I love to set myself the challenge to learn a new skill each year.
Last year it was teaching group fitness at my gym. This year I’m going to teach myself Ruby.
I challenge you to learn something new. What do you reckon?
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I’m planning to maybe teach myself to sew, but that’s something I’ve planned before and I never got very far.
Most of my new skills come from my classes. I’m going to be learning about multi-media communication, Drupal and how to build a portfolio this coming semester.
I can’t imagine teaching myself a computer language all on my own. But it may be more doable for you because you already know other languages?
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I learned to write software on my own in the first place. Coincidentally that’s how I got into online community.
I find self directed learning works for me but I get that it’s not for everyone.
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I was up until 2 AM working on a Skillshare class last night, and have plans to create a class a week as well as creating quick-tip UX YouTube videos on a regular basis. I did video production back in the day, but I haven’t touched Premiere in 13 years.
So I guess quality video production in a home studio will be what I’m working on, for the time being.
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I saw this thread title and said to myself “OK now I can share how stoked I am to learn Ruby & Ruby on Rails.” You beat me to it!
Also I want to get more reps with JTBD framework. I’ve done a lot of interviews but really want to focus on this approach moving forward.
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Swing dancing!
I took my first class last night and over the next 6 weeks will be learning the basics of Lindy Hop and the Charleston.
It might sound like an easy thing to learn but it’s really challenging for me - I don’t instinctively know the difference between left and right and while my fine motor skills are excellent, making coordinated bigger movements is really hard. I learned last night that you dance with your body first and the feet have to follow from there and I’m all over the place! hahaha
The teachers are so lovely, I’m thinking I might film them when they’re demonstrating the steps slowly so I can practice in between classes and work my way up from there! I’m also learning the follower moves first because I’m new and it’s easier because you learn a lot from the leads so it’s an additional learning layer.
I plan to keep doing 6 week cycles of the beginner course until I’m ready to move up to the intermediate class.
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I’m aiming to learn how to help my baby sleep better (so I can get more sleep and be less sleep deprived). We’re off to a live-in sleep school shortly to help with this!
PS: Hats off to all the parents. I love a good challenge and have always picked jobs due to how difficult they are, but this parenting gig is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
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Good luck, Ruth! I feel so lucky that my 8-month old sleeps so well. I hope you can get things ironed out - and finally get some very well-deserved rest.
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Reach (or dance) for the stars Ashlea! That sounds awesome!
As for me, I would like to practice Game Design. I’ve been earnestly reading/watching/studying concepts for 2 years now, and the only game I’ve made from that time was something that existed before I started my Game Design Studies. So, I want to design [x] number of game experiences this year.
I also want to improve my note-taking skills by introducing more doodles into my notes and learning some kind of shorthand note-taking.
[x] = tbd
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I’m trying to get into doing a doodle of my daily to-do list each morning to help set me up for the day and get some creativity going. I’m going to be posting them on Twitter under the #DailyToDoodle hashtag. I’d love to see more people joining in!
That’s awesome, @AshleaMcKay! I’ve been Swing dancing since I was 13, and I absolutely love it. You’ll have a blast with it, especially as you learn more, I’m sure!
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I accept that doodle challenge.
(My twitter handle is @RightClickMan)
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Excellent! I followed you from both my @5280_CS and @DenverUXer accounts 
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Yup. No one remembers how hard it is once it’s over, which is just as well or everyone would only have one baby. Unless they accidentally have two at once like I did.
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Decided to try to overcome my fear of drawing (thanks, perfectionist 7th grade art teacher who expected us all to be Dutch Masters 
) and learn to sketchnote.
I got Mike Rhode’s Sketchnote Handbook and found a really good course online that is in the same mindset and a big help to understanding technique.
Also, I may finally break down and really learn javascript (which scares me more than drawing hence the random doodles of coffee cups and office supplies that now appear in my notebook).
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Such a good book! He’s a lovely guy as well. I hosted him for an Ask the UXperts session a few years ago.
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Care to join @BraydnDegraw and me in our #DailyToDoodle? It’s a chance to draw and get your creativity amped up for the day, and you could easily practice some Sketchnote techniques to get things started.
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Care to join @BraydnDegraw and me in our #DailyToDoodle? It’s a chance to draw and get your creativity amped up for the day, and you could easily practice some Sketchnote techniques to get things started.
I am intrigued @dougcollins Tell me more about what’s involved…
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Sure! At the beginning of each day (or whenever works for you), we sketch out our to-do list and post it. I try and get mine up on my Twitter accounts (@5280_CS and @DenverUXer) every day. What you sketch, how in-depth you go, everything, really is up to you.
Here’s an example of mine from a couple of days ago.
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Honestly, it doesn’t take long to build up some skills. That’s the great thing about Sketchnotes - you get to practice them A LOT, and you find things that work well for you. My style is different from everyone else’s - and it’s come a very long way in a very short period of time.
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