Last year my sister went to visit her (our) friend and sister in Germany. Our friend has lived in Germany for more than 20 years now and speaks fluent German. However, whilst my sister was there, she had to speak mostly English and Shona. My sister said that as they were about to leave, our friend said that she would need to exercise her German tongue again because she hadn’t used it much recently. I was baffled because I thought to myself, but isn’t it a skill that just sticks and kicks in when it needs to?
I have another friend who spent about 2 years in a leadership program and working in Germany. She had to learn to speak German before even getting there. Almost ten years later, she admits that her German is no longer that good and it’s mainly due to the fact that she hardly speaks it any more.
I also have a friend who is currently learning French while living in Zimbabwe. Her stories about her learning experience always leave me in stitches 😂 She’s shared how missing just one lesson or not reviewing her materials can set her back significantly. However, she’s found comfort in practicing her writing through her job and watching French TV content, which helps her stay engaged with the language.
There are times that even I tire speaking English and as we say this side of the world, the English bundle would have depleted. Sometimes whilst speaking to non-Shona speaking colleagues, I just find myself “accidentally” throwing in Shona expressions like “Handiti?” (Translation: Isn’t it?) or “Hanzi” (Translation: He/She/They said) whilst trying to drive a point across. I am sure if you don’t understand Shona, you are just left wondering, “What was that?”, right?
This made me reflect on the power of consistent practice. I thought about getting back into my Python learning and nearly had a mini-panic attack realising I barely remember what I learned at the beginning of last year. I hadn’t actually tried any exercises yet, so I was worried it might all seem new. But that’s not entirely true, is it?
Usually, it is not that we have entirely forgotten a skill. I think that the skill will now exist in a part of our brain where, if some effort is applied in recaling it, it would come back to us. More like trying to ride a rusty see-saw that has been lying idle for years. It’s going to be rough or almost impossible at first. However, with a little bit of oiling of the moving parts, you’ll be back in full swing.
Tech skills are not any different. We can actually learn and get to fully understand them, and then spend years without revisiting them. When the subject is brought before us again, it may seem like we have forgotten how to write an SQL script, for example. But once you start working on a project, it all slowly starts coming back to you.
This was definitely the case for me as I revisited some concepts over the past 3 weeks in my postgrad programme which I first learnt some 14 to 18 years ago. Of course you may find yourself on sites like W3Schools and Stack Overflow every now and again, but you will realise that the core concepts are familiar and all you needed to do was to put them into practice.
I certainly hope that will be the case for me when I do revisit Python again. In case you are wondering, why Python? What is Python? Do I have a snake? 😂 Python is a programming language that is used in web development, data science, AI and automation. Some of the popular services that use Python include Amazon, Facebook and Google. The founder of the Python programming Language, Guido van Rossum, actually worked for Google between 2005 and 2012 developing the language. which is used as one of the server-side languages chosen for its readability and ease of maintenance.
So here’s my advice if you’re building a tech skill: Don’t stop practicing! Thanks to my friend and coach, Thembe, who introduced me, I am now such a James Clear fan and his best-seller book, Atomic Habits. It’s from him I learnt that, according to a UCL study, it takes on average anywhere between 18 and 254 days for a person to form a new habit. That’s why I think that the 100-Day Python Challenge I never finished was sufficient to at least lead me to that point where I would actually be able to form a habit.
And you don’t need to dedicate that much time in a day. Some challenges in my 100-Day challenge took under an hour. However others actually took me a couple of days to figure out. But who is giving who pressure? Nobody right? So establish your pace and find a learning rhythm that works for you. Before you know it, you would have gained a skill that you can add to your resume or apply as part of a new project, freelancing or volunteering opportunity.
Here’s A Learning Challenge!
Remember, no experience is wasted. If you have some free time, try learning a new skill over the next 30 days – whether it’s Excel, Canva, Project Management, or anything else. When you’re done, let me know because we’re definitely going to celebrate! 😉