Data and coding are buzzwords at the moment: skills people tell you you’re supposed to have without explaining how and why they would be useful. However, even if you have zero interest in coding chances are that knowing a bit more about data analysis will help you in your role. If nothing else, you may find it interesting.
About a year and a half ago I started learning how to code, inspired as I was after meeting some very skilled creative coders. The journey that followed has, so far, been equally exciting and challenging. Unsurprisingly, trying to learn something new and alien can be fiendishly difficult at times, especially when you’re also juggling a full-time job, a martial arts practice, and learning two human languages. Luckily there are some good books around to help you manage the long and winding road.
It’s one of those books everyone knows and many are too scared to actually attempt: Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Even with an American Studies PhD under my belt I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve never gotten round to reading it. It’s a very long and very difficult book about whales, after all. Not exactly an easy sell.
But with the nights drawing in and more time on my hands I decided to give it a go.
The holiday season is nearly upon us, which means: socializing! If like me, you’re an introvert and the prospect of networking sessions and office Christmas sessions feels a tad unnerving, do not despair. You can learn how to handle these occasions. Yes, you too.
If you’re learning on your own, be it for work or for pleasure, it can be difficult to stay motivated. How often have you taken up a new hobby enthusiastically, only to lose interest after a few months? Sometimes this is perfectly fine: it you find your chosen activity is not for you there’s no harm in admitting this to yourself and moving on to something new. But what if you need to learn to get ahead in your career, or if you really want to learn a language, or if you just don’t want to give up?
One of the joys of reading is that there is always more to be discovered. Earlier this week my mum messaged me to ask if I had ever heard of Alfred Wainwright, and if not, that I would probably like his work. She’d heard him mentioned in a TV show she was watching and sent me a link to his Wikipedia entry without further context.
I had never heard of Wainwright, which seems odd given my recurrent interest in nature writing. Wainwright, as I soon discovered, is well known for having written a long list of guides to the Lake District. Perhaps that’s why I didn’t previously know of him. I’ve never been to the Lake District (although, now having read The Eastern Fells, I do want to go there) and as I discovered when I started reading one of his first books, it is not nature writing in the traditional sense.
People often tell me that they’d like to learn another language but don’t know where to start. Fair enough: I was lucky to grow up in a country with an education system good at introducing other languages from an early age (because no one speaks ours – ahem). But if your school days are behind you and you’d still like to learn, it’s never too late to start.
During a recent spell of bad weather I went into one of my reading frenzies. This time I focused on books about management and coaching, hoping to learn some tricks I could apply at work. While many management books are nothing but self-indulgent waffle, Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson is a pleasant exception to the rule. It has given me insights I have instantly been able to apply to my job and, dare I say it, have even made said job a little easier.
For many people, learning is what you do in school, and then perhaps at university or during an apprenticeship. But in fact learning often occurs outside structured learning programs. Think of the last time you started a new job, or bought a new appliance for your home, or took up a new hobby. Learning is an ongoing process most of us dip in and out of throughout our lives, often for work or practical reasons, but also for fun.
“I don’t like to speak in front of groups.”
How many people have said this to you? Perhaps you’ve muttered this to yourself as you shuffled into a conference room. Apart from the rare breed of people who could happily lecture all day long – many of them, in fact, do become lecturers – many people actively hate public speaking.
cococatani 