self development

My Learning Goals for 2020

January 19, 2020 by Ashwin Leave a Comment

For the last few years, I have a practice of setting annual learning goals. It helps me with two things. First, to focus on specific skills to develop and second, provides an objective way to measure my achievements.

I also find it useful to order goals by priority and have quarterly targets. This way I can savour my achievements on a periodic basis and adjust goals if needed.

Here’s my list for 2020.

Quarter 1 – Jan-Mar

Learn SRE basics and advanced topics
Complete Google Cloud DevOps Engineer certification
Complete my last quarter with Stanford LEAD certification

Quarter 2 – Apr-Jun

Learn Kubernetes advanced topics
Complete Kubernetes Admin certification
Take TOGAF training and complete certification

Quarter 3 – Jul-Sep

Learn other topics in Google Cloud
Complete Google Cloud Solution Architect certification
Learn IT Cybersecurity concepts (Coursera)

Quarter 4 – Oct-Dec

Learn AWS cloud topics
Complete AWS Solution Architect certification
Take Create Leadership (IDEOU) course

I am curious to know about your learning goals for this year. Please share them as comments to this post. All the best to achieve great heights and a great 2020!

A Primer to Mindfulness

July 26, 2015 by Ashwin Leave a Comment

Mindfulness opens the door to everything great in life. It can make you happy, productive and love everything that’s happening around you. Do you know that you can start your mindfulness journey with just 3 steps?

Get out of Auto-Pilot

Do you drive to work everyday, with your mind full of plans for rest of the day? Do you eat looking at the television or mobile device, not caring about what goes into your body? Welcome to the Auto-Pilot world!

Get out of auto pilot. Enjoy your drive or ride. Feel the wind blowing on your face. Enjoy the sun rays that are bathing you. Be lost in every sweet scent that reaches your nose. Be present in the situation, both physically and mentally.

Stop being Judgmental

Another aspect that takes the real joy out of everyday life is being judgmental to things happening around you. Judging things using your filter handicaps you from truly experiencing the situation.

I don’t mean to say that you should never make judgments about such things.

Live the moment and keep your judgment for later. That’s what mindfulness is all about.

Feel your breathe quite often

Breathing is the basis of our life. But when was the last time you felt the breathe moving in and out of your body? If not do it right now. Do it often. Do it when you must make decisions. Do it when you are stressful. Do it when you are experiencing something breathtaking.

Tomorrow is the start of another brand new week. What are you waiting for? Try introducing a bit of mindfulness in your day to day life and feel the difference.

Photo credit: Flickr creative commons by Keonl Cabral

Four Pillars of Life

June 20, 2015 by Ashwin Leave a Comment

To really live the life is something everyone of us aspire. But unfortunately, it remains a distant fruit for many. There are four basic pillars of life which lays a strong foundation towards “real living”. Let’s look at them in this post. [Read more…]

Making your Todo list work for you!

January 15, 2015 by Ashwin Leave a Comment

To-Do lists are part of our life. Almost all of us use them. But despite the availability of various tools and techniques, most of us have a limited success with them. In this post, I will discuss a few ways to make it work for you!! [Read more…]

Become a Minimalist in 3 Simple Steps

January 12, 2015 by Ashwin Leave a Comment

Minimalism is all about simplifying our way of life. Many of us think of it as a radical change and never make an attempt. In this post, I will discuss 3 simple ways to get started with minimalism. And believe me, it is not that difficult. [Read more…]