Some abilities take years to master, but others can be picked up in just a few hours and still prove useful for the rest of your life.
So, Reddit user Michaelis999 asked people to share which ones made the biggest difference for them, and the answers range from practical know-how, like basic household repairs, to social abilities such as active listening.
It’s better to have a skill and not need it than to need it and not have it.
#1
Learning the shortcuts for software you use daily. I basically force the juniors to start using shortcuts it always pays off in the end (software engineer). But this goes for everyone, designers in Photoshop, people using spreadsheets, if you use it daily, put in a bit of time to learn how to be efficient.
Image source: HansonWK, DragonImages / Envato
#2
Learning where your water main shutoff valve is for your house.
Image source: ryuranzou, Garakta-Studio / Envato
#3
Microsoft Excel. If you know basic math and calculating then you can do amazing things.
Image source: PickleJuiceMartini, Rawpixel / Envato
#4
How to sharpen a knife.
Image source: Ckpie, AFGreen / Envato
#5
Learn how to swim. It can save your life.
It shocks me how many people accidentally fall into water and drown because they don’t know how to swim. You can easily learn the basics and enough to keep yourself alive in 10 hours.
Image source: Dark_Believer, imagesourcecurated / Envato
#6
Probably simple car stuff. Changing a tire, battery cables, jump starting etc etc… You would be surprised how many people can’t do those things and how often those are your most common problems!
Image source: Bitter_Resolve_6082, Garakta-Studio / Envato
#7
I’d say spending 10 hours learning how your computer works will pay off forever. So many people are unaware how their machines work.
Image source: AmigoDelDiabla, simonapilolla / Envato
#8
Cooking basic stuff like broiled chicken, meatballs, pasta, etc
so easy to save a lot of money but people are lazy af.
Image source: TechMan61, antoninavlasova / Envato
#9
Learning how to sew on a button, and basic mending stitches.
Image source: Jaymes_Squeak, dolgachov / Envato
#10
Learn to type numbers without looking. I got twice as fast in about an hour. Plenty of online tutorials. .
Image source: befriender-, Gavin Phillips / Unsplash
#11
Questioning EVERYTHING
Whenever you need to make a decision, spend a few minutes playing “Devils Advocate” with yourself. Especially if it’s something trivial or a “no brainer”
Make it a fun yet challenging game of Who/What/When/Where/How/Why against your alter ego.
You’ll learn an absolute ton about your good and bad qualities, your habits, thought processes, etc. You’ll also naturally learn how to phrase questions/opposing views as inquisitive, instead of abbrasive or combative.
That kind of honest and earnest self reflection will eventually affect absolutely everything in your life.
Most of my greatest lifestyle changes came from questioning things that I otherwise would’ve never given a second thought.
On the other side of things: Constantly questioning how/why everyday objects work, will give you an extremely well rounded foundation of transferrable/relatable knowledge. If you can’t work it out on your own, google it.
If you ever find yourself in a conversation about something you haven’t explored, use the opportunity to apply the same line of questions you debate yourself with. People love it when someone is open and curious about something they’re passionate about.
Eventually you’ll be able to relate to anyone or anything, at any time. Conversations become deeper and meaningful, your connection to people becomes stronger, and sometimes you come across hidden passions.
Image source: HansSloBro, Wavebreakmedia / Envato
#12
How to stretch your body specifically.
Image source: Adventurous_Fix1730, GaudiLab / Envato
#13
Touch typing is a crucial skill that you can master in under 10 hours, delivering lifelong benefits. It boosts productivity, reduces strain, and sharpens focus across all professions. By typing faster, you’ll save valuable time every day, adding up to thousands of hours over the years. Invest in this skill now for lasting advantages!
Image source: krishna2026, Farknot / Envato
#14
Tying proper knots depending on the application.
Image source: fummelfichte42, Tatiana Zhukova
#15
Zipper repair:
Most tents and sleeping bags at festivals only are discarded because of slightly buggy zips.
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#16
1. CPR training 2. Fire extinguisher training 3. Swimming/floating.
Image source: musicloverincal, PlatooFotography / Envato
#17
First Aid. There are plenty of options to learn and imo should be refreshed once a year if possible because some stuff changes.
Image source: rudi_mentary, milan degraeve
#18
Some basic civics. Understanding how your government actually works and is structured will save you alot of frustration and anger. It might even save you from going down dangerous roads with your ideas.
There are usually pretty good reasons why things work the way they do, even though things might seem slow and inefficient at times.
Image source: Quecks_, Curated Lifestyle
#19
Basic finance literacy stuff such as budgeting, mortgages, negotiations, taxes, investing etc.
I’d argue that just by knowing and understanding these, one can improve his/her quality of life significantly.
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#20
I’d say learning how to communicate clearly – especially writing short, structured emails/messages. It doesn’t take long to practice, but clear communication makes you stand out at work, saves endless misunderstandings, and builds respect. It’s underrated because it feels obvious, but it really pays dividends for life.
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#21
For western folks, learning to use chopsticks well.
Image source: humma__kavula, Curated Lifestyle / Unsplash
#22
Tying a tie
Learning the NATO alphabet.
Image source: drbrian83, Maria Ivanova / Unsplash
#23
Biking.
Image source: SafithDophor, Curated Lifestyle
#24
How to build a PC. It’s really easy and will save you money if you ever need to change anything.
Image source: Mateox1324
#25
If you run a business I’d say calling people back.
Image source: rapedbyawookiee
#26
Knitting. Not only do you get to make your own clothing and accessories, it’s a de-stressor as well!
Image source: ro5ieb, Getty Images
#27
Basic sign language.
Whenever I meet a deaf customer they’re always so happy that I know it. Especially because I wear a mask most of the time.
Image source: Oddish_Femboy
#28
Learning a sewing machine, it takes a while to figure out proper tension. However, once you’re over that hump, you’ll be able to fix your own clothes, make gifts, curtains, blankets, clothes, costumes, the world is your oyster.
Image source: Jumpy-You-5572, Kateryna Hliznitsova
#29
Learning how to properly filet a chicken/fish. It takes a few attempts to “nail” it, but once you learn the trick, and it really takes less than 10 hours, it becomes a massive money saver in the long run when preparing food at home.
Chicken especially, as most of the cost revolving around it has to do with the “service” of cutting and filleting. Once you learn that yourself, you spare a hefty amount of money, and get yourself a nice amount of food for a lot more days than just buying pre-cut stuff.
Also, not that time consuming. Takes about 10 mins for chicken, even less so for a fish.
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#30
Welding. Not a certified awesome welder, but 10 hours of instruction and practice would make you good enough to weld most things.
Image source: txkwatch, Max LaRochelle
#31
Small talk. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but you never know who you’ll meet or what they know. When I first moved overseas i had a small talk w some dude and he told me all the roads to avoid at night, how to use contactless payments, bus routes and which shop has the cheapest and best kebabs.
Image source: West-Front
#32
Filing your taxes.
Image source: cosmoscrazy
#33
Basic hygiene and fashion
Maybe sounds unnecessary (primarily the fashion part) but looking nice can help out a lot in surprising ways. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy either, but learning basic fashion and color matching can help you look more appealing with near any level of budget. Even if it’s just subconscious, nice matching colors and good hygiene helps how others see you. Plus the mental boost of looking nice and feeling clean is good.
Hygiene because being clean helps cover some mental and physical health issues before they even come up (I.E. healthy body and better self esteem).
Image source: Kind_Exchange_1864
#34
Manual transmission (if you want to drive in europe).
Image source: Feb-2024
#35
Finger whistle, without using your fingers.
Image source: speedman-dxdt, Getty Images
#36
How to lift heavy s**t safely. Don’t lift with your back! Use your arms and legs, they’re stronger, a lot less susceptible to injury, and easier to fix.
Image source: ObjectiveOk2072, Getty Images
#37
How to floss.
Image source: SumOhDat
#38
It took me a couple of hours to learn how to whistle with my tongue.
This method is by far the loudest noise I can make without much effort.
So loud in fact that I can give myself tinnitus.
Image source: HunterSTL
#39
Juggling. Not really important in life but absolutely fun to do whenever you have a bunch of similar objects laying around.
Image source: sumpango
#40
Sudoku. The logic you use in it can be translated to real life.
Image source: DayneTreader
#41
Bodyweight Exercises and Stretching
If able, with 30 minutes every other day at least, a consistent bodyweight workout will make later life much easier, promote better body health habits all around, and it’s free fitness.
Image source: TonyTornado
#42
Playing the ukulele.
Grab one online, and get one of those little clippy tuning thingys for cheap and my personal recommendation grab some felt picks too. They won’t catch on the strings as much as plastic picks or your nails.
In 30 mins, you’ll know at least 3 chords. A couple of hours practise and the ‘island strum’ becomes second nature.
Once you know C, G, F and Am (the hardest one is G, but still not hard), there are loads of songs you can play. Learn E7, and then you can play the classic ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’. I’m still struggling with the straight E chord though, but thats universally know as a bigger to learn
I tried to learn guitar years ago, but the metal strings were too painful (Uke strings are plastic). I can’t sing, learned a tiny bit of keyboard when I was in school – Enough to play ‘Mary had a little lamb’ with one hand and not much more – point is, I’m generally not a very musical person, but within a week of trying to learn for an hour or so per day, I could bumble through ‘I’m yours – Jason Mraz’ and ‘Riptide – Vance Joy’.
Image source: Esqulax
#43
I once listened to a 6 hour podcast about etfs, learned all that I needed to know about it.
Image source: uncleprokhor
#44
Use your mouse left handed. It takes maybe 30 minutes and will save you from wrist pain for your entire life if you use the computer a lot.
Image source: seestheday
#45
To play chess, dominoes or mahjong, and a few card games like poker, rummy, bridge, etc.
You won’t play very well, but you can then join a game without being totally lost. There are a lot of games people never play just because they’ve never played them.
Image source: blue_strat
#46
Changing your own brakes. Will save you a ton of money and you can make a ton of money on the side.
Once you get good at it, with the correct tools, you can do em in 15-30 minutes.
Learn rotors while you’re at it and make even more.
Image source: jd_maybe
#47
Learning the alphabet backwards. Helps when sorting things, and also in sobriety tests.
Image source: DevanT77
#48
Getting in the credit card game. Having a simple set up of cards covering groceries, dining and everything else even for something simple like cash back will pay you thousands without changing any of your spend habits + makes your credit score go up nicely as long as you pay off. Maybe a little longer for the travel game but not that crazy as long as you’re not trying to balance a bunch of different card providers (only use 2).
Image source: MaterialSnipe, Getty Images
#49
Learning to speak without saying um, uh and so on. It will make you sound way more confident and well spoken, even if the content of what you’re saying has not improved.
Image source: HolySmokes2
#50
10 sec version of your question.
Ctrl+backspace deletes the entire previous word.
Percentages are reversible, 8% of 25 is the same as 25% of 8, but one is much easier.
Image source: JBL-88
#51
Learning to read Korean.
The caveat is that you need to understand Korean in order for it to be useful.
Image source: Popular-Departure165
#52
Rubik cube, even the 3×3.
Image source: Crafty-Mammoth-6094
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