Productivity Archives - Page 3 of 13

Apps that will Help Your Productivity

by sincera | Dec 19, 2017 | Productivity, World of Work

It is true that the smart phone today might as well be an extension of one of our limbs. Starting from emails, to food delivery, travel and shopping – and just about anything one may be able to imagine, is achievable on a smart phone. While it is indispensable, it is also the primary aggregator of distractions. No matter how busy we are, or how urgent the task at hand is, we still look up from work to check our phones every now and then.

In this post, we actually look at turning this object which is the source of most distractions, into an object which helps you stay focused. How? By recommending the best apps that will help you stay productive.

Productivity is now just an app download away!

Freedom

At times even if we may prefer to stay away from our phones, our phones don’t seem to get that. With their incessant buzzing with constant notifications for emails, tags, shares, messages and the whole universe of social media vying for our attention – we just can’t seem to cut off. Putting your phone on silent may not be an option because you can’t miss calls. Freedom allows you to choose specific sites or apps you don’t want to receive notifications from, and allows you to set a timer for the same. Sounds like freedom to work? We agree!
Wunderlist

An especially amazing platform for teams which work from home, Wunderlist is the best to-do list app that there is! You can set tasks for yourself and the app lets you measure your progress. Apart from that, you can also assign tasks to individuals, and collaborate seamlessly with your team on this platform. The app makes visible each persons progress on the assigned tasks, and the results are out there for all to see and keep track of. Not just your regular to-do list, for sure!
Doodle

Working with a large number of clients, or even within a team can sometimes be tough in terms of being able to find common slots for meetings. As a result, who ever the manager is, ends up wasting a lot of time going back and forth and checking with everyone for possible dates – making all the permutations and combinations and finally coming up with a date that works for all. What if there was an app which did this for you? And you end saving all that time. Sounds too good to be true? Well it is true! With Doodle, all you need to do is send the suggestive dates to all concerned, via the app, email or imessage. The participants for the meeting will then vote for the dates that work for them, and Doodle then freezes the date that works best and suggests it as the date for the meeting.
focus@will

Do you have playlists based on moods, or dependent on the time of the day? For example, a work playlist, a drive playlist, and so on? focus@will, true to its name, is a music app that helps you focus on your work. It goes by the description, ‘neuroscience based music subscription service that helps you increase your attention span by up to 400%’, and indeed describes itself quite accurately. All you need to do is choose how you feel, and what you need, from the options the app offers you, and it will curate a playlist to help you stay focused. Sounds like magic?
Calm

This beautifully crafted app is your mindfulness fix for everyday. Loaded with guided meditations, the app helps you get back to the now, stay focused and carry on. With series like breaking habits, working on anxiety, 7 days of productivity, 7 days of focus and so on, the app gives you a true sense of the positive effects mindfulness has on our lives. No time to meditate? You can meditate even when you are commuting and using this app will show you how, with their guided meditations ranging from as little as 2 minutes, to as much as 60 minutes. While not all the options are offered free of cost, you will still have access to quite a few of them. Wondering if you should pay and get access to all? All we can say is you won’t be disappointed!

Productivity never seemed easier!
Got any recommendations from your end? Let us know!

A Little Something to Help you Through the Week

by sincera | Nov 7, 2017 | Motivation, Productivity, World of Work

It’s only Tuesday today, and the weekend couldn’t seem farther. No long weekends until Christmas which is more than a month away. Oh gosh, was Diwali that long ago? Oh well, it is not as bad as we world of workers seem to make it, with a bit of inspiration. Feeling productive comes closest to feeling invincible, this is something we believe firmly at OBOlinx. To help you Through the Week, we’ve put together this 2 minute read which hopefully will leave you feeling inspired, motivated and ready to take on the world! A compilation of the best quotes on productivity, for you. Your dose of Tuesday inspiration!

Enough of “doing” is what leads to actualization of outcomes

You don’t actually do a project; you can only do action steps related to it. When enough of the right action steps have been taken, some situation will have been created that matches your initial picture of the outcome closely enough that you can call it “done.” – David Allen

Never wait. Get up and hustle.

Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work. Stephen King

There is a difference between being busy and being productive. The real question is, what are you busy with?

Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing. Thomas A. Edison

Whatever your passion is. Find it, and let it consume you.

In trying to find who you are, be less destructive and more constructive. Look at art or whatever your passion is and be productive. Nirrimi Joy Hakanson

Do what you love. Love what you do.

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. Steve Jobs

Go that extra mile to plan. Go further to execute that plan.

Plans are nothing; planning is everything. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Because today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. So make your “now” count, and look forward to tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday. John Wayne

Over thinking is the death of productivity.

If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done. Bruce Lee

Oops. A bit audacious but true. Patience is the key and all great things take time.

No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time. You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant. Warren Buffett

Nothing is more precious than being happy in the now. The true elixir of productivity. The end.

I enjoy writing, I enjoy my house, my family and, more than anything I enjoy the feeling of seeing each day used to the full to actually produce something. The end. Michael Palin

Enjoyed reading our post? Tell us about your favorite productivity quote!

Bring in the Festive Joy – Time for a Productivity Re-set!

by sincera | Sep 28, 2017 | Productivity, World of Work

The cheer season starts now, and is here until the beginning of a brand new year. Bring in the festive tides with a mind made up for mindfulness, and a heart with conviction to achieve whatever you may desire. As you step back to take a break from your everyday routine, and celebrate everything that is good, pure, and fair, build into your subconscious a promise to be a better version of yourself, as you look towards rejuvenation. More Productivity, more happiness, more kindness and most of all, more mindfulness. Bring it all into the world of work, and here is how.

Building Awareness of your habits

A great way to be better at what you do is why building an awareness of your daily habits. Both good, and bad. You don’t have to judge yourself, or be annoyed at yourself for the habits that you may consider as bad habits, simply taking note is a great way to begin the process of change. Taking note, or noticing what you want to change is always the first and most crucial step towards positive change and growth.
Breaking habits

Once you start taking note of the habits that don’t serve you well, start diverting yourself from them. For example, is procrastination a big concern towards your productivity? Take note of why you procrastinate. It could be phone time, the internet, need for a sugar fix, just any one of the constant pulls in the form of diversions we experience in our day-to-day lives. Once you notice yourself getting pulled away, gently remind yourself that you have some place to be, and get back to what you were doing.
Practicing everyday kindness

The Dalai Lama once very truly said, “Be kind whenever it is possible. It is always possible.” Kindness is a way of living, it is an outlook which is reflected in everything you say and do. Very often, we tell ourselves that we don’t have time to go out of our way to practice extraordinary acts of kindness. That is where we are wrong. We don’t need time, and the acts of kindness need not be extraordinary. Build the practice of kindness into your every day life. Stop to help, stop to listen, stop to offer kind words. Stop, pause, and you will realize how it changes your life all for the better.
Living the grateful life

The power of gratitude is immense. It affects your personal and your professional life in myriad ways. Living the grateful life, is again an art. To receive in abundance – be it professional or personal growth, you must first appreciate in abundance what you already possess. When you start taking note of, and appreciating what you have, you will realize that you are able to create more moments in life to be grateful for. Sounds mysterious? Try it! 🙂
Staying happy in the now

There is infinite wisdom in understanding the value of the present moment, instead of dwelling on the past and being anxious about the future. A wise man once said, “Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.” So let it all go, and focus on right now, right here. Stay in the now, and most importantly, stay happy in the now! Why to make ‘right now’ the best time of your life? Well, what you do right now is what defines what happens next. Sow well now, to reap beautifully soon after.

The change of seasons remind us of the principle of transience – the fact that the only constant is change. But through these changes, good or bad, you can be your own constant by working on centering yourself. The five things we just spoke about are a great way to start with!

We wish you and all your loved ones the very best of everything this festive season!

Importance of Mental Health Awareness at Work

by sincera | Aug 23, 2017 | Leadership, Motivation, Productivity, World of Work

While efforts for mental health awareness in the space has picked up pace, there still is a long way to go. Recent studies and research has shown the direct link between mental health and performance or productivity.

To understand why mental health awareness at the workplace is an issue to be addressed immediately one must look at the bigger picture of how serious the concern really is. Numbers are absolute, and make an impact in a way that words cannot. So here are some numbers to put things into perspective, before we delve further into the topic.

Mental Health Awareness – A Reality Check

56 million Indians, or 4.5% of India’s population suffer from depression.
While nearly 10 per cent of the population has common mental disorders, 1.9 per cent of the population suffers from severe mental disorders. [Source: WHO]
The WHO has defined sustainable development goals and elaborated the impact of mental illnesses and suicide on them. The suicide rate in India in 2015 at 15.7/100,000 is higher than the regional average of 12.9 and the global average of 10.6. Suicide is the leading cause of death among those aged 15–29 in India. [source: Mental Health Awareness: The Indian Scenario]
There is just one psychiatrist for four lakh Indians. Another expert said there were 4,000 psychiatrists, 1,000 psychologists and 3,000 social workers for the whole of the country and only 1,022 college seats for mental health professionals are set aside in India. [Source: World Mental Health Day: India’s Mental Health Crisis In Numbers]

Can the World of Work Make a Difference?

Yes it can.

Coming away from the scary numbers, let’s talk about how the world of work can make a positive difference to the existing scenario.

Why should the world of work make a difference?

Because about 8-10 hours out of 24 hours of our day is spent at work.

How can the work-space make a difference to our mental health awareness?

1. First things first, by acknowledging the importance of mental health and mental health awareness.

This made news recently, when an employee wrote to her CEO informing that she would be taking some time off, so she can come back a ‘100%’. The CEO’s response is up here for all of us to see.

Acknowledging that taking care of your mental health is important is the first step towards creating awareness. Being fit mentally is just as important as being fit physically to be at your productive best. However, it is impossible to bring about change without acknowledgment of the issue.

2. Tackling the associated Stigma

The social stigma attached to mental health comes in the way of even acknowledging mental health issues and dialogues. This continues to be one of the main road blocks towards addressing mental health concerns. Along with dealing with the mental health concerns, the individual is also at the receiving end of a great deal of social prejudice and discrimination. One way work spaces can help tackle this is by holding frequent workshops, webinars, or even focused conversations and dialogues on mental health. It is because of the social stigma attached that more often than not, mental health concerns are internalized. Addressing them by holding sustained conversations about them is the only to bust the stigma.

3. Making resources available

By creating a work environment where the employees have access to basic mental health resources, should they need it, is a great way of showing support for mental health concerns. When we say resources, we mean very simple, basic resources, which in fact should become a norm. For example, a counselor at a designated desk. If the organisation cannot afford a full-time counselor, you could bring someone on board for 2 or 3 days a week and he/ she could be made available on appointment. Similarly, other easy ways are by creating a resource pool of short video clips or documents on mental health which could be circulated amongst the employees on email.

Spending some time on creating a ‘Mental Health Directory’, can also be hugely beneficial, not just for your organisation, but for anyone who has access to this directory. Recently, students from the Azim Premji University in Bangalore, created a Mental Health Directory for the city of Bangalore, which has valuable information regarding all available mental resources in the city. Awareness centers, recreational centers, wellness centers, counselors, psychiatrists, alternative care services, rehabilitation centers are some of the many resources which have been documented within this directory.

4. Small changes to the work-space design can make big differences

When we say changes to work space design, we do not mean big, expensive changes. We mean a basic mindfulness check of your work space.

While companies invest in many strategies to support the physical health of employees, from flu vaccinations to filtered air systems, ignoring employees’ mental health means businesses risk losing any gains they make in physical health support. Depression, stress, substance abuse, financial distress, work-life balance, ADHD, and, yes, even workplace bullying are all issues with which workers are dealing and that have a large drain on productivity. – Jennifer Stukenberg, How to design workspaces that support employee mental health.

Being mindful in how the work-space is designed plays a huge role in enhancing the productivity of your employees, by supporting their mental health. The most basic checklist is as follows –

Well lit and ventilated work space.
Away from noise and distraction.
Ensuring cohesiveness by positioning the employees in such a way that they can see each other and feel connected, instead of feeling isolated.
Some green around – there are plenty of options for indoor plants!

5. Building Empathy into the Organizational Culture

How sustainable all the above listed options are, is entirely dependent on the larger culture of the organisation. Cultivating ’empathy’ as a culture within the organisation is the key to understanding mental health concerns.

Empathy is not sympathy or pity. Empathy is the ability to understand and share someone else’s feelings from their perspective. It’s about putting yourself authentically in someone else’s shoes. Asking questions from their point of view and not yours, pausing, listening and thinking about the opportunities / issues from that person’s position. Why Every Business Needs a Culture of Empathy

Without the concept of empathy, understanding mental health concerns, or working towards mental health awareness will remain a distant dream. Also, the culture of empathy really starts at the top. It is the vision of the organisation, and the outlook of those on the top to fulfill the vision which makes all the difference.

We leave you with this thought provoking TedTalk by renowned mental health practitioner, Vikram Patel, on Mental Health for All by Involving All. In his talk, Patel argues why mental health shouldn’t just be a privilege of the first world, as it is today, and should be accessible to all. He goes beyond just posing problems by proposing low cost and effective solutions to address these issues.

Are you ready to take on, what may be called as your ‘basic responsibility’ to make mental health accessible for your employees?

The Undervaluation of Kindness in the World of Work

by sincera | Aug 16, 2017 | Leadership, Productivity, World of Work

The world of work as we know it today, is increasingly fueled by targets, deadlines and achievements. We are in the midst of what can be called the crisis of modernity. And yet we have failed to acknowledge it, let alone work towards changing it. Today, we regard the human body working in clock work to ‘achieve’ and ‘deliver’, as normal. Which brings us back to the age old debate, as old as modernity itself, what then distinguishes us from machines? Two things which make us humane, kindness, and compassion, distinguish us from machines.

About two thirds of our day is spend at our work place. While many of us love our work place, there are many who dread it. While the reasons why one many not like ones workplace could be many, one of the primary reasons is the attitude and nature of the co-workers or colleagues. Many a times, we fail to understand how being sensitive, compassionate and kind, can make a world of difference to the people we deal with in the world of work.

Kindness is genuinely undervalued in the world of work. Many managers and leaders feel that elements of kindness and compassion are in direct conflict with professionalism. One couldn’t be farther away from truth. You can be professional and yet be a kind and compassionate human being. In fact, your productivity and work life balance are influenced a great deal by how happy you are in your work place. What are the three most simple things that you can do to practice kindness at work? Here they are –

Listen

When someone speaks to you, listen. And not with your mouth so you can respond or react. Listen not just with your ears, but also with your mind. We mean listening not just in the effective communication sense, but in this case more in the humanitarian sense. Listen out of kindness. One example could be a form of miscommunication between you and your subordinate at work relating to non-achievement of established goals. The conclusion you see is that the work has not been done, however, give your colleague a chance to explain why the work hasn’t been done. Unless you listen, you will not know whether the reason was valid or not. More importantly, unless you listen, you will never know how you end up hurting someone who is already in a tough place. This has a direct effect on the productivity of the employee.

Reset when Angry

It is not easy to stay calm when things get chaotic at work. At times like that it is our individual responsibility to take charge of our own anger. Emerson said it best, “for every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.” However, it is not only your peace of mind which gets affected, but also of those around you. When you are angry, even the smallest of errors can provoke unnecessarily exaggerated reactions – which you may regret later. More importantly, your reaction might pull someone down in a way you may not even have imagined.

Every time you feel angry and find that the anger is about to be directed at someone, reset. What does reset mean? It means go away from the issue, do something that brings you back to normal, and then look at the issue again. Allow a cooling period before you react or respond. If all us could put this into practice in our daily lives, and in the world of work, it would indeed be a much better world. While we can’t claim responsibility for everyone, we can at least do so for ourselves.

Smile

You would be surprised how therapeutic a smile can feel for someone who’s having a tough day. That one tiny gesture can make a world of difference in just saying, “it’ll all be alright”, or “it is going to be alright.” They don’t lie when they say, ‘you never know how your smile can brighten up someone’s day.’

We came across a lovely post on The Balance, on “Random Acts of Kindness at Work“. And here is a list of what our favorite random acts of kindness are, from the article –

“Bring your coworker a cup of coffee when she looks like she needs a pick-me-up.
Share your mid-afternoon snack with him or if you don’t want to share, bring an extra one (everyone gets hungry a couple of hours after lunch).
Buy your coworker her favorite iced cold beverage on the first warm day of the year.
Offer to stay at work late or come in early to help a coworker with a difficult project (don’t wait to be asked).
Praise him for a job well done. No one can get too many compliments.
If you see someone is about to make a mistake, try to intervene to prevent it.
Offer unsolicited advice, especially to a new colleague who seems to be floundering.
Stop others from spreading a rumor about someone.
If you see something you know your colleague will absolutely love, a book about a topic in which he’s interested for example (nothing too extravagant), get it for him.
Include a less experienced colleague in a meeting or on a project that can help her grow.”

And these ones too!

“Invite him to join your lunch group especially if he doesn’t have many workplace friends.
Stop by her desk to say good morning.
Stop by his desk to say goodbye.
Hold the (otherwise unoccupied) elevator while your colleague runs back to her desk to get something she forgot even if you’re in a hurry to leave the building.
Praise her to the boss who may not realize how hard she’s working.
Offer to mentor an inexperienced coworker. Many people are too shy to ask or may not even think of it.”

We are often so caught up in our busy work lives that we forget people who work tirelessly, round the clock, putting in longer hours than us and surely receiving lesser incentives than us, to make our jobs easier. Some time ago, we wrote this post on Gratitude for People Around us At Work, and this post seems like a perfect reason to revisit it again.

Would we be able to spend a day at work without coffee? Doesn’t all hell break loose when there is no Wi-Fi even for a few minutes? God help us if the IT guy chose to take a leave on the very same day! This post is about 5 such people at work, who are definitely way more important than we give them credit for! Being grateful, and being kind, go hand in hand like nothing else!

One kind act a day, sure does keeps the blues away!

Bringing in the Mindfulness – Top 5 Quotes

by sincera | Aug 8, 2017 | Managing Yourself, Motivation, Productivity, World of Work

A while ago, we wrote about Practicing the Miracle of Mindfulness at Work. In it, we spoke about how to incorporate the practice of mindfulness into your every day routine of work. While mindfulness, in its essence really means to “be”, different people have different ways of saying it. There is nothing more inspiring than reading how other people have experienced mindfulnes, and what they understand the concept of mindfulness as. Here is a selection of the five best ones!

Like we said, the shortest definition of mindfulness is really to just “be”.

“In today’s rush, we all think too much — seek too much — want too much — and forget about the joy of just being.” Eckhart Tolle

2. To be present is probably the key to achieving mindfulness, and therefore, could be the hardest thing to achieve. To be present means to be nowhere else, to do nothing else but what the present moment asks of you. Being present means to give your entire being to accomplishing the current task at hand with all your attention, love and care.

“Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t).” ~James Baraz

3. Turn away from focusing on what you ‘don’t’ have. Make a list of things you are grateful for, and you’ll realize that the list is ever expansive.

“There’s only one reason why you’re not experiencing bliss at this present moment, and it’s because you’re thinking or focusing on what you don’t have…. But, right now you have everything you need to be in bliss.” ~Anthony de Mello

4. Mindfulness is the coming together of the conscious and the subconscious, in a way more powerful than you ever imagined. Being mindful is a means and an end at the same time. To practice being mindful means to channelize the highest levels of energy within yourself towards a purpose you have chosen for yourself.

The practice of mindfulness begins in the small, remote cave of your unconscious mind and blossoms with the sunlight of your conscious life, reaching far beyond the people and places you can see.” ~Earon Davis

5. Yes, he couldn’t be more accurate. Your entire life revolves around how you savor or rush through your cup of tea. It is only when we are able to truly appreciate what we are gifted with, that we begin to invoke more blessings. “Live the actual moment”. Is mindfulness your cup of tea?

“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future; live the actual moment. Only this moment is life.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh”

The practice of mindfulness has the potential to rejuvenate and restore us as individuals. Gratitude and being aware of everything, and everyone, is the key to being mindful. Or like we say, to be mindful is to be happy in the now!

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