Blindfolded!
I was attending an "Information Communication Technology (ICT)" short course today. I was very, very reluctant but it was mandatory part of my post graduate course. So there I was, waking up really early and basically having to drag myself all the way to the venue.
Don't get fooled by the fancy title! All day 1 of the course was, was basically just teaching basics of Microsoft word...Jeez! 🤦♂️ It was unarguably the most pointless course or seminar or symposium I have ever attended. In My Life. Period.
That should tell how much I am looking forward to getting up "really early" tomorrow morning again and brace myself for Day 2.
We were given 7 tasks to complete for the day. I finished 3 of them before the teacher walked in to the class room, I even got to fit in an episode of "The Office" before the introductions were done. Yes, I have started rewatching it last week! And yes, it was a very "extended" introduction session.
For the next couple of hours till the snacks break, I had to try and pretend really hard to be working on my computer. The only thing that was keeping me staying awake was that my seat was in direct view of the lecturer and I didn't wanna be disrespectful. He wasn't a bad teacher by any means, quite the contrary. He was actually very good and was quite attentive to the ones who were falling behind. It was just not for me.
Now you may ask, well, If it was really that easy for me, why did I only finish 3 out of the 7 tasks assigned. Fair enough. You will find out soon enough.
So the break was an welcome one, the cup of tea even more so as I had zero caffeine having headed out early. The food was decent for once! The reason I say this is, I had attended another course of this institution last month and the snacks they provided were....well, let's just say after we had the snacks they provided we had to actually go out and find ourselves something more to eat. Go figure!
So after the break, I get back in and I am chilling with another episode of The Office and all of a sudden my eyes fall on the screen of the guy next to me. He was working on something that was clearly not the task list. At least not until I turned the page and found out the 4 more exercises!
I truly felt like Mr. Bean there LOL!
That's an overstatement! I was done in less than 20 minutes and then it was another hour of playing dumb as to not come out as rude and obnoxious to the rest of the class.
However, as I sat there pondering how easy it all was, I couldn't help but think of ways I could take it up a notch. I generally type really fast, but I no longer feel contended with that alone. It is only a matter of time for people to put in enough practice and type fast, it is really that easy. Before you know it, I am not the one standing out anymore. It will no longer be a skill that makes me stand out. And I immediately started thinking of I need to get back to practicing typing without looking at the keyboard.
It was something that really fascinated me and I really wanted to be able to flawlessly do that. However, back then I was quite content with how fast I was typing. But now that I blog quite regularly, and at some point or another I will have to be writing a lot of research papers in my profession - upping my skills of typing further can only be an advantage right!?
I don't know how long it will take for me to get flawless at no look typing, but I will get there no matter what! Call it an early new year's resolution if you will!
The world is changing, and every skill we can learn that makes us stand out is important - however small it may be. One needs to make themselves valuable with the service they can provide. Standing out from the crowd has become essential.
All images in this post are mine, unless and otherwise mentioned.
GIFs are not mine.