Learning for fun: Why you should learn that thing you’ve been putting off

When was the last time you learnt something new for fun? 

Not for the sake of it, but I mean really- for fun. Because of lockdown, I pretty much lost a lot of my usual sense of drive and hadn’t actually picked up something new as regularly as I would have liked pre-COVID times. This changed for me recently.

I started using social media more consciously- being in marketing you’d think that would come naturally to me. But nope, we’ve all got learning curves. I became more aware of who I was following, and the content that I was exposing myself to. A simple change to my old social media routine where I would follow influencers telling me to buy this, or buy that made a huge difference.

I had been following @josielewisart for a while and loved her reels. She’s always doing something different with paint. A reel of her’s was in fact my first trigger. I had a sudden urge to paint- something I never really got into as a kid (I was busy claiming my favourite Beyblade and collecting Pokémon cards). Thinking back to my childhood, you’d be surprised to see me become a Creative Content Producer. I was creative. But almost exclusively in my daydreams.

Learning for fun really starts with a blank canvas

Josie had this one reel she did regularly where she had a simple white canvas and spread some acrylic paints across which, when dried would look really awesome. Feeling inspired by how simple but fun that looked, I decided to give it a go. Frankly, it didn’t work out. But I had 5 blank canvases I could fill up.

And that my friends, is what lit up my passion to learn something new again. I hadn’t dipped into the world of painting before this. But having empty canvases on hand and the process of mixing paint to get that perfect shade of pink became a driver to want to do more.

So I turned to digital illustration. Having a non-designer background, I found it exciting- and enjoyed this new found creative medium of mine immensely. At one point, I crossed the bridge from learning something new for fun, to unconsciously upskilling. I turned to Google, Youtube, Skillshare and Masterclass for guidance. There is a wealth of information ready to be digested and for us to nerd out on. Of course, you could point out that it’s a very millennial tool of choice for education but hey. It’s free and it’s there just waiting for you to discover it and the quality of education available is actually really good. Surprisingly, many do not think to turn to Youtube which has a lengthy list of ‘How-tos’ ranging from ‘How to open a small Etsy shop’ to ‘How I create my stickers on Procreate’. Whichever search engine of choice you decide to use, dear reader, I urge you to block 30 minutes from your lunch time, and do a quick search on that thing you’ve been wanting to learn for ages- but like me, may have been putting it off. 

This new found creative medium of mine was positively impacting the assets I was producing for work and vice versa. It’s not perfect, yet- but it’s fun.

Where to start

If like me, you’d like to tap into the world of creativity a bit more; here are a few channels I enjoy:

1. Katnipp’s Youtube Channel run by a small Etsy shop founder Catherine Kay. Great for learning about the behind the scenes of running a small creative business and fun studio vlogs on new launches and her creative process.
2. Rowena Tsai’s Youtube channel– great for self-care tips and how to’s on life, and creating positive lifestyle habits and changes.
3. CatCoq via Skillshare. By Cat Coquillette. Explores painting in real life, and digital.
4. Anna Wintour’s Masterclass on creative leadership, editorial decision making and getting things done as a creative.

Enjoy!