There are a lot of skills you don’t need. You can be happy and successful without knowing how to rebuild a car’s engine, program a web application, or replace drywall. Sure, these are useful skills to have, but they aren’t absolutely necessary.
There are other skills, however, that can’t be avoided – skills that tie into various aspects of everyday life, that are not only useful, but totally indispensable. For instance, you can’t get far in today’s world without being able to read or write. And today the ability use a computer proficiently is simply assumed.
In this article we’re going to skip the super basic skills like reading, driving, and using a computer, and discuss twelve slightly more advanced skills that are woefully under-taught, and universally applicable. Let’s take a look…
1. Prioritizing and time management. – If success depends on effective action, effective action depends on the ability to focus your attention where it is needed most, when it is needed most. This is the ability to separate the important from the unimportant, which is a much needed skill in all walks of life, especially where there are ever increasing opportunities and distractions.
- 10 Time Management Tips that Work
- Time management and prioritization lessons from MindTools
- 12 Things Highly Productive People Do Differently
- Book: Getting Things Done
2. Keeping a clean, organized space. – Successful people have systems in place to help them find what they need when they need it – they can quickly locate the information required to support their activities. When you’re disorganized, that extra time spent looking for a phone number, email address or a certain file forces you to drop your focus. Once it’s gone, it takes a while to get it back – and that’s where the real time is wasted. Keeping both your living and working spaces organized is crucial.
- Decluttering Articles by Unclutterer
- Top 12 Organizing Tips and Resources
- Four Daily Routines: How I keep my house “clean enough”
- Book: The Joy of Less
3. Critical thinking and information analysis. – We are living in the information age where, on a daily basis, we are constantly exposed to an ever [Read more…]
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