9 Life Skills You Should Know How to Do but Probably Don't

Which Essential "Man Skills" Do You Have?

Do you know how to fix a leaky faucet or fillet a fish? Chances are you don’t, but that’s okay because help is on the way. As a brand that’s been helping guys for almost a century, we thought it would be fun to identify some life skills long considered essential for guys and see if men today still know how to do these things.

Scientifically speaking, we identified nine skills that have commonly appeared on “man skills” lists over the years and asked 1,000 guys nationwide to weigh in on their ability to perform them. So, how did younger guys fare against their baby boomer counterparts

Not surprisingly, today’s younger generation of guys is not as experienced as baby boomers at the majority of these skills, which begs the question: Have many life skills deemed essential just a decade ago lost relevance?

Not so fast… According to the results, beard maintenance and DIY haircuts rank high on the list of skills millennial men know how to do. In fact, haircutting was one of the few skills dominated by younger guys.

Skills Guys Know How to Do

Skills	Millennials	Baby Boomers
Grow or Maintain a Beard	53%	65%
Change Your Car’s Oil	51%	70%
Change a Baby’s Diaper	49%	67%
Shine Your Shoes	48%	86%
Cut Your Own Hair	39%	28%
Fix a Leaky Faucet	37%	50%
Fillet a Fish	35%	72%
Make a Fire Without Matches	34%	32%
Throw or Hit a Curveball	29%	35%

 

Convenience is (Still) King

Guys in their 20s and early 30s grew up in a technology-driven world where everything they needed was at their fingertips and simply ordered or found by simply pulling out a tablet or phone. Having good hair clippers in the grooming products arsenal feeds into this trend by providing instant grooming gratification. And the benefit of online how-to videos, like ours, lean into their digital comfort zone and make it easy to find and achieve a variety of styles.

But haircutting and beard growing are not the only things 18-34-year-old guys know how to do. Roughly half also are Johnny on the spot when it comes to diaper duty and oil changes, suggesting they’re fully capable of getting hands on, even if it’s a dirty job.

So, for all guys looking to brush up on these essential life skills, may we suggest a good online tutorial. Here are some great how-to videos we’ve developed and curated to provide some guidance and confidence to help guys perform these essential life skills they may not know how to do today but will soon.

Tips to Help Guys Learn Essential Skills

1. Shine Your Shoes: A pair of shiny shoes tells everyone you are a man who cares about the details. The Art of Manliness has simple steps to protect the leather and put polish back in your step.

2. Fix a Leaky Faucet: The whizzes at Howcast fix this nagging problem and restore your sanity in a snap.

3. Cut Your Own Hair: For this skill, Wahl is the go-to expert - of course. Our site offers nine hairstyles to choose from. For guys cutting their hair for the first time, we recommend giving the Easy Cut a try with easy-to-follow steps to achieve this hairstyle on your own.

4. Change Your Car’s Oil: Go ahead and get your hands dirty, and save time and money doing it. Follow these simple instructions on how to change your car’s oil from ChrisFix.

5. Grow & Maintain a Beard: If you ever needed a reason to grow some facial hair, these stats will convince you it’s worth it. Check out our gallery of facial hair styles to grow the best look to fit your face and discover how-to tips to make it yours.

6. Fillet a Fish: Fishing can be a leisurely activity but it is also a survival skill – learn from FilletingFish on the best techniques to make a boneless and delicious fish fillet.

7. Throw or hit a curve ball: This skill is all about technique – Videojug guides you on how to get a grip and Dead Red Hitting has the tools to crush it.

8. Make a Fire Without Matches: Don’t get caught in the cold without these fire-making survival skills. Use these clutch tips from NatGeoTV on how to friction a fire.

9. Change a Baby’s Diaper: Whether you’re a dad or not, chances are you will run into a dirty diaper at some point in life. Use these tricks from MomCloud to make this ‘dutiful’ task less intimidating.