How to Set Yourself Up for a Productive Day

If you are the kind of person, who wants to get more done and are struggling to stay consistent, this might be right for you. 

In this video, I talk about 3 ways you can trick yourself to check off the lists and yes, it's all in the mindset.

If you do like, don't forget to subscribe.

Thanks for watching.

 

Personal Development| How I Became Happy +10 Tips How You Can Too.

Today we are talking about Happiness.

And I bring this up because it has always been a benchmark for me to know that I am on the right path if I am happy. It has been a struggle for me, to be okay with who I am; to simply be happy.

I do talk about this often in my videos that I am by nature not always a happy person, however I can always get a lot done when I feel happy. It is important for me to know I am enough, to be happy and I think I have mostly been cheerful and content in the last one year.

In this video I share my top 10 ten practices that has made a significant difference in my life.





Thank you for watching.

2020- Whats in it for us?

Hi and thank you for stopping by. 

Pic: Pexel.com 

2020 has been good start. This is the year I am looking forward to amazing opportunities and life. 

This year the blog will focus on three things: Personal Development, Happiness and Creativity. And yes it will have occasional updates on the process side of project management or Agile. 

No matter what your choice of profession is; these 3 are the basic foundations- personal development, creativity and happiness. 

So, what will I be doing differently now? Every post title comes with a pre-fix of which category it belongs to. So you can choose to read the post or not.

Based on what I write here, my others streams of self expression/social platform will be of aligned as well. Heres how:

YouTube- I started it as a self-learning and experimentation platform for me. This channel is focussed on exactly the same theme as the blog. The goal is obviously to reach out more with the content. 2019 was a great learning for me in this platform. So, postings here are 2-3/month. This year, I hope I can regularize it a bit more and bring in more content. Your support means a lot.

Pic:https://www.instagram.com/somab2014/ 

Pinterest- This is my mood board, learnings, vision board. There’s one board that specifically aligns with this blog in the personal development space and that’s called “INSPIRATION”. If you have the same interest like mine and want a little more push everyday- the board might be just the one. 

Instagram- This was a visual journal for me, personal and just for me. Overtime this stays personal but open to public. From 2020, posts are 2 a week- Monday on Motivation and weekends  a little more personalised J

Twitter- This has been a sore point because I haven’t been as active as I used to be. I will let you know if I really get back on this. For now, I post sometimes, retweet and read up once in a while. 

Facebook-  And the SIPM Page gets a post 1-3/month. I have to rethink how I will interact here, but generally I created the page to repost the blog’s content….however from now on I think I will start posting other interesting links also here. There’s so much to learn, that the platform can be used for sharing amazing works and reads by others. Let me know what do you think? Would you like that? 

That’s my plan for 2020 and thank you once again for being part of this community.  

Presentation Skills : Basics

How many times have you been told to present and you have bailed out?

Worried who’s going to listen to you after all? How to hold on to everyones attention and really what do I tell?

Here are some tips that over the years I have relied on:

• Do your Research- Use more numbers, specially when you start your presentation, that gets everyones attention plus it looks like you know about the subject. 

• PPT should tell a Story- don’t just read through line by line, I prefer mine to have pictures than bullet points. Now people are looking at you, not reading through the PPT.
  
  
  

• Practice- Practice through multiple times, now even you are nervous you will end up saying what you practiced, thats way better than mumbling.

• Keep Eye Contact- Look at the people you are giving the presentation to, not at the PPT. Ask questions, stop when required and allow participants to ask questions or talk. 

• Q&A- Don’t worry if you don’t know the answer to every single question, just be honest and mention you will have to look into but it will get in touch with them with the information. 

• Contact Details- Make sure your your email or office number are clearly mentioned. 

Have a favourite tip, don't forget to share with us.

Ready for a new job? Heres the hows and whys?

Your chances of accepting an offer are statistically significant 2.6% to 6.6% higher if you were referred by a current employee than if you weren’t, mentions  Glassdoor. 

So, what do you think- does knowing the right person get you a job?

It clearly does.  So, how do you find the right person, the question is what are you doing when looking for the job.

How do you know you are ready to find your next job?

People don’t quit their job, they leave their bosses- I find it true in a lot of cases including my own and Harvard Business review confirms . 

Richard Branson believes that “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough that they don’t want to”. 

While a lot is said about bosses and managers, its also your responsibility to let them know what you are looking for and who you are. Sometimes opinions about you are formed in your absence, so its important to discuss your goals and interests with your manager as well. Bringing it up politely once in awhile ensure your boss hasn’t forgotten about it and when the right opening comes up, he or she might let you in. 

To ensure your boss is helping you, don’t forget to do your work. If that doesn’t work and things seem real stagnant or bad and you are tired, see lack of advancement and opportunities- it might be time to start looking at the market.

Career Fulfilment- Its said that when you have the right combination of Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose in your work you are fulfilled (Read Drive by Daniel Pink ). 

Culture plays a crucial role as well and how you fit in matters.  

Tony Hsieh of Zappos  known to hire based on the social/cultural fit of candidates mentions   “We’ve actually passed on a lot of really smart, talented people that we know can make an immediate impact on our top or bottom line, but if they’re not good for the company culture, we won’t hire them for that reason alone”. 

To buy the book "Delivering Happiness" click here .To know more about their hiring process, click here .

If you find yourself not fitting in and constantly feeling the need to not be yourself but someone else to impress, it can be an indicator to move on. 

How to look for a job?

Well, simply put you have to put a plan in place. Knowing the right person matters, now you have to look for one.

Eye on the Market- Look at the current market situation and asses your own skills, you should know where you want to be and the role you are eyeing by now (thats why you are ready to quit). Find out who’s hiring in the market and then look up your contacts in Linkedin and other social platforms you are part of. Platforms like Meetup (based on similar interests) could also be a great source for knowing openings. List out the desired companies and then get to work. Find either contacts inside or email people in the role (similar) about the work, advancement opportunities and the company in general. If everything seems to go well and you feel positive about it- ask for a referral. 

Work with you mentor/sponsor- Hopefully you already have one by now, they can always use their contacts or expertise to redirect you the right person or openings. Incase you haven’t been lucky enough to find a mentor, sign up where you have mentors waiting to work with you , you don’t have to engage in cold calls or random emails anymore, thats a thing of the past.

Find out about the Prospective Company

Even before applying for an open position, consider if the move is right for you. Moving from one job to another to move again in a years time is not a good idea. So ensure you know the company, the culture and the feedback before you decide to invest your time there. Glassdoor is a great way to get the reviews and then get it validated with direct questions with your contact within the organization. 

Nail the Interview

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? There are multiple resources that share the tentative insider scoops on interviews. You can find some of them listed below.

• To prepare for behavorial based interview, click here 
• Know how to nail interview- click here
• Most common interview questions, click here. 
• Getting the job, the how to.  

Negotiate

30% of women don't bother to negotiate at all, while 46% of men negotiate,” according to Katie Donovan, founder of Equal Pay Negotiations. So, you decide what its that you really want to go for and at what point you would like to close the discussion. 

Good Luck!

(Pic courtesy: Google Images)

How to Organize your Personal Space and Recharge

Hello November! 

So, its been crazy busy here and as you might have figured with the lack of posts. Days and weekends just breezed by and at some point I just had to stop myself and breathe. Hows your schedule lately? 

My space (both headspace and personal) is always very important for me, to recharge myself thats what I have been trying to do. 

And thats what I am sharing with you today- How to Organize  your Personal Space and Recharge.

I didn’t have the luxury to take time off, however its a continuos cycle for me, so I figured I can just get on with my checklist organise myself  and take a step back.

 And if thats what you would like for yourself, keep reading. 

1. Clear out the Space- The mental cluttered space which hasn’t had the time to allow you to move about freely. When I have a lot going on, sometime I am really very organised/productive  and sometimes I just crash. I crash primarily when I have no time to recharge. 

1. So, I tried to not clutter my mental space more and just let myself breathe. I just ensured my energy level was fine for my job and home (priorities). Rest had to wait.
2. I tried doing something I enjoy- listened to some music, decided to go back on track with my wellness journey and again focus on basics
3. I also got some flowers, added a new rug to the living room and got a French press. Small things that make me happy and bringing my attention and awareness back to myself- mindfulness. 

2. Find Myself and Purpose in Life- We are constantly changing because of the environment we are in, the people we are surrounded by. With time we change and thats a wonderful thing, so the goal you had for yourself even 6 months ago might not be something you want now. So, I really had to look within and figure what I wanted and what my next 5 years goal was and then re-orient myself. So, if it didn’t make sense for me in the 5 year plan scenario, its not worth stressing for. 

3. Take Couple of Hours off- Well, I couldn’t take a day off, but Saturday afternoon I just did nothing. Spent on my couch watching Youtube  and ordered Pizza. 

4. Keep the New Goals Visible- So it can always been seen, use a planner or just write it down in your mirror anything that works for you. Create a morning routine around this and feel good about yourself. That just might be the trick of getting the focus back and of course…….

5. Try New Things- There are plenty of reasons why trying something new is scary for a lot of us;  however try out without putting a lot of pressure on you. So, don’t just change quit your current job because you want to go globe trotting. Take time to plan, consider the future and then go for it.  

I hope this evens out things for you as it has for me. If you need a planner to get back to your new schedule you can download one here for free.

Have a wonderful week ahead!

(Pic Courtesy: Pinterest and Soma Bhattacharya)

Free Download: Simple Goal Setting Planner

If you are reading this blog, the goal is to ensure your are your best version.

This means, here you are encouraged to grow, be yourself and find out what the best in their domains do and how they work. 

Pick up your vibes from success stories and articles here and none of them really stick for long unless of course you have your own goals pinned up in your mind.

So, I thought why not we take this journey together- me and you and the journey through the remaining months of 2018 and see what we can achieve. 

Here’s a planner for you that will help you focus on your goals. The goal setting planner can be download it right here (no email required) and its FREE! 

How you can use the planner- this is one way of using it. The planner has 3 pages when you download. 

• Page 1- is for your Month, your goals and your motivations (12 copy for a year)
• Page 2- is your Daily Planner (so you can print 30 copies of it if you want one for each day)
• Page 3- is your Monthly Retrospective , where you peek into your achievements and spill overs every month(1 for every month)

I hope this helps you plan better and keep it handy with you everyday. 

(Pic courtesy: Pinterest)

Staying Positive When going Through Change (Personal or Professional)

Change is supposed to make us feel uncomfortable because of the unknown factors of moving to a new job, site or life makeover.

In this video, I try to talk about it and provide tips on how you can ease into the process and turn it into a positive event.

If you like what you see, feel free to like and subscribe to my channel.

if you like to read more about positive change, click here.

Staying Positive: Blogs I Read Every Week (Pt 2)

My reading list has evolved over the years, right now for 2018 I have had big goals and one of them was to turn around my attitude towards life. Be definitely more positive and see the potential of things I can achieve. My reading list obviously is very important because of I want my subconscious mind to keep on thinking positive thoughts. 

So, here are some of my favs:

• Techmeme - Every single morning this is the first thing I read except weekends (because on Saturday and Sunday I don’t open my laptop first thing in the morning). This one obviously is everything tech and how the industry is doing. Apart form the fact that I work in IT, I sort of like following the industry, its my way of getting the news to me. 

• The Financial Diet - So, I was introduced to the channel via YouTube, however the website has a very different vibe. It publishes tons of posts by real people living real lives and I love the variety it brings. I definitely love the stories it brings about individuals and since the style of writing is very personal, I really enjoy these writings. This is mostly my lunch read.

• 
• Natalie Bacon- She wrote an article for Financial Diet and I checked her website and was hooked forever. Apart from the fact that she writes about her career and how she is a blogger making 6 figures, she also interviews people who are dong the same. And that for me is so positive to meet these people virtually who are creating their own dream life and to know thats so possible.

• Penelope Trunk - I have been reading her blog for years now, she apart from being a celebrity blogger is the only person who can come up with topics that no one can even think about  and she knows her links. The amount of research that goes into her blogs is amazing from someone like me who also writes. Talking about something that seems very casual and then building it up with tons of research from such credible sources is absolute bliss to read with a cup of tea. 

• Tim Ferris - This one I am sure every reads or knows about. I almost forgot about the website for a while and then came back to it again and love hearing interviews of these amazing people. And all of them are so good that you should literally binge on this, heres what I heard this weekend and its life changing for me  If you have ever thought if aggression should be part of your repertoire, specially if you are a women, you should listen to this one. You can thank me later. 

• Chalkboard- I adore how going through his website makes me feel, its more like a relaxed vibe and the feel along with the amazing photography erases away the dark thoughts easily. If you also are remotely interested in well beings, self care and health trends, you will absolutely like this. 

• James Clear- Its a recent find and if you like reading articles for value and understand more about yourself and habits and changing the current status to a better version of yourself, this is what you should bookmark. 

This is what consists of my list, if I remember something else, I will update it at some point. 

My reading list if you have figures out by now doesn’t include project management and agile and the reason being is I consciously keep the work reading list and casual reading list separate. This is more of a personal reading list. 

For someone like me who really enjoys reading and have always done it since I was in school, I prefer it over watching television or going to movies. My idea of a perfect day would be to be me in the couch with uninterrupted reading time with a cup of tea. And if you need research to nudge you to read more and how it changes the brain, heres something for you 

I am always for looking for some great read, so if you have something in your list thats been life changing - leave me a tweet at @Soma_b 

Read part 1 here.

(Pic courtesy: Pinterest)

The Art of Scheduling: What it can mean for you

Schedules have always been part of our life, since the day we started school. 

And over the years things have only become more serious. If school wasn’t enough, we took up dance lessons and basketball practice sessions over weekends and felt occupied and busy and we were all okay with it because thats how everyone’s schedule look liked. Full….gasping for air. 

In college we just kept on adding more- more hours dedicated to studies, projects, internships and then job…. and now you are just rushing from one meeting to another, meeting friends over weekend, trying to slip in a yoga class and spend evenings at the gym and things never stop. Your phone is constantly beeping with notifications.

So, schedules or rather management of schedules have always been an integral part of our life. 

Schedules primarily do 3 things:

1. Ensures we remember to do things- define objectives
2. Help us move things around based on the prioritization- scheduling software of some form
3. We end up actually doing it- if its on calendar it must be important.

If the only calendar you manage is yours, you can use your phone calendar for reminders, google calendar for your online scheduling, sticky notes and a whiteboard for tracking your own projects. Depending on what works for you, scheduling shouldn’t be complicated. 

So, there are benefits ofcourse around scheduling  even if you are simply doing it for yourself:

1. Cal Newport, MIT grad and professor at Georgetown University is one of the leading supporters of something called the  “fixed schedule discipline”. Cal showcases how he manages to only work from 9-5 (plus a little on Sunday morning) to manage all (don't underestimate what all means here, till you have read the article) of the things he has on his plate. If you are want to read more, click here . So, obviously you can do insane amount of work without showing off your busy-ness with a well managed schedule. 

2. Scheduling teaches you to prioritise. So to make the most out of the mornings of  ultra-successful people , most of them automate as much and cut out as many non-essential decisions as possible. That way, their mental muscles and willpower are reserved for making wise choices that matter.“You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits,” he said. “I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.”   – Obama  Read more about link of decision making and handling your schedules here . 

3. Redefining your habits will happen automatically. When you work on a schedule or are working around the schedule of many, you might have to relook at your own habits. Because Cal (from point 1) didn’t work after 5pm he had to make sure he was productive during the time he worked. He couldn’t have spent his time on social media and still end his work day at 5pm. In an attempt to redefine your habits; you are defining yourself and your purpose. Once you know your purpose , its easy to work around it or pick your priorities. 

4. Discipline/structure always helps, well at least in most cases. The power of habit is powerful enough to change your life in a good way. When you have created the structure around your work, you will be disciplined enough to know when to say No or when you take a up a project, speaking assignment or new client. 

A schedule only works when you have  a pre defined timeline (like Monday to Friday 10am-6pm) and you structure or schedule your day accordingly. Any software can help you work with schedules at any scale, however, the work can be only be done by you. 

(Pics Courtesy: Burst)

Staying Positive: Youtube Channels and Blogs I read every week (Pt 1)

Hello there, I hope you had a good weekend.

I don't know much about your weekend routine, for me weekends are the time I usually destress by detaching….this is also the time I use to learn and grow and browse and tinker.

This year is in a lot of ways life changing for me because staying positive consistently is the greatest gift I am trying to give myself. And I get my fair share of help from the books, blogs, podcasts and Youtbe channels I watch. 

So, thats what I thought I will share with you today. This is part 1 of the post. 

YouTube- This is my guilty pleasure. I pretty much have more than 50 channels subscribed to and watch them every night and mornings as I get ready to take on life. Depending on my day and mood, I will choose what I watch. There are of course some favs that I don’t miss and thats what I am sharing with you today. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Lavendaire - Eileen’s channel is all about being your best version and ways you can achieve it.

She also brings in her personal stories and has a wonderful dreamy aesthetic that makes it a wonderful experience to watch. I also love listening to her podcast. For her website click here. 

Kalyn Nicholson- A lifestyle blogger, Kalyn talks about her travels, lessons learnt along the way and general fun stuff  and how she keeps her self motivated and positive. Also a podcaster, she brings in positive vibes and a fun lively way to impart wisdom. Click for website here  

Pickup Limes  - Sadia a registered dietician whose channel is about minimalism, food, health and simplicity and being positive amidst it all. She recently had 

million subscribers and moved to a studio space and her journey has been amazing to watch and so is her lifestyle. For her website and health tips click here   

1. Marie Forleo - If you need a pick me up anytime of the day, suffer from self doubt and have dreams hidden from the world- this is the channel to watch. She brings in some wonderful guests, powerful in their thoughts and wisdom that you will want to save the episodes  bookmark them and listen to them a thousand times till its instilled in you like a second brain. She defies situations and circumstances and talks about how she grew her business and how others can do as well.

Lewis Howes - His channel is all about interviews with personalities you know and don’t, however in every single interview the discussion is simple, to the point and something you can always take notes on and implement later. I have gone through a lot many of his interviews and is obviously subscribed to his channel. These interviews need attention and are best heard when you have sometime to sit down or when you commute, the meanings are lost if you are listening while multitasking- its not your background music score that you want to leave unattended. If you are looking for some more info, please click here 

Rachel Talbot- A lifestyle blogger, she is all about DIY, positivity and managing her life with family, kids, a

business she recently launched, a singer (look up itunes), her simple recipes and tending a new house. She oozes calm and happiness and positivity and her channel is my mood fixer anytime of the day. If you are trying to find content and meaning in simplicity, she is the one to watch out for. Website link is here.

Claire Marshall- I would lie is if I didn’t mention her, I watch her often. She is a beauty blogger, however she is not just an expert about beauty and lifestyle, she dabbles in wellness and talks about her own struggles to find meaning in life. I particularly enjoy her creativity and editing style, watching her independent spirit and wonderful positivity through the episodes of life. For website, click here 

Rachel Aust - an Australian who is a fitness freak, a minimalist and her unique style of filming will keep you occupied. She talks about fitness, her wellness

journey and diets like keto. I watch her channel primarily for her styling and the amount of work she happily puts in the range of multiple things she does successfully. Find her website here 

So, thats it for today, let me know how you recharge and what you like to do on your weekends.

Part 2 of the post will be about my fav blogs, so watch this space. 

(Pic courtesy: taken from the blog of the featured Youtubers)