Skill Development: Don’t Let Your Quarantine Time Go to Waste
Ojus Sharma
CEO & Co-Founder @ Applify — Helping businesses innovate with GenAI, Data and Intelligent Products | Building Next Now
The events of the last couple of weeks have been unfathomable, who would have guessed that the Coronavirus outbreak will bring our lives to an absolute standstill? Undoubtedly, it’s a worrying time, socially and economically. No one is allowed to go outside. Offices are shut. Employees are WFH. This pandemic is unlike any other crisis in a sense it changed the course of things like never before.
As they say, every cloud has a silver lining. The lockdown and self-isolation have slowed down our ‘always hectic’ lifestyle with now many extra hours in hand. Think of this ‘free time’ as a gift. Instead of only binge-watching TV shows and movies, use this downtime to read new books, hone new skills, optimize your resume, and upgrade your personality.
Here are a few ways to accelerate your career growth during the quarantine:
Focus on a specific skill
In the coming days, spare some hours to master a specific professional skill. Microsoft Excel, Powerpoint, JAVA, Ruby (or another coding language), design tools like Photoshop or Sketch, public speaking, copywriting - there are plenty of options out there. You just have to choose the one that can benefit your career the most.
Online certifications
Getting an online certification is a sure-shot way to advance your career. Though it could be challenging also if you’re WFH, managing household chores, and homeschooling kids. That said, workplaces are also pivoting and have also slowed down a bit. Make the most of this time to commit yourself to one such program. Big data, project management, agile, IT management, data science are some hottest online certs in demand right now.
Personal development
The current pandemic is not just affecting the world economy but also our sanity and mental health. Consuming too much negative news can make you anxious and depressed. So use this quarantine time to figure out how to grow from this experience. Pen down your thoughts in a journal. Start meditation. Try your hand in cooking. Get into reading. Learn Tai Chi. Recite positive affirmations. Learn a new language.
Remember that personal development leads to professional growth — so if you want to progress in your career, you'll need to develop personally first.
Best online learning platforms during quarantine
There are plenty of websites and universities that offer free online certifications, courses, and training to help you brush up on highly marketable tech skills during this downtime.
- LinkedIn learning
- edX
- Udemy
- Harvard Online Learning
- Coursera
- FutureLearn
- SkillShare
On an ending note
Even though the world is shut down temporarily at the moment, the future is still full of opportunities and possibilities. Take advantage of the time you have right now!
Follow me for your weekly dose of inspiration.
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Author bio:
Ojus Sharma is the CEO and Co-founder of Applify 一 an award-winning app development organization. He is an entrepreneur, a strategist, design enthusiast, blogger, and an app geek. Already a contributor at AppFutura, he likes to write about leadership, entrepreneurship, productivity, and office-inspired situations. Connect with Ojus on LinkedIn, Medium, and Twitter.