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  • Ultimate Guide to 4MAT Learning Cycle Model

    Ultimate Guide to 4MAT Learning Cycle Model

    In this blog, you will learn about the 4MAT learning cycle and Delivering instruction that everyone can understand easily.

    WHAT’S IN IT

    Introduction to 4MAT Learning Cycle Model

    Ultimate Guide to 4MAT Learning Cycle Model

    The 4MAT gaining knowledge of the cycle was invented by Bernice McCarthy in 1980. 4MAT model gives teachers and trainers a systematic way to train all learners to think and learn well.

    It also offers a method for creating an environment for continuous learning and development. It is embracing and flexible.

    Inclusive as it takes into account the many different ways that people learn. These guide outlines are flexible enough that the facilitator can choose their way to facilitate the learning event.

    It is a structure for developing a dynamic and greater worried fashion of coaching through as it should be counted on the studying procedure that every learner is going through.

    While traditional instruction may focus totally on facts and knowledge. The teacher’s roles will completely change as they move through the 4MAT Learning Cycle.

    They are more effective in the first two quadrants of learning as the goal is to engage students But the learner takes over within the last two quadrants, where they need to apply learning in real-life situations or contexts. 

    Background

    It is based on four major theories which are as follows:- 

    1. Kurt Lewin’s experiential Learning Model where experience is connected to new learning to validate and test abstract concepts.
    2. David Kolb’s experiential learning and his style research.
    3. John Dewey’s emphasis on learner experience and concept integration through action.
    4. Robert Kegan’s movement from subject to object, from connecting experience to analyzing experience, as the key to cognitive growth. 

    All these models have founded on the premise that learning is a continuous process of growth and change that is grounded in inexperience. 

    4mat is about the interplay in how people perceive and how they process what they perceive. There are two ways of perceiving and the overlay of these two dimensions is the foundation of the 4MAT learning cycle.

    1. Experiencing:- Here you sense things, being alive to what’s happening, emotionally captured by the moment, feeling the learning through the experience.
    2. Conceptualizing:- Translating experiencing conceptual forms into language, Ideas, systems, and an abstract approach to learning, trying to figure out what’s happening and naming it. 

    We process by reflecting on these experiences, acting on what we learn from them. 

    4MAT Learning styles

    David Kolb in 1984 found that the four combinations of perceiving and processing determine the four different learning styles.

    Type One Learners:- Imaginative learner

    In a new learning situation, Type One learners will rely on their intuition and gut when deciding on the relevance of new. They will take time to think things through before acting.

    They start with what they see, then they generalize and Prefer to take in information from a “feeling” perspective and make sense of it.

    •  Their main focus question is “why?”.
    •  Model themselves on people they expect.
    •  Learn through communication with different people.
    •  Strengths are innovating and imaging.
    •  Become involved in learning by listening and sharing ideas.

    Type Two Learners:- Analytical learner

    Type Two learners will rely on external data and knowledge when deciding on the relevance of information.

    They start with an idea, then they reflect on it, watching it, and take different shapes. They will make sense of new information by reflecting and thinking things through before trying out new approaches.

    In a new learning situation

    • Their favourite question is “what?”.
    • More interested in ideas and concepts than people.
    • Enjoy debating the issues.
    • They engage intellectually with ideas.
    • And They will re-examine facts if the situation surprises them.
    • They need to know what the expert thinks.

    Type Three Learners:- Pragmatists learner

    They start with an idea and then experiment and test it to see if it is working or not. Prefer to take in information from a “thinking” perspective and make sense of it by doing. 

    • They need to know how things work.
    • Their foremost question: “How? ”
    • Seek usability and like to test theories.
    • Enjoy solving problems.
    • They need to know how things they learn can help in ”real life”
    • They need hands-on experience

    Type Four Learners:- Activists

    Type Four learners will rely on intuition and their sense of what will work. They start with whatever they see, hear, touch, feel. Then they plunge in and try it out in action.

    They will try different approaches to determine the usefulness of the information being learned.

    • Their main focus question is “what if?”
    • Learn to trial and blunders out and self-discovery
    • Excel in a scenario calling for flexibility. 
    • The strength is to take action and carry out plans.
    • Adaptable to change and like to take risks.
    • Often reach perfect conclusions in the absence of logical justification.

    Right and Left Mode

    • Learning involves interaction between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. The ability to hold two major brain functions in balance in all teaching.
    • The balance of the Right Mode Operates out of being, comprehends Imaging and intuiting, seeks patterns, creates metaphors, is simultaneous. Strives to synthesize, consolidate information synthesizing. 
    • Two important books give prestigious credence to the notion of right- and left-mode functioning.
    • Daniel Kahneman describes these complementary functions as “fast and slow thinking”, and Chip and Dan Heath metaphorize the description as “an emotional elephant with a deliberate, analytic rider atop”. Balance strategies that require students to use both of their brain functions. 
    • Overlay of Both Right and Left Functions The 4MAT design alternates the synthesizing right mode and the analyzing left mode throughout the 4MAT Quadrants to assure balance and interaction. 

    4MAT Learning Cycle Model

    Ultimate Guide to 4MAT Learning Cycle Model

    Quadrant 1:- Why?

    In this quadrant, something happens and your attention is gained. In this, you ask the question “Why? ” Why ought I take note of this? Why is it important? Meaningful? 

    In quadrant one, the first phase of the learning cycle, the goal is to connect. During this quadrant, your complete focus as a facilitator is on winning the attention of your learners and engaging their interest in the subject. 

    In this quadrant, you are seeking to help them understand the real value of what you’re saying, and get the learners to think about how you’re saying fits in with and enhances his or her existing experience.

    Learners concerning their non-public thoughts and ideals to the idea being taught.

    1. Connect (Right mode)

    In this mode establish the relationship between your group and the content connecting to their lives, not telling them how it connects but having something happen in the group that will bring them to create the connection.   

    2. Attend (left mode)

    In this mode have your group analyze what just happened, have them attend to their own experience, and the perception of their fellow group members.

    Quadrant 2:- What?

    In quadrant two, you seek out expert thinking. In this, you ask the question, “What? ” What ought to I understand approximately? And What do the specialists have to say? What statistics exist?

    You build learner’s knowledge and encourage them to find out facts. In doing this you help learners make you watch, reflect, and think about this new information. 

    This all helps to build a good base of the subject. The goal of learning is to inform, to present facts in a systematic and organized form. 

    1. Image (Right mode)

    Encourage the group to picture the concept as they understand it, have experienced it before you take them to the experts.

    2. Inform (Left mode)

    Now they may be equipped for receiving and inspecting professional knowledge. Inform them about expert theories and knowledge.

    Quadrant 3:- How?

    In quadrant three you move into action. You practice. You explore the question, “How?” How is it useful? And How will I apply it? How does it work?

    During this quadrant, you train the realistic talents that come from the concept and inspire newcomers to check their knowledge of the material.  

    This way learners confirm and refine their understanding, and apply and generalize the information they’ve learned. The goal is to help learners to test theories and ideas and apply them to the practical world.

    1. Practice (Left mode)

    Stay first with the left mode. In this group practice, learning as the expert has found it.

    2. Extend (Right mode)

    This is the stage where innovation begins. Group understands sufficient, have sufficient abilities to start gambling with the content, the abilities, the materials, the ideas, the parts, the details, the data, and the big picture, to make something of this learning for themselves, to be interpretive.  

    Quadrant 4:- If

    In the last quadrant four, you encourage learners to extend creatively their use of the skills you’ve taught. This gives practice in new skills and helps them reinforce.  

    During this quadrant, you assess the results of your action and adjust. In this, you ask the question, “If? ” If I do this then what will be the new results generated?

    If I am to achieve success in making use of this, what variations will I make for my real-international environment? 

    1. Refine (Left mode)

    In this also stay first with the left mode again. The group has proposed an extension of the learning into their lives.  

     2. Perform (Right mode)

    At last, have your students perform, Here the content takes a new shape, as it is formed through the group. Look for originality, relevance, new questions, and connections to larger ideas, immediately useful skills.

    4MAT Facilitator Style’s

    Type-1 Facilitators

    • Encourage their students to be authentic.
    • Belief reflection is the main method for raising self-awareness.
    • See knowledge as the basis for achieving good potential.
    • They are aware of social issues that affect human development.
    • Involve their students in discussions and group projects.

    Type-2 Facilitators

    • Try to help their students be knowledgeable.
    • See knowledge as the basis for achieving the target.
    • Are interested in transmitting the best knowledge.
    • Are up to date on the expert knowledge in their content areas.
    • Involve their students in lectures, note-taking, and readings.

    Type-3 Facilitators

    • Believe their students should approach problems scientifically.
    • See knowledge to enable learners to make their unique way in the world.
    • Excel in the technical aspects of their field.
    • Are interested in helping their students achieve high skills competence.
    • Involve their students in problem-solving, and hands-on activities.

    Type-4 Facilitators

    • Help their students with their dreams.
    • They Involve their students in many out of school activities.
    • They see community needs as learning opportunities.
    • Are inquisitive about allowing beginners to search for possibilities. 
    • See knowledge as important to bringing out change. 

    Conclusion

    The 4MAT learning cycle describes the learning activity itself.

    The cycle is creating the connecting experience, encouraging discussion and sharing of perceptions requiring imaging of the concept, informing with the best and most current knowledge, structuring the practice with different options, and providing multiple strategies for extending learning into student lives.

    If teachers understand the cycle perfectly, they can take it. It helps both teachers and students to teach and to learn in a structured form and it provides an easy and effective way of teaching and learning.

    Also you can read our blog on Top 50 Personal Morale Booster

    FAQ‘s

  • Encouraging Team Creativity- Helping Your People to Think Creatively

    Encouraging Team Creativity- Helping Your People to Think Creatively

    Creativity is about creating innovation and finding great solutions to problems. And business is also the same definition. So, both are very essential factors for each other. 

    We live in a competitive world that changes faster. To survive and become successful in this world you need to do something innovative or different. Creativity is one ability that can complete this need.

    Encouraging Team Creativity

    Coming up with a creative solution that solves the biggest problem in society is the basis of startups and businesses. The reason behind all successful market leader companies is the innovative product or service. 

    An innovative leader can open new opportunities for companies. But an innovative team can turn opportunities into success.

    But the question is How encouraging team creativity? 

    WHAT’S IN IT?

    How to Encourage Team Creativity?

    How to Encourage Team Creativity

    1) Hire Potential Staff

    Hiring employees for your companies is a very important part. Because employees are those who run or handle the company. 

    So, be careful while hiring staff. Hire someone on his potential not only just on their skills.

    2) Create a Clear Vision of Your Company

    A clear vision gives your team direction. But, their all thinking and energy goes in one direction. That helps your team to think differently or something creative. 

    If you involve all your team members in changing the goals and strategies of your company then they feel like they are an important part of the company. And they started giving suggestions or

    ideas for new goals and also enjoy the success of your company.

    That affects the overall growth of your company.

    3) Give Training Your Team

    Creativity is about thinking innovatively and creating it. So, it requires learning something new for it. And today’s world of competition needs to keep updated with new learning yourself. 

    Team Training

    So, give training of new things regularly to your team. New learning opens their mind. New learning also boosts their confidence. 

    And both an open mind and confidence to do something inspires the team to think creatively. Learning also gives direction to create that idea into reality.

    “Train people well enough so anyone can hire them on 3x salary, give love enough so they don’t want to leave you also for 10x salary.”- Richard Branson

    4) Listen to Your Staff

    Listening is the most important skill for any leader. If you listen to your employees, they start feeling important and free. Only if your employees or teammates feel free with you, then only they interact with you and give new ideas and suggestions to you. 

    Positive interaction makes your relations better than boss-employee relations. Always end the meeting with open questions to your team-mates and listen to them carefully.

     If you can’t listen to them then they assume you are arrogant. And they started avoiding you and the goals of your company. 

    But, if you listen carefully then their perspective becomes very positive towards you. That’s why all the team can connect with one goal easily and also gives new innovative ideas, suggestions. And if all members of a company work as a team then the efficiency of work and company grow fast. 

    That is the best way to increase the creativity of your whole team.

    5) Act on Their Ideas

    It is very important to listen to employees’  ideas. But most important is to act on their ideas.

    If you just listen to their ideas and don’t react to them then employees start feeling you are arrogant. And after that, they don’t give any new ideas or suggestions to you. 

    If an idea is not good then tell them corrections but when the idea is good then take action on it. Your action encourages them to think about more innovative ideas.

    6) Regularly Do Brainstorming

    Brainstorming

    Brainstorming is a popular way to solve problems innovatively and generate new creative ideas. It is a process where all group members come together and discuss one topic.

    Because of the participation of all members, you get many perspectives about that idea. You get many problems and solutions about that one idea.  

    Brainstorming also encourages your employees to think creatively and share their ideas freely with others. So, do brainstorming regularly in your company.

    Remember a few things while doing brainstorming-

    1. Participation in discussion is a must.
    2. Set a time limit.
    3. Record everything.
    4. Give everyone a chance to share their ideas

    7) Create a Positive Environment

    It is very important to have a positive environment in your office. Make your office where employees do work freely. 

    Interior is a very important factor for any office. The fact is that you and your team spend more time in the office than at home. Good office interior affects the thinking of employees. 

    Positive Environment

    They feel fresh or depressed depending on how right your office interior is. And a fresh mood can generate more ideas. A fresh atmosphere encourages us to think creatively. 

    For creating a positive environment You can paint spiritual paintings on the walls of offices, put some indoor plants in the office, that small changes affect a lot.

    8) Give Freedom

    Different people have different styles of doing work. Some employees work better with music, some are with pen and pencil. 

     Everyone just loves the freedom, if you put conditions on working style employees they do not work at their full efficiency. But if you give them the freedom to their working style. It increases their efficiency and productivity.

    Giving freedom also connects your employees to you. They started doing work with interest and interest generates love towards work. So, employees always try to give their best at work. It is very important to the success of any company.

    Because of freedom, they started feeling better or relaxed at work. So, they can generate more and more ideas.

    9) Allows to Take Breaks

    Continuing work reduces the efficiency of work. It also gives stress. We get tired faster by doing continuous work. 

    Our brain is not a machine. It needs some breaks for rest and recharge. The scheduled break helps to store all information in our brain. And also increases the productivity of your employees.

    A rested brain can think better innovative than a tired brain. So, it is very important to give short breaks to employees during office time.  

    It depends on you or your employee’s contract to give a paid break or non-paid break.

    10) Tell Them Don’t Be Afraid to Fail

    Creativity is all about taking a high risk. So, there is always a chance to fail. Some ideas are brilliant but not profitable for business but sometimes an average idea becomes profitable to your company. 

    If you shouted at employees for their mistakes. Then they are always afraid to share their new ideas. It reduces their creativity. 

    So, don’t be angry when an employee makes a mistake. Give them advice on how they can improve their mistakes and grow. 

    When all fear goes away from your employees then they become fearless. And they feel free to share new creative and innovative ideas.  

    It is very important for encouraging team creativity.

     11) Give Best Awards

    Give Best Awards

    When any employee does some extraordinary work or gives some great idea or suggestion. Then must appreciate our award him ‘in front of all team members.

    Remember, when a leader gives appreciation in front of others then the employee feels very proud of himself. Then he started work not only with more productivity but also connected the company emotionally. Once he connects with all his emotions then he thinks a lot about companies success so he can give a lot of creative and innovative ideas.

    It is very important to connect all members of a company with one purpose.

    Rather than searching for people who do not work properly, search for people who do better encourage them, appreciate them. After seeing this, for appreciation, lazy people also started doing their job efficiently.

    “On which activity you give the award, employee do these activities repeatedly.”

     – Dr Vivek Bindra

    12) Make an Emotional Bond with Your Employees

    Humans are emotional. They easily connected with emotion.

    Remember “Salary is never the highest motivation of retention” 

    “You don’t need only hand and legs, you need head and heart.”- Dr Vivek Bindra

    So, connecting heartly with your employees is very important. If you and your employees are connected emotionally then you get all the pain points of your employees.

    Then you can help them to get out of that pain. Once you do this, then your employees connect emotionally with you.  

    Once they connect with you stronger than they never leave you and always think about your success.

    Work with your employees as a friend or leader, not as a boss. If you work as a friend, then freely give you new innovative and different ideas.

    13) Diversify Work in Your Team

    If one team does one work continuously then they start feeling bored. So, automatically reduces the efficiency and productivity of their work.

    Diverse your team may encourage them to learn different skills. So, the team never feels stressed. This method also inspires them to use their creativity in their work.

    Conclusion

    Employees are the heart of any company. Also, employees come first. So, their skills, their development, their abilities are very important to the overall growth of your company.

    And creativity is an ability that is a must for success. So, make an emotional bond with your employees and always help them to think creatively. That helps your company to achieve more and more goals.

    Also you can read our blog on :- 3 Ways to Deal With Change

    FAQ’s

  • How to Handle a Stressful Job and Relax your Mind?

    How to Handle a Stressful Job and Relax your Mind?

    Stress is the body’s reaction to any change that needs an adjustment or response. The body reacts with these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. If you are currently working, you might know what it feels like to be stressed on the job. one question that comes to our mind that is How to handle a Stressful job? A must-do project will arrive without warning.

    Stress is a feeling that can be emotional or physical tension. It can come from any time or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous. Stress is our body’s reaction to a challenge or order.

    In simple bursts, stress can be positive, such as when it helps you avoid danger or meet a deadline

    Stress is a normal part of an individual’s life. While it may seem like there is  nothing going our way we can do about stress at work, there are steps you can take to relieve the pressure and regain control over the Stress. It can be anywhere either at the home or at the workplace i.e at  the office or job

    WHAT’S IN IT?

    Why is it important to handle Stress?

    If we are living with high levels of stress, we are putting our entire happiness at risk. Stress spoil not only our emotional health but also our physical health.

    It narrow’s individual ability to think clearly, function effectively, and enjoy life. It may look like there’s nothing you can do about stress.

    Effective stress management helps us to break the hold stress that has on our  life. As a result, we can be much happy, healthy healthier, and even more productive.

     The ultimate goal is to lead a balanced life, without stress with time for work, relationships, calmness, and to have fun—and the elasticity to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head-on.

    Therefore we need to be free from stress to lead a happy life. One thing comes up to mind is How to handle stress?

    handle-stress-at-job

    Some of the sources of stress at the job:

    1. Firstly, due to Low salary or the stipend
    2. More workload
    3. Less chance of growth
    4. In Addition, it can also occur due to a lack of support
    5. Working with long Hours
    6. Change in the shift(duties)
    7. Hard or tight Deadline

    What are the ways to deal with a Stressful job

    Be Comfortable :

    Dealing with the stress at the workplace or job is physical discomfort, often related to where we perform most of our daily tasks or work. Having Deep and controlled breathing is the best way to calm down and find the most comfortable place for our thoughts.

    Breathing techniques are also effective in the long term. Once we feel the stress is rising again, we can always come back to the state of mind of full relaxation or comfort zone and dealing with the stress.

    Turn to colleagues/co-workers for support:

    Having a strong support system at work can help in Refreshing us from the negative effects of job stress. Just remember to listen to them and offer support/help when they are in need as well.

    Instead of drawing attention to our smartphone, try to be in engaging with your  colleagues, friends or co-workers

    Cool Down as Quickly as Possible:

    Whenever we feel we are frustrated or angry, It is a  heated feeling in our body that can cause us to react.

    Instead of immediately reacting Breathe in through the mouth as if you are sipping through a straw, and then breathe out normally through the nose which helps in dealing with a Stressful job.

    Take time to Refresh :

    To avoid the negative effects of stress and mental, we need time to Recharge  and return to our pre-stress level of functioning. Therefore this recovery process requires switching off from work by having periods or intervals of time

    When we are neither involving in work-related activities nor thinking about work. That’s why it is an important part that we disconnect from time to time, in a way that fits your needs and wish.

    Although When we are not able to take time off, get a quick boost by turning off your smartphone and focusing your attention on non-work activities for a while.

    Make Habit of Doing Exercise Regularly:

    excercise-for-stress

    Regular exercise is one of the best ways to manage or practice a stressful job. While Daily exercise helps us not only to handle a stressful job, but it can also help to boost our memory, creativity, Thinking, making ideas, intelligence quotient. (IQ) and helps us in productivity.

    When we are focused on work, It is easy to neglect our physical health. But when we are supporting our health with good nutrition and exercise, we are much stronger and more Strong to Cope with stress.

    We should remember that any additional movement will help us to manage stress and live a healthier life.

    Also Read: 5 BEST Meditation For Stress Relief: Take a Stress Relief Break

    Prioritize and organize work :

    Making priority can be a major source of workplace stress, especially when we feel like we constantly fire fighting to learn how to focus on what is important, not just the urgent ones.

    If we are working on a project that seems huge, break it into smaller steps. This helps us to allows accomplishing one thing at a time, instead of trying to take everything on at once.

    These can be done by creating a balanced schedule, Planning regular breaks, Prioritize tasks and break the project or work into Smaller ones When job and workplace stress become huge, Therefore, These are simple, practical steps you can take to regain control over to deal with a stressful job.

    Talk to your supervisor or mentor :

    Start by having an open conversation with the supervisor. The purpose of this is not to lay out a list of complaints, instead of to come up with an effective plan for managing the stress that you have been identified, As a result, you can perform at your best on the job.

    While some parts of the plan may be designed to help you improve your skills in areas such as time management, project discussion etc. Talk or speak to them regarding the particular factors that make their jobs stressful. Sharing information with employees can also reduce uncertainty about employee jobs and their futures.

    Reviewing Negative thoughts:

    Long stress and worry can lead people to develop a mental filter in which they automatically involve in the situations through a negative view or ideas. 

    To overcome negative thoughts, treat them as a theory instead of facts and consider other possibilities. Regularly practising this skill can help people at work to reduce negative emotions in response to cope up with a stressful job.

    Being Focus on Problem-solving:

    stress-at-job

    Stress can also be caused due to problem-solving. It is an active problem  strategy that involves teaching people to take various specific steps when approaching a roadblock or challenge.

    These steps include defining the problem, brainstorming potential solutions, Defining the problem, understanding and analyzing the problem, selecting the best solution and other alternatives. These steps can  help to cope with a stressful job.

    Think Positively:

    Our attitude plays an important role in the level of stress, It Doesn’t matter what kind of work we do. We can choose to select the tasks, responsibilities and people with a negative attitude, or can choose to our work and relationships with a positive mindset.

    Although the amount of work or task is the same, the effect on our health and well-being is great. Whenever we catch ourselves slipping into a negative thought of the mind,  start making an effort to challenge our creativity and to think positively rather than Challenging our negative thoughts with logical, fact-based thinking, to boost our self-confidence As it Results in a deal with a stressful job.

    Track your Stress: 

    We may not know what is the reason which is making a cause for stress, exactly how our body responds to stress, or how we cope with stress.  We might consider tracking at the same time every day, or you might want to do it in stressful situations. 

    To track our stress Keep a paper for a week to identify which situations create the most stress and how we respond to them. Recording our thoughts, feelings and information about the environment, including the people and situations being involved, the physical setting and how we have reacted.

    Going For a Vacation:

    how-to-handle-stress

    As long as the worker or the employee doing his job at a point he/she can feel stress. Due to some reasons can be worked based, personal, financial and many more. To Reduce stress one way is to have away from the job and going on a vacation or Holiday which helps is dealing with a Stressful job.

    Having Family and good friends are strong enough for the social support network can help in reducing stress. Positive vacations have a high effect on energy and stress.

    It is studied that about 94% had as much or more energy after coming back after a good trip or vacation. On the other side on low-stress trips, 55% of people returned to work with even higher levels of energy than before the trip. Hence going on vacation helps a lot in dealing with a stressful job.

    Some other ways to Handle a stressful job are:

    • Developing healthy responses. 
    • Establishing the Boundaries
    • Getting some support
    • Finding ways to stay cool and calm
    • Identify the causes of stress
    • Managing a time

    And many more.

    Conclusion:

    It is Conclude that stress can be considered as a fact of nature and the force from the outside which disturbs the individual. When it is on the job it becomes costly for employees or co-workers reflecting in lower productivity, reduced motivation and job skills.

    However, emotional intelligence plays an important role to create the abilities in an individual to better control the stress in the workplace.

    Reduce stressful situations for employees helps in keeping them in a healthy state of mind, both physically and mentally, Employees who learn how to peacefully deal with stress, will increase their personal and workplace performance while maintaining a healthy balance in life.

    Also Read: 10 Ways To Make A Bad Day Better

    Frequently Asked Question’s

  • The Inverted-U Theory – Balance Performance & Pressure

    The Inverted-U Theory – Balance Performance & Pressure


    Pressure sometimes acts as a catalyst in the process, increasing one’s performance level. Let us suppose that you work as a Sales Representative for an organisation and have been doing pretty well for yourself.

    Unfortunately, in a particular quarter, it seems like the organisation will miss its quarterly target, and your manager asks you if you could bring in more sales this time.

    Given the situation and slight pressure from your boss, you decide to take on this opportunity with open arms.  What happens next is that you not only meet your target but overachieve it.

    image of a person in pressure of work


    One can see that there is a slight relation between pressure and performance. In the same scenario, imagine if the boss would have said, “Either you meet your target or lose your job”. This kind of extreme pressure will do more harm than good as you would be spending more time worrying about losing your job instead of making strategies to meet your target.

    We will learn about the  “Inverted-U theory” – also known as the “Yerkes-Dodson Law” to understand this relation in-depth.

    WHAT’S IN IT?

    What is the Yerkes-Dodson Law


    The Yerkes–Dodson law is an empirical relationship between pressure and performance, originally developed by psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson in 1908. “The law dictates that performance increases with physiological or mental arousal, but only up to a point when levels of arousal become too high, performance decreases. “
    -Source: Wikipedia.

    image of dillingham dodson
    image of robert yerkes

    Understanding the Inverted-U theory Curve

    On the left hand, we see that Low-Pressure results in mediocrity in terms of the performance level. The lack of pressure does not push people to give their 100%, let alone “going the extra miles” to finish the task.

    The middle portion indicates that the people are performing at their peak levels. Here the pressure is at the optimum level pushing people to their limits positively and not making them struggle.

    On the right hand, we that under high-pressure work to perform and start to suffer from high stress, anxiety, and unhappiness. People here get overwhelmed by the demands, which are next to unrealistic requirements.

    Here we can conclude that to have high-level performance; there is an optimum level of pressure that needs to be applied. Four such factors help us determine the amount of stress necessary to have a good understanding.

    Factors that influence the Inverted-U theory

    Like we discussed earlier that some factors influence the optimum level of pressure. We have to keep in mind that everybody is not the same, and working for one might not work for the other. These factors consider this point and help you to find the right amount of pressure. 

    Skill Level: 

    Whenever someone takes a new task in their hand, there is a high intrinsic motivation for the study. Eventually, with a passage of time, when the person increases his/her skill to a level to find the study easy, we witness a drop in performance level.

    In such a situation arises the need to exert pressure from outside to keep the performance level up.

    Personality: 

    Different types of personalities respond positively to different levels of pressure. As per a study, an extrovert person would perform better under high pressure. Whereas an introvert person will perform better under low pressure, one needs to keep in mind that the person might already be under some sort of tension or stress due to some of the happenings in his/her private life. This is one crucial point as it can help in not putting up the person under high pressure.

    Task Difficulty:  

    A task of easy difficulty will require less effort and attention than a charge of hard difficulty. Let’s take the example of a Chef. It won’t be a problem if the Chef has to cook for ten people instead of 5 or 7.

    Imagine if the same Chef says, let’s participate in a competition where he has to give a presentation between 100’s of people about various dishes and how he cooks. This might be a task of more incredible difficulty and would require more effort and preparation from his side. 

    Trait Anxiety: 

    Self-Confidence plays a significant role here. A person with high Self-Confidence is likely to perform better under a high-pressure situation than a person with low Self-Confidence. It’s because a confident person always believes in himself and his abilities. He takes on new opportunities with a positive attitude.

    Whereas a non-confident person always lives under self-doubt, questioning his abilities. Before facing the task, he is more about winning or losing instead of preparing for it or looking at it as a learning opportunity.

    Difference between Pressure and Stress

    We often hear these statements that “I work under high pressure” or “I have a stressful job”. Generally, these two statements are the same; for them, pressure = stress. To everyone’s shock, I will say that no pressure does not equal emphasis. As per  Hendrie Weisinger:

    • Stress refers to too many demands and not enough resources – time, money, energy – to meet them.
    • The pressure is a situation in which you perceive that something at stake is dependent on the outcome of your performance.
    image of hendrie weisinger

    Generally, stress is always viewed to be a negative term as compared to pressure. Stress is looked at as a situation where one is not much in control of the problem. For Example:

    late meetings, long commute, too many deadlines. Now, these are the situations that are not possible to control.

    On the other hand, a problem under high pressure is one you own. For Example, You have to meet a given sales target to meet. Now it’s upon you; if you put in the extra effort and are willing to go that extra mile, you’ll accomplish the target.

    Conclusion

    So after this article, I believe readers will now not see pressure always in a negative light like other people. Moreover, you can teach them how pressure can help to enhance performance. This is very useful for people who are having managerial roles as this can help them get maximum output from the team without burdening them.

    Remember, the optimum level of pressure is the key here, which depends on the four factors we discussed. It’s also essential to notice that the individual might be already in some sort of stress because of his/her private life. Confusing pressure with the focus can cost us a lot, especially in terms of productivity.  So, it’s necessary to know when to utilise what.

    Also, you can read our blog on 5 BEST Meditation For Stress Relief: Take a Stress Relief Break


    FAQ’s

  • Training Programs: 7 Ways to Gain the Most from Them

    Training Programs: 7 Ways to Gain the Most from Them

    In this Blog, You will Get Complete Information regarding Training Programs and Top 7 ways to gain the most from them.

    WHAT’S IN IT

    Introduction: Training Programs

    Firstly, Training is a mode of imparting teachings to increase the ability of oneself to perform the desired activity.

    Training Programs are the set of instructions or processes developed which lead to the enhancement of skills.

    Not Only Skills But also knowledge, mindset, attitude, or efficiency of an individual whichever field he might be in. 

    Every individual throughout his life undergoes some sort of training, be it formal or informal, by an institution or self-training, learning with the go of life, etc.

    How many times have you attended the training programs of any sort as a student or a professional and were able to remember or implement the learnings provided to you?

    Probably very less to zero.

    This was probably because either you were pulled to the training against your will by your institutional requirements.

    Also, it can be possible that you were provided with generic training with no real or direct utilization of your subject or profession.

    Be it generic training or customized, any training will certainly add value to people in a certain way directly or indirectly.

    The only thing is that you have to be able to gain from it.

    7 Ways to Make the Most of a Training Opportunity

    Now Check the ways which are mentioned below on how you can get the most of any training programs.

    1. Get your midset right:

    Training Programs: 7 ways to gain the most from them

    Most people fail to gain from any training programs (mostly generic ones). Because they already have a negative perception.

    That these types of training do not provide any useful value to their profession or work.

    For these people, whatever training they acquire, will be wasted as they do not focus on learning and application.

    Pre-set mindset is the major cause of this problem. This mindset arises due to past experiences or misinformation. So, you mustn’t apply these filters when you come to learning and have a positive belief system.   

    2. Do the pre-work:

    Many pieces of training include a pre-assignment or a pre-assessment exercise that needs to be completed before the start of the training.

    Now, many people do not want to do this pre-exercise but it is rather important for you to self-analyze your current skill and helps you to develop a path to your desired skills.

    It helps you analyze your skills and knowledge gap that is required to excel in your field.

    3. Identify the Purpose of Training Programs:

    It is important to identify what is the purpose of training or in other words.

    What are you going to get from that particular training?

    Find out what is in there for you, what skills you will develop from it, What knowledge you are going to get, what new learnings you are going to achieve.

    This way you can identify your definite goal and you can focus on your efforts to achieve that goal. 

    4. Align your learning outcomes with your goal: 

    Set up a clear connection between what you learn in a training program to your goal that you want to achieve.

    Identify what learnings are associated with your Desired skills.

    This will help motivate you to learn actively in the program and work towards the development of your skills.

    5. Develop a post-training action plan: 

    Mere learning anything is not enough until you apply them.

    You need to set up an action plan which can layout guidelines on how you can integrate and apply the things that you have learned in a training program.

    Set up a step by step process or a strategy in a certain time frame on what action or implementation you will perform.

    Make realistic plans and troubleshoot for any problems or obstacles you face.

    6. Attend follow up sessions:

    Many training providers organize timely follow-up sessions for their trainees to solve any challenges if anyone is facing while implementing the concepts or learnings.

    You should attend these sessions to get clarify your queries and get more insight into implementing your skills.

    Even if you do not have any queries, then also you can learn something new by listening or analyzing other people’s challenges and measures to solve them.

    7. Supplement your training by ‘Social Learning’:

    You learn better when you share your experience with someone, you have a mentor to guide, you have an example to follow.

    Social learning connects the learners and mentors so that they can discuss and share their experiences and challenges.

    This can be done through chat groups, forums, social media groups, video conferencing, etc.

    This process of social learning is an effective way to keep oneself motivated, enthusiastic, and looking to learn more.

    Conclusion

    Nowadays in the age of competition, you need to outperform others to move ahead in your professional career or business.

    To attain this edge over others, you always have to keep upgrading your skills and productivity. Attending various training programs will sharpen your skills and efficiency.

    However, not many people can completely gain from the training programs they undergo. There may be a mindset problem or approach issue to the training.

    You need to keep a positive mindset & know your learning style on how can you gain the most from it.

    You should not skip any pre-work or mind-training assignments. Identify what benefits you can get from any training and align your learning from that with your actual goals.

    Implementation is the key. So, apply the things practically that you learn from training and always keep brushing up your skills.

    Keep sharing the knowledge or discussing it with your co-learners. And mentors on a discussion forum or any means of interaction.

    Also you can read our blog on Planning to Manage Performance Stress

    FAQ’s

  • VAK Learning Style – How to Identify your Learning Style

    VAK Learning Style – How to Identify your Learning Style

    Now VAK learning style is one of the most comfortable learning styles, making learning simple and effective as per your understanding. VAK stands for Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic.

    This VAK learning style was introduced in the 1920s by some experts and psychologists. This VAK learning style contains three types of learning styles – Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic. But here is a point which type of learning should you follow. Everyone has a different way of approaching learning. Some take Visual as more effective than the other two while some take Auditory or Kinesthetic as their effective way of learning.

    So from the above, we can say that there is no right or wrong way to learn. It entirely depends upon you. 

    So we should generally analyze all the learning process and find any of the compelling methods of learning which fits on us.

    Researchers also suggest that different people choose different learning styles depending on the task.

    WHAT’S IN IT

    Dominant learning preference 

    Everyone has a dominant learning preference of their own from the early stage of life. That means someone learns something new more quickly and effectively by listening to it from the early stage are using Auditory learning as their dominant preference. In contrast, others find visual learning a way to learn a more effective way for them, their dominant learning preference. Also, others choose kinesthetic means practically learning style as more effective take it as dominant preference.

    According to researchers, everyone has their dominant one or two learning styles, which he uses for learning correctly; however, learning style is changing depending upon the learning situation. 

    It is also found that people also use all the learning modalities to learn new information, process it, etc.

    Characteristics of VAK learning style

    VAK learning style mainly focuses on increasing the learning ability that can be done by using the three styles of VAK:- Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic in a perfect way. The learner has to check which style of VAK is more useful to him.

    Visual ( Learners )

    These types of learners choose to learn the new learning by seeing it or also by visualizing in pictures or text format inside their minds.

    They learn more effectively when presented in the form of images, maps, diagrams, graphs, etc.

    Visual learners learn more effectively when they get content displayed with the main point in the text.

    They also include mind mapping, so charts, graphs, etc. are more likely to absorb in detail by these types of learners.

    The qualities of Visual learners are:-

    • Enjoy art, aesthetics, etc.
    • Always take many notes. 
    • Love to learn with graphs, diagrams, and pictures with written instructions.
    • They are excellent at spelling. 
    • They are more imaginative.
    • Most of the visual learners remember only faces, not the names.

    Auditory ( learners )

    This type of learner’s VAK learning style prefers listening as his / her best way of learning and always responds best to voice. They always love to learn with the verbal lesson, discussing, talking, speaking, etc.

    Most of the time, Auditory learners find talking to themselves according to the VAK learning style, and it is also found that they feel more difficulties while reading or writing tasks and focusing on those.

    The qualities of Auditory learners of VAK learning style are:-

    • Sensitive with the tone of voice, pitch, etc.
    • Comfortable with verbal instructions. 
    • Find easy-to-follow verbal instructions.
    • Prefer to record rather than making notes.
    • Tends to learn better while music is on. 
    • Good at oral presentation and group discussions.
    • They may be good speakers.
    • Remember only names rather than remembering faces.

    Kinesthetic ( learners )

    In this Kinesthetic VAK learning style, Learners always prefer to learn with real experience. They always want direct contact or motion with the learning material they get physically learning that ultimately helps them learn more efficiently. 

    The work Kinesthetic is derived from the Greek work Kineo and Aisthesis. The meaning of Kineo moves, and the meaning of aesthesis is sensation. Overall the meaning of kinesthetic is move – sensation.

    Researchers explain that this type of learner may lose their concentration more quickly when there is no external movement or stimulation. 

    Researchers also say that while listening to a lecture, these learners may take notes just because to move their hands and mostly use color highlighters.

    The qualities of Kinesthetic learners of the VAK learning style are

    • Enjoy learning physically. 
    • They are good at sports and physical activities. 
    • Always express themselves in a natural approach.
    • Are restless, always found in motion. 
    • Good at practical subjects like engineering.
    • Also good at problem-solving. 
    • They always enjoy playing sports and games.

    Helpful Steps For VAK Learning Style

    There are a lot of steps that VAK ( Visual – Auditory -Kinesthetic ) learners can use to improve their learning on any topic.

    Here we will discuss some helpful steps which a VAK learner uses to make their learning more comfortable and productive.

    For Visual Learners

    • If you are a Visual Learner, Take the information in the form of diagrams, charts, graphs, etc. rather than take it as in text format, it makes the information easy to learn and recall.
    • Always try to consume your learning through visuals, which will boost your learning.
    • Try to store the learning in the form of colours and pictures to remember it for a more extended period.
    • Use handouts and make notes on your learning topic and make keywords.
    • Try to create a mind map of the topic which you learned.
    • Always make a highlight on the essential points.
    • Whenever you only have a choice to learn a topic in the text format, try to relate the text with a picture inside your brain and create a visual form of that learning that makes you learn without complications.

    For Auditory Learners

    • The Auditory Learners have a vast capability of learning through audio rather than through any other format. So always prefer the Audio format for your learning, which will be more beneficial and useful to you.
    • Always try to make records as audio if possible rather than making learning as notes.
    • Background music can be helpful to you. But it’s upon you – If you find background music helpful to you, then play it while learning. It is also beneficial for recall.
    • Group discussions and oral presentations of a learning topic are found helpful to the Auditory Learners. So try to use it whenever you get any chance to do it.
    • Debates and Storytelling are also found helpful for Auditory Learners.
    • Discussing and repeating the learning topic makes it easy to remember that topic. So it is also a good idea for Auditory Learners to improve learning.

    For Kinesthetic Learners

    • Kinesthetic Learners mostly learn physically and practically. So if you are Kinesthetic learners, then try to learn everything in a practical way to make your learning easy, more productive, and can remember for a more extended period.
    • Try to choose practical courses as your career, if possible, so that you can do your job by enjoying it a lot.
    • Kinesthetic Learners are more likely to restless. They are always found in motion. So make sure that your restless nature is going in the right direction. For example, Kinesthetic Learners can use their restless nature in teamwork for a better result, which gives the right direction to their motion.
    • Always prefer to learn in practical format rather than any other format that is more helpful to you. Try to convert into practical if it is found in any other format like text, visual, audio, etc.

    Conclusion

    From the VAK learning style, We learn that learners have to identify their learning style whether they are Visual, Auditory, or Kinesthetic learners. They can also consider their Dominant learning preference.

    After finding which types of learners they are, they can use the helpful steps to improve their learning based on the preferred learning style.

    Another thing is that one can use different learning styles for different tasks if they are comfortable with this learning style.

    Also read our blog VAK Learning Styles – Discover Your Learning Style

    FAQ’s

  • VIRTUAL LEARNING – PROS AND CONS

    VIRTUAL LEARNING – PROS AND CONS

    E-learning is a Computer Based educational tool or system that enables you to learn anywhere at any time.  The terms virtual learning refer to the delivery of education and training through digital resources.

    However, technology has advanced so much that the geography gap is bridged—the use of tools makes you feel as if you are inside the classroom. 

    WHAT’S IN IT

    DIGITAL EDUCATION

    VIRTUAL LEARNING

    Digital education considers theories of learning that underpin the design of curricula to support the effective utilization of digital technologies while empowering the learner.

    Therefore Exploring the use of digital technologies allows educators to design engaging learning opportunities in the form of face-to-face to create engaging learning opportunities in the way of face-to-face, blended, or fully online courses. 

    The advantages of the Virtual learning approach can include a more engaging face to face learning experience access to the educational content at a time or location that is convenient to the learner and the option of a more personalized learning experience. Digital education utilizes learning techniques and technologies to create new types of curriculum.

    Provide well-integrated combinations of digital and conventional modes of learning. Enable more interaction between learners and educators, both inside and outside of the classroom.

    It also gives the ability to assess students in different ways and improve their engagement with quicker, more relevant, and more contextualized feedback. 

    Therefore e-learning could be the use of information and Communication Technology to enhance and support learning. This could range from teachers in students using email for communication to online courses.

    Whatever may be the definition of e-learning or virtual learning, it is currently changing the way schools and colleges teach, and students learn. 

    CHARACTERISTICS OF E-LEARNING

    • E-learning is a Learner Centric Learning: The learner-centric new model makes an array of resources available to the learner, who is free to choose when to learn, where to learn, and how to learn.
    • Secondly E-learning for lifelong learning: with increasing access to technology, its ever-increasing sophisticated approach facilitates lifelong learning among various stakeholders.
    • E-learning is flexible learning- E-learning historically is linking with distance education in flexible learning. In distance education, the use of various technologies to connect learners, Instructors, and resources are not there in time or space.
    • Personalize E-learning: Usually, e-learning also depends on establishing two-way communication between teachers and learners and among learners themselves. 
    CHARACTERISTICS OF Virtual E- LEARNING

    There are many tools as well as learner management systems integrate with tools to foster interactive and collaborative engagement.

    •  Personalize E-learning: usually, the e-learning system formats its users to personalize the learning by tailoring its offerings to their learning style, job requirements, career goals, Current Knowledge, and personal preferences.
    •  E-learning is social: Learning seeks to foster collaboration and peer interaction. 

    Various e-learning Technologies facilitate multiple types of collaboration among leaders and teachers.                                                                  

    E-learning involves learning objects: e-learning uses reusable learning objects. The RLO formats 12 create Virtual learning courses with ease.

    ADVANTAGES OF VIRTUAL LEARNING

    Flexible: in a regular kind of learning, the student may have a fixed routine in which they have to sit together and learn from the instructor. Set the duration of the class.

    Fixing and dicussing The topics in the class. But this is not the case in e-learning. The routine of virtual learning is very flexible.

    The students can learn what they want when they want and whatever they want. It is up to them what they want to study and for how much time they have to study.

    Anytime access to the resources: students meet access to different kinds of resources. So, These resources can be notes, theories, diagrams, etc. 

    E-learning the resources are available to the students at all times of the day. So the students can use them anytime and anywhere they want.

    Immediate result or feedback: In this case of regular learning, the test taken by paper and pen. The teachers then check these papers. And then the results are declared.

    This takes a lot of time and hard work. The students have to wait a lot for the results, which become very stressful for them. It Is not easy for the teacher also to check these papers. Virtual Learning gives an advantage here.

    The tests are taken through online quizzes, excellent free design software that first conducts the analysis, and checks them. This reduces the work of the teacher.

    Also, the result is out in a short while; in some cases, it is obtained just after the test finishes.

    MORE RETENTION

    More retention of virtual learning

    In the case of regular learning, it is done using a conversation between the instructor and the students. The use of Smart technology is very less in regular teaching methods.  

    But in the case of e-learning, there is a generous use of digital resources that included presentations, multimedia that included images and videos, etc.

    With the use of such resources, the students get to learn more. 

    They understand better the things which they see rather than read.

    So it increases the understanding and retention ability of the students.

    COST EFFECTIVE

    The main student is engaged in regular learning; they have to go to the institute regularly. 

    They need transportation costs. The teachers teaching the student get a salary from the institutes. This adds to the price. The Maintenance cost of the institute also adds up.

    On the other hand, in the case of e-learning, there is no rent involved. The students can have access to resources from anywhere they are, so there is no transportation cost.

    Many such factors which increase the cost of education are chopped off in virtual learning. Therefore, e-learning is more cost-effective.

    GREENER APPROACH

    The conventional learning method uses pen and paper. Even the tests are conducted on the pen-paper medium. These papers Are made by chopping down trees. Moreover, pencils are also made of wood.

    But in E-learning, everything is digital. There is no need for paper and pens. Everything is noted using electronic devices.

    Students do not have to go to the schools, so there is no need for transportation. This shows that Virtual-learning follows a greener approach.

    FAST LEARNING

    In regular learning, the speed of learning depends on the number of staff available and the number of classrooms available and the limited period of a class. But in the case of e-learning, the speed depends on the needs of the student.

    EASY COLLABORATION

    When several students work together on the same topic, they face problems while they study together using the usual learning methods.

    Virtual learning gives them an excellent opportunity. 

    They connect at any time and anywhere. They can share resources, discuss, and learn. 

    Therefore E-Learning is very beneficial. for all the students who wish to study in groups.

    EASY UPDATING

    In regular learning methods, notes have to be regularly updated by the students. This takes a lot of time. But in e-learning, notes are simply sent to the students. So they are automatically updated.

    DISADVANTAGES OF E-LEARNING

    No Control

    No Control on virtual learning

    In the case of regular learning or the learning controlled by the teacher. The teacher motivates the students to study. Also, the Teacher makes a routine for the student. This Learning necessary for them.

    But In the case of e-learning, it is just the opposite. Control is in the hands of the student. Is the student who decides what to study and when to study. 

    In this case, the students become careless. They may neglect the fact that they have to study. There is no motivation for students to study. This is the major drawback of e-learning.

    LEARNING APPROACH

    Internal regular learning technique, the students interact with each other face to face. This interaction becomes enjoyable for them.

    If the students practice the case of e-learning, they feel that this approach is very dull. We find it very boring to study alone. So this is a drawback of e-learning that does not provide a regular interaction between the students. Moreover, if there is no discussion between the students, they will think only in one direction.

    They will not get to know what other people feel about the same topic, and they will not be able to compare their views. 

    TECHNOLOGY DEPENDENT

    TECHNOLOGY DEPENDENT on virtual learning

    E-Learning depends solely on technology. Computers are the basic necessity of virtual learning. The Internet becomes the second necessity.

    When someone wants to join the e-learning, he needs to process a computer or a laptop, an internet connection with go speed, some specific software which is required to run special kind of multimedia or electronic resources.

    This becomes the investment for E-learning. These devices also require maintenance at regular intervals.

    CONCLUSION

    Therefore from the above information, we conclude that virtual learning has many advantages that help children in their intelligence. But it also affects the soft skills of the 

    Therefore, Children are no more in contact with each other. So there are both advantages and disadvantages of Virtual Learning

    Also read our blog Build the best Virtual Connections and Virtual Team

    FAQ’s

  • Performance Planning – Planning to Manage Performance Stress

    Performance Planning – Planning to Manage Performance Stress

    Poor performance is one of the most feared states in the corporate world. It’s not easy to deal with poor performance whether you are a normal employee or in management. It’s important to identify this issue and in the long run, it will adversely affect the organization’s commitments.

    To tackle the issue of poor performance, what we have to do is performance planning. In a way, performance planning is a process to get the best out of the employees in a way both the parties i.e. the organizational and employee are satisfied.

    WHAT’S IN IT

    What is Performance Planning?

    What is Performance Planning

    Performance planning is the first step in performance management. Performance planning is the process of determining what and how a job is to be done in such a manner that both the employee and his superior understand what is expected from the employee and how success is defined and measured

    Source: yourarticlelibrary

    It plays a major role in an employee’s growth in the organisation. This is a win-win situation for both the employee as well as the organization. Because the main motive is to create such a plan which helps to achieve the goals of both parties.

    Importance of performance planning

    Importance of performance planning

    When as an employee of the organization you are told that your performance is not up to the mark, this can induce stress in an individual. Stress is defined as:

    “In medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension. Stresses can be external (from the environment, psychological, or social situations) or internal (illness, or from a medical procedure).”

    Source: medicinenet

    If such a stressful environment carries on for some time it hampers the person’s individual life. It becomes hard to tackle such situations, let alone the matter of good performance at the workplace. Most of the time the issue is an absence of performance planning i.e. it’s the communication gap between the employee and organization in terms of the expectations and how to achieve it.

    The same can be said about the organization as a whole. Let’s say the company has not been performing well for the past 2 quarters, then investors would be criticizing the upper management. In such a scenario it’s the whole organization that suffers.

    A simple solution would be planning performance guidelines and a systematic plan to improve. Plans can be designed for the team or individual(s). The team leader can have a meeting and convey the same to others.  

    Steps in Performance Planning

    Steps in Performance Planning

    1) Clear Objectives and Vision

    Clear objective is the most important aspect of performance planning. Until and unless the employees are not aware of what the organization wants them to do. Or how the progress will be tracked, monitored and evaluated won’t work out.

    Discussing with the employee about the vision of the company would be of great help. This not only gives them an idea about how they have to move, but it also makes them feel valued.

    One thing to keep in mind is that the objectives should be realistic, else it will defeat the purpose. Else not only the organization won’t be performing satisfactorily. This will also cause adverse effects on the employee’s private life.

    2) Reduce Communication Gap

    Don’t just share an email about what needs to be done and how. Instead of that, it would be much better to involve the employees in the process.

    Employees will enthusiastically participate in such an event and will give better performance. As they would be fully aware of the nitty-gritty of the plan.

    During such meetings create dialogue and don’t make it one-sided. Keep in check that you’re not giving them orders and ask them about their inputs.

    Ask questions like how would you do this or that. In case there is some sort of disagreement. Explain to them in a firm and friendly manner why they’re wrong.
       

    3) Identifying the Issues

    Try to find the root cause behind the poor performance. Maybe the employee is facing some issues in his personal life like a relationship.

    In addition to that, it may be a health issue that is affecting. It’s likely possible that the colleagues are not being cooperative.

    Maybe the employee has to work on a different project and lacks the necessary skill for it because the person was not provided with appropriate training.

    Performance Planning

    4) Training and Coaching

    Lack of appropriate skills can be at the root of poor performance. Sometimes people have to work on new projects without much information about them. Information like the technologies they have to work on.

    In some cases, it might be possible that the project may involve technologies they do not have a proper skill set for. Or maybe they have to work entirely under a new role. Now employees feel like it’s a completely different terrain with which they are familiar. 

    Training and coaching for such a team or individual(s) should be an integral part of the Performance Improvement Plan.

    5) Track Progress

    This will help to check whether the employee is sticking to the performance plan or not. Management can set a particular day and it can be done on a weekly or monthly basis.

    It’s an important step as it will give us the idea if there is some change to be made. The employee will also get to see that the effort is giving the result desired.

    Conclusion

    Performance planning is one of the most effective ideas by which both organization and employees working in it can achieve their goals as well as grow. Many just link it to reviews or evaluation, but in reality, it’s a process that includes certain steps. While creating a plan you won’t necessarily achieve all your goals in the first go, you’ll get there but only after overcoming a few obstacles. Nevertheless in any case it would be more fruitful than having no such plan.

    The best part I feel is the focus it puts on employees as well. When the employee willingly takes part in such a discussion it makes them feel more valuable and relevant. Also, when interacting in such a way it becomes a learning opportunity and they acquire new skills in the process.

    Also you can read our blog on :- Top Personal Morale Booster

    FAQ‘s

  • Avoid Burnout – Maintaining a Healthy, Successful Career

    Avoid Burnout – Maintaining a Healthy, Successful Career

    Do you want a successful life? Every human being wants success in their life. Everyone has their definition of success. For someone, it can be in terms of money, fame, happiness, etc but the real secret lie in how you Avoid Burnout.

    Everyone tries to achieve their goals. But, does everybody become successful? No. Why? There are many reasons behind it, lack of patience, lack of hard work and most dangerous burnout. You know the definition of patience and hard work but you might wonder about, what is this burnout?

    In this blog, I am going to tell you what burnout is? and how to avoid burnout to maintain a healthy and also successful career.

    WHAT’S IN IT

    What is Burnout?

    To avoid burnout firstly, we have to understand what is burnout?

    Burnout means, “The state of having no energy or enthusiasm or extreme tiredness or a feeling of not being able to work any more” Source: Cambridge Dictionary

    Because of continuous depression, stress and work, we get extremely tired, physically, mentally and emotionally. Because of burning out, people started feeling empty, exhausted, completely hopeless.

    They affect negatively your professional life and personal life. It reduces your motivation, will to achieve something in your life. 

    How do you know are you burning out or not?

    Do some symptoms indicate that you are burning out or not?

    Physically signs of burnout

    1. Regular headache.
    2. Started body pains like back pain, chest pain
    3. Problem of Sleepiness
    4. Always feel tired.
    5. Start taking drugs or alcohol 

    Mentally signs of burnout

    1. Completely exhausted.
    2. Started Feeling empty.
    3. Reduce productivity at work 
    4. Less focus on work.
    5. Reduce efficiency at work.
    6. Don’t have the motivation to do work.
    7. Started taking leaves at work.
    8. Irritated easily. 
    9. Lack of energy
    10. Feeling hopeless.
    11. Feeling failed in life.

    Emotionally signs of burnout

    1. Becoming alone 
    2. Reduce motivation and inspiration
    3. Feeling quitting.
    4. Become quick-tempered.
    5. Feel weak emotionally.
    6. Skip responsibilities.
    7. Start taking doubt on yourself.

    Causes of Burnout

    The burden of becoming successful

    In the word of competition hard work is becoming very important. But sometimes because of doing a lot of work continuously, you may get frustrated.  

    Sometimes we only run in rat races without enjoying life. May we only add the next goals rather than enjoying the last success. That’s why we get continuous stress from work.

    This is the main reason for burnout.

    Lack of self empowerment

    Self-empowerment means a lack of control over your life. The reason behind it is you are not able to make decisions that make your life positive. 

    If you are not able to control your life then it becomes a major reason for burnout.

    Do not care for yourself

    Self-care is a must for living a happy life. But some time because of the continuous work we forgot ourselves. We forgot to do things that give happiness.

    If rat race we forget to laugh. We always suffer from stress. If we laugh for a while it can reduce major frustration.

    If we do not take care of ourselves then we neve become happy in life.

    Forgot Private Life

    Humans are emotional, so they connect emotionally with each other. Everybody has their family.  

    But in this cut-throat competition, we forgot our private life. 

    If we do not give proper time to our close ones then our relationships become weak. That’s why private life also fills with a lot of stress. 

    So, give time for your family otherwise it becomes a reason for burnout.

    Forget to take rest

    Studies say if you work 30% then you have to take rest for 70%. If you continuously do hard work. Then you lose your efficiency and productivity at your work. 

    Rest or relaxation is very beneficial for life. It reduces your stress and motivates you to do work.

    Taking less or no rest may become a major reason for burning out

    Lack of Gratitude

    Seeing self problems bigger than others is a tendency of humans. Everybody has a problem. But telling my problems are bigger than everybody is very wrong.

    We all are blessed to have such a beautiful life. If you look around then you realize that you are really lucky to have all. Somebody becoming successful without legs or hands means someone who succeeds has bigger problems than you.

    So, always be thankful for your life otherwise you only run for goals for your whole life. This is a very big reason for sadness or burnout.

    The Difference between Stress And Burnout 

    You may have one question, Is burnout the same as stress? So, burnout and stress are partially the same but not totally the same. To understand the difference between stress and burnout I give you the table of difference.

    Difference on the BasisStress Burnout
    MeaningIt is a state of pressure or worry because of difficult situationsIt is a state of physical, emotional, mental exhaustion.
    CausesDifficult situationsDepressed lifestyle.
    Affects asLack of motivationLack of Energy. 
    Damage It mostly damages a person physically.It mostly damages a person emotionally.
    Affect on CareerDissatisfied of workNot willing to do work.
    Time Short termLong term

    How Burnout Affects Your Career

    A continued stressful lifestyle turns into burnout. It is very harmful to your health as well as your career. Burnout is a state where you feel weak, you do not wish to do work. And both things are very dangerous for one’s career.

    It may reduce your motivation, reduce your productivity and also reduce control of yourself. And it also directly affects your body. When someone is disturbed by physically, mentally and also emotionally then they will not able to do career things.

    How to Avoid Burnout – Ways to Maintaining Successful Career

    Now, I hope you understand Burnout. So, you can define your situation as either burnout or stress/ depression.

    But the important question is How can you avoid burnout? And maintain a healthy, successful career. The answer is as follow,

    Try to empower Yourself

    When you have no control over your life. Then it causes depression, anxiety. And regular depression, stress turns into burnout. 

    So, having control over your life is very important to avoid burnout. Don’t be afraid of situations. Remember if you will then you can. So, take decisions that make your life better. 

    If you do not control your life then others will control you. And it is very dangerous for your career and health. Self-empowerment is a must for preventing burnout.

    Take a Break

    If you do hard work continuously for getting success. Then stop! It becomes very dangerous for your success. 

    The Continuous burden of accomplishing work is a common reason for fatigue. And it reduces your motivation, productivity and efficiency. Then you only fall more rather than growing.

    So, taking brakes is very important for a career as well as health. It helps to reduce stress in your life. Some fresh air can give a lot of energy, so it increases the efficiency of your work.

    Relaxation gives recovery from depression and it also refreshes your mind. You can also take a nap between your breaks. Nap is very beneficial for reducing mental stress.

    “Let’s loosen up some time and take a break to re-calibrate our life. We need no endless over-thinking, though. Let’s just connect the dots, set the scene, and steam ahead. (“On a casual day without a tie”)”- Erik Pevernagie. Source

    Maintain Balance in your Life

    It is a very beneficial way to avoid execution in your life. If you give preference only to your professional life then your relations become weak. And it gives a lot of stress.

    But, if you maintain a balance between professional as well as personal then you can enjoy your life. It is very important to give time for not only work but also for the family.

    Change in Atmosphere

    Change is very important for any human being. The same atmosphere, the same environment makes your life boring. 

    So, take time and go travelling. Changing environments refresh your mind and give you a lot of energy and motivation.

    Travelling is the best way to reduce stress or frustration. Fresh air and winsome nature spark your creativity and productivity.

    Follow Healthy Lifestyle

    In today’s negative society, if you want to avoid burnout then it is a must to follow a healthy lifestyle. 

    To build a healthy lifestyle you have to do some exercise daily. It needs only 45 minutes for a workout in 24 hours. With exercise, the most important thing is to eat nutritious food rather than junk food. Both keep your body fit and energetic. 

    You can also do meditation to reduce your stress. Meditation helps you a lot to keep your mind stable in difficult situations.

    Physical and mental conditions are connected. So, if you work on one condition then automatically improve the second one. 

    Conclusion

    Precaution is better than cure. So, if you want to avoid stress, frustration, burnout then make your lifestyle healthy rather than busy. 

    Time for self and closed once, proper sleep, workout and healthy food can always be a barrier between you and frustration. 

    In the 21st century, our lives become very fast and competitive. Frustration becomes common. So, if you want to keep your distance from stress then you have to change your lifestyle.

    Also read blog on How to avoid distraction

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  • 10 Awesome Ways to Make a Bad Day Better than ever

    10 Awesome Ways to Make a Bad Day Better than ever

    We all have a bad day, and some are much worse than others. When Something goes wrong or incorrect, we see that nothing seems to go right; we could Stay on this negativity or follow how to Make a Bad Day Better. So, at the end of the day, one question comes up in our mind, i.e. how to Make a Bad Day Better?

    Each turn of Action or an event is a test of our Strength; we can’t control what happens to us, but we can control how to react to it. Therefore, Following these 10 Ways helps in making a  bad day better. Moreover, the below  tips can get back on the happy side:

    WHAT’S IN IT?

    1.Talk about it with a close friend or colleague.

    Our friendships are among the most important relationships that we have. We gain in various ways from different friends. We may talk to friends in confidence about the things that we wouldn’t discuss with our families.

    image of friends talking with each other to make the day better

    Our friends may become angry with us; they can also keep us motivated and help Ahead. Friends of the colleagues/Partners helps in giving us advice on the perfect thing.

    However, Talking with a close friend or Partner provides support during a bad day or times. They prevent loneliness, which results in overcoming that incident and may even forget that incident that made our day terrible. It is one of the ways we can make a bad day better.

    2.Think and Be Positive

    This is the most potent tool in making a bad day into the better one. Positive thinking is an emotional and mental attitude that focuses on the good and expects results to help you make a benefit. It’s about Expecting happiness, health and success.

    One of the easiest ways to focus on the positive is to think about what you’re grateful to have as our state of mind is generally positive; we are in a better position to make a bad day better in a more Easy way.

     Positive thinking many times starts with self-talk, i.e. Talking with ourselves. Self-talk is the endless area of unspoken thoughts or the views that run through our mind. Therefore, It is also Believed that positive people likely to live a healthier lifestyle.

    3. Reflect on all the good things in your life.

    Many world champions like athletes, business people, professionals and spiritual teachers cite self-reflection as an essential key in making a bad day better. This is also true for ‘the people who are fulfilled and happy with their lives.

    Reflection helps us to enter where we have come from and where we are going. We can reflect good things in our lives in many ways. some of them are

    I)Firstly, It helps us to learn from our mistakes.

    ii) Also, It gives us great ideas or thought.

    iii)Moreover, It helps us in assisting others to

    iv)Therefore, It makes us Happier and feels Comfortable

    and many more. While Reflecting on the good things in life are some of the ways in making a bad day better

    4. Try to make Laugh

    It is Truly to believe that laughter is a powerful/strong medicine. It draws people together to play a role in maintaining healthy physical and emotional changes in the body.

    While we are looking to make a bad day better, we can achieve this by Laughter also as it strengthens our immune system, boosts mood, diminishes pain, and protects us from the damaging effects of Stress.

    imahe of a person laughing which helps to make a day better

    It also helps us release anger and forgive sooner, making a bad day suitable.

    5.Go for a Walk

    The Advantage of going for a walk is to shift your view closely. Look at different things, feel your body move, to breathe in some fresh air. If you get some sun or get a bit of nature into your walk, we will be even better.

    A recent scientific study showed that going for a walk in nature can stop negative thoughts, phobia thoughts (those thoughts that often fill our heads when we’re having a bad day).

    6. Do something friendly or kind for someone

    The best way to feel better is to do something kind or good for someone else. It could be done all days, but especially when we get up by whole bad day our negative feelings and thoughts.

    Some of the nice things can be done as doing someone a favour at work, buying a coffee or tea for the person next in line, holding the door open for someone, paying someone a compliment, and helping the needy to make a laugh. As there is no kindness, act too small.

    Therefore research shows that you feel better when you group a few kindnesses acts together; these are some of the things answering our question, i.e. How to make a bad day better when we all have a terrible day As a Result blasting our negative mood or taught with many acts of kindness.

    7. Do some exercise

    As our brain is fed up with all negative thoughts and a bad day to make a lousy day better, one of the vital activities is to some exercise, gym, or meditate (Meditation). Physical activity helps various brain chemicals that may leave us feeling happier, more relaxed and less worried.

    image of person doing jogging

    Exercise and physical activity can be fun. It gives us a chance to relax, enjoy the outdoors or simply engaging in activities that make us happy. We may also feel better about our appearance when we exercise regularly, boosting our confidence and improving our self-Confidence.

    8. Accept that the day is challenging

    Life is full of challenges. Some of us people are likely to meet the challenge every day because today is our lousy day. Some challenge with confidence, while others struggle to overcome them. Accepting our challenges opens the door to significant breakthroughs and the hidden changes surrounding us.

    Challenges can be complex, especially when they Come out of nowhere, whether it can be: personal, professional, health-related, financial or even relationships.

    To accept your challenges means to know what we are experiencing. The key to taking challenges lies in attracting in making your bravery.

    In rising to the challenge, we will learn to face difficulties instead of pulling back in defeat.

    9. Taking ourselves outside

     If we can give a lot of time to this and head out on a walk, it is excellent. But if we are  having a bad time, even a short burst of outside time will boost you in making a bad day better.

    Just Pause and take a long breath. Yes, it does help an actual deep breath. Allowing ourselves to feel what we feel—remembering that We are having a bad day. And then give ourselves free to have a bad day. Additionally, say to yourself: “Today is just a bad day. It’s OK to have one. I’m allowing  myself to have a bad day.”

    As a result, practising deep breathing and taking ourselves out of wrong thought helps us calm ourselves down and shift our mindset.

    Deep breathing naturally helps heal a stress-reducing quality that can help us grind the rush of stress that a bad day can bring about, resulting in making a good day better.

    10. Pray

    When things are not going in our right way, resulting in a lousy day, prayer is a critical practice that can help us begin the new activity with positivity and focus on God’s word. Prayer holds power or strength to centre us and to guide us into the flow of the day.

    image of a girl praying to make her day better

    Offering a prayer is an act thanking an incredible way to start the day. God, the giver of life, allows each of us to wake up to new excitements and beauty each day, so we must turn to god and offer up our Thank.

    In making a bad time better, prayer improves our bad day or mindset to positive Thoughts. Moreover, it reduces our anger, depression and negative thoughts

      Apart from the above, the other ways to make a lousy day better are:

    • Going for a long drive
    • Reading motivational Quotes
    • Find a movie you want to see
    • Creating a gratitude list
    • Playing games with the nearby ones
    • Sparing or spending time at a public park
    • Have a look at old photos
    • Making a happy list
    • singing
    • Taking advantage of a lousy day by tackling a task 
    • Focus on Appreciation or gratitude. 

    Conclusion:

    Bad days Can happen now and then. The critical point is to foresee them, prevent them as much as possible and know how to deal with them when they come. We can keep a schedule record or the list on the wall. So that we can see where exactly we are on our way up or high. If it’s bigger and you need to re-arrange some things, giving ourselves an evening for thinking about that.

    “We need to live another day, physically and psychologically Stronger, to get success.”

    Also, you can read our blog on Using Affirmation Harnessing Power of Positive Thinking

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