3 Skills To Learn While On Maternity Leave
Maternity leave is a time to raise and enjoy spending time with your little one, but, in most cases, the daily routine becomes boring. Instead of binge-watching shows on Netflix all day every day, you can learn a new skill at the comfort of your home. Besides keeping your brain active and sharper, you can add your new skill to your resume and increase your productivity and value.
Skills to learn while on maternity leave
1. Effective communication
Business relies heavily on communication, whether it’s between colleagues or customers. Research has proven that nonverbal communication accounts for 55 percent of how people perceive you. During your leave, learn proper posture and practice how to smile more. Also, avoid folding your arms because it makes you appear smaller. Instead, learn how to maintain eye contact and practice how to move around the space when making presentations.
If you are in marketing, learn how to communicate with your company's audience by taking an online course. According to Maryville University, communication has changed from being promotional to building relationships. Learn how to create blogs, videos, and infographics that tell a story and address specific needs your customers have.
2. Improve your design skills
Taste differs from one person to the next, but design is not a science. Picking up a few principles will help you boost aesthetics in your communication materials at work and even help you decorate your home. Learn the basic layouts, the best style to use when making text stand out or emphasizing something, the right color for the right impact, and so on. It may seem like a useless skill because your documents won’t attend a contest, but a neat well-thought-out design makes your work easy to read and attractive, which is a plus. Take it a step further and learn basic photoshop, photography, and copywriting. These skills will help you create a copy that enhances your marketing.
3. Lear to form good habits
Learning how to develop good habits doesn't seem like a skill. But once mastered, it increases your motivation to do anything. For instance, it helps you get in shape, eat healthier, sleep better, and be happier. Learn the cues that trigger certain habits and the reward you get afterward. If you are an emotional eater, for example, a trigger such as good or bad news can make you rush to the kitchen for a snack, which makes you feel better. It helps when you have one or multiple people you report to regularly. Find accountability partners who don't sugarcoat things and those who aren't lenient with you.
Learning gives you a sense of accomplishment and pride. It helps you grow, develops your knowledge base, and improve yourself for the better. At work, learning enables you to get access to new and different opportunities, which can potentially lead to earning more money. So, when your little one has finally nailed that routine, and you have time on your hands, get off the couch and pick a new skill.