What are we doing and what will happen after the pandemic? This generalized social isolation has allowed us to adapt to a digital environment to work and educate ourselves, and it is something that has had a substantial impact on our economy and health. Many daily activities have been transferred to technological platforms so that people continue to enjoy their classes, do not lose their meetings with friends, attend to their work needs, do physical exercise or continue with training.
In the area of education, prevention by universities to keep students and staff healthy led them to suspend face-to-face activities at institutions. In addition, in order to fulfill their role, they began to use communication and operational resources and thus end the current school cycles. Likewise, international students or prospects to study abroad are completely changing their plans and reorganizing priorities to continue with their objectives after the ” Great Confinement“. Along the same lines, people are also concerned about the reduction in income and the little work that has been generated in this pandemic. The private sector had a considerable drop in its demand for products and services, which in turn affected to the workers of different industries, and with their families.
Although the aforementioned can be demotivating and worrying, it can be viewed from another point of view. Now more than ever you have an opportunity to adapt and evolve in terms of different points: learning methods, habits, skills, activities, etc. We will present the main recommendations so that your profile continues to improve during the pandemic, and you can continue with your personal, professional and educational growth.
- Do not stay only with what you already know or project for yourself in the long term; remove the doubt. This is the perfect time to experiment, discover and consider areas in which you can thrive that, because of the daily routine before confinement, you would not do. Doing things differently with different people, wondering about what you like or what you don’t, implies an advantage to know more about yourself and how you can transform yourself into the best version of yourself. Sign up for cooking courses, study a new language, do yoga, learn and research science, technology, literature …
Remember that your professional development not only implies what you know how to do in your job, but all those skills that you acquire in other types of activities that can be adjusted at work. Show that you have perseverance, curiosity, restlessness, desire to learn, these skills are highly valued in the job market. In addition, they are key in the processes of admission and obtaining scholarships if you want to study a postgraduate degree.
- Start your abandoned projects or continue with your business model; advance or conclude your ideas. This free time that we can assign ourselves in the evenings or weekends should make you wonder and reflect on those projects that you abandoned. Explore the ideas that have always caught your attention and get involved, consider if it is something you want to continue or does not work for you, evaluate the feasibility of your projects and make concrete decisions.
In times of crisis is it good to start projects, for example, business? Of course. After an economic downturn, expansion looms, which gives you the guideline to generate creative, exciting ideas that you are passionate about, so that they grow and flow during the expansion.
- Expand your contact networks, reconnect with people who have come out of your close circle, or get to know them further and learn from them. In these uncertain times, the people you haven’t talked to for months or years may have different perspectives than your friends or family do. Recovering these connections will bring you benefits in different ways: it can support you in a creative process to generate value to the projects or work performance you have, it is possible to give you advice and share their experiences with you to change your perspective. Another probability is that they may present you with options of what to do, based on what they did or plan to do. Who knows? You can find a partner for a company, a friend with postgraduate experience abroad, the possibilities are diverse.
- Online classes are a trend for the future of education, and it is a great opportunity to actively participate in these modalities. The main benefit of digitization includes the reduction of stress due to mobility or time issues, the acquisition of skills and the balance in your lifestyle by living with your loved ones. Taking advantage of this situation, you can prepare even more by studying an online diploma, taking a course, a workshop, webinars … In addition, you have the possibility of doing it at the same time that you study, since flexibility is one of these benefits of digitization. In addition, you can find a new passion in an area of knowledge that you had not considered before, which would complement your academic profile. This, at the same time that you develop personally and begin to grow.
The SARS-COV2 virus completely changed the perspective of our environment, and will continue to affect all aspects of our daily lives for the following months. Without a doubt it is a situation in which our adaptability and resilience skills have to be more present than ever. In order to remain proactive and healthy in body and mind, it is necessary to prioritize investing our time correctly, keeping digital trends in mind as support in our academic, work and personal growth. Use this social isolation to your advantage and consider getting involved in activities that you had not been able to undertake, participate in online learning that nurtures yourself, and build a career path that fits your ideas and opportunities.
