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Adult Ed. Life Skills Workshop
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Life Skills Workshop
Laura Henning, Writing Specialist
DSC Writing Center
What are Life skills?
Life skills are desirable, useful skills that not only help you deal with the challenges of daily life, but also help you make the most out of life.
What are Life Skills?
Essential life skills
1. Focus and self-control
2. Perspective taking
3. Communicating
The Essential life skills
4. Making connections
5. Critical thinking
6. Taking on challenges
7. Self-directed, engaged learning
Adapted from Gots, Jason. "The 7 Essential Life Skills." Big Think, 17 July 2013, bigthink.com/big-think-mentor/the-7-essential-life-skills. Accessed 23 Sept. 2019.
Developing Life Skills
How Do I Develop Life Skills?
Just like learning, developing life skills is an on-going process.
1
Identify your strengths and weaknesses, which will help you home in on skills you want to improve.
2
If you struggle or "mess up," don't worry! Developing life skills doesn't happen overnight.
3
Try, try, try again. After all, practice makes perfect.
Priorities & Goals
What is the difference between priorities and goals?
As the website People Productivity Success explains, "Goals are what we need to accomplish, but priorities are those things that we need to take care of first before it is possible to accomplish the goals." This means that while priorities and goals are related, they are not the same things.
Determining priorities & Setting goals
How to Identify Priorities vs. Goals
Priorities Vs. Goals
Think of some goals you'd like to accomplish in your life. After you identify these goals, think of the priorities you need to accomplish in order to reach those goals. In other words, what things do you need to do before you can achieve your goals?
EXAMPLE #3
Example #1
EXAMPLE #2
Goal: Pass an important exam.
Goal: Go to all my classes this week.
Goal: Get a job at a local restaurant currently looking for help.
Priorities: Make sure I go to bed early enough so I can wake up in time to make it to class; ensure I have a ride each morning.
Priorities: Schedule a time to take the exam; set aside regularly scheduled study time; attend tutoring or test prep classes.
Priorities: Create or revise my resume; write a cover letter; practice interview questions with someone.
Questions To Consider
1. Do I not use a planner, calendar on my phone, or other method to schedule activities?
2. Do I tend to procrastinate?
What Is Time Management?
Time management Skills
3. Am I often stressed out or caught off guard by deadlines?
Time management, as explained by MindTools.com, is the "process of organizing and planning how to divide your time between specific activities." Time management is important because it can help you work smarter, not harder.
Tips for Better Managing Your Time
How To Better Manage Your Time
The following time management tips are great for students, but using them in your daily life can also help you become better at managing your time at work, at home--anywhere!
Use a calendar or planner to keep track of your activities and obligations.
Get organized! Being organized will save you a lot of time.
Schedule break time and fun time! Occassionally rewarding yourself will help you be more productive.
As much as possible, eliminate distractions!
Focus on the task at hand. This will help you get into the "flow" and be more productive.
Develop healthy habits, like getting enough sleep and eating well.
Learning Skills
Learning skills
Since learning is an ongoing process, perhaps the most important life skill--the one that ties everything together--is a willingness to learn.
Persist!
How To Persist & Build Willpower
Every moment in life presents an opportunity to learn something new. But in order to take advantage of these opportunities, we have to be open to them. How do we do that? Well, we sometimes need to push ourselves to do things we might not feel like doing.
The following video from WellCast gives some great tips on how to exercise and strengthen one's willpower:
How to make the most of your time in class
1. Pay attention!
2. Take notes.
Learning in the Classroom
3. Ask questions if you don't understand.
4. Participate as much as possible.
How to keep learning when you're not at school
1. Read!
Learning beyond the classroom
2. Keep up with the news.
3. Talk to other people.
4. Make your screentime count.
5. Do something outside your comfort zone.
Additional Resources
Additional Resources
Need help studying, writing, reading, or generally improving your communication skills?
Visit the DSC Writing Center! https://www.daytonastate.edu/cwc/
Visit the Academic Support Center! https://www.daytonastate.edu/asc/
Want to learn more about developing life skills?
- https://bigthink.com/big-think-mentor/the-7-essential-life-skills
- https://blog.nationwide.com/career-and-life-skills/
- https://www.readandspell.com/us/tips-for-adult-learners