Burned Out?

This morning when he called for the 100th time I decided to pick up the call. I have pretty much ignored it for the entire last week and a half.

I just didn’t want to talk.

The moment I picked up the call, things were like it used to be. I had to ask him why he was calling me and he said it- it was the burn out that was killing him. He wasn’t as inspired as he used to feel.

He had pulled all nighters and rolled himself out to be walked over with expectations and more work and he pretty much volunteered for it all.

I knew how it felt; I had been there and done that. I worked twice the regular hours, worked in 2 time zones, constantly checked my blackberry even in the middle of sleep, slept for less than 6 hours a day, ate lunch at desk and felt very important doing it all. I loved my life, my work life!

Till I pretty much felt like a Zombie; that’s when I decided it was time to reconnect with myself. So, I quit.

Listening to the same story over the call, made me just think how much employees go through and don’t know when to stop.

Some just can’t face the fact that they are going through a problem and there’s no way to love your job as dearly as you did. Few, go through it with their hatred for the job soaring.

Studies estimate that stress costs US businesses up to $300 billion dollars in lost productivity each year. In a Business Week article, Marissa Mayer talks about finding the rhythm, to avoid the burnout. It boils down to one activity that you think is the anchor of your sanity. Like meeting your friends for a Friday night dinner or attending parent teacher meets for working parents.

Turns out there are 4 stages of burn out and it’s a common scenario for all kind of jobs.

Katy Cowan, in her article in The Guardian talks about the physical, emotional, behavorial signs to take as cue before you have the actual breakdown. New hobbies, putting technology way once in a while and learning to switch off and take breaks are the few ways to get back to your regular self.

Taking a creative sabbatical surely is one way and some people are more serious about it than others. Designer Stefan Sagmeister is one of them and he takes it regularly closing his New York based design studio.

Stress might be the predecessor to a burn out, so make sure you know how to identify one.

So, here are 5 ways to combat it:

• Stop ignoring the symptoms- You will always know when you are leaning towards it, just make sure, you don’t ignore the signs and think it will all go away. It won’t until you take some actions for it.
• Talk it out aloud- Call a friend and talk about what you are going through. Unburdening yourself helps and smaller suggestions when reinforced over time will help you convince yourself to take the break.
• Find time to do what you like the best- It’s probably the rhythm, make time to travel, paint, call your best friend or whatever it is you like doing. Just find the time to do it and don’t underestimate the influence of a positive work environment. 
• Me time- Every single day, find time or a routine just for yourself. Even if it’s for 5 minutes, still stick to it. Go for a walk after dinner by yourself or watch your favourite show.
• Get back when you are ready- Some will admit it, some wont; this is a common phase unless you know how to handle it. Break your routine and induce some freshness. Sooner than later, you will be back on your feet and happy to live in the Now.

Pic Courtesy: Google Images

Giveaway

The new E-book- A Guide: Stepping into Project Management (Welcome to the #PMOT World) is ready for giveaway.

And there are 2 of them.

 To get your copy free (will be emailed to you), you can:

• Tweet about your project management plans for the future and why you want to become one with the Hashtag #SIPM, so I can find you.
• Or you can simply send a pic (via twitter) about your project management initiatives that you are taking. This can mean pictures about workshops attended, study groups to clear off certifications, prep books being delivered –pretty much anything that related to your interest in project management. Don’t forget to include the hashtag #SIPM, so I can find your post.

This is open till August 15 and 2 winners will be announced in the blog and twitter.

Don’t have a twitter account, get one. You will be surprised how much it can help you learn by following PM related hashtags, chats and other project managers.

For the rest of you, the book will be announced in the blog and twitter soon.

By the way, don't forget to sign up for the Free Google Hangout session on Sept 2 (Sunday) and the SIPM Newsletter. 

SIPM Monthly Newsletter

The SIPM monthly newsletter is on it’s way and to subscribe all you have to do is sign in (see to your right).

I used to maintain the Feedburner delivery of my posts and after a lot of contemplation if I should still keep it running, I decided to let it be.

If you are one of the subscribers, feel free to let me know if you would still like the service to continue or add yourself to the monthly newsletter list. You can email me directly or find me in twitter.

I’ll leave it to you.

The monthly newsletter is a way to connect to you and give out more on insider information on getting closer to your goal of becoming a Project Manager. The newsletter is the additional information that doesn’t find it’s way into the blogposts. It will answer your queries that I often get, insider knowledge of what’s coming up on SIPM next and true to it’s audience a way to tell the realities of being in the profession.

Have a wonderful weekend!

(Pic Courtesy: Google Images)

The #PMOT E-book

A Guide: Stepping into Project Management (welcome to the #PMOT circle), the upcoming e-book is almost ready, getting it’s finishing touches.

I always knew it would mean a lot of work to get it done; however I might have underestimated the hours it would take me to get there. So, the date is August.

I still have the cover page pending, last minute touches and editing is in full flow. I have deleted more while editing than writing and turns out it does take a while to get the hang of it.

So, what should you expect in the coming months?

• E-book Publication-A step by step guide to get into your dream role of a Project Manager.
• English isn't your first language-Like the blog, this E-book is in simple  working English, no jargon's, straight communication that allows newbies and fresh graduates from all over the world to understand what is required to get into Project Management.
• Expert Comments- Project Managers, Coaches and Trainers share their secrets in getting into the industry.
• Price-Keeping the newbies in mind, the e-book can be downloaded at a very reasonable $2.99 (Download will be available in pdf format). Payments through Paypal. All you have to do is click a button and you don’t need to have a Paypal account to buy the book.
• Free Google Hangout 30 minute session- On September 2 (Sunday): How to find your #PMOT mentor. The time will be announced later in the blog and via twitter. This interactive session is open to 8 people only based on first come, first serve basis. Please email me at steppingintopm@gmail.com to reserve your seat with the subject line: Reserve me for “How to find your #PMOT mentor. This is open to all, irrespective of the fact whether you have bought my book or not. The reservations start today.
• Next Session- This will be announced in August, after the book publication. This session is only for people who have bought the book. Your full name and email id will be required to make your reservation for the session. Details of the session will be announced in the blog and in the e-book. Stay tuned.
• New Hashtag Introduced- Called #SIPM, this hashtag has been introduced to enable you to follow all updates from the book, sessions and posts in the blog.
• Giveaway- Two E-Books will be given away in August (for free) through the blog. Stay tuned for announcements.
• Reviews- If you have a Project Management blog and would like to review the book, please ask me for a free copy. Email me with your blog URL with the subject line: SIPM Book review

 Have questions, want to advertise in the book or just want to say hello- email me or find me at twitter  at @Soma_b

Learn Free

I have been reading Scott H Young  for a while now.

I love what he has done with his blog and his latest challenge is finishing a 4 year MIT computer science course in 1 year without attending classes. Go Figure.

So, I thought this lecture of his from TED about the education system was worth listening to.

Education costs a lot, but what a lot of us are trying to do is to get as much as possible free resources available to all of you.

For your project management understanding, try the following:

• PMChat  -Held at every Friday 12 pm EST; Robert Kelly and Rob Prinzo bring out hundreds of project management professionals where topics are discussed and debated on. All you need is to follow #pmchat over twitter. Try it today.
• Friday Sessions with Samad Aidane- Samad Aidane from Guerrilla Project Management is doing Friday sessions about various topics on project management. It’s an informal way of talking about a specific subject and then continuing with FAQ sessions. It’s a great tool for everyone looking forward to learn the ropes of the profession faster. And it’s free. Today’s webinar details are here .
• SIPM Community - A global platform to get your mentor, internship opportunities or follow a project manager for a day. New experts and newbies register every day. A free resource to get you going.

·       If you are not free on Friday’s and can’t attend these live, ask for recordings or just follow the hashtag to read it up later. It’s rather simple really and I think it’s time all of us started taking advantage of the free resources and help we have.

(Pic Courtesy: Google Images)

Fear- Is your friend

Fear is your greatest companion.

A little fear does no harm.

In fact it’s good to be a little scared of getting on to your next challenge. Most people are scared of doing things first time like bungee jumping, going to your first job interview, emailing your hero, trying to do something extraordinary.

You can either be scared by not doing what you have been planning or just be scared and still do it scarily and be thrilled later on achieving your goal.

“Many of us let fear get in the way of long-term goals, and that's not good. But it's a mistake to think the solution is to overcome fear in general. You can't (at least, not without a temporal lobectomy)”.  

                           - Lifehacker

What do you want to do?

Here are 5 ways to face the fear, accept you are scared and still go ahead:

• Accept that you can’t change it- Waiting it out for weeks or months, won’t let the fear go away. Faster you accept it, better it is for you. If you still need to get it done, just go with the fear and still do it.
• Believe in yourself- Write down why you need to get this done. Once your thoughts are clear, chances are you will be able to do it even though you are scared. Too scared, keep the thought written in your purse, glance it once in a while and try the positive reinforcement.
• It’s ok to fail- Everybody has bad days and it’s all right to fail. Just go for your next certification or job interview or make some drastic changes in life and even if you fail, now you know the idea won’t work out. You will need that closure to move on in life.
• Finding an alternative- if you can find an alternative which might sound a little more scary, gives you more confidence or is within your comfort zone, go for it. Confidence in getting something done will allow you to take on complex challenges.
• Talk to someone- Find someone who has done similar tasks or taken up challenges that were scary. Talk to your mentor or read up other people in your profession; listening or reading about them and their failures will make it easier for you. No matter how successful you are, there has to be failures on the way.

Once you know that being scared is ok and normal most of the times, research and plan your work well, remove any obstacles that you possibly can and then go for it. 

(Pic courtesy: Google Images)

The connection

Jobs, success, ambition, failure are all connected in some form or the other.

If you have noticed, I haven’t posted for a bit. In usual circumstances I leave a note with my return date. 

This happened suddenly, a block where I simply stopped writing. I would wake up everyday and think today will be the day and as the day went by I realised I didn’t want to write. Then a sudden emergency that took me away from I loved doing the most.

Of course, I have also been dabbling with a few ideas and it all seemed fun. It was rightful to get back to the blog, specially this month where I complete 4 years of blogging. Yay!

While reading for the last few weeks; I came across this that that most people as much as people hate failure, are also scared of success.

Who knew?

Well turns out there a lot of reasons why people fear success. It can come from their past experience

or the change that will come with it.

Sure there are ways to overcome when you are overworked or ways to overcome the fear .

I think the main question here is to understand how you react to what:

• What success means for you?
• What do you relate with success?
• Do those relations make you happy or fearful?
•  If fearful, what are you thinking of?
•  Is there a way you can get out of the mindset?
• What do you really want from life?

It isn’t very difficult to understand what you are going through. Take some bold decisions based on what you think you should be doing and get along with it.

If you sort it out now, things will be much easier to sort out later in your career. By the way, did you know that Tuesday is the most productive day at work?

So, step up your game today and lotsa luck!

y the way, there's lots of interesting stuff coming up- the new e-book (Handbook for Stepping into Project Management) and what I am doing with my life now, my new public speaking life, a new study (pics coming soon), the "coffee break series" ready to make a comeback and what I have been thinking.

Stay tuned.

(Pic Courtesy: Google Images)

The Spark of Success- Do you feel it everyday?

Success is a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired. You quit when the gorilla is tired.” ~Robert Strauss via @MariSmith

Tiredness, burned out, not inspired, bored, routine job- this is something we all face in our job and careers.

I just read this article last week by Anne-Marie Slaughter and wow did it hit me strong. It’s going strong and there have been rebuttals from the NY Times as well.

So, make hay while the sun shines.

 How can you bring in your cent percent everyday to work?

What happens when you wake up one morning and can’t find the zing in you anymore? What happens when you realise you are not inspired today? So, who is responsible in bringing in the spark in our lives? The Employers, the Managers, the HR or is it Us?

To control your cow, give it a bigger pasture- This is a great quote from Zen Master Suzuki Roshi, talking about controlling your mind. I see the cow and her pasture as a form of allowing things to happen — instead of tightly controlling something; you’re opening up, giving it more room, a bigger pasture. The cow will be happier, will roam around, will do as she pleases, and yet your needs will also be met. The same is true of anything else — stepping back and allowing things to happen means things will take care of themselves, and your needs will also be met. And you’ve done no work (Taken from: Zenhabits)

Let it happen- It’s better to let yourself be; to do what you want to do than force to be something else.

Seriously, what’s the point of killing yourself?  Sometimes things just don’t materialize no matter what you do because you are not present in the “now”. You are just doing it out of habit.

A class I took long ago while in university- asked us what we would do if we had all the money we needed t take care of everyday stuff. That’s the real you. Ask yourself who are you? If you enjoyed doing things 5 years ago, not necessarily you will enjoy forcing yourself to gulp down the same stuff today.

It’s scary and difficult to give up what you are used to liking (like the salary or your peers or Friday nights after work drink). The freedom to choose many might argue is for the rich, the taken care of.....we have more excuses in us than we can think of. And we can pick up the purse and go shopping to spend half the salary of the next luxury couch or more clothes and gadgets.

If we have planned it well, we can take the few months and try out new things we have always wanted-to write the novel, travel the world, learn horse riding, start painting, work for a project manager and invest in yourself for once.

Forgive yourself- if you have always been on the go- it’s ok to make a wrong move, do what you like and stop working for 12 hours/day. It’s ok to socialize and be with your friends and not work in your next book for the next 2 hours.

It’s like fitness, if you have had that sinful piece of cake, just stop whining about it and get back to your routine form the next day.

Find the right partner- who will support you in your decisions; even Sheryl Sandbergmentions in one of her interviews  as the most important career choice is whom you will marry.

Learning to enjoy work- Some people are bored more than the others. So, here are 30 things to do to stop being bored.

Plus remember that “if you have two good friends at work, itwill never feel like you have a bad job” .

Remember, not all days will be the same and it’s human to go through ups and downs. Just keep in touch with your friends and mentors while you are holding on tight during the rollercoaster ride!

(Pic Courtesy: Google Images)

Coming up- Ebook

Coming up very soon is the Stepping into Project Management (Welcome to the #PMOT World). 

It is on its way and will be available by the end of next month (July). The book is a step by step guide that’s answers all your questions and dilemmas about the project management domain and skill set and path you have to walk to do to get into it. Full of tips and interviews with people who have made it, their obstacles, the steering through office politics and getting the job title they have worked so hard for is a story that will be inspiring enough to venture on your own journey.  This will be published through the blog.

So, stay tuned.

Meanwhile create some space to have lots of templates tagged along with the book to help your journey get better. 

Want to learn more from real life Project Managers, check out the SIPM Community.

(Pic Courtesy: Google Images)

Step it up and out

“I am not rich. I live in a 955 square foot loft in a very small town. My television (which is plugged into a Wii and a Blu Ray player) is about 26″ across, I think. I own one car. Most of my clothes come from the Men’s Wearhouse and Target. I eat well. I won’t deny that (as if my belly would suggest otherwise).


I didn’t get rich quick. Maybe some day after a few more years of working, I can get rich quick. That’d be cool. Like, you know, after 20 years of doing what I do, seeing a check with six zeroes once would be really cool. But that’s not what I do.”

                                                         - Chris Brogan 

Very few of us dare to live the dream, we didn’t set up a goal to travel 193 countries before turning 35 . Our goals are very basic- get a job, buy a car, a home, may be travel and be happy.

In trying to tick off the happiness list, we always look for the path taught to us for years- get your degree, an internship, followed by a job. Work hard, look up and keep moving. Buy bunch of things and don’t think outside the box.

It’s fine, till you get the itch.

That’s when things start changing and more often than not we suppress it. Taking the decision to be unconventional might be terrifying but refreshing for the people who see it from outside, like reading how Scott H Young is completing his MIT challenge . Or people like Jenny Blake, who have quit their job at Google to follow their own passion.

“The thought of going out on my own struck TERROR in my heart — and yet, once I made the decision I knew with 100% certainty that it’s the right thing to do. I’m still scared, but mostly hopeful and excited.”
                                                                                         - Jenny Blake

Sure, you can follow your calling and fail or you can try to dominate the world with your brilliant ideas  but there’s always this fear of the unknown. What if it doesn't take off, what is something goes wrong, what if I am not good enough. Rarely are we risk takers (take your risk assessment here).

So, they say : “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” - Peter Drucker

So, what are you doing with your life? Are you happy, do you feel fulfilled in your job, your everyday life or do you get the itch- to get out there and do something more.

You can scratch the itch along with your regular life, if you like to play it safe or you can just go out there and do what you have been planning to do all your life.

In most cases than not, things do figure out for themselves. Step out today.

(Pic Courtesy: Google Images)



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Want to learn more from real life Project Managers, check out SIPM Community - Connect.