Would you like to add a new skill?
Drawing, singing, cooking, painting, writing, playing the guitar, designing a website, decorating your home, learning about gardening, or maybe a new language?
Want to learn on your own?
Welcome to the world of Being a Self-taught!
A world of fantasies where anything is possible.
There are times when, for reasons of time, place or budget, we need to learn something new on our own. We may not be able to pay for formal studies or attend a course that is beyond our means due to a matter of time and distance.
Whatever the situation, being self-taught is going to be a life vest that will keep us afloat in deep water. It will give us a chance to keep moving and that is what we have to make the most of together.
In this article we will explore the path of self-learning that will give us the flexibility to learn what we like.
We will be able to adapt the study to our agenda, budget and location.
Sounds great.... doesn't it?
7 Tips for self-study
In the last 2 years I learned new skills in a self-taught way. I know what it means: Effort, discipline, time, constancy.
But there's something else: I discovered that you need a learning method regardless of what you want to learn.
A set of common habits and steps to always apply. A system.
I share my current method with you and you can adjust whatever you want. Your own experience will of course be much more sobering.
Do an initiation reading
Start reading about what we would like to learn. As a brainstorming, search Google for example "How to learn..." "What you need to learn to..." "The basics of..." And so do different searches to find articles and video guidance that show you a general understanding of the subject.
For example, to learn to play chess you need to know the rules of the game, the moves of the pieces, then learn to visualize one or two moves on the board, reason moves, learn about tactics and strategy, know openings, the midgame phase and the finals.
That is to say, a complete knowledge is required that can be derived from different topics. And the first thing to investigate is just that.
What are the themes and sub-themes we need to learn?
This will give you a starting point for what lies ahead.
Selecting the best sources of information
In this second stage of the journey, we are going to look for the best of the best. Quality.
Identify and learn from those in authority on the issue. Search for the best, read their blogs, buy their books, watch their videos.
It is essential for me to select the best possible material to learn anything.
How do we know who are the best in a particular field?
Searching the Internet. Reading blogs, forums, comments and reviews from people. Seeing on Twitter those people who have thousands of followers. They're all possible clues.
To continue with chess I will give you another example: At this stage you could search for "The best chess books" and enter ten or twenty sites to look for similarities. Generally, books that appear in more than one place will be the reference. There's a reason they mention it everywhere, isn't there?
When a video has hundreds of thousands of views or there are sites that have a huge community behind them, they are also good indicators that we are talking about something good.
Personally I like to select quality sources because I aspire to achieve quality in learning and to optimize time. If the material is good it is doubly inspiring and enlightening.
Define the best format for learning¨
Depending on the knowledge you want to acquire, you will determine the mode of learning.
Among the most common sources of information you will find:
Videotutorials - They are excellent for learning skills related to the digital field. Web design, graphic design, 3d, etc. They usually teach you how to operate a program, fix mistakes, accomplish certain things and master technical issues. But you can also find video tutorials to build a piece of furniture, paint your closet, fix the bathroom pipes or study a new language. In my opinion, this format is one of the most effective, entertaining and practical.
YouTube is a huge source of such content and you can search for anything. Anyway, remember my previous advice to learn from the best.
There are sites where you have to pay a monthly membership fee to access the content. I had to do it for a few months to learn Digital Painting as I couldn't find this quality material for free anywhere else.
Articles / Tutorials - Commonly on blogs and niche websites, this format is another one of my favorites for learning new things. An article that covers a topic intensively can be extremely valuable. They usually have more than 2000 words and sometimes images that complement the teaching.
The Internet is full of blogs and websites that teach things(some of you may be familiar with a name called Steemit.).
The same advice applies here. Try to follow the best blogs on the topics you would like to learn. One or two places will be enough.
Books - It is an economical and very viable option to learn something new. You can visit a bookstore or shop on Amazon to read later on on a Kindle (affiliate link)
Books are a traditional source of learning that is still relevant today. The only risk I find is that we can buy books that are not good and we will have wasted our money.
But if you search well, read people's comments and access a preview of the material, you'll be able to identify in time whether or not it's worth buying it.
Audios - I haven't experienced this format yet. But today there are books in audio version and also programs and courses to learn various things. Among the most common, I can think of a language.
Suppose you have an hour's drive to work every day.
You travel by public transport (bus, subway or train).
What better way to make the most of your travel time than by learning or perfecting a language?
You will need an MP3 (affiliate link) or your smartphone. You can play the audio as many times as you like and practice the material again.
Also the audio format is interesting for learning general culture. History, geography, economics, etc. Instead of reading extensive books, you can choose an audio to listen to as you walk through the park and make learning easier.
Discussion Forums - The beauty of this format is that there is a community behind it that brings knowledge. Together they answer the questions and doubts that arise, they share valuable external experiences and resources.
If you are going to participate in one, please make sure it has movement. You can see the different topics, the answers, the number of members, etc. If a forum is new you can give it a chance to grow through your participation and be part of the community from the beginning.
On Google you can search by the words "Forum of..."
Then evaluate whether the forum is suitable for your learning.
This format is usually used to ask specific questions and share knowledge. It may not be the best platform for learning a topic in its entirety.
It will depend on the forum and the contents published there.
Defining our time and place of study
Having selected the best possible material and learning format, it is time to plan our strategy.
When and Where?
As time is such a scarce resource, we will need to define a schedule per week for self-taught learning. Let's not leave this to free will. I can assure you it's not going to work. It is best to set up a mini learning routine that is as simple and simple as possible.
Start gradually. 1 hour - once a week. Not any more.
If you have the time and energy you may be able to incorporate more days. But if you have a full-time job, a family to attend and social activities to attend, then it is best to spend as little time as possible on this new learning experience.
At least until you have acquired the habit and constancy as we shall see below
Be constant and disciplined
There are things you can learn in a day. Others that will take you years.
We are going to focus here on medium and long-term learning.
It is important to be consistent and disciplined. And that's why we saw earlier that we have to go slowly, gradually setting realistic goals to begin with.
1 hour practice - once a week is an excellent start. Then when we are comfortable and have acquired the habit, we can increase the practice time for example: 1 hour - three days a week.
Practicing
One of my favorite phrases is, "Practice makes perfect."
We need to be patient to get better. Practice, practice and practice. But in a conscious way. Not just read, listen or see something and that's it. But to bring it back to memory, to refresh knowledge, to compare.
My Drawing teacher once said, "There are no shortcuts to this. You have to sit down and draw."
If you want to have a good English language you have to practice it. Listening, talking, writing.
If you want to sing well you have to sing the same song 200 times until you have mastered it completely.
Some of you will find it easier. Others will have to work harder. But with time and lots of practice, I'm sure you'll have improved a lot.
Have a critical and analytical spirit
How have we learned today? How did you do this a week ago?
Without a guide, we have to learn from our own power of observation. And for that you have to practice consciously. Detect mistakes, analyze our strengths and weaknesses and continue to have sources of inspiration to continue to refine what we do. It is essential to have a critical spirit to know ourselves better and to evaluate ways to improve.
How do we know how much we've improved?
One possibility is to try to keep some kind of record. Something that allows us to measure our progress. Compare with things we did at the beginning and see what state we are in today.
If you study singing, for example, you can record yourself and save the audio for a year. After that time record yourself again and compare results. If you are learning painting, you will also be comparing your work and seeing your own progress.
That's why keeping track of our progress can often be as beneficial as study and comparison material.
When to be self-taught and when not to be?
My criteria is this: I allow myself to be self-taught when it comes to a hobby or home skill that I need to acquire.
But when you need to learn a skill that will later become a job or profession, my recommendation is to take formal and/or academic studies. Whether it's studying at a university, taking a course, taking private lessons with a teacher, etc.
Not everything can be learned in a self-taught way. Many times we need a guide, mentor, teacher or whatever to teach us the things we are doing wrong or well and correct us along the way.
Those who have studied a university degree will have a more solid and complete knowledge than those who have studied something in a self-taught way.