2021 is coming to an end, and I clearly remembered that same time last year; I was looking forward to 2021 and was hoping to have a better year and get to do things that I missed in 2020. However, as I look back in 2021, not much has changed. I recently made three international trips; the trips were filled with anxiety, stress, and a very different experience than many before the Pandemic. I can keep talking about how the last two years have been for me, and at the same time, I can't believe 2021 is already coming to an end. It has been a transformative experience, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to learn and grow as a person. The Pandemic is teaching, rethink and providing perspectives that have changed me in ways that will help me better manage my mental and physical health outside of Covid-19, too.
I want to share some key learnings as I look forward to stepping in 2022.
Appreciated humbleness and practiced humility far more than ever
There was a time I would have thought that the answer to such a question was obvious. The truth is that as life unfolds, you experience all sorts of things, and there are many times when we don't think it's here. When those times happen, having an attitude of humility makes it easier to move forward, learn from those experiences, and still find a bit of joy in them. Humbleness through a Pandemic has also been a journey for me. I’veI'verned that it is essential to be tolerant, patient, and respectful of others.
Rather than living in the future, I choose to live more in the present. Because of this, I believe we can all find some good in any situation if we are willing to look for it. Humbleness through Pandemic has been a journey for me. I always wanted to control the outcomes of the situations or processes in which I got involved, but the Pandemic taught me a great lesson that there are things more significant than you; we all are just here to do our part, rather than control a more powerful thing than what we intended were to do.
In Technology thought I am a nerd and know it all.
The future isn't the future- it's now; I have learned so much about Technology advancements in the last two years. I would never have thought that we would be seeing virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence becoming more mainstream. However, these technologies are developing faster than I expected and changing how we live and work.
I have learned that it is essential to stay up to date with the latest trends in technoloTechnology almost everything we do every day involves using some gadget. I would never have thought there were so many apps for smartphones, significantly how each app can help make our lives easier. The more technologies advance, the fewer time people spend doing tasks manually, which means fewer jobs are available- or will be available in 2022. Pandemics are becoming a big issue since viruses constantly mutate while spreading around the world faster than ever before due to advances in transportation and communications systems. Technology is not slowing down, with Web 3.0, Crypto, NFTs, Industry 5.0, 6G, and many such advances are just around the corner. I feel so quickly out of date on my knowledge that I have now ensured that I would dedicate at least 2 hours of the week to keep myself abreast of the new technology.
More minor but frequent pauses in life
I've learned that it's essential to take more minor but frequent pauses in life. This can help you to avoid feeling overwhelmed and stressed out. Pauses can also give you time to reflect on your goals and priorities and develop a plan to achieve them. Taking time to reflect can help you refocus on your goals and establish a plan to achieve them. During the Pandemic, I took many pauses that helped me become more productive in life. Work would never stop; often more than not, I have always planned for longer breaks but only fewer times in the year, which never gave me enough energy and mental balance. Shorter and frequent breaks, whether in a day or a month, have helped me enhance my mental focus and drive better outcomes for my personal and professional life. In addition:
Get better at managing my mental health by taking regular breaks from work
Get better at taking care of myself so I don't get sick as often
Be able to focus on what is essential right now rather than having an overwhelming sense of urgency about future deadlines or upcoming events
Learn to be more mindful about how I spend my time and take breaks from work
Get better at learning new skills and practicing them regularly, rather than just letting them fade away over time due to lack of practice
Have the courage to start writing even if it's challenging or scary sometimes because that will help me improve as a writer in the long run
I also learned some new skills during Covid-19, which will be helpful for both personal growth topics like mindfulness, sound editing, creating and launching Podcasts, social media marketing, and Zoho ERP enterprise platform deployment - to name a few.
Not just trying to get books completed, but reading with a purpose
I have never been an avid book reader; more so, I hated reading non-fiction books in the past. The only books I read were Lee Child (Jack Reacher series), James Patterson, and similar to the writers. However, this year has been a significant sea change for me; I not only started reading books but leveraging my Amazon Audible subscription; I have been able to get quite a few of the books completed.
This is one of the ways that I have been able to combat my procrastination in the last two years. It's hard for me to be productive when I only have a specific time slot for reading, so reading with a purpose helps me focus on what I am teaching myself and helps me stay true to my goal of being productive in my professional life.
In 2021, I wanted to continue reading with a purpose and learn as much as possible to be successful in my future endeavors. As someone looking towards the future, I know that continuing my education is important to me and will help me reach my goals. And reading with a purpose allows me to do just that. What I mean by reading with a purpose, I don't know about you, but I can go through a book and forget the content or critical learnings after a day or two. Highlighting or sticky notes didn't help, so I created my own "Life Operating System," which helped build a knowledge vault section. The system has helped me retain my learnings from the books, which I can remember and fall back on as a system to leverage in my day-to-day life.
Rather than leaving in the future, I want to live more in the present. This has been one of the biggest lessons I have learned from Covid-19. It's easy to get wrapped up in what could happen or what we think might happen, but if we don't take the time to enjoy what is happening at the moment, then we are missing out.
So when I read a book with a purpose, it has taught me that there are steps to get where you need to be, and taking these small steps towards my goals will allow me to live more in the present rather than worrying about becoming successful at some point down the line. It's not just trying to get books completed but reading with a purpose that has helped me become productive this year.
I started taking masterclasses to learn
In the last two years, I had the opportunity to conduct a variety of masterclasses for about 2000+ individuals across various topics. The topics I covered gave me a chance to learn more about them; it's helped me teach and learn simultaneously. I have covered different topics during such masterclasses: Product Management Strategy, Driving Cloud Strategies, Digital Transformation in eCommerce and Retail business, Driving Product Management leveraging data, building strategic business models leveraging AI, and many more. The essential skills and learning which I have captured by conducting the masterclasses:
Structuring my thoughts in a flow that would align with learners need
Keeping the engagement level high during virtual sessions
Deep research skills to help structure my content
Planning and time management
Content development skills
The skills I'm learning will help me in my professional career and personal life.
I'm looking to learn more skills in 2022 and improve some of the ones I've already learned. It's not about leaving my life behind but living more in the present.