The Productivity Equation
The greatest lesson that I learned during the pandemic period is that there are multiple opportunities within every threat that you face. It essentially requires some elements to bring out these opportunities. A positive mindset combined with patience and persistence can make magic. I call it the ‘3 Ps’ of productivity.
Productivity = Positivity +Persistence +Patience
My lockdown story
I don’t have much regret for the past one and a half years of either fully or partially locked down days. I did many things that I never thought I would be doing. Let me share some of them with you.
We survive by adapting
The lockdown came as an emotional hit on most of the people. The whole lifestyle has turned upside down. The freedom to move has been blocked and what’s worse, the happiest moments of get-togethers and parties became an old memory. People got trapped inside their house and the physical movements got restricted within the four walls. It was an entirely new experience for all of us. This was something that we had never expected to happen in our lives. The whole world is locked down in front of us. But then we human beings have a special power of adaptability. We have been surviving through centuries by adapting. We got adapted to the new way of living. I thank all those coaches and motivational speakers who have been trying to send out the vibes of positivity during these tough days. They helped divert people to the possibilities of a locked-down world and remain positive towards life.
How did it all start?
The initial 2-3 months of lockdown went without much activity and in fact, it was a period of waiting and hoping that things would get normal within a few months. But as we all know that’s not what happened. We went through the first wave of the pandemic, went up in the curve, and successfully came down but a severe second wave was waiting for us. After the first few months, I started a few things that I am so proud of. It was when I started growing interest in digital marketing and got an opportunity to work in a digital marketing institute. This triggered my interest more in the subject. I started to read more about it, watched many videos, and finally joined a course in digital marketing. This helped me to get some idea about some of the basic concepts of digital marketing. But also I realized that it is not a small thing. The more I learn the more I realize how little I know. True that Digital Marketing is a vast ocean but the best thing about it is that you only need a laptop and a stable internet connection to make things happen. During the lockdown period, we often couldn’t get some of our essential supplies, but thank God I never had a problem with my internet connection!
The power of Digital Marketing
When I joined the Digital Marketing Internship Program of Digital Deepak, it was a game-changing decision that I made. I am so glad that I took that step. I was exposed to the fundamentals of digital marketing in a very systematic and in-depth manner. It was not just me, thousands of other aspirant marketers joined the program and got their life changed. No words to express the value of this literally free program. The best thing that happened after joining this program is that I was able to start my own blog learnwithshameena.com. This helped me to expose the world of blogging and content marketing. It is a great feeling to own a small piece of digital property in the vast ocean of the internet. Though I used to write and publish articles earlier, it was always in my mother tongue. Never tried to write and publish something in English.
My blog gave me the opportunity and courage to write and publish in English. One lesson that I learned during the internship program was that you don’t have to be perfect to start working on something. You can start with a ‘zero knowledge’ background and work each day to improve yourself. The important thing is you should not stop adding to your knowledge and skill. Each day you need to learn something new, it doesn’t matter how little it is. Never stop learning irrespective of anything.
The program also allowed me to work on social media marketing, email marketing and Google ads, the most powerful marketing tools in today’s world. But one thing that I realized during my learning process was that you will not be able to achieve anything just by consuming the content. It is important to implement the learning for you to get results. Another important thing about digital marketing is to remain consistent and committed to your goals. You cannot expect to get results in a day or two. It might take a year or two while you experiment, learn and grow. Keeping up the momentum throughout the journey can be the greatest challenge according to me.
And that’s not all about it!
The lockdown also helped us to initiate two wonderful platforms, Hayat Academy and Daily Dose of English. It was the combined effort of us sisters living miles apart but connected closely by the power of the internet. These are online learning platforms that bring students from various parts of the globe around a table. We got the opportunity to meet a lot of strangers through these platforms, train them, work with them and add value to their lives. This was a totally new experience which was made possible due to the restrictions imposed by the lockdown days. When there is a threat, don’t tie up your hands and stop doing things. Think of the opportunities that lie on the other side. The problems and obstacles in your life are the tools to bring out the best in you. In the meantime, we were featured by the Indian creative mothers and got exposed to much more audiences. We built communities around us and worked on ways to provide value to those who follow us. One thing that I always remind myself is that don’t be fooled or disappointed by the numbers in the initial stages. Focus on helping out people and providing value to them. The results will come when it is destined to come. Keep going and never quit is my advice to my readers too.
There are so many different ways through which you can effectively make use of the lockdown period and will be back with it in the next episode. I am really curious to know your reaction after reading this. Do let me know about it in the comment box below.
