I had a baby three months ago.

Three months seems such a short amount of time.  Yet, on my first full web design project back, I found some of my skills rusty.  Some things I did without even thinking about before, skills that were in my fingers had gone missing or were slow and clunky.  Clearly, those professional neural pathways had weakened as I concentrated on the urgent needs of a newborn.

I am shocked at how fast this happened – years doing these same repeated movements and just three months to weaken or lose them.  I had to think deliberately and in some cases seek documentation to recover them.

It was not just the skills that were in my hands that diminished, parts of the industry had moved on.  A system that I had been using for years had a major overhaul and I was left blundering around like a beginner in front of a client.

It got me thinking about how we value our skills and experience.  There was a time when what we learned and experienced was solid and dependable.  Today everything moves so fast.  If we are not able or willing to move with it or diversify we are left behind.

I’ve been a web designer for over 15 years and this is suddenly feeling more like a liability than a reliable skillset.

My entrenchment is blinding, I need to diversify and move with the times because they certainly are not waiting for me.