Life is beautiful but also quite short.

So how much time do you want to spend watching cat gifs?

As much as we’d like to not think about it, the truth is most of us are engaged in tasks and activities that may entertain us and make us feel happy but aren’t often of much use.

While there is certainly no harm in pursuing your passions and playing games, watching movies, and even idling around from time to time, you should also strive to learn something useful on a regular basis.

When I say something useful, I mean things that can help you out in the long run, improve your productivity in different areas of your life, make you more self-sufficient, and those that help you out in achieving your lifelong and genuine goals.

This is an important thing to do for a number of reasons.

Why Learn Useful Things

Firstly, if you learn to do something useful, you won’t have to be dependent on others.

If you know how to unclog your kitchen’s drainage pipe, you won’t have to be dependent on a plumber to do that and can do that chore on your own. Similarly, if you know how to build a website, you won’t need the assistance of an outside source.

Secondly, you can save a lot of money.

If you know how to make a DIY desk, you won’t need to spend hundreds of dollars buying one from craigslist or won’t need to head down to the local furniture store for their "easy credit."

Thirdly, you will equip yourself with the ability to do a useful thing.

In the future, if you ever become jobless or go bankrupt you will always have a skill that you can use to support yourself during that tough time.

An example of this would be if you have learned to code in your spare time. Then you could create an app to support yourself, or if you now know how to make crafts from wood, you can sell those to earn a living for yourself.

Fourthly, if you learn something that is relevant to your genuine goal, you will improve your productivity and increase your chances of achieving your goal quicker.

For instance, if your goal is to become a top-notch motivational speaker you might have taken a public speaking course to enhance your speaking talent. Naturally, when you deliver powerful workshops and speeches, you will attract the attention of more people that will help increase your chances of success.

In addition, learning useful stuff also improves your confidence. When you know you are good at something, you feel good about yourself that improves your self-esteem and self-confidence.

I know when I fix something around the house I feel powerful!

As you can see, learning to do useful stuff always comes in handy and is often a lifesaver too.

Now let’s take a look at a few things you need to do to figure out what useful things you can learn and how to do that.

What to Learn and How to Do That

Firstly, think of your life goal and how do you wish to achieve it.

The reason why it's important to pay attention to that because your lifelong goal is something you passionately aspire to achieve. If something is so important to you that you have a burning desire for, it is best to prioritize it first.

When you think of how to achieve it, pay attention to the different skills and tasks which if you have and know how to do respectively can optimize your productivity. For instance, if your goal is to have your own café that serves dishes made from organic foods, learning how to cultivate crops organically and cooking a variety of delicious dishes are two important skills to build. Both these tasks will help you in the fulfillment of your goal and also improve your skill set.

Think hard about the different things you can learn to make it easier for yourself to grab your goal and then start working on them consistently. You do not always have to enroll in actual programs to learn how to do stuff and build skills.

You can acquire the same information online as well. There are scores of tutorials, e-books, articles and videos on how to learn a variety of things. From making website to writing books to building DIY crafts to revamping your house’s floors on your own- you can learn it all online. Carry a thorough research on the different approaches you can take to learn different things and then start following any one that seems suitable to you as soon as possible.

Secondly, think of the different things you can learn that can add more comfort, ease, and convenience in your life.

When I learned to do something as simple as cooking better, I started getting better meals at home. This easy skill has paid dividends as I no longer feel the need to go out for a "good meal." It has saved me a ton of cash!

Just think of the many things you wish you knew how to do so you could make your life more comfortable. Painting the walls on your own, fixing your own broken computer, and mending clothes on your own are some useful things that can add more meaning and ease in your life while saving you a lot of money to use in different areas of your life.

Thirdly, focus on learning things that you enjoy doing.

Learning how to play a sport, a musical instrument, or do something craftsy are apt examples of such things. These things won’t only help you enjoy more, but also slowly help you build more skills and diversify your skill set.

In Conclusion

I know this can be a little overwhelming especially if you haven’t really focused on doing these things before, but this does not have to be something daunting. Just perceive it as something fun you can do a little bit of every day and in time you will have learned a lot of useful things.

Moreover, you can squeeze in the fun activities in your spare time.

When you are free and do not have to do your high priority tasks, you can work on learning the fun stuff such as playing a sport or even learning to do something directly related to your goal.

Also, make this a daily ritual so you learn something useful every day and keep boosting your self-belief. It is never too late to learn to do something. If you have wasted time before or haven’t built any real skills yet you still have plenty of time but only if commit yourself to this endeavor.