Shaant, Cool, Ommm
These are trying times. All of us have been suffering in one way or the other, so time to learn how to take a chill pill.
Welcome to yet another edition of MichiSpotlight. I’m so glad you decided to read this newsletter today; I promise it would be worth your time :D
India has been suffering through some very trying times. Not all of us have the luxury to relax. COVID positive or not, all of us are stressed out.
I initially planned on talking a little bit about procrastination. But the circumstances haven’t been kind for us to be in the best shape to overcome procrastination right now. So, I felt this isn’t the right time to suggest some good measures against the same. But not worry, I’ll have a very detailed “cookbook” of customized hacks that you can use to fight against procrastination. I’ll put it up in the next edition of the newsletter.
So, what exactly would we talk about today?
Let’s find out, shall we?
The Hustle Culture
When someone looks at my LinkedIn profile, they often ask, “How did you do so much in just your third year of college?”, “Wow, your profile is perfect!”! (what a boaster, I know!). But I am not worthy of those praises. Why? Hustling shouldn’t be associated with a positive way of living/doing,/achieving things.
If you want to be great, you have to work hard, that is true. There are no shortcuts to where you want to go. It is important to know that if you’re young and don’t think much about your health (mental and physical) or don’t invest time in yourself, whatever you do wouldn’t last long.
Hustlers might get immediate results and would be doing great in life at the moment, but eventually, they would wear out, and things would get stretched to a point where they would burn out.
Short yet consistent steps would lead you to greatness.
Doing👏inhumane👏things👏isn’t👏praiseworthy.
What a hypocrite!
Yesyes, all of that came from a person who has 15+ work experiences listed on her LinkedIn profile. I am a living (rarely), breathing (barely) example of a workaholic. Currently handling 3 committees and communities in my college, working at a startup as a DevOps engineer, regularly participating in hackathons, applying for summer internships, skilling myself up, preparing for the GRE, failing to keep up with academics (although my recent scores were sky-high), and of course, writing this newsletter. EVERY-MONDAY.
Due to over-exertion and so many different activities that I do daily, my concentration is at an all-time low.
It’s not like I’m doing one thing. In some of my commitments, I have to think about ideas and brainstorm; in others, I either have to code a lot, design stuff, or think about marketing strategies or resolve unnecessary conflicts or write, like right now.
I don’t remember things properly because of my shortened attention span. I am barely able to listen to people and comprehend their words.
My folks shout at me for not exercising and sitting in front of the computer all day. Which I have to ignore because of my undying inability to say NO.
Fear of Missing out on Work (FOMOW)
I missed a gazillion opportunities when I was younger. I always underestimated myself. Hence, I have this weird fear of missing out on work now. I can’t help myself. I have to try that club or apply to that internship or participate in that hackathon. Not because everyone else is doing it but because if I don’t do it myself, then I’ll either lose a big opportunity or things won’t be done perfectly just the way I want them. **Welcome to weird OCD diaries.**
What do I do to cope?
Eventually, I burn out completely. Without a Netflix ritual and pasta cleanse, I can’t go back to my normal charming self.
These days people are going off LinkedIn because it has become too stressful for job seekers and even content creators to keep up.
Here are some of the things you can do to prevent a burn out to happen:
Don’t push your limits too much. Not when it comes to working or learning something new.
(Hypocrite Alert): Don’t take too much on your plate. Hackathons come and go, and opportunities reappear. If you don’t have time, don’t do it.
Take frequent breaks. (Not too frequent). If you think you’ve worked enough today, give yourself a treat.
Wake up early in the morning instead of working late. Finish off all the low-dopamine items like studying and working on assignments first and then move on to exciting, addictive stuff like Development or coding.
These are stressful times, so when you’re getting too cooped up, walk it off. Take a walk around your house.
Do household chores like watering plants or washing utensils or clean up your desk or adjust your wardrobe. (a brownie point for you as your mom would be happy, and your life would be easier).
Don’t forcefully meditate. Just sit quietly for some time. Sleep or keep the distractions away. Switch off your phone for a few hours every day. Get your work done.
And I can go on and on here, but these are some of the things you can do apart from just watching Netflix or movies, which isn’t entirely relaxing for your eyes especially.
Opportunities /Resources (+ some helpful COVID websites)
Hackerrank Summer Internships
Hackerrank has internship opportunities open for Indian Students for the following roles:
Software Developer Intern. Apply Now >>
Technical Content Writing Intern. Apply Now >>
Product Manager Intern. Apply Now >>
DataCamp is offering all of its courses for FREE till 30th April!
You can sign up here to avail of the offer >>
SignUp for the Visual Studio Dev Essentials to get some great benefits
Here are some COVID-19 Websites that you should share with your friends in need!
Be sure to share this across your network. Many users have verified them. This is the live example of building meaningful projects that can impact people’s lives. Kudos to the developers who built these websites on such short notice to help people around them.
https://covid-resources-chi.vercel.app
Thank you for reading!
You’ve reached the end of this edition, I know it was more of a rant, but you should know that behind all the glory lies someone who is not focussing on their health, which is bad. We are young people. We owe it to ourselves and our future to invest in our health and mental peace. Absolutely nothing is worth sacrificing these two.
See you next week with some insights on procrastination! :)
Some things were just so relatable 🤯 Amazing as always 🤜🤛
I'm really swamped and driven, thank you.