A few ways to improve your analytical thinking skills are by playing brain games, trying new things, reading books, solving puzzles, and participating in debate.
Did you know that Warren Buffet has named analytical skills as the most important skills to be successful in life? Analytical thinking skills are crucial when an individual tries to collect, articulate, visualize, and find solutions to a complex problem. Whether you are preparing a marketing strategy for the company's newest product or resolving a technical glitch, these skills are bound to play a vital role in your upward mobility in an organization. Hence, it is necessary to improve these skills if you want to climb up the ladder.
What does analytical thinking mean?
Analytical thinking helps you break down a problem into simple bits and arrive at a conclusion stepwise instead of directly jumping on it. It also requires interrelating the small solutions to get a definite answer.
How to hone these skills?
If you are worried that your analytical skills are not at par, relax! They can be improved just like your muscles get stronger after regularly hitting the gym. You must be ready to put effort and practice to get the desired results. Here are a few steps that will assist to cultivate analytical thinking skills.
The complicated object that sits above your shoulders (brain) can be stimulated just with the help of board games like Chess, Backgammon or with the help of mobile applications. These short time games can be a fun way to boost your skills and also serve as a family bonding activity. Logical puzzles, mathematical questions or Sudoku, Rubik's cube can also prove helpful.
Most of us become a passive learner when a comfort level has reached, which might result in stunted growth. If you are truly willing to come out of that mental blockage, just go for trying things you have never had a hand on. Develop a habit to learn a new thing that ignites the inner passion and forces to think about things that you were always curious about.
You might be an avid reader, but the real magic is in active reading. By becoming a part of a book club, you not only get to know others perspectives but also force the brain to think as you delve deeper into questions. When you pick up a book that would normally be not read, it expands your brain and paves the way to assimilate new ideas. In other words, it raises new questions and compels you to think. Reading extensively increases your knowledge base.
The book clubs often organize monthly debates on diverse topics to encourage an exchange of ideas and conversation amongst their members. Participating in debates is an excellent way to develop analytical thinking as your perspective and arguments are constantly challenged by others. It not only allows free flow of ideas but also urges you to look beyond a fixed mindset. These timed debates force you to think as well as reflect on the array of thought processes when you are too keen to end up in the winning team.
When you go for a walk in nature, try to observe things from a different perspective than the usual and question everything you see. It could be a squirrel nibbling on nuts or a dog wagging his tail. Try to use all your senses and absorb in as much detail as you can to note it down the next day. Observe how much you can recollect. Also, try different ways of viewing the world's objects that you see every day. Imagine what would be the perspective of people from various age groups right from a toddler to an elderly person.
As you pay attention to minute details of thoughts and approach towards any task, you might have to face challenges. Avoid taking the easiest path if you are determined to improve. Does it look like too much and have a thought that you do not need all this? Try answering this interview question – Describe situations which made you take risks which were worth it in previous office. Stumped? Struggling to determine what would be an ideal answer? Well, it's never too late to begin! Improving analytical thinking skills can prove beneficial in solving obstacles at home as well as going a long way in enhancing your career.
This article highligts on improving your analysis skills and thus after acquiring these skills you can choose Data Analyst as one of your career choice.
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