Personal growth is an important part of our daily life. We simply need a blueprint for improving our life in order to achieve personal growth. We are constantly growing and learning at every stage of our life as an individual. A blueprint helps us to make a plan. Learning is much more effective when it’s strategic in nature.

Two questions come to my mind when I think about personal growth.

· Why do I want to improve myself?

· What is my major area of focus?

We should think of these questions before we can set your goals, as these goals should lead us towards the answers. Self-development starts from this point. All we need is a strategy to formulate our goals and achieve them. I have focused on seven areas to develop myself and shape myself in this dynamic workplace.

1. Learn Content Writing

My first priority in setting up my personal growth is to focus on ‘Content Writing’. It plays an important role in this world. The current pandemic made things difficult for us, yes, but also made freelancing work a necessity to survive in the long run. Content writing is an area where we can share our thoughts and express our feelings towards any subjects through writing. I find my passion for writing, and this helps me to document my thought process, and share it to people around my community. There is an increasing demand for content writers around the world during this pandemic. So, learning the building blocks of content writing, how to structure the writing, brainstorming on the topics, and knowing what to write is essentially very important to me for becoming a good content writer. I can develop an income stream just from content writing if I can write well and draw the attention of my readers. Thus, content writing is my area of focus currently, and getting feedback from my mentors, and constructive criticism from the peer groups should help me to be a better writer.

 2. Foreign language skills

Speaking more than one language is always an incredibly useful skill to have regardless of our plans for the future. It is an added advantage to have language skills in our profile. Nowadays, in the corporate sector, it has become an important part to be able to speak a few languages proficiently. For example: If we are dealing with a foreign client who speaks only Mandarin, then we need to understand Mandarin and have the ability to be conversant on it. Otherwise, there will be a communication gap. Many companies hire an interpreter and keep him/her during the meeting in order to convey the information back and forth. If we can acquire these skills beforehand, then it will not just make us rich in terms of knowledge of the language, but it also adds value to the company with our language skills. According to my priority list, I would advise our readers to learn Spanish, French, Arabic, and Mandarin besides English.

3. Computer skills

Understanding computers and its basic components have become a requirement for almost every job nowadays. Even many jobs require the employee to have a sound understanding of computers from intermediate to advanced level.

This includes knowledge of software and its applications. It is imperative to have a basic understanding of the following:

· Operating systems

· Microsoft office applications

· Spreadsheets

· Graphics design

· Accounting software

We have to understand the importance of these skills for our personal development. For instance: accounting software is a useful tool to manage the book of accounts of a company. We can manage them remotely at the comfort of our home. Thus, knowing the usage of this software is very important.

Likewise, having sound knowledge in these computer skills will take us one step further in our personal growth and become more competitive in this fast-paced professional environment.

4. Continue online learning from resourceful sites

Online learning has become an integral part of our life. Since the pandemic started, many individuals are focusing on online learning. Honing this skill plays a pivotal role in our personal growth. For online courses, I am learning from some useful sites for my personal growth. Hence, I would like to suggest my readers explore these resourceful sites, and choose your desired courses to cater to your needs.

 Coursera: https://www.coursera.org

Alison: www.alison.com

Udemy: https://www.udemy.com

Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org

LinkedIn Learning: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/

 5. Photography

The art of taking pictures are currently on the rise. If you want to be a good photographer and bring yourself to the light, then photography is the way to go. Becoming a visual storyteller is a creative process. During this pandemic, I have mainly focused on mobile food photography. My habit of constantly taking daily photos and posting them on social media groups helped me a lot in learning photography. Photography is such an area which you can learn by consistently taking photos. This is a lucrative area for many freelancers who love to tell stories visually. You have to know the art of taking pictures as well as editing it in such a way which becomes presentable for the viewers. Currently, my areas of focus are food photography and landscape photography. I firmly believe working as a freelance photographer will provide us with a source of extra income.

6. Book reading

Knowledge is intangible. Reading a good book is equivalent to listening to a motivational speaker. Your level of intellect will level up gradually when you develop the habit of reading books regularly. I have the habit of collecting useful books and reading them intermittently to enrich my mind and intellect. As an individual, we can grow mentally from reading books, if we understand the key messages of what the writer is trying to say. Now, what if someone does not have the habit of reading books? In that case, I would suggest they start reading books with easy English and in the areas of their interest. For initiating the book reading process he/she can start with ‘The Art of thinking clearly-By Rolf Dobelli” and “Rich Dad Poor Dad-By Robert Kiyosaki’.

 These books will create an interest in our reading and will help us develop the habit of reading books. Thus, reading books is a useful technique for personal growth.

7. Habits of task tracker

My final blueprint for personal growth is “Task tracker habits”. What is a task tracker? Are you staying productive throughout the day? In simple terms, a task tracker is used to track down all your regular activities. It is a measure of our productivity. A person needs to be productive if he/she wants to excel in their life. I am maintaining the habits of using a tracker in order to be efficient throughout the day. I am able to prioritize my tasks, organize, and accomplish them. Your daily routine will become more prominent and it will help you develop a strong purpose towards your goals. You will become more conversant with it once you get into the habit of using a task tracker regularly.

Overall, I believe we can grow personally if we can work on these activities during the current pandemic. We need to understand that there are also other activities associated with personal growth. We all have a different approach towards it and every individual must be goal-oriented in life in order to create a better future.