PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT IN TIMES OF A PANDEMIC

James Wallman, in his book 'Time and How to Spend it' mentioned that personal development is prime to many psychological theories of long-term happiness. 

 

Pandemic and Personality

 

No matter how uncertain life is, we put an alarm to wake up every day. We always sleep prepared for the next day. Similarly, these trying times of unpredictability and chaos need us to be equipped for what comes next. Being locked down is not only a precaution for today but also a preparation for tomorrow. 

 

Your personality is similar to an advertisement of say, a clothing brand. A good advertisement attracts buyers and investors. Working on your personality helps you to build a version of yourself that is sought after. It is a combination of your characteristics and your abilities. Allocating time to extend your personality is the equipment you need for a better tomorrow.

 

We all are gladly aware of celebrities taking up activities like cooking, gardening and exercising to keep themselves up and about in the lockdown. This time is a learning opportunity in disguise. What could be better than adding another feather to your skillset?

 

10 Ways to chisel your personality for tomorrow-

 

1) SWOT your way up!

Do a SWOT analysis for yourself. Identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Make an elaborate plan for your career. Take the step to become the person you aspired to be. 

 

2) Read, and read a lot- 

People are what they read. 

There's nothing better than starting your day with a cup of coffee and a newspaper to read. Everything now exists at your fingertips. Swipe and find a newspaper or a book for yourself. A lot of publishing houses and libraries have made their content online. Go ahead and use these resources in your favour. 

 

3) Write eMails!

Write an eMail to celebrities and figures you have constantly admired. Approach them and let them know how much you appreciate their work. Contact people belonging to your career field and have an informative conversation with them. Share your plans, your achievements, and your ideas with them.

 

4) Fill your Bucket with Bucket Lists!

Who isn't craving pizza, or perhaps a nice, spicy plate of golgappas! So, add it in your bucket list. Make a brief of what you want to do when the lockdown ends. List down the things you want to do in the next five years or perhaps the next ten years. 

 

5) Online Courses on your Windows.

Coursera, an online course platform, has 8 times the enrolments after the lockdown started. People are taking all sorts of courses to make themselves a well-rounded profile. From courses in humanities, social sciences to personality development, everything is one click away!

 

6) Learn a new language!

Sign yourself up to learn a new language. There are free applications like Duolingo, that make learning a foreign language both easy and fun.

 

7) Vibe to your tunes!

Learn to play an instrument. Be prepared for the next family gathering, or a talent show in your office.

 

8) Write right!

Take up courses to enhance your formal writing and creative writing skills. Writing skills are very important in today's generation of diplomacy and statesmanship. 

 

9) Attend online webinars and workshops.

This situation has brought a lot of professionals to take workshops and webinars to occupy themselves and the people around. Follow pages on Facebook that you relate to and keep yourself updated about various online sessions. 

TED is a very popular channel to spread ideas that bring in ideas of a greater good. Browse TED Talks and learn lessons that last a lifetime.

 

10) Help with the daily chores!

Engaging in daily chores is an absolute stress buster. Spend some time cooking and cleaning. 

 

How to keep at it?

 

When you have abundant time and no particular place to be, it becomes hard to keep yourself productively engaged. Here are three ways to keep your agendas in check.

 

1) To-Do Lists

Make yourself a list of tasks every day. Keep striking the tasks as and when done. Studies have shown that there is a 40 per cent more chance that you'll complete the tasks when listed. 

 

2) Routine

It's very important to stick to a routine. A lot of people are facing trouble sustaining their sleep-wake cycle. It's important to follow sleep hygiene and keep a track of what is to be done and when. 

 

3) Alarms

Set alarms as per your schedule. They'll be a constant reminder to keep yourself on track during this time. 

 

The situation we are in has called for a change in education, lifestyle, workstyle, and everything we thought was particularly structured. The patterns to approach the upcoming situation requires a lot of work. Why not spend this time finding answers and being prepared for what comes next?