Build Your House, Stop Touring Them
By: Piyushi Bishnoi
Tags: Creativity, Productivity, Tips, Personal Branding, WFH

Tips for making the most out of this precious time — “Stop scrolling, man!”

After a long hiatus from this beloved content creation portal, I realized it was time to flex my writing muscles before the only way I know how to write is work emails…

2020 has been a weird year, no doubt, and I’ve felt the need to turn to social media and my phone more to get the satisfaction of socializing, or at least looking at photos of people and remembering what socializing was like, and my eyes HURT. My screen time has gone up double, and it frankly would’ve gone up triple if there were more than 24 hours in a day and sleeping wasn’t a requirement for functioning normally.

So here I was, scrolling on my second favorite thing, TV, and came upon the documentary “The Social Dilemma”. Now my thoughts on that is for another post, but in less than 10 words —put the phone down and GET A LIFE. Harsh? Yeah, but as the title suggests, we spend so much time scrolling and watching videos and looking at posts and ingesting, ingesting, ingesting. We take in so much content, but how much content are we putting out there? Are we building our brand? Marketing our skills? The 10 people who show up on your feed the most (thanks to Instagram’s algorithm) sure are, but the rest of us are just sitting and watching others create. It’s like if we spent days and days going to model homes, wishing we could have a house like the ones we see on TV or the ones we tour, but not doing anything to get one of our own.

Now before I lose those who don’t have the patience (or are getting the social media itch to switch to Instagram/Snapchat/TikTok), here are 5 easy ways to create something of your own and finally say that at least one thing went well in 2020.

0. Set time limits on your social media and shopping apps

Didn’t expect a tip #0, did you? Before you can start creating, let’s start with a little discipline. iPhone’s have an setting called “Screen Time” and you can actually place limits on how long you can use a set of apps per day. Unlock your phone, and set those usage limits right now. Okay, go on.

1. Create a little press for yourself (Medium)

This one is by far the hardest, but the most rewarding, at least to me. If there’s anything on your mind (shower thoughts, dreams, moonshot ideas), write about it! If you are known as the person in your friends group who always gives advice, write that advice down! Liked a new TV show? The debate gave you a headache that took a couple Tylenols to go away? Write it all down. Putting content on Medium is a great way to build a bit of your brand, no matter what industry you’re in.

2. Create traction for others (LinkedIn)

Writing is hard. And requires effort. And sometimes I’m just lazy. Often I read a really interesting post or article on LinkedIn and frankly never would have thought to write that way or on that subject. A great way to put a little of “you” out in the universe is to share interesting posts or articles on LinkedIn and write your thoughts about it on the post. I’ve seen those thoughts reshared thousands of times if it struck a cord with how many people felt after reading, and you can build a following just sharing your thoughts on other people’s content! It’s like Yelp. You write a review, you write 500, and suddenly restaurants are reaching out to you.

3. Create physical space

If you’re spending more time at home, home is going to start looking smaller and smaller. One of the most useful things I’ve done is take 30 minutes in the day to go through one small area of my space, like a drawer, and do the 12 month test. If I didn’t use the item in 12 months, it was time to donate, throw, or sell. I highly suggest Poshmark and Facebook Marketplace.

4. Create a spin on a favorite dish

I love to cook, but it’s a lot of effort to try an entirely new recipe. And Seamless is just so easy in my apartment who’s kitchen is now starting to look smaller (refer to tip #3). I realized that I didn’t have to try an entirely new recipe to shake up my meals a bit. If you make pasta with chicken, maybe roast some garlic and add it in, or try frying your spices first. If you like to make pie, maybe try a different shape and try hand pies, or turnovers. You don’t have to change the ingredients you buy or even the recipe that much, but the little tweak in a dish you normally make can make you see it in a new light.

5. Create meaningful relationships

As mentioned before, many of us are at home, or at least staying put in one city for the time being. I truly believe that there are ways to create meaningful relationships, or strengthen existing ones without social media. Now that everyone is relatively staying in one space, send a letter or a postcard! Take a look on etsy for something within your budget that you can send to a friend or loved one that they might enjoy (candles, puzzles, cute masks). Do a zoom codenames game night. Watch a movie on netflix party together. Do a virtual book club or book swap. Reach out on LinkedIn with someone you want to build a professional or mentorship connection with. Or just pick up the phone and do the ol’ fashioned phone call to a friend. Block out some time once a week equivalent to commuting one way and use that to connect with those you might have been too busy to have the chance.