We all have a ton of skills we want to learn. But sometimes it’s hard to get started. If you want to learn a new skill or gain a new ability, there are some simple strategies you can use to get the ball rolling. There’s no time like the present. So pick up that guitar and play; write that computer program; take that class; start that business; write that book; build that airplane; take that leap of faith. Start now, and improve along the way. Here are 7 strategies you can use to learn new things even faster.

Set Insanely Clear Goals for Yourself
The most important thing in achieving anything is setting goals, but most people suck at it. The problem is they set vague goals like “be happier” or “get stronger.” These types of goals are not only uninspiring, but they also don’t provide much motivation because they lack specificity and measurable milestones so set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) goals for yourself.

Break Big Goals into Smaller Achievable Ones
You’ve probably heard the advice before: break your goal down into smaller, more manageable chunks. But why does it work? Why isn’t setting a big goal and trying to achieve it all at once just as effective? It turns out that this approach works because of what psychologists call the “goal gradient effect.” Essentially, it’s easier to get from point A to point B if you start from further away from B than from closer to B. If the distance between A and B is short, you feel an immediate sense of achievement when you get there and your motivation plummets, causing you to abandon your goal almost immediately. With a bigger distance between your starting point and goal, however, your motivation remains high throughout the entire journey, allowing you to keep going until you reach your final destination.

Focus on Mastering One Skill at a Time
If you want to learn a new skill, it’s best to focus on one thing at a time. If you try to do too many things at once, you won’t be giving each one the time and energy it needs. You will never learn anything well unless you give it your full attention. Sometimes it seems like there are too many things to learn at once — you’re trying to improve your memory, study a new language, start exercising, stop procrastinating, and keep up with your normal work — and you wonder if it will ever be possible to focus on each of them long enough to make progress. But focusing on one thing at a time is the only way to make lasting progress. Hone your skills one at a time.

Work With a Mentor or Teacher
Instead of trying to pick up a new skill on your own, see if you can find a mentor or teacher who will let you work with them for an hour or two every week. working closely with a mentor or teacher has two advantages: first, someone who knows more than you do can point out your mistakes and show you where you need to focus your efforts; and second, someone who cares about your progress can help keep you accountable for practicing regularly.

Join a Community With Like-Minded People
If you’re trying to learn something, join a community of people who are trying to learn the same thing. People who share your interests understand what you’re trying to accomplish. They can help with your questions, and their questions will be ones you want to answer.
People in communities are more likely to help each other than people who aren’t part of any community. When you see someone struggling with the same problem you struggled with, you’ll be more likely to help if it’s someone you know than if they’re just some stranger on the Internet.
Community members can also give you an idea of what knowledge is most valuable. If most of the people in the community know about a certain skill, that suggests it’s important. Maybe there is even an established body of knowledge for that skill; if everyone is learning from the same source, that makes learning easier.

Log Your Progress
It’s important not only to learn but also to track what you’ve learned. Sometimes this can be as simple as writing down what you learned that day, or making a list of books you want to read next. If you’re learning how to be more productive, it’s important not only that you do the right things but also that you pay attention to how long each activity takes so you can adjust accordingly.

Reward Yourself When You Learn Something New
Rewards are an important part of many learning strategies. Rewarding yourself for achieving something gives you motivation and positive reinforcement. You can reward yourself in many ways — treat yourself to a meal out, buy a new book about the skill, take a nap in the park, or whatever else works for you.
Rewarding yourself doesn’t just help motivate you to learn; it’s also useful to give you positive feedback that helps keep your motivation high when you don’t see results right away.

Conclusion
It’s as impossible to learn as it is to predict what you’ll need to know or do in the future. It’s far more sensible, then, to prepare for a broad range of possible futures by learning a broad range of skills now.
Learning a new skill is never wasted. Even when you aren’t building your career it seems like a good idea to improve yourself. Learning is an investment of your time, of your social capital, and of your usefulness to others. If you invest your time in learning a few general skills, they will continue paying off for decades.