Category: Productivity

  • 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

    FAQ’s

  • 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

    FAQ’s

  • What are HALT Risk States?

    What are HALT Risk States?

    The key to Maintain a life in recovery is a combination of both self-care and self-awareness. By taking care of ourselves and recognizing a few signs, we can prevent sickness. One of the tools people use is HALT risk states.

    WHAT’S IN IT

    HALT Risk States

    In general, HALT means to Stop. But here, It Stands for HUNGER, ANGER, LONELY, TIRED. This will remind us to take a moment (HALT) and ask ourselves if we are feeling Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.

    It looks to be simple enough, but when these basic needs are not met, we are likely to have self-destructive behaviours including Sickness. Therefore, hunger, anger, loneliness, and tiredness are easy to mark and serve as a warning system before things reach a breaking point.

    If we keep trying to work when we are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, our performance will almost get affected. There is a chance that we may harm our both physical and halt mental health and risk damaging our healthy relationships. 

    The word “HALT” is Important. It’s a wake-up call to stop what we are doing and thinking about some key aspects of our well-being – and to change harmful habits.

    Therefore, each of the four HALT states can be a serious problem on its own.

    HUNGER

    Hunger HALT RISK STATES

    It describes the clear physical condition of lack (need) of food. We all know how important it is to have regular nutritional meals or food — preferably small in size and frequent in number. 

    Hunger can also point toward emotional needs such as hunger for attention, comfort, understanding, or togetherness Additionally, Hunger can be both physical or emotional.

    Understanding the need to eat is quite straightforward. However, we should remind ourselves not just to eat, but to eat well. Meeting nutritional needs allows our body to operate to the highest potential, and will keep us feeling better.

    Generally, when we HALT it checks our situation, we can describe a hunger for less tangible things such as affection, Success, and understanding.

    This is why having a support system is very important. Those who care and love will give food for heart, and relieve the emotional hunger that we are feeling.

    To overcome hunger, do not turn to bad habits or negative people. This will not fill the physical or emotional emptiness that we are feeling. Instead, find something wholesome to eat with a good friend or loved one.

    ANGER

    There are sometimes when anger is absolutely the right response. Actually, we can’t really plan for anger. It comes and goes often based on outside effects.

    The key to anger is remembering that there is nothing wrong with it. Anger is okay and it is even natural. However, there can be something wrong with how we define anger. Anger Calls actions on our part, and very often those actions are unhealthy.

    Additionally, anger is a little bit more difficult and the solution is a bit more challenging for some people. The advantage over anger is nothing wrong with the feeling of anger!! But at the same time, most of us have never learned how to define anger constructively.

    The way we express anger often takes in high destructive forms. We either turn our anger against ourselves or against others.

    Anger can range from finding fault and minimizing abusive language or insult and physical violence. Anger can also be like a repeated tape or band loop. If we can’t control our anger, it can damage our relationships, and even cause us other stress. Research shows that it can also have a negative effect on our health.

    LONELY

    Young happy girl riding on a swing in the park

    Lonely refers to being separate oneself. It is similar to hunger in that the solution or the answer is the same, namely Group. However, loneliness points to the difficulty of reaching out.

    This might have several causes, one being that isolation or separate is a childhood survival tool, the other can be emotional or clinical depression.

    Loneliness can also occur when we are by ourselves or when surrounded by many people. We isolate/separate ourselves when we don’t feel like others can understand us, withdrawing into ourselves out of fear or doubt.

    Being alone is self-imposed situation loneliness has also been social isolation or separation that has been shown to be strongly associated with worry, depression and poor self-care, as well as a whole range of physical health conditions.

    Social isolation may be less frequent at younger ages, but is then even more strongly associate with poor health conditions and behaviours than at older ages.

    It’s possible to feel isolated or being separate and lonely even when we are with other people, including colleagues, family members, and friends. Building high-quality connections with others are also important to our sense of happiness or comfort, even if we are not a natural Socially confident Person.

    TIRED or TIREDNESS

    Tiredness can be physical, and the most common occurrence of it is when we ignore our need to take a break, we push ourselves too far and we also ignore our bodies’ signs resulting in Feeling or being tired.

    It is also stated that we don’t have enough sleep we are in a state of Tired/tiredness. Generally, in high-pressure workplaces like office/job, it is often accepted as part of the job.

    Everyone is always in a hurry or rush and working long hours might feel under pressure to do the same.

    Therefore Tiredness or fatigue can have a serious impact on decision-making, memory, and long-term health.

    In our increasingly stressful modern environments, fatigue or the state of being tired has become one of the most common symptoms reported across all types of medical consultation or discussion. It is almost clear that halt mental health conditions are related to fatigue/tiredness,

    Tiredness takes a toll on our bodies, mind, and spirit. When our days are filled with meetings, meetings, and activities it is easy to ignore how tired we become.

    However, running on low energy compromises our capability to think and our capacity to cope or manage.

    How to Spot the HALT Signs

    • To respond to the HALT risk states, the first step is to recognize or find them. This means that becoming more aware of our emotions and behaviours – our own, and those of the people we work with.
    • Developing our emotional intelligence can help us to notice when we are feeling isolated within our team, for example, at the times when we are lost, we will get up and go. It also lets or enables us to spot these feelings in others.
    •  Daily Recording of our experiences, thoughts and feelings is a good way to keep track of any potential or possible problems. We can monitor not only the amount of sleep and exercise we are getting but also whether we are eating regularly and healthily.
    •  Additionally, we can also practice mindfulness or carefulness, it helps us to become more self-aware. Mindfulness has been shown to develop emotional intelligence. It’s a way of observing our thoughts and feelings without getting carry away.
    • If you think colleagues, loved ones or friends are struggling because of one or more of these HALT states, talk to them, sensitively and in confidence. This might require a difficult conversation, but getting the issue out into the open is the first step toward resolving it.

    Dealing with the HALT Risk States

    We have seen what are the halt Risk states and how to spot or define these states. Now we will look at Dealing with these HALT Risk States.

    Hunger       

    • Taking care of our nutritional needs or diets and eating regularly before hunger brings out the worst in us.
    • Emotional hunger is another need to fulfil, and it’s more complicated than having a healthy meal.
    • Eating a good or healthy breakfast is important for beating hunger during the rest of the day. According to research – a regular, balanced breakfast helps us to maintain a healthy metabolism or energy.
    • Eating regularly and healthy also helps us to stop snacking on high-fat, high-sugar foods. These can depress our mood, and they are linked to obesity/fatness and other health issues.

     ANGER

    Side view of a angry bearded man in suit shouting and gesturing with hands isolated over gray background
    • Calmly talking to the person having an issue with or fixing the problem you are having. If it is making anger or out of control and you are not ready to speak, express yourself in other ways. 
    • We know that anger is bad, expressing a need, communicating and workout is a great start. Techniques such as breathing, mindfulness, exercise, martial arts, and even journaling keep a diary can be great ways to deal with our anger.
    • Apart from managing our anger with techniques such as positive thinking and imagination. If we feel that we need a physical release, try it breathing exercises, drinking water etc.
    • When we are in a state of anger just stop or halt the work we are doing. Stop what is happening to you and. Stop it all. Just relax and breathe then getaway. Apart from this take a minute. Count to 10. Whatever it is, it helps in getting out of the immediate situation.

    LONELINESS

    • If you are feeling lonely, just stop or halt the work you are doing or when you feel depressed at times at that time if you need just someone to talk to them which includes going to a meeting, calling a friend, or visiting a loved one might be much helpful in getting rid of loneliness
    • Feeling loneliness at the workplace lets the manager or colleagues know they may be able to help or involve in projects or activities that make it easier for you to make strong connections.
    • Take lunch breaks away from your desk i.e., having lunch at other places in the office where you can talk to people from other teammates.
    • Don’t create walls between family and good friends. Try to be open. And Make really strong and healthy relationships.

    TIREDNESS

    Top view portrait of a woman lying at the desk near the laptop. Education, business concept photo. Lifestyle
    • Taking the time to stop a particular thing is important when we are tired. Satisfying the physical need to sleep, rest, and renew is critical to keep healthy and physically, as well as emotionally.
    • A good night’s sleep or a little nap (Short sleep), taking a break from the physical activities may be all we need to change our outlook for the day.
    • Get your sleep every night. This might help a lot in overcoming tiredness. But make sure that we actually find rest in our waking hours, as well. This could mean running our passion or goal. 
    • If your day is particularly hectic or tight, take a short break by listening to music, going for a walk, or simply taking a deep breath. Recharging our body, mind, and spirit will help us to get away from tiredness

    Therefore, these were some of the steps in dealing with HALT risk states.

    Conclusion

    As we know that H.A.L.T is an easily portable and very practical tool for everyday life. HALT can serve as an alarm to all of us that we need to take care of our basic needs every day.

    Take time each day to check in with yourself. Ask yourself- “Am I hungry, angry, lonely, or tired?” 

    It will take just a minute how you feel. Doing so will make the everyday stress of life easier to deal with and help us to maintain free from halt risk states.

    Also you can read our blog on What is stress?

    FAQ’s

  • Kano Model Analysis – Delivering Products That Will Delight

    Kano Model Analysis – Delivering Products That Will Delight

    The main aim of any organization is to ensure the fulfillment of the satisfactory needs of customers. Also, The Kano model is a theoretical concept or a tool used for determining Product Development and customer satisfaction. 

    Noriaki Kano developed it, so, a Writer and an educator in the field of Quality management in 1891. The Kano model was also called the Customer Satisfaction Model.

    WHAT’S IN IT

    Noriaki was a Japanese researcher who mentioned some ideas and techniques regarding Customer satisfaction and Product development. Hence, This design of ideas is called the Kano model. The Kano Model covers the following premises.

    • The Dimensions of the Kano Model
    • Five categories of customer preferences
    • The Nature of Features of the Kano Model
    • Determining the need for product features through customers by Questionnaire

    The Dimensions of the Kano Model

    • Satisfaction
    • Functionality

    Satisfaction and Functionality

    It is a common term used in the field of marketing. So, This term is to measure the expectation of a consumer about a product or a service provided by a company.

    As far as my knowledge goes, Satisfaction is a subjective concept, which means it’s different for every person. For, e.g., A boy would be happy about

    purchasing a bike for him on the other hand. A boy would never be satisfied even if we get him a car.

    So, Noriaki designed the Kano Model intending to determine Customer Satisfaction. Kano Model proposed a series of Satisfaction from Total Satisfaction or Delight to Total Dissatisfaction or Frustration.

    Meanwhile, In the above diagram, there are different levels of Satisfaction, and it changes with every customer.

    But Satisfaction also depends upon the Functionality of the product. Hence, Functionality can be Investment, Sophistication, or how well a product feature has implemented or how much we have invested in it. Whether it is a waste of time and resources, or we must focus more on it. 

     If we take Investment as an aspect of Functionality, then the more you spend on the up-gradation of your feature more, it will add to the Satisfaction of the consumer.

    E.g., If you want to buy a car that has all the necessary elements, but the company has also invested in other new features like a high-quality stereo system, then it would increase the Functionality of the car and eventually will add up to the Satisfaction of the customers.

    Also, Here we took Investment or cost as an aspect of Functionality. The Functionality is mainly dependent on the Product features. So let’s study the four features proposed by Nairoki as per customer preferences. 

    Four categories of customer preferences

    1.   Must be Feature

    2.   Performance Features

    3.   Attractive Features

    4.   Indifferent Features

    Must-Be Features

    These are the essential features that a product must have to enter the market. So, In simple words, these features are the Basic requirements that a customer expects from a particular product.

    They are also called the Threshold Features. Here the term Threshold is used because these features are regarded as an “ENTRY TICKET” of a product or firm.

    So, Customers take these features for granted. Because these features fulfill only the customers’ basic needs, but if these features are absent in a particular product, then it leads the consumer to Total Dissatisfaction.

    E.g., If a car doesn’t have a steering wheel or a handbrake in it, it would not get entry into the market because they are the essential features that a vehicle should have.

    Performance Features

    These attributes are more than enough for the fulfillment of the needs that they are expecting from the product. Hence, In the Kano Model, these features are explained as attributes that increase the customers’ enjoyment level. Due to this, they are called Satisfiers. So, These Performance features are those features that are directly concerning the Functionality of the product. Also, The more we provide, the more our customers will get satisfied.

    Performance attributes are the metrics that are the bases of the Business aspiration or Decision. So keeping these features in mind, a company prioritizes its Investment, resources, etc.

    The price of a product that a customer is willing to pay is also directly related to the performance attributes of the product. Also, The higher the performance attribute, the higher the price the customer is willing to pay for the product.

    For example, If we compare a Ferrari with a TATA Nano, we can say that Ferrari costs higher because of the increased performance features of the car. At the same time, Nano doesn’t have any extra performance features.

    Attractive Features

    The Kano Model also includes certain Attractive Features or so-called Exciters. Excitement features are mostly unforeseen by the customer. They come as a surprise for the customers. Usually, customers feel satisfied with a product when their requirements or basic needs get satisfied.

    But if a customer gets an additional feature which they had never expected, then this raises their satisfaction level. Attractive attributes are those features that sometimes generate a ‘WOW’ expression from the customers.

    Kano Models Attractive attributes also give a competitive edge or advantage to a specific product above other products and put your product on a pedestal.

    For example: When the iPhone came with the technology of Virtual Assistant called “SIRI” that was a wow feature for all the customers, and it instantly created a hype in the market about their product.

    This unique feature gave them a competitive advantage in the market by leaving behind all the competing products.

    But this feature of the Kano Model also leads to an increase in the level of functionality. Because to provide these kinds of features, significant investments are required. But in return, these features have the potential to generate higher profit margins.

    INDIFFERENT FEATURES

    The Kano Model describes these features as one whose presence doesn’t matter to the customers. To these features, we feel indifferent because customers don’t care about the existence of these features as they provide no satisfaction to them.

    An organization needs to analyze the features which customers didn’t care about and stop wasting their money and resources on that Features.

    The Nature features of the Kano Model

    In this section, I will tell you about the nature of the attributes we studied. Now that we have learned about the Features of the Kano Model.

    We all should keep in mind the fundamental fact that nothing in this world is static. Everything changes after a given point in time. In simple words, we can say that it is a Continuous moving cycle of the world.

    Keeping that in mind The Features of the Kano Model are also not static. The customers don’t feel the same about every feature in the future as they think now. It is not like a Feature that might excite them now would stir them in the future also.

    The Features that are now Attractive may change to performance and eventually to Must-be. 

    Considering the example of Activa ( a Two-wheeler)- When Activas was launched, the only feature they had was they were cost-efficient, and they made transportation easy. But nowadays Activas are started having speakers in them, Inbuilt chargers efficient storage facility, A broader seat, etc.

    So If you understood the above given an example you would conclude that the features then are now considered as a Must-be Feature.

    It happens because of various factors like the Industrial Revolution, Technological up-gradation, Capitalization, Changing Trends, Change in

    Preferences, and habits of the customer. But one of the critical factors is the emergence of competitors and their experiments to achieve the highest functionality of the product.

    So the takeaway here is that any Analysis we do at a given time is valid for that situation only. Nothing is constant. Because as humans, we always want change then even the minutest change would provide us satisfaction.

    Determining the need for product features through customers by Questionnaire

    As an organization, we should also take considerations, recommendations, and suggestions from our clients or customers. About the features, they liked or didn’t liked and was that feature capable enough to provide them satisfaction.

    Why we should do all these self-analysis processes is because sometimes people don’t think about a product or service in the same way as they feel. it is essential to prepare a standardized questionnaire to have a record of customer preferences and suggestions.

    This Questionnaire method also helps us to determine customers’ perception of our product features.

    There are two questions we need to ask to evaluate customer preferences or perceptions:

    1. One is how they feel if they have the feature 
    2. Second is how they feel if they don’t have the feature

    The first question here is an aFunctional question that has a positive outlook. While the other question is a Dysfunctional questionable which has a negative outlook.

    The most possible answers for the above two questions are :

    • Guess, I like it      
    • or, I expect it
    • Also, I am neutral
    • I can tolerate it
    • I dislike it

    Based on the answers given by the customers for the above question for each category we evaluate their decision. This step is also called EVALUATION.

    FunctionalDysfunctionalCategory
    I expect it+I dislike itMust-be
    I like it+I dislike itOne-dimensional
    I like it+I am neutralAttractive
    I am neutral+I am neutralIndifferent
    I dislike it+I expect itReverse

    Conclusion

    The Kano model is a theoretical concept or a tool used for determining Product Development and customer satisfaction. Noriaki Kano developed it, a Writer and an educator in the field of Quality management in 1891. The Kano model was also called the Customer Satisfaction Model.

    Also Read our blog Calculate Customer Value, Satisfaction & Loyalty

    FAQ’s

  • Understanding Creativity: Meaning of Creativity & Why it’s important?

    Understanding Creativity: Meaning of Creativity & Why it’s important?

    Have you seen 7 humans made wonders? also, The first thing that comes to mind after seeing wonders is how they made it? how is it possible?. So, The answer is the humans made this by using the power of creativity and Understanding Creativity.

    Creativity is the skill of imagining something new, different or innovative and creating it.

    All humans are creative. Some people are creative from birth like artists and musicians, but they’re also are some people who improve their skill of creativity from time to time like Steve Jobs.

    So, We are born with the power of creativity. It just needs to find the right ways of using it.

    WHAT’S IN IT

    What is Creativity

    Understanding Creativity

    “Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination” Source– Dicitionay.com  

    The word creative has meaning in itself. Create + innovative means think innovative and create it and both make the word creativity.

    Hence, It is the ability to do different things or doing the same thing differently. By using it you can solve many problems in daily life with new perspectives. It can create new, easier or better ways of doing the same work. It is a skill that makes you great.

     “ Creativity is an intelligence of having fun”- Albert Einstein

    Why it is important to be creative

    1. Helps to express yourself-

    Sometimes in our life, we need to express ourselves. But we didn’t get the right way to express feelings.

    Creativity is the very right way to express yourself. That could be anything music, dance, sports, painting, etc. In the form of your skill with the power of creativity, you can express yourself.

    2. Helps to explore yourself-

    Do you want success in your life? If yes, then you need to develop yourself, push your limits, get out of your comfort zone.

    But how can you do all these very hard things? The answer is creativity

    It inspires you to develop new things, innovate new things. And creating new things needs some patience and new learnings. That pushes you to develop yourself.

    Once you start thinking creatively you can easily find the best version yourself.

    3. Helps to solve problems-

    Whenever you do something you must face problems. Problems come with every activity.

    Solving problems helps you to go forward in your life. But sometimes we can’t find a solution to it. 

     Solutions are always in the problems but we can’t see them.

    Creative thinking helps see this solution. Also helps you to solve these problems in a better way.

    4. Creativity helps you think bigger-

    Sometimes we can not succeed not because of our hard work but because of our small thinking.

    If we decide to achieve a smaller goal then we can not achieve something bigger. 

    Creativity helps you think differently and new. That opens your mind and you can realize your abilities. Creativity opens new opportunities for you. Once you think big then you can achieve big. 

    4. Reduce stress and anxiety-

    Doing the same type of work and continuous problems gives us a lot of stress. Creativity helps you to reduce your stress and anxiety. It fills joy in your life. 

    For example, Mr Ram goes into depression because of doing the same type of work regularly in the office. But his friend Mr Sahil is always happy because he is creative.

    So, he set his desk such that it gives motivation and joy while doing office work.

    5. Increase your lifespan-

    Shocking? But true creativity increases your lifespan. The reason behind it is, creativity keeps our brain active. It exercises our brain networks and muscles. It reduces stress and protects our brain from the damage of stress and anxiety. And all those things help you to increase your lifespan.

    6. Increase your confidence-

    Thinking about something new or different gives you a lot of knowledge and experience. And after creating it gives you a lot of confidence. It makes a better personality in front of others. When all people start appreciating then you get unbeatable confidence. 

    7. It motivates you-

    If you are creative then you must always want to do new things and it motivates you to work more and increase your productivity.

    Because of different thinking, you need to do new things that also give relaxation after doing the same work and motivate you to do something big in life.

    8. Helps you to stay happy-

    If your thinking is creative then you must see all things in different ways. You are trying to do things in an adventurous way. If you always see all things in that perspective then your life becomes adventures. It fills happiness and joy in your life.

    9. Makes you different from others-

    In today’s competitive world you need to be different from others.

    Creativity is one of those skills that makes you different from others. Most of the people in society have a close mindset. Creativity makes your mind open.

    That helps you to learn and grow always. That one thing makes you different from others.

    “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life coming attractions.”― Albert Einstein

    Types of Creativity

    There are many subtypes of creativity, business creativity, problem-solving, artistic, etc.

    But there are two main types of creativity. They are as follows.

    1. Original- When someone creates or innovates something new which does not exist early is an original type of creativity. This is something unique. For example, Steve Jobs innovates touch screen Apple smartphones and creates history.
    2. Change- Another important type of when someone creates easier ways to do existing things. This type brings change and makes things easier and faster. Example- Jeff Bezos started Amazon and make selling and buying easier.

    “If you want to live your life creatively, as an artist, you have to not look back too much.” -Steve Jobs

    Techniques for think creative

    Creativity is about making hard things simple but developing creative thinking is a little bit hard.

    We are born with the ability to be creative.

    But we love to live in comfort, that’s why we can’t take risks. And creativity is all about thinking out of the box and taking risks to complete it.

    “To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong”- Joseph Chilton Pearce

    But don’t worry after practising you can develop your ability. And I will give some techniques that help you to develop your skill. They are as follows,

    1. Mind Mapping-

    mind mapping

    Tony Buzan invented this amazing technique. It is a tool to capture all your thoughts in one place. Sometimes we can stop taking breaths but it is very hard to stop our thoughts.

    And when we get an idea than all the related thoughts just keep going in our mind.

    Mind mapping helps to organize all these thoughts and give direction to your idea. It just starts with writing down your idea and connecting all thoughts related to it, in form of words and images. It helps you to open your mind.

    2. Brainstorming-

    It is the most famous technique for generating new ideas. Most of the startups started with this amazing technique. 

    Brainstorming means taking one problem or idea and discussing it, in a group.

    Rules-

    1) Everyone in the group must participate. 

    2) Give proper time to discussion.

    3) All discussion is gone regarding one idea.

    Brainstorming helps to explore all your idea in detail. So, you get a solution to your problem and direction for an idea.

    3. Do brain activities- 

    Creativity is all about pushing your brain. Brains need a lot of energy to think creatively. The research said that our right side of the brain is made for making creative things. I will give you an exercise that helps you to develop your right-side brain.

    1. Breathe Through Your Left side of your nose
    2. Watch, listen to positive content.
    3. Learn some new skills.
    4. Do activities that give some stress on your brain. For example, Solve the puzzle, Connect dots.
    5. Laugh.

    Examples of some great creative thinkers

    1. Steve Jobs- When all people are using heavy mobile with fewer features and buttons then they want a mobile with no buttons and also smart. That’s why they invented the first touch screen mobile named Apple.
    2. Elon Musk- In today’s world, he is one of the most creative people in the world. He built SpaceX which invented a spacecraft that can travel space and return to earth. People do not even imagine this in the 21st century. But he can imagine and succeed up to some missions.
    3. Shivkar Bapuji Talpade- He is the man who invented the flying machine. World’s fastest transport invented by him.

    Conclusion

    In Simple Language, Understanding Creativity means Thinking Innovative to create it. Creativity is more important than efficiency.

    Understanding Creativity helps us to Think Bigger, Express Ourselves, Explore Ourselves and also helps us to solve problems that ultimately increase lifespan and confidence.

    Also you can read our blog on Top 8 Ways To Beat The Fear of Failure

    FAQ’s

  • What is a Healthy Work Environment? Ways to Create a Healthy Work Environment

    What is a Healthy Work Environment? Ways to Create a Healthy Work Environment

    Create a Healthy Work Environment: Boost Employees Productivity

    Your team works hard all year cooped up in cubicles staring at computer screens running from meeting to meeting over time.

    The everyday stress smog and traffic builds to a boiling point resulting in a negative work environment.

    And unhappy disengaged employees this engaged employees have 37% higher absenteeism 60% more errors and defects.

    The reduction of 18 per cent in productivity. Then how can your company refresh a toxic work atmosphere?

    And creating a healthy work environment. So, let’s understand the healthy work environment.

    WHAT’S IN IT

    What is a Healthy Work Environment

    healthy work environment in office

    Creating a positive corporate culture is no longer. A nice-to-have it’s a mandatory business strategy.

    The companies with a plan to develop healthy work cultures see improvements in recruiting and retaining,

    • Top Talent
    • Leadership Development
    • Sales Productivity
    • Innovation

    Global has developed four keys to a positive corporate culture.

    Those are the foundation of all successful and positive workplace environments.

    These principles are based on millions of employee surveys, thousands of Glassdoor reviews, hundreds of business journal articles, and dozens of academic papers.

    The first key to developing a positive culture is creating an environment, where Employees are

    1. Feeling Valued:

    The biggest complaint from employees is that they don’t feel valued by their supervisor or the company as compared to previous generations.

    Millennials are more driven by how work makes them feel and if they don’t feel valued. Then they are much more likely to leave their jobs investing in process and product have long been norms.

    But investing in people not so much a simple acknowledgement of a job well done can make a big difference.

    To a disengaged employee make a point to recognize a small win or a little extra effort.

    2. Feeling Connected:

    Employees tend to isolate in silos based on team function and location. Despite our desire to connect with colleagues.

    We often have only enough time to connect with those. So, we are working with directly invite someone in a different department.

    To lunch have cross-functional updates talk to someone in person have a company happy hour or even have a job swap day.

    These easy solutions will increase a sense of connection to the larger team growth.

    The level of appreciation for other groups and generally increase overall communication.

    3. Feeling a Sense Of Contribution:

    Employees often don’t feel that their individual contributions make a difference to the company.

    Often goals and missions are communicated well at the senior levels of an organization. But less well or not at all further down.

    Organization as company sizes have grown specialization has increased. And the focus has shifted to speed many companies haven’t communicated.

    The importance of each employees contribution to the organization as a whole to help employees feel like,

    They’re contributing communicate goals and mission to everyone in the organization. Choose three or four goals that are simple to understand broad in scope.

    And focused on more than just financials then communicate them to everyone in the organization. Make the goals consistently visible and frequently.

    Mentioned in newsletter team calls or emails from senior leadership. Next, ask each employee to think about how his or her job supports at least one of the goals.

    4. Feeling Growth:

    Growth is a basic psychological need.

    We want to be challenged to learn and to problem-solve but growth cannot happen in an environment.

    That doesn’t tolerate mistakes and with the intense pressure often placed on short-term results taking the time.

    To focus on learning innovation or even collaboration often takes a backseat additionally. The traditional method for employees.

    Growth training is flawed how many times have you been to training and committed to implementing it.

    Some of the suggestions into your daily routine only to find yourself right back in your same old habits just days.

    After training regardless of how good the training is if we don’t have a simple way to reinforce the learnings and actually, practice the new behaviour in our daily life.

    We forget to have a daily weekly or monthly challenge that involves adding one new action into your team’s routine.

    Focusing on one thing at a time feels doable and empowering will prevent employees from feeling overwhelmed.

    You can turn the challenge into a game by a keeping score of how many days each person put that action into practice.

    This is a great use of friendly competition and makes professional growth fun.

    Ways to Create a Healthy Work Environment

    Here are 4 small changes around the workspace that will have a huge impact in the long run.

    1. Offer a Daily or Weekly Snack:

    The afternoon dip often causes employees to resort to unhealthy snacking.

    Now while the occasional sugary or salty snack doesn’t hurt anyone.

    Overindulgence does have a negative impact on the overall health of your employees.

    Offering fresh fruits can help employees make small dietary changes that will improve their overall health.

    And well-being which will ultimately boost their concentration at work.

    2. Encourage Physical Activity:

    You probably don’t have time to plan activities for your team. But that doesn’t mean you can’t encourage them.

    Make sure your employees know that you value physical activity by encouraging them.

    To take a mid-day break to attend a yoga class head to the gym or go for a walk.

    Provide a safe space where employees can discuss and organize activities on a regular basis.

    Not only are these activities good for their health but they’re also great for team-building studies.

    Show that time away from your desk fresh air and activity is proven to boost concentration, improve motivation and contribute to positive mental health.

    3. Provide a Comfortable Working Space:

    Creating a Healthy Work Environment to Boost Employees Productivity

    Many companies make the mistake of underestimating the effects that the workspace environment has on employee satisfaction.

    So recent lighting and poor ventilation can cause headaches among other health issues to provide your staff.

    With the best working conditions possible ensure the working environment has the right air circulation and lighting system an inexpensive and easy improvement to make is incorporating pods into the workspace.

    They not only add a splash of colour to life but they improve the air quality too.

    4. Build Connections:

    The best way to stimulate a healthy work environment is by building a foundation of trust encouragement and honesty.

    Employees spend a considerable amount of time at work which means that inevitably from time to time.

    Situations in their personal life may interfere with their work showing compassion and support.

    Your employees can help them deal with their emotions in a healthier way. The more an employee feels emotional support at work.

    Ultimately the better they will perform in their job. Now, we’re not saying that you should be the workplace counsellor.

    But should consider providing access to services that can support your employees during times of emotional stress.

    Conclusion

    In conclusion, there are four keys to a positive corporate culture. It all comes down to creating a healthy work environment. Where employees Feel

    1. Valued
    2. Connected
    3. Feeling a Sense Of Contribution.
    4. Four Feeling Growth

    For more on creating a positive work culture and lasting employee engagement.

    As well as simple trackable ways to implement changes that make a difference for your culture and there you have four simple ways to create a healthy workspace environment.

    Now, you may be thinking. What if I can only implement one or two of these things mentioned above.

    If you aren’t sure which improvements your company should adopt.

    Then certainly it will be worth creating a short employee satisfaction survey where employees are asked to rate a list of items from 1 to 10.

    How much they value each in the workspace. This will provide insight into which improvements your company should prioritize.

    Last but not least if you’re finding it difficult to make time to focus on your employees then probably a good idea to reach out.

    Also you can read our blog on 10 Ways to Stay Calm During in Crisis

    FAQ‘s

  • 5 BEST Meditation For Stress Relief: Take a Stress Relief Break

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

    Do you want to do meditation for stress and anxiety relief? Then, first of all, let us understand what meditation is? 

    We have to look at our own lives. First, there’s something that we’re doing every single day – for the majority of the day, we’re thinking. 

    We’re always thinking; we can say that humans are addicted to thinking. 

    Try to stop thinking right now for just 10 seconds. Chances are unless you’ve been practising meditation for a while. You had at least a couple of thoughts pop into your mind during this brief period. You might say, well, thinking isn’t a bad thing. It’s good. 

    We need to think to survive, don’t we well, that’s true. But only to some extent if you sit down and take a look at it. The large majority of your thinking isn’t as helpful as you think it is; a lot of it is pretty negative. 

    image of a woman doing mediation

    Meditation techniques help to focus better and manage their emotions. 

    When you think less, you become more in control of your emotions. If you practice meditation for stress relief, you’re basically teaching your mind how to turn off your dots like a switch. 

    When you think less, you start spending less time in your head and more time outside, and you start noticing things trees are brighter, the world is beautiful. You’ll see flowers on the ground; you’ll become less involved with your thoughts and more engaged with the natural world, and that is the beauty of meditation. 

    WHAT’S IN IT?

    Benefits of Meditation For Stress And Anxiety 

    We all know that what is meditation, but only a few peoples can do it. It is because people do not become aware of the benefits of meditation. 

    So, I will talk only about those benefits of meditation for stress relief that I have felt personally in my life. 

    It reduces stress and depression in your life:

    We live when everyone has to deal with stress and tension. So, it is helpful for those people who are suffering from this kind of things. 

    It makes you more confident and happier: 

    We all know that confidence is essential in every field. Wherever you want to go and how to present yourself is a must. So, it increases your confidence. 

    Get rid of anger and anxiety:

    It helps you a lot, trust me, and first, I get angry at every small thing earlier. But someone suggested me to doing meditation, and I started doing meditation and after some time. I got to know that I stopped getting angry at a small thing. 

    It makes you intelligent and sharp-minded: 

    You must have heard about Swami Vivekananda. He was knowledgeable because he does meditation every day. There are so many successful people in the world who do meditation for stress reduction, anxiety, depression, and getting good results in their lives? 

    It brings positive energy: 

    If you do meditation for five minutes every day, you will know that you become more confident and become more energetic. There will be a power inside you, and you will feel it after some time. 

    It increases your willpower: 

    So it is helpful for those who want to quit any bad habits because until you give your real power will not be substantial. You’ll not be able to stop any bad habits or doing this kind of things. So, meditation is the best way to increase your willpower. 

    It controls your thought process:

    We keep thinking about the negative thing, and there are so many thoughts coming in our mind every day we keep on thinking about those things that are never going to happen in our lives. And which is not helpful for us. So,  after doing meditation, you can control your thought process. 

    So that you could think about those things which you want to do in your life. 

    Types of Meditation For Stress And Anxiety  

    There are many different types of meditation for stress relief you can practice. Research has suggested partition ORS have reduced stress, anxiety, depression and even less physical pain. 

    So, we’ll go over five different types of meditation for stress relief you can fit into your daily routine. 

    Guided meditation for stress: 

    Guided meditations are generally where there is a sure guide. So, there will be an expert who will tell you precisely what you need to do. 

    And this usually or generally involves some form of imagery or some form of visualisation or sensory stimulation. So, guided meditations for stress reduction are good. 

    When you’re trying to achieve a particular thing in life or trying to get over a mental block, this could help you overcome.

    You know your firm beliefs, and it could be that you become aware that you have a specific idea and want to change it. 

    So, you could do a specific type of guided meditation for stress reduction. And that particular thing so it could be for losing weight. 

    So, you could imagine yourself and visualise losing weight, and you could listen to a tape for 40 minutes every day. 

    It will also help you change that belief about yourself that makes you not want to lose weight. 

    And then, if you keep listening to it for 21 days or a month, you would be able to lose weight with its help. 

    So, guided meditations are good when you want to change a firm belief. That your kind of it has just come to you but just remember you have to do it every day. 

    You have to make sure you’re not doing anything else while you’re listening to it. You’re completely in a relaxed state of mind. 

    And you’re listening to the same tape every single day, and that might help you. 

    Chakra meditation:

    Chakra meditation is a type of yoga meditation. It generally wheels or chakra means wheel. According to the theories, there are seven different energy centres located in; you might represent colour and a particular aspect of our personality. 

    image of a man performing chakra meditation for stress

    So, for example, your sacral chakra located just above the pelvis will represent your emotions. 

    So, if you’re feeling emotionally imbalanced, you could do a sacral chakra meditation for stress.  

    When you’re feeling a bit sluggish, you’re feeling angry about something, and you’re finding it hard to let go of a particular emotion. And you’re aware of it, but it bothers you; it can also help physical ailments that mean different chakras the present, or you know, manifest. 

    And their negative energy into your body in the form of different illnesses or ailments.  

    You could use this chakra meditation to balance those different chakras that represent those illnesses. 

    You might find that you’re kind of recovering from it, and it could probably work. 

    I have tried it, but you could try different chakra meditations for that kind of things. But you can probably do it once a week. 

    You can do it daily, and it doesn’t matter when you choose to do it but generally, early in the morning or just before bed is the best time to meditate. 

    Also you can watch our video on Chakra:

    Yoga meditation for stress-relief: 

    Yoga meditation is generally when you perform a series of different postures—at the same time, controlling your breathing and observing your breathing in a certain way. 

    This meditation for stress reduction is beneficial again for physical; mental well-being can also be perfect for pregnancy-related issues. 

    It can be perfect for digestion; it can be there are different poses for different things. So, you can also be ideal for flexibility. 

    If you’re trying to work on that, yoga meditation should generally be done supervised by somebody. 

    image of women performing yoga meditation for stress

    So, if you’re reading articles, watching youtube videos, and trying it on your own, you might have an instructor. 

    Who’s there to teach you how to do this and it can be beneficial if you’re into sports because it helps your flexibility. 

    It helps to keep you fit, healthy and your muscles kind of you know it relaxes your muscles a lot more while you train them, so it’s kind of exciting one. 

    Transcender meditation: 

    Transcender meditation is generally repeating a word or a sound or a small phrase. 

    This could be the phrase ‘om’ you know; many people think it has a different energy, so they just kind of charmed it over. 

    And over again until your mind transcends into a different kind of area of consciousness that you exceed basically. 

    So, it’s a different type of consciousness that you’re travelling from one form of your mind to another state of mind. 

    So, transcending meditation, I haven’t tried, so I don’t know a lot about it, but you could try it. 

    And see if it helps you, it’s generally good if you are a pretty distracted person. It can help you concentrate by chanting the same word. 

    It can help you to control your attention a lot more. Also, It can also help you to relax sometimes because if you keep saying up a specific word over. 

    And over again, then you associate a particular form of emotion with it. Whenever you feel agitated, you can try and use that word to transcend into that kind of feeling. 

    So you can switch from one emotion to the other by practising the chanting of that word. A small phrase that you want to use also works well in self-talk. 

    So, self-talk is something, or centring is a technique where you use certain words. 

    And tell yourself those words or sentences to feel the way you want to feel. To transcend all meditation for stress can be used for that. 

    Mindfulness meditation for stress and anxiety:

    Mindfulness meditation is observing your thoughts and emotions in a non-judgmental and even though. 

    This form of meditation is one of the toughest meditations because you’re trying to live in the present moment. 

    image with mindfulness written on a paper

    All the time, you don’t transcend a thing you’re not escaping; you know you’re not moving. You’re sitting still; you’re observing your breath. 

    You’re observing your thoughts and emotions as they pass, and you do not have any judgment towards them. 

    The reason why I like mindfulness for meditation is stress relief. And I think it is the most effective technique is because it works from the bottom-up processing. 

    Top-down processing and bottom-up processing are how you respond to the knowledge you already have in your mind. 

    And bottom-up is how you take in the knowledge form through your senses, and mindfulness meditation works on that bottom-up process, which is when you’re taking in information. How do you see it, and if you change your perception of what you’re seeing, what you’re hearing. 

    Then you just don’t form new concepts or thoughts; you don’t create new labels. Everything is just the same for you; every sense is the same. 

    So, you are free from attaching your emotions to it and over time, it starts working well for you. 

    Conclusion

    In this article, we can understand meditation for stress relief and its benefits. 

    Then we learn about the best five meditation for stress relief which is, 

    1. Guided meditation
    2. Chakra meditation
    3. Yoga meditation 
    4. Transcender meditation 
    5. Mindfulness meditation

    So, these types of meditation for stress relief can fit into your daily routine. 

    And do these all meditation regularly to become healthy and stress-free. 

    Also, read our blog on Mindfulness in the Workplace – Focusing the Mind by Staying Present

    FAQ’s

  • Coping With Change: 3 Ways to Deal With Change

    Coping With Change: 3 Ways to Deal With Change

    When I was younger, I hated the idea of coping with change at work, I hated the idea of being not able to control my life.

    One thing my father used to always say to me is that the only thing consistent in life is Dealing with change.

    And I hated this to no end because when he used to say this I instantly felt powerless, hopeless, unable to control anything. 

    The problem is as I’ve gotten older that has not changed. I still feel the pretty uncomfortable change and I think many of us deal with that situation. 

    Where we feel uncomfortable we hate it. Because in a lot of ways where coping with change comes fear it comes to filling of fear. 

    It comes to the feeling of being powerless it comes to the feeling of not having control. 

    WHAT’S IN IT

    How We Can Deal Coping With Change

    How We Can Deal Coping With Change

    I want to give you three tips that may help you deal with change. 

    So, let’s go 

    Be Flexible And Embrace Change:

    A lot of times, when we first encounter changes a lot of times. When we first have to deal with change our media reaction is to put up a defence is to protect ourselves. 

    And keep us as further as far away from change as possible. But for us to be happy in life for us to be able to fully accept life in all of its changes. 

    You must learn to embrace coping with change and learn to be flexible with change 

    Face Your Fears: 

    Dealing with change

    Now we all have fears when it comes to change for me. When I was a kid moving to a new school always brought that fear. 

    The fear of having to meet new people of having to deal with change, new teachers. And maybe having a difficult time readjusting to a new area. 

    When I was a child as an adult I have different fears when it comes to coping with change. But we all have fears in general when it comes to change. 

    Certain things about the change itself make us afraid. 

    But if we can learn to embrace those fears and face them. we can become successful.

    We can learn to be happy even despite the fears themselves. So, one thing I want to say is a great way to face fears is by writing them down. 

    These fears by it by putting one paper by being by taking ourselves out of the situation.  

    And playing on paper and looking at it objectively. We can stop dwelling on it and being stuck on the fears and learn to let them. 

    Focus on The Things That You Can Control: 

    Life will throw you a lot of different curveballs it will go in a lot of different directions.  

    We may not want life to go it may go right. when we want it to go left it may take a u-turn. 

    When we want life to go straight change is inevitable it’s unstoppable. So although we may not control the world around us. 

    Whether other people or situations as a whole. What we can control but one thing we can control is our attitude. 

    And our actions if you find yourself in a situation. where you’re afraid and you know that coping with change is inevitable learn to control yourself like, 

    I said earlier some of the most successful people in life can be flexible or able to face their fears. 

    And control not the world around them themselves. They’re able to redirect their energies, their talents, their abilities in ways that allow them to not necessarily. 

    Stages of Reacting to Coping With Change 

    Addictive behaviour seems pretty daunting for most people. The easiest course of action is to do nothing about the problem. 

    But doing nothing isn’t an option anymore you know. You have to make coping with change. If your issue is alcohol. 

    It can mean overhauling the whole professional recreational and social life centred around drinking. 

    So yeah coping with change is hard but it’s not impossible people do it every day. So, let’s go

    Pre Contemplation: 

    You don’t think you have a problem you don’t plan to quit any time soon but external pressures are mounting on you. 

    Your spouse’s baby said something about it maybe your boss is written you up for being late. 

    And Your parents are threatening to cut you up or you get your first DUI. Most people at this stage are living in a form of denial. 

    The problem isn’t their fault they’ll say it’s my genes both my parents drank or the breathalyzer was broken. 

    A cop just headed out for me for my all-time favourite. I have this under control but as time goes on. 

    And the negative consequences of addiction mount those excuses start to seem pretty lame. 

    Contemplation:

    You’re not in denial anymore you know what change is necessary maybe you’ve done some soul-searching. 

    And had some talks with your spouse or friends or your boss or maybe even your kids maybe. 

    You’ve done a cost-benefit analysis of how you got to this point. You’re getting ready to commit to coping with change. 

    But you’re not sure how well for change to happen you need a plan which leads us to stage three. 

    Preparation:

    No more denial, no more excuses. 

    You’ve decided that you want to quit drinking, gambling, or overeating or maybe all of the above. You’re ready to take your life back. 

    And with this decision, you may feel a sense of liberation. 

    Now, you can envision a brighter future without that damn monkey on your ballot. 

    You’re putting the past behind you and you’re evaluating possible solutions may be.  

    It’s inpatient or outpatient rehab and now for the most important part Stage four. 

    Take Action: 

    Coping With Change

    You quit maybe you check yourself into rehab. You start going to neutral support meetings. 

    And you get a psychiatrist or psychologist involved to help you dig deeper into the reasons. 

    You became addicted, to begin with, it sounds great but holds on you’re not done yet. 

    Quitting is just the start for your recovery to stick stage 4 also requires that you build a new life. With a new purpose centred around healthy activities. 

    Supported by friends who are on the same page as you are I’m not gonna sugarcoat it this part is hard. 

    It’s scary but it could also be the most rewarding experience of your life because of breaking free from addiction. 

    Finally allows you to evaluate your goals your priorities, your needs, your fears in essence looking at your true self through. 

    A clear and unfiltered lens you know it’s said that knowledge is power, well knowledge about yourself is power. 

    With a purpose but don’t rush this part either it doesn’t happen overnight it takes time to recover. 

    The life you lost and rediscover the fun stuff you did before your addiction habit. 

    It gives you a chance to uncover new strengths about yourself, new passions. 

    Don’t regret the time that you lost to addiction focus on it all the time. You have now to dedicate yourself to personal growth. 

    And to build long-term happiness now that you’re back in control of your life you have to keep it that way.  

    Maintenance: 

    The day-to-day work of continuing to build your confidence. Dealing with urges overcoming negative thoughts. 

    And emotions that test your will and building a personal family social and vocational life centred around sobriety. 

    You might find that you still need to go to meetings once a week or maybe once in a while or maybe like me. 

    You’ve decided to start your recovery meeting. Whatever strategies you adopt the goal is to always move forward. 

    And never backwards because there is a finish line in your recovery that is when you’ve rebuilt your life. 

    And now your risk of becoming an addict is no greater than anyone else. 

    So then what well that depends on you. Maybe, you’re the kind of person who can forget your addiction ever happened or maybe, 

    You know yourself well enough to suspect that you could relapse maybe you need periodicity.

    Maintenance in the form of meetings, counselling or volunteering to help others in recovery or something as simple as mindfulness. 

    And perhaps meditation and this brings us to an important thing you should know and remember about the stages of coping with the change model. 

    It’s not perfectly linear you may skip a stage or go back a stage from time to time. 

    According to dr. Carla de Clement to the scientists who developed this model. 

    Most people will try to quit their addictive behaviours and fails several times before they get it right. 

    But that’s okay that’s to be expected relapses happen. The key is to learn from your slip-ups instead of letting them defeat you. 

    You entirely it’s like riding a bike you fall off the bike so what get back on the bike. 

    Conclusion:

    I hope you understand what I say through this article about coping with change. So, now let us revise all thing. 

    First, if any change comes in your life. Then accept the change and try to deal the coping with the change. 

    I can give you 3 tips for dealing with change which is to Be Flexible. And Embrace Change, Face Your Fears and Focus on The Things That You Can Control. 

    After that, there are five stages of coping with change that help you a lot. 

    Also you can read our blog on How to manage stress?

    FAQ‘s