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Courtesy in the Virtual World – Small Things Matter!

Courtesy in the Virtual World – Small Things Matter!

Consider the following situation:

Peter is a freelance writer writes to an organization with a well known blog, requesting them to carry his blog on their website. The organization responds with enthusiasm, and wants to take the collaboration ahead. There is no response from Peter for a month. A month later, Peter writes back with an apology and requests the organization to carry his article on their blog. The organization says they will do so, and would let him know when the article is up. However, since posts are usually scheduled in advance, it might take a while. There is no response from Peter for ten days. After ten days, he writes back asking if the article has been published. The organization responds with the link to the published article. About two weeks pass by, and there is still no email of acknowledgment from Peter.

Why is the case in point a lesson in professionalism?

The situation illustrated above is only one of the several ways that simple courtesies, politeness and a basic humanitarian approach in the world of work is undermined. What is worse is that, Peter probably doesn’t even realize that he is not only being unprofessional, but also rude – may be unwittingly so.

One of the key principles of maintaining professionalism is being courteous and polite at all times. This aspect applies not only to the real time day-to-do situations in the ‘real’ world of work, but also in the virtual world. Today, so much of our business is transacted across virtual boundaries. While we may not be able to see or touch the person behind the emails and the black letters on our screen that inform our understanding of the person concerned and the situation at hand, we still know that there is a human being at the other end. What indeed makes our communication governed by machines less mechanical, and transactional is how we choose to communicate – courtesy in the virtual world matters more than you may think.

How might have Peter been a better communicator in the above scenario?

  • By making his communication appear less like a transaction, and more like a dialogue – i.e., by responding not just to get his work done and to follow up, but by being timely and more courteous in his responses. And most of all, by expressing gratitude once the work was done. The organization could have refused to publish the article by citing delay as a reason, and Peter/ or anyone else in his stead would have had no grounds to contest that.

It is especially important for young professionals to understand how these seemingly ‘small’ things make a big difference to one’s professional trajectory. While these aspects of professionalism may seem trivial to some, they by no means would fit under that adjective. Small things matter. Who you are as a person, comes across through how you communicate. Communication through virtual platforms has plenty of scope for misunderstandings. However, virtual platforms have become the base for much of what we do in the world of work today. Therefore, if one needs to be extra cautious while communicating in the virtual world – the effort is worth it.

Because, whatever the business is, whatever the transaction is, while machines enable, there are humans behind those machines. And if we cannot bring the human touch to our communication with each other, where does that leave us?

5 Simple Ways to Liven Up your Work Space

5 Simple Ways to Liven Up your Work Space

An inspiring work space goes a long way in keeping you motivated and productive. Given that we all spend at least 7-8 hours at our work spaces, it is important to have one which gives you good vibes. And if you don’t have a very inspiring work space, you can make one. Here are five simple ways how.

  1. Appropriate Lighting

    Often, lighting is limited to only about 15 inches of your work space. This means you squeeze yourself into those 15 inches of light to be able to focus properly. Ideally, the lighting should be directly over your work space – at the center, so as to equally light up your entire work station. This enables you to focus effortlessly, and also maintains proper ambient light which is crucial for making you feel relaxed and calm.

  2. Green it up!

    From little cacti, succulents to the larger varieties of Areca palm – a little green at your work space goes a long way in helping you feel happy, calm and centered. They also come with the obvious benefits of natural air purification. There are plenty of low maintenance plants you can choose from, the ones stated above being just a few amongst them. Feeling confused about which plant to adopt? Have a look at this catalogue!

  3. Add frames

    Not too many, just a few depending on how big your work station is. Go with images that reflect positive vibes, and put a smile on your face when you see them. Ideally, you should go for frames which are simple, and not cluttered with too much happening in them. The purpose of what you put around you should be to help you focus, and not aid your distractions. Therefore, going with a mountain scenery should be preferable to putting up a busy market scene where there’s too much happening, and every time you see it you notice (or want to notice) something new.

  4. The magic of a cork board

    The old school charm of a cork board can never go out of fashion. Whether to use it as a vision board, for to-do lists, inspirational love notes to self or just to pin some art up, a cork board is an indispensable item when trying to claim a space as yours. Given that this is to be used for your work space, make sure you are careful about what you put up – unless you work at home. The key is once again to put things up that help focus and motivate, and aren’t distracting.

  5. Personalize

    Personalization goes beyond what’s is visible to the naked eye. Going to your work space should feel like the integral experience it is. Stock up on your favorite tea or coffee. Keep a go-to (but healthy) snack ready. Spend time creating those two playlists – one for deep work, one for regular work. Choose a fragrance that helps you breathe better – it could be in the form of incense or potpourri or even a scented candle.

    The idea is to create a space that feels like you! A space you look forward to getting to, a space that motivates you and inspires you to do, and to do more. And this can be done with a little bit of time, almost no money and lots of soul. So if you have these ingredients, step up and take on this therapeutic project of reclaiming your work space and making it truly yours!

Making it (to) Work when you’re not Feeling 100%

Making it (to) Work when you’re not Feeling 100%

While ideally the private and the professional life need to be kept distinct from each other, in reality it is a very thin, and porous line dividing the two. The line is especially blurred and porous when your mental health is suffering, and you are not at a great place in your life. You could be dealing with the insurmountable loss of a parent, an extremely bad break up, a lack of stability in your personal life, coping with being friendless in a new city, or sometimes even feeling anxious and depressed for no reason at all. On days like these, when you are going through hell, how do you get yourself to work? How do you clock it from 9 to 5, without letting the battle you are fighting within, take over?

Half the job is done when you decide to show up

Yes, at times, it is enough to just be able to summon the will power to show up. Set backs can be extremely difficult to deal with. Respect the fact that you are after all a human being who is not immune to hurt and heart break. Your will to perform and be productive at work is not independent of your mental health status. More than anything else, your mental health status is not a switch which can be turned on at 9 am and turned off at 5 pm. On days like these, getting out of bed, getting dressed, having breakfast and just making it to your desk on time is enough. It is progress, and it is something you should be proud of being able to do. Because on days like these, just showing up can be the most difficult thing to do. Just show up – that’s all you need to do until you’re feeling better.

Do the mundane, and the everyday – a routine can work wonders

When you are depressed and still getting over what has happened, you might find yourself craving anything but the ordinary, the mundane. Doing the everyday things scare us the most. Because given our frame of mind at that point, it is easier to distract ourselves, than to focus on doing things that need to be done. It is easier to stress eat, than to follow an established exercise routine. When you feel like you are being swept away by feelings of commotion within you, don’t run to distractions, let it pass and turn to the regular chore that demands your focus. Remember that it is only when you start doing the everyday things, when you start following a routine and discipline yourself will you truly be able to come back.

So show up at work, and do what you would have done on an ordinary day. Even if it is boring. Even if it feels like the most difficult thing to do in the world is to sit at your desk and draft an email to your client. Do it, and give yourself a pat for having achieved what you thought was the most difficult thing ever. And then keep doing enough of these tasks till you start feeling like you’ve got this.

Accept help – it is okay to not be okay

When someone has a broken leg in a cast at work, there are so many people who notice that he might need some extra help. Unfortunately, not many people are good at reading the subtle, and not-so-subtle signs of when someone is suffering from bad mental health. Wish there was some kind of cast for that, but there isn’t-yet. It is important to accept the help that is offered to you when you are dealing with mental health issues. It is important not just because it will help you, but also because it is an exercise in sensitizing other people around you who need to be more sensitive in identifying people who are not feeling a 100%, and offering to help. It is equally important for people who are not feeling okay, to know that they can reach out for help, and accept the help that is offered.

Be gentle with yourself, accept everything you’re feeling

Some days you will succeed in showing up, some days you won’t. And that’s okay. Some days you’ll feel inspired to be disciplined and follow a routine, some days you just want to eat cake all day. And that’s okay. Some days you’ll reach out for help and accept it when it’s given to you, on other days, you just want to be left alone. That’s okay too! Remember that more than anything else, you need to be gentle and patient with yourself. The road to emotional recovery is not linear. You might stick to a routine for a week, and then find yourself in a slump for the next five days. Don’t feel disheartened. Don’t feel like you’re back to square one. Because emotional healing is not linear, it is a constant journey. A journey inward where you discover something new about yourself every day.

If today is feeling especially rough, take courage and know that it will get better. Know that it’s always the darkest before the dawn. And know that above all, you are not alone.

5 Ways your Activity on Facebook May be Affecting your Career

5 Ways your Activity on Facebook May be Affecting your Career

Social media today has become intertwined with our very existence in ways more than one. It is really no longer a joke that everything we are doing – what food we’re eating, what music we’re listening to, what our coordinates are, it is all on social media. So how does leading our lives on social media impact our career? Could it have an adverse impact? Yes it could, and if you can’t do without Facebook, here are five ways you are potentially killing your career because of it!

  1. Telling the world how much you hate your boss

    Surprise, surprise (but really are you surprised?), making your opinions vocal about your superiors or colleagues at work on Facebook will not remain a secret from them. And how this could damage your reputation and career at your work place is anybody’s guess. Controlling these urges is a good idea because while it wouldn’t help you in any way, it would surely come with adverse consequences you would have to face. Besides making you look immature and petty, it might actually cost you your job!

  2. Not making use of your privacy settings

    Facebook has privacy controls you can set to make your posts visible to select audiences. Not all your posts need to be visible to everyone on your friend list – especially if you have professional contacts on your friend list. While the general principle of thinking before you post needs to apply to every person using social media, for professionals, you need to go one step ahead and decide whether what you are posting will have a detrimental impact on your professional image and if you should perhaps control the extent of its visibility.

  3. Your profile picture

    Companies today are increasingly making use of a candidate’s information on his/her social media to aid the decision-making process leading up to recruitment. In this scenario, everything you do on social media could have an impact on the hiring decision the company makes. However, the one thing that makes an immediate impression on your social media profile is your profile picture. Using a bad quality photograph, or an inappropriate one wouldn’t help you come off as professional.
    Want to know what makes for a good profile picture? Read our post about it here.

  4. The content of your posts

    While you do have every right of sharing your opinion on current issues, it is important to be sensitive and responsible in what you say if the issue at hand is a controversial one. Remember that this also has an effect on what your colleagues might think of you – in case you come off as too radical. In an ideal world, you are allowed to have your opinions without it impacting your work life, sadly, in the real world subconscious bias is a real thing. Besides, being sensitive about what you say on social media is always a good thing – regardless of whether you are a professional. Hasn’t “fake news” brewed enough trouble already?

  5. Using the same email address with Facebook and job applications

    Did you know that companies today use email plug-ins like “Rapportive”, which automatically collects all social media data linked with the email id you furnish, to get a more thorough idea regarding the potential candidate? This means, your social media footprints will be visible to your potential employer. Social media today is an immensely powerful tool in helping recruiters find the “right fit”. It is almost like a pre-interview. It is therefore wiser to use a separate email ID that cannot be traced back to your social media activity. However, it is always good to do a social media cleanse every now and then, and here is what you need to know about it.

Social media can help you make or break your career. Being strategic and responsible in your usage of social media can reap you more benefits than you imagined. One of the greatest professional advantages of social media is the scope it gives you to create a personal brand for yourself – regardless of who you are and what you do. Want to learn how personal branding works, and how it could benefit you? Read about the power of “brand you” here.

Deep Work to the Rescue

Deep Work to the Rescue

Focus and concentration are probably the two most scarce resources in the world of work. Well, the good news is, while they might be scarce resources, they are not in short supply. Because how we harness them depends entirely on us. If you are someone who works in a very distracting environment, or someone who is prone to distractions fairly often, or just someone who wants to achieve the most from every working day – the ‘deep work’ technique is something you must give a shot.

Simply put, and like the name suggests, deep work is when you delve into your work with utmost focus and concentration, and get things done. Fast. Sounds like a dream? Even I thought as much until I tried it out myself. Here are some easy action steps for you to start incorporating bits of deep work into your daily work routine, until it becomes a habit you can’t do without!

  1. Planning

    To get more done, the most done, the first step is to know what you have to do. That is, to plan your work well, and plan it well in advance. A lot of people believe that this is a waste of time, however, it is the very opposite of that. When you plan your work well, you know exactly what your deliverables and deadlines are. There is no way you are going to waste time thinking about what you have to do next, or feel intimidated about how much you have to do. Having a plan on paper, even if it is just a few bullets, will do the magic. Planning the week in advance is a great idea since it gives a good overview of what your week looks like and you can prepare and take stock accordingly.

  2. Doing one thing at a time

    Once you have a plan, you need to get to the next step, that is – to do. And whoever said multi-tasking is the way to go, couldn’t have been more mistaken. When you multi-task, you are doing the very opposite of deep work. Your focus is fragmented because you are doing too many things at the same time, in the bargain you don’t really get much done. Before you begin work, spend a few minutes reviewing your plan for the day, and tackle your tasks – one at a time.

  3. Schedule “deep work” slots

    We live in a world where connectivity is a must. A lot of people advocate turning off all devices and switching off the internet to get into the deep work mode. However, for some of us, this may not be a practical option since our work might be dependent on being connected. There is a work around for this. Use the first two or three hours of your day as “deep work” slots, during which you turn off your notifications and your phone. And also – like anyone who is good at what they do will tell you, don’t get to the emails first thing in the morning. The first few hours in the morning after you wake up is when your mind is at its peak. So make sure you make the most of it!

  4. A strict “no social media” rule

    Whether or not you are working in a deep work slot, for consistent deep work, make it a point to not use social media during your work hours. You can start with going a week without using any social media at all, and then use it only for a few minutes during lunch, or breaks. The social media and screen addiction has an extremely detrimental impact on our productivity. Stepping away from our phones and apps, and turning all our focus to the task in front of us is the simplest mantra to being super productive!

  5. Remembering to shut down appropriately

    How you sign off from work does have an impact on your over all work life. When you shut down at work, make sure you leave everything that belongs to your work place at your desk. Don’t carry work home. Or for that matter, even feelings from work home. Treat your time after work as sacred and do whatever makes you happy so you feel recharged for the next day. Remember that tomorrow is a brand new day and you’ve got to be in your most mindful state of being to make the most of the day!

    Have your stories of productivity, deep work, or just about anything related to the world of work to share with us? Do write to us and we’d be happy to feature them!