152 New Skills to Learn In Your Spare Time

Using your spare time to learn new skills is one of the best ways to invest in your personal development. The most successful people don’t spend all of their free time in front of the TV; they use their time to improve continually.

Countless skills can help improve your professional and personal success. This article will provide some inspiration with 152 new skills to learn in your spare time.

Here Are 152+ New Skills to Learn:

The skills in this general category customarily come to mind when we want to learn something new. They can help make you more well-rounded and prepared for everyday life.

1. Learn a New Language

Learning how to speak a different language can open up a new world of business and travel possibilities. Communication is critical to developing new relationships with other people, and teaching yourself a new language in your spare time is more accessible every day.

2. Speedy Reading

Reading is a critical skill that we depend on every day, but reading new information can be time-consuming. By studying how human vision works, you can learn speed reading techniques that improve retention and efficiency.

3. Drawing Techniques

While some people have a natural drawing ability, everyone can learn how to improve their drawing skills. Researching drawing techniques and practicing will help you cultivate this new skill and possibly develop a new hobby.

4. Home Repairs

Not everyone has to be an expert handyman, but most homeowners should understand basic DIY home repairs necessary for maintaining their house. This skill is valuable because hiring someone else for your home repairs can be incredibly expensive.

5. Car Repairs

Taking your car to the mechanic can result in some major car repair bills. Although not everyone wants to work on more technical repairs themselves, nearly everyone can learn how to change their oil or fix a fuel filter.

6. Declutter and Organize Your Space

A cluttered home or workspace can be overwhelming, and organizing your space is vital for avoiding unnecessary stress and promoting creativity. Several methods and books can help you tackle the mess, but simply discarding anything you don’t need is an excellent place to start.

7. Learn How to Use Photoshop

Photoshop skills are a valuable addition to any resume and vital for anyone interested in working in design. The programs offer helpful resources and video tutorials that can help users learn how to create brochures, newsletters, flyers, and more.

8. Play Guitar

Learning how to play and instruments like the guitar may help rewire your brain in a way that can make it easier to learn additional skills. But, simply being able to play an instrument can also help make your life more enjoyable with a new hobby you can share with others.

9. Photography Skills

Today, everyone with a smartphone has constant access to a camera capable of taking beautiful photos. Photographs can help you preserve precious memories and share experiences with others, and learning photography skills can help cultivate creativity.

10. Home Gardening

Even if you feel like you’ll never have a green thumb, anyone can learn how to grow plants in a home garden. Starting a garden full of herbs and vegetables can help save money on your next grocery trip and provide a source of healthy foods right in your backyard.

11. How to Cook Well

Having a garden full of vegetables doesn’t help if you don’t know how to cook them. Learning professional cooking skills will help you ditch frozen dinners and unhealthy carry out by empowering you with the ability to create delicious meals for your family at home.

12. Play Piano

The piano is another musical instrument that many people wish they knew how to play, but they think it would be too difficult to learn. However, anyone can gradually learn how to play the piano songs they love by starting with basic skills and simple tunes.

13. Self-Defense Techniques

Knowing that you can physically protect yourself in concerning situations is empowering, but not everyone takes self-defense classes just for safety. Learning self-defense skills can help boost confidence in all conditions, and finding a martial art that you enjoy is also a fun way to get exercise.

14. DIY Decorations and Furniture

Woodworking is a popular hobby that provides the ultimate feeling of accomplishment when you finish a long project and create something that you can proudly display in your home. Major projects may seem overwhelming at first, but breaking down plans on building furniture and decorations can make woodworking skills accessible to everyone.

15. Tai Chi

Tai Chi practice is different from other martial arts because it is accessible to practitioners of nearly any age looking to benefit from a greater connection between body and mind. This practice involves different principles to give the individual a feeling of grace and flow that reduces stress and helps alleviate certain health conditions.

16. Dancing For Guys

Ladies may have an easier time expressing themselves on the dance floor, but guys can also learn how to enjoy themselves without feeling embarrassed. Learning a few dance moves can help boost your confidence and improve your comfort levels in social situations.

17. How to Enjoy Reading

Reading is one of the most valuable ways to spend your spare time, resulting in significant improvements to your overall personal development. Reading can expand your worldview and allow you to learn other skills, and making a consistent habit of reading will pay off in the long run.

18. Changing a Flat Tire

A flat tire can become a severe issue if you don’t know how to fix one on your own, primarily if that flat tire occurs on your way to an important event. You don’t need to call a roadside service for a simple flat tire. Learning how to change it yourself can make you more self-reliant and save you extra money.

19. Improve Humor Skills

Surprisingly, it is possible to learn how to be funny. Improving your ability to use humor in conversations can help you develop relationships and enhance your likeability.

Humor skills relate to recognizing absurdity and applying the proper emphasis and timing to quips and jokes. Using humor effectively in your communication will draw others to you and help bring joy to your friends and colleagues.

20. Jumpstart a Car

Just like a flat tire, a dead battery is another common inconvenience that can impact drivers at any time. Although jumpstarting a dead battery does require another person, carrying jumper cables and understanding how to use them is a skill that every adult should know.

21. Start a Fire

Learning how to start a fire anywhere is a vital survival skill in the wilderness. Fire is essential for warmth, safety, and purifying water. But this skill isn’t just for survivalists. Starting a fire with friction, kindling, and airflow is simple for anyone to master and valuable for any outdoor adventure.

22. Crisis Survival

Not everyone is a doomsday prepper, but learning valuable skills that can help in survival situations can help you prepare for anything. Researching tips and tricks that can help you understand what to do in extreme weather or other crises can help you survive if the unexpected happens.

23. Stitching and Sewing

Learning how to patch clothes and sew different stitches has diverse applications for many tasks. Although traditionally associated with older women, anyone can benefit from learning how to save their favorite expensive clothing piece from an unfortunate rip.

24. How to Attract a Life Partner

Nearly everyone wants to find someone to love and share their lives with, but attracting that special someone can be highly challenging. If you have issues with shyness or a lack of self-confidence, overcoming these setbacks and stepping out into social situations can help increase your chances of meeting someone new.

25. Heimlich Maneuver

Learning how to perform the Heimlich maneuver can be a matter of life and death if you ever encounter someone choking on a piece of food. This technique is a simple skill that is especially beneficial for parents with small children who like to put everything in their mouths.

26. CPR

CPR is another life-saving skill that adults should practice, so they are prepared for the worst-case scenario to keep a loved one alive until first responders arrive on the scene. CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which involves using chest compressions to start another person’s heart. 

Mental Skills

The following skills include learning ways to improve your learning capability and mental acuity. By learning how to learn, you can improve your ability to pick up any new hobby in your spare time.

  1. Discover Your Interests and Passions

Caring about your work success, relationships, and future is vital for living a fulfilling life. Discovering what subjects find interesting can help guide you when selecting new skills that you want to learn.

Following your passion may seem cliche, but excitement can help you stay committed to the learning process so that you can enjoy and succeed at learning a new skill.

  1. Learn What Questions to Ask and When

Knowing how to ask the right questions is a vital mental skill for deepening your understanding of any subject. Learning how to ask the right questions will eliminate wasted time and streamline the learning process.

One of the easiest ways to figure out the best questions to start simply by figuring out how you may be able to get what you want and start from there.

  1. Critical Thinking Skills

Using critical thinking to understand higher thought processes will increase success chances and cultivate a better learning ability. This higher-level thinking results from several more minor skills that work together for creating advanced thought processes and enhanced results.

  1. Mindfulness

This mental skill involves practicing many aspects of our lives with an awareness that can help reduce suffering and decrease stress by deepening the connection between mind and body. A simple definition of mindfulness involves increased attention to everything you do.

In today’s busy modern world, it can be difficult to focus 100% on any task. But practicing mindfulness during any activity can help enhance the impact that action has on your personal development.

  1. Become Accepting of Change

Change can make most people uncomfortable, but change is a critical aspect of any type of growth. Both good and bad scenarios can present opportunities for positive change.

Changing your habits is one of the most critical steps in developing new skills and growing as a person. If you can approach change without fear, you increase your chances of future improvements.

  1. Identify and Remove Bad Habits

Changing your habits to achieve positive change involves identifying and stopping bad habits that are useless for your goals. Taking bad habits like watching reality tv that does nothing to contribute to your growth out of your routine will open up more spare time to replace old habits with better ones and new skills.

  1. Work on Your Confidence

Being confident doesn’t mean having an oversized ego, but confidence can help you take more risks and step outside your comfort zone, allowing you to develop new skills and habits. Instead, confidence is more about recognizing and embracing your strengths to become the best version of yourself.

  1. Cultivate Positivity

Adverse events are inevitable in life, and we have little control over how tough life gets. But we do have the ability to control how we react to and manage negative thoughts.

Positivity is a skill that needs to be developed and practiced over time. Cultivating a positive mindset means that you intentionally aim to react positively to anything life throws at you.

  1. Improve Memory

Memory is like a muscle, and we can improve our memory by practicing specialized exercises designed to train our minds to retain information better. An increased capacity for memory can serve multiple areas of your life, and exercising your mind is especially vital as you age.

  1. Develop Self-Awareness

When people become too consumed by their plans or ideas, life can continue without complete awareness of the present moment. Self-awareness is the ability to stay fully present and aware of what is going on around you in the current moment while working towards the future.

  1. Enhanced Focus

Focusing skills are vital for developing most of the other mental skills included on this list. Having the ability to focus your mind on one subject helps boost your productivity and creativity.

Some people may have trouble focusing because their minds are busy with multiple thoughts, but focus is a skill that you can improve with effort.

  1. Research Skills

As you begin to teach yourself new skills in your spare time, you will need to rely on your research skills to find the best information available. Continually seeking high-quality information that challenges your preconceptions on any subject is a crucial research skill for learning new things.

  1. Brain Rewiring

Although this idea may seem far-fetched to some people, humans can practice neuroplasticity and rewire their brains to a certain extent. Activities like speed reading, cognition, and IQ all require new information pathways.

If you study neuroplasticity, you can learn how to develop new pathways that can enable you to learn other skills more efficiently.

  1. Practice Deliberately

Practice does not make perfect, but deliberate practice may help you get closer to it. By using other mental skills like focus and self-awareness, individuals can develop an intentional approach that addresses specific aspects of learning a new skill.

Deliberate practices usually involve extended periods focusing on a specific skill and consistent feedback.

  1. Logical Thinking

It’s easy to slip into emotional and erratic thinking patterns when we encounter any problem in life. Learning how to apply logical thinking to solve any issue can help you overcome the emotional response to find an appropriate solution.

Monetary and Financial Skills

Money management skills directly impact your quality of life, and learning how to manage your finances is essential for every adult. Skills that play an indispensable role in financial success include frugality, budgeting, and debt reduction.

  1. Personal Budget Planning

Following a personal budget can help you avoid debt that can impact your credit score and lead to financial hardship in the future. You can keep track of your account with pen and paper or use resources from your bank that can help you understand your spending habits to limit unnecessary expenditures.

  1. Get Cash Back on Purchases

Although credit cards can come with costly fees and the potential for accruing large amounts of debt, it is possible to learn how to use your credit card to your advantage. Learning how to make purchases that offer cashback benefits is one of the best ways to save money every day.

  1. Receipt Tracking

Tracking your receipts is one of the first steps towards balancing your budget. You can learn how to track your tickets by finding a system that helps keep you organized.

Holding on to paper receipts is impractical, so many people track their tickets by taking pictures and recording the information in their budgeting system.

  1. Credit Repair

If your credit score ever dips below an ideal range, it is possible to learn how to repair your credit so you can make larger purchases with lower interest rates. Paying down debt as quickly as possible with larger payments is just one way to improve your credit score.

  1. Loan and Credit Card Applications

Although debt can be a source of financial hardship, learning how to apply for credit cards and loans is a vital money skill that allows you to make larger purchases. Having a credit card that you regularly pay off can also help you build a better credit rating.

  1. Debt Management

Managing debt is a simple skill that has a significant effect on your overall financial wellbeing. The best way to manage your debt is to make timely payments that pay off your loans as quickly as possible to ensure that your money goes towards principle instead of interest.

  1. How to Save and Invest

Learning how to save and invest your money are valuable skills that you can practice today to improve your financial situation in the future. Saving money involves cutting back spending in the present moment to ensure that it’s available in the future while investing skills include spending money for future returns.

  1. Balancing Reward and Risk

Risk and reward are ever-present components of money management. While reducing risk can help limit the potential for adverse outcomes, people with the ability to balance risk and reward can benefit from greater rewards that come with calculated risks.

  1. Save Money

Saving money is one of the most challenging skills for most people to learn, but it is essential for living a financially sound lifestyle by staying within your means. Saving money can also help you prepare a safety net for unexpected events in the future that may require significant expense.

  1. Utility Conservation

Reducing your utility bills is one of the simplest ways to save money. Most people don’t put in the extra effort to conserve utility. Still, anyone can develop this skill by being diligent about turning off any lights or appliances that aren’t in use.

This skill is also beneficial for the environment due to the reduced energy consumption.

  1. Stock Investments

Learning how to invest in the stock market is a good skill that can help you make your money work for you by earning a profit over time. Investing in stocks is not just for experienced traders. Anyone can learn how to use their money wisely to invest in their future.

  1. Property Investments

Learning more about real estate investments is a valuable use of your spare time that can result in excellent financial returns. There are significant risks involved with buying property, but anyone can become better educated on the subject and increase intelligent property investment opportunities.

  1. Money Investment Alternatives

If learning the above investment skills doesn’t appeal to you, there are alternative strategies for saving money that are easier to implement. One of the simplest ways to start saving more with minimal extra effort is to round up every purchase and send your spare change into a savings account. 

Rounding up purchases to whole dollars also makes it easier to track your money. Although you are only investing cents at a time into your savings, those small deposits can quickly add up.

Skills to Improve Health and Fitness

Although money management is critical for your financial success, your health and fitness is the most important investment you can make in yourself. Learning new health and fitness skills will help extend your life length and improve your quality of life by keeping you strong as you age.

  1. Breathing Skills

We all continue to breathe throughout the day without much thought, but few people understand how to breathe correctly. Investing time into researching how to use different breathing techniques to practice mindfulness and meditation can positively impact your life.

Practicing deep breathing can improve your sleep and reduce stress by lowering your blood pressure. Breathing skills are also valuable during difficult times when you need to know how to calm yourself down when experiencing stress.

  1. Swimming

Swimming is one of the most beneficial forms of exercise and may even help you survive in an emergency. This exercise incorporates nearly every part of the body, offering a great cardiovascular workout without stressing joints.

If you are rehabbing from an injury, this skill can help you regain your strength with limited impact on your healing body.

  1. Yoga

Yoga is another form of exercise that provides numerous benefits for the mind and body. Yoga practice involves meditation, breathing techniques, and physical movement.

Learning yoga skills at any level can help you participate in one of the most popular alternative therapies recommended by physicians and physical therapists for stress relief and rehabilitation.

  1. Sleeping Well

You may not think that getting good sleep is a skill, but investing the time to develop good sleep habits can help prevent the cumulative detrimental effects of sleep deprivation. Putting screens away early and establishing a consistent sleep schedule can help prevent health conditions that result from a lack of restorative sleep at night.

  1. Aromatherapy

With a bit of research, anyone can learn how to use aromatic materials to improve overall wellbeing. Professional aromatherapists can formulate unique blends to help clients with specific issues, but most people can benefit from aromatherapy at home by using common essential oils.

  1. Hydration

Staying hydrated is a straightforward healthy habit that can have a profound impact. Dehydration can be especially dangerous during hot weather or intense exercise, but just remembering to drink enough water during the day can help you stay healthy.

  1. Work on Your Mental Health

Developing habits and skills that help improve your mental health involves long-term lifestyle changes. Being healthy involves more than just physical fitness. Learning more about mental health and cultivating a positive outlook is critical for your happiness.

  1. Develop a Better Mind-Body Connection

Your mental health and physical health are not entirely separate. Working to develop a deeper connection between your mind and body can help you learn how to use your mind to influence your physical responses. You can achieve a better mind-body connection by consistently practicing mindfulness exercises.

  1. Self Massage

Nearly everyone enjoys a relaxing massage, but booking an appointment with a licensed massage therapist can be costly. Learning self-massage techniques can help you practice self-care at home by massaging your own hands, head, or feet. 

  1. Walking

Walking is an excellent baseline activity for improving fitness. This activity is relatively low impact and accessible to anyone without the need for any additional equipment.

Learning how to walk efficiently and incorporate this skill into your routine is ideal for increasing your movement throughout the day to build muscle strength and lubricate joints.

  1. Eat Thoughtfully

Many people have a negative relationship with food that takes few things other than hunger and taste into account. Food is fuel, and developing thoughtful eating skills can help ensure that you nourish your body and cultivate a healthy relationship with food not controlled by cravings or the scale.

  1. Learn About Healthy Portion Sizes

Learning how to portion your meals correctly is an essential part of developing healthy eating habits. Understanding how much food to eat without measuring can help make it easier to choose healthy options without starving yourself or overeating.

  1. Learn the Art of Relaxation

Although it may feel counterintuitive, learning how to relax effectively is essential for using your spare time effectively to learn other skills. Time spent on sufficient rest and recovery is just as valuable as hours spent at the gym, and breaks are essential for avoiding burnout in any pursuit.

  1. Stress Relief Techniques

Stress can have a profound negative impact on your health and wellbeing. Prolonged stress from your work or home life can elevate cortisol levels and increase your risk of a heart attack.

Finding a positive outlet to reduce your daily stress and learning about different stress relief techniques can help you feel more in control of your life and reduce your worries.

  1. Proper Posture

Modern office jobs can be detrimental to posture, and sitting at a desk all day can put your body out of alignment. Poor posture affects the impact of gravity on your body, resulting in strained muscles and twisted spines.

Learning how to maintain proper posture throughout the day can eliminate unnecessary stress on your body and alleviate chronic back pain.

  1. Understand Nutrition

Learning more about nutrition can be incredibly empowering for anyone who has struggled with diets in the past. When you understand how your body processes certain foods, it becomes easier to live a healthier lifestyle and make food choices that fuel your body.

  1. Experiment with Different Diets

Everyone has a unique body that can react differently to specific food. Exploring different diet options and experimenting with eliminating or emphasizing certain food groups can help you find the ideal nutrition plan for your body.

There are countless approaches to nutrition, and the best diet for any one person can vary significantly between individuals. Examples of different eating patterns include vegan, vegetarian, ketogenic, and paleo diets.

  1. Learn How to Stay Fit with Age

The older you get, the more difficult it becomes to stay in good physical shape. But your physical fitness can determine your quality of life as you get closer to your golden years.

The decisions that you make today can impact your body when you’re older, so do your research to determine what you can do now to stay healthy later in life.

  1. Stretching Techniques

Some people overlook stretching as a vital part of any fitness routine, but learning how to stretch effectively can help you recover from workouts and prevent injury. Stretching is especially critical in older adults, when a lack of mobility can lead to sprains and tears.

  1. Safe Running

Running is an effective way to improve your cardiovascular fitness drastically, but incorrect running can cause injury. Learning how to run with good technique can ensure that runners enjoy the benefits of this physical activity while minimizing the strain placed on their bodies.

  1. Develop Self-Care Practices

Self-care isn’t just for spoiled or lazy people. This vital skill plays a crucial role in your overall health and fitness. While it is possible to overindulge, making time for yourself can significantly benefit your mental wellbeing and provide much-needed balance to busy routines and prevent burnout.

Communication Skills

Clear communication is essential for developing positive relationships in your personal and professional life. Sharing your thoughts through public speaking engagements or private conversations with loved ones can benefit from these communication skills.

  1. Professional Email Writing

Learning how to write a professional email is one of the essential skills of business life. Emails between colleagues can make or break your reputation, and it can be difficult to live down embarrassing mishaps.

By developing this skill, you can learn how to make a positive first impression and communicate effectively in a work environment.

  1. Learn How to Create a Professional Resume

Writing an exceptional resume that best captures your strengths and experiences can help open doors to new opportunities, better jobs, and appealing benefits. Hiring managers frequently throw out subpar resumes early in the decision process due to avoidable mistakes.

Excellent resume writing skills can help get you to the next step in the interview process and give you a chance to make an impression in person. Even if you are happy in your current job, a well-polished resume can ensure you’re ready for any opportunity that may arise.

  1. Engaging Writing Skills

Most writing is dull and fails to keep the reader engaged. Learning how to write with personality can help your thoughts stand out from others and ensure that your readers stick around to know what you have to say, even if they’re reading boring business memos.

  1. Learn How to Offer Value

Being able to offer something of value that other people desire is a critical component of success. To understand the value that you can provide other people, you need to communicate that value.

By understanding how to offer value to others, you can develop a behavior that makes yourself appealing to others.

  1. Personability

If you work on developing unique aspects of your personality that offer value to others, you can improve your ability to communicate directly with others. Being personable when speaking with others is priceless. This skill helps people relate to you and creates open lines of communication.

  1. Use Concise Communication

Keeping your message as brief as possible is vital for effective communication. By keeping your contact concise, you demonstrate that you value others’ time and ensure that you convey the most critical information to others.

Practice explaining complicated topics in as few words as possible to develop your ability to condense information. An elevator speech is a typical example of keeping your message brief when trying to get your point across.

  1. Speech Writing for Public Speaking

Speech writing is a unique type of writing that requires equal consideration for entertainment and information. To give an effective speech, you need to capture the audience’s attention with an impressive pace that keeps listeners engaged.

Although public speaking doesn’t play a central role in everyone’s career, speech writing is a valuable skill that can make a significant impression on your colleagues when done well.

  1. Public Speaking to an Audience

Writing the perfect speech doesn’t matter if you can’t deliver your address to an audience effectively. Public speaking skills develop with consistent practice speaking in front of others.

If you don’t have thousands of people to practice in front of, ask a friend or family member to listen to your speech and provide feedback. Increased experience will lead to greater confidence that can eventually enable you to speak in front of large crowds with ease.

  1. Confidence in Conversation

Not everyone has an innate talent for talking to others, but even introverts can learn how to communicate confidently with enough practice. Just like any skill, the ability to speak to anyone about anything can develop with enough time and effort.

Deliberate practice talking to strangers is the best way to gain confidence when talking to strangers. You may experience some awkwardness at first, but those moments will decrease with experience.

  1. Networking Skills

The ability to network is a communication skill that can determine how successful you may be in your business career. Maintaining an extensive network of business contacts can create new opportunities and lead to connections with comprehensive future benefits, so long as you put effort into continuing to expand your network by meeting new people.

Business Skills

These valuable skills have a direct impact on your professional development in the workplace. Several of the skills included on the list thus far can also help improve your professional life, but these business skills are specifically for advancing your success in the office.

86. Question Conventional Approaches

Developing a mindset that questions everything can help you overcome challenges that others have accepted as impossible. Although previous experience can provide valuable wisdom, questioning old wisdom can lead to new ideas that may benefit from a different approach to an old problem.

87. Cultivate Business Relationships

This skill is just one aspect of expanding your network of contacts, but developing good business relationships in the working environment can help shape your career. Finding a mentor and activating as a mentor for others can help build relationships that provide value and contribute to your growth as an individual in your work environment.

88. Business Organization

Learning how to be good at organizing your workspace can help save time and boost productivity. Office organization can help you tackle mountains of paperwork by sorting materials based on priority and creating an efficient to-do list.

89. Time Management and Planning

Working hard isn’t the only skill that is vital for finishing your to-do list every day. Planning your day, week, and long-term goals is essential for organizing your time and prioritizing tasks.

Planning helps you prepare for setbacks and emergencies. Plus, dividing long-term goals into short-term milestones can help large tasks become more doable.

90. Employee Management

Managing employees is a challenging business skill that most bosses struggle to master. Finding and keeping good employees is essential for business success, but competition between companies can make it challenging to attract the best workers.

No matter how many employees you manage, your actions directly impact the productivity of all of your subordinates. Employee hiring and firing can determine any company’s future success, so learning how to reduce turnover is vital for any manager.

91. Virtual Team Management

Remote work is commonplace in the modern workforce, but managing employees through a computer screen has its challenges. Hiring virtual staff can also be intimidating, but learning how to use online video chats and task management systems effectively can help make long-distance coordination possible.

92. Email Management

Keeping your email inbox at zero may seem impossible, but you don’t need unlimited time just to get your emails under control. Planning a specific time every day to thoroughly go through your email can help keep your inbox manageable. Using an efficient system to sort essential emails from junk can save valuable time.

93. Fundamentals for Business

Basic business skills and fundamentals can help employees understand business goals and operations at any level of the company. You don’t need an MBA to study what sets successful companies apart from the competition, but demonstrating solid business knowledge in the workplace can help you develop solutions and impress your superiors.

94. Accounting Basics

Even if you’re not an accountant, a basic understanding of bookkeeping skills can help you catch mistakes by the company and check others’ work. Basic accounting skills can also help you better understand company decisions that may relate to your work.

95. How to Gain Influence

Influencing other people is another valuable skill in business interactions. If you have a vision that you believe in, you need to influence others to understand and support your ideas.

By reading trusted resources and practicing communication skills, anyone can learn how to influence others. Gaining influence is also vital for influential leaders who need to persuade and encourage their teams.

96. How to Maximize Results

Getting the most out of everything you do is vital for accomplishing what you envision from your life. Learning how to maximize the impact of your work will help you gain satisfaction and success in business.

This skill requires an internal source of motivation that drives you to do the best you can. You have to learn from your mistakes throughout the process to continue to improve towards your goals.

97. The Art of Negotiation

Few people realize that negotiation is at the heart of everything you do. The ability to negotiate effectively can help you earn a higher salary, change your job responsibilities, and reduce the price you pay for services.

While most of the world economy does not operate on a barter system anymore, negotiating is still a part of business interactions, especially between workers and their employers.

98. Keeping Your Skills Sharp

Any of the skills on this list can quickly become useless if you fail to practice them enough. Continuing to work at skills that you want to improve can keep you sharp, while taking extended breaks from practicing new habits can decrease your ability over time.

99. Stop Procrastinating

Procrastination is something that most people struggle with, and this bad habit is one of the leading causes of failures in business and life. Procrastination can prevent you from taking the steps necessary to achieve your goals, and you must address this issue if you want to change.

Fighting procrastination can be challenging, but creating a schedule for yourself that plans your day ahead of time can help prevent you from putting off important tasks.

100. Goal-Setting

Learning how to set specific goals and work towards achieving them is a vital business skill that can help encourage you to improve continually. Setting reasonable goals that you can achieve will help contribute to a sense of accomplishment, but every plan should stretch your abilities to promote self-development.

Essential Housekeeping Skills

Everyone should have some basic skills to use around the house to keep their home environment clean and functional. A clean home provides the foundation for an organized life.

101. How to Make Your Bed

There’s a reason that military leaders swear by having a routine that involves making your bed every morning. If you make your bed as soon as you wake up, you will have already accomplished something in the morning that can set the tone for a productive day.

Learning how to make your bed properly can help you feel more accomplished and make your space appear neat and tidy.

102. How to Do Laundry

You can’t keep bringing your laundry to your parent’s house forever. Every adult needs to learn how to do laundry properly, and that usually doesn’t involve overloading your washing machine with clothes of every color of the rainbow.

Learning about laundry basics can also help limit the risks of accidentally shrinking your favorite sweater or turning your white tee-shirts gray.

103. Basic Cleaning

A clean house isn’t just essential for creating a visually appealing space. Basic cleaning skills are also vital for protecting your health and the health of your family. Learning how to disinfect common indoor surfaces will help you kill any bacteria that may take up residence in your home.

Creating a cleaning schedule of consistent speed cleaning can be easier to maintain than putting off household chores until you have to spend an entire day scrubbing every corner of the house.

104. Unclog a Toilet and Sink

Although unpleasant, the ability to unclog a toilet is a life skill that every adult should know how to do. There are several creative methods to unclog a bathroom if you find yourself in an embarrassing situation at a party, but knowing how to use a plunger should be a standard part of any person’s household education.

105. Use Kitchen Appliances

If you have appliances in your kitchen that seem too complicated or intimidating to use, take some time to research how to use them properly. There are countless unique cooking appliances available that can help save you time in the kitchen. Everyone should know how to utilize the full functionality of your stove or microwave.

Technical Skills

Even if there are technological challenges, there are certain technical basics that anyone can learn to take advantage of today’s technology. Technology can help make life easier if you know how to use it.

106. Basic Internet Skills

No matter what age you are, everyone can learn how to perform basic internet searches and correspond via email. In today’s era, basic internet skills are an integral part of everyday life.

If anyone avoids using particular technology out of fear of clicking on the wrong thing, they can severely limit the opportunities available to simplify their life with technology.

107. How to Back-up Computer Files

Speaking of clicking on the wrong thing, some people have to learn the importance of backing up computer files the hard way. Learning how to back up those files and save them to an external hard drive can help avoid the frustration caused by working on a project for hours, only to have all of your progress disappear when your laptop crashes.

108. Protecting Passwords

A secure password plays a vital role in protecting your sensitive information online. All too often, people use the same password for everything.

Using an unprotected password for every service is the equivalent of leaving copies of the keys you use for your house, car, and bank all over town.

Emergency Skills

Although some people take survival and emergency skills to the extreme, unexpected situations can happen to anyone. Taking the time to understand what to do in those situations while you still have time to prepare can help avoid potential disasters.

109. Natural Disaster Preparedness

No matter where you live in the world, you are probably at risk for some kind of natural disaster. These events can follow little warning and leave unavoidable devastation behind.

Learn more about extreme weather events that can happen in your region and how to stay safe in an emergency. Having a plan to evacuate, shelter in place, or reunite with your family after a natural disaster can help provide peace of mind.

110. Basic First Aid

Learning basic first aid skills could help you save someone’s life one day. Although not everyone regularly encounters life-threatening situations, practicing first aid skills can help you keep a calm head during emergencies when other people may panic.

Learning how to recognize the signs of a stroke or stabilize a broken bone are valuable skills that enable ordinary people to manage a situation until first responders arrive.

111. Survival off the Grid

Part of emergency preparations should involve learning the skills necessary to live without electricity. Being able to unplug can help you get through future power outages, but practicing going with electricity can also teach your family to communicate better without cell phones or electronic distractions.

112. Map Reading

Now that nearly everyone has GPS available on the smartphone in their pocket, fewer and fewer people have the skills necessary to read a map. But map reading skills are essential for being able to navigate anywhere when you lose access to GPS.

Plus, gaining a better understanding of geography can also help you take note of your location in any situation.

Personal Growth Skills

Investing your time in cultivating skills that allow you to develop and grow as a person is invaluable. The most successful people all make time for personal development, no matter how busy they are.

113. Finding Your Calling

Everyone wants to find their calling and identify their purpose in life. Your mission helps define who you are and gives sense to what you do.

Spend some of your spare time crafting a personal mission statement that can help you identify what drives you in life.

114. Prioritizing What’s Important

The ability to prioritize tasks and use time as efficiently as possible can help you accomplish your most important goals every day. One of the best ways to practice better priorities is to address the most difficult tasks on your to-do list first.

Wasting time on unimportant tasks can prevent you from accomplishing what you need to get done on any given day. But if you save those tasks for last, it’s not a big deal if you run out of time to do them.

115. Understanding Personal Values

Just like your personal mission statement, understanding your personal values can help guide your life decisions. Write out what values you cherish most to avoid compromising your values in future decisions and help you determine the best path for your quality of life.

116. Basic Etiquette

Basic etiquette skills involve far more than just using the correct fork at the dinner table. Politeness is a valuable virtue that can help you make a positive first impression by considering others and avoiding behaviors that may offend people.

117. Civic Participation

No matter what political ideals you align with, everyone should learn how to vote and participate in their civic duties as citizens. Voting gives you influence in your community and the ability to express your opinion. If you don’t know how to participate in civic society, you can’t use your voice to advocate for your issues.

Relationship Skills

This list has plenty of business skills that can help you cultivate better working relationships with colleagues. Abilities that can help you improve your relationships with loved ones are also vital for living a happy and well-rounded life.

118. Listening to Your Partner

The skills involved in communication in any type of relationship can vary significantly from general communication skills. Learning how to listen to your partner is a valuable skill that can help you become more empathetic during difficult conversations and deepen your relationships.

119. Valuing Respect

Mutual respect is a critical component of any partnership. Respecting the difference between yourself and your loved ones can help you view the world through another person’s perspective to understand better what motivates their behavior.

Failure to cultivate skills that encourage mutual respect can lead to misunderstandings and selfish behaviors that don’t take the other person’s needs into account.

120. Expressing Love

Everyone has different ways of expressing and receiving love. Learning more about different love languages and how to express your feelings to other people can help improve your relationships and enhance the positive influence you have on others.

121. Accepting Criticism

Learning how to accept and apply constructive criticism effectively is a skill that everyone needs to work on throughout their lives. People often take complaints personally and react defensively instead of using that feedback to improve and develop.

122. Accepting Compliments

Accepting compliments can be just as uncomfortable as learning how to react to criticism. It is incredibly challenging to avoid downplaying compliments and demeaning ourselves, but learning how to accept compliments with grace is a valuable skill that can serve you well.

123. Developing Emotional Intelligence

You can have the highest IQ in the world, but you will always face challenges when interacting with other people if you lack emotional intelligence skills. This type of intelligence involves understanding how emotions affect us and remaining sensitive to others while positively harnessing social skills.

124. Expressing Gratitude

Learning the lost art of writing thank you cards is just one way to express gratitude to others. Developing skills that allow you to say thank you to other people and demonstrate how much you appreciate them can mean the world to others.

Miscellaneous Skills

With more resources than ever available at your fingertips, it’s become more straightforward than ever to add new skills to your toolbox. You never know when you may have the opportunity to put your expanded abilities of any type to good use.

125. Coding

Coding is one of the most popular skills for people to learn. IT skills like coding aren’t just for computer geeks pursuing a software career, although coding abilities can open up several new career opportunities.

Ordinary people can benefit from learning more about how their computer works and developing a basic understanding of computer code.

126. SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization, is a skill that allows writers to optimize web content for google analytics. SEO skills are valuable for anyone who wants their business or web content to be more visible only and can help drastically improve any company’s marketing efforts.

127. Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office applications like Excel, Word, and Powerpoint frequently remain used at an elementary level, but few people understand all of the skills involved with their advanced features. Becoming proficient at using Microsoft Office can help you create better materials for your job, allowing you to stand out from others in the workplace.

128. Podcast Production

Many people think about starting a podcast at some point. Although you may not become the next online sensation, learning Podcast production skills can be a fun pastime and may improve your communication abilities.

129. Youtube and Video Production

Youtube is another popular creative outlet that many businesses and individuals use to reach a greater audience on the internet. Learning how to produce videos and use Youtube can help you start a personal channel for fun or contribute valuable skills to your company’s digital marketing efforts.

130. Technical Writing

Technical writing involves a significant level of skill and understanding that allows the writer to create explicit instruction for manuals or proposals. This type of paper is common in business and can help advance your position within a company.

131. Mac Skills

Today, most computers in the world are PCs, but some people have a strong preference for Apple and Mac products. These electronics often have advanced capabilities that users fail to take advantage of.

Learning Apple IT skills can help you gain more competence on your computer. But these skills can also allow you to help troubleshoot for other Mac owners you know.

132. Mathematics

Mathematics certainly doesn’t appeal to everyone, but learning about math skills shouldn’t stop after passing your calculus class in college. Learning more about mathematical thinking can help improve problem-solving abilities by encouraging individuals to think outside the box,

133. Pet Care

Many people share their homes with pets, but few people have a deep understanding of how to care for their furry family members appropriately. No matter what type of animal you own, learning about pet care can help you become a better pet parent to improve your pets’ quality of life.

134. WordPress

WordPress is the internet’s most popular web publishing software used to create websites. People with WordPress skills are in high demand, and learning how to use all of the features included with the software is a valuable ability that anyone can turn into a side hustle.

135. Ethical Hacking

Although the concept may draw skepticism, learning how to hack ethically can help you test and strengthen electronic security to protect consumer information better. Ethical hackers know how to hack and penetrate websites to use their skills to see how a website might react to a threatening hacker in the future.

136. Keyboarding

The ability to type on a keyboard efficiently is vital for office work. Learning proper keyboarding and speed typing skills can make employees more valuable as they can accomplish more on their computers than people who still have to hunt for every letter on their keyboard.

New Hobbies

New skills to learn in your spare time don’t always have to impact your career directly. Learning a new hobby can bring added enrichment to your life that allows you to grow as a person and meet new people.

137. Calligraphy

Many people find that calligraphy is a mesmerizing skill, but few realize that nearly anyone can learn how to do it. Calligraphy is a type of visual art that makes handwriting beautiful with hand lettering techniques.

138. Needlework

Knitting or embroidery can be an excellent hobby for keeping your hands engaged and away from wasting more time scrolling on your smartphone. Some types of needlework are relatively straightforward to learn and can allow you to create crafty items with just your hands, thread, and a needle.

139. Painting

Bob Ross demonstrated that painting could be a relaxing activity suitable for people with all artistic ability levels. You don’t have to aim for realism when creating works of art. Simply allow yourself to be creative with different colors and mediums can be therapeutic for the artist within.

140. Soap Making

Making your own soap can be a surprisingly fulfilling hobby when you learn the skills necessary to create your favorite scents of bath products. People who make their soap at home also often use fun molds and designs to add extra personality to their bathroom or create unique, sweet-smelling gifts for friends.

141. Makeup

With countless video tutorials available to help you learn nearly any makeup technique, learning how to put on a full face can be a fun way to have fun and boost your confidence. People who generally avoid wearing any makeup can also benefit from trying something new.

142. Journaling

Learning how to journal and making this practice a habit is one of the best ways to organize your thoughts and reflect on your feelings. Whatever you decide to write about is entirely up to you, and if you get bored of writing about yourself, you can let your mind wander and use your journal to save some of your best and brightest ideas.

143. Brew Kombucha

Kombucha tea may seem like a health fad, but it can be surprisingly fun to learn how to brew your batch at home. This sweet and sour drink may not appeal to everyone, but fermented tea has a wide variety of benefits that make this hobby appeal to health enthusiasts.

144. Embroidery Floss Bracelets

Most people have fond memories of making friendship bracelets as children out of embroidery floss. These colorful bracelets are straightforward to make with easy-to-follow instructions and are a great crafting activity to do with friends.

145. Learn How to Care For Houseplants

Learning how to keep houseplants alive is an ideal use of your spare time if you tend to accidentally kill anything green that you bring into your home. Houseplants can brighten your living space and boost your mood, and anyone can learn the skills necessary to care for them properly.

146. Crochet Yarn Crafts

Learning how to use crochet yarn to create various crafts can turn into an enjoyable and addictive hobby. You can make scarves, book covers, and beanies out of this type of string with a relatively simple process that anyone can do.

147. Meditation

Meditation may not seem like a fun hobby, but developing a daily meditation habit can significantly impact your life and mental wellbeing. There are many ways to practice meditation. The key to enjoying its health benefits is finding a style that fits you.

148. Candle Making

Making candles at home uses a similar process to soap making and allows a lot of creativity. You can follow tutorials that explain how to make candles with fun designs or choose your unique aromas to create scented candles that you can give to valued friends and family.

149. Learn Card Tricks

Becoming a master of illusion is more straightforward than it may appear. Anyone can learn how to master a card trick. Demonstrating your new magic skills at parties and social gatherings can be an excellent way to start conversations and break the ice.

150. Floral Decoration

Learning how to put together beautiful bouquets for home decorations or special occasions can allow you to put your unique touch on any floral arrangement. If you become skilled enough at floral decoration, you can even make bouquets or corsages that your friends can use during events like weddings or proms.

151. Learn How to Sing

You may not have the talent to win American Idol, but singing is a skill that you can develop so you’re ready for your family’s next karaoke party. Professional singers use specific techniques and warm-up routines to help them sound their best, and learning those skills can help you feel confident the next time someone hands you a microphone.

152. Try a New Sport

Stepping out of your comfort zone and trying a new team sport can be an excellent way to meet new people and have fun while getting in a workout. Try joining a local sports club in your spare time to develop your skills and interact with others who have similar interests.

Conclusion

This list of 152 new skills to learn in your spare time only scratches the surface of the many ways you can use your free time productively to become a better version of yourself.

Consider using a small amount of your free time each day to learn one of these skills, and you’ll be one step ahead of others who use their extra time to veg out in front of the tv instead.

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