Cooking

Learning how to say no. Having personal boundaries.

Critical thinking. Not enough people stop and think openly about a given problem, situation, or interaction. If everyone took just a moment or two to take into consideration someone else's perspective, circumstances, or goals, the world would be a lot less divisive.

Everyone should learn the basics of troubleshooting!

When trying to resolve a problem it's really important to keep as many variables under control as possible so that you can find the root cause and fix it.

I see lots of people who try a bunch of things without isolating the issue first but can't figure out what is wrong. Then because they messed with it so much it's almost impossible to figure out.

This is important for car maintenance, home maintenance, electronics, computers. Just about everything that can break or stop working right in your life.

Swimming. It could save your life.

Learn where all the shut off valves for your waterlines are at your house or apartment. When you have a leak is not the time to find out or rather figure out where your shut off valves are at. if you don’t know where your shut off valves are at, what could’ve been a minor water mess could turn into a major bill.

I wish I’d learned a few useful knots earlier in life. Saves so much time when you know how and which one to use.

The ones I use the most are the square knot, taut line hitch and once a year the truckers hitch for tying down the Christmas tree to the top of the car.

https://scoutlife.org/outdoors/176401/how-to-tie-the-7-basic-scout-knots/

Swimming.

It's easy and it will save your life.

CPR. You may not think about it in your day to day life, but in an emergency it's a very low hanging fruit to save someone's life. If someone is not breathing, chest compressions baby... go to town.

First off, love this question!

Active listening and validating someone's emotions. Relationship skills in general honestly! Like how to adress the core attachment need in a disagreement instead of just the surface issue.

For those in the US: Learn how to file your own taxes. It's really simple for the large majority of people, and usually just consists of copying numbers into boxes off a sheet your employer made for you. After you've done it once, subsequent times you'll probably have it done yourself in less than half an hour.

You can do it for free on a ton of sites unless you make significant income, freetaxusa is typically the most highly recommended one.

Sewing, by hand or by machine.

Pollution from "fast fashion" is one of the most insidious types of pollution and one of the highest source of microplastics.

Knowing how to sew has allowed me to keep some garments looking new for over 15 years.

I still have a "snakes on a plane" themed hoodie from 2007 that is still going strong, thanks to sewing and proper washing/drying.

Knowing how to separate your clothing for washing is also helpful in this regard, because it also can make clothes last longer. T-shirts can last a decade if they're washed on a delicates cycle and hung out to dry.

I honestly could give a flying fuck if everything I own is out of style, I'm fucking old anyway.

In this economy? Lock picking.

Mindfulness. You may not be able to turn off the (insert negative feeling here), but you absolutely can turn off the suffering.

Touch typing, if you spend more than an hour a day in front of a computer screen.

Be kind

Baking bread. At first, your results will be uneven. (brick like, over baked, underbaked, too much yeast, not enough kneading, etc.) Just don't give up, the first time you get it close to "right", you'll be addicted to home made bread. It's about training your hands and other senses until you don't need a recipe any more.

Cooking

Programming or scripting; usually Python would be enough to reduce the average repetitive workload of office workers by about 20%.

Personal finance

Years ago, I learned to shave with just about any sharp, straight edge (yes, I even practiced with a razor sharp axe). It’s interesting how the ‘fine edge control’ transfers to other activities; using a kitchen knife, swinging an axe, cutting with a Xacto, etc.

In the apocalypse, I will be the clean-shaven villain, who is surrounded by all the hot mutant ladies who adore my pretty jowls!

Edit: I use cannabis daily. I found I can shave quickly with a straight razor (after years if practice), or I can shave high. But not both. FTR: cutting yourself a bit here and there simply isn’t as bad as it sounds.

Some basic first aid

Even a quick YouTube session on some common cases should help. If you want, getting certified is pretty easy and it looks good on resumes (or at work, you could be the designated person in emergencies)

If someone close to you has an emergency, it's nice to have an idea of what to do while you wait.

On the flip side, I had someone open up about regret from not learning; it was heartbreaking hearing it. Their family member may have died anyways, but they felt like a few extra minutes could have helped the odds, and regretted not knowing what to do

Cooking.

It's shocking to me the number of people I've come across who've no idea how to cook or find it to be too troublesome to do. Moreover, feeding yourself should be the single most primal skill for anyone to have.

I realize there's a lot to unpack here. Some people are taught / learn to cook at a young age while some people have parents who've never cooked for themselves. Personal preference, finances, and scheduling play a huge part. The definitions of "cooking" and "feeding yourself" can vary widely. So, I'm not claiming everyone should know how to make a roast chicken dinner for four with sides and dessert. Although, I do think people should be at a level above boxed mac and cheese and ~~microwaved~~ air-fried chicken nuggets.

Cooking is, in my opinion, shopping for fresh foods and turning them into a meal. It's about your health, your pleasure, and your finances.

Taking regular breaks. Whether it's a quick hourly stretch or a longer weekly break, stepping away from your activities can help you avoid burnout and stay on top of your game.
Surprisingly this improved my overall gameplay in competitive games. And I am not exhausted from work anymore.

Changing brake pads. You do it for $50, they do it for $500

Effective planning. It's very easy to say " I'm doing this today and that tomorrow" but how realistic is that? Know how to break something down into its component pieces and be able complete them along a schedule. It's basically project management, but for everyday stuff. It helps immensely to be able to tackle big projects and recognize that things are progressing even though the project still isn't done. Hugely helpful for stress management.

Sewing on a button

Change a tire on your vehicle. Sure beats waiting for AAA or whatever. (Although some newer cars don't come with spare tires).

Jumpstart a car. With jumper cables or one of those battery jumpstart boxes.

Changing your oil can save some money. Add chassis lubrication too while you're at it. Can save quite a bit on service costs. (Just don't skip other regular services, lest your car fail you which will be expensive in the long run)

Repair a toilet by replacing internal parts such as: valve, flapper, float, flush lever.

Wire stripping and crimping. Especially if you plan to do offgriding homesteading with solar but occasionally comes up in home applications when you want to revive a mangled extension cord or install a fixture. Specialized cables start to add up very quickly its much more cost effective to buy a big bag of connectors, a big roll of decent gauge wire, dig out an old set of wire cutters+needlenose and fire up a 2 minute instructions yt video. Like all other skills it takes time and error to get good at it but its not too terribly difficult as wel as very cool to essentially build your own electrical grid from the ground up with wires and connectors you made yourself..

NATO alphabet, or any phonetic alphabet for that matter.

It will take you less than an hour to learn it and doesn't need to be perfect, Mark or Mike, your interlocutor will know you mean the letter M

fermenting? to make healthy, cheap, useful, durable and more importantly delicious foods?

lock picking i guess? its not that hard and useful

How to change your vehicle's tire SAFELY.

Basic home maintenance or at the very least troubleshooting and diagnostics when something breaks so you can give the repair tech better info when they arrive.

Basic home cleaning. This one might sound obvious but the number of people I've worked with who've never held a mop before astounds me. Learn to do your own laundry and clean your bathroom and kitchen well and efficiently. Learn what it takes to do a quick clean and a deep clean and do them on a schedule.