This article focuses on how long it takes to master a new skill. When you Google ‘How long it takes to master a skill’ the first answer you would see is 10,000 hours. A couple of years ago, Josh Kaufman, author of The Personal MBA, explain that according to his research, the infamous “10,000 hours to learn anything”.   However, that theory has been disproven over a period of time. It depends on the person and the type of skill you would want to learn. If you are learning something tough like learning to fly a plane, then it would take longer compared to learning a new language. But, as mentioned before, it also depends on the person as well. Whether or not you really want to master a new skill or whether you’re doing it half-heartedly, as mentioned below.

“You Don’t Have To Be Great To Start, But You Have To Start To Be Great.” – Zig Ziglar

Too much work?

If you have a busy schedule then you would take longer to master a skill compared to someone that does not have anything extra to do. It takes desire and passion to learn something new. If you are going into it half-heartedly then the amount of time taken to master that skill would be much longer. So it truly depends on the type of person you are and the type of skill you would want to learn. Whether it’s going to help you in the workplace or at home or just learning it because you want to. So the 10,000 hour theory does have its flaws because at the end of the day it depends on how passionate you are.

Learning a new skill – workplace and office life

You can learn things that would also benefit you in the office and in your life; it doesn’t only have to be extra-curricular stuff. Learning how to be empathetic, learning how to be patient and understanding would definitely benefit you in the office. Why? Well having patience would give you the ability to think more clearly whenever you’re in a stressful environment. It would make you stand out when everybody is freaking out and you are able to compose yourself. Since you are able to compose yourself, you would come up with solutions better than your fellow colleagues.

Empathetic Top Management

Having empathy would allow you to look at situations from different points of view. If you have an empathetic boss, they tend to be more understanding and when your boss is understanding you would feel comfortable working with him/her. That means morale would be high and productivity would increase which would benefit the organisation in the long run. Also, when employees are happy with the company, they would promote the organisation. This ‘promotion’ the organisation would get a good name and would attract talented employees.

Networking

The most important skill to have, especially in today’s working environment, is being able to network with other people. Networking is important because it gives you access to different job opportunities, advance your business, get career advice and support, and gain an outside perspective. Gaining access to different job opportunities would help you grow in the corporate world. It’s not like last time where we are happy to get one job and we would stay in that job until we retire. That’s not the case now, employee now want the opportunity to earn more and grow in the corporate world; if they feel like they aren’t getting that in the current organisation they are in then they would most likely quit that job and move somewhere else that provides growth and opportunity for them.

 “The Way Get Started Is To Quit Talking And Begin Doing.” – Walt Disney

Learning a new skill – hobbies and home

That’s more on a workplace and life sort of sector. When it comes to learning skills for your new hobbies, it is a different story. If you want to venture into a new hobby like learning a new instrument or photography, you wouldn’t want to spend so much money to get all the equipment and find out that you don’t enjoy it as much as you thought you would. So instead of taking that financial risk, rent out the products you want to try out. It saves cost and reduces the financial risks.

How does renting products help?

Renting products may actually help you learn a skill much faster compared to buying the actual product. How does learning a new skill relate to renting products? Well, when you buy something expensive like a guitar; the chances of you constantly playing it aren’t as high compared to if you rent it. When you rent it,  you would want to make us of the product before you send it back to the vendor. If you buy the guitar, you would be interested with it for the first couple of weeks and then you wouldn’t be as committed to it as before. Take my mom for example; this entire guitar example is based on her experience. She bought and guitar with the intention to be able to play the guitar fluently however because of other commitments.

Conclusion

In conclusion, mastering a skill is always going to take time, it’s not something that can be done overnight. It takes time and a lot of effort but when you actually master the skill. Rent out any products we have to see if you actually enjoy it before making any large purchases. At RentSmart Asia, we want you to always tackle the unknown but without burning a hole through your wallet or bank account.