For most people, the phrase “transferable skills” conjures up images of a college student wearing a suit and carrying an attache case. This image is outdated for today’s workforce, which expects employees to work in a variety of different environments and handle many types of tasks.
To have transferable skills, you need to know how to do more than one thing well. So, what can you do now that will help you develop these skills? How about cooking dinner or folding laundry? These may not seem like things that would translate into other fields, but they’re transferable.
For instance, you can improve your organizational skills through cooking. Keeping track of the amount of time that you’re using, making a list of the items you need to buy, and not overcooking or undercooking your food—these will all require organization.
Additionally, when you’re doing household chores like cleaning, it’s also possible to develop collaborative habits. You’ll be more likely to work with the people in your home when you need to help them around the house. That said, here are three more transferable skills that you can develop through something as menial as household chores:
Time Management
Doing chores teaches you about time management. Since you will have a limited amount of time to finish your work, you need to prioritize what needs to be accomplished to get everything done in time.
Different chores require different amounts of time; some are quick tasks like putting the dishes away after dinner, but other chores may take more than an hour, such as vacuuming the carpet. Time management is instrumental in all careers because it helps keep you on task to get things done, especially if you have a lot of tasks to accomplish.
Many other ways of learning about time management can be helpful in your future career. For example, each job has time constraints you must meet. If the job is contingent on a certain time and day, then learning about time management will help ensure that tasks are completed in the appropriate amount of time.
Teamwork
Working on chores with other people will allow you to learn how to work in teams. Tasks such as cooking dinner, doing the dishes, and cleaning up after dinner are typically done by a group of people.
For example, if you were cooking dinner for your family with your sibling, you would have to divide duties to complete everything in under an hour. This is important to learn because it can be applied in almost all jobs.
Teamwork becomes especially important when you are doing projects at work because you will be working with different people you don’t know very well. These skills can help you get to know them better and work more efficiently together.
By being an innate team player, you will be more productive when it comes to working with other people. Plus, you’ll always be able to put your best foot forward. Teamwork is something that managers look for in employees because it shows that they can work well with others and accomplish tasks as a group.
Responsibility
Lastly, doing chores can make you more responsible because if you don’t do the dishes or clean up after dinner, no one else will. This means that if you work hard at a task, the reward will be that the task is completed, and it won’t be left for someone else to do.
Everyone has household responsibilities to complete each day; this works like a chain reaction where everyone has duties that need to be completed for things to run smoothly in the home.
For instance, you are assigned to mow the lawn at least once every week. But then your equipment breaks, and since then, you haven’t been able to do your part in the household. This can be a good opportunity to invest in a durable and cordless grass cutter because, after all, it’s your responsibility to maintain your yard.
At work, there are usually certain tasks that need to be completed each day. It is important not to neglect those tasks because the responsibility will fall on another employee’s shoulders. If the task isn’t completed, it will delay the entire project.
Transferable skills may not be an aspect you think about when doing chores, but it is important to realize that many skills can be learned by doing household work. So do not underestimate the power of household chores and how they can benefit you in your future career.
