Think Tank: The Neuro Blog
Make Working From Home More Productive With These Three Hacks
With many businesses forced to transition to remote working due to the global health crisis, productivity has been a major issue for most working from home employees. This is not surprising because remote working is not that easy. Yes, you no longer have to commute every day to go to work. You can finally wake up 30 minutes before work and not be late. You can do a lot more things because your hobbies are just right around the corner. However, for most people, creating a boundary between work and personal life is the biggest challenge. Working parents have to take care of children without nannies or babysitters to help them because of the pandemic. The TV is just right beside you, and social media platforms are easily accessible. And these are only a few of the many reasons why staying productive is so hard. It’s 2021, and working from home isn’t going away sooner. Fortunately, there are still productive employees out there and expert remote workers who are happy to share a few of their productivity hacks. Below are three of them: Design Your Workspace First and foremost, you should establish a workspace to create that boundary or line between being at home and working. Three important things to consider: Work Location Comfort Design When you’re at home, it’s easy to get tempted to work anywhere because that’s the idea, right? You can work on your bed the first hour, the dining area the next hour, outside the patio in the afternoon, etc. Although this might sound fine, it can affect your productivity badly. So, instead of changing work locations, stick to one and make that your working space. This way, you can get your body to recognize that you have something important to do when you’re sitting there. When choosing a location, regardless if it’s a whole room or just a corner of a room, there must be very few distractions .e.g., away from the TV, less traffic, less noise. Once you’ve found a good location, make sure that you’re comfortable there. It’s also wise to invest in a good working table, working chair, and good lighting. Because the more comfortable you are, the more productive you can be. It will also help if you keep everything organized and mess-free. If you’re feeling fancy, you can also work on how your working space would look. Try to put some designs that would inspire you. Probably a desk plant, a small wall frame with your family’s picture, some motivational quotes, or paint the walls of your favorite color. Create A Routine How you go about your day greatly affects your productivity. So, you should establish a routine that you can consistently follow until it becomes a part of your system. The best way to do this is to start your day early. Never wake up 30 minutes before work because that will only stress you out more. Instead, wake up early so you can prepare your mind better. Create a morning routine like doing some exercise or meditation, making yourself some coffee, going out for a walk, etc. Don’t start your day by checking emails or news or even checking out social media. It’s important to just keep your mind relaxed. By the time you get to work, make sure to keep any distractions away. Put your phone away and block social media sites so you won’t get tempted to check them out while working. Time-blocking is also very effective in accomplishing what you need to do, be it for yourself or for work. For example, block 9-11 am as working hours. Then, 11-12 am would be meant for lunch preparation. 12-1 pm is a time for you to rest; you can probably nap or read a book. And the list goes on. It’s up to you. The key to building a routine is consistency. Stick to the routine you’ve made, and you’ll notice that soon, your body will simply automate these actions. Optimize Your Flow State Last but not least, optimize your flow state. Flow state refers to your being “in the zone”. This means you’re too focused on what you’re doing, you can’t be distracted, and you’re just feeling this drive. In other words, you’re performing at your best. Imagine having to be in that flow state every day, right? Surely, there will be so many things that you’ll get to accomplish, even the things that you consider boring. Unfortunately, the flow state doesn’t come every day. There will be days when you don’t want to get up or do anything, and this can be a big problem because you’ll definitely get your task delayed. But, don’t worry, because there are ways you can get yourself in a flow state. First, work on that morning routine because that will set your mood for the day. Meditate, exercise, or go out for long walks - anything that gets your body moving. Second, create a to-do-list and know what to prioritize. And third, identify your peak creative and productive time, and do the challenging tasks around these hours. Now, staying in that constant “flow state” doesn’t happen overnight, even after doing these three things. This is why, as mentioned above, you need to stay consistent, which is also not easy to do. To help you get that right balance, you can take Neuro Gum and Mints to get you to your ideal state of mind. A zone where you are energized, calm, and focused at the same time. No more jitters or slump, just a better version of yourself who is productive and motivated. This 2021, there will be a lot more challenges to come, whether it’s work or personal life. So, you should get ready and condition your mind and body to tackle everyday challenges. Surely, you have more goals to accomplish other than just your work task. But you can achieve that all if you’re always in your zone, and Neuro can help you get there every day. Photo by Corinne Kutz on Unsplash
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3 Ways to Calm Your Nerves
2020 was undeniably a challenging year for everyone. With the pandemic forcing everyone to stay at home and without an outlet to release stress and anxiety, everything became harder. Many people lost their jobs, lost their loved ones, and lost some hobbies - there have been many kinds of losses, big and small. Now, here comes a new year, but the anxieties from last year continue. But if you really think about it, life can be very stressful in general no matter what year it is. With so many obligations to take care of, from work to family and yourself, maintaining that balance to handle everything can just be tiring. Your mind and body need to release that stress so you can function better. That’s why today we are writing about the three best ways to calm your nerves and release all the negative energy you have inside you. Breathe Have you noticed how when someone is having an anxiety attack, the first thing people usually say is to “breathe”? This is because breathing and stress management has always been related. But why is this so? Anxiety and stress cause irregular and shallow breathing. This is why you become dizzy, confused, parts of your body are numb, and your breath feels short. However, by doing deep and long breaths, you encourage better airflow, and your focus is shifted to the rise and fall of your stomach. It is beneficial to learn some breathing techniques or exercises such as: 4-7-8 Breathing: Start by exhaling completely through your mouth, letting out a soft sound. Then, close your lips and inhale through your nose while counting to four. Hold your breath for seven seconds. And exhale from your mouth for eight seconds. Roll Breathing: Start by breathing in silently through your nose and exhaling (with a whooshing sound) through your mouth. Repeat continuously until you get the rhythm. You can also start by placing your hand in your belly to feel its rise and fall. Alternate Nostril Breathing: Start by lifting your hand up to your nose and exhale completely. Using your right thumb, close your right nostril. Then inhale through your left nostril and close it with another finger. Open the right nostril and exhale. Then inhale here, close it, and exhale to the left. Repeat the cycle and do this for 5 minutes. While doing these, it’s also helpful to close your eyes and visualize the calm version of yourself. Let your body relax, concentrate on your breathing, and release all the anxiety and anger every time you breathe out. Some activities you could try that really encourage effective breathing are meditation and yoga. So, if you have extra time to spend, it’s something worth trying. The best part about these activities is that it doesn’t just relax your mind, but also your body. If you’re feeling any tension in your shoulders and neck, breathing helps put you back at ease. It also helps in making sure that your posture doesn’t suffer due to what you’re feeling. Change Your Focus If you’re getting stressed because of a job task you can’t finish or because of an argument, try to shift your focus to something different, even just for a couple of minutes. This will help greatly in freshening up your mind. Just think about positive things for a while. Here are some things you can try: Listen to music: Set aside negative vibes, grab your headphones, and drown your mind in beautiful music first. It’s also nice if you have a go-to playlist that you’ve customized just to calm yourself. Get some fresh air: Now, normally, you might want to walk around the neighborhood, but if your area is still on lockdown, that may not be possible. So, try to open up your window or step out on your patio and breathe in some fresh air.By simply removing yourself from the environment where the stress is centered, your office space, for example, will help you calm down. On top of that, you get to see something different that may bring some positive vibes to you. Write it down: Writing your thoughts out in a journal helps release that stress and anxiety. It’s a great outlet, especially if you have no one to talk to about what you’re going through at the moment. Have a centering object: If you’re bothered by your thoughts, assign an item that you can touch or hug when you’re experiencing anxiety. This can be your stuffed animal, your locket, a ball, anything that you think you can connect with and trigger you to calm down. Fuel your body: Sometimes, you might just be too tired or hungry to stay calm. So, grab something to eat or to drink to fuel your body and give it some energy. Because honestly, being stressed and anxious can be tiring. Don’t limit yourself only to these suggestions. If you want to try other ways to shift your focus on something else, do so. After all, we each have different ways of coping up. Identify Pressure Points Finally, identify your pressure points to help yourself calm down. Our body has many pressure points, which is why going for a massage or acupuncture feels nice because they release tension from those pressure points. However, not everyone has the time to go out, especially during this time. So, it will really help if you know where your pressure points are. For anxiety, there are mainly six pressure points you need to know: Third eye: Between your eyebrows Ear: Upper shell of your ear Shoulders: Shoulder muscle Hand: Between thumb and index finger Feet: Three fingers wide below the intersection of your big tow and second toe Wrist: Three fingers wide below your wrist As you can see, there are different pressure points all over your body. Just pinching these areas and massaging them repeatedly every 5-10 seconds can give you relief. So, the next time you feel stressed and anxious, release some pressure in these areas. It’s something you should try. What makes this activity nicer is that it also allows you to practice your breathing while massaging yourself. Final Say Breathe, change your focus, and identify your pressure points. These are three great ways you can calm your nerves. However, if you want better results, it’s highly recommended to add Neuro Calm and Clarity Mints over these techniques. Designed to give your body the building blocks it needs to regulate your mood, ease your tension, and add focus, this product helps you find that balance. It helps you function well every day, even with all the stress triggers around you. Take full control of your life. Each and everyone has different ways to cope with everyday problems. But whatever problems it may be, starting your day right is always the key - so why not start it with Neuro Calm and Clarity Mints? Hero Image by Eli DeFaria on Unsplash
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The Powerful Ingredient that Offsets Caffeine Jitters
In the modern era, we’re tuned in to the fact that every person’s diet needs to be tuned to their own individual metabolism and body. Just as we find ourselves looking for health combinations, researchers exploring the foods we eat are out for proper blends. An area of research in which we’ve made progress are in the class of drugs, supplements, and other substances known as nootropics. Nootropics are a class of supplements that have been shown to have the ability to improve cognitive function. Such improvements can relate to memory, creativity, motivation, intelligence, and beyond. Inserting combinations of Nootropics can have beneficial relationships. The formulations of ingredients in a nootropic stack can augment not only the ingredients’ effects but also the total cognitive benefits you can expect. Of the several nootropics that expand cognitive function and may balance one another, none are a better knownmatch than L-theanine and caffeine, and for good reason. Before discussing the benefits of caffeine and L-theanine combined, however, let’s look at their finest qualities as individuals. What is Caffeine and L-theanine? Caffeine is a crystalline compound that occurs naturally and can be synthesized in a laboratory. Caffeine is a tonic and the most frequently used drug in the world. Every day, people consume it to up their wakefulness, ease fatigue, and increase concentration and focus. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers caffeine to be both a drug and a food additive. They recommend a maximum intake of 400 mg a day. Coffee is known to have a collection of biologically active compounds and that includes caffeine. Too much of it sometimes, can cause jitters. L-theanine is a non-protein amino acid that supplies the flavor of green tea and black tea. It is also obtainable in supplement form. L-theanine can lessen our physiological stress responses by emulating the actions of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an inhibitory neurotransmitter that wedges excitatory responses in the brain. L-theanine can also suppress receptors in the brain that are responsible for excited or anxious physical responses. Most importantly, L-theanine curbs these adrenal responses without making us tired. This makes it a powerful tool for being able to maintain focus and productivity in the face of stress. The perfect nootropic combination. While caffeine is America’s most popular drug, it's more unpleasant side effects can introduce restlessness, anxiety, and increased blood pressure.L-theanine does its best to correct these qualities for everybody to appreciate caffeine’s side effects without losing the ability to be productive. L-theanine has been shown to permit caffeine to boost and sustain energy while curbing side effects that elevate your blood pressure or induce anxiety. The L-theanine and caffeine combination can enhance both speed and accuracy of those individuals performing tasks. It can decrease susceptibility to distracting stimuli in the memory tasks of the brain. These outcomes repeat previous evidence which suggest that L-theanine and caffeine in combination are useful for improving performance on cognitively demanding tasks. It is worth noting that Caffeine is a vasoconstrictor. These momentarily make blood vessels smaller, which elevates your blood pressure to account for reduced blood flow. L-theanine mitigates caffeine’s vasoconstrictive tendencies so you can concentrate on something and not worry on increased blood pressure. L-theanine helps mitigate the negative effects of caffeine to help reduce its adverse effects on your sleep schedule. Conclusion Whether you're into increasing your cognitive performance or just calming your caffeine nerves and jitters, getting a hold of these supplements may help you find a means to dial in your physical and mental performance. Caffeine's stimulatory and L-theanine's calming support can put you in the ideal state of mind, a feeling like you can get anything done. At Neuro, some of our best testimonials have come from high level athletes who find our clean energy formulation to be preferable to overloaded ‘pre-workout’ blends, and few like to consume drinkable forms of caffeine such as coffee or energy drinks before a workout which can damage hydration and metabolism with sweeteners. Many nootropics work better together. With Neuro, our Energy & Focus specially formulated gum and mints consist of natural caffeine, L-theanine and B-vitamins to sustain the mental endurance necessary to maintain your focus. Take some time to understand in what way these nootropics work within the body, seek out proper medical professionals, and reap the benefits of your research. When the stimulating effects of caffeine are matched by the calming support of L-theanine, a productive and rich day is on the way. Never run out of Neuro with a monthly subscription. Members get 10% off and free shipping straight to your door.
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Warning: Don’t bring these 4 toxic things to 2021!
It’s 2021! Out with the old and in with the new, as they say. What goals are you working on this year? What steps are you taking to turn those goals into a reality 12 months from now? Make sure to spend some time to sit yourself down, think them through and actually write them down. As you work on yourself and your goals for this year, make sure to not allow toxic things to piggyback on your journey. Identify them and cut them out from your life as soon as you can as they stop your growth and hinder your greatness. What are some of these toxic things? Here are 4 of the most common: Unrealistic expectations Expectation in itself is not wrong, it is normal to expect and be hopeful of something especially if you’ve put considerable effort into it. You’ve worked very hard in your job, you therefore expect to get paid for the services you’ve rendered. However, expecting something will happen is not enough to actually make it happen. When you expect something, you don’t just declare it into the world and hope it falls in your lap - you get and do something to make it happen. An important thing you have to remember in terms of expectations is that you can’t control everything around you. The only thing you can control is yourself, and how you react to things happening around you. How do you then reconcile expectations and your self-worth? You can be hopeful, but try to avoid being controlling. Never let your self-worth hinge on other people meeting your expectations of them. Protect your self-worth by being self-sufficient and knowing that no amount of unmet expectations can dampen your day. Guilt There may be a thing or two that you did in the past that you’re not particularly proud of. You may have hurt yourself, or other people in process and you haven’t forgotten that or forgiven yourself for it. Guilt, or the “emotion that relates to a person’s sense of right and wrong”, is a very powerful emotion to feel and it’s not necessarily good or bad in itself, but rather depending on how it’s affecting the person who’s feeling it. If you think you have wronged someone, give them a sincere apology and try your best to make sure that whatever it is you did wrong won’t happen again. There may not be instant forgiveness, especially if something as precarious as trust has been broken, but sincerely apologizing can make way for healing - not just for you but for the other person as well. Along with acknowledging the fact that you are human, look back on your past actions and see where you can genuinely effect change for the better. Forgive yourself and strive to be better in the aspect that you were at fault. Being human doesn’t just expose you to the propensity of making mistakes, it also makes you capable of learning from them and doing better. Self-Sabotage Negative self-talk is like having a debilitating disease that you don’t know you have. It eats you from the inside and affects how you see yourself, the abilities that you have and how you project yourself into the world. How do you talk to yourself? What messages are you sending internally? Pay close attention to these messages because they shape your thoughts, your beliefs and your mindset. They greatly influence the words you say to the world, the way you communicate your value, and the relationships and the company you choose to keep. Every time you’re about to make a decision, whether trivial or important, ask yourself: am I doing this for me? Is this truly good for me? Do I want this? Do I deserve this? Is this getting me closer to my goal? Fear of failure The new year is literally the start of something new. It holds a promise that you can try again, and this time, it will be better. Only you have the power to turn that promise into a reality by actually trying, or trying again. How can you try, or try again, if you are immobilized by your fear of failure? Gather your strengths, capitalize on your aces and identify your weak points but do not ignore your fear. Use it, speak to it, ask it why, and use it as fuel to your fire. Your fear is there for a reason so use it to your advantage. What are you afraid of? What can you do to prepare and plan? Ditch these toxic things and leave them in 2020. Start your year with positivity and take stock of all the good things to add more pep in your step. 2021 is upon you, go ahead and get started! Hero Image by Kai Pilger on Unsplash
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5 Simple Money Saving Tips to Try Today
They say “money doesn’t buy happiness”, but we can all agree that money does buy things that make you, and the people around you happy. Having money can mean having the financial freedom to actually spend time with people who matter most to you. Do you want to be a step closer to financial freedom? Start by taking control of your money instead of allowing your money to take control over you. Treat your money as a tool to achieve your goals and not something that should dictate your every move. “Saving money” sounds like an easy task but how many saving money challenges have you done in the past only to end up not finishing through to the end? Everyone wants to save but not everyone knows the “right how to”. Because your financial situation is different from everyone else’s, your journey to savings and financial freedom may be a little different too. Don’t know where to start? Here are some ultra easy saving tips that you can start doing today: Make an inventory of all your paid memberships and subscriptions Now, probably more than ever in history, there is a boom on online subscriptions and memberships. From streaming sites, dating platforms, coaching sessions, to exclusive shopping apps - it has become such an easy exercise to enter your credit card information and be done with it. You won’t even realize how much you spend until you get your monthly statement. Start by doing an inventory of all your memberships and subscriptions - write them down (or type them out in a document) and really evaluate each of them. This includes both online (e.g. music and video streaming sites, etc.) and offline memberships (e.g. gym memberships, exclusive clubs, etc.). Do you need it? How often are you using it? Are you taking advantage of the service and all its possible offers? Are there better and cheaper alternatives out there that’s available to you? For the subscriptions that you really want to retain, check if there are available membership and payment plans that allow you to save. You’re going to be paying for it anyway, why not save in the process? How about those “free for 6 mos subscription” offers that you signed up for and said you’re unsubscribing at the end of the free period? Did you end up actually unsubscribing to them? These monthly subscription payments may be small from month to month, but if you add these up, you’ll be surprised how much of your hard-earned dollars are going to waste. Use credit card wisely A credit card is a very useful and rewarding tool, but only for those who know how to use it. If you’ve watched or read “Confessions of a Shopaholic”, then you probably know how the lead character’s life was taken over by credit card debt. While she did end up taking control of her life and finding true love, the same will not be said for you if you continue to be unwise in using your credit card. Again, credit cards are not the enemy! Credit cards are amazing tools - think of all the reward points, airline miles and other benefits! The way people use credit cards usually is the problem and it seriously needs to stop. Think of your credit card as an equivalent to the cash that you own. If you see something you want to buy and you can’t buy it, or pay the monthly installment with the cash that you have, then don’t use your card for it. Live within, or even lower, than your spending power, and your bank account will eventually reward you. If you can, pay every month’s balance in full. It is not “ultra easy” as the title of this article promised, but if you are wise in using your credit card, it will be. You will be in a more difficult situation if you don’t pay your credit balance in full. Know when to buy in bulk There’s a belief that buying in bulk saves you money. It does, on many occasions, but not all the time. If you’re buying in bulk, you have to be very strategic about it because it is still more money that you spend paying upfront. If you buy in bulk, you’d need to have storage space for it. Will you end up buying the extra space you need to store the items you purchased e.g. containers, extra cabinets, etc.? Within what period of time are you going to use the items that you bought? Is it going to be the same quality when stored? The next time you’re tempted to buy in bulk, think of the value you’re getting from it and compare it with the price you’re buying it for so you can make a better decision. Delete apps that make you spend impulsively Do you ever have that moment when you can’t sleep so you picked up your mobile phone and you started browsing? You found yourself going to your installed shopping app and after 30 minutes of mindless browsing, you’re waiting for your deliveries the next day - you go to sleep owning a few hundred dollars less in the process. These apps are amazing, but admit it, they make you spend impulsively. They entice you with sales and ads for things you don’t need but buy nonetheless! In the same way that you can’t eat popcorn that’s not in your pantry, you can’t also shop if there’s nowhere to shop at. Granted that you can easily reinstall it, but it is in the hopes that you catch yourself in time before the app even gets installed (again). Money won’t be the root of all evil if you know how to use it and you establish your dominance over it. In a way, money does buy happiness because it lets you afford things that will make you happy, give you peace of mind and make you and your family live comfortably. Money does buy happiness but it is not everything - the sooner you realize that is the sooner you step towards the direction of your financial freedom. Hero Image by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash
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3 Tips To More Meaningful Relationships in 2021 (Part 6 of 6)
Just a few short days to go before 2021, everyone you know including yourself are getting ready to get up and leave to hopefully head to better days. This is the last instalment of the “6-Part Level Up Series”, we’ve talked about your nutrition, your productivity, your mental health and your career. Only the last one remains: your relationships. Susan Pinker, in a TED Talk she gave last 2017, said that in a small island in Italy, there lives a handful of centenarians whose secret to living well over a hundred years is social interaction and the positive effects that comes off of it. According to her, “social isolation is the public health risk of our time”. Fast forward to this year’s pandemic, you are now told to limit your interaction with people and practice “social distancing” because it will literally save your life and that of others. The irony, right? Everyone wants to live longer, but given the changing landscape - with social distancing and discouraged in-person interactions, how do we close the gap? How do we improve our relationships as we move closer to 2021? Here are 5 thoughts you can start to ponder on: Aim for quality over quantity Let’s do one very simple exercise; pick one social media platform that you most regularly use. Say, for example, Facebook. Go to your friends’ list and see how many Facebook friends you have. From that number, how many do you actually know in real life? From that number, how many have you actually spoken to or chatted with? From that number, how many would you actually say you’re friends with? And finally, how many of those “friends” would you actually call to share good/bad news with? At this point in your life, you may have already come across a lot of people with whom you have built different levels of relationship with. Some may have continued to keep in touch with you through the years and despite the distance, while some have drifted away from you due to life and everything else in between. They’re just there in your friends’ list, occasionally commenting and liking your photos and posts and you only remember to send an online birthday greeting because of a Facebook reminder. For 2021, try to “declutter” your online friends’ list so you can free up the virtual space for people who you really, genuinely want to hear from and want to be updated about. Don’t let your timeline get flooded by posts of people who only make you say “ugh” every time you see an update from them. Quality should always trump quantity, when it comes to friendships and meaningful connections. You don’t even have to unfriend them if you don’t want to risk hurting their feelings, just hit the “unfollow” button and you’re all set. Surround yourself with people who are lovingly honest and lift you up Almost everyone has that one friend who almost always has one (or more) negative thing to say about anything or anyone. You’d like to think (and hope) that they mean well but they always just manage to send a rain cloud all over your parade. Sometimes you ask yourself, “why am I even friends with this person??” and you just get lost on a reason why. They may be an old friend who seemed to be there all your life and a bit difficult to shake off already, or they can be a relative whose feelings will get hurt if you call them out. For 2021, go through the people in your life with a fine-toothed comb and really see if you’ve been keeping people like this for company. Think about how many self-doubt sessions they’ve let you spiralled into, or how many of your accomplishments they’ve managed to belittle. Is this really the kind of people you want to spend your time with? The kind of people you’d want to make an effort for? The kind of thoughts you want to influence you? If your answer is no, then it’s time to keep your distance, limit your interactions, and let life run its course. As you continue to find ways to improve yourself and your life, try to spend time with people who bring out the best in you - who lets you believe in yourself and strengthens your resolve. These people won’t lie to you when you’ve done something wrong, but when they call you out, you’ll know that they come from a place of love and concern. Make digital connections meaningful You may very well agree that nothing beats face-to-face interaction, however, given the current circumstances, it may not be a healthy option to interact in person with a large number of people just yet. While waiting for things to normalize so more people can go out and have face-to-face meals with actual people you only see through their online avatars, try to make do with what you have. Since almost every one of your friends has Facebook or Instagram (or any social media sharing site), why not make the most out if it? Don’t stop with just “liking” a friend’s post, make the connection more meaningful by asking them how they are, how they’ve been doing and using the topic they posted as a jump-off point for a more in-depth conversation privately. Check-in with people and see how they are doing, you might be surprised with the kind of conversations you can have just by asking people how they’ve been. Social media, although sometimes painted as the bad guy, has its benefits - it allows people to connect, share and it is a platform for conversations and information. When you’ve freed your virtual space from connections you don’t really care for and all that’s left are people who are important to you, watch how your use and perception of social media change. In areas where face-to-face interactions are still discouraged, host digital “movie nights” with friends or organize online game and quiz nights for people close to you as an online alternative to “hanging out”. It may not be the same as chatting over a few beers in your local bar, but it might just bridge that social interaction craving you’ve been having, if only for the time being. You have to remember that like anything alive, your relationships need nurturing for it to grow. This nurturing requires effort, and this effort has to be mutual. The people you want in your life should want you in theirs as well. While you make an effort to strengthen your side of things, remember that it has to be reciprocated for it to work. No man is an island, so they say. And while you may have moments in your life when you just want to be alone with your thoughts, you’ll always have moments when you want someone to be there. Life becomes infinitely easier when you know someone has your back. It’s up to you to make space for them in your life. 2021 is ready, and with your mindset game strong, so are you. What are you waiting for? Hero Image by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
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5 Career Questions You Need To Ask Yourself in 2021 (Part 5 of 6)
Taking your career to the next level in 2021 may seem like a sick cosmic joke to some people, especially to those whose industries have been severely affected by the pandemic. Some people have lost their jobs, taken pay cuts and reduced benefits to help their companies’ cash flow; and although a glimmer of hope is showing at the end of the tunnel, it might be a long journey to recovery for some. Given this, you might be perplexed with the 4th installation of this 6-part series - how in the world are you going to level up your career given this disheartening landscape? Leveling up has a lot to do with the way you think, and the way you approach things. It may mean shifting your direction towards a path you’re much better off on and following through on that. It may mean taking two steps back from a path you’re not supposed to be on and taking one step towards the right direction. So how do you level up your career in 2021? You can start by answering these 5 questions: Are you where you want to be? Before you go into the specifics of things, you must ask yourself first: are you where you want to be? Are you happy? Are you valued? Do you (almost regularly) dread Mondays and going back to work? Is your workplace providing you with opportunities to grow both as a person and as a professional? Your work right now may not be the place you’ve envisioned for yourself 5 years ago, but has it pleasantly surprised you in the process? Or do you feel stuck, with no foreseeable end in sight? Reflection, or self-reflection, happens when you pay very close attention to your own thoughts, feelings and behavior. It allows you to consciously assess how you feel towards the things that are happening to you and the situations that you are in. It is looking into your values, inspirations, aspirations and cross comparing them to your current situation - do they match? If you find that they are, then very good for you! All career paths will have their bad days and bad turns as nothing is ever going to be perfect. But as long as you feel inspired and what you do speaks to your purpose, then you are most probably in the right path. You just have to keep going and watch out for opportunities to learn more. If the answer is no, or you’ve been laid off, for example, there is definitely no need to despair. You’ve already done the first step - you’ve identified the problem. There is something that you want to change, and that gives you a sense of purpose and direction - you become a man on a mission. What are you doing to improve yourself and your skills? If you’re a man on a mission, you set your eyes out on a goal. You focus on that goal and come up with a game plan to achieve it. One good component of your game plan could be improving the set of skills that you have; fortifying and strengthening your strongest suits and capitalizing on that. You can take advantage of a lot of online courses and resources that are available for free. These programs range from diverse topics and each course is designed to work based on your schedule preferences. Is your CV/résume updated? Be honest, how long ago since you last updated your résume? When was the last time you took a corporate headshot for yourself? Is your résume photo still from your college graduation even though you graduated more than 5 years ago? Even if you’re not applying for a new job, it’s always good to keep your profile updated with changes in your job description, the trainings you’ve attended, even the new skills you’ve gained! These things pile up over the years and it is difficult and will most likely take more time to remember them all at once, as opposed to updating the file every time there’s new information. Your résume is a written collection of your professional achievement and milestones. It speaks for you when you are not in the room, so give it the proper voice to do your awesomeness justice. Are you making authentic connections? Look at your LinkedIn profile, and see how many connections you have. Of those connections, how many do you actually know? How many do you genuinely think you can learn from? If you answer not too many, then it might be time to authentically connect with people and expand your network. Reach out to people whose industries you’re curious to know more about. Who knows, you might find yourself a career mentor who will be able to teach you some tricks of the trade. They say experience is the best teacher and how awesome will it be for someone to impart their acquired wisdom through their experiences to you? The idea of getting a mentor (or even mentoring someone whom you know might benefit from it) comes from a place of humility - from knowing and recognizing that no matter how successful and “self-made” you are, there’s always an opportunity to learn something new. When you’re looking at your work issues, there’s a tendency that your judgment may be biased. A mentor, on the other hand, is an “outsider” looking in who may be able to provide you with a fresh perspective and a new angle on things which you may not be able to see from your side. Are you ready and willing to make the change? You’ve reflected and identified the problem, you’ve updated your résume and you’ve made connections; the most important question is, are you ready and willing to make the change? Change is scary and some people are not willing to do it for fear of uncertainty which is a very valid point especially from a survival standpoint. Change requires putting in the work and making sacrifices. It can mean long hours and efforts towards something that may or may not work out in the end. But you know what? Change can also mean waking up Monday morning feeling refreshed, energized and ready to take work challenges head-on. It can mean being in a place where you’re valued, respected, and celebrated for the contributions you bring and the impact you make. It doesn’t always have to be radical changes for something rewarding to happen, sometimes small incremental baby steps get the job done as well. What matters is, you have to be very strategic about every step that you take. You also don’t always have to keep moving. It’s okay to stop, take stock of what’s happening, regroup and recoup. Look at the bigger picture and see how each piece of the puzzle connects to the rest. Whichever way you want to take the trajectory of your career for 2021, know one thing: you are worth it. Step in your purpose and wear your confidence like a glove that fits perfectly and watch things happen. That’s it for part 5, see you in the last one! Hero Image by Saulo Mohana on Unsplash
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4 Tips to a More Productive You in 2021 (Part 4 of 6)
As you approach this fresh, new year, it would be good to do some introspection on your level of productivity. Take a good look at how you actually spent the hours in your days this past year. Were your weekday (and weekend) calendar filled with so much to do’s that there’s barely any white space anymore? Or, did you plan out to do a ton of stuff (in your head) but essentially only managed to binge-watch a boatload of YouTube videos and get updated on all of your friends’ lives on Instagram? If a tv show is going to do a documentary of your life, how’s “A Day in the Life of insert your name” going to look like? Productivity is generally defined as the ability of a person or a group of persons, to produce output efficiently within a given time. Your productivity level may be determined by a variety of internal and external factors. Your time management skills, as well as your physical capability, may determine how productive you are in a day. Your priorities, motivations and external distractions also play a huge part on whether you’re ticking off every item in your to-do list or not. Are you ready to re-examine and take your productivity to the next level in 2021? Here are 4 tips to get you on your way: Figure out what’s distracting you and tackle it head-on Knowing what the problem is, is always an important step to solve it. You’ve set yourself a goal but for some cosmic, unfathomable reason, you’ve done everything else but that. You may have found yourself procrastinating every single time you’re faced with a particular task at hand. You think the reason why you’re being unproductive is because you’re procrastinating. The thing is, the act of procrastination in itself is not the problem, but rather it is a reaction to other underlying problems that you may not even be aware of. If you find yourself wanting to do something else when you’re supposed to be a doing a certain task, ask yourself, why? What is it with this task that you are navigating away from it? Go to the very root cause of the emotion you’re feeling and tackle it head-on. It might be rooted to deeper feelings of anxiety, vulnerability, etc. Once you figure these out, you may just be well on your way to keep your procrastination tendencies at bay. Set realistic goals Being able to set realistic goals is already a goal in itself. Figuring out how to be strategic with your goals is a good way to set you up for success. You consider yourself productive when you’re ticking off your goals one by one, whether long term or short term. As you would obviously want to achieve the goals that you set for yourself, you need to make sure that you operate in your reality when setting one. You “operate in your reality” when you take into account the factors that are going to be at play when you work to achieve your goal. Given your resources (e.g. time, money, energy, etc.) and commitment, do you think it is realistic to set 10 resolutions for yourself? Or 4 to 5 carefully planned and thought out goals instead? Making sure that the goals you set are realistic does not only improve your productivity, it also increases your enthusiasm and gives you the foundation you need to work on more realistic goals that excite you in the future. Find out what motivates you Motivation is one of the most important ingredients in leading a productive life. If you’re motivated, you become invested, you show up, you own it and you put in the work. It is the fuel to your engine, it’s what keeps you going and moving forward despite difficulties. In the greater scheme of things, it is what you tell yourself when you question why are you doing what you’re doing. What is it that motivates you? What is it that drives you enough to try hard, and try even harder when the going gets tough? Figure it out, internalize it and write it down. The next time you want to work on something important and you can’t find any reason to continue, all those pictures of the Maldives in your vision board will summon all the creativity that you need to finish that proposal. Maintain work-life balance Pre-pandemic, “working from home” is almost unheard of and is usually a workplace practice reserved for more progressive companies with systems already laid out in place. Because of recent events, people had to make adjustments and systems had to be put in place because they had no choice. As this practice is relatively new, some people had trouble navigating this uncharted territory. Employees who work from home may feel an added pressure to be productive and prove that they are working because they can’t be seen doing the actual work similar to a physical office situation. How has your daily work schedule changed when you had to work from home? Did the number of your meetings increase? Are your “work hours” still confined within the usual work hours, or has the boundary between personal and work time become blurred? Is your boundary being respected or do you keep getting emails and work messages outside of the time that you should only be available? How has this affected your productivity, both personal and professional? For the sake of maintaining work-life balance which ultimately contributes to the quality of your life and relationships, you need to ask questions. You may think you’re being productive, but in reality, you’re stacking up your tiles in one aspect but emptying out other important ones in the process. You have to keep in mind that you work to live, and not live to work. Productivity may be a double-edged sword for some in a way that you can’t be too over lest you risk being burnout or too under that you don’t accomplish anything. It doesn’t have to be that way for you, not in 2021. Know your priorities, determine your commitment level and establish boundaries - you’ll be sure to find a groove that works for you. That’s it for part 4, see you in part 5! Hero Image by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash
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3 Reasons Why You Should Turn Your “New Year’s Resolutions” into Goals Instead
Along with a brand new year comes a promise of new beginnings and fresh starts. A new year is a literal beginning to something new; something that hopefully has the potential to make things better. Year after year, a lot of people has gotten into the habit of making “New Year’s Resolutions” - listing things they hope to achieve in the coming year. However, this habit, along with buying a planner that only gets filled out until March, although admirable and has the best intentions, isn’t always the best gameplan to work on something you really want to happen. How many “this year I’m going to lose weight” or “this year I’m going to start being more productive” have you written in your planner only to find it collecting dust and being forgotten? These resolutions, as deeply desired and absolutely wanted as they may be, don’t have a strong enough voice in your life that it’s easy for them to be buried underneath all the clutter and noise. Life eventually and inevitably happens throughout the year, and before you know it, you’re at the end of yet another year with your resolutions buried at the end of your what-could-have-been pile. Well, guess what? This time will be different because you will make it so! A resolution is defined as your decision to do or not do something, whereas a goal is defined as a desired result of something that you want to happen. How about instead of waiting for every New Year to work on a resolution, you decide to set yourself a goal instead? Here are 3 reasons why you should do so, and a few tips to help you get started: Goals are S.M.A.R.Ter You’ve probably heard this in every leadership session you’ve ever attended - create SMART goals. This is one big difference between a resolution and a goal; a resolution is more like a promise, something that you throw off into the universe and hope it sticks. If anything, it sounds more like a wish. Not to take anything away from your desire to see it come true, it just lacks a solid depth to follow through. A goal, and a SMART one at that, on the other hand, has all the ingredients for success. Specific goals give you clarity; it gives you the desired action and how you are to get there using the resources (e.g. time, money, etc) that you have. It’s measurable and achievable because you will know exactly what you want and you will be well aware when you’ve reached it. It’s relevant in such a way that it plays into your biggest desires in life - it makes you want something to happen that you’re willing to put in the work for it. Goals promote longevity and continuous progress Goals may be time bound but they are not confined to be set only during New Years. Also, the timeline within which you want to achieve a goal is not confined to just a given year. Frustration usually kicks in when you set yourself a resolution at the start of the year and you don’t achieve it towards the end. You fall into the vicious cycle of setting yourself up for failure and feeling frustrated about it in the end. You can avoid all that by setting goals instead. Long term goals are aspirations that you see yourself achieving within the next 3 to 5, sometimes even 10 years depending on the preparation and effort needed. Short term goals are usually goals that you see yourself getting within several months up to a few years. One common problem of most people is procrastination. It’s not something you obviously want to happen, it just does. Sometimes you know you want something to happen, but because your brain is so intimidated by it, it tends to do everything but the thing you need to do. The good thing about setting a goal is it allows you to break it into smaller and more doable chunks of habit that you can form over time. These habits accumulate, and if you’re consistent enough, they contribute to the realization of your goal over time. Goals are aligned with your lifestyle Goals are not rigid and unyielding mantras that you tell yourself - It’s not “you-have-it-or-you-don’t”. Instead, goals give you the power to adjust and modify depending on your resources and other things that happen in your life. It gives premium to progress, rather than perfection. It gives emphasis on your journey and what it took you to get to where you are. In some ways, you may even find that the end goal you have has changed for the better because you put so much value in the way you took to get there. It’s not bad either, it only means your mindset is strong enough and conditioned in such a way that you’re not defined by a single achievement, but rather of a collective experience that makes you a whole person. Don’t wait for New Year’s to work on something. Sit yourself down and reflect on the things you really want to happen and break it down to smaller (and s.m.a.r.ter) goals that you can work on. Every new day is a chance to be better and do better. Whatever you do to get the energy and focus to work on a goal you’ve always wanted, or the calm and clarity to step back and assess your progress and your journey, your efforts will not be wasted because you’re working on your most incredible asset - you. Every investment you make on yourself and your goals is always a step in the right direction. What are you waiting for? Get in that thinking chair and get to work! Hero Image by Isaac Smith on Unsplash
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