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Apart from being a tool that helps us store and communicate important information, writing is also an easily accessible and flexible type of therapy. That’s reason enough to celebrate and start looking at writing as a catalyst to improved mental health, academic and career success.

As a student, you process copious amounts of knowledge that is produced from your studies. On top of the coursework, it’s also important to develop and maintain healthy relationships with other students and your lecturers. Most of that ‘relationship work’ will involve writing to those people. In many instances, the life of a student is centered on writing and organizing notes, irrespective of the type of qualification they are studying for. 

A regular writing habit (especially outside of academic work) helps with finding meaning in daily experiences. It also helps to observe those experiences from a renewed perspective. As a result, you will tend to see the silver lining even during your most negative and stressful moments.

Writing out your thoughts and feelings helps you have a strong handle on the following mental health challenges:

• Grief and loss

When a loved one passes away, we can find solace, reflection and acceptance by writing about their life and the lessons they taught you.

• Anxiety

Many people can attest to having a childhood filled with anxiety. Keeping a journal and publishing blogs about life and your learning can help you become better at communicating your thoughts. Consequently, you can also become more confident and sociable.

• Depression

2020 was a mentally challenging year for the world and it’s fair to say many were in a dark mental space. Having a creative outlet like writing proved to be therapeutic and a good distraction given all the was happening in the world because of the Carona Virus.

• Communication skills

Taking the plunge to publish your thoughts and knowledge can allow you to gather feedback and improve. The feedback loop can boost your confidence. It also invites people with the same perspective to reach out.

The benefits of writing your thoughts and feelings:

• Build a second brain that spans years

Imagine if you were to read through ten years’ worth of notes that you wrote, on different topics, moods and attitudes.

That collection of notes is a powerful repository of knowledge that shows different mindsets of the same person. It is the act of creating a second brain.

When you are armed with a collection of notes that span back years, you can look at your mind outside of yourself, so to speak. This gives you the ability to identify behavioural patterns that lead to how you interact with the world.

• Write for mental and emotional clarity

Every time you decide to face a blank page or screen to express yourself or make a To-Do list, you choose to sharpen your mind.

Writing helps with the thinking process. Over time, it makes it easier to remember details from lectures, meetings, articles, videos and other media.

As you develop a strong writing habit, you’ll begin to pay more attention to your behaviour and the world around you.

• Improve your creativity

When you organize information using notes, you invariably elevate your creativity in the process. The notes carry different pieces of information and that presents an opportunity to combine the ideas written in your notebook to create fresh ideas.

A systematic way to store notes encourages open-mindedness. And it puts you in a position to make connections between contrasting ideas.

A writing habit is also an opportunity to develop a consistent idea generation system.

• Learn to store (and perhaps, publish) the ideas that you learn

The reality is that in every interaction you have there is something interesting to learn. From throwaway conversations, television series episodes, movies, YouTube video right through to music.

When you have a system to save and sort that information, learning becomes easier and happens anywhere. When you are an avid note taker, you listen to people with a strong intent to understand them and learn something new.

Collecting notes is a great way to inspire curiosity.

• Maintain relationships in your life like a champ with clear communication

Another interesting reality is that when you improve your writing skills, your relationships benefit. Writing necessitates that the writer resolves any emotional chaos they may have happened inside of them in order to create words that connect with other people.

Along with a daily writing habit grows the ability to communicate thoughts in a clear manner. When you can write clearly the quality of your conversations also improves.

Skills that were in demand in a pre-coronavirus world were already changing, but the pandemic has accelerated the rapidity. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, it is extremely unlikely that the world of working as we know it will go back to “normal”. Instead, we have to adjust to a new normal. How workplaces operate and the most in-demand skills are likely to transform as well.  In other words, some skills will become more relevant while others will have to be reimagined or worst-case scenarios, become redundant.

Are you wondering whether there will be any job opportunities post the pandemic?  Well, we are here to motivate you and give you some good news (see our post of top emerging jobs) as we prepare to resume more economic activity in the country. We have already explored careers that are emerging but it’s also worth noting which skills will be highly sought after and relevant post the lockdown and COVID19 pandemic in its entirety. The following skills are likely to be in demand in a post-coronavirus world:

Digital and coding skills

Many organisations were propelled to become more dependent on digitization because of remote working. Therefore candidates with digital skills including coding, web development, digital marketing, and analytics will become more relevant now more than ever. People who can keep the day to day operations of the business thriving post lockdown, during a pandemic or working from home will be a must hire and have a definite upper hand.

 Tech savviness

Acquiring technical skills and becoming comfortable with these tools will become extremely important post the pandemic. This will include obtaining skills that can help companies build resilience during outbreaks or any unforeseeable disruptions. These technologies can include artificial intelligence, robotics, big data, the Internet of Things, virtual and augmented reality.

Critical thinking

We have seen the damage that the spread of misinformation and disinformation can do. COVID19 has proved the significance of having employees that have great thinking skills. Not only does this help decipher what is true or not, but with a great pool of information out there, it will become extremely critical to have individuals who can help debunk what information should inform decision making and the next steps during times of uncertainty. 

Adaptability and flexibility

As already mentioned, the world is changing, and being able to adapt will be inevitable. A good candidate will have to continuously learn to adapt to a continuously evolving world of work. Employees will be inclined to hire candidates who they can trust will be flexible enough to upskill themselves to fit with the demands of an evolving world should times of uncertainty arise.

Creativity and Innovation

The pandemic has shown us how important business being able to deliver services virtually is key. In a post-coronavirus world, this will require individuals who can invent and create products to adapt to a new way of working.

Leadership

This skill seems very obvious and thus easily forgotten. Professionals who can display leadership qualities are extremely critical because the post coronavirus world of work will probably mean an increase in remote working. Therefore, people being able to lead fluid teams and team members leading themselves will be highly encouraged. Leaders who can inspire teams and remain focused during times of uncertainty, anxiety, and disruption of productivity will be in demand.

Some of these skills were already standard for other industries. Economic trends show us that due to the impact of the lockdown, these skills will be greatly emphasized by recruiters. According to the World Economic Forum, in the next five years, 35% of skills that are deemed as essential today will change. The only way to survive and succeed in a post-coronavirus world of work is committing to upskilling and reskilling yourself. The good news is that multiple free open online courses can help you improve your skills. Grab the opportunity and advance yourself in expert skills.