Learning New Skills: Brought to you via Daily Prompting

I want to begin by saying that I don’t do all of the daily prompts. I mean, honestly, it’s got to be hard if you’re one of those prompt people, slaves to the prompt, whether or not you’ve really got something to say about it. Don’t get me wrong. I admire people who can commit to doing the daily prompt every day. I’m just not one of them, but this one caught my eye (and the one yesterday too — uh oh, maybe I’m becoming a daily prompter), so here I am, responding. Repeat with me: I will be a prompter. I will be a prompter…

“You have to learn a new skill. Do you prefer to read about it, watch someone else do it, hear someone describe it, or try it yourself?”

Honestly, it depends on the skill. If it’s a physical skill, like, say, bodybuilding to build muscle mass, I would definitely like to read about it first, try and wrap my brain around it, and then see a professional do it, and explain it to me while she’s doing it. If it’s something like a routine I need to learn, like when and how to give medicine to my cats, I want a professional to show me exactly how to do it several times before I try it myself, while she watches closely to make sure I’m doing it correctly. If it’s something like an optical illusion, learning to hyper-focus, or something like that, then I don’t want to read about it, or for anyone else to tell me how they did it. I think things like that are totally individual, so I would just try it myself until I saw the boat in the background, or until my eyes just hurt too bloody much to continue.

I think it also matters why I’m learning the skill. If I’m trying to learn a routine for, say, work, then I want to be absolutely sure I’m doing it correctly, so I would want a combination of the learning techniques listed above, and for as long as I need them to get it done right. If it’s for something personal that will give me satisfaction when it’s done, like building a desk or a bookcase, then I would read the instructions multiple times, line up the supplies, make sure none of them are broken, and then dive right in, but I would take my time on the parts that are trickier, even asking someone else to help me in those times of need.

How about you?

Sam