Today, a regular college degree isn’t sufficient to secure a well-paid job. With high graduate rates, you must find ways to hone new skills to differentiate yourself. One way of doing it is by demonstrating your self-taught skills instead of just talking about them.
For instance, if you claim to have flawless writing and editing skills, you should show it. You cannot use academic tools like essay maker, plagiarism checker, or word count calculator and claim to have advanced theoretical skills.
Self-education and self-development are two essential factors that can help you catch up with the changes. However, it’s no cakewalk to become a self-taught person. You will require significant commitment to stay disciplined and achieve your goal.
10 Ways You Can Educate Yourself To Achieve Greater Things In Life
Since the internet is a quick way of collecting information, you can self-educate yourself at any time, anywhere. Below I’ve shared a few practical tips to help you leverage the most available information online. Use these tricks to become a better self-learner.
Discipline yourself:
It doesn’t matter whether you are self-learning technical skills or some academic courses. One thing you must abide by is discipline. Without discipline, you cannot accomplish your goals. Hence, to stay disciplined and positive, remind yourself of a few crucial points:
- Self-learning is tough. Even though many struggles with it, I will not give up until I get to my goal.
- Not all topics will be easier to understand. Nonetheless, I will give my best effort and 200% of focus.
- Whenever I come across some difficulties, I won’t give in to negative thoughts and self-doubts. I will give more time and complete the task to the best of my abilities.
- Even if I fail, I won’t give up easily. I will double up my effort and won’t let failure beat me.
Create a quiet study space:
When you are in class, you are bound to stay focused and learn whatever your teacher is teaching. But when you are alone, it’s easy to get lost in your chain of thoughts.
That’s why find a quiet, distraction-free study spot. Organize your study table with whatever stationery you need for learning. Prepare your mind and commit to yourself to keep distraction at bay.
Look for the most sought-after online courses:
Online learning has opened doors to endless opportunities in different study sectors. More and more people are shifting from normal subjects and pursuing higher education in unconventional subjects.
You can turn to academic websites such as Khan Academy, Udemy, Coursera and the like for thousands of courses in different disciplines. Some top-ranked universities even offer online courses for free. edX is one such platform where you can take up courses from MIT, Harvard, and others for free and boost your knowledge.
Read as if it’s your job:
Reading opens your mind and improves your subject knowledge. Most college dropouts such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Mask have a common habit of reading to educate themselves in a wide array of topics.
While reading, note new words, important information, and writing structure and implement it in your writing. Believe it or not, writing is one skill that is required in college and beyond. However, if you still struggle to concentrate on print books, try audiobooks. It is will not only make reading exciting but also help you learn new stuff.
Rope in a mentor:
Every sector has professionals looking to teach others and pass down valuable lessons. Mentors are backed by years of industry experience, and can you teach more than your classrooms will. They are well aware of every industry’s challenges and better understand the job market’s current requirements.
While colleges and professors mainly focus on delivering information, a mentor gives more specific advice for self-development. With such a personalized learning experience, you can build a strong understanding of the subject.
Develop a habit of studying every day:
It’s better to study for an hour every day than to complete the syllabus at the last minute. A study routine is vital in the self-learning process. Organize your routine and make sure you give more time to the topics that require more focus.
If you are a working professional, carefully create a learning routine. You cannot hamper your health by skipping your sleep to cover study topics after work. Instead, wake up early and give an hour or so to keep up with the lessons.
Join learners communities online:
You are not alone with limited editing skills and rely on a paper checker to proofread an assignment. There are thousands like you, but they are willing to learn and develop their skills. If you are struggling to study alone, find active learner groups relevant to your study.
Facebook, Reddit, LinkedIn have great learner communities where you can connect with knowledgeable people and learn. Take your time and check out a few groups on different platforms. Always opt for quality over quantity, meaning, choose groups with actual experts than large groups with members with inadequate knowledge.
Aim to boost your knowledge:
Learning is a continuous process. You cannot stop yourself from exploring once you’ve got the hang of a topic. Rather than limiting your abilities, challenge yourself to do better. Make learning a part of your everyday lifestyle.
Not getting the time to read some informative blogs or articles online? Worry not! Thousands of information-packed podcasts are available online. Don’t just give in to the excuse of “I don’t have the time for it.” Make time and learn something new daily.
Set goals and achieve them:
I have come across many students who were determined to work hard and achieve the best but somehow failed along the way. Why? It could be because they didn’t quite understand the drill of it all.
If you want to make the process of self-learning a success, one thing you must do is to set goals. Your main goal isn’t enough. Set smaller goals like daily, weekly and monthly targets and monitor your progress. Once you start meeting smaller goals, the entire process will get less tedious, and you will be better prepared by the end of it.
Say YES to changes:
Each one of us has a unique learning style. Yet, we all can infuse different learning styles and develop something special to make the journey worth remembering.
Yes, you will face hardships, discouragement and may have to fight with the worst demon of all, self-doubt. But don’t allow such challenges to restrict you from gaining new experiences. Only by surpassing each of these obstacles you will develop your skills and grow into the person you aimed to be.
Final Note
If you believe learning and understanding only take place in the closed walls, you are sadly mistaken. Education is everywhere. You can educate yourself in any environment if you are willing to learn. Nurturing your mind with something new is crucial for improving creativity. If you are determined to learn and give your career a much-needed boost, read the tips mentioned above once again and put them to practice. Only with practice and dedication, you will accomplish your target.
