How to make the most of ‘staying at home’?

For youngsters, staying indoors has brought its own challenges. With colleges and offices closed, some of you must be wondering what to do with your life altogether. Many life and career plans have been thwarted by the 2020 pandemic and its consequences. Even if things go back to normal, they won’t be the same kind of ‘normal’. The virtual world has replaced the ‘real world’. Incessant scrolling has become a serious problem. Too much of social media and binge-watching is clearly doing more harm than good. But what is the alternative, even? Well, since you are reading this article, you have already taken the first step. Read on to know how you can be productive indoors while being a modern millennial.

Use your screen to learn:

The number one rule to use the screen wisely is to use it as an asset and not a liability. Rather than playing games and binge-watching shows, you can sometimes use your screen to watch resourceful content. Content that will help you in the future in a fruitful way. Choose something that interests you or tickles your curiosity or gives you an edge over your colleagues or classmates. There are so many trending courses these days, courses that will prove to be a smart investment in the near future. With screens becoming people’s best friends and cyberworld becoming their hangout place, why don’t you check out some cybersecurity courses like the CHFI course. There are plenty of amazing online course providers. And literally, everything is on discount these days. What more can you ask for?

Use your screen to research:

Rule numero dos is to use your screen to research things that you always wanted to know about. Informational websites, blogs, vlogs, and forums are all great places to understand things in detail. People come across so much information over the internet that they hardly care to deep dive into a particular topic. They choose width over depth but you all know exactly what such people become: jack of all trades, master of none. Make sure that you spend some part of your ‘screen time’ to research on topics that help you understand something better and make you take better decisions in that area. Continuing the above example, if you are signing up for a cybersecurity course, you should spend some screen time researching about all the course options available, the pros and cons of each course, the scope, the salaries, the best certifications, the best institutes, reviews by ex-students etc. A short one-day research about the course you are purchasing is a great way to make sure your precious time and money are not wasted.

Use your screen to invest:

If you replace one hour of social media with one hour of professional connection-building, you will be amazed at what you can achieve professionally. Your career depends on the connections you make, more than you think. As Tim Sanders put it: “Your network is your net worth”. To carry on the above example, if you researched and decided to go ahead with, say, CEH online course, then it would only add to your benefit that you spend some time building appropriate connections on LinkedIn. You can follow cybersecurity professionals in companies you admire, you can follow top institutes’ social media profiles, you can even make online friends with someone who can mentor you in the field. Social networks come in very handy when you need to socialise professionally. All you need is to make the switch from mindless scrolling to mindful socialising.

Pro tip: Socialising doesn’t mean just following people you want to build connections with and liking their content. It means interacting with them, commenting on their posts, congratulating them on their achievements, and even sharing their work sometimes.

On last note, just remember to use social distancing and your friendly screen to: Research, Learn and Invest.