New year, new skills: A step-by-step guide to upgrading your skillset in 2023

I follow the same idea as you do OP.

I've jumped from one odd job to another, from being a florist, to a waiter, bartender, even a stripper at one point, before taking on a plumbing apprenticeship and then joining a tattoo studio - where i stayed for 2 years prior to covid.

I'd say i learn so many valuable things and niche skills from each and every one of those.

Once the pandemic hit, shops in Singapore were shut down by law. I had to find something to keep me going, and managed to get a low-level entry job in a Maritime Startup.

I spent the first 2 years trying to keep up and play on the same level as my peers. That was gruelling.

2021, i decided i needed to upskill again, and got the company to sponsor my Digital Marketing Certification.

Last year, I personally signed up for a UX/UI design and research certification that just ended in December.

Since Jan, i've started embarking on my low-code, no-code journey. Putting everything i learnt into practice in my side projects, because i have to build and design a product, and when i GTM i need to have a solid marketing for it ready.

The point is to never stop learning, and always put what you learn into practice, whenever and wherever you can.

The hardest thing for me actually was to start marketing from 0. Just something about coming up with a strategy from nothing is completely mind-boggling for me and i just go blank. But how i overcame that is just by.... starting SOMETHING and writing it down, and then scratching those that dont work and keeping what works, and then slowly organizing it into a routine that i can implement.

Design systems are pretty up to your creativity and just need to iterate constantly what the user problem, journey and needs are.

where low-code and no-code building is concerned... way too early for me to say anything, but i think my pathway is pretty much the holy trinity of what you'd need to really be a high-demand employee in the next 5-10 years, but also the same skills to be your own boss.

I try and learn something new every year, and my process can be pretty messy. Find a youtube video and watch that, then another. Then I might buy a book on the subject and read some articles online. I'll make notes all over the place too. This is a great guide to approaching things in a methodical and organized manner. I'll definitely try this out.

I spent the holidays trying to decide what skills would be useful to learn this year but eventually came to the conclusion that I wouldn't have time and didn't really know where to start anyway. This guide is exactly what I needed, especially how to find/make time and how to create a study planner. Thanks 👍