18 Things I learnt during the difficult times of Covid to get my life on the right track (Part 2)!!

As discussed in the Part 1 of this series, In this article I will continue with the next 6 habits I have learnt or started to do since the pandemic which made a positive impact in my life!!

Continues Learning and Up-skilling: I did kind of been very complacent on this part for many years thinking I was doing great at work, so why to bother learning new things and skills. But when I saw people with that mindset struggle during the pandemic where they lost jobs and found stranded not knowing what to do now. Luckily neither me or anyone in my close circle had to go through this, but it definitely made to realise how to important it is to have the learning mindset always and improve the my skills to the next level.

This is when I started reading self help and finance related books, taking course on ACloudGuru platform for the AWS and Microsoft Azure cloud certifications, learning new tools and technologies on Udemy and Pluralsight, and to work on something new hands-on projects on a regular day to day basis.

Physical Activities: This is more related to the exercise part bit in some different way. As I have always been a person who more into playing sports such as Cricket, Badminton, Table tennis etc, but from last 5 years or so I couldn’t get involved in any of those. When Covid came, and after spending months at home only and also suffering from all sorts body pain and posture issues, I decided to get on sports again.

So along with exercising regularly, I made to sure play the sports as well on a regular basis. Now, I play Badminton on every Fridays, Squash on every Wednesdays and Cricket during the summers. This made to meet go out regularly, meet with people, have useful conversations with them and have keep the body health as well.

Working From Home: This one is a game changer for me and I think may be for most of us. I used to go to office every single day before the pandemic and thought WFH for a continues period of time is impossible. But when we had to do it, I did struggle a bit for couple of week but then once I got my setup in place and fixed myself a work routine as I know this is going to last for quite a few months, I started to reap its benefits.

To name a few, it has Increased flexibility and work-life balance, reduced commuting time and cost, comfortable and personalised work environment, increased autonomy and control over work schedule, reduced stress and improved overall well-being. I would encourage to WFH where possible to get these benefits, and I know few roles need you to be in the office but plan your work in such a way that you can at least work in an hybrid manned if not fully remote.

Writing Medium Articles: I was thinking about this from almost 2 years now, never got started until 6 months back. Now I write consistently on software and data engineering topics, planning to write on personal development, productivity and other topics as well.

The main reasons to start this is share my knowledge with other and get the feedback, make sure I do not forget my learnings and experiences, Potential to earn money through the Medium Partner Program, Access to a large and engaged audience of readers and writers etc.

Make better use of YouTube: For a very long period of time, I use to think YouTube as an entertainment medium for passing time, though learn few things here and there. But serendipitously, I came across few nice channels such as Ali Abdaal, Warikoo, Think school, Daily Stoic, Matt d’avella etc which changed the way I use YouTube now.

Now, I use YouTube as means to access wide range of content covering various topics, from personal development to technical support. It is helping in to learn new skills, increase productivity, find motivation, and receive help and suggestions. If used cautiously, it is definitely a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their personal and professional lives.

Understood the Importance of Time. As mentioned in the previous article, we do not have infinite time as we all are going to die one day. But I never realised about it, I always used to feel busy but never learnt to respect time and manage it properly. But now, after reading few books, articles and watching few videos I got to know few things which I was not doing right.

Proper time management allows individuals to prioritise their tasks, reduce stress, and increase productivity, leading to improved personal and professional outcomes. So now I plan to intentionally allocate time wisely, set goals, and focus on activities that align with my priorities. Not yet there, but I making a steady progress.

Hope it had given some inspiration for you to start some of the habits and think differently on few assumptions you have made about some stuffs. I will cover the last set of things I learnt in the next articles, so stay tuned !!!