Quartz had a great headline in January: “If you’re not spending 5 hours per week learning, you’re being irresponsible”
“Knowledge is the new money,” said Michael Simmons in the Quartz piece. Stephane Kasriel, CEO of Upwork, cites a Bureau of Labor statistic in a World Economic Forum article: “Thirty five per cent of the skills that workers need — regardless of industry — will have changed by 2020.” The half-life of a job skill is about five years. Gulp.
If we’re going to thrive as the world continues its rapid paroxysms of change, we have to love learning. Here are a few things I’ve started doing to build new skills:
- Make time to read. I gave up TV on Monday – Thursday nights so I could read the pile of books that was stacking up on my ottoman. They were getting in the way of seeing the TV anyway. Since I did this, I feel like I’m actually USING my evening time. Audiobooks and podcasts are a great choice for commuters and people who do long solo runs.
- Take charge of your curriculum. To quote Stephane again, “Recognize that you need ongoing training, and realize that you hold the responsibility for your own education. Do that, and you can improve your marketability for years to come.” No one’s going to come tell me what to learn. I note what my colleagues and clients know and use and go teach myself too. I choose podcasts that will point me toward new things to learn.
- Act on what you learn. “If [more] information was the answer, then we’d all be billionaires with perfect abs!” said Derek Sivers on the Tim Ferriss Show. I pick one thing at a time to work on doing better. That’s the only way I can keep from getting overwhelmed!
If you’re reading poseyblog you’re committed to building your communication skills. That’s hugely important, because it’s the great communicators who create the change they want to see in the world! Here’s TED’s Curator in Chris Anderson’s TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking, on the power of communicating well from a stage, “Presentation literacy isn’t an optional extra for the few. It’s a core skill for the twenty-first century.”
When you’re hungry to learn, you will love spending time doing it!
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