Habit is a behavior performed on regular basis.
Skill is an ability to perform certain action correct and fast - "easy".
We need to create a habit for skill execise if it does not happen without additional effort.
E.g. if you are alone in a new country, you'll learn new language without much bothering about it.
But if you came to new country with your family and your circle of friends consists of newcomers like you and you are a reserved person unable to chit chat with anyone on the street... Or if you just need to learn a new language without being exposed to native speakers... Then you need explicitly exercise new language and do it on regular basis.
Or if you believe that new skill can boost your career but cannot exercise it on your current working place.
Or your health is worse than it could be and you'd like to move more and eat differently.
Sounds like a bunch of new habits, eh?
Really here is one habit: a habit of regular deliberate learning.
"a habit must be established before it can be improved"*does not really work:
- If you are going to establish an hour-long behavior, doing something meaningless for 2 minutes will make you annoyed long before desired habit will be established.
- If you try to do something you cannot currently do properly, you'll get harmed or at least disappointed. First-jogging-day-traumas are rather usual in overweighted middle-agers.
- And last but not least: a habit is your gravitational well, a behavior performed automatically, without any willpower or even attention while learning new skill is deliberate conscious process.
Let's try another scheme:
- Create 2 slots in your day schedule:
- Teacher's - to collect and organize learning material.
- Student's - to learn.
- Create a timeslot for the habit itself and use it for something close to desired behavior but already known:
- Walking instead of running
- Recalling previous lessons and playing with their materials.
