As 2021 comes to an end and 2022 begins, it’s time to reflect on what I learned in 2021. What began as a hobby of reading books has evolved into a plethora of new arenas such as blogs, videos, Instagram channels, online courses, mentoring sessions, podcasts, and so on by incorporating learning on multiple levels. With lifelong learning becoming a significant characteristic for all of us, using digital media for learning has been an incredible experience thus far. Here is a list of things I learnt in 2021; hopefully, some of them will be useful to you.
1. Books:
Over the years, books have remained my primary source of learning. Due to a lack of space at home, I began using Kindle earlier this year but quickly returned to printed books. While the Kindle offers an excellent learning experience, nothing beats the aroma of printed ink, the sensation of holding a physical book in one’s hands, the grip of a paperback, and so on. Here is a list of the books I read in 2021. Some of them are in my native language (Tamil).
| Book Title & Link | Brief Description about the Book |
| My father Baliah | A contemporary family history which opens your eyes about importance of social justice and education. I have written a book review post as well. PFB link: https://jwritings.in/2021/08/08/book-review-my-father-baliah/ |
| What the Finance | A very simple and nicely written book to provide financial knowledge for Entrepreneurs. Coming from technical / engineering background this book provide me a good insights into finance. Yet to write a book review post for this. |
| Coaching – The secret code to uncommon leadership | Probably the best book I have read in 2021. Amazing insights into coaching and how it has become an integral part of contemporary leadership. PFB link for the book review: https://jwritings.in/2021/08/22/book-review-coaching-leadership/ |
| Immortals of Meluha | Probably the first fiction book attempt I did after a long time. Very gripping read connecting through history, philosophy and spiritual thinking of ancient India. It’s a three part series, hope to read remaining two of them soon. |
| Range – Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World? | Probably one of the very few books which shakes our basic understanding of mindset, success, expertise, passion etc. Written uniquely this book talks how generalist skills are more important than vertical specialists in this modern world. |
| Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products | Social media and mobile applications has taken over the world in a big time. However, there are a lot of connects between human psychology, behavioural modelling and designing these applications. Very good books that connects the dots between tech and the human aspects. |
| கஸ்டமர் சைக்காலஜி | வாடிக்கையாளரைப் புரிந்து கொள்வது வியாபார வெற்றிக்கு மிக அவசியம். எப்படி அவர்களின் மன நிலையைப் புரிந்து அதற்கேற்ப சேவை செய்வது என்பதை மிக எளிய முறையில் விளக்கும் நல்ல நூல். புத்தக ஆசிரியர் திரு. சதிஷ் கிருஷ்ணமூர்த்தி அவர்களின் பல புத்தகங்களை படித்து உள்ளேன். இந்த புத்தகமும் எளிமை + சிறப்பு. |
| இஸ்லாம் – ஒரு பார்வை | இஸ்லாம் மதம்குறித்து புரிந்து கொள்ள வேண்டும் என்பது எனது நீண்ட நாள் ஆசை. அந்த ஆசையை இந்த புத்தகம் நிறைவேற்றி விட்டது என்றே சொல்லலாம். மிக எளிய நடையில் இஸ்லாம் தோற்றம் முதல் திரு நபிகளாரின் வாழ்கை முறை மற்றும் அவரது கருத்துக்களை எடுத்து கூறி உள்ளது. |
| இஸ்ரோவின் கதை | Indian Space Research Organization (இஸ்ரோ) குறித்து விளக்கும் நல்ல நூல். இஸ்ரோ ஆரம்பிப்பதற்கு முன்னால உள்ள அணு ஆயுதம் மற்றும் வான்வெளி அரசியல் குறித்தும் இந்த நூல் அருமையாக விளக்குகிறது. ஒரு திரில்லர் நாவல் போலச் சுறுசுறுப்பக நகர்கிறது இந்த நூல். |
| ஒரு இந்திய இஸ்லாமியரின் இதயத்தில் இருந்து | இஸ்லாம், இஸ்லாம் சார்ந்த இந்திய அரசியல் மற்றும் சமூக பிரச்சினைகளை ஒரு இஸ்லாமியரின் பார்வையிலிருந்து விளக்கும் நூல். ஒவ்வொருவரும் இஸ்லாம் குறித்து ஒரு perspective உள்ளது என்பதை மிக நன்றாக உணர்த்தும் நூல். |
2. YouTube Channels:
Much to my surprise, YouTube turned out to be an amazing source of knowledge. While I still continue to use for watching memes and listening to music, there are a bunch of channels which gives incredible information and knowledge. Here goes my list from 2021.
| Channel & Link | Brief Description about the Channel |
| YogRiti | Very good videos to follow pranayama and yoga from home |
| Yogalates with Rashmi | Very good collection of yoga and pranayama videos by Ms. Rashmi |
| Mahatria Ra | Practical and humorous set of lectures in self development, business communication, spirituality etc |
| Neil Patel SEO | The best resource to learn Digital Marketing and SEO |
| Moz SEO | Learning Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Their whiteboard lectures are very good. |
| Brian Dean | Founder of Backlinko. Good site to learn off-page optimization |
| Karan Bajaj | Founder of White Hat Junior. Very good set of videos on startups, entrepreneurship, writing, self-improvement and more |
| Book review | A good channel for various book reviews |
| Echkart Tolle | Author of A New Earth and The power of now. Amazing set of insightful videos. |
| Sreejith Krishnan | Very simple and easy to follow videos. Lot of storytelling and easy to connect. |
| Ashwin Ravichandran | Indian cricket player. Very interesting videos about cricket and many more |
| WordPress Tutorials | Good site to learn WordPress tutorials and how-tos |
3. Instagram Channels
Instagram is popularly known for social networking. Unlike other social media channels, one of the unique aspect about Instagram is the visual appeal. When you are not keen on getting into immersive learning with books many of the Instagram channels serves as a quick reference materials on a daily basis. Here is the list of channels I follow.
| Channel & Link | Brief Description about the Channel |
| Library Mindset | Channel to get book excerpts and reviews |
| Book Readers Club | Similar to Library Mindset. This is another good channel for books |
| Mindset Therapy | Very useful self-improvement and learning tips |
| Internet of Tricks | Good channel for Tech tips & tricks, trends, tools |
| Business Growth Mentor | Good channel for learning business trips, books, quotes etc |
4. Online Courses
Online courses have become another excellent resource for learning. Most of them come with high quality self recorded videos at a reasonable price. Here is the couple of courses I explored, few chapters are pending which I am planning to continue in 2022 and complete it.
| Course Name & Link | Brief Description about the Course |
| Udemy – Digital Marketing Course | Comprehensive Course to learn about E2E Digital Marketing |
| Startup Funding Course | Course created by popular startup media YourStory sharing insights about startup funding |
Welcome 2022
While I am still need to explore about podcasts and blogs, I feel 2021 is been an amazing year in terms of learning. Let us welcome 2022 and make it even better.
Great job sir!
Waiting to learn more from your side,
Thank you.
Thank you for your kind words Prajwal.
Good to know that you are sharing your learnings and letting people have a chance to follow as well. I don’t see this behavior in many people that I met.
I too started to read books in 2021 but EBOOK & online format only. Once I started to work, I’ll buy some books that list is already prepared :-).
Again a well spent time by reading your blog 🙂
Thanks for your kind words Neelakanta. Life long learning is very much required in today’s world. Good to see your inclination towards learning. I guess now you can start buying printed books 🙂