When you hit rock bottom- 5 ways to keep going

Work is not done in seclusion, our job part of our life and what’s going on in your life will affect your work. Everyday.

This often means if you are going through difficult times in your personal life, it will reflect in your work as well. Hitting rock bottom doesn’t always mean you have to stay put there; it does help to have supportive work space and friends.

Not everyone is lucky. If you have to drag yourself to work every day and start feeling tired and not focused enough, here are 5 things to try out:
  1. Accept the down time- fighting it is of no use, accept it and try thinking what can be done to ensure your work life takes the minimum hit. Get some help from your colleagues in sorting out your work, if possible take some time off or focus on a top priority everyday and get it done.
  2. Try creating a routine- this will help in navigating through the hard times, try putting on some soothing music, may be upbeat pictures or postcards around your work desk, plan a solo vacation, keep some time aside to grab a coffee and reconnect to yourself.
  3. Take the time and keep it for yourself- know that it’s difficult and don’t try to please others during this time. Use the time for yourself and to see how you can accept it and move on to the next step of your journey. Don't give up at work completely, try to keep personal matter private. 
  4. Use color therapy-  relax and use lighter colors around you, do anything and everything that will ensure you are calmer and your negative emotions are not triggered. 
  5. It can be only good now on- now that you have hit the rock bottom, nothing can go worse. Be there for a while and when you are ready, know that it will be from where you will rebuild again and things will only be better. 
Failure has its own advantage, hear J. K. Rowling talk about it:
 
             


If its any comfort in knowing, do know everyone in their lifetime go through some down time or the other, some cope better than the other but there's no escape. So, do anything it takes to heal yourself and find your peace again and once its done, march yourself back to your work and get things done like always. 

Additional resources: 
If you unfortunately are going through depressed state of mind, click here

Good luck and best wishes.

(Pic courtesy: Pinterest)



How to read a book?

May 2, 2016 | | 0 comments |
I love reading books, I have recently also moved to reading –eBooks and reading books online via i-pad.

This post isn’t about that.

It’s about finding the most effective way to read a book, remember the idea behind it and trigger the thought process. Not exactly the way you would read a novel.

I’ll explain what I mean- I like reading books in combos. This means if they are on similar topics/themes I will club them together and read. I don’t club more than 3 books. For example- I read Rework  and Delivering Happiness  together; both are about creating corporate cultures and see how differently it’s done for the same goal.
I read Beyond Boys Club  and Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office  together. You get the idea.

My recent ongoing read is The Fifth Discipline  and Critical Chain  .

Why this is great:
  • You can easily compare between the books and theories and real life examples before yo forget.
  • It makes me think because I am reading 2 different opinions about the same topic, sometimes complimentary, sometimes contradictory
  • By reading 2-3 authors at the same time, I spread my horizon more on the topic.
How do you prefer reading yours?

(Pic Courtesy: Pinterest)

How to keep your life in control?

Overwhelmed with the to do list, promises, unending schedule and no time for you?  It’s true for many...Sometimes you have to be make smart choices and know what makes a difference for you. 

Here are few that can help you re-think:
  • Procrastinate to make decisions- Sometimes you can make the best of decisions when you have all the information you need. A hurried decision in most cases is always the wrong one. A study from Columbia University says, delaying can filter distractions. Now this is something that we aren't thought to think about, in fact procrastination has always been considered a negative aspect in our lives. Want to know how  a mind of a procrastinator works, try watching this TED talk.

  • Try to be happy
      • Create lists- Having a list takes your mind off the stress of constantly having to remember things and working on it. For example- there have been numerous occasions when I have come up with an idea for the blog and by next day I have completely forgotten it, which means I had to take another hour reading through things trying to come up with a topic or stress about how I ended up forgetting it. Only if I had written it down, I would save myself not only the hours but the worry. 
      • Meditate- 15 minutes of meditation can actually help people make better, more profitable decisions, “Most people have trouble admitting they were wrong when their initial decisions lead to undesirable outcomes,” says researcher Andrew Hafenbrack.  MRI scans show that after an eight-week course of mindfulness practice, the brain’s “fight or flight” center, the amygdala, appears to shrink. This primal region of the brain, associated with fear and emotion, is involved in the initiation of the body’s response to stress. As the amygdala shrinks, the pre-frontal cortex – associated with higher order brain functions such as awareness, concentration and decision-making – becomes thicker.
      • Accept you can’t avoid stress in entirety- A little bit of stress is not only okay but is beneficial (watch the TED talk below).

  • Practice positive vibes- Create a routine and wake up doing something that makes you happy. You can listen to the same music every morning or go for a walk, water your plants, look at happy pictures- anything that resets your mood or gives a good head-start . A lot of successful people have created routines that allow them to practice positive vibes that translate into a better day for them and hence trick their minds in being happy or successful. When you start your day on a positive note, small glitches which you would otherwise allow your spirit to be dampened with, won’t set you back anymore. They will be smaller incidents that you can walk past by and still look forward in having a good day.
  • Know when to move on- Ask for a raise, ask for more responsibilities, ask for more learning and if at some point you see nothing’s working- you know it’s time to leave. Be clear about your objectives when you start looking for the next job, don’t be afraid to ask more questions, request to meet your manager you will be reporting to or find out the career and growth path in the organization you are interviewing at. It will only help you make better comparative decisions.

  • Look at the larger picture- Finding something new isn’t easy. It’s also difficult to start something new and perhaps looking for a new job is not something you feel like. Sometimes you have to look at what you want to do in the next 2 years and is being with your current organization, team or manager helping you attain those?