A short, four-month stay in Washington DC taught me one thing: none of my boyfriends seem to have any hobbies with Hinge. In fact, the idea of spending time on something you are busy choosing not to invest or share in your startup is new to them. Wait… do you *choose* to read? Do you knit just for… fun? I looked back and answered with a flat “yes”—that was the point.
I don’t blame them. In our world that emphasizes productivity above all else, we’ve all gotten the idea that making the most of our hours is the ultimate goal. Tired? It’s impossible – I can grow my audience on TikTok! But in recent years, we’ve turned our backs on this obsessively productive desire (#girlboss is dead, after all). I’m glad that this has promoted a new way of thinking about personal development, Professionalism and self-satisfaction, after all, often come from external sources of success—stats, peers, etc.—that we believe will make us feel complete. . Fulfillment is an inside job.
Of course, we can improve our skills and grow to support our work – this is not a bad thing. It’s only when we prioritize our to-do list and our work above all else (or in an effort to avoid ourselves), that anxiety arises. As I said a few times with the political and financial bros mentioned earlier: the endless quest for balance is key. That’s right, I was happy the first day.
So, in order to improve my work, indulge in my hobbies, and satisfy my ever-hungry mind, I do my best. My Skillshare Account. Keep reading for my favorite classes and readings. Growth awaits.
What is Skillshare?
Back to the beginning. Similar to platforms like LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, and Khan Academy, Skillshare is an online learning community that allows users to access educational video content. And as you can see from the classes I take, the content is running. You can sign up for everything from illustration to UI/UX design and video production to creating your own furniture. Whatever you want to learn, there is a method for it.
To get started, you can sign up for a free month trial. After that, you can choose from a monthly ($32/month) or annual subscription ($168/year, broken down to $14/month).
My favorite art class
With 35,000+ classes, it can be easy to cancel when you start Skillshare. However, as a member, I’ve found that the user experience allows me to easily organize and review classes, helping me find the specific niche I’m looking for (small clay sandwiches, anyone?). But, once you start using it for a while, the algorithm starts serving you and the class ends up being exactly what you are looking for. With the basics out of the way, let’s get into the Skillshare classes I’m looking forward to:
Sewing tips: Make your own clothes
I want to learn how to sew age. Based on the creativity of friends and all the inspo I’ve pulled from social media, it’s clear that when you know how to sew, the sartorial possibilities are endless. After giving me a sewing machine for my birthday (Brother CS7000X, as suggested by Wirecutter), I set out to find the perfect startup strategy.
“Sewing Basics,” taught by a designer and pattern maker Denise Byron, is a two-hour beginner level course, which takes you through basic sewing to set you up for any garment project. In it, you will learn:
- How to organize your sewing workspace (including how to operate your machine!)
- Basic techniques like sewing straight lines, corners, and different types of fabric
- Tips for shopping for clothes
This is the best way to start your sewing journey. Not only are the classes structured in a progressive way, building on the skills you learn in each video, but Denise’s teaching is world class. He is articulate, patient, and has an obvious enthusiasm that makes every video engaging. What’s more, the camera angle above gives you a close-up view of the techniques and skills as he explains and teaches them.
Start your creative career: build a sharp and sharp presence
If business is calling, start this course quickly. While social media is awash with many creatives and business owners living the dream as their own boss, it can be hard to know how to break out on your own. . As the teacher of the course, entrepreneur Sonja Rasula, explains, it does not teach rocket science. However, the skills shared in this course include essential business training to help you establish your brand and grow your presence online and on social media.
Oftentimes, creative professionals don’t prepare the nitty-gritty information to get their business off the ground. Sonja covers everything from creating a branding bible to building a website to effectively using social media. In this course, you can expect to learn:
- How to define a collection of websites and social media to promote your content and increase conversions
- How to build a brand bible to clearly show who you are and what you offer
- Tips for designing your website to create a successful user experience
If you’re an artist, designer, writer, small business owner, or anyone looking to build a creative career, this course sets you up with the tools to effectively communicate your brand online. . Not only did it include basic information, but I was surprised to find that each video contained small, but game-changing tips that ultimately changed the way I share my work and content.
Content Marketing: Blogging for Growth
Blogging has been around longer than most of us have been alive. While some may think that blogging requires less thought and effort than other forms of writing, effective blogging is the result of planning and purpose. There’s a lot that goes into blogging – from creating a topic to outlining your post and finally creating a headline that attracts readers – writing for the web requires a lot more skill than you might think. at first.
This course is basically content marketing 101, taking you through the basics of what makes a great blog. And while it covers a lot of basics, I’ve found it to be great for beginners as well as marketers looking to brush up on their content creation skills (hi, that’s me!). In it, you will learn:
- How to build your audience as a blogger/content writer
- Effective tips for writing a blog post start to finish (including how to tweak your topic, write your post, and add reviews)
- Next steps for building consistency in blogging (how to create an effective editorial calendar)
I will first say that the teacher, Eric Siu, the founder of the company’s marketing is growing One grain, he is not a good person like other teachers. Reading it, it was too much for me to engage with what he was saying. However, the content and information it provides is top notch. Personally, as someone who built his writing career online, the most valuable lesson I learned from this course was how to write compelling headlines—after all, how many articles have you read just the headline? Maybe a few more than the entire blog itself.
Build Your Site & Store: A Beginner’s Guide to Marketing & Website Design
If you want to create an online presence—whether for yourself or your online business—having a beautiful and user-friendly website is key. But … you might be afraid to believe that you have to have a lot of secret knowledge or pay thousands of dollars to build a website. This tutorial makes it clear: you don’t need to design a website that works for you.
Disclaimer: this is not a course that will teach you all the ins and outs of building a website. Instead, if you want to create a website for yourself as a freelancer, small business owner, or portfolio, I would recommend signing up. This course focuses on using Shopify—taking you through the entire process of using the platform, tips for creating your site, and how to decide whether to use a free, paid template. Some key things you will learn:
- A complete and comprehensive Shopify database (how to add products, build collections, and track apps)
- Practical tips for designing your Shopify site
- Bonus: how to build a portfolio with Adobe Portfolio (good for designers and copywriters)
As you can tell, this tutorial will be very useful if you’ve been thinking about using Shopify and don’t know where to start. Although it touches on the skills and lessons that can be applied to other programs and platforms, I would recommend that you take this approach if you want to support your work and your product offering in Shopify.
Introduction to UX: Using a User-Centered Approach to Design
For me, “Intro to UX” is very interesting/I am curious about teaching this subject. Although my day-to-day work does not require specific UX/UI knowledge, I do work on the developer side. One day, after a meeting where I realized I had no idea what my colleagues were talking about when they referred to the “user flow” of our site, I decided to join. By taking this course, I realized that there is a web design process that I know nothing about – just want to get into all the depth.
Obviously, this is not your process if you are working on user experience. However, this class is great if you’re curious about it like myself or if you’re a salesperson or a creative professional whose work often falls short. and this warning (again, like myself). A few key points to learn from “Intro to UX”:
- How to understand the end-to-end user journey
- How to improve your final product through testing and validation
- How to identify your audience and prioritize their needs
However, considering the key aspects of user experience, teacher, Cinthya Mohr, Sr. UX Manager at Google, does a fantastic job of communicating the philosophy behind UX. As for me, when I started learning about this subject, I felt it was small and difficult to understand. But Cinthya uses real-life examples and case studies to show how user experience is reflected in our everyday lives.
This is a short, 45-minute class that puts you through all the basics of answering what and why to design an employer. Definitely recommend playing.
Interior Basics: Simple Steps to Your Perfect Space
Like many of us, I have a passion for home design. No viral audio supports: there is one thing that makes me a good income—I stay at home most of the time. Lauren Cox, Design Program Manager for online interior design brand Havenly, created this tutorial to share interior design ideas. Yes, the way we organize and organize our living space depends a lot on personal taste and aesthetics. However, there are basic principles—rules, if you want to help you improve your home. Expect to leave this course knowing the following:
- How to define your own style and always express it throughout your home
- How to style the decor (i.e. Modern Farmhouse and Preppy Coastal)
- The ins and outs of the four basic principles every interior designer uses: Color, Balance, Scale and Proportion, and Rhythm and Repetition
I liked this tutorial because Lauren gave different things of the room visually, I don’t know how to explain. Everything from creating a sense of tone and balance in your space to creating a strategy for choosing pieces you’ll love for a lifetime—it’s here. What’s more, Lauren’s advice applies to every budget and every home size. (PSA: With the knowledge Lauren provides in this tutorial, you don’t have to be a millionaire to design a space you love.)
