily stress or find better ways of dealing with your stress. Or even better, do both.
The human body is a delicate system that can be easily ruined by constant, uneven balance under the forces of gravity. Muscles fuse, spines contort, and tendons tear. Maintaining proper posture and alignment allows you to experience less fatigue and there is far less strain being put on your ligaments and muscles.
Learning good posture is the first step you can take in a positive direction toward better postural habits to help your spine.
Once again, this skill is one of the true keys to health.
It only makes sense. After all, you are what you eat. If you live off of potato chips, pizza, and cola, you can expect your body to react negatively. However, if you follow some nutrition rules, you will be far healthier and likely live years longer.
Understanding nutrition means understanding everything that goes into your body and how your body processes these foods — understanding how dieting for weight-loss works, what it means to eat healthily. How to plan meals, and understanding fat loss, carbs, proteins, fat, vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and the basics of how our immune system works.
I am not going to make a statement that if you are not doing Paleo, you are not healthy. (Although some Paleo aficionados would make that statement for me).
Paleo is a healthy living and healthy eating option. It is not the only option, but it is a worthwhile option to consider if you want to change up your lifestyle.
In case you are one of the few people who has never heard of the paleo diet. In a nutshell, it means eating like our hunter-gatherer forefathers. Typically, the paleo diet includes meat, vegetables, fruits, roots, and nuts while avoiding or strictly limiting any food that is processed, such as dairy, sugars, oils, salt, legumes, grains, coffee, or alcohol.
As you age, it becomes more difficult to stay fit. First, all your old abuses come back. If you had not treated your body like a temple when you were younger, your body may begin to revolt as you get older.
Consider it payback for health sins of the past.
Then your genetics plays its part. Genetics may be good to you, or you may throw snake-eyes and have genetics make it more difficult to stay healthy as you age.
Either way, staying healthy as you age presents its own unique series of problems, challenges, and accomplishments to overcome.
An important point to remember about building this skill is that it becomes more difficult the longer you wait.
If you start in your 20s, building the skill of staying fit as you age is easy. But if you start to worry about building this skill when you hit 60, you have a much tougher path to fitness.
Stretching can be one of the most overlooked skills leading to a healthy lifestyle. Specifically, when you are young, and your muscles and bones feel loose and limber most of the time, people may think they don’t need to stretch.
Unfortunately, lack of stretching leads directly to injury, tears, sprains, and ultimately, the loss of flexibility. It is important to start stretching young and begin to build flexibility and good posture into your healthy routine as early as possible.
I have been a consistent runner for nearly 30 years now (except for times of injury). So, I may (admittedly)be a bit biased when I discuss the virtues of running. (To learn more, we have a new website that focuses on running for beginners.)
Along with walking, running is one of the best overall forms of exercise to stay fit. It helps tone your muscles, keeps weight off, makes you aerobically, “fit” and even gives you free time to think creatively and work through problems.
But with running often comes injuries. Learn to get the most from your running. Learn good technique and learn how to minimize injuries with this training. If you are going to run, it is important to learn to do so in a way that minimizes damage and maximizes the many positive aspects of running.
Despite what some of my fellow Gen. X ers might think. Self-care is not some pampered ideal created by spoiled Millennials.
No, self-care is an important skill.
Self-care has been an important part of health and fitness for thousands of years. (They have found Aromatherapy recipes in ancient Egypt). It makes a huge difference in our health and well-being — specifically mental health.
Practicing self-care 24/7/365 is certainly indulgent. But everyone needs to take some time for themselves for rest, recovery, and recuperation, and that is what self-care is all about.
Our list of new things to learn keeps going on. Up next are communication skills.
These are useful things to learn in two major places: business and personal life. In both of these places, it becomes important to share your thoughts and learn new things like public speaking.
Without learning some good communication skills and breaking down barriers that hold you back from communicating your thoughts, it may become difficult to get ahead in your chosen profession and find new friends and/or relationships.
76. Write Professional Emails
It is important always to present yourself in a professional manner when meeting with colleagues or clients, communication, and professionalism through email also matters.
Learning how to write emails correctly can spare you some embarrassment in the professional world. Professional emails are a bit of an art form and certainly not meant to contain a lot of shorthand “IM Speak & emoticons.”
Email is such a common form of professional communication that can make or break your reputation as an expert in your field, Even more importantly, your professionalism in your writing will have a big impact on your career path and success, as this may become one of the best ways to network within your field.
Your resume gives potential future employers a very quick snapshot of why you are a better fit for their company than the next guy walking through the door. That is why this skill is so darn important.
An incredibly well-written resume is worth its weight in gold because it will get you that better job, with the better benefits and greater opportunity.
In our culture of constant distractions, your resume will not hold anyone’s attention for very long, so you have to know how to make it effective and efficient to capture an employer’s attention.
Learning how to write a professional resume is likely to be your first step to landing an interview for a job that you are well-suited to do.
But the sad truth is that most resumes do not even make it to the decision-maker. They are screened out of the process due to resume “issues.”
These bad resumes may:
Contain too little information
Contain too much of the wrong information
Do not show the applicants core strengths
Not properly formatted
Don’t “guide the eye” through the resume reading process
Contain information that does not apply to that specific job
Do not “sell” you (or your skills and experience) to the hiring manager
A few simple improvements in your resume writing skills make it far more likely to get it to seem (and approved) by the decision-makers.
Let’s face it. Most writing is boring; specifically, in the context of a work/ business environment.
Deathly dull writing makes everything written simply fade into the background, like the constant drone from a bee buzzing around the room.
Being able to put a little bit of flair or personality into your writing is a big deal. It is essential if you make your living writing and can give you a big boost over your peers if writing is only part of your job description.
Whether you are writing for business, blogs, books, essays or to create a masterpiece that people notice, putting flair, pizazz, and style into your writing will get it noticed. Find out more in the guide below.
The best default psychology for a success story is to have something to offer that people want. It needs to be valuable, and you need to be the one giving it out. You need to communicate the value of what you’re doing to others so that they may understand it.
That’s all it takes to be someone that people seek. Once you understand what it means to offer value, you can start to orient your behavior around creating and developing aspects of yourself that are truly valuable to yourself and others.
One of the biggest benefits of becoming a unique individual is that you can now speak with others very directly and in a way, they can’t find elsewhere. That’s being personable, and it’s invaluable; there is a priceless process in becoming a priceless person.
One of the key components of that, though, is how you relate to others. What better way is there to relate to an individual than individually?
One of the keys to effective communication is the ability to keep your message brief.
In business (and in life) time is money. If you have a moment with a high powered executive, you need to be prepared to present your case in as succinct a manner as possible, but also have the facts and knowledge to expand your message as much as desired depending upon response.
Elevator speeches are a perfect example of that. They do not NEED to take place in an elevator, but any spiel should not last longer than the handful of seconds it takes to go up a few floors.
As a “training” method for this communication skill, why not try to do what my dad did for my brother and me as kids. He had a 10 words or less rule where you had to explain what you wanted in less than 10 words.
When you try this on complicated topics, it helps you build the ability to come up with succinct responses. Add a few details back in… and you have your perfect “elevator” speeches.
82. How to Write an Effective Speech (from Page to Stage)
Speech writing is very different from other forms of writing. It is as much about entertaining as it is about informing. To be effective, you need to create a pace that is unique to speeches.
Speech writing is not a skill everyone needs. Certainly not “all the time,” but most of us will need to give a handful of speeches in our lives. (business, wedding, events, etc.)
Honing a speech writing skill will, therefore, help you both personally and professionally, depending on how much need your career and life presents you to use your communication skill.
Of course, writing a killer speech is only part of the equation. Many people can write a killer speech that could leave people laughing and informed, but do not have the speech-making skills to present a great speech. While other people can go up on stage, with no speech, and deliver a well-received speech.
The main difference between these two is practice. To be at ease in front of groups of people, you need to have spoken in front of other people before.
If you aren’t prepared to speak in front of 1,000 people at this very second, how can you expect to be someone that 1,000 people look up to? Great habits lead to greatness, and greatness attracts attention. Imagine being someone incredible and ruining the speech with nervousness, shaking hands, and stuttered words.
Resource: A Quiet Person’s Guide To Effective Public Speaking
84. Conversation Confidence Skill
Some people have no problem with this skill. They seem destined to talk to others and always seem to leave a wonderful impression.
Truth time: that is not me. I have always been a bit of a shy introvert. Being reserved and sometimes struggling to make even basic conversation with strangers.
“But Steve,” you might ask, “I have heard you on podcasts. How could you do those if you were not a good conversationalist?”
Well, the answer to that is simple: practice, willpower, and work.
I am not “naturally” good at talking to strangers, but like any other skill, you can improve with some time, effort and that “deliberate practice” skill we mentioned a bit earlier.
If you want to improve your confidence in conversations, the best thing you can force yourself to engage strangers in conversation. There will certainly be a few awkward moments, but as you gain your conversation confidence, these moments will become less-and-less frequent.
If you want a shortcut to building your confidence in conversations, check out the guide linked below.
Networking is another of the communication skills that are not natural to me at all. It takes a certain mindset to be great at making friends quickly and connecting with others.
This just isn’t me. But that is why I hold this skill in such high regard. It is a skill I am working hard to improve, bit by bit.
In the long term, your network of business contacts are going to be one of the most powerful tools for your success. I already have gotten some great ideas in the Kindle publishing, blogging, and writing fields from people I have in my network. These burgeoning friendships have made and/or saved me tens of thousands of ideas.
You may be an introvert and not inclined to put effort into meeting strangers and building friendships via networking, but the long term positive benefits are impossible to ignore.
The list of useful skills to learn has to be topped by business skills. These skills improve your performance. They get you your promotions and generally help you to get your job and do it better.
86. Question Conventional Wisdom
Okay, this one is more of a mindset than a skill, but it is worth mentioning.
In business and life, you will often be told some things “can’t be done.” You will be given examples of past failures and shown clearly why some things cannot and will not ever work.
While there is something to learn from the wisdom of past generations, it is also important to question the truth of these ideas.
87. Develop Business Relationships
This is similar to the “networking” skill we just talked about in communication skill # 85. However, this is more focused on just the work environment.
Business relationships are not just the people you network with but all work interactions.
Here are some of the essential business relationships that will help you go above and beyond any peers or competition at work:
Find a mentor
Mentor someone else
Join a professional “mastermind” group
Build networking skills
Discover what your boss really wants
Learn how to DO your boss’s job. And why this is important
If you want to increase any of these skills, check out the networking book I wrote with my writing partner Rebecca Livermore, linked below.
Organization is a productivity and time-saving skill. Being good at business organization can be just as important as being as good as Marie Kondo at home organization and decluttering.
It can often be important to store paperwork around your office, for instance, and being able to find any file, folder or piece of paperwork quickly and easily relies on having a good organizational skill in place.
The lesson linked below is literally everything you might ever need to know about office organization. It is a soup-to-nuts course covering physically decluttering your office and also the main element s of digitally decluttering your office.
12 hours of training spread over 84 different classes means you will learn everything you need to know about business and office organization.
89. Planning: Plan Your Day, Week, Month, Quarter & Year
Hard work is important. But it will be trumped by effective planning every single time.
Good planning takes into account contingencies, emergencies, and setbacks. Good planning can be boiled down to a single page while also having detailed instructions of what is to come and how to do it.
Plans will also be available in varying details over time (5 years, yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily plans are all common, and when used and written properly, helpful in completing necessary tasks.
Not only is it difficult to find a great employee, but it is also hard to keep them around. Hiring, managing, and firing employees can easily make or break a business. It seems that companies are all competing for the best workers who enable the company to achieve its strategic goals.
This course explores the importance of hiring employees who are in line with the company’s overall strategy. It also goes over how to manage employees so they will stay with the company for the long term and reduce the turnover rate.
Working remotely is a very common thing to do these days. With everyone’s access to the internet and smartphones, there sometimes is no need to add the additional cost of a large brick and mortar office to business. However, you have to know how to hire and manage employees and keep them on track without having the ability to look over their shoulder.
My personal experience with hiring virtual staff has been through the link below. I love this service and highly recommend it to help find oversea virtual staff.
It is easy for email to get out of control. The time involved to keep your email emptied may seem prohibitive unless you have a good system.
If you are a GMAIL user, I recommend the course linked below to help keep your inbox clean and clear without spending an inordinate amount of time dealing with emails.
Everyone wants to know what it takes to be successful in business, and especially how to achieve the kind of success that steadily increases rather than goes through peaks and valleys.
Having critical business skills comes down to having a solid knowledge of the fundamentals of business, along with what other successful companies are doing right.
While accounting and bookkeeping may not be your job, you should still be familiar with some basics. This way, you will be able to check the work of other people and make sure that the bookkeeping is being done correctly for your company.
Unless, of course, accounting or bookkeeping is your job… in which case the basics should seem very simplistic for you.
The ability to influence other people is a fundamental skill that all effective leaders have to master. Without the ability to influence other people, you are not likely to be able to make your vision become a reality because you won’t have anyone helping you.
You have to have the ability to capture the minds and energy of other people to achieve the things in life that you want to achieve.
Effective leaders go beyond commanding and actually inspire, persuade, and encourage others. Leaders are able to tap into the knowledge, skills, and abilities of a group and lead individuals toward a common goal.
The first step to getting the most from what you do is envisioning what you want to accomplish. What do you want out of life? Maybe you want to do satisfying work that allows you to help other people. Maybe you want to find a fulfilling relationship that makes you happy. Maybe you want to get in shape so you can run a marathon. No matter what you are doing, you have to learn how to get the most from it.
To do this, you have to find internal motivation to do what you are doing. Learn to enjoy the process rather than race to the results and learn from your mistakes. Talk to other people who have succeeded in your quest to learn about what they have already been through.
In life, everything is negotiable. Your salary. What you do at your job. How much your business pays for services.
Okay, the counter guy at 7-11 might not negotiate on the price of milk, but most major and important parts of life are open to some form of negotiating. But how good are your negotiating skills?
We don’t have an open barter system in our economy so most negotiating may seem like backroom deals, but they are really a part of the fabric of our society.
If your negotiating skills are lacking, it is important that you take a bit of time and get them up to speed. Just the hiring/firing form of negotiation makes this bit of effort worthwhile.
Keeping your skills active is the ultimate way to stay sharp. Anytime you walk away from something; you move further away from being able to do it at your best unless away time was sincerely needed. Keep at what you care about, or you will be about as useful to achieving your goals as a dull saw is to wood.
99. End Procrastination
Procrastination is the #1 business and life killer. We all procrastinate from time-to-time, but if procrastination actually keeps you from accomplishing important business or personal life tasks, then this quickly becomes something that you MUST address.
If you want more info on why people procrastinate see these causes of procrastination. If you are looking for some quick-fix ideas on how to stop your procrastination tendencies, see some methods for overcoming procrastination.
But if you want to end procrastination once and forever, check out the link below, which I think of as the ultimate guide to fighting procrastination.
Finally, we come to goal setting. It is important to have reachable goals that are lofty enough to stretch your abilities yet still very achievable. A lot goes into the planning, implementation, and execution of goals.
If you are unsure about types of goals, how to create reasonable goals, or how to actually stick to your goals until you accomplish them, you may wish to invest some time in the goal building skill.
The course below is designed for life coaches. It teaches how to reach your personal goals, of course, but has a full bag of hacks & tips for helping others reach their own personal & professional goals.
The final collection of skills is some highly useful training on specific PC software.
Anyone who has a job that is mainly “at the computer” will find all of these software programs familiar. They (or their generic equivalents) are the industry standards of work and productivity tools.
Rather than offer one lone overarching course that might take 100 hours to complete, why not look at the tabbed entry below to find the best training to suit your specific needs.
The course covers an overview of all tools and functions, useful beginner tips and tricks, intermediate formulas and techniques, and how to export your data as charts.
Knowing how to effectively utilize Word, the world’s most widely used word processor can benefit anyone. From resumes to reports, or flyers and invitations, knowing how to navigate Word is truly beneficial.
Microsoft Office Training
This course will introduce you to the three main programs in Microsoft Office – Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
PowerPoint gives you the tools to create attractive and dynamic presentations. The course covers the basics – editing and creating slides – and then progresses to creating complete professional-looking slideshows that include text, graphics, and video.
This course will provide you with a comprehensive guide to starting your blog, and choosing your niche, making your blog popular and monetizing it.
In Closing…
These are just 101 new skills to learn that can add value to your life.
Odds are, I will add more to this list in the next few months.
But as we close things out, try to imagine what you would be like if you were able to develop some of these skills in your life.
If you can just add one or two skills from this list, then that would be a better use of your time than wasting your time watching T.V. or playing that latest game on your phone.
So, my advice is simple:
Pick one of the skills mentioned in this list and make that commitment to work on it for the next month. Even if you spend only 30 minutes a day on this activity, you will have added something valuable to your life in just a few short weeks. You can even create a 30-day challenge to dedicate yourself to mastering this new skill.
Then please share your thoughts on new things to learn in the comments below.
I arbitrarily ended this list at 101 skills, but there are hundreds, if not thousands, of skills that you can build. So, please share your personal favorite skills to this list to give our readers more ideas.
Also, the success of this post depends upon spreading the message of this post. If you enjoyed the post, then please spread the word by sharing this new skills post on your favorite social media (like Pinterest)!
There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.
These days, it seems as if most people have found themselves in the position of having to reprioritize their time and schedules.
Maybe your job has been converted to a work from home position? Maybe your hours were cut or your business has slowed? Perhaps you have been furloughed?
Conversely, maybe you always worked from home and now have to share your space with another family member? Or maybe you’re a college student or recent graduate who has found yourself living with your parents again?
And if you have kids, you are likely also juggling your new schedule around them… homeschooling or just keeping them busy. Let’s face it, kids need to be entertained!
Whatever your case may be… now, more than ever, we need to master the concept of using our time wisely. Doing so will not only keep you sane, but allow you to plan and prepare for a new normal.
That is why this is the perfect time to consider learning a new skill. One that can help improve your financial situation…. or finally make that dream you’ve always had a reality.
Unlike other online learning sites, such as Skillshare or Grokker, every single MasterClass course is taught by famous people.
As in,”can I have your autograph?” famous.
If the concept intrigues you, continue on to my MasterClass review. In it, I will discuss:
What is MasterClass?
MasterClass in an online, subscription-based service designed to give users access to many of the top professionals in their fields.
The mantra of “Subscribe to greatness,” which basically means you can learn skills from people who are world-class experts in their chosen field.
The areas of expertise in Masterclass include:
Business, Politics & Society
Music & Entertainment
Writing
Design, Photography & Fashion
Culinary Arts
Film & TV
Sports & Games
Honestly, after watching many of the course trailers and browsing many class descriptions… I found a ton that interested me. Some more than others, obviously; but, every single trailer drew me in.
The honesty of the instructors, the direction, the music, the cinematography, the candor.
Seriously, these were Hollywood-grade trailers inline with promoting a short film I couldn’t wait to watch!
Within two minutes or less, I had no doubt I was sitting in the presence of greatness. I found myself, on more than one occasion, thinking “I could do that!”. In fact, I honestly felt like the instructors wanted me to give it a real go.
Write my novel.
Make my photography more captivating.
Learn how to make the perfect martini or a decadent dessert.
Improve my tennis game.
There are over 80 masters in their field teaching on MasterClass. People like Steve Martin, Ron Howard, James Patterson, Serena Williams, Wolfgang Puck, Aaron Sorkin, Christina Aguilera, Dr. Jane Goodall.
You may have heard of a few of them.
Each course is broken down into about 20 classes, with an average length of 10 minutes per class… so you are not inundated with information and can watch at your own pace.
MasterClass says its total course time typically runs between 2-5 hours.
Each class also includes a downloadable workbook, suggested assignments, members only newsletter, community forums and offline access.
There is no limit to how many classes you may enroll in at one time; however, the suggested starting point appears to be a maximum of 6.
Who is Perfect for MasterClass?
MasterClass is designed for anybody interested in learning a new skill or improving on their current situation.
It’s designed for the curious… those who may want to take on a new hobby?
After all, maybe you have some extra time on our hands now.
It’s meant to replace Netflix for a night or two of binge watching.
It can, and likely will, entertain you.
What MasterClass is not is this… actual accredited courses. Courses meant to replace college level work, or provide any actual certification.
It is not for those seeking a classroom setting or the structure that comes with it.
MasterClass is merely meant to inspire. To enlighten. To spark a conversation.
The courses are designed to open your mind and stimulate some creativity in your process.
What is the Course Structure of Masterclass?
Some courses appear more “traditional” in nature than others. They begin with a solid and formal introduction.
They set you up with a structure, discuss the process…even provide an outline and have a very specific end game.
Other courses feel like you are sitting down and having a coffee (or scotch) together… while they spew their stream of consciousness, allowing you a brief glimpse into their genius. Those are fun!
That is not to say the more structured courses aren’t fun. It honestly just depends on what you are looking to get out of it.
Are you a creative person who is looking for inspiration? Something to light that spark that went out in you some time ago?
Or are you more technical-minded and hoping to walk away with specific tools you can implement to improve your craft?
These instructors know their stuff. That isn’t even a question.
They got to where they are through hard work and talent… and in some cases, luck, if you ask Steve Martin.
But can they teach?
That answer is “yes”, based on the classes I’ve watched so far.
They may not all be my particular style of teaching, but they work. And you will walk away learning something you didn’t know before… if you see the course through.
It may simply be a thought that clicks with you days later… an “ah ha” moment, if you will. Something to point you in a slightly different direction to get you where you want to go.
Other points will resonate with you immediately.
Whatever the case, there appears to be real value in MasterClass.
Who are the MasterClass Instructors?
So, I did my research and was able to land upon a few of the “trending” courses currently being offered on MasterClass.
I had the chance to peruse:
Steve Martin Teaches Comedy
Daniel Negreanu Teaches Poker
Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting
Neil Gaiman Teaches the Art of Storytelling
James Patterson Teaches Writing
For purposes of this MasterClass Review, I’ll just give you a brief synopsis of these popular MasterClass courses, and my general feel of flow.
I can’t imagine that many of you have never heard of Steve Martin.
Comedian. Actor. Banjo player.
Yes, banjo player.
I personally fell in love with Steve Martin as a teenager… after watching a little known film called, The Jerk. He showed off his talent, legit talent, on the banjo while making us laugh in this comedy classic about a unique family from Mississippi.
Like with the film that drove him to box office success, Martin kicks off his MasterClass course with a little strum of the ol’ banjo.
I was hooked.
He was funny.
Comfortable.
Silly.
Easy going.
He was also extremely motivational, spouting words of encouragement like, “Know that there’s room for you!”.
Martin does not put on airs or expect you to believe it was easy getting into comedy. In fact, he attributes a great deal of his success to luck, and being in the right place at the right time.
My favorite part was his roundtable with aspiring comedians. He spoke with them so candidly that it never once did it feel like he was this untouchable superstar… but rather an intimate acquaintance trying to provide an honest critique and feedback.
For much of his course, Martin played the storyteller. By giving the audience a glimpse into his experiences and thought process… I was able to learn something about editing my material and never trying to force a laugh.
If you want to check out the trailer for this course, click here.
At first, I didn’t recognize Daniel Negreanu by name.
Sure, I enjoy poker with friends; but, I don’t watch too many tournaments on tv.
The minute he walked onto the screen however, I recognized him. I actually realized I had watched him before… and he was awesome.
Probably the best poker player in the world.
And the first lesson in his MasterClass (a 2 minute and 52 second introduction) drove that point home.
It started out with Negreanu, “Kid Poker”, sitting down at the felt to shuffle cards and maneuver chips through his fingers… glaring into your eyes, ready to do exactly what he does best.
Only instead of getting ready to take your money, he invites you to join him across the table to learn his tricks. His most valuable tricks, in fact. Specifically in reading and hiding tells, tournament strategy, pot dynamics and odds, bettering tactics.
He outlines four stages to the learning process, assuming one will resonate with the viewer. His ultimate goal being to get his students to a point where they develop their own “no brainer” poker style.
As the course continues, Negreanu is seated in front of multiple computer screens, allowing you to see just how super technical and strategic poker can be. His mind thinks like a computer.
He studies multiple scenarios and runs them through his mind constantly when up against a table of opponents.
He explains the basics first, out of position (defense) vs in position (offense). Then he goes on to talk about how a seemingly good hand in one position may be not good enough in another.
For instance, a J/10 on the button (latest position) is better than getting it in first position. The button is where you’ll make your most money.
The “Spotting Tells” lessons 1 and 2 were probably my favorite… as I honestly think that being able to read people is a valuable skill in life, regardless of your situation.
Negreanu is straightforward and speaks in a tone that keeps you attentive. Interested. Hooked.
However, most surprisingly to me was how humble he appears to be.
“When you feel you’ve got nothing left to learn, that is the exact point when everybody else starts to surpass you.”.
Clearly, comments like these aren’t just platitudes for Negreanu. He believes in them… and his course is proof positive that he is always trying to improve his game. There is always room to grow.
The MasterClass is one of the more content rich ones I came across, with over 35 individual lessons.
Sorkin professess, “Dialogue is music to me.”… and that is clear.
Clear from the first lesson in his MasterClass.
The course starts with flashes of dialogue and voice overs from some of his most famous movies and television programs.
A Few Good Men. The Social Network. Steve Jobs. Moneyball. The West Wing.
I’m sure you’ve seen one or two of these.
Sorkin has become synonymous with a plethora of one liners that people remember and quote to this day. Dialogue that makes trivia games in the “which character said this?” category.
From the start, Sorkin outlines very specifically what he is going to cover throughout the course. The most important lesson, in his mind, being that of devising intention and obstacle when drafting dialogue for the screen.
Sorkin is self-admittedly a bit awkward when speaking. He looks down a lot… rather than directly at you like someone more comfortable on-screen would. Like Negreanu.
In fact, Sorkin states at the start of class, “When I am speaking out loud instead of writing, I tend to swerve all over the road… my apologies in advance for that.”.
Aesthetically, with regards to the cinematography of the course, I liked how each lesson started with an old-fashioned typewriter banging out the title… and that Sorkin dressed the part of “professor”.
He spends quite a bit of time on character development, stating “he never has a specific character in his head, but rather the character is born from intention and obstacle.”.
He also talks about the importance of research, knowing your audience and the rules of the story and arc. He talks about writing habits and writer’s block.
From the moment he says he’s starting up a project, until delivery of the final product, is 18-24 months for a screenplay. Candidly, he mentions spending much of that time being depressed.
He comes across as honest, somewhat unsure and seamingly grounded.
As far as the quantity of course content goes, it was rather evident that Sorkin isn’t as comfortable spewing technique as he is with brainstorming ideas in a room full of writers. Lessons 12 – 35 featured a large number of filmed group workshops, case studies and writers room.
If I’m being honest, I think the man is a genius… with a lot of good information to share. I think his teaching style, however, is a bit dry for me and the lessons a tad lengthy.
In fact, he even offers a downloadable screenplay of The Social Network for a read along.
He does, however, pay some wonderful compliments to his writers’ roundtable members. He tells them they aren’t fooling themselves… that they are writers. And unlike athletes, they will get better with age.
One of the most visually stunning introduction segments on MasterClass.
Gaiman has been Professor of the Arts at Bard College for the last 5 years, educating about 25 students each year.
He is a self-proclaimed, not-so-secret admirer of the teaching process. “Teaching is an absolute delight to me, but you don’t get to reach a lot of people,” he says. “That is the beauty of MasterClass.”.
Gaiman is very comfortable talking. He also appears to be a very deliberate talker, in that he wants everything he says to have great meaning and deep impact.
At least, that is how I perceived him.
He does mix quite a few metaphors. The first one about a tool shed for writing… how to build and make stories that matter.
Then, there’s one comparing writing a novel to “driving through the fog with one headlight out… you can’t see very far ahead of yourself, but every now and then the mist will clear.”.
Gaiman is dry, but still soothing and engaging enough in his tone to keep you listening.
He doesn’t come alive off the page like James Patterson does, he’s much more subdued… but I was interested in what he had to say.
Even his platitudes.
He has some useful tips and exercises to share… and did give me that little push forward that he intended to, especially when he talked about doing too much research. And, apparently, there is such a thing. Too much time spent trying to make your story perfect detracts from your time writing.
Storytelling is a part of our nature. Use it.
His most famous book, Coraline, was based on a lesson he wanted to teach his own children. The lesson that dragons could be defeated.
A lesson he said took him 30 years to figure out.
He started the book before moving to America… then got busy and had no free time. He was also told his book was unpublishable.
And then he got stung by wasps one day and it changed the way he viewed Coraline. It changed what he wanted the book to say.
He wanted the reader to know that being brave doesn’t mean you’re not scared… it means being scared and deciding to do what scares you anyway.
Once he stopped being scared, the book wrote itself. It was his story to tell through someone else’s eyes.
For a glimpse into the mind of Gaiman’s MasterClass, watch the course trailer here.
This is the opening line of Patterson’s MasterClass.
The purpose? To get your attention.
He continues his introduction… saying how his course will be irreverent, fun and a little jokey at times.
He also promises to take time wasting out of the process if you give him the time to explain how.
I have to say, I was hooked from the intro… more than the other writing courses I’d watched so far. There was just something so charming about Patterson, and he was easy to listen to.
Entertaining.
Patterson is clearly a story teller. In fact, the entire course was a story… his story… which I enjoyed immensely. Starting with the mornings he’d spend as a child going to work with his grandfather.
His grandfather taught him passion. Told him whatever he decided to do with his life, even if it were driving a truck like he did, to make sure he drove that truck over the mountain to work singing a song.
Passion. Passion. Passion.
That is a lesson Patterson never forgot. Even when he started a job at an ad agency after college, he made sure to get up at 5am before work and write until 7am. He didn’t want to get up that early, but forced himself to write every day… because that is what made him “sing”.
Patterson implores you to set up a routine.
At least one hour every day.
Do it!
Love what you do!
Sing on your way to work. Every day.
Patterson comes off like the quintessential grandfather figure. Wise. Gentle. Humble.
He admits to having felt defeated at times in his life, but never let it stop him from pursuing his dream.
Every short story he sent out, from The New Yorker to Redbook, was rejected. “My first novel was turned down by 31 publishers.”
He kept going.
And one day, he arrived.
It’s rare that anybody comes up with a totally fresh idea out of nowhere. You already know how to do it. “Write the story, don’t write sentences.”
Think about the people you’re met in life. Are they religious? Do they have any physical attributes that are important? Write down their ticks. Their staying characteristics. These things will make your main character relevant to your story.
The one thing about Patterson is he talks quite fast. He is clearly very bright and reads a lot himself. And he packs a whole lot of lessons into only 22 course sections.
One of the fewer of MasterClass.
He ends by saying he’s shared a lot of things… and to pick what is going to be relevant for you. The ones that may seem dead wrong for you, may work the best in the end.
There are no rules to literature. Don’t follow them blindly. Things change.
There is also a MasterClass App that allows you to continue viewing classes on your tablet, smartphone, FireTV, AppleTV and Roku player… without interruption, simply by logging on.
How Much Does MasterClass Cost?
$15 per month, billed annually as $180, for access to 80+ of the world’s best mind in their craft, with new content being added each month.
MasterClass wants to make sure that you have the best learning experience possible, so if you decide it just isn’t for you, simply send an email within 30 days of the date you purchased your subscription to receive a full refund
You cannot cancel mid-session after the initial 30 days, but can choose to not renew the membership and continue enjoying videos until the term expires.
There is also a $90 option to purchase one class for life. It basically gets downloaded and will never expire.
Currently, programs do expire once the enrollment numbers start dwindling, in order to make room for new content.
Honestly, I’d find it hard to believe that anybody would only want to watch one course.
MasterClass will also occasionally offer live webcasts… free to subscribers, which is a pretty cool bonus feature.
Is Masterclass Worth the Money?
I have to say that I’m really glad my editor asked me to review MasterClass.
I mean, at first glance, it seems like such a cool idea. Learning from famous people may be the closest any of us ever get to them… well, unless their class really works!
Kidding.
But as an at-home mother of four, and part-time writer, I often don’t know where the time goes. So, naturally, I was a bit worried about being able to fit MasterClass into my schedule.
And then I realized with the ability to stream courses from my phone or cast them on my Smart TV, all I had to do was stop binge watching Netflix for a few days and cue up MasterClass instead.
If you do that, it’s well worth the $15 per month! You simply have to want to make the time.
In addition to the rich content Masterclass offers, there are also instructor Q&A’s and Lesson Comments, which both offer great points and insight you may not have considered.
While the layout of the courses vary, you are able to click on each segment description and skip the ones you may not find helpful or interesting… or may just be too long for the time you’ve got.
The workbooks are a nice touch, if you work better with something tangible. Personally, I just preferred watching what these characters had to say.
And that is just what they are. They are characters in their success stories.
Make no mistake, these courses are professionally filmed, directed and edited. Many involve music, lighting and cinematography.
And it definitely adds a level of class to the material, literally.
While there is no guarantee Masterclass will turn you into the next food network sensation, or result in a phone call from Ron Howard asking you to turn one of your short stories into a movie, it will make you better at your craft or hobby… if you let it.
And if you’re looking for other online courses that are more easily accessible, check out these other reviews:
Nicole Krause has been writing both personally and professionally for over 20 years. She holds a dual B.A. in English and Film Studies. Her work has appeared in some of the country’s top publications, major news outlets, online publications, and blogs. As a happily married (and extremely busy) mother of four… her articles primarily focus on parenting, marriage, family, finance, organization, and product reviews.
There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.
Do you love to read?
Do you wish you had more time to do so?
Do you fashion yourself a multitasker?
Or are you the type or person who enjoys
learning new things, but has very little time to commit?
If you answered yes to any or all of these
questions… audible books may just be what the doctor ordered.
I mean, seriously… pretty much everything
Amazon touches turns to gold.
Sure, there are other audiobook sites and apps
out there… but few with the same level of customer service or content Amazon
can offer.
In this article, I’ll touch on what sets
Amazon Audible apart.
We will cover:
The main features of the program
How to find Audible books
The different platforms it’s available on
Pros and cons of the program
“Who” is it for
Final thoughts
So let’s get started, shall we?
Want a Free Audiobook from Audible?
Get one audiobook for free when you sign up for a 30-day Audible Free Trial. Here are some of the best audiobooks from S.J. Scott:
What is Amazon Audible?
Simply put, Amazon Audible is an audiobook
subscription membership program, offering nearly 200,000 titles… many of
which are classics or bestsellers.
There is also a wide selection of Audible
Original titles.
Audible currently offers a 30-day free trial,
which includes 1 audiobook download (referred to as one credit) and 2 Audible
Originals from a rotating selection.
Note:
you can’t just choose any Original audiobook. Amazon provides approved choices
for free downloading every month.
Existing Prime members are entitled to two
audiobook downloads (or credits), plus 2 Audible Originals… rather than one
credit for non-members.
After the trial period ends, membership
includes access to 1 audiobook download and 2 Audible Originals per month.
You can cancel at any time, no questions
asked… similar to Amazon’s general return policy. I’ve always found returns
simple with Amazon, be it with Prime products or Video.
Your credit card is only charged if you fail
to cancel within the free trial period.
Once you’ve logged in, you are able to browse from a plethora of titles.
You can search by:
Category (26 categories in total)
Lists & Collections (such as Best Sellers, New Releases, Coming Soon, Best of)
Featured (Audible Theatre, Audible Escape, Harry Potter, Reese’s Book Club, Audible Latino, Audio Shows, Blogs)
From a laptop or desktop, you can use a mouse
to scroll over titles and view a pop-up summary.
Otherwise, simply tap or click on the book title you find interesting to be brought to a summary page.
There you will be given information regarding
the book’s length, release date, narrator’s name and language.
You will also have access to:
The publisher’s summary
Critic Reviews
Member Reviews
Additional Audiobook Suggestions from the same Author and/or Narrator
Should you decide to go ahead and select the
title, you’ll be shown a membership price.
Typically, the free credit earned each month
covers the cost of one title… so you wouldn’t be charged anything additional
for one audiobook.
When you select a title, it is placed in your
cart and any available credits will be used.
Should you decide the book isn’t worth the
read, you can simply exchange it for another at no additional cost.
Think of it as a money back, no risk, reading
guarantee.
Amazon Audible also boasts a unique feature called Whispersync. Whispersync for Voice-ready allows you to move between audiobook and Kindle book seamlessly from one device to the next.
Since it is available in a corresponding
audiobook version, Audible offers the chance to purchase it for a discounted
price (or one credit).
By electing to purchase the audio version, I
am now able to read the book on my tablet before bed… and pick up where I left
off via audiobook while out for my morning jog.
How cool is that?
And for a busy working mom to four small kids…
this feature is worth its weight in gold.
Or, in this case, the modest membership fee.
In addition to the best sellers, Audible
Originals really set the service apart from the competition.
What competition, you ask?
Among the most popular are:
Audiobooks
Serial Box
Google Play Books
Bookmobile
Chirp
Still, none of these have yet to truly
threaten what Amazon Audible is doing.
The business models vary, for starters.
Primarily, while many of these services come
by way of free app, there is typically a “pay per title” fee… which can really
add up.
Conversely, the ones that charge monthly
membership fees offer a fraction of the title selection that Audible does.
And getting back to that…
You can easily browse Audible Originals by category and recommendations.
Audible Originals are exclusive audio titles created by celebrated storytellers from worlds as diverse as theater, journalism, literature and more… all produced in the Audible studios.
Similar to the best sellers, you are able to
browse Audible Originals by category and recommendations just for you.
“Quick Listens for the Commute” appealed to me… especially when I got a glimpse of one of my favorite comedians, Nick Offerman, on the summary page. This, however, was not one of my free Original choices (remember, you get 2 per month).
So instead, I selected to download “You Can Thank me Later”, a novella by
Kelly Harms. It’s free for the month of November.
A wide array of podcasts are also included
with Amazon Audible. And there is no denying the rising popularity of podcasts
these days.
I believe NBC even had a series about a
corporate exec-turned-podcaster.
Access to Audible Daily Deals, with audiobooks available for as little as $2.95
30% off any additional titles you purchase as a member
Keep your library of titles forever, even if you cancel membership
The Audible app keeps your place, even when you switch devices
Access Audible across all your devices including Alexa-enabled devices,
Amazon Kindle, audio players, and any Bluetooth speaker.
Always ad-free!
I’m Sold! So, How Do I Find My Next Audiobook?
Searching for your next listen is easy with
the Amazon Audible taskbar.
You can search two ways:
Utilize the Browse Feature, which is broken into categories
Type a title or topic into the search bar
Once you type something into the search bar,
you are brought to a suggestions page, based on the matching keyword. These
suggestions are in all categories.
You can sort by:
Newest arrivals
Best Selling
Title
Running Time
Average Customer Review
You can also filter your search by:
Category
Packages (escape for example, is a special Romance category)
New Releases (30 day, 90 day, Coming Soon)
Audiobook Length (from less than 1 hr to more than 20 hours)
Language
Program Type
Program Format
Whispersync availability
Depending on how specific you want to be, the
search will be drastically cut down to a manageable list.
And, voila! You’re set to select.
Whatever audiobooks you choose are placed in
your library.
Once a book is in your library, you can access
and manage it at any time via the “Library” tab.
That is also where you actually download the
title to your device. You can also submit a review from here.
Where to Enjoy Amazon Audible
Once you’ve selected your listens, downloading the Audible App is required in order to be able to enjoy audiobooks.
The app is free and available for the
following, making listening on your smartphone a snap:
You can also enjoy Amazon Audible on these
supported devices:
Sonos Speakers
Alexa-enabled Devices
FireTV
Kindle
Kindle Oasis
Fire Tablet
Android, IOS and Windows Tablets
Computer & mp3 (via the Audible Cloud Player and iTunes)
The Pros and Cons of Amazon
Audible
Let’s face it… life can’t be all sunshine and roses.
But Amazon Audible comes close in its efforts to make top quality reads accessible to anyone with the ability and willingness to listen.
So let’s start with the pros:
Largest audiobook selection among its competitors
Large selection of original titles
All books purchased are yours to keep forever, even if you cancel the membership
Whispersync for Voice
Audible app syncs with other audible apps and purchases (including iTunes and Google Reads)
Seamless bookmarking (your current spot, whether audio or visual, is always saved and synced)
Impressive selection of free content
Amazon Prime membership-affiliated free content
Amazon Household Library, which allows you to share your audiobooks across devices with another member of your family
Bluetooth speaker connectivity
Well-known narrators, actors and actresses
Member discount to purchase additional books
Abbreviated versions of many audiobooks, offered at a lower price
Ability to change the listening speed (speed it up or slow it down)
Ad-free listening
Two Tiers of Membership (Gold or Platinum), offered monthly or annually
Roll over credits available for unused purchases (5-12 rollovers depending on membership type)
Refunds available within 1 year of purchasing a book
Ability to put your membership on Hold for a set period of time
Amazon’s award winning customer service and support
There is no contract, so you can unsubscribe and resubscribe at any time if you find yourself not reading as often as you’d like
And now the cons:
Unused membership credits expire after one year
Unused credits disappear if you cancel the membership before using them
Audiobooks can be more expensive than the hard copy or eBook.
Amazon Audible titles are occasionally more expensive than amazon.com or competitor book sites
If you read more than the allotted amount of credits each month, the cost per book can add up
iPhone users are currently unable to purchase books directly through the Audible app due to contract restrictions, so you must download via a computer.
Books cannot be streamed, so downloading to your mobile device will use up storage.
As you can see, rather clearly, the pros
seriously outweigh the cons here.
But don’t take my word for it… see for
yourself with the 30-day free trial.
And if you have any more questions or
reservations, be sure to visit and FAQ page.
Is Amazon Audible Right for Me?
Amazon Audible is for people who will listen to at least one book per month.
You may be wondering what type of person
benefits most from Amazon Audible?
Well, that answer is three-fold.
First,
it’s for busy people who don’t typically have as much time to read as they’d
like.
If you work long hours… commute to work by
bus or train… have a busy social calendar… a heavy college course load… or
have kids… chances are, you don’t have a lot of down time.
You’re lucky if you get your daily workout in
– or get to eat dinner at a normal speed once in a while.
But read a book?
Now that’s just unheard of.
Or at least it was… before Amazon Audible.
Thanks to its groundbreaking and intuitive
interface, you are able to take your books from the sofa, to the gym, to your
kid’s dance lessons, to the office.
Audible goes wherever you go and makes reading
for pleasure accessible again.
It’s also great if you want to get out of your
comfort zone and learn about something new.
Don’t have time to listen to the news?
You can for free with Audible.
Need to recenter yourself? Audible meditations
cost nothing more than the time you’re willing to invest in them.
Second,
Amazon audible is for people that will commit to listening to at least one book
per month.
As with most everything that is worthwhile,
the audible membership is not free. That being said, the monthly fee covers 1
audiobook credit and 2 Audible Original reads.
These credits, however, vary their worth based
on the book’s list price.
The monthly fee, which gives you 1 or 2
credits per month based on your membership plan, essentially is the most you’ll
pay for one book.
That being said, depending on what you opt to
read… books valued at say, $40 USD, are a huge savings for members paying a
fraction of that monthly.
Alternately, if a book you are interested in
purchasing is on sale or retailing for less than $10, you may be best served to
purchase the book and save the credit for a more expensive title later…
especially considering you are able to roll over a certain number of credits.
Finally,
Amazon audible is for the audiobook junkie.
Nobody does it better than Amazon.
If you can’t live without your audiobooks, the
service offers the best selection there is.
Hands down.
More than 150,000 hands… to be exact.
There is no real competition.
And although other sites may cost less on
paper, or offer unlimited titles, the selection suffers because of it.
Plus, as an Audible member, you’re given
access to:
Daily Deals
30% off all titles
Flash sales on membership
Audible Originals
Lifetime access to all purchased audiobooks
If you think about it, the typical person will
purchase the hardcopy of a book and put it down without finishing. Perhaps,
never finishing it.
Why?
Because life happens!
But if the book is accessible 24/7, on
multiple platforms… you’re much more
likely to make it to the end.
Plus, if you keep your eyes open for those
“member only” deals, you might find yourself purchasing multiple books for the
price of one.
Amazon audible is for the audiobook junkie.
So… is Amazon Audible Worth It?
If you’re still with me, you don’t need to be
a psychic to guess what I’m about to say.
If you want to “read” more… Amazon Audible is
for you!
If you can commit to listening to at least one
or two titles per month… Amazon Audible is for you!
If you are an audiobook fanatic… Amazon
Audible is for you.
Yes, it costs money.
But in my humble opinion, it’s a drop in the
bucket compared to the other stuff we spend money on.
Lattes.
Lunches.
A pair of shoes we don’t really need.
Not only are the Audible book titles and
narrators in a class unto themselves… but if you seek, you shall find deals.
And more deals.
Couple that with award winning customer
service and no-hassle cancellation and return policies… and Audible is the
clear cut winner in the category.
The cons are hardly worth a second thought –
and really only come into play if you don’t take full advantage of what Audible
offers.
Hey, I’m not trying to sell you on audiobooks.
You like them or you don’t.
You want to read more, or you don’t.
But if you do, start your free trial today.
I promise you will be kicking yourself for not
doing it sooner.
And if you’re on the lookout for more books to read, be sure to read these articles:
Nicole Krause has been writing both personally and professionally for over 20 years. She holds a dual B.A. in English and Film Studies. Her work has appeared in some of the country’s top publications, major news outlets, online publications, and blogs. As a happily married (and extremely busy) mother of four… her articles primarily focus on parenting, marriage, family, finance, organization, and product reviews.
There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.
As you go through life, you’ll meet a lot of different people. Talking with others can help you grow as a person.
Equipping yourself with an arsenal of random questions to ask people is a great way to spark interesting and enlightening conversations. They can also help you with personal and professional success.
What is the Point of Asking Random Questions?
You can use random questions as an ice breaker, a fun game, to get to know someone better, step out of your comfort zone… or just as a friendly opener.
Questions help you get to know people better. They are also a way of showing the other person that you are interested in and listening to what they are saying.
In this article, we will introduce you to 171 random questions to ask people throughout your life, broken into categories so you can scan to the ones most applicable to your situation.
Random Questions to Ask Friends
Friendships are important for so many reasons.
According to Psychology Today, friendships support emotional well-being, are associated with greater happiness, and can even contribute to lower blood pressure and a longer lifespan.
You can use the following questions with friends to get to know them better, let them know you better, or gain appreciation.
Would you want to be famous? Why?
What would a perfect day look like for you?
If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would you invite?
Do you ever think about how you will die?
What are you most grateful for in your life?
What quality or ability would you choose if you could gain something that you can’t do now?
What is the accomplishment you’re most proud of in your life?
Do you have a lifelong dream?
If you had a crystal ball that could answer any questions, what would you want to ask of it?
What do you value most in a relationship?
What is your most treasured memory?
What does friendship mean to you?
What was the most embarrassing moment in your life?
How do you feel about your family?
When was the last time you cried?
Random Questions to Ask Family
Talking to family members, either close or distant, can be comforting, enlightening, and teach us a lot about ourselves and where we come from.
Use these random questions, some recommended by MyHeritage, to ask family to gain personal insight into yourself and your family.
Do you share a name with someone else in the family?
Do you have a nickname?
Where were you born?
Are you religious?
Where have you lived?
Can you tell me any family stories?
What schools did you go to?
Did you play sports in school or have any other special activities?
Did you go to college? What did you study?
What is your career?
Were you in the military?
How did you meet your spouse (if married)?
Have you been married more than once?
Do you have any genetic health issues?
Have you ever had surgery or been hospitalized?
Do you have any embarrassing family experiences?
Do you know any family secrets?
Have you done any genealogy study on our family?
Do you know who our great, great, great grandparents are?
Do you know any distant cousins that have lost contact with the family?
How are you related to my parents?
Do you know if we have any famous relatives?
Do we have any relatives who are criminals?
Are there any businesses in our family?
Is there any mental illness in our family?
Are there any murderers in our family?
Are there any musicians in our family?
How are you related to me?
Did you know my parents before they had kids?
How did grandma and grandpa meet?
What family member were you closest to growing up?
What family members do you wish I would have known?
Who in our family has had the biggest influence on your life?
What was grandma and grandpa’s wedding like?
How did my aunt and uncle meet?
What is your favorite family memory?
What is the worst family story you can remember?
What family traditions were there that we don’t follow anymore?
What was the most important thing your parents taught you?
How well do you know me?
Did you know me when I was a baby?
What are your first memories of me?
Do you know what my talents are?
Do you remember anything from my childhood?
What is our family’s country of origin?
What do you really know about our family?
Talking to family members, can be comforting, enlightening, and teach us a lot about ourselves and where we come from.
Random Questions to Ask Strangers
Throughout your life, you’ll meet strangers at different points. At the airport, shopping for groceries, when dining out, when traveling – interacting with strangers is just a part of life. Asking random questions can help you make conversation with someone you don’t know but are faced with for some reason.
Try asking some of these random questions to strike up a conversation or make small talk while you are with a stranger.
Do you like sports?
What’s your favorite sports team?
Travel anywhere lately?
What’s your favorite vacation destination?
What brings you here?
How do you like this place? (airport, hotel, grocery store, etc.)
Seen any good movies lately?
What do you enjoy most about traveling?
What’s your favorite restaurant?
Do you have a favorite hotel that you like?
Have you ever won the lottery?
What do you think about that (recent news story, vaccine requirement, other current events)?
What’s your favorite TV or streaming show?
What do you think about Trump?
Have you had COVID?
What do you think about the vaccine?
Has the pandemic hurt you or your family?
Have you seen any live Broadway shows before the pandemic?
What is your favorite brand of liquor?
Are you a beer or whiskey drinker?
What do you think about vaping?
Do you have teenagers or toddlers?
Do you like to fish?
Are you a golfer?
Have you been to Disney World or Disney Land?
What do you think about how the pandemic originated?
What’s your favorite airline?
Have you had any bad experiences flying?
Do you ever get mistaken for looking like a celebrity or famous person?
Do I know you?
Are you related to anyone famous?
What is your favorite kind of automobile?
Do you collect anything?
What do you do for a living?
How are you doing in this pandemic?
What do you think the government should do about coronavirus?
Do you think our government is doing a good job or is in trouble?
What do you think about the national debt?
What is your employer doing about COVID?
Have you ever gone zip lining?
What’s the most exotic vacation you’ve been on?
Ever been to Vegas?
Where was the best steak you’ve ever had?
What do you think of the Kardashians?
What’s the best pizza you’ve ever had?
Is your (hobby, job, or leisure activity) hard to do?
Do you have any favorite movies from your childhood?
Random Questions to Ask a Guy You Like
Talking to a guy you like is not always easy. Whether it’s a love interest, friend, or colleague, asking random questions can help you start a conversation and ease the tension.
Use the following questions to ask a guy you like and start a fun and interesting dialog.
If you could be any fictional character from a book or movie, who would you choose?
What kind of music do you like?
What’s on your current playlist?
What do you like to watch on YouTube?
What do you like to do on a date, go out on the town or take a long walk to talk?
Do you prefer talking on the phone or texting?
What’s the worst date you’ve ever been on?
What’s the worst mistake you’ve made in past relationships?
What’s the most fun date you’ve gone on?
Have you ever ditched a date?
What are your plans for the weekend?
If you could do anything, what would it be?
Do you play any sports?
What do you like to watch on TV?
What’s your favorite snack?
Do you like animals?
Have you ever gone hunting?
Do you like camping and outdoor activities like hiking and biking?
What’s your favorite book?
Do you like social media or hate it?
Are you a fan of technology or natural processes better?
Do you think the human race will leave planet earth at some point in the future?
Are you very political?
Do you have a favorite charity?
Are you religious?
Are you close to your family?
Have you ever been engaged to be married?
Did you go to your senior prom in high school?
Do you prefer tennis shoes, boots, or sandals?
Do you have a favorite meal?
Have you ever hurt someone in a physical fight?
Do you believe in keeping your word?
Random Questions to Ask a Girl You Like
Asking interesting random questions of a girl you like can mean the difference between an awkward encounter and a date to remember.
Whether you’re on a first date or just trying to get to know someone better, asking great questions lets you make connections and create a bond.
Use this list of random questions to ask a girl you like to get to know each other better and see where you want to take your relationship.
What’s your favorite food?
What’s your favorite candle scent?
Do you prefer a hotel stay or camping under the stars?
Would you rather be locked in an amusement park or in a library?
What’s your ideal night out, something fun and exciting or something serene and relaxing?
What would be your dream job?
What would your dream home look like?
Do you have outdoor survival skills?
Do you like sports or hate them?
Are you a dog or cat person?
Are you a jeans and sweatshirt type or a designer label type?
What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
If money was no object, what’s one super expensive item you would want?
What kind of music do you like?
What’s your favorite movie of all time?
Are you a daredevil or a wait-and-see type?
Do prefer a shower or a bath?
Do you prefer a clean-shaven face, a moustache, or full beard?
Do you prefer guys with short hair or long hair?
What’s the worst pickup line you’ve heard?
Do you have a favorite quote?
What do you like to do for fun?
What 3 things can you not do without?
What made you realize you were an adult?
What’s the first thing you notice about people?
Do you have any phobias?
Do you believe in keeping promises?
What is your favorite place to be?
Do you think romantic couple should also be friends?
Are you comfortable among a lot of people or just around a few people?
Do you prefer blonde or brunette hair on guys?
Final Thoughts on Random Questions to Ask People
Having a list of random questions to ask can accomplish a lot of things – it opens doors, creates connections, increases understanding, helps others, and more. Asking the right question can be life changing, as author Marc Champagne discusses with Matt Johnson and Psychology Today.
Whether you are asking a stranger something, or talking to a guy or girl you like, questions can lead to greater insight and inspiration. Life is all about learning and personal growth. Don’t miss the opportunity for growth and connection that asking questions brings.
If you’re looking more questions to ask a significant other in your life, be sure to check out these blog posts:
There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.
Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you had followed your dreams right after high school?
If you had decided to major in art in college… instead of engineering?
Or if you had taken that job fixing classic cars… instead of going to work as salesman for a nationwide auto dealership chain?
Or… maybe you’re a stay-at-home parent who always wanted to learn how to make the perfect egg souffle? Or how to sew a dress for your daughter?
We can’t all afford to go back to college… or enroll in enrichment classes.
Our quest for learning doesn’t have to come to an end… just because we chose a different path at the start.
It is still possible to learn something new, feed a secret passion… even further your current career with this one-of-a-kind online learning platform.
In this article, I will show that YES, Skillshare is worth it and I’ll show a few reasons why we like this educational platform. But first, let’s start with a quick definition…
Think of it as the “Netflix” for online courses… where you gain immediate access to more than 22,000 classes to improve and inspire you.
Today, Skillshare has more than 4 million students enrolled… and over $5 million dollars in paid teacher salaries (yes, you can earn money as a teacher for Skillshare; but, we’ll touch more on that in a bit).
The company’s mission statement is to make the new economy an open meritocracy, where the skills and expertise needed to succeed are available for anyone willing to learn them.
Skillshare classes are offered in four main categories:
Creative
Business
Technology
Lifestyle
Within these categories are thousands of offerings.
But before we delve deeper into that… let’s talk cost, shall we?
How Much does Skillshare Cost?
Well, there are two versions of Skillshare.
Skillshare Basic and Premium.
Basic is free
Premium is not
So what’s the difference, you ask? Besides the obvious, of course.
Good question.
See, you’re getting smarter already!
Skillshare Basic offers:
About 2,100 free classes with videos and tutorials
First, Skillshare offers a 30-day free trial that can be cancelled at any time. I’d recommend doing the Basic for a week or so… see what the free class offerings are like before test driving the upgrade.
Second, if you do sign up for Basic (which I did), you’ll most likely get an email within the hour inviting you to try Premium free for 2 months.
And if after trying Premium, you decide there’s just no going back… then there is more good news.
A Premium membership won’t break the bank… or put you in debt like student loans will (or did).
In fact, a Skillshare Premium membership starts at just $15.00 per month.
However, if you opt to pay for an annual membership, the cost drops to just $8.25 per month… or $99.00 per year (billed once annually).
That is less than some gyms charge for 1 month!
So why not think of Skillshare as exercise for your mind…
And what better way is there to work your brain than to learn a new skill?
Ok, now that we’ve gotten the awkward financial yays or nays out of the way… we can take a look at those classes again.
The Course Catalog
As I touched upon earlier, there are four main categories of classes offered by Skillshare (creative, business, technology, lifestyle).
As a Skillshare member, you’ll have access to online classes that you can watch whenever your schedule allows – no matter the time of day.
These course are taught by creators, entrepreneurs, and professionals from around the world.
Impressive, no?
Each class has short lessons and a hands-on project for you to work on. You can share your project in the class to get feedback and collaborate with Skillshare’s vibrant community.
Once you click on the “classes” tab, you’ll have the option of viewing:
All classes
Recommended classes (where you select skills of interest to you to “follow)
Student projects (trending, most recent or top voted)
Class length (less than 15 minutes, 15-30 mins, 30-60 mins, or greater than 60 minutes)
Social media (teachers/follow)
Once you’ve found a class, check out the class description under the About tab to make sure it’s the right class for you.
Many classes even offer a preview video clip, so you can meet the instructor and get a feel for how the class will run and exactly what it will cover.
Then, simply “save” the class for later… or start watching the videos to begin. That’s it!
You can check out the Your Project section to see what you’ll create, and take a look at other students’ work in the All Projects section.
Visit the Community section to ask questions and get to know other students watching the class.
Two Thumbs Up?
Almost every business, product, customer support line, online order, etc… asks you to provide feedback after purchase nowadays.
Whether a google review, trip advisor, yelp, facebook… businesses of all types hope you will give them a positive review to help them grow.
The good ones will even respond to negative reviews, and learn from them.
Skillshare is no different.
Providing class reviews is a great way to support the teachers you love and help other students find high-quality classes.
To leave a review on a class, simply head to the “Reviews” tab beneath the video player of the class, and on the right-hand side, click “Leave Review.”
The class review form will prompt you to answer a handful of questions about the class, including:
How well it met your expectations
What level of experience it’s best suited for
What you enjoyed most
What can be improved, if anything
You’ll also have the opportunity to provide more details in an optional written comment.
While Skillshare encourages and welcomes your honesty, they also ask you be constructive and respectful with your feedback in order to help teachers improve their future content.
And if you really enjoy Skillshare… the site offers its Premium members an incentive to refer their friends and family.
Simply invite them to sign up for Skillshare Premium Membership through the Refer a Friend section of your account.
When your friend signs up for a Premium Membership using your referral link, they’ll receive two months of Premium Membership for free… and your account will be credited with one free month of Premium as soon as they complete their first full membership payment (after their 2 free months)!
Your free month will be applied towards your upcoming payment.
So, if you are on a monthly plan, your next billing date will be pushed out by one month in the Payments section of your Profile Settings.
If you are subscribed to an annual plan, the free month will discount your next annual charge.
Those Who Can’t Do…
Ever have your buddies tell you that you should post some of your DIY carpentry projects online?
Ever have another mom tell you that your chocolate mousse cake is to die for?
Maybe you can’t make a career out of your hobbies or passions… but you can still make some money on the side.
And from there, who knows?
If you feel particularly confident in certain skills or abilities… or maybe you just have some advice to offer young professionals… why not consider teaching for Skillshare?
There’s no application or approval process, and you don’t need to have teaching experience.
Skillshare teachers are creatives, entrepreneurs, and professionals who are great at what they do… and passionate about sharing their skills with others. Each instructor has a unique background, perspective and teaching style.
Basically, teachers receive compensation for every minute watched by Premium students in their classes… as well as for every student they bring to Skillshare. Here’s how:
Earn Royalties: Earn royalties based on the number of minutes watched in your classes every month (30 minute minimum viewing by a Premium member is required)
Earn Premium Referrals: Get $10 for every student you bring to Skillshare that signs up for a Premium Membership, via your unique referral link
Through your referral link, students will be given the opportunity to sign up for Premium Membership with a special promotion – the first two months of Premium Membership for free.
Skillshare teachers can also receive $50 more in their paycheck if they successfully refer a friend to teach.
All new teachers are also eligible for a “signing bonus”, if you will, when they publish their first class through the Teach Challenge and meet all of the program’s requirements. Requirements for the challenge change monthly.
The Skillshare Teachers Handbook will answer any and all questions you may have on getting started… and if being an instructor is right for you!
Refer a Friend to Teach
If teaching is of no interest to you… maybe it could be to a friend?
If you know someone that would make a great teacher… simply provide Skillshare with their info. How it works:
I took it in high school and wanted to see what I remembered
I’ve done Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur methods for learning other languages so wanted to see how this held up
While called “3 Minute Italian”, this free video was actually over 1 hour long… comprised of 17 lessons.
It started with basic words… and then turned them into phrases.
My instructor, Kieran, is a language tutor based in the UK.
I never actually saw his face, but I did notice he offered a full course version with a Premium membership.
Remember that hook I mentioned?
I actually would have preferred to see his face, or at least some images… like with Rosetta Stone, which is based on both visual and verbal learning cues.
Having only words displayed on screen was not ideal for my particular style of learning, but might be just fine for someone else.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much is Skillshare Monthly?
You can get Skillshare Premium free for 2 months. After that, it costs just $15.00 per month. You can also choose the annual membership, which is $8.25 per month or $99.00 per year.
Which is Better Udemy or Skillshare?
It depends on your personal preference. With Skillshare, you can learn from an unlimited selection of all their courses. Some are high quality, while others aren’t. (To know which platform is best for you, check out comparison review of Skillshare and Udemy.)
On the other hand, you have to pay for each course in Udemy, which can quickly add up. If you want to get the best value for your dollar, Skillshare is the better option.
Can You Make Money on Skillshare?
Yes! Teachers on Skillshare earn revenue in two ways: 1. Through royalty payments, which is calculated by royalties based on the number of minutes watched in your classes every month. 2.
Through premium member referrals, which is $10 for every new student. If you consistently create new courses and recommend new students, then you can generate a decent monthly income through Skillshare.
How to Cancel Skillshare?
You can cancel your Premium Membership at any time. Head to your Account Settings to cancel, and they’ll set your plan to expire at the end of your current billing period. Email [email protected] and ask them to cancel your account.
How Does Skillshare Work?
Think of it as the “Netflix” for online courses… where you gain immediate access to more than 22,000 classes to improve and inspire you.
As a Skillshare member, you’ll have access to online classes that you can watch whenever your schedule allows – no matter the time of day. Each class has short lessons and a hands-on project for you to work on.
You can share your project in the class to get feedback and collaborate with Skillshare’s vibrant community.
You can find a course in two ways: 1. Selecting the All Classes tab, where they offer classes by categories: Featured, Trending, or Popular. 2. Searching for the type of class you want, simply by typing it in from either the home page or classes page.
Subscribing to Skillshare makes just-in-time learning easier. The video below provides a quick overview of just in time learning and provides 5 simple steps you can use to master any skill in a short amount of time.
Summing Up Skillshare… Is it Worth It?
Remember last Friday night when you and your significant other binged watch a new Netflix series?
Now take that excitement and channel your inner “knowledge seeker”…
Enter Skillshare.
With Skillshare, you can binge-watch educational videos on almost anything.
And my anything.
Want to impress your kids by solving that Rubik’s cube?
Yearning to learn to knit some itty bitty adorable baby booties for your sister’s new kid?
Dying to impress your girlfriend with your mad Chinese dumpling making skills?
Maybe you want to turn your vision for a basement remodel into a workable design using Sketchup Make?
Or perhaps you just need some help creating a better resume?
There is really no limit to what you can learn on Skillshare… well, unless you’re sticking with the free version.
But there is still some really good content available there, as I’ve found.
And if 26,000 plus online courses still don’t have what you’ve got a hankering for… then why not teach it yourself? Or find someone who can?
Hello! You can actually earn money learning and teaching with Skillshare… remember?
Honestly, I’ve only just scratched the surface here with my review.
Skillshare is seriously awesome and changing the way we educate ourselves.
So if you’ve got the time, I highly suggest checking it out.
And if you’re looking for other online learning resources, be sure to check out our other reviews:
Nicole Krause has been writing both personally and professionally for over 20 years. She holds a dual B.A. in English and Film Studies. Her work has appeared in some of the country’s top publications, major news outlets, online publications, and blogs. As a happily married (and extremely busy) mother of four… her articles primarily focus on parenting, marriage, family, finance, organization, and product reviews.
There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.
Do you want to learn a new language?
Perhaps you want to be fluent in a foreign language because it’ll help with your career. Or maybe you want to develop a deeper appreciation for the music and literature of a particular culture. Or perhaps you’d just like to talk to locals while traveling.
Regardless of your why, becoming fluent in Spanish, Greek, Chinese, or Hebrew is now more accessible and convenient—all because there is an abundance of language learning apps and software available.
Learning a foreign language through these tools is quite helpful. The lessons are literally right at your fingertips most of the time, which means that even a few minutes of waiting for your turn at the doctor’s office or while on your commute home can be sufficient time to learn something or complete a lesson.
In this article, we’ve reviewed the seven best language software and apps, categorized according to their purpose of language learning.
Some of these tools are readily available to download for free, while others require you to purchase the product. Regardless, they are all designed to help you become fluent in the language you wish to learn.
Before we present the best language learning software and apps, let’s first discuss the importance of learning a foreign language. Moreover, we will provide you with some tips to truly get the most out of your language lessons.
Don’t have the time to read the entire review?
Here’s a quick look at our top choices for the best Language Learning Software and Apps:
Why Is It Important to Learn a Foreign Language?
There are both personal and professional reasons why it is beneficial to learn a new language.
First, it can help improve your career prospects and enhance your work experience. In our increasingly globalized world, companies often expand overseas and work with clients all around the world.
If a job opening comes down to two candidates with the same skills and professional experience, the person who speaks more than one language will be the better prospect. Studies even show that knowledge of a second language can boost one’s salary up to 2% annually.
Learning another language can also help improve your cognitive abilities. Research has shown that studying other languages can increase the grey matter in your brain, which is the part of the brain that processes information.
Learning another language can improve your ability to concentrate, and your memory. It can even improve your ability to speak your native language because it helps you understand the mechanics and structure behind all languages, not just the one you are learning.
While you may rarely consider the grammatical structures of your native language, when you’re learning a second language, you have to pay attention to the order of your words, your verb tenses, and the parts of speech.
This can help you become more aware of how words are arranged in your first language and take a more conscious approach to clean up your speech and writing.
Studying a second language also gives you another perspective about the world and life in general. Language and culture are very closely linked, so as you learn a new language, you will be learning about that culture as well.
If you choose to explore the world and other cultures, you will have a much easier time traveling if you are able to speak the local language.
Being able to speak the language of the people around you will help you break down cultural barriers and meet new and interesting people. Knowing more than one language can open up a lot of new opportunities for traveling.
You don’t even have to be completely fluent in the second language—locals anywhere will appreciate the knowledge you have of their language.
Attempting to speak someone else’s language shows more respect for their culture and is an easy way to meet people you would not otherwise be able to communicate with.
Before we proceed, if you struggle to learn new things or find it difficult to get into the right mindset, watch the video below to learn about the 10 most powerful mind tricks you can use to learn anything fast.
If you want to try your hand at learning a new language, what is the most efficient way of going about it? Let’s look at how you can make the most of your time learning the language.
How Can I Get the Most Out of Language Learning Software and Apps?
Know your motivation for learning the language.
When you have identified the reason for learning a language, your commitment is important. One way to lose momentum when learning a new language is getting caught up in the small details and losing sight of your larger goals and motivations.
To keep your eye on the prize, take time to remind yourself of your reasons for learning a language, and to visualize yourself meeting your goal. The important thing is to stay in touch with your motivation to learn the language.
Use the app or software every day.
Some apps have lessons that run 15 minutes or less. Using the app every day keeps your new knowledge fresh in your mind. If you make it a habit to study your language every day rather than something you do only when you feel up to it, your learning will stay consistent.
Also, tying your learning into your daily routine will make it easier to get through those times you don’t necessarily feel like studying. Try sticking to the same learning time each day so it becomes second nature.
Listen.
Listening helps your brain become familiar with the strange new words. The more you listen, the more they will become familiar to you. A great way to do this is to find media that is in your language of choice.
Consuming media only available in your new language gives you a chance to work on your language while doing an activity you enjoy. It also helps you contextualize the words more easily.
Vocalize.
When learning new words, make sure to say the words out loud. This gives you a feel for a word and improves your memorization. Using the words you’ve already learned is important because learning a language is a gradual process that improves over time.
It’s important to use what you already know and build on that. This will also help you quiet any internal voices that may be telling you that you’re not making progress. Instead, remind yourself of how far you’ve come to keep yourself motivated.
Make sure to say the words out loud. This gives you a feel for a word and improves your memorization.
Find opportunities for real-life practice.
Seek out ways to use your new craft! Even though an app provides you with practice opportunities, it is also good to use the language in real-life settings.
Aside from talking to other people in your new language, keep a journal, write a song, or make up a short story. You can even treat yourself to a meal at a restaurant where they serve the food of the culture and speak the language.
So, how exactly should you go about learning your new language?
How Do I Choose the Best Language Learning Software or App?
Make sure that the software or app provides comprehensive lessons on the language you want to learn.
Not only do you want to learn the vocabulary, but you also want to become proficient in grammar, as well as oral and written practices.
It’s great if you know a lot of words in a new language, but they won’t do you much good if you don’t know how to put them together. This practical knowledge is essential when learning a new language.
Consider the app that allows you to learn at your own pace.
You don’t want to use an app that is going to get ahead of your knowledge way too quickly. After all, this is your goal, so you want an app that works at your pace. However, you also don’t want to use an app that moves so slowly that you begin to get bored.
Choose the software that provides interactive lessons so you don’t lose interest.
Look for apps that provide you with games to play, or even allow you to interact with other people who are also using the app.
This will make learning fun, and perhaps even slightly competitive. It also helps you learn the language in a new way that triggers other areas of your brain through mnemonics and funny associations.
Choose the app or software that provides lessons applicable to real-life scenarios.
You want to actually be able to use your language in everyday life. Scenario-based learning helps you develop critical thinking skills and problem-solving skills.
This puts emphasis on the context of the words you are using and helps you apply your new skill to the real world, where you will ultimately be using it.
So, where can you find a tool that has these important characteristics? Let’s take a look at the best language learning apps so you can find the one that is right for you.
Rocket Languages is the best overall software for learning a new language. This app allows you to work at learning a new language at your own pace at the time that’s most convenient for you. Currently, there are 14 languages that you can learn, including the American Sign Language.
There are a couple of reasons why this app is a cut above the rest. First, it encourages users to communicate naturally in the language they’re learning. Second, and more importantly, it provides in-depth information about culture so that you have context on how a particular language works.
Instead of just learning vocabulary words, this app is your reliable companion for learning any of the following languages:
Spanish
German
Korean
Hindi
English
French
Japanese
Russian
Brazilian Portuguese
Inglés
Italian
Chinese
Egyptian Arabic
American Sign Language (ASL)
Aside from providing the cultural contexts of words and phrases, this app is also designed to ensure that lesson reinforcements are effective and are based on your needs.
Thus, its testing algorithm is designed to detect areas where you need more practice and redisplays these, ensuring that they become committed to memory.
Finally, to increase retention of lessons, this app also provides a good amount of writing exercises for script languages.
This is the best software for learning French. It provides comprehensive lessons covering many aspects of the French language. The lessons offered in Fluenz progress with each step, becoming increasingly comprehensive as the lessons build upon each other.
Each lesson is introduced by a virtual tutor, who explains the focus of the lesson before introducing you to a practice conversation that serves as the basis for the remainder of the activities.
Some activities included in this program include matching, conversation practice, and dictation. You don’t have to do each lesson in order—you can pick which parts of each unit you want to work on at any point.
Fluenz keeps track of your progress, so you can stop a lesson and pick up right where you paused later on a different device.
One unique feature that this software has to offer is the ability for you to record yourself speaking French and then listen to a recording of a native French speaker and compare your accent to theirs.
Fluenz offers a diverse selection of installation options. You can purchase the installation disc for the program or you can download the desktop application.
Either of these options allows you to access to the mobile app with identical content. You also have access to downloadable features such as flashcards and comprehension and pronunciation files.
PROS
Various methods of teaching offer one of the best language-learning apps for fluency.
This app has the widest variety of languages you can learn. The program uses an immersion-based learning method to teach each language, which is an effective way of teaching language acquisition.
After each lesson, you are given an opportunity to have a 50-minute, live consult with a teacher who speaks the language that you are learning.
Rosetta Stone uses a variety of learning methods to enhance users’ learning process. The courses are divided into five levels that each has varying content, depending on the material.
Some of the content includes voice recognition software, online coaches, mobile apps, CDs, online group and solo games, and digital downloads. The program comes equipped with a headset and microphone to help users learn more efficiently.
Rosetta Stone is perfect for entry-level learners, as learning is largely achieved through images, games, and flashcards. The methodology of the program encourages users to discover patterns by helping them develop a simple vocabulary that progresses into phrases.
The courses are highly structured and designed to teach through this pattern of learning. While some critics believe that this approach to learning is too elementary, this is actually the best language learning method for people of any age.
PROS
Users have access to a live teacher.
Offers the widest variety of languages.
Quality language lessons as far as it goes
Used by branches of the US military, government agencies, educational institutions, and top businesses.
CONS
Expensive.
As updates come out, some outdated versions cannot be used.
Some languages only offer three levels of practice.
This is the best software for learning Spanish. It provides options that allow users to take control of their learning, making it very customizable.
For example, users can adjust the difficulty of the lessons, the speed of audio playback, the number of lesson repetitions, and the order in which they want to complete the lessons. If you are unsure about how to customize the material, Ouino will recommend a path for you.
This 5-in-1 version includes lessons surrounding pronunciation, conversation, grammar, vocab, and verbs. Each lesson is user-friendly with clear instructions and has content that caters to various learning styles. It is also a very simple program to download and install.
Ouino’s mobile app is compatible with both Android and iOS devices, and it syncs to save your progress, so you can start a lesson on your desktop computer and finish it on your smartphone.
The vocabulary section offers flashcards and several games. It also has timed activities that force you to recall words or phrases right away, which is a useful skill to have in everyday conversations.
PROS
Awesome if you want to learn conversational Spanish
Memrise offers free language-learning software with which users are able to work together to improve each other’s knowledge of a new language.
Users are able to learn polite conversational phrases from each other, sharpen their vocabulary skills, and practice the writing systems of several languages with this program. This is the best app for learning languages on the go.
Memrise uses audio, imagery, and memory techniques to help users create associations with words for easier recall. As you use the program, you can help fellow learners by submitting your own mnemonics and word associations.
This helps the service continue to grow and the material to stay fresh. It also provides regular tests to ensure you’re keeping up with the concepts.
This program uses “spaced repetition” to review users on a regular basis. These automatic, precisely-spaced reviews ensure that you keep learning, but you do so at a pace that is conducive to learning, without overdoing it.
This is the best app for learning English as a second language (ESL). It provides very responsive features to the user’s study habits.
The unique feature of this software is that, rather than focusing on teaching the foundations of a language, it focuses on quickly getting users to a point where they can comfortably travel through an English-speaking country without speaking much English.
Mango Languages also helps learners understand cultural differences and customs along the way, which makes learning a lot more fun because you are able to picture yourself experiencing these things while using your new language skills.
Mango can also help you understand how to pronounce a word using a transliteration that puts an emphasis on the correct parts of each word. There’s also a speech comparison tool to help you analyze your pronunciation.
This is the best app to use if you need a quick translation. It has translations available for 90 different languages. The app offers a text translator, text-recognition features, and audio recordings of translations.
Google Translate is a perfect tool to take with you on your mobile device while you travel because it has many useful features that can be used offline.
A recently added feature called “conversation mode” lets you have a free-flowing conversation with another person while the app listens and translates.
The app will recognize when someone is talking, translate the words, say it out loud, and then listen out for the next phrase. It’s similar to having your own human translator with you.
When using this app, it is important to remember that you are getting a literal translation of the words, so the translation might not be exactly what you are intending to say. However, most of the time, the person you are talking to will be able to figure out what you’re trying to communicate.
PROS
Free
Easy to use
Text & audio translations available
The best option for quick translation purposes.
Conversation mode is great if you do not know the language
Over 90 languages are available.
CONS
Translations may not be completely accurate. They are literal word-for-word translations
This app is not private.
The quality of some languages are better than others.
Final Thoughts on Language Learning Software & Apps
All the software and apps reviewed today are the top choices when it comes to the best language learning software and apps. None of the choices are bad and all have their place, time and language where they may be the “best.”
But we have to crown one software/app the best, and the winner in today’s language learning software review is Rocket Languages.
Its good value for the money. Rocket Languages offers comprehensive courses, the option to self-pace, and has applicable lessons that are based on real-life scenarios. You can also sign up for a free trial where you can receive a few sample lessons.
And if you’re looking for other apps and tools to help you learn and grow, be sure to check out these articles:
There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.
My daughter wouldn’t have lasted for an hour on a cold, rainy Sunday back in the late 80s.
She expresses a great amount of disapproval for boredom, constantly making certain that everyone in the home is well aware of her declining amusement for her current circumstances.
With technology at their fingertips and parents monitoring their children’s every move, kids are having fewer natural social interactions these days and relying more on the intense stimuli of video games and social media for entertainment.
But, even these things get boring for kids, and without knowing anything aside from instant gratification, kids can’t handle boredom with the kind of grace that we once did as children.
That said, in this article, we will look at 35 fun things to do when your kids are bored. Let’s get started.
35 Fun Things to Do When Your Kids Are Bored
1. Teach a Love for Reading
Reading to young kids has been proven to help develop healthy cognition. This activity gives your kids a better idea of their surroundings, helping them make sense of what they see and hear on an everyday basis.
One study showed that as soon as you pick up a book and start reading it to your child, thousands of their brain cells are activated, creating new connections and building new cells.
If your kids are a little older, learning to read themselves will help put them on the path for success later in life. This activity will expand their vocabulary, reading comprehension, and improve their chances of academic success.
All kids love being outside. It’s really hard to be bored when you’re playing in the yard or with the neighborhood kids.
Playing a sport is such an easy idea, but sometimes kids don’t really think about it. Soccer is easy to play in any yard, as is football and basketball (if you have a hoop). But you can also consider getting a wiffle ball net or a croquet set to have some additional yard games on hand.
Family and play therapists report that experiencing boredom is important for children because it helps them become more creative as they’re learning they need to create their own sources of fun. And one great way they can use that creativity is to write a story!
You can pre-plan for this by jotting down a few ideas of storylines, such as:
Children finding a friendly monster in the backyard
A story about kindness and friendship
A princess fairy tale
A story about an imaginary land
Resource: Here is a guide to helping your child write a story.
4. Build a Fort
All kids love forts. And once they’re done…to be honest, adults love them too.
Gather up all of your blankets, pillows, giant binder clips, maybe a bit of rope…and create a pillow fort to call home for the day! Kids love spending time in forts; they can bring board games, snacks, and books inside to read. You can even grab some sleeping bags and make it into a slumber party!
Resource: Here is a guide on how to make a fort with your little ones.
5. Scavenger Hunt!
If you have an older child, he or she can make a list of things that your younger child(ren) has to find either inside or outside. Or, you may have to create a list on your own, but your child will love the thrill of the hunt.
If you have a sidewalk in your neighborhood, get some chalk and get to work.
People could really use some healing words right now while we are in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, and writing these messages will even help your kids feel good.
Plus, they can draw pictures and decorate their messages…and did you know that glitter chalk exists?
Same idea here as above, but you can make these at home and then go scatter them around the city.
This activity has become a viral trend where people put inspirational messages or notes on rocks in order to spread love and kindness to people in the area. The end product is easy to create and doesn’t require a ton of direction–kids can get as creative as they want.
There are plenty of activities that you can do with your children to instill this philosophy into them, and doing so will not only help them be happy and successful in the future; it will also teach them how to play fairly with their friends and not be a sore loser when they’re playing games.
You can probably remember performing skits when you were a child for your family using any dress-up clothes and props you could find. Coming up with characters, names, and personalities is a great way for kids to use their imagination.
Write a play and let your kids perform skits for the family.
Have your children write their own play (and pick out their costumes) and then perform it before dinner. This will give them some time to use their creativity to make up a storyline and then use props they can find around the house to make it come to life.
Resource: This is a great site to help you get started with teaching your kids how to write a play.
10. Make a Race Track
If you have some painter’s or masking tape lying around, this is an activity that can provide hours of fun with a quick and easy clean-up time. It will also put some good use to all of those little cars that your kids probably have lying around.
Let the children get creative with the twists and turns of the track and get some races going!
I’m sure several readers may skip over this one, but kids love to get messy–and if they do it on the kitchen floor (or outside), clean-up isn’t completely terrible. Plus, these are the experiences that your kids will remember for years to come.
Some ideas for messy fun (aside from the popular activity of making slime) include:
Making an indoor sandbox using rice and rubbing alcohol or flour and a few drops of oil
Making fake snow using baking soda and conditioner to have fun playing in the snow while avoiding the cold
Balloon paint splatter mural (definitely for outside)
…Not your favorite show currently, but whatever you were watching when you were their age. This will be fun for them to see a bit of your childhood (and how much media has changed) and it can be a nostalgic activity for you, too.
Old television shows give everyone a peek into the past and give us an idea of what our former cultures were like and the transition that we have made to get to where we are today.
Dust off your grandmother’s old recipe box and show your kids how you used to splurge when you were a kid. Maybe you think she made the best chocolate chip cookies ever or she baked a cheesecake that no one else could ever get exactly right.
Baking at home with the kids can help you make some delicious memories.
Whatever you decide to make, baking at home with the kids can help you make some delicious memories that they can then pass on to their children.
While you may be trying to reduce screen time, there are definitely some benefits to allowing your kids to play with some of the educational apps that are available.
Most of them feel like games, so your child will be entertained while they’re learning. But be careful, studies show that some apps that claim to be educational fall short of the mark.
This meditation practice helps children relax and focus on the present moment, putting their worries aside. In recent years, mindfulness has become a popular way to help children handle stress, ADHD, anxiety, and depression.
But telling a child to sit down and breathe and think about the present moment may be tough. So instead, forget the definition of the term and invite your children to find a very still place in their minds and stay in it for a few minutes.
Help your child get together some items that are special to them (but not so special that they can’t let go of just yet) and put them in a glass jar. Or, if your kids are old enough, consider giving them a questionnaire to fill out that helps describe who they are and the things they enjoy.
Once your time capsule is done, hide it and choose a date in the future that you will open it back up.
Cutting and coloring are both great ways for kids to perfect their fine motor skills. Find some unique paper and decorations and let your kids get artsy.
And, when they’re done, help them use their creation to write a letter to a loved one, as research shows that teaching children about writing letters to people while they’re young can help improve their skills when it comes to communication, handwriting, and social pleasantries.
The letter can really be about anything, and when they’re done with it, you can teach them how to address and mail it.
If you’re stuck inside, you have a great opportunity to get rid of toys, clothes, shoes, and other items you don’t use anymore. And if you have kids, those items are probably plentiful.
Instead of letting your children’s items collect dust, put them to good use by helping some of the millions of families who are in need. This activity can even help you teach your children about gratitude and generosity as you’re cleaning up your clutter.
Get your children to either grab their stuffed animals or just have a tea party with each other (depending on how many children you have). Have them dress up and enjoy some luke-warm tea.
Similar to a scavenger hunt, but write down a list of things that you will be finding in nature together. Consider things like birds, specific leaves, sticks, acorns, pinecones, animals, flowers, etc.
This will help you all spend some time outside, get some fresh air, and be physically active while still having fun and spending time together.
Whether you set up a tent in your backyard or in your basement, your kids will love going camping…or glamping.
Set up a fire and make some s’mores, get out the sleeping bags, and tell ghost stories once it gets dark.
And, of course, if you want to go on a real camping trip and enjoy the night under the stars far away from any hint of everyday reality, that will always be a good idea as well.
Doing science at home can be messy, but it’s also an inexpensive way to have some fun and learn how different materials react to each other.
Kids love to experiment with things and would definitely enjoy doing some hands-on experiments at home using the things that you likely already have lying around.
Doing science at home can be messy, but it’s also an inexpensive way to have some fun and learn.
Think: lava lamps, volcanoes, tornadoes in a bottle, a rainbow in a glass, paper airplanes, whatever your kids are interested in!
Let each of your children “have” their own little area in the yard to plant whatever they want.
Having your kids take care of their own garden can help teach them responsibility and it will make them feel proud when their seedlings turn into plants. This will also help get your kids outside into nature and teach them hands-on about how nature works.
25. Have Them Come Up With a Random Act of Kindness
…and then make sure they follow through with it! Teach your kids to pay it forward by doing unexpected, kind things for other people (even if it’s just your neighbors).
Teaching kindness to your children early on will help reduce those teenage feelings of selfishness that most of us experience at some point.
A lot of zoos have live feeds that you can watch from home so you can keep an eye on the exotic animals while avoiding the crowds.
Kids love watching the animals just being in their own little habitats, and some zoos even lead kids through activities that they can do from home! This is definitely something that kids can get lost in for a good amount of time.
Remember how much fun we had playing follow the leader, red rover red rover, red light green light, Simon says, tag, hide and go seek, four square, hop scotch and all of those simple, outside games?
Kids really don’t need a lot of resources to find entertainment, so introduce them to these classic games that we all loved as a kid.
You can make up your own rules if your kids are young, because just getting them into swinging the clubs a bit teaches kids some fine motor skills, how to play fair, and highlights important values such as honesty and overcoming adversity.
Plus, if you can get your kids into golf, it’s definitely an activity that leads to fewer injuries than contact sports.
Resource: Here is a video that will walk you through teaching young kids about golf.
30. Yoga for Kids
If you haven’t checked out yoga videos for kids online yet, this is a must–for several reasons.
Not only will it help get your kids interested in concentrating on their breath, being mindful, and stretching their bodies, the hosts create yoga sequences in fun ways that follow familiar storylines for the kids– so they love it.
My daughter loves the Frozen yoga video and I enjoy doing it with her as well.
Who is to say that your child even likes that room that you spent months planning, decorating, and putting together. I know I was recently informed that my 6-year-old is less than impressed than I had hoped with my vision and the efforts (and money) that followed.
If your kids are old enough, give them a little control and let them rearrange their rooms or pick out a new theme or set of decor. It will help them feel like their room is more their “own”.
…in a bag. It only requires milk, vanilla, sugar, ice, salt, and two durable plastic bags. After putting the recipe together, your kids can have fun shaking the bag as much as they can for five minutes before opening it up and enjoying what they’ve made. Plus, you can let them add whatever toppings they want!
Even if you don’t make it to a local park, throwing a blanket on the grass and eating your lunch in the sun will always feel like a vacation. (Check out this post for some staycation ideas.)
Pack your picnic basket with light foods that you can slice on-the-spot in addition to bite-sized desserts, drinks, and disposable silverware.
If you want to make an afternoon out of it, invite some neighbors over for your little staycation lunch.
While the outcome of this project might not sound so fun for the kids, they can be lured if you offer an allowance for certain chores.
Plus, making the chart can be fun because the kids can decorate it with all of their art supplies. And an extra perk– you can start teaching them about responsibility (if you haven’t already).
Making an obstacle course is a great way to keep your kids moving either inside or outside. They will probably need some help getting it set up, but once it’s complete, they will have a ton of fun.
Help your kids create some obstacles using pool noodles, wooden boards, chalk, buckets, rope, traffic cones, a ladder, hula hoops, balloons…you can even add a sprinkler if it’s warm outside!
Make sure to let your kids help in the creation of the course to keep their imaginations going.
Final Thoughts on What to Do When Your Kids Are Bored
Helping kids learn can be challenging. Remember to be more patient with them as you let them help with putting these activities together and adding their own twists.
This will help force them to create their own entertainment with their individual interests in mind while they learn to regulate their own behavior.
And remember, some kids who say they’re bored may be trying to reach out for more interaction or engagement with you, so stay involved as much as you can.
Try a few of these ideas and see what your child connects with– you may be able to find a new hobby that they love!
And if you’re looking for other things your kids can do at school or with their friends, be sure to check out these blog posts:
Connie Mathers is a professional editor and freelance writer. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and a Master’s Degree in Social Work. When she is not writing, Connie is either spending time with her daughter and two dogs, running, or working at her full-time job as a social worker in Richmond, VA.
There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.
Since you’re here, I’d be willing to guess that you’ve had it up to here a bit too frequently…and you’re looking for some relief.
I can relate. Kids. Work. Personal and familial relationships. Interruptions from co-workers. Deadlines. Traffic.
Time goes by quickly and days are overwhelming. And what does this lead to? A complete loss of patience.
I don’t have time to wait for the person who is checking out in front of me to fix their complicated issue. Oh, and every. single. time. I pick a tollbooth lane, it’s behind the one person who can’t figure something out.
I’d say I have a pretty low tolerance for delay, and I think that the final straw to prove that is that I’m the one touching the elevator button several times in a row, thinking it will recognize that I seriously need to be somewhere—apparently 2-3x as much as anyone else.
And, if you really want to know how patient other people are– according to a British survey, the average person gets frustrated within 16 seconds of waiting for a website to load, and 25 seconds for a traffic light to turn green.
I believe it.
In this article, we are going to talk a little about patience and the importance of having it. Then we will look at 11 ways that you can increase the amount of patience you have in your life.
Let’s start by defining patience and looking at how important it is to develop (if you don’t already have it).
What Is Patience and Why Do I Need It?
Dictionary.com seems to have the most comprehensive definition of patience. They offer three definitions:
“The quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.”
To me, this means being able to stay calm when you’re aggravated.
“An ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay.”
This one clearly has to do with time, so if you are very protective of your time or you’re often rushed, but you can accept unexpected delays, you would be considered to be patient.
Without having patience after a long day, you will undoubtedly experience ego depletion, which means you’re no longer able to regulate your thoughts, feelings, or actions.
What kind of impact do you think that could have on your life?
Your willpower to have patience takes a bit of a nosedive throughout the day because you’re constantly using it, and by the time dinner has been cleared, you’re completely depleted.
One of the most effective ways to become more patient is to literally make yourself wait for things.
Everyone reaches their limit, and once you’ve gotten to that point, it becomes nearly impossible to have any type of patience for something standing in your way. If you’re tempted to yell at your kids at night for misbehaving, that’s the time you’re probably going to do it.
However, if you can learn to improve your patience, you will be able to pause before you react to something unexpected and gain control of your thoughts.
Building patience will also:
Give you the drive that you may need to complete a goal because it will help you recognize that nothing that is of any importance comes easy.
Help you maintain positive relationships with those around you. There are many nights where I want to snap at my child for not listening, or raise my voice at her for doing something bad. However, doing so wouldn’t teach her any type of lesson–it would simply hurt her feelings and then make me feel awful as well
Help you refrain from looking at your co-worker with a death stare when they’re telling you about what their cat did last night, while you have a laundry list of things to do, which in turn will help you keep up a positive relationship with this person you see on a regular basis and keep your reputation clean at work.
To avoid having adverse reactions to situations such as these, it’s important to learn how to develop patience. Let’s look at a few ways you can do this.
11 Ways to Be More Patient in Life
1. Start to Wait for Things on Purpose
Weird, but true. One of the most effective ways to become more patient is to literally make yourself wait for things.
Research published in Psychological Science reports that making yourself wait for things that you want can not only increase your patience, but also make you happier in the long run.
You can start small by putting that unopened package on your front step aside when you get home and tend to it later. Then you can try bigger things like putting off a purchase that you really want.
And, if you’re among the 96% of people who will knowingly eat or drink something that will burn your mouth because you don’t have the patience to wait? Just chill for a sec. Literally.
You’re probably more willing to be patient in some circumstances than in others, so what makes the difference?
As you pay closer attention to losing your patience, think about the antecedents to these events.
What was going on right before you lost your patience? Is it when a coworker isn’t responding to an urgent email? Your spouse isn’t answering their phone? Your child won’t stop singing that song about sharks?
If you can gain control over this first trigger, take the skills you learned from that exercise and apply it to another trigger. One by one, with practice and patience, you will make great progress. (Read about the people who did exactly that.)
Not sure how to recognize your triggers? Start by keeping a sheet of paper with you that you can write a tally mark on every time you lose your patience.
Doing this will help you control your impulse of getting mad because you will learn to become more aware of it. When you acknowledge your triggers, you may be better suited to take control over your feelings and calm down a bit.
3. Put Unimportant Things Aside
There are a lot of things you probably do (whether you realize it or not) that take time away from the more important things on your agenda. So one way to gain patience is to gain time.
Take a few minutes to look at what you have going on every day, and try to remove 2 or 3 tasks that take up time, but aren’t really that important. You need to figure out what’s a priority and what can be either delegated to someone else or eliminated altogether. Here is a great tool to help you do this.
4. Practice Mindfulness
Yes, I realize this topic comes up a lot. But–for good reason!
Many of us think about several things at one time, jumping from one thought to the next without pausing to finish the first task. We all live lives full of interruptions as we try to take on too much at once–yet never feel like we’re making any progress.
Those who are very well-versed in mindfulness recognize patience as being one of the seven pillars of this practice, because with patience, we can accept the fact that some things have to unfold on their own, and the timeframe is out of our hands.
Mindfulness reminds us that patience is a type of wisdom that lets us know that everything in the world is in its own process than cannot be hurried.
Patience increases our compassion for ourselves and helps us recognize and tolerate all of the processes in our lives.
Learning how to be mindful helps reduce any mental resistance to time and lets us accept every moment as it unfolds–all the while, having trust that any development is unfolding exactly how it’s supposed to.
Try to sit with the feelings of impatience if you start to experience and notice that there are negative things going on in your mind and body. You will be able to develop more patience if you can recognize your frustrations, slow down, and focus on one thing at a time.
Take a few minutes to watch the video below to learn about mindfulness habits you can start practicing.
5. Respond, Don’t React
When you confront an inconvenience with resistance, you’re probably going to get frustrated pretty quickly because you’re looking for (but not finding) any way to remove the challenge ahead of you.
However, if you respond instead of reacting to the unplanned circumstance, you may realize that the source of your typical frustration isn’t the inconvenience itself, but the feelings that it stirs up inside of you.
If you have no control over the situation that you’re facing, you don’t have to like it, but you can still choose to accept it since you can’t change it anyway. Try to be open in your responses to unwanted events and, if nothing else, be neutral.
You can try asking yourself these questions if you need to:
Do I have any control over this situation? What do I have control of right now?
Is my impatience helping or hurting the impact that the problem is having on me?
What response would be the most helpful right now?
Set one day aside and make being patient your short-term goal for the whole day. Make an effort to think about everything you do as you take your time going about the day.
When the day is finished, think back on all of the ways you’ve been able to make smart choices, collaborate with other people, and understand the things going on around you.
After you do this for one day, put forth the effort to be persistent and do it on a more regular basis.
However, if you can take the time to pause and think for a moment about what you want to say and how you want to say it, you can avoid getting yourself into some messy situations that could stem from your impatience.
Take the time to pause and think for a moment about what you want to say and how you want to say it.
This exercise will address your lack of patience because you will be forced to stop, consider your thoughts, and make the right decision before responding to something. This skill can then be translated to other areas of your life.
8. Use the Time Wisely
If you’re waiting for something to happen, it means you’ve got a bit of extra time on your hands that you weren’t expecting…this is a good thing! Instead of counting the minutes, focus on something that you otherwise might not have time to do.
Possibly most importantly, try to relax and take some slow, deep breaths. This will naturally help calm your body down and relax your mind if you’re starting to feel impatient.
If you’re still feeling upset after doing some deep breathing, go for a short walk and try to clear your head that way. Try doing some walking meditation so you can alter your focus to things that are more important than whatever is bringing you down.
Taking some slow, deep breaths will help calm your body down and relax your mind if you’re starting to feel impatient.
10. Understand That Being Irritated Is Addicting
Our brains still have that old reptilian part that controls our fight or flight response and aims to protect our safety. When it comes to emotional safety, we want what we want, we want to get ahead, and we want to achieve more than the person next to us. This isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just biology.
That urge to protect ourselves is addicting. So in order to grow patience, you need to learn to battle any feelings that are the opposite of patience, including:
This is uncomfortable at first, because you have to recognize that things aren’t going your way. Then you have to face your inner thoughts of, “Can’t they hurry up?” or “Why are they so incompetent?” and move beyond them.
Remember that the situation that you’re in may be uncomfortable, but it’s probably not entirely intolerable.
11. Change Your Story
Give yourself a pep talk as you’re focusing on your vulnerability of becoming impatient. Don’t fuel the story with how wrong everything is around you or make up some “possible” extreme circumstances that may be the cause of your frustrations.
Whenever you start feeling impatient, remember that you’ve been given an opportunity to grow by reminding yourself that you’re a tolerant person who is stronger than whatever force you’re unfortunately facing.
Final Thoughts on Being More Patient
Patience is a very beneficial character trait that you can learn. This purposeful form of self-discipline can help prevent you from doing things that are counterproductive and a waste of energy.
As you learn how to lay your frustrations aside, you will start to think in a more positive manner and make more responsible decisions.
Try the strategies laid out in this article to help you learn to be more patient. This single skill that can often be overlooked is so valuable and can ultimately save you a lot of stress and frustration.
Finally, if you’re looking for a bit of inspiration for more patience in life, here are some articles to check out:
Connie Mathers is a professional editor and freelance writer. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and a Master’s Degree in Social Work. When she is not writing, Connie is either spending time with her daughter and two dogs, running, or working at her full-time job as a social worker in Richmond, VA.
