Given the breakneck speed at which the world is moving, the only skill you can truly count on today is the skill of quickly learning a new skill. “Which new skill did you learn during the pandemic?” probably became the most popular icebreaker question in 2020. Like most others, I picked up a new skill – haircutting! As I acquired this new skill, I learnt a few things that can be applied to learning in general. Here is what I learnt:
Commit to learning that skill
Willingness to learn is probably the biggest prerequisite
for learning. Obvious as it may sound, you must remind yourself that you can’t
learn anything if you try to learn it half-heartedly. You can’t learn if you
think “you could”, or “you should”. You can only learn if you really “want to”.
Regardless of whether you want to
acquire a skill out of a necessity or as a hobby, you must be willing commit
yourself fully to learning it. When I decided to start cutting my family members’
hair, although it was for a very practical need (We were getting to a point
where it was better to take the risk and try to cut our hair than leave them as
is), yet it was my conscious decision that I was going to be the one to learn
and do it. So, it was with patience, practice and my family’s cooperation, that
I became the designated “coiffeuse” for my family.
Set a goal
I had no aspirations of becoming a professional hair
stylist, but I wanted to be able to give haircuts to all the members of my
family regardless of their age and gender. More importantly, I wanted to be
able to give a haircut that looked like a haircut and not an accident! With
that clear goal in mind, it was easier to go through my learning journey. I
evaluated every haircut against my goal and made mental notes on what else I
need to do to get there. I often had to iterate on the haircuts, running behind
my children over the next couple of days, to snip off that extra bunch of hair
sticking out. But, the number of post-haircut snips steadily reduced. As they
say, “purposeful practice” is the key to achieving your goal.
Observe and learn
Through the years before the pandemic, being a cautious and
protective mother, I would carefully observe how a hair stylist would cut my
children’s hair – How he would style my son’s hair and give him the spiky look,
and how he would separate out my daughter’s hair and cut each segment
separately and give layers. While the purpose of all that observation was to
ensure that the professional hair stylist didn’t mess up (Yes, I know that
sounds paranoid), yet recalling those little details really helped me apply what
goes into a haircut, now that the tables had turned! I also went through some
articles and video tutorials to understand the “nuances of handling tresses” better.
Knowing the technique and going through tips, helped me speed up my learning
process.
Use the right tools
The first time I gave a haircut to my daughter, her hair got
cut unevenly, and despite my best efforts, I could not make the style the way I
wanted. While reading an article on how to give good haircuts, I realized that I
wasn’t using the right scissors. To give a haircut, you must have sharp
scissors – Duh!! I had this facepalm moment, as I had used just the ordinary
stationery scissors. The next time, I used a sharp new pair of scissors, and it
made a huge difference. I felt like I had a lot more control over what I was
trying to do. Now, I lay out my arsenal of haircutting scissors, hair clippers,
water, comb, chair cloth and cleaning supplies (Side note: It is very important
to have cleaning supplies ready, and use them effectively, if you don’t want
hair all over yourself and your house!) So, when you set out to learn something,
ensure you have the right tools to learn and practice the skill.
Keep your critics close
When I just started, while my husband and daughter bravely
volunteered for haircuts, my son absolutely refused to let me give him a
haircut. He made it sound like it was worse than getting his tooth extracted!
While my initial reaction was defensive – “I am not a hair professional” to
downright offensive “You should be grateful that I am even willing to do this”,
yet once I got past my initial anger, I started listening to his feedback carefully
– “My hair are getting pulled” - I learnt that spraying more water would help prevent
that. “I hate my haircut” translated into “You cut my hair too short”. While
coaxing him into haircuts and making small adjustments, I got to a point where
he would himself ask me to give him a haircut. The last time I asked him how he
liked it, he finally said – “It’s alright”. Phew!! So, when you are learning
something new, pay attention to actionable feedback, and use it to improve your
craft.
Use it or lose it
While some skills like cycling will stay with you forever,
most skills will deteriorate with time, if you don’t put them to use. While I
know that I will get many more opportunities to practice my newly acquired
haircutting skills through 2021, however, beyond that, if I intend to keep the
skill, I am well-aware that I must keep practicing. So how do I use so as not
to lose it? My husband for sure won’t mind free haircuts for life 😉
To sum it up, learning any skill requires conscious effort,
goal setting, observation, technique, tools and continuous improvement.
Writing this article reminded me of some of the funniest
quarantine haircut memes of last year (While I couldn’t have enough of them, I
was very careful not to share them with my family!)
I hope you had as much fun reading this post as much as I
had learning this skill. I wish you happy learning as you decide to learn your
next new skill. Let me know what you learnt about learning while learning
something new!
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