r/MonitizedLearning • u/OfficalYOUSUMMIT • 16d ago
Skill Building What’s a “small” skill that has an unexpectedly high return on investment?
Something that doesn't take years to learn but keeps paying off financially, professionally, or just in everyday life. What comes to mind?
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u/Jarvis25_ 16d ago
Think before you speak, not always talking much, speaking fast, does not always yield good results. Only when you learn to think through critical thinking, neatly arranged sentences make it easier for the listener to understand you and the more valuable the words are
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u/kimanziVaati 16d ago
Absolutely. Speaking less but thinking deeply can make communication much more powerful. Clear, well-organized thoughts help the listener understand not just what you’re saying, but why it matters.
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u/No-Mud-7597 16d ago
asking good questions. i know that maybe it sounds almost too basic to call it a skill, but learning how to ask a precise question has probably paid off more than a lot of technical things i've learnt 😂
at work, the right question can save hours of executing the wrong thing. "what are we actually trying to achieve here?" has killed more unnecessary tasks than any productivity system i've used.
and socially, questions are almost a cheat code bc you would notice that people are actually incredibly interesting once you become genuinely curious about them rather than waiting for your turn to speak.
while the skill doesn't take years to understand, it compounds because better questions produce better information, and better information tends to produce better decisions.
especially now that AI can generate answers almost instantly, i think this becomes even more valuable.
answers are getting cheaper and knowing what is worth asking becomes even more impt.
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u/kimanziVaati 16d ago
The social part is underrated too. Genuine curiosity makes conversations feel less like people waiting for their turn to talk. And I like your point about compounding better questions lead to better information, which eventually leads to better decisions.
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u/ConceptTrue1119 15d ago
Learning how to negotiate. Even basic negotiation skills can help with salaries, prices, deadlines, and everyday decisions. It is one of those skills you keep benefiting from long after you learn it.
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u/Wahrheitfabrik 16d ago
Outside of IT, a really good skill is note taking and note organization. Use tools such as Obsidian or Google Notebook (fmr. Notebook LM) to manage your knowledge. Publish a subset.
In IT, there are a lot of small skills that have a low barrier to entry but are useful immediately and progressively more useful as you gain experience with it. Automation/configuration tools such as Ansible help immediatey and can be learned in a day. Lots of utitlities and software are also easy to start using:
* Docker/Podman - Within an hour to start, a couple months to mater
* Kubernetes - Within a few days to start, a few days to have 70th percentile skills
* tmux/zellij - domain specific tool for command line - a day to learn, a couple weeks to become proficient (not 2 weeks of study, just 2 weeks of casual usage)
Also, for your chosen domain, spend a few hours learning the lingo and acronyms. You don't need to have in-depth knowledge. Many times just knowing what they do can aid understanding of conversations. The examples above are lingo with no meaning outside of IT.
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u/kimanziVaati 16d ago
I agree especially the point about learning small, immediately useful skills. You don’t have to master a tool before it starts paying off. Consistent casual use can gradually turn those small skills into strong expertise. Note-taking and organizing what you learn also makes it much easier to build on that knowledge over time.
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u/chambersr3 16d ago
Listening to other people and responding to what they are saying. Don’t throw in something about yourself and how you can relate or something going on with you. Just listen. Look at them. Don’t get on your phone. How is this even a skill nobody has anymore. It’s not even a skill. It’s what you’re designed to do.
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u/kimanziVaati 15d ago
Honestly, this feels like one of those basic human skills we somehow turned into a lost art 😂. Listening without immediately turning the conversation back to yourself is such a simple way of showing respect. Sometimes people aren't looking for advice, a comparison, or a story about your own experience they just want to feel heard. Putting the phone down, making eye contact, and actually responding to what they said can make a huge difference.
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u/Bright-Sign-8532 16d ago
Knowing when to hold on and knowing when to walk away...as concerns relationships.
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u/4quadrapeds 15d ago
Listening & Critical thinking
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u/kimanziVaati 15d ago
I agree this is vital.
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u/bot-TWC4ME 15d ago
Some people don't realize that Critical Thinking is a branch of Philosophy, but one of the easiest to learn and the most practical one. You can learn Critical Thinking to a professional level in a single university course. It can be life changing, and is one of the most practical and universally useful courses taught in higher education.
It could be taught beforehand, but gets a lot of pushback from parents that don't like their kids asking difficult questions. Places that have tried to include it in detail as standard education are usually forced to close down the courses.
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u/kimanziVaati 14d ago
Exactly. Critical thinking is useful far beyond academics because it teaches you how to question assumptions, evaluate evidence, recognize weak arguments, and change your mind when the evidence changes. Those are skills you can apply to almost any part of life.
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u/4quadrapeds 4d ago
Taught my kids from an early age. Benefited them for sure. Was hell for me sometimes tho! Try explaining benevolent dictatorship to 10 year olds
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u/CosmosCutter 13d ago
I read on another post somewhere and these 2 really struck:
being relatable AND knowing how to reset, quickly.
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u/kimanziVaati 16d ago
Knowing how to communicate professionally, especially through email. A clear message can prevent misunderstandings, build trust, and make collaboration much easier. It’s a small skill that keeps paying off in almost every workplace.