22 Best Skills To Improve On This Year

This post is all about skills to improve on this year.

It’s that time of year where you start to think to yourself, why do I feel useless all the time? Can I do anything right with my life? If you want to live a fulfilling life for the rest of your life, I suggest you improve on these 22 skills I list below.

I’ve spent the majority of my college years trying to find my way in life and figure out what kind of lifestyle I want to live. I mainly spent my life trying to figure out who I wanted to be too. With these 22 skills, I have slowly but surely made more progress towards the life I want to live and the person I want to be. If I can do it when I thought all hope was gone (yes, dramatic, I know), so can you.

This post is all about the best skills to improve on this year.

Disclaimer

I am not an expert on any of the topics in this post and am only speaking from personal experiences. Nothing in this post is meant to be offensive. I only hope that I inspire you to become the best version of yourself for the rest of the year. You, the reader, will read at your own risk and will use this post for informational purposes only.

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Let’s begin.

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22 Best Skills To Improve On This Year

1. Initiating

By initiating, I mean making the first move and not waiting for someone else to do it first or for you.

Don’t you know the saying? “If you want something done, you have to do it yourself.”

If you want the house fixed up a certain way, take the initiative and start making a plan to fix up the house and act on it. Replace old furniture. Fix the light bulb. Do it all yourself!

If you want a group assignment done and no one else is complying, do it yourself and tell the professor that everyone else didn’t do their part. Okay, that’s a little harsh but you gotta do what you gotta do right?

Initiating also applies to relationships too (obviously). If you want to get to know someone better, you can’t wait around hoping they’ll start asking about you. They might not even know you exist!

So break the ice barrier and start talking to them. Making the first move in anything will do you wonders and make your life more adventurous and lively.  

2. Communication Skills

You need to get better at your communication skills because humans are social creatures. You’re talking to someone every day of your life. (Yes! Every day!) You need to make sure you know how to greet someone, how to smoothly end a conversation, and how to portray your thoughts and feelings as clearly as possible.

It’s important that you know how to use your body language and understand the body language of other people. If you really like a conversation your having and like the person you’re talking to, you need to show them that you’re interested. To do that, you could smile, speak with enthusiasm (but not too much), and ask them questions to keep the conversation going.

When it comes to body language, you also need to make sure your body is facing them and you’re giving them your undivided attention. Put that phone away.

If you’re good at communicating, you’re more likely to get what you want too. You need to have great communication skills if you want to negotiate, let’s say, a higher salary.

The way you communicate can go a long way to help you become successful in life and build valuable relationships with friends, family, and co-workers. 

3. Doing Anything With Moderation

Moderation is important in almost everything that you do. Too much of a good thing is most definitely a bad thing.

You may think that water is the healthiest thing of all, which it is, but if you chug 5 water bottles at once, you might drown in yourself. I know because I did that once thinking I was making up for the water I didn’t drink the day before. It definitely does not work that way.

You also need to practice moderation when it comes to working too. If you do too much work, you risk frying your brain or burning out. At that point, you won’t be mentally stable to work productively anymore.

There are tons of things you should be doing in moderation and drinking water and excessively working are only a few examples. Have some variety in your everyday life. 

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4. Public Speaking

At one point in time, we were that kid that was terrified of presenting their project to the entire class. This is because we didn’t improve on our skill of public speaking. If you never had this issue, good for you! I’m more so talking to the people that do struggle with public speaking though.

You may not realize it, but having the skill of public speaking is one of the best skills you could ever have. Being able to publicly speak demonstrates that you have confidence in yourself and what you are saying.

People only listen to the people that sound confident in what they are saying because it sounds more persuasive and valid. You won’t want to take advice from someone that is jittery on stage and says “Uhm” every five words. You’ll get bored and won’t pay attention anymore. You’ll just be watching the time.

Public speaking can land you countless job opportunities, help you build a network of successful people, and can ensure that you won’t be put down by anyone.

If you can speak, no one would dare interrupt you. You own the stage. 

5. Writing Skills

Communicating and public speaking are very important life skills but so is writing.

Emails are still as relevant as ever. You send emails to professors, businesses, between co-workers and bosses.

Writing doesn’t have to mean writing novels and thoughts in journals. Writing is literally everywhere.

Whenever you write up emails or any important document for that matter, you need to make sure you have checked grammar, spelling, and sentence structure. Every slip-up that you make in writing gives you less authority over the other people that you’re trying to communicate with. This other person won’t see you face to face which makes it very easy for them to ignore your message entirely and not cooperate with you.

When you have great writing skills, you can convey your message clearly and in a way that will make your audience want to read more or reach out to you to see what else is on your mind and if they can form a relationship with you.

Writing might not be as popular as it used to be because of everything in the world going paperless, but writing will never go away because it is in our roots and makes any experience a more personal one. 

6. Cooking

You had to know that I’d put cooking on this list sooner or later. Knowing how to cook is an important life skill that you need to get better at because you need food to live!

Sure, you’ve got restaurants to eat out at but that’s a lot of money and can be very unhealthy. (You don’t know what ingredients they use and how much in any of their meals, right?)

Not only is cooking a great skill to improve on for your wallet and your health, but it can also be therapeutic and nourishing for your mind. You can put all of your creativity into this dish and feel the satisfaction of its wonderful flavor when you’re done. Cooking can also help you forget about any life obstacles you’ve been going through.

Obviously, not everyone is going to be a great cook from day 1 but that’s why practice makes almost perfect. The more you do it, the better you’ll get, and the more tasty recipes you’ll know how to make to show off to yourself and the people around you.

You gotta feed your family somehow too. 

7. Cleaning

You definitely need to get better at cleaning. This could mean cleaning your room, cleaning your kitchen, cleaning your car, cleaning any area that was used.

It’s important to clean because

1. Build up of anything can lead to a mess and bacteria
2. Cleaning gives you a clear space to work in which gives you a clear mind to be productive.

You may have heard of Marie Kondo and how she lives by deciding what sparks joy in her life. I implemented all of Kondo’s strategies for cleaning and decluttering my space and in the end, I felt lighter, happier, and free. You should try it. You’ll realize how much clutter you had after it’s gone and you won’t miss any of it.

Keeping clean will also keep your peers more focused on you and not your living state. It would be hard to host a friendly get-together if all your friends are focused on how much stuff you have and walking around it.

8. Planning

Planning is your friend because planning is the only way you can get through in life. You do it every day already.

You plan what you’re going to have for dinner, you plan what time you need to leave the house.

Planning is important because it holds you accountable for what you need to do next. Planning will help you have goals and become more productive with your day-to-day life.

For me, I plan out the next day so that when the next day comes, I’ll do less thinking and more doing.

Plan, plan, plan. 

9. Having a Routine

Having a routine could go hand in hand with planning but you need to get better at having a routine because it’ll help your body have a stable clock that it goes by.

You should strive to wake up at the same time every day, have meals at the same time every day, sleep at the same time every day, etc.

Of course, there will be days where you won’t be able to stick to your routine because of events that come up and you’re only human after all. But try the best you can.

With a routine, you’ll always know what to expect when the time comes and it’ll make your life easier when deciding on what to do next. 

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10. Letting Go

At some point, you’re going to have to let go.

As much as you hate that person for what they did, you’re going to have to let go of it. Why? Because you realized that the effects it has on you physically and mentally are bad for you.

When you hate something that someone else did, you’re holding a grudge. Holding a grudge will only make you stressed which is also bad for your mental state.

Why does what they did matter to you? It has already happened and you still hating that person demonstrates that you are reacting to their behavior. Instead of reacting, you need to be proactive. Do something about it.

You can distance yourself from that person or you can communicate your feelings with them so they don’t do it again.

These are only a few examples of what you could let go of. In the end, you need to let go of anything that causes a pause or harm to your life because that’s the only way you can move forward and do more.

This goes for letting go of materialism too. You don’t need 5 staplers right? Get rid of it. Now.

11. Having Patience

Getting better at having patience is a really nice skill to have because it keeps you open-minded to what is happening around you.

There are times where you may get impatient with long lines, or other people not doing what you expected in a timely manner. But having patience shows that you are aware of nothing being the end of the world and understand that other people have lives too.

When you’re in long lines, just think about how you are in line just like everyone else, and the workers that are trying to shorten lines are doing the best they can.

When you’re impatient with someone that is taking longer in a task than you expected, you also need to keep in mind that they are doing the best they can. Everyone is different and not everyone will do things the way you do.

So, get better at having patience. If it really is that much of an issue for you, try to find alternative solutions or routes to get things done. Don’t blame anyone for what may be an inconvenience to you. 

12. Listening to Others

Listening means actively listening to what someone else is saying and understanding what they are saying. You don’t want to be that person that interrupts someone mid-sentence.

1. It’s rude.
2. You won’t know their entire thought before giving a response.

Since you didn’t let the other person finish speaking, you’ll start to make assumptions which could lead to misunderstanding.

It’s important to know how to listen to others because it shows that you respect them. You need to give respect to receive respect.

I bet you’d hate it if someone interrupted you mid-sentence too and didn’t actually listen to anything you were saying. You’ll feel like they wasted your time. 

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13. Reading Books

Reading is one of the best things you can do for your mind. When you read books, you’ll keep your mind active and thinking.

As we age, our brains and minds get slower and weaker. It’s harder for us to learn new material and it’s harder for us to understand concepts the first time. (I see it in my parents and older relatives often.)

Of course, we will learn and understand it eventually but it will take longer than the ideal and expected time of someone younger.

Reading books can also improve your writing skills. You’ll be reading many different words, grammar rules, and sentence structures. Because you’re constantly being exposed to all these writing rules, they will naturally engrave themselves into your mind.

Then, whenever you read or hear something that sounds wrong, your writing skills from reading will kick in and you’ll automatically be able to correct it and make it sound much smoother.

If you’re not big into reading, you can start small and work your way up. You could start with magazines, then go into small fictional stories and make your way into fat fictional books like Harry Potter. Or non-fiction books, whatever you want.

Reading for 30 minutes a day is enough. 

14. Sleeping 8+ Hours a Night

Getting enough sleep is so important to a functioning body and mind.

I’m in school right now so you can imagine how important sleep is for me to focus in my classes and be productive.

Even if you aren’t in school, you still need to try and get 7-9 hours of sleep. That’s what the average adult needs anyway.

You don’t have to worry about sleeping early to wake up early. If you’re not a morning person, then that’s okay too. Just make sure that whenever you are trying to get quality sleep, it is at least 7-9 hours long.

If you have a hard time falling asleep or constantly wake up throughout the night, I suggest developing a right before bed routine or talking to a health professional to see if you have any health issues.

With sufficient sleep, you’ll have more energy to go about your day and you’ll feel happier and less stressed overall.

If you can, get your quality sleep! 

15. Drinking 64-fluid Ounces of Water a Day

I know I mentioned drinking too much water in the moderation point but drinking enough water is still important.

The rough estimate for the amount of water a person should be drinking a day is about 64-fluid ounces if not more.

If you want a comparison, 64-fluid ounces is about four 16.9-fluid ounce water bottles worth of water.

Many people don’t drink enough water because they’re too lazy to get up, don’t like filling up on water when they could fill up on food instead, don’t think about water at all, and/ or drink beverages other than water.

As long as you’re drinking something, I guess that’s fine but water is KING. Any other beverage has extra calories, sugar, and other added ingredients that may make a drink tastier but in the end, you’re putting unnecessary ingredients into your body.

Also, any beverage other than water has the potential to drag you down and make you feel sluggish too. Some beverages may give you a boost of energy initially but it’s temporary.

Your body is made up mostly of water, not juice. So you need to refuel your body with what it’s made of to feel your best.

16. Having Good Body Hygiene

Floss, brush your teeth, shower, do it all every single day. No exceptions!

At the end of the day, you’ll be covered in filth. The filth could be from school, work, outside, anywhere! All the filth on your body is bacteria and the longer you let it sit on you, the more it will build up and make your situation worse.

If you don’t practice good body hygiene, you’ll be a distraction to the people around you too. You’ll be smelly and no one will want to be around you. Having bad body hygiene could close a lot of opportunities for you in both your social life and professional life.

It’s astonishing to me how many people still walk around with super oily hair and don’t use deodorant. It is very difficult for me to be around them.

If you want to live smoothly, you need to be clean. 

17. Intentional Spending

If you’re trying to find ways to save more money to pay for more important things, you should consider getting better at intentional spending.

Intentional spending involves going through a step-by-step process in deciding whether you should make a purchase or not. There may be more to it but that’s the basic idea of what intentional spending is.

With intentional spending, you will only be putting your money where you want it and need it for your life to go the direction you want.

With intentional spending, your wallet is going to be bigger and your happiness will be through the roof!

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18. Paying Bills on Time

When you don’t pay your bills on time, you risk getting charged extra fees and interest rates.

Getting charged fees and interest rates are really bad for you if you’re trying to save money because they cause you to spend more than the original price of the product.

If you decided to pay for a $1000 phone and wanted to pay for it in monthly payments, if you don’t pay it off in a timely manner, that phone could end up costing you more than just the $1000.

With how high-interest rates have the potential to be, you could end up paying $1500 in the end.

Of course, you won’t see it up front because you’re paying it little by little. But if you were to take the time to sit down and add up the total of what you actually spent to have that phone, you’ll see that it’s not the $1000 you originally intended to pay.

Don’t spend money you don’t need to be spending. If you can’t afford it right away, you don’t need it. (There are exceptions such as mortgages.) 

19. Putting Yourself In New Situations

If you want to grow as an individual, you have to constantly put yourself in new situations. This could mean getting a new job, meeting new people, or trying new hobbies. Do what makes you uncomfortable.

The more experiences you get, the wiser you’ll become, and the more fulfilling your life will be.

For me, my new situations would be switching job locations, talking to new people at school, and even starting this blog. Every new thing I’ve done up to this point was intimidating but if I hadn’t done any of them, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

I’m also learning how to golf which I put off for years because I was afraid of embarrassing myself. Now that I’ve started, it’s the most fun thing ever. I could’ve been a pro by now! 

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20. Becoming A Healthier Version Of You

I could’ve used the word exercise but I’ve realized that saying that you should get better at exercising sounds so unmotivating.

Most of us associate exercising with difficult and tiring work. Even though we know that exercise is good for us, it makes us confused because we always end up tired and out of breath.

But why are we exercising anyway? We exercise because we want to become a better version of ourselves mentally and physically.

So, instead of saying you should get better at exercising, we’re going to say that you should get better at becoming a physically healthier version of yourself. Yes, changing your mindset is that powerful.

You should really listen to the School of Self-Image podcast hosted by Tonya Leigh. She is so good at motivating and inspiring people to become a better version of themselves.

Becoming healthier isn’t limited to exercising. You could put healthier food options into your body. You could create a routine of healthier sleep and drinking more water.

Just strive to become a healthier version of yourself with whichever method suits you best. 

21. Making A Decision

Making no decision is the worst decision you can ever make and gets you nowhere.

I understand that you may be worried about making the wrong decision but that’s okay. As humans, we can learn from our mistakes.

So, if you did make the wrong decision, just know that you won’t do it again next time. Not making a decision, in general, will put your life on pause and you’ll be losing valuable time.

You definitely need to think about each option and do your research but always give yourself a deadline.

In the end, something has to be done if you want to move forward to the next decision.

22. Not Caring About What Other People Think

Not caring about what other people think is probably going to be the biggest life lesson you ever learn.

I’m still in my early 20s so I still struggle with this, for sure. However, I know that as we all get older and become more mature with more experiences, we will come to realize that what other people think does not matter.

If you want to do something, you go do it. There is someone else just like you that wants to do it too.

So if they can do it, why can’t you? Why is it up to other people, whether it’s people you know or strangers, to decide how you should live your life?

I want you to remember that the longer you hold yourself back because you’re afraid of what other people think, the more you’ll be limiting yourself from living the life you were meant to live.

You don’t want to live with regrets, but I can guarantee that if you continue to care about other people’s opinions and say no to what you want, you will have many regrets that you can’t go back and fix.

Ending Note

Those are the 22 skills that I think you should improve on. I am improving on these skills myself so just know that you aren’t alone.

RECAP

I know life can be hard sometimes and improvement seems out of your reach but just know that you are 100% in control. Don’t be reactive. Be proactive instead. Be the change that you need.

I hope you liked this post. Let me know in the comments what you think of these skills to improve on and what your top skills to improve on would be.

Have a great rest of the year!

This post was all about the best skills to improve on this year.

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