{"id":358,"date":"2009-04-08T00:00:45","date_gmt":"2009-04-08T05:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/noelfigart.com\/blog\/?p=358"},"modified":"2009-04-08T00:00:45","modified_gmt":"2009-04-08T05:00:45","slug":"work-from-home-course-moar-necessary-sk1lz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noelfigart.com\/wordpress\/2009\/04\/08\/work-from-home-course-moar-necessary-sk1lz\/","title":{"rendered":"Work From Home Course: MOAR Necessary sK1lZ"},"content":{"rendered":"

Necessary sK1lZ: Learn How to Learn<\/a><\/h2>\n

This is a biggie.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To be able to make a living without a job, not only do you have to be able to think outside the box, but know that what was outside of the box a week ago has just found a bigger box!\u00a0 You will need to be able to have the confidence that you can learn new skills relatively easily and well.<\/p>\n

I strongly recommend practicing learning new things on a regular basis.\u00a0 Take classes as often as you can.\u00a0 If you have a ferret brain, this is your chance to let it go wild.\u00a0 You can pick anything you want to know how to do.\u00a0 Learn to knit, learn to make bouillabaisse, learn how to program in LOLcode, learn how to install plumbing or the history of kimono-making in Heian Japan.\u00a0 For the love of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, don’t waste your time trying to decide if this is a useful thing to learn.\u00a0 If you become fascinated with the effects of left nostril inhalers on modern culture, go for it and dive in!\u00a0\u00a0 You may or may not ever use it professionally, but keeping your mind flexible is crucial.<\/p>\n

I’m only 40, so I’m hardly a Wise Old Woman, but I’ve been around enough to have learned that time spent learning something almost always pays off at some point.<\/p>\n

Necessary sK1lZ: Administrivia<\/a><\/h2>\n

Remember when I said one of the things I’m good at is systems building.\u00a0 That’s true.\u00a0 It’s a strength, but when it comes to self-managing, it’s also a terrible weakness[1]<\/a>.\u00a0 I’d much rather plan out a system than deal with its execution.\u00a0 My favorite moment in writing a new piece is to open my word processor to outline view and write the outline for the it.\u00a0 Visualizing the flow of the work is all kinds of fun.\u00a0 As much fun as planning is, and as necessary as it is, it is also necessary not to get bogged down.<\/p>\n

That said, there are administrative tasks that are absolutely necessary to running a business or organization.\u00a0 It’s why a competent administrative assistant[2]<\/a> never starves.<\/p>\n

Now, if you’re going to be a one-man shop, you probably won’t want to be hiring an employee.\u00a0 That’s okay to a degree.\u00a0 But, since we’re talking sK1lZ, I have to ask, do you know how to:<\/p>\n