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The 5 Zen Strategies for Success

The 5 Zen Strategies for Success

by | Dec 11, 2017 | Life, World of Work

Being successful is not just about opportunities and hard work, there is something else that comes even before these two factors many of us consider to be the most important factors for success. It is your attitude. Your attitude about how far you are willing to go, and how deep you are willing to dive to change yourself from within is what makes all the difference. And if you are ready then this post is just the right thing for you to read. Read on to find out what the 5 Zen strategies are for success!

  1. Breathe

    All the Zen masters you will ever read about, will stress on one foremost thing – breath, and breathing. Because while we underestimate it, our breath is the most fundamental aspect of our lives.  We are because we breathe. Not many of us believe in the power of tuning into our breaths and staying there awhile. But those of us who do, know how very powerful it can be. Meditation is nothing but a practice of breathing mindfully. To be aware of the rhythm of the breath as we breathe in and breathe out. This practice allows us to clean our minds and get rid of anything that does not deserve our mind space. To breathe is the first and foremost of all Zen strategies you have got to master!

  2. The STOP technique

    The second of our five zen strategies, is understanding the value of the STOP technique. Every time we get overwhelmed, our defense mechanism works itself up – as is natural. However, with a little bit of mindfulness, we can change how we are when we feel overwhelmed. Every time you feel like something isn’t working out the way you expected it to, or is too much for you to handle – say STOP. S – Stop, T- Take a Breath, O – Observe, P – Proceed. As soon as you do this, no matter what the situation is, you will have a greater clarity than you did a few moments ago.

  3. One thing at a time

    We believe that multi-tasking is a sign of greater efficiency. However in the current day context, there are more things competing for our attention than ever. So quite contradictory to being productive and efficient, multitasking can be detrimental to our productivity. Focusing on one thing at a time, and giving it our best enhances our efficiency and also gives us confidence to be able to finish tasks in a structured manner. Following this technique not only increases our productivity but also the quality of the same. Instead of doing multiple things at the same time, doing one task at a time with our full concentration is bound to get us better results.

  4. Respond don’t React

    It takes a while to understand the difference between responding and reacting. But when you do, you realize that you could have saved yourself a lot of unnecessary stress if you tried distinguishing between the two, earlier. Like they say – better late than never. We react when we perceive the situation from a personal point of view. We react when we want to defend ourselves. Many situations of conflict that arise in the work place can be de-escalated if either or both parties responded instead of reacting. When we respond, we detach ourselves from the situation and adopt a practical and logical point of view to what the argument at hand is. On the other hand, reactions are guided by emotions and not logic.

  5. Gratitude

    Making gratitude a practice is one of the most powerful, and fastest ways to unlock the immense potential within us. There is a very simple logic to this claim. When we are grateful for what we have, and what we are, we possess a state of mind where anything seems more. Making gratitude a habit is the most beautiful thing you could do for yourself. Every time you think something is wrong, or there is lack of something – look around you and within you, with your eyes and your heart open, and tell us if you still didn’t find anything to be grateful for.

Have your own Zen strategies? Write to us and tell us more about them!

Working From Home – Knowing When to Switch Off

Working From Home – Knowing When to Switch Off

by | Dec 6, 2017 | working from home, World of Work

Working from home has, in the recent past grown to be an increasingly popular option with several organizations. This option works well not just for individuals who are more productive working out of the comfort of their homes, but also for the organizations offering this option. Saving on the cost of maintaining a workspace is only one of the host of benefits the employers get. Several studies conducted on the benefits of working from home, for employers, have found that employees tend to take less number of days off, are more productive, and are generally more satisfied – which amounts to big bonuses for the employers.

In some of our previous posts, we’ve discussed a host of issues relating to work from home – including benefits, dos and don’ts, and tips on how to be more productive when you work from home. In this post, we speak about knowing when to switch off, when you work from home. As relaxing as it may sound, working from home can be quite the opposite. And in fact, can end up being more stressful than a regular 9 to 5 job, because when you work from home, you are always at work! There is always something to work on, always that “just this one thing to finish”.

Maintaining a work-life balance is essential even when you work from home. Switching off when you work from home can be tougher than working from an office. Here are five ways to help you know when to switch off.

1. Don’t wait for the trigger

It is not surprising that our outlook towards most things takes on the garb of a responsive/ corrective approach rather than a preventive approach. In other words, we always tell ourselves that should there be damage we can always go into the damage control mode. How about we prevent that damage by looking out for ourselves, instead of waiting for the trigger?

2. Practice Mindfulness

One way of preventing a burn out, when you work from home is to practice mindfulness all through the day. The underlining principle of practicing mindfulness is to first of all to practice awareness. Being present in the moment throughout the day is a way of never letting yourself wait for the trigger. While this may sound difficult to practice, with a bit of time and patience you can master it.

3. Maintain strict work hours

The reason why it is mostly difficult to switch off when you work from home is because you are always in your ‘work place’. When you have an office to go to, you know work time is over when you turn off your system and drive home. When you work from home however, switching off may not always feel that easy. Make it a point to maintain strict work hours through the day – just like you would if you weren’t working from home. Start at 9 and switch off at 5. Remember that there will always be that one extra thing to finish off, but ask yourself if it’s really that important that it can’t wait.

4. Have daily rituals

Having before and after work daily rituals is a great way to help you switch off from work on time. Making meditation, some exercise and reading a part of these daily rituals is a great way to have yourself look forward to switching off. Make sure that you go out for a short walk every day after work. This prevents that feeling of ‘being holed up’ all day. When your home is the space you work from, feeling ‘holed up’ is the last thing you want to feel. Having simply daily rituals anchors your day and boosts your productivity by preventing burn outs.

5. Learn to identify the triggers

The first thing we spoke about was to not depend on triggers for switching off from work and tuning in to yourself. However, knowing how to identify triggers is also important. It can be hard to take notice of these if its been a while since you’ve turned your focus to yourself. If you are feeling jittery, unproductive and dissatisfied – these are some definite signs. It is like your mind is turning on an alarm for you to pay attention to what it wants to communicate to you. Which is, to switch off from work and to tune in to yourself and give your soul some pampering.

Do you have problems switching off, when you work from home? What is your tactic to handle this problem?

Post by Shreeradha Mishra
Shreeradha is a development professional who loves her work. She is an avid observer of life and enjoys penning down her experiences and learning from the world of work. You can get in touch with her at shreeradha@obolinx.com.

What Makes for a Good Profile Picture

What Makes for a Good Profile Picture

by | Nov 9, 2017 | Social Media, World of Work

Social media today, is a crucial part of the world of work. It would not be far-fetched to stress on the inter-dependency of these two realms. It is true that a potential employer can decide whether or not to give you a chance for that much awaited interview simply by going through your social media profiles. Also, as a candidate, one would be extremely naive to think that potential employers don’t do a background check, of which your social media profiles play a big, big role.

When we speak about social media profiles, what is the first thing that stands out? Your profile picture. Your profile picture speaks volumes about you on social media. Why? Because that little image is what you chose out of the several, hundreds of photographs you may have of yourself, as your identity on the given platform. A picture speaks more than a thousand words. Therefore, it is true that your profile picture is the very first impression you cast on your employer.

So what makes for a good profile picture? Here are a few things that will help you.

  1. The resolution of the photograph

    The first, most basic requirement for a good photograph is that it should be clear and visible. Not grainy and pixelated. Ensure that the photograph you choose to use has your face visible in it. Ensure that the photograph has been taken in proper light, and is not a cropped out version of another photograph. Cropping a photograph renders it grainy and pixelated, in most cases. The idea behind a profile picture is that the person looking at it should know how you look, and not have to imagine a ‘version’ of you based on what is visible in the picture. The first most important quality of a good profile picture is that it should be high-resolution, or at least clear.

  2. You in the photograph

    The second most important thing about a good profile picture – how you come across in the picture, or what you seem to be doing. It’s very difficult to get this wrong, but strangely enough there are examples we have seen which compel us to include this pointer as a part of the post. Remember that regardless of which social media platform you are choosing a profile picture for, they are all fodder for recruiters or potential recruiters. Which means, irrespective of whether or not the said social media platform is a ‘professional’ one, it is highly recommended that you choose a professionally appealing photograph. While it doesn’t necessarily have to be a corporate head shot, take care that it isn’t at least a photograph of you playing beer pong.

  3. A selfie never works

    Yes, no matter how good it is. A selfie comes across as unprofessional. Let’s not be lazy and get a decent photograph!

  4. It needs to be a recent photograph

    It is probably not a good idea to have a photograph from years ago as your profile picture, in which you look absolutely nothing like you do presently. If in doubt, show the photograph to colleagues or friends. You know that it won’t work if you get a response akin to “no way, that can’t be you!” The whole point of having a profile picture is to be visible, be found. So make sure you look like who you look like, for real!

  5. Not inappropriate and not boring

    Now that is a real challenge. While you certainly don’t want to have a party picture on, you also don’t want to appear boring. It is a good idea to try and find a photograph which reflects your field of work in some way. Once again, if you are unsure about whether or not the chosen photograph would work, run it by a trusted friend or colleague.

    Ending this post with a re-affirmation of why it matters so much to invest time in choosing the right profile picture.

Employers spend an average of 6 seconds looking at a LinkedIn profile and 19% of that time is spent looking at the user’s profile picture. Research suggests that it only takes 1/10 of a second for someone to form an impression about you. So make sure it’s a good one! Source.

What Makes a Dream Team?

What Makes a Dream Team?

by | Nov 1, 2017 | Leadership, Recruitment, World of Work

Dream teams are what come together to create magic. It always seems like a great team fits together like perfect pieces of jigsaw made to fit together. However, that is seldom the case. There is no magic unless you create it. Likewise, a dream team is the result of careful, effective and applied leadership and thought. To make a dream team takes a certain amount of acumen. But making what you call, ‘a dream team’, what do you look for? Here are the five most important (magic) ingredients, that come together to make the secret (not so secret anymore) magic sauce of a dream team! Read on to know.

What to look for, to make a ‘dream team’

Look for, Emotional Intelligence

One of the most important characteristics of a great team is for team members to have not just the needed technical skills, but more importantly to possess emotional intelligence. Being aware of what is happening around them, and having the capacity to respond accordingly is a very important quality to seek, while looking to build a team. Social sensitivity and awareness goes a longer way than technical skills. And we are not just saying that, research says so too.

“A study carried by Anita Woolley from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and her colleagues, measured group intelligence and how each individual influences it. Woolley placed 699 people in teams of two to five and got them to carry out a series of tasks, such as solving puzzles, brainstorming, typing and negotiating. The groups were then evaluated on their performance, and given a group intelligence score.As it turns out, neither the intelligence of the smartest member, nor the average intelligence of the group, influenced the overall group intelligence. Instead, social sensitivity—the ability to understand the feelings and thoughts of others—was the most important factor that influenced the overall group intelligence.” [source]

Look for, Diversity

Very often one tends to think that like-minded people coming together make for a great team. Frankly, it is diversity in thought and personality that make for a great team. Quirks are important and quirks of different people are important. It is this difference that outlines the overall personality of your team as a whole. A healthy diversity also means paying attention to being inclusive. It is the diversity of a team that makes way for great stimulating discussions, which are the genesis of amazing ideas. Besides, with a diverse team, things never get boring and you always have each other to learn from and grow with!

Look for, Proactive Communicators

Before you begin your hunt for proactive communicators, it is first essential to understand what proactive communication is. Communicating proactively means to think a step ahead. To anticipate and to act on it. A proactive communicator will go the extra mile, and very often it is not even out-of-the-way, but only a sensitive gesture. Emotional intelligence and proactive communication are in a way interdependent.

Examples of proactive communication?

  • “Team members provide information before being asked.
  • Provide support and assistance before being asked.
  • They take team initiative by providing guidance and making suggestions to other team members.
  • They provide updates, creating situational awareness for other team members. [source]“

Look for, a Leader

At the center of a great team, is a good leader. But who is a good leader? Someone who can guide, motivate and just ‘be there’ for the team. A good leader is like-able, and at the same time formidable – a weird combination? But its true.  Like John C.Maxwell once very rightly said, “You know you are a good leader when your team does not hesitate to approach you, but never wants to let you down. If you are a leader, you should never forget that everyone needs encouragement. And everyone who receives it – young or old, successful or less-than-successful, unknown or famous – is changed by it.”

Most importantly, a leader recognizes the value of leadership skills in every member of the team. And that is what makes a great team.

Look for, Fun!

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, yes sir. A team that has fun together, stays together. When looking to create a dream team, never miss out on looking for fun. It is indeed one of the most important secret ingredients for an indivisible team. To have a team which knows how to have fun, and work hard makes the journey so much more enjoyable. You live your work – and that is a blessed feeling. To have a team which knows how to have fun, is one of the finest ways to be happy in the now!

Like everything else, building a team is a process which requires patience and skill. It does not happen over night, but when it does, it is indeed the stuff of dreams!

What is your notion of a “dream team”?

A letter for the Young Professional

A letter for the Young Professional

by | Oct 24, 2017 | Life, World of Work

Dear Young Professional,

Here you are, finally living the much coveted and cherished ‘independent’ life you have been waiting for, through years of school and maybe somewhat more rebellious years of college. How does it feel? Are you giddy with excitement, or surprised because you did not expect to feel indifferent, of all things. Any which way, welcome to the world of ‘adulting’, as we millennials put it, and, to the world of work.

The unfortunate part about being a young professional in the world of work today, is that we have been groomed, and taught to believe and act according to the knowledge that the said world “expects” professionals who have just graduated to come with a load of experience, skills and a ‘win the world’ personality. To some extent, this is not entirely misplaced. To a large extent, it is. Being a young professional in the world of work today is much harder than it ever was because of the debilitating (the word ‘stiff’ won’t describe it half as well) competition we have been brought up to strive through, thrive through. Right from school, words and phrases like ‘rat race’ have been highlighted in fluorescent markers in the dictionary of our memories. As a result, anything short of excellence, anything short of being the ‘best’ seems to be getting asked to move on.

In your strive to ‘fit in’ to the mold of perfection which has been your shadow since the first time a parent may have told you, “…but why not better?”, try not to forget who you really are. Like Oscar Wilde said, “Be yourself because everyone else is taken.” It feels good to look back, every now and then and realize that you have come a long way and have only just started. Instead of getting bogged down by what we millennials call ‘adulting’, try and find joy in this journey of yours – which has only just started – the best part of being free and independent to discover yourself through what you choose to do. To stop and pause, and process, is something each one of us owes ourselves. If not for this, we might well be machines – doing just the right amount of thinking we are “wired” to do. While many parts of this journey might scare you and force you to look at things in a certain way that may make you uncomfortable, after have also been trained about which perspective is ‘right’ and which is ‘wrong’, take it as it comes. You may discover that what you once thought was ‘wrong’ is indeed just another shade of gray – not necessarily right or wrong.

Away from cut-offs, placement talks and placement drives, CGPAs and CV designs, welcome to a very real world – defined maybe by all these aspects, but it is really up to you to open your eyes and look beyond them into a horizon of very many possibilities. This really is a space which gives you the freedom and space to unlearn everything so you may learn again. The true learnings are in fact those that disintegrate and come together, forming the atoms that make you up. It is through your work, the space and the people that you now spend a greater portion of your time with that will begin to be central to this new journey of yours. And indeed, it is important to look beyond projects and deadlines, promotions and packages, meetings and partnerships, and build relationships that have more to them than just opportunities.

Seeking mentors, being fearless, taking risks (calculated ones!), being prudent, being foolish, working hard, learning to live, but most of all learning to be in the moment, to be happy in the now and finding joy in the beautiful journey of growth is what the world of work could be all about. Only if we choose to make it that way.

Love,

A Young Professional on a Beautiful Journey of Learning and Growth.