Investing in yourself might sound like a cliche thing, but who says that’s a bad thing if it can bring you purpose, excitement, and even wealth?
If you aren’t exactly sure what it means, here’s a definition straight from Quora:
[investing in yourself] generally means you pour money, time, and effort, to develop and enhance yourself from within via education.
This definition mentions money but for those low on funds, let’s cover a few free ways to invest in yourself.
1. Read a book
Better yet, books. Anything you can get your hands on. More likely than not there is at least one book sitting in your house that you haven’t read. Or you can ask a friend or neighbor to lend you one.
It hardly matters what the topic is. Reading helps stimulate your brain functions by developing your thoughts and adding to your knowledge base. It improves your memory and cognitive function. It gives you different perspectives of looking at the world. Some would even argue it makes you smarter!
2. Learn a hard skill
Hard skills may include knowing specific software, knowing languages or other technical knowledge. This is opposed to soft skills like critical thinking, problem-solving and communicating effectively — you know, the things someone can lie about on their resume! Hard skills can really set you apart in areas like your career.
There are tons of free educational resources online to learn new topics and skills. If YouTube is too big to navigate, try checking out these resources below.
ClassCentral.com is a repository of free courses known as MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses. If you find a course to take that leads you to Coursera, make sure you sign up to audit the course vs. paying for it. You won’t get a certificate upon completion of the course but that’s okay–what you want is the knowledge and skills. 💪
Khan Academy is a nonprofit that provides free education for all ages in many different languages.
Code.org – Nonprofit dedicated to providing coding curriculum for K-12, but great for anyone who wants to learn.
U.S. Small Business Administration offers free online courses for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
3. Practice your handwriting
Some people believe practicing handwriting helps with learning and improving memory. It can also be therapeutic. If you choose to journal and write things that are on your mind, it can also be meditative and cathartic. So grab that pen and paper!
4. Meditate
Not everyone knows or believes in the power of meditation. Some simply don’t understand its benefit. And that’s okay! However if you’re interested in being more present with your thoughts and emotions, more mindful and more self-aware, this may be an interesting practice for you to try. It’s a true investment in your health as meditating is known to increase energy and reduce stress and anxiety.
You can jump right in by using free meditation and mindfulness videos on YouTube. There are both free and paid apps such as Headspace. While the app has a fee, you can try this free meditation from Headspace to see if you like it.
Editor’s Note: Not a sponsored post! I just love Headspace.
5. Sleep a sufficient amount and do it consistently
We’ve all heard this one. Your mind and body need rest to recover and to function better. Optimal sleep time varies from person-to-person. A good rule of thumb is that if you are consistently groggy, you’re likely not getting enough sleep or even oversleeping.
Here are some healthy sleep habits to try:
- only use your bed for sleeping (and sex…)
- no caffeine 6 hours prior to bed
- no working 90 minutes before bed
- in the 90 minutes before bed, only engage in passive activities like watching TV or listening to music
- no phone activity 30-60 minutes before bed
- if you’re awake for longer than 20 minutes at any point in bed, get out of bed until you feel sleepy again
- keep the temperature cool
6. Update your resume, CV, bio, website, LinkedIn, etc.
You don’t have to be looking for a job to have all your personal and job-related documentation up-to-date. For LinkedIn or your personal website, you never know when there are recruiters looking for you. Companies may be willing to double your pay. Or, there may be people who want to network or collaborate with you.
For your resume, CV, and bio, update them even if you’re not looking for a job. Sometimes it’s simply nice to reflect on recent accomplishments. Plus, it’s definitely easier to update these regularly than having to remember details when you actually do need them.
7. Create a budget or update your current one
This “investment” post wasn’t intended to be about money. However, since financial health has such a huge impact on your quality of life, I’m mentioning it as a free thing you can do with extra time on your hands.
8. Catch up with friends and family
Investing in yourself also means investing in your overall happiness. Human connection is a huge source of happiness. Connecting or reconnecting with friends and family is amazing for your emotional health.
9. Find a mentor + informational interviews
Use LinkedIn and kindly reach out to people of interest!
Informational interviews are calls or meetings set aside for you to ask people questions about their career path, their industry and anything related to their job. People typically don’t mind lending their time to talk about themselves when they see that you are genuinely interested. The key here is to not use this as a means to ask for a job! Use it to gain knowledge and build genuine connections.
10. Exercise
This one needs little explanation. Find a way to get your body moving, burn some calories, and build/maintain muscle. At the very least, use this time to stretch! You can do it while watching TV.
Additionally, there are an endless number of free exercise videos online that don’t require gym equipment.
Get to investing!
