Tracking your progress

[fritz_monroe]

I'm just posting to ask how you folks are going to track your progress in the 13 Skills challenge.  I see one person's progress thread here.  But wondering how others are going to track progress.

One thing I'd like to see is a way on the 13 Skills site to update progress.  It may be there and I'm not seeing it.

[maxrobes]

I think that's the point. It's a self assessment thing. A challenge to ourselves and if we're honest, we know where we should stand with each skill. Some skills have a tangible certificate you can attain to show mastery. A couple of mines due and that's how I'll gauge success. For my fitness goals, getting down to 230, doing 100 consecutive push ups and 10 pull ups are things I can verify easily. Along with progress.

[fritz_monroe]

Yep, it's self assessment.  But like many of the other people participating in the challenge, I have friends from here on the forum that I would like to cheer on and watch their progress and to keep myself motivated by seeing how others are progressing.

But even if you choose to keep it 100% private as to how you are progressing, you are still keeping track of your progress.  Is it in a notebook?  On a blog?  In your head?  That's all I'm looking for, how are people keeping track of their own progress.

[robertov416]

I'm just posting to ask how you folks are going to track your progress in the 13 Skills challenge.  I see one person's progress thread here.  But wondering how others are going to track progress.

One thing I'd like to see is a way on the 13 Skills site to update progress.  It may be there and I'm not seeing it.

I started a wordpress blog for me to journal and be able to look back... have done similar things for other endeavors before...

[TXChikk]

Fritz I was also wondering how progress may be tracked beyond the honor system. I think most folks will be spot on. A few of mine will be certificate and others simply output like the website. Guess I'll have to weld something to prove that skill was attained :-). In any case I too think it would be great to support others in their 'visible' progress. Best to you folks too!

[fritz_monroe]

I started a wordpress blog for me to journal and be able to look back... have done similar things for other endeavors before...

I'm going to initially put it on my homesteading blog.  I may create another blog for it, but I think that improving skills is a homesteading activity, even if they are technology skills.

[Vulcan]

I did the blog idea, also making a topic here to post results and such. Personally, I like reading up on people's progress.

[rikkrack]

I will probably do a blog too. But takes time to post and write up. I also have a project notebook I use when planning projects and ideas (wife made me) to track expenses and stay organized. I tend to start several and then forget a few. So I have a bunch of 1/2 completed projects. The notbook helps track where I leave off. I added my 13 skills tabs to a fresh new notebook and a few pages in between each.

I like reading what others are doing, progressing,a nd it gives me ideas and motivation to work on my own skills. I like reading on here as is a one stop shop rather than a bunch of different blogs and links. Plus you see feedback and coaching from others. It helps.

There is an idea.  Someone with great skills on one subject be a "coach" to others. A mentor. Maybe a place to sign up or thread to offer that help somewhere to people developing that skill. I think Jack said, or wrote something to that effect. I may be wrong.

I got father-in-law to show me welding if I went to the shop with him on Saturdays when he works and help clean up. was a fair deal.

[EOTS]

I'm going to track our progress on my blog, too (we signed up as a family, not just me). But I was thinking that it would be really cool to have a simple image -- something like a slider -- where people can have a quick visual snap shot of where we are in progress for each goal.

Guess I'll work on that.

[photontorpedotube]

I'm just posting to ask how you folks are going to track your progress in the 13 Skills challenge.  I see one person's progress thread here.  But wondering how others are going to track progress.

One thing I'd like to see is a way on the 13 Skills site to update progress.  It may be there and I'm not seeing it.

A lot of folks have the same idea.  Here is my link, http://chestnutpermiefarm.blogspot.com/2012/12/goal-setting.html, on how I personally intend to track stuff.  I have a "writing" goal so this is one of my skills.  IMO, it relates largely to your ability to set measurable objectives.

I'm going to track our progress on my blog, too (we signed up as a family, not just me). But I was thinking that it would be really cool to have a simple image -- something like a slider -- where people can have a quick visual snap shot of where we are in progress for each goal.

Guess I'll work on that.

Great minds think alike.  I used a gauge chart with a Google Drive spreadsheet to create my graphic at the link above. 

[Maria]

I'm just posting to ask how you folks are going to track your progress in the 13 Skills challenge.  I see one person's progress thread here.  But wondering how others are going to track progress.

One thing I'd like to see is a way on the 13 Skills site to update progress.  It may be there and I'm not seeing it.

It's awesome so many people are using wordpress and blogger to keep track; . . . Between two jobs it's too much work for me personally to start a separate blog detailing my own, but it would be cool if there was a centralized location for everyone to take a peek into each person's personal progress. The best I can do in the meantime is keep track through my own facebook profile 

I thought I read/heard/totally mis-imagined somewhere 13Skills won't be having a facebook page -- but if it did I think there would be potential for greater one-on-one interaction there and I'd certainly be more involved (not that the 13Skills forum here doesn't offer plenty . . .)

[rikkrack]

I see many have started threads for their own skill tracking and I thought would it be better to have a thread per user update (on all skills they are working on combined), or per skill (gunsmithing), or skill and person (rikkrack's gardening skill). I can see the last making the posts count huge and way cumbersome for the server/mods/cluttered. I can see a thread per skill being really good as common skills can learn from each other. I can also see the benefit of thread per person to cheer on individual accomplishments. Anyone else's thoughts?

[cheryl1]

I like the thread per skill so we can all share info on a specific topic.

[rikkrack]

If it were to go based on skills could we (asking mods if this is possible) have the topic of 13 skills progress, with sub topics of each skill once they are finalized (I understand they are in the process of consolidating and finalizing as it gets more developed). Similar to how the regional boards are set up or other threads (Regional Boards -> Region Three -> start thread, but be 13Skills Progress -> Gunsmithing -> Either specific thread describing (make my own muzzle loader, or rikkracks muzzleloader progress).

Just a thought.

[fritz_monroe]

We've briefly discussed doing additional boards for the 13 Skills.  We've decided that we aren't doing anything yet.  We are going to wait until the community decides the path they will take in this board.



This part is just my view and hasn't been discussed with the other moderators.  I feel that there are too many skills to have a separate board for each skill.

[TxMom]

Many of the skills, but not all are already in the forums somewhere.  For those why not start a thread in those sections.  Keeps lots of great info in one area.  For instance those working on permaculture could post there, etc.   I'll be doing mine in blog posts possibly using a series plugin or and categories, easier for me to keep track of than a notebook.  I can see where others may prefer sharing on Facebook, in forums, etc.  Whatever works best for you.    I like the idea of linking to your preferred way to interact and share vs creating content on one more site.

Or even a thread for each skill, posting simply a link to your blog post, forum thread, or any other url where you are writing about reaching your goal.   Right now I can click on a skill and see goals others have set in that skill.  Many don't have links to document progress yet.  What would be nice, whether here or there, is to see a list of those links without having to wade through all those without, although I do like seeing what goals others have set.

[BillyS]

My website isn't exactly a place where tracking progress is relevant subject matter, but as I progress in my skill sets, the website will get better.

I tried to set concrete goals instead of "get better at" or "master..." goals. My goals are actionable and progress is pretty easy to track.

For example, one of my skills is woodworking. My goal is to take 2 classes at Woodcraft- one in joinery and one in finishing. There are master craftsmen who work their entire lives mastering joinery- there are all kinds of disciplines, methods, etc. Today anyway, I have no plans to become a master woodworker. I simply want to improve my overall woodworking skill set and to take these classes will help me attain "getting better at..."

My plan is to update my progress within the goal description on 13skills.com. So, after I take one class, I'll post- Update took joinery class 2/13/13. Scheduled finishing class for 4/15/13. When both classes have been taken, I will mark the goal as complete and set a new goal within the same skill. If I manage to take 6 classes in 2013, then by the end of the year I will have several updates on the site and can happily mark Woodworking as a skill I've improved upon in 2013, with all my progress logged right there.

The Masters will tell you that when you get to their level, you only realize exactly how much there still is to learn. It's all about the journey, not the destination.

But anyway, that's how I plan to track progress. 

[BillyS]

We've briefly discussed doing additional boards for the 13 Skills.  We've decided that we aren't doing anything yet.  We are going to wait until the community decides the path they will take in this board.



This part is just my view and hasn't been discussed with the other moderators.  I feel that there are too many skills to have a separate board for each skill.

Just an observation and worth what you're paying for it but...

Many of the "skills" aren't really skills but goals in and of themselves. For example, Concealed Handgun License. To me, that should be a goal within a shooting or marksmanship skill. One doesn't really have to master anything but taking the time and attending the class to get the license and having the license doesn't make you a good shot either.

Perhaps some of the skills could be condensed into more general categories with the ones being condensed set up as suggestions for goals within the set.