We all make New Year’s resolutions but let’s have some goals this year. I know life gets busy, especially as a student, and it’s really hard to take time out for yourself but the following skills can be learned while transiting to and from school or work. Learning is a lifelong process and we must strive to add new feathers to cap by gaining new skills.
Here’s a list of skills you can learn this year for little or no-cost:
Speed Reading
Whether you’re a student or an employee, it’s likely that you have to go through a lot of reading on a daily basis. Speed reading is the ability to read rapidly by assimilating several phrases or sentences at once and reducing sub-vocalization. The average person can read around 200 words per minute with a typical comprehension rate of 60%. By practising speed reading, you can double or even triple your speed and comprehension. Think about how much time you can save! To hone this skill, you can download apps like Speed Reading (Android), Acceleread Speed Reading Trainer (iOS), or visit Spreeder. Or, read this Huffington Post article by Tim Harriss to see how he did it. The key is to practice, practice and practice.
Time Management
Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan then you are planning to fail.” This is true because planning keeps you on the right track and prevents you from feeling stressed out and overwhelmed.Use your beautiful Student Agendas or go digital and download planner/calendar apps such as Evernote, Todoist, TimeTune, etc. Then make a list of all the tasks and due dates and then learn to prioritize them in the right order but always remember to add break time for yourself, to have some food or take a nap. When the time comes to complete these tasks, try to keep all the distractions away. Hide or silence your cell phone, “pause” your inbox. You can also let your friends and family know about your deadlines so that they can cooperate with you.
Practice self-care
Every day you are rushing from school to work, from work to home back and forth but do you ever pause for yourself? Well, now it’s time to stop and think about ourselves as an individual who needs rest and personal time. I like to throw my phone away whenever I am tired because I can’t help staring at the screen and I feel that is what most of us do all the time. On the bus, in cafes, parks, even in the washroom, everybody is stuck to their devices as if they are living in a symbiotic relationship.The best way to start caring for yourself is by learning to live without devices and interact with the real environment.
Advanced Google Searching
When the deadline for an important research project is approaching and you don’t have time to open each and every link on Google, these techniques will come in handy! It can be really challenging to find the exact information you need if you don’t know how to use the search engine. For example, if you’re looking for a movie link then use these four magic keywords, watch, free, full, online and the results will be so much better.
With all these skills I am sure you are most certain to have a better student life, if not all then at least try to adapt at least one of the above because a change is a change, after all, no matter how big or small. Check back for more skills you can learn in Part 2 and Part 3 of this series.
