With everything that’s going on, Personal Development matters more than ever. Maybe you also have extra time or incentive to improve your skills.
And you can do that with the 20+ great personal development activities I’ll share with you today.

Self-betterment doesn’t have to be tedious and hard.
Developing new skills allows you to improve yourself, change your life, and be happier.

The goal of this list is to give you a variety of Personal Development Activities you can choose from.

So let’s do this and check out some self-improvement ideas!

Personal Development Activities that expand your knowledge

1. Master a deep and narrow skill

This means you become an expert in one skillset or field.
You focus on getting better and learning as much as possible to master this one thing.

An example of this could be that you specialize in Photoshop Composites.
(That’s when you blend different images together so they look like one super cool and beautiful image).

So, you put all your efforts into becoming the best Photoshop Composite specialist you can be.
And you know the best part?
Thanks to online learning it’s easier than ever to get qualified or certified.

2. Broaden your horizon

You can also do the opposite (instead of deep and narrow, go wide and shallow). So instead of specializing in just one skill, you can learn several new things.

They can even be completely unrelated to what you usually do.
This will give you a wider variety of experiences that can come in handy later.

You learn a little bit about everything so you know the basics, but you don’t specialize. A great example of this could be sports.

You see the difference between focusing all your energy on becoming an excellent runner… or to practice all kinds of different sports like running, biking, swimming, yoga, tennis, and taekwondo?

3. Learn a new language

Whether you need it for a vacation, relationships, or your job: it can be really helpful to learn a new language.

And this has never been easier to do. You can actually learn a lot for free.
There are plenty of YouTube Channels, Online Courses, Podcasts, Blogs, Apps etc..

You can also partner up with somebody who wants to learn or practice your language in exchange (where I live, this is called a tandem).

This can even help with your people skills if you are rather shy.
And it can be super flexible. You can meet in person or via Zoom or Skype.

4. Manual personal development activities

Building something with your hands is good for your brain.
This can be manual activities like

• Cooking
• Painting
• Knitting
• Gardening
• Building / restoring furniture
• …

Making things with your hands can decrease stress and improve your mental health.
(Unless you freak out because you think you suck).

Depending on the activity you choose, it’s almost meditative and clears your mind.
Even if these are not career goals, it’s a helpful activity.

A relaxed and clear mind can lead to more creativity.
And that helps you find solutions to your problems.

Personal Development Activities to pick up good habits

5. Reflect and learn from your mistakes

Okay, this may not sound like an activity…
But reflecting on your mistakes is important for your personal growth, too.

When something goes wrong, don’t beat yourself up over it.
Try to look at it objectively and figure out why it didn’t go as planned.

Then you can do better the next time.

Did you lack a skill?
Did you forget something? Maybe you have a few bad habits that aren’t helpful.

Or maybe it was something outside your control.

“Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward” – Oscar Wilde

When you understand what went wrong, you can do better next time.

6. Build a daily reading habit

Reading every day has many great benefits.

• It stimulates your brain
• You get more knowledge
• It can be relaxing (depending on what you read)
• It improves your memory and focus
• You get better writing/communication skills

It’s also super convenient because you can read everywhere.
Think of e-books on your phone, blog posts, magazines, self-help books…

7. Start a success journal

Journaling can help you think about your successes. And all the things you’re grateful for. It’s great for reflecting back on your day or week.

A daily journaling habit has even more of a positive impact. It

• Puts you in a good mood
• Keeps your memory sharp
• Helps with your goal-setting
• Keeps you motivated
• Can help with your creativity
• Is good for your self-discipline

Journaling will put you in a better mood because it helps you focus on positive things.

It can even help with your self-confidence.
That’s because journaling makes you remember times you were proud of yourself or others complimented you.

You easily forget those moments because your mind naturally focuses on the negative things that happened…

Let me give you a few journal prompts

• Three things I appreciated today
• Three things my “best self” would do today
• A trigger I noticed (and how I handled it)
• Things and actions that moved me closer to my goals and dreams

8. Do Yoga

Yoga has many great benefits. It’s good for your body and your soul.

It’s also relaxing, energizing, or both.

You can do it first thing in the morning, during your lunch break, or in the evening. Whatever works best for you.

You also have several options where you can do it.
You can practice inside a beautiful room, outside, or even on a paddleboard on the lake.

Some main benefits are more flexibility, energy, and strength. Yoga decreases stress, helps you sleep, is good for your breathing, and overall well-being.

9. Meditate

Mediation is relaxing and calms your mind from all the chatter.
If you’ve never tried it, it doesn’t mean you never think about anything.

But you become aware of your thoughts, so you can choose them more wisely.
You can find plenty of meditation videos on YouTube and apps, such as:

• Guided meditation (when someone talks to you)
• Music meditation
• Mindfulness bell (almost no sound)
• Tibetan bowls
• Nature sounds (like rain or birds)
• Or simply listen to a sound in your room like a clock or ventilation

If you have never meditated, you could start with a guided meditation.
I find them distracting, but they can be extremely helpful if you can focus on their voice.

After a while, meditation can have a positive impact on your stress management.

Meditation helps calm your mind, improves your focus, and can increase your creativity (because you clean out negative overload).

10. Practice self-care

Do you tend to overdo personal development activities? It’s not all about the hustle.

Self-development activities are great to improve your skills.
But you also need to make sure that you take care of yourself.

That’s how you restore your batteries.
This is so important because that’s how you can tackle your next challenges and focus on your success.

And your options for some well-deserved “me-time” are endless.

Great ideas of self-care activities

• drink a tasty cup of hot coffee or tea
• get a relaxing massage
• read a good book
• watch your favorite Netflix show
• eat some delicious food
• apply a face mask
• take a hot shower or bath
• take a refreshing nap
• go to the movies
• get a great workout in
• take a nice walk…

Personal Development Activities that improve your social skills

11. Do more teamwork

Unless you’re a natural extrovert, your people skills can probably improved.
You can read books and watch videos about the subject, or you can participate in teamwork workshops.

This could either be at work or a personal workshop. I promise that you will learn a ton about yourself.

It will show you how you like to work. And if you can work well with others.

At work, you don’t always get to test your teamwork skills.
You may also believe that most people think like you.

I did a workshop once, and I discovered many good things about myself.
I was very surprised that most people have a very different way of assessing, processing, and organizing tasks.

So if this is something you’re interested in, I highly recommend a teamwork workshop.
Maybe you’ll discover how special you actually are!

12. Improve your communication skills

Do you think you are a good communicator? Maybe even a great one?

If the answer is “no”, you can improve your effective communication skills.
It can be as simple as watching a few videos or tutorials. Or you could take a real class.

It helps so much when you can communicate clearly. It’s beneficial for the people you’re talking to, but also for you.

And the better you communicate, the more confident you feel. It just gets easier to talk to people.

13. Network

For many, networking is the worst.

Especially if you are an introvert. Basically, you just want to get out of there as quickly as possible.

But here’s the good news.
You can train this.

The more you train your interpersonal skills, the less awkward it gets.

It’s bad because you’re worried that people may not like you. Or because you don’t know what to say.

But try to stick around and talk to people. You never know who you will meet.

So many people have an interesting story and are happy to share it. With them, the conversation flows naturally.

A lot of anxiety comes from not knowing beforehand what you can talk about. But you don’t have to know that.

Simply ask a question and then you can ask follow-up questions about whatever the other person answers.

The more you talk to people, the easier it gets.
If you can just get over the initial awkwardness…

That’s where YouTube videos can help. They will give you tips and go-to topics or sentences you can use.

14. Practice a team sport

Did you know that sports can be good for developing leadership skills?

• You lead by example
• get more confident
• learn to communicate clearly
• work together in a team

Team sports also help your organizational skills and discipline. And they are naturally great to improve your interpersonal relationships.

Personal development activities: Get help

15. Listen to Podcasts

You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with – Jim Rohn

Podcasts are great to learn more about a topic or skill.
And it feels a bit like hanging out with more advanced, successful people.

Most podcasts are free. And you can simply listen to them while you’re doing something else (like chores, exercise, or commuting).

It’s a super-efficient personal growth activity if you’re an auditory learner.

If you are a visual learner, YouTube videos are probably a better option for you.

16. Take (online) classes

Nowadays, you can find classes for pretty much anything online.

And you know what’s even better? There are many free or inexpensive classes to get you started (for example on Udemy).

But at some point, you need to get serious about your self-development. It’s important to invest in yourself and your future success.

You can only get so much from free classes and podcasts.

So if you’re ready to make progress, you should consider investing in professional help!

Online classes are great for their convenience… While in-person classes are great for additional support and motivation.

You can save years of trying on your own.
So, what class would you love to take?

17. Join a Membership site

Memberships are another way to get the information you need for the progress you deserve.

You usually pay a monthly fee to get access to

• helpful content
• mini-courses
• seminars
• downloads
• and support

Memberships are great to give you direction and help you with your progress. The community can also help with your motivation and inspiration.

18. Get a mentor or a coach

Self-help is great. But you don’t have to do it all by yourself…

A good coach or mentor can help you save years trying to figure it out on your own.
And I really mean years!

So if you truly want to do something, think about investing in help from someone who knows how to become successful.

19. Join a Mastermind

Masterminds are kind of the high-end version of an exclusive membership.

A handful of brilliant people meet regularly to exchange

• ideas
• resources
• contacts
• feedback
• etc.

It’s a peer-to-peer mentoring group, like successful business owners you can join to accelerate your success.

Masterminds mainly rely on expertise, knowledge, and relationships.
It’s about collaborating, brainstorming, networking, and motivating each other.

And it’s expensive because you get premium support and insights you can’t get anywhere else.

It may be worth the investment if you want to go all-in and accelerate your success.

Personal Development Activities that challenge yourself

Here are a few self improvement ideas that challenge you to work on yourself.

20. Sign up for a competition

A deadline is a helpful tool because it gives you direction and a goal.
You can sign up for a marathon, a triathlon, or some other competition that’s related to the skills you want to improve.

A few examples are a contest for singing, cooking, designing, writing etc.

If you have a deadline it’s easier to stay motivated because you signed up for real.
Then it’s not just some vague idea that you should be doing something.

21. Start a 30-day challenge

Working on yourself can be fun. Especially when you are competitive by nature.

30-day challenges are all about making small changes every day that will add up to a great result.
Just make sure you don’t overdo it because overwhelm will quickly make you throw in the towel.

Make sure you set goals you really feel excited about.
You can use these challenges to get rid of an unwanted habit or to build a new one you would love.

Your 30-day challenge could be about

• Health (eat healthier, go to bed early)
• Communication (connect with people)
• Fitness (exercise more)
• Decluttering (get organized)
• Time Management (get more productive)
• Meal planning
• Finances (create a budget)
• Create an action plan and stick to it
• Self-care (journaling, morning routine…)

And make sure you track your progress because that’s what will fuel your motivation! You want to be able to see how far you’ve come.

22. Personal development activities to leave your comfort zone

This tip could have be in the 30-day challenge section, too.

To achieve goals you’ve never achieved before you need to start doing things you’ve never done before

Stephen Covey

Every day, do something that scares you. Obviously, this doesn’t mean you should meet some creepy guys.

Simply do something that you normally wouldn’t do because it makes you feel uncomfortable.

Typical fears we have

• Fear of failure
• Fear of inadequacy
• Fear of missing out
• Fear of change
• Fear of being judged
• Fear of rejection

So, every day, try to do something that scares you.

You could give a presentation, volunteer for a new task, ask a stranger for help, post something on Social Media, respectfully disagree with someone, sing or dance in front of others, sign up for that class…

Self development activities: What’s next?

Personal development activities are great to boost your motivation and help you reach your goals. When you improve your professional skills and competencies, you’ll get lifelong success in return.

Some of these self-improvement tips are super quick and easy to do, others take a little bit more time and effort. I hope this list gave you a few ideas on how to improve yourself.

And as we saw in The Benefits of Personal Development, even tiny changes of 1% improvement per day lead to big results over time.

The personal development activities are part 2 of a self-development series. If you like this content, make sure to read the other parts next.

Which are your favorite personal development activities from this list?
Which self-growth tips should be added?

Have a great, productive day!