Why Learning New Skills Should be Your Priority

This article is a guest post from Owen McGab Enaohwo, the CEO and Co-Founder of SweetProcess.

The world changes drastically day by day. Since the advent of the internet, skills that used to be in vogue are fast becoming irrelevant. Not only that, some old skills which are still useful to survive in the digital economy are constantly been upgraded. Are you keeping up?

If you’re not so sure... you probably aren’t.

This is why developing and learning a new skill on a consistent basis is a practice you should take up. 

In this post, I’ll share with you why learning a new skill should be a priority for you and how this has helped me greatly in my career and business.

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1. It makes you relevant in a fast-paced, changing world

Truth is, if you want to compete in today’s job market, you must consider learning a new skill.

Without one, your relevance will be short-lived and your appeal to employers will fizzle.

One thing that has helped me to grow our company’s online visibility is the human management and outsourcing skills I learned in my previous business working with Virtual Assistants. During that period, I learned about hiring, assigning, and delegating simple and complex tasks to employees who work on them virtually. Learning that skill was critical in helping me hire some remote team members for SweetProcess.

2. It expands your career options

Numerous careers have been born thanks to the in-demand digital skills that are now readily available.

Non-existent skills in the last few decades such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning,  SaaS/Cloud Computing, Web Design and so on are now highly in demand.

If you learn any or all of these skills, you’ll have multiple career options and fit in perfectly anywhere you find yourself. On the other hand, if you don’t learn or possess any of them, the options you have career-wise will be limited.

3. It improves your productivity

Ever wanted to be more productive but don’t know how to go about it?

By learning a new skill, you are sure to supercharge your productivity by focussing on activities and tasks that are meaningful, impactful, and engaging. This will go a long way to help you manage your time judiciously, interact with friends and co-workers, and focus on things that add value to you personally and professionally.

4. It puts you ahead of your peers

If there is one thing that can make you the go-to person in your day-to-day interaction with your peers and colleagues, then learning a new skill is right at the top.

This is because, by learning a new skill, you’re projecting yourself as a person who has something unique to offer.

You’ve invested time and resources to learn what others haven’t. In this way, you possess knowledge that will not only be useful to yourself but also to society at large.

5. It’s a great way to leverage your spare time

The advent of the internet and social media has made a lot of people, especially millennials, less productive with their spare time.

A recent report indicates that the average person spends nearly one-quarter of their workday browsing social media for activities not related to their work. That's nearly 2 hours per day.

In Summary

Learning new skills is vital.

It keeps you a productive part of the workforce and stimulates your mind. Invest your time and resources to keep up with the ever-changing world of technology and the rewards are enormous for your career progression and networking opportunities with your colleagues and friends.

Take the time to learn a new skill in the next few weeks. You will thank yourself for it soon after. 

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