Little Skills to learn
August 3, 2021 4:08 AM Subscribe
I've noticed since working from home that I like to have little things around my home office for little work breaks. Ideally these would be little things which aren't too hard (at least initially, bonus points if they can be developed more), but take a little practice. Examples below:
It's a bit hard to define the category so I'll just list examples that I've already done:
1) Juggling
2) Solving a rubiks cube
3) Lock picking
4) playing the harmonica
5) Sleight of Hand (well, french drop, but I might look into learning more?)
these are all (in my mind anyway) all little skills that are slightly unexpected for someone to know but can be picked up in a small ish amount of time in a limited space.
I realise this category is kind of vague but hopefully y'all can find the similarities here and find me more little things to learn.
It's a bit hard to define the category so I'll just list examples that I've already done:
1) Juggling
2) Solving a rubiks cube
3) Lock picking
4) playing the harmonica
5) Sleight of Hand (well, french drop, but I might look into learning more?)
these are all (in my mind anyway) all little skills that are slightly unexpected for someone to know but can be picked up in a small ish amount of time in a limited space.
I realise this category is kind of vague but hopefully y'all can find the similarities here and find me more little things to learn.
I usually try for more practical skills—rolling my underwear and t-shirts, sheets and towels, book alignment, etc.. I love seeing stuff tidied up!
posted by Ideefixe at 5:08 AM on August 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 5:08 AM on August 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
I’ve watched some sign language videos on YouTube and been able to sign along with the video - very helpful in making learning stick and not something I’d do with other people around.
Also done some sketching and practised calligraphy. My handwritten notes during work meetings and ‘to do today’ lists have been written in whatever calligraphy hand I’m working on.
Great question, thanks for asking, I think I might have a go at knot tying!
posted by ElasticParrot at 5:17 AM on August 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
Also done some sketching and practised calligraphy. My handwritten notes during work meetings and ‘to do today’ lists have been written in whatever calligraphy hand I’m working on.
Great question, thanks for asking, I think I might have a go at knot tying!
posted by ElasticParrot at 5:17 AM on August 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
Contact juggling
Watercolor paintings
Maybe an Etch-a-sketch?
posted by ananci at 5:39 AM on August 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
Watercolor paintings
Maybe an Etch-a-sketch?
posted by ananci at 5:39 AM on August 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
Kendama.
Origami.
Paper-cutting, as simple or complex as you like (I have a blizzard's worth of colourful snowflakes).
Yoyo tricks.
Paper aeroplanes.
String figures.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:48 AM on August 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Origami.
Paper-cutting, as simple or complex as you like (I have a blizzard's worth of colourful snowflakes).
Yoyo tricks.
Paper aeroplanes.
String figures.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:48 AM on August 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Opening a beer with (a knife, lighter, piece of paper, your jaw...)
posted by athirstforsalt at 5:50 AM on August 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by athirstforsalt at 5:50 AM on August 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Tying cherry stems into a knot with your tongue.
I mastered it with one large jar of cherries (pick ones with long stems!) and a boring Friday night with nothing else to do. It has been a fun party trick.
posted by belladonna at 6:36 AM on August 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
I mastered it with one large jar of cherries (pick ones with long stems!) and a boring Friday night with nothing else to do. It has been a fun party trick.
posted by belladonna at 6:36 AM on August 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
Ukulele - finger-picking in particular rather than strumming
Knitting? (Chemo caps or baby stuff for short time commitment/physically small finished item)
Card tricks
Balance practice/tricks (eg: tree pose)
Stretching
Grip strength (they make little handheld toys for this for rock climbers)
Singing/vocal exercises to expand your range (take it slow though!)
posted by february at 7:01 AM on August 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Knitting? (Chemo caps or baby stuff for short time commitment/physically small finished item)
Card tricks
Balance practice/tricks (eg: tree pose)
Stretching
Grip strength (they make little handheld toys for this for rock climbers)
Singing/vocal exercises to expand your range (take it slow though!)
posted by february at 7:01 AM on August 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Flipping a pen around your fingers
posted by SuperSquirrel at 7:22 AM on August 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by SuperSquirrel at 7:22 AM on August 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Tarot reading
Finger and hand tricks (related to Sleight of Hand but more useless and absurd)
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 7:22 AM on August 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Finger and hand tricks (related to Sleight of Hand but more useless and absurd)
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 7:22 AM on August 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Some thoughts:
posted by phrakture at 7:56 AM on August 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
- Carry a tape measure with you and practice estimating sizes and distances (then measure to check)
- Building things from wood with hand and power tools - small stools, tables, picture frames
- Ambidexterity - practice writing and doing other things with both hands
- Knot tying
posted by phrakture at 7:56 AM on August 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
Knot tying. I recommend The Klutz Book of Knots, which comes with some colored rope and a book with holes in it to practice with. It doesn't have too many knots, but it has the most useful ones.
Not really a skill to use with your hands, but learning and memorizing the NATO Phonetic Alphabet is a very valuable skill. I use it all the time reading names over the phone. Very handy in the world of IT.
posted by bondcliff at 8:43 AM on August 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Not really a skill to use with your hands, but learning and memorizing the NATO Phonetic Alphabet is a very valuable skill. I use it all the time reading names over the phone. Very handy in the world of IT.
posted by bondcliff at 8:43 AM on August 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Darning a hole in a sock
Sewing on a button
Sewing on a name tag
Rethreading a drawstring or elastic
Turning up a hem
Shortening a too long pair of jeans
Embroidering a monogram
Tending a lamp - trimming a wick and cleaning a mantle
Lighting a fire with flint and steel
Put out a candle flame by pinching it
Relighting a pilot light
Turning off the water in your house/apartment
Knowing how to drain your pipes
Turning off the electricity in your house/apartment
Knowing where all the individual water shut offs are in your home and where they might be missing
Splinting a broken finger or wrist
Putting a bandage on a deep cut that will need stitches
Putting a bandage on a burn that needs to be kept cool and wet
Doing the same for any pet in the house
Sterilizing a jar
Sterilizing tools
Sterilizing fabric
Pasteurizing milk
Sharpening a knife
Sharpening other tools, spades, skates, etc
Skipping rope
Balance on one leg with eyes closed
Hold a squatting position
Get up off the floor without using anything to to help you get up
Military posture
Draw a labyrinth
Draw Celtic knotwork
Draw different caricatures - sad elephant, Trump, Desire Demon, Azura, your own avatar, Opus, Loki the alligator, etc. whatever appeals to you
Draw an accurate map of Asia
Draw an accurate map of Africa
Make radish roses, or some similar pretty food decorative thing that would look good in a bento box or as garnish at a pot luck
Memorize poetry that is meaningful to you
Learn the lyrics to songs so you can sing them a capella
Learn to write a specific form of poetry, such as limerick or sonnet, or villanelle
Learn different quotations and who said them
Learn different forms of rhetorical devices and practice using them
Memorize dad jokes
posted by Jane the Brown at 8:57 AM on August 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
Sewing on a button
Sewing on a name tag
Rethreading a drawstring or elastic
Turning up a hem
Shortening a too long pair of jeans
Embroidering a monogram
Tending a lamp - trimming a wick and cleaning a mantle
Lighting a fire with flint and steel
Put out a candle flame by pinching it
Relighting a pilot light
Turning off the water in your house/apartment
Knowing how to drain your pipes
Turning off the electricity in your house/apartment
Knowing where all the individual water shut offs are in your home and where they might be missing
Splinting a broken finger or wrist
Putting a bandage on a deep cut that will need stitches
Putting a bandage on a burn that needs to be kept cool and wet
Doing the same for any pet in the house
Sterilizing a jar
Sterilizing tools
Sterilizing fabric
Pasteurizing milk
Sharpening a knife
Sharpening other tools, spades, skates, etc
Skipping rope
Balance on one leg with eyes closed
Hold a squatting position
Get up off the floor without using anything to to help you get up
Military posture
Draw a labyrinth
Draw Celtic knotwork
Draw different caricatures - sad elephant, Trump, Desire Demon, Azura, your own avatar, Opus, Loki the alligator, etc. whatever appeals to you
Draw an accurate map of Asia
Draw an accurate map of Africa
Make radish roses, or some similar pretty food decorative thing that would look good in a bento box or as garnish at a pot luck
Memorize poetry that is meaningful to you
Learn the lyrics to songs so you can sing them a capella
Learn to write a specific form of poetry, such as limerick or sonnet, or villanelle
Learn different quotations and who said them
Learn different forms of rhetorical devices and practice using them
Memorize dad jokes
posted by Jane the Brown at 8:57 AM on August 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
I look forward to other answers.
Other musical instruments is probably obvious, but worth considering. In the last two years I've been learning the khene/khaen. You can get a pretty good one for 70 USD. The learning curve has a really notable shift in slope between "doesn't sound bad" and "sounds like professional" that makes it really intriguing. I've also been playing with the Bodhran (Irish frame drum), which is a lot quicker to learn and somewhat less interesting, at least for me.
Overtone singing (e.g., the Tuvan kind) is something I would hesitate to do in public as someone with no connection to the culture or language, but it's a fun way to waste time in the car alone.
Unicyling requires some space, but is enjoyable. As are hand-stands, if you're physically up for it.
Also, and perhaps obviously, languages. There are lots of languages with good tutorials in which you might be one of 200 living speakers.
posted by eotvos at 9:11 AM on August 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Other musical instruments is probably obvious, but worth considering. In the last two years I've been learning the khene/khaen. You can get a pretty good one for 70 USD. The learning curve has a really notable shift in slope between "doesn't sound bad" and "sounds like professional" that makes it really intriguing. I've also been playing with the Bodhran (Irish frame drum), which is a lot quicker to learn and somewhat less interesting, at least for me.
Overtone singing (e.g., the Tuvan kind) is something I would hesitate to do in public as someone with no connection to the culture or language, but it's a fun way to waste time in the car alone.
Unicyling requires some space, but is enjoyable. As are hand-stands, if you're physically up for it.
Also, and perhaps obviously, languages. There are lots of languages with good tutorials in which you might be one of 200 living speakers.
posted by eotvos at 9:11 AM on August 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Thanks for asking this; I’m doing this too! So far I did origami (including modular), juggling, coin walking, balloon animal twisting, making citrus cocktail garnishes (and learning to bounce a lime off my bicep and catch it), and I’m currently learning harmonica (today I made a neck rack from a coat hanger). On my future list: shadow puppets, coin/card tricks and shuffling, calligraphy/hand lettering, jump rope tricks, catching popcorn in my mouth, and carving chess pieces. Can’t wait to add more from this question!
posted by oomny at 9:58 AM on August 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by oomny at 9:58 AM on August 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
Pronouncing words written in Cyrillic. Pronouncing words written in the Korean alphabet.
Conway's Doomsday algorithm.
posted by Obscure Reference at 4:57 PM on August 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
Conway's Doomsday algorithm.
posted by Obscure Reference at 4:57 PM on August 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
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knot tying/braiding/macrame, fancy card shuffling, card houses, card throwing.
If you can get away with harmonica, you can also prob do kazoo, ocarina, jaw harp, finger drumming, and other small percussion.
posted by SaltySalticid at 4:59 AM on August 3, 2021 [2 favorites]