Categories of Skills by Learning Objective

Skills can be divided into (1) those that take time to learn well, and (2) those that take time to learn at all. We can consider which ones we want to be able to do well and which we want to be able to do in a pinch, and base the extent to which we pursue mastery on:

- If it’s a category 1 skill—where anyone can do it but not anyone can do it well—do you need to do it well? The answer is yes only if you want to be able to barter or make money with it. Otherwise, just learn to do it or figure out when you need to. An example is butchering a hog. If you need to butcher a hog, it'd be a pain the ass but you could figure it out. You'd want to know how to do it well if you were going to offer butchering in trade or for money.

- If it’s a category 2 skill that takes a lot of practice to be able to do at all, then you need to decide if it’s necessary for survival or desired for barter/sale. If so, learn it; otherwise, don't bother, unless it's for fun.