How to and guidance posts
You can run from the whole world. You can hide behind facades. And you can actually fool everyone else. But none of these will heal you or help you. None of these will transform your life for the better. None of this will make you lighter. Even when you are running, you are carrying your […]
I built my first website in 2016 and since then I’ve iterated several times. Just last day I was thinking I wish I had screenshots of my old websites. And then I learn about the wayback machine that shows you old iterations of any website on the internet. So here’s the thing. For everyone who
Evolution of my personal website Read More »
Have you noticed how some people would laugh at you when they see you strive to accomplish something? They will laugh at you because they think you’re stupid, or because they think they know better. They judge what you do and make comments about it. They try hard not to express it in front of
Laugh all you want. It doesn’t matter. Read More »
I’m writing this in light of the countless questions I have received from young men and women alike who ask me why there are so many women in tech scholarships and opportunities. And if we still need them. To be able to answer this, let me take a step back and set the context. All
Do we still need women-focused initiatives? Read More »
Have you ever felt your inner self stopping you from saying or doing something? When you know in the core of your heart that you are not yourself? When you feel something is not right or that you don’t belong somewhere? If you’ve experienced that, then it means you have been lying to yourself about
Authenticity – Being yourself Read More »
First Learning Club discussion was around this. It’s something almost all of us struggle with and this group coming together was really like a support group. You know, the kind for alcohol addicts? This was a bunch of people who are masters of procrastination and were seeking help! This blog is a compilation of key
Beating Procrastination Read More »
It’s corona times and we’re all quarantined. Some of us are bored, jobless and have a lot of time in hand since there’s no hanging out. I was wondering how to do something productive in these times and a learning club idea struck me. It’s basically anyone who wishes to learn/discuss a specific topic coming
For current students interested in pursuing professional development opportunities All of us wish to apply and get selected to opportunities. Having that coveted scholarship, an internship with your dream company and winning a challenging competition is a way of proving our mettle and also taking one step closer to our goals. But when there is
Improving your odds of getting selected to scholarships, internships and jobs Read More »
Writin a winning scholarship application So today I was obsessed with podcasts and decided to do a small project to figure it out. I’ve done a short intro/teaser, which is, as usual, a shitty first draft. Clip below: This was my first and only take and I kinda like how it sounds. I’m hoping to
I’m creating a podcast! #podcasting Read More »
Today I discovered the best tools to create a free website. A good looking one that too! Here’s the website I created. Take a look. Also sharing some snapshots below. 1. Build on Mobirise Mobirise is a free website builder tool. You have to download the software from their website onto your machine. From then on,
Build beautiful websites for free in 3 easy steps. Thank me later. Read More »
Medium allows you to read upto 3 premium articles for free every month. But there are few other ways with which you can read more articles for free. Use multiple medium accounts If you have more than one medium account, feel free to use them to read more articles. While this works, this is usually a
Hacks to read premium medium articles for free Read More »
Every once in a while, I come across students who really wish to do a lot of things, but face resistance from their parents. Most of them, particularly girls, find it difficult to get their parents to be okay with them travelling. And the degree of the effort required to get parents to agree to
Understanding your parents Read More »
This is a reflection post based on my recent experiences. I had come to hear about Dr.Vinod Prasad, a professor at NTU during my visit there. He had few research students under his wing and they continued to remember him fondly. NTU also has this NTU — India connect program that he used to anchor at the
Reflection: Circle of influence that each individual has Read More »
We wrapped up cohort 2 of our WIT program this week and the feedback coming in has been great validation. This time, we attempted to get the learners to start thinking about their goals — long term and short term. This exercise was going by the idea that if you have a goal and write it down,
Sharing the resources that helped Download and install wordpress using this tutorial Publishing the local site on the web Design homepage Move medium posts to wordpress using the following tutorial
Tried out wordpress today Read More »
One of our learning program participants brought this up and I felt compelled to write about it First up, I think this is a quite common feeling. And not one specific to women either because I have had male colleagues and friends mention they feel uncomfortable owning their achievements. I have myself gone through the
Own your accomplishments Read More »
This is a common problem. I have seen lots of students restrict themselves from doing things because of their fear of speaking in english. Somehow, they think that they really are unable to speak well in the language and hence stop short of even giving it an attempt. Taking the specific case of scholarships alone,
I am bad at speaking English Read More »
I think the answer to this question is “It Depends”. What we are used to in the Indian system is completing education for a lifetime, all at once and then work till you age. This is probably why the question of should I do an MBA right after college comes up. I’ve seem most students
Should I do my MBA right after undergrad? Read More »
Jekyll is a static site generator that you can use to create simple sites or blogs and Github pages is a static site hosting service. By using Jekyll with Github pages, you can quite easily put together your first blog/website for free. I created my first personal website using Jekyll and then went on to
Creating your blog for free using Jekyll + Github pages Read More »
A number of students write in to me with this question. They get selected to an opportunity and then wonder if they should take up on it. Sharing a case of guidance facilitated in this regard. Second year student at MEC, Selected to an AI Conference I’ve read your blog and I’ve sat for one
I got selected for an opportunity. But should I go? Read More »
This article has 2 segments: Professional email behaviours On drafting good emails Professional Email Behaviours Stay on top of your email Being regular with checking your emails is important. Since emails are the primary means of communicating reliably with you online, almost all opportunities and organisations stick to email for their communication purposes. Checking your inbox
On writing better emails! Read More »
There are tons of opportunities available today and not all of them may be great. Some opportunities may be a scam, others may not be deserving of your time and effort. In any case, validating an opportunity and carefully understanding more about it is important before you decide to apply. How do you go about
How to validate opportunities? Read More »
These days, you can find opportunities everywhere. From the newspaper, from your peers and also from the internet. Most education supplements with newspapers have a section on opportunities. Aside, you can also search on the internet for various opportunities. There are some specific websites also that list opportunities and the list below contains some of
Where to find opportunities? Read More »
A lot of our students these days are being selected to attend various conferences and programs that require them to raise money for their travel/visa/accommodation and so on. Since most students are not earning while in College, they will need to source money to attend these programs from various sources. Here are few plausible solutions
How to make money to travel to conferences/events Read More »
When publishing your Google Assistant App, there is a possibility that the app will be rejected if it does not comply with the general policies associated with developing the app. https://bingewith.com/article/::_Generate_Audio Let’s look at some common errors and solutions to fixing these errors. Invalid Privacy Policy Invalid Invocation Name App leaves Mic Open Invalid Privacy Policy This
Fixing a few common errors when publishing your Google Assistant App Read More »
July 14, 2018 | Riviera Suites, Thevara Being aware of our laws and systems to protect women and other minorities from sexual harassment as a whole and specifically at workplace is crucial. As it stands now, a vast majority of women are unaware of what ‘sexual harassment’ really means and what they can do if they
CCRRA’s workshop on Sexual Harassment at Workplace: Issues and Challenges Read More »
DialogFlow is a wonderful platform for you to try out building a chat bot. This is a quick tutorial on how you can build a test app on DialogFlow and test it using the Google Assistant on your mobile phone. So first, you need to create your assistant on DialogFlow. Then you need to click
Quickly trying out an example on DialogFlow Read More »
I’ve been leading efforts at WTM Cochin as the Community Lead for the past 3 years. At the end of my first year, I was given the opportunity to attend Google I/O 2016 on a full sponsorship by Google. This is an opportunity granted to GDG and WTM Community Leads and is not open for
How I got to attend Google I/O 2016 Read More »
Embedding code in Medium is pretty easy. There are two ways to primarily do it — by embedding the code directly on to medium or embedding it using Github Gist. 1. Embed directly in medium To embed code directly in medium, type in Command+ Option+6 (if you use mac) If you use other OS, this is what you
Embed Code in Medium Read More »
This is the very first google script I tried out. Have created a tutorial also to make it easier to understand. https://gist.github.com/aryamurali/e027517468a4c05a17fb36a3f86ebc29
Creating Multiple Copies of a Google Doc and Rename them using a List of values Read More »
Information Literacy is a very important 21st century skill to possess. What does it mean? The internet today is flooded with information. Chances are that all you need is available on it. But all this information is no good if we do not know how to locate it, evaluate it and effectively use it. This
‘Search’ to locate information online Read More »
J and K — Move up and down Shift + 3 — Delete A — Reply All R — Reply F — forward Y — Remove Label Useful Gmail Labs Canned response Auto Advance Keyboard shortcuts Conversation view
Keyboard Shortcuts — Gmail Read More »
https://medium.com/learn-love-code/learnings-from-learning-how-to-learn-19d149920dc4 Take breaks, meditate, think about other things, and give yourself plenty of time in both modes. One way of making sure you’re taking regular breaks is to follow the Pomodoro technique. This is where you program for 25 minutes, then take a break for 5 minutes. ChunkingThis is the idea of breaking what you
Learning how to learn: Notes Read More »
I’ve been using the free version of mail merge since a while now to send customised bulk emails using gmail. Today I finally decided to pay INR 1885 and subscribe to their premium plan. After I purchased the package, I noticed this: It appears that the founder has managed to sell 22349 premium packages. Now
Making money using Apps Script: The Mail Merge case Read More »
https://www.womensaid.org.uk/ — Their information and support segment is resourceful. One of the first steps to preventing abuse is to know that you are being abused. They seem to have included a quick pop-quiz to help women realise this. Although the quiz is specific to domestic abuse, it is quite useful. I’m worried about someone else segment — https://www.womensaid.org.uk/the-survivors-handbook/im-worried-about-someone-else/ Your
Notes on Abuse — Part 2 Read More »
Psychological abuse (also referred to as psychological violence, emotional abuse, or mental abuse) is a form of abuse, characterized by a person subjecting, or exposing, another person to behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder. It is often associated with situations of power imbalance in abusive relationships
Our lives are so fast paced that it’s sometimes possible that we get carried away as our life goes on. Somewhere in between the rush, I felt the need to pull the brake. Just for 5 minutes. That’s when I discovered the 54321 meditation. It’s a quick, simple way to be present at this very
5 4 3 2 1 Meditation Read More »
2017 was a great ride! I celebrated my last new year at Jagriti Yatra. The Yatra itself was a pretty good experience. It gave me a lot of time to reflect upon my past, my mistakes, my values and what it is that I really would like to do. That is when I had decided
2017 — A Self Reflection Read More »
Almost always, when I discover a new opportunity I start getting excited thinking what it would be like to actually get this. But as I read through about the application process and requirements, I find myself questioning if I really want to apply. I was super excited to know about the WeTech Qualcomm Global Scholarship—
When you encounter an opportunity, Apply! Read More »
I recently read this exceptional interview with Naval Ravikant by Farnam Street. Naval is the CEO and Founder of AngelList. In this interview, he speaks about reading, habits, decision-making, mental models, and life. Here is the original Source and Interview Transcript. Adding my notes below. Reading These days I find myself rereading as much or
FS Interview with Naval Ravikant — Notes Read More »
We had this little guy come into our life couple of days back. When he came home, he was ill and injured. Someone had broken his leg and he was constantly shivering. After couple of days of nursing, milk and pedigree, he is now as healthy and happy as any other dog. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb6fg1DBmpr/?taken-by=aryacmurali The guy
Catch them when they are good Read More »
Our hypothesis is that there are a number of opportunities available to students and youngsters but most of them miss out on it because They don’t know about these opportunities They don’t believe they are capable enough to get through to these They do not know how to approach these opportunities In June, we helped
What and Why of Opportunity Project Read More »
This post comes as a reflection of my experiences and observations conducting events. When we were helping girls apply to GHCI scholarship, I travelled to MEC, TOCH, NIT Calicut and CET, Trivandrum. These could easily be divided to two cases. At MEC, TOCH, CET, the event had about 2–15 girls who already knew the agenda.
2 hour hackathons might be the sweet spot Read More »
It’s time we started getting rid of the chechi’s, chettan’s, Sir, Ma’am. To me when I was first told to address everyone on a first name basis, it was hard. I did not entirely understand why, but it has started to sink in now. When you call someone X chechi, X Sir, you think you
It’s Arya. Not Arya chechi, Not Arya Ma’am. Read More »
Today I spoke at GEC SKP on Opportunity Project and it was a phenomenal event. The students, faculty and the principal were very warm 🙂 Thank you for having me! And that is some nice feedback 🙂 Means much! Sijo also went live and the audience at GEC SKP watched him live. https://www.instagram.com/p/BaIzp2vg6Pt/?taken-by=aryacmurali Some of my observations: There
Thank you GEC Sreekrishnapuram! Read More »
Been helping our smart girls in Kerala apply towards the Adobe Women in Tech Scholarship. We have been speaking with them in some capacity and today I wrote an email to the girls who are applying. Some really touching responses came my way. Sharing them here. And this was my email to the girls Hello Fathima ,
Midnight emails and scholarship applications Read More »
Yesterday I had the opportunity to listen to Vinay Menon, a stand-up comedian and English teacher. He made us literally laugh out loud. His TEDx talk is very very informative one that gets us to think — What is the purpose of our Education System? Very well spoken, Vinay 🙂 Few take-aways: Being creative is about making mistakes.
Being creative is about making mistakes Read More »
How was your JY Experience? Did you experience any difficulties during the yatra? How was the whole JY team? What was the total expense of the Yatra, other than the amount we pay to them? How did you go to Mumbai from Kerala and reach back? What was the impact of this yatra in your
Jagriti Yatra — FAQ Read More »
A tribe is a group of people connected by a shared interest, connected to a leader or an idea. It takes only 2 things to turn a group into a tribe: A shared interest A way to communicate A leader can help increase the effectiveness of the tribe and it’s members by: Transferring the shared
What appears as an overnight success is often the result of compounded effort over a long time. You only have limited time and resources. You can’t do everything at the same time. Focus on the one thing that you want to get right and then move to the next.
Success is sequential, not simultaneous. Read More »
Compilation of resources we use to get FB lives done A handbook on how we organise FB live sessions at Rethink. Organising Rethink Talks FB Live — Tutorial Handbook that you can share with your speakers FB Live Tutorial Best practices to conduct FB lives FB Live tips
This is something I picked up from House of Cards. In it’s first few seasons, Frank and Claire share a fantastic personal and professional relationship. Whenever one person is in the middle of something, the other person only asks “How can I help you?” Merely asking the question is one of the best ways to
How can I help you? Read More »
Last night, Sijo, his mummy, Saleeh and I were playing Catan. At the start of the game, mummy and I were doing fairly well while Sijo and Saleeh were at a disadvantage. Soon, Sijo and Saleeh teamed up and started helping out each other. They started reaping the benefits and tag teamed to rob us
I’ve just started reading Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky. The book begins by saying that most of us spend our free time watching TV and drinking alcohol, not because we don’t have anything else to do, but because we never realised that we could do something else with our free time. If we take into
People love to create and share: Cognitive Surplus Read More »
These emails came in just now. One of the first things I did at Rethink was to help students get into the Grace Hopper Student Scholarship India. This year we also have 42 GHCI scholars from Kerala, which is the highest in 3 years. Our girls make up 21% of the scholars selected across India. These
Why I must continue to do the work I do Read More »
A self-fulfilling prophecy is a belief that comes true because we are acting as if it is already true. Now that I know the definition of Self Fulfilling Prophecy, I recall going through this phenomenon multiple times. Whenever I come across an opportunity and read through it, the initial vibes set the tone for the entire
Self Fulfilling Prophecy Read More »
And design your life around it. Have values and guiding principles in Life. Use them to design your life and take everyday decisions.
Define your core values Read More »
This quote was said by Frank Underwood in House of Cards (season 2), one of my favourite TV shows. This is how I understand this quote: You have the power to change something you don’t like Often times we find ourselves suffering in situations we don’t really enjoy living in. Truth is that there is no
If you don’t like how the table is set, turn over the table. Read More »
Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. If we decide that a particular task will take 20 days, then the task will extend for 20 days and will probably not meet completion even then. If we decide that we will get the task done in 20 minutes, it will take
Rich Dad poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki A must read book for those who want to get started with financial independence/planning. An informal, easy read. https://www.instagram.com/p/BXIGOCngL-S/ Animated Book Review I found this resource on youtube and I highly recommend the video if you want a quick review on what the book talks about. This 7 minute video
I read Rich Dad Poor Dad Read More »
Going live on Facebook is actually super fun but not so much when it’s your first time and you have 10 other things giving up on you apart from the nervousness getting to you. But chillax! Understanding the things that might go wrong during your live session and preparing to fix them will help lots.
Going live on FB? Here are few tips. Read More »
Login to your medium.com account and create a new story. Publish your story. Make sure you have been added as a writer by the publication’s editor. Open your published story. At the bottom you will find an icon with 3 consequent dots. Click on it. Select add to publication and select your publication. Note: You can do this
Adding you story to a Publication as a Writer Read More »
I recently started working on a full time job and very quickly realised that 100/100 is a myth. As a student, you are always taught to get “full marks”, make no mistakes. In fact, I’ve had incidents where I was scolded terribly for making mistakes. But as I started working, I realised that I will
100/100 doesn’t exist Read More »
This blog details how you may make use of google docs to create a resume. Login to your gmail account 2. Open Google Drive from your gmail account Click the tile icon on the top right corner, Click on the Google Drive icon. 3. Click New 4. Select Google Docs 5. From the drop-down list,
Guide to Creating Resume on Gsuite Read More »
4 years back I discovered Jagriti Yatra during a lazy evening Facebook browsing. That very moment, I knew that I had to go on the Yatra. Jagriti Yatra is an exciting train journey taking 450 bright youngsters to 12 locations across India over 15 days to learn from the perspectives and ideas of today’s change-makers
One Country | One Train | 15 Days | 450 Change-makers Read More »
I found his extra large nearly human-sized backpack on the seat next to me in the local train and figured out that he was a traveller. Excuse me, “Do you mind if we chat for sometime?” I asked and the rest of the story is here ☺ Hi Joaquin 😀 He is from Argentina. It’s been
Today I met Joaquin Centurion. Read More »
Ever caught yourself worrying a lot? Thoughts consuming you and sucking the life out of you? Getting so lost in them that you don’t even notice the cute guy who just walked by? I see myself fussing over countless issues, some immaterial, some super sensitive. Overthinking and analysing all possible terrible things that can happen to me
How to worry a little less. Read More »
Until I decided to change it. I have never really liked sitting in one place and reading for hours. I always preferred something more hands on like recycling junk or painting or trying to build a website. I always knew that books are one of the greatest resources that can transform you. But I just
I used to hate reading. Read More »
My recent CF campaign #AruforJY has been well-received. I managed to attain my target amount, INR 62000 in 5 days with 52 backers! Campaign link: #AruforJY More on the campaign here: #AruforJY — Thanks for believing in me!, Campaign Overview. Here’s my two cents on running a successful CF campaign! 1.Tell a compelling story Make sure you
10 Tips to run a successful Crowd Funding Campaign Read More »
4 years back I discovered Jagriti Yatra during a lazy evening Facebook browsing. That very moment, I knew that I had to go on the Yatra. Jagriti Yatra is an exciting train journey taking 450 bright youngsters to 12 locations across India over 15 days to learn from the perspectives and ideas of today’s change-makers
#AruforJY — Thanks for believing in me! Read More »
So, this happened to me an year back, when I was in my pre-final year of engineering — It was unexpected, yet exciting. It was hard, yet rewarding. It was emotionally draining, yet one of the most beautiful things that happened to me. Oh no! I’m not talking about love. It’s about my startup journey! Packing our
#SVAlumnitalk : Learning enginnering by building real products with #StartinCollege Read More »
