“Excellence” is not a gift, but a skill that takes practice.” ― Plato
All of us have struggled with some sort of challenge while trying to better ourselves at some point. Whether it be because of internal or external reasons, something always seems to get in the way of our daily skill practices. If this has happened to you, you should not worry, as it happens to every one of us! Here are some tips and tricks that can help you overcome these challenges and create a healthier schedule for your daily skill practices.
Tip 1: Start Small, Go BIG!
As you have read in the title, many a mickle makes a muckle.
We all want to wake up one day and be able to do 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 squats out of the blue. But unless you are a fictional character, that may not be the best idea.
Start small. Create a “Habit Loop”. That will be our goal with every single tip & trick today, to create a habit loop out of our daily skill practices! Starting small and slowly going big is the single best way to create a habit loop, whether you are learning a new language, getting into art, picking up an instrument or reading. Challenge yourself to do better each day, break your own high scores! You are your biggest rival!
Tip 2: Track Your Progress & Feelings With A Journal!
“Journaling? Isn’t that for writing your secrets down?” Well yes, but no. It can serve a similar but crucial purpose for your practices!
Most of us are so used to keeping track of things using social media. We only evaluate our skills for the purpose of sharing them with other people or putting them into use for a project/job/hobby. But since we can only see the final product at these moments, we usually don’t have a way to understand how we got that final product. This is where a progress journal is a life saver! Tips And Tricks For Your Daily Skills Practice
If you are working out to improve your body, keep track of the sets you have done today. If you are learning Spanish, write down every new word you have learned each day. But we all know that the hard part of journaling is keeping it up. This is where our special trick will come in handy! Whenever you are journaling, note down when you practiced and how you felt about it. Felt kinda tired? Maybe you can figure out why by comparing that day to other days. Felt amazing? You can go back when you aren’t feeling too well about your practice someday and try to change your schedule accordingly!
Bonus trick: If you journal right before going to bed, your brain will keep the learning process going while you sleep! This is a trick musicians often use. If you need to learn a tricky song for example, practice right before going to sleep and you’ll find that you can nail that song in the morning! This works for every skill and journaling is the perfect way to turn this trick into a habit. Tips And Tricks For Your Daily Skills Practice
Tip 3: Find What You Are Passionate About
Find what puts in you in “The Flow”. That flow will always carry you to new horizons with amazing views!
Ever started working on something and before you realized, hours had passed? That’s what we call “Flow”. If you have not experienced this before, try picking up different skills, you’ll eventually find that you enjoy practicing some skills much more than others. But how can you find enough time or resources to learn different skills? Well, thanks to a little friend of ours called, “The Internet” of course! Tips And Tricks For Your Daily Skills Practice
You can, for example, start with this subreddit called 1 Day Skill, which is filled with simple skills you can learn in the span of a day! A “Learning How To” search on YouTube will also give you countless content creators that you can either learn a skill from or learn a skill with! At the end of the day, isn’t learning more fun with other people? Which brings us to our next tip!
Tip 4: Find People To Practice With!
Doesn’t matter if you have a friend willing to practice a skill with you or if you find a community filled with people practicing the same skill, having other people to talk to about the skill you are practicing makes it so much more fun! Try learning about other people’s experiences with that skill and share yours! Practicing with people will not only allow you to get closer with them but also keep you in check whenever you start slacking off!
You could also try starting a blog/vlog series and sharing your progress with people online! If you have implemented journaling into your daily life, this will be much easier for you to do. And of course, you can join Facebook Groups related to the skill you are practicing or follow subreddits on Reddit!
Bonus tip: You may enjoy Nathaniel Drew and Matt D’Avella if you have read this far. They are some of the best lifestyle and self-improvement content creators on YouTube!
Tip 5: Put Your Skills To Use!
“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.” ― Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics
No matter how many books you read or courses you took, if you are not implementing the skills you practiced into your daily lives, they will only be contemporary. Think about each skill you practice and think about the things you do daily.
Do you cook everyday? Which skill can you implement into cooking? Do you have someone you talk to each day? Time to put those interpersonal skills to use! Keep connecting the dots, see all the fun combinations you can find. Who knows, maybe you’ll connect two dots that have never been connected before.
Tip 6: Learn To Forgive Yourself
“And why do we fall, sir? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” ― Alfred Pennyworth
We all fall from time to time. But what makes us strong is our ability to get back up again. It’s natural to get mad at yourself when you mess up something or slack off. Missing a day or a week of practice will surely slow down your progress. But losing a battle does not mean you have lost the war! Forgive yourself for yesterday and seize today’s opportunities to improve!
An important note: Ask for help when you are finding it hard to get back up! Sometimes a single push or comment from another person is all you need. This is why Tip No:4 is so important!
Conclusion
- Start small, go big! Create a “Habit Loop”.
- Track your progress & feelings with a journal!
- Find what you are passionate about
- Find people to practice with!
- Put them to use! Implement skills into your daily life.
- Learn to forgive yourself and pick yourself back up. Ask for help when you need it.
I hope you enjoyed this blog! Let me know if these tips and tricks helped you out and share your experiences with everyone in the comments down below. Have a great day and keep practicing!
