Your important files are never where you kept them last.
Finding a uniform for your kid to wear tomorrow is pure luck.
The snack you want to eat right now got finished last week.
We deal with this every day, don’t we?
Dis-organisation takes a lot of precious time away from being productive.
Being organised has many benefits:
1. Increased productivity
2. Improved focus
3. Less stress
4. More calmness and peace
5. Better performance
6. Greater success
7. Good feelings
Having lived in Japan, I have incorporated many habits that has helped me over the years in building an organised home and office.
For example, a whiteboard on the fridge that reminds that the particular food is over and need to be ordered. When someone uses the last bit, the jar stays on the slab till it is marked on the board.
Here’s 5S method which is great way to bring effectiveness and efficiency in the organisational structure of a workplace or home.
Last but not the least stay flexible, be ready some days will be more taxing than others.
Our physical experience colours our emotional experience, and when my body is in a place that’s orderly, my mind becomes more serene.
But it has to be the right amount of stress towards a meaningful purpose.
According to the research published in Journal of Happiness Studies, people who work hard at improving a skill or an ability do tend to experience stress but also greater happiness in the long run.
Working on new goals can be tough, creating new habits requires lots of effort, learning something new is hard and dealing with people with different mindset and volatile emotions can be stressful.
That’s why many organisations came forward and created a space for employees to talk about and learn ways to deal with stress during April, being the awareness month.
Stress has many beautiful attributes. We stress about things we care for, like our career, raising children and relationships at work and home.
So what tools and techniques help you deal with stress?
1. Meditation / Mindfulness
2. Nature walk
3. Journaling
4. One step at a time approach
5. Reading good books
6. Watching videos
7. Listening to music
8. Sleeping
9. Meeting friends
10. Yoga / Gym
Let’s remember “Happiness” is a choice and so is “Stress”!!
It’s heartening to see how organisations are taking an initiative to introduce “happiness at work.”
According to the UN, the universal aspiration in the life of an individual should be happiness.
This year India saw a marginal improvement in it’s happiness ranking, jumping up three spots to 136 from 139 as per the World Happiness report 2022.
The lesson of the world happiness report over the years is that social support, generosity to one another and honesty in government are crucial for wellbeing says report co author Jeffery Sachs.
“Build better together” theme of the year 2022 emphasises the fact that we need to encourage skills like resilience and adaptability to create happy workplaces.
Here’s three ways organisations and leaders can enhance happiness at work:
1. Rethink strategies for overall development of yourself and your organisation. From “should” do to a “could” do approach. It helps teams to innovate new ways of overcoming challenges.
2. Review policies and limitations. Find the gaps and create “Learn it all” culture instead of “know it all”; so that there is openness to ask for help and support.
3. Good relationships at work helps improve productivity. Find ways to reconnect. Create awareness sessions, talks, coaching for leaders and promote well-being. Hybrid work has emphasised the need to understand digital body language and communicate effectively.
We are witnessing a crisis situation in the world. The Russia – Ukraine war is costing human suffering and economic losses. So let’s pledge today on this international day of happiness to create an awareness towards building a compassionate world.
Each one of us adds to the peace and happiness of this planet as we learn ways to manage our stress, keep calm and show kindness.
Tag someone in the comments who has been your guide to happiness this year. It could be your organisation, leader, coach or friend. This small act of appreciation or gratitude can boost your positivity.
As we got hit by the second wave of pandemic and cities under the grip another lockdown in India, friends and families are wondering how we are going to cope with this challenge.
Over last one year many organisations have started assistance programs and well-being sessions. But the challenges are still there. So the need to create awareness is still there due to the emotional turmoil everyone is going through. This is amplified when we hear the news of families suffering and losing lives due to Covid-19.
Frank Snowden, author of Epidemics and society: From the Black Death to the present, calls it a second wave of “psychological pandemic”.
Pre COVID days, we could move out, meet friends, laugh away bad meetings and socialise to take off the work burden. Now with WFH there is more responsibilities and no outlets. A lot of belief transformation is happening during these unprecedented times triggering change in organisational and family dynamics.
Meanwhile the hospitals are filled with large numbers of cases and people running around making futile efforts of seeking a bed or oxygen cylinders. As per one of the corporate well-being providers, the senior executives are suffering from mental health issues more than the employees. Tracking growth and productivity along with keeping people motivated requires more communication channels. The endless Emails, phone calls, zoom, Slack and meet has lead to massive burnout.
The situation we are in today is a global experience in which we are all enrolled with or without our choice. Here’s what leaders with growth mindset would do:
1. Restart : Think of new ways of working and providing support. What CAN we do? Rethink strategies for overall development of yourself and your organisation. Though it won’t be easy, it will help teams innovate ways to weather the crisis.
2. Readjust : Review your policies and limitations. Find the gaps and create “Learn it all” culture instead of “know it all”; so that there is openness to ask for help and support. Let’s express grief and hold space for each other.
3. Refocus : This crisis is a good time to encourage deeper introspection on values, purpose & mission statements of the organisation. Encourage team to assess and improve established practices.
4. Reconnect: I remember last year everyone was so conscious of their presence on screen and now we see kids and pets on screen, it’s the new normal. Get to know your teammates, connect and coordinate. Create time for casual conversations and laughter. Good relationships at work helps in increasing productivity.
There is no “one size fits all”, so innovate ideas that provide support, makes employees happy and then repeat the process. No doubt when the pandemic ends a large number of worldwide workforce will adopt a hybrid/flexible schedule. If supported by the right leaders and mentors we all can come out of this pandemic stronger and more emotionally balanced than before.
Check out my free webinar on Life Work Balance here.
OR
Reach out for individual coaching session or group coaching for your teams here.
When we can’t change the situation we change ourselves.
These days I wake up to a peaceful morning, birds chirping in the balcony, no morning rush hour traffic, which gives me a bit more time for my morning rituals which includes a nice cup of tea with my book.
But this peace soon gets shattered and the morning madness starts when kids wake up and everyone occupies their designated space in the house with their gadgets. A cacophony of voices starts rising from the kitchen, online school classes and Zoom based office meetings. From national anthem to gummy bear song and meditation to placating demanding customers.
The kitchen is the “new water cooler” where we all meet in between our sessions to grab coffee and snacks etc. Other times the conversations between family members happen only on WhatsApp chats or gestures. We have mastered the art of using sign language to ask, do you want tea, going for a walk, no tv till you finish homework and going to sleep in other room :).
As a mother I feel, there are more responsibilities than just household work. We tend to be more emotionally available for our children even if it means just a cuddle. Most women usually invest additional 3 to 4 hours a day on household responsibilities and child care – adding up to essentially another part time job. No wonder they are among the most likely group to be considering stepping back, so much so the pandemic induced economic downturn is being called she-cession rather than recession.
As we step into the second year of pandemic, here’re 7 ways to bring more balance and happiness in our life while WFH:
1. Take a nature walk: Studies reveal that spending time in nature has a positive effect on the mind, body, and spirit. Yoshifumi Miyazaki from Chiba University, Japan, discovered that going for a 40-minute walk in a green forest lowers the level of cortisol, the stress hormone, blood pressure and supports the immune system more than a similar 40-minute walk indoors. Use this time to exercise, reflect, recharge and heal. Due to time constraints me and my husband have combined the walk in nature as “us” time where we connect and talk about everything ranging from kids to planning holidays.
2. Power of routine: Routine is a schedule that you create to prioritise and make space for habits that are important. Yes, it takes time and effort and yes, it may not be possible to follow it on certain days but it also brings more discipline in following the schedule which is more winning and productive. Just Start and the add complicated tasks slowly once you are in the discipline of following a routine. For example, waking up at 4 am didn’t happen in day. I started with 6 am and slowly worked my way up to 4am.
3. Clutter free space: Our surroundings have a strong influence on our behaviour, cognition, emotions, decision-making, and even our relationship with others. A study by researchers from Princeton University Neuroscience Institute found that clutter limits your brain’s ability to process information. Look around your space and see what can you remove to create a better space for yourself. Effectively working from home requires optimising your environment to maximise health, happiness and productivity.
4. Setting boundaries: Boundaries can be physical or emotional, and they can range from being loose to rigid. Setting boundaries is an important part of establishing one’s identity and is a crucial aspect of mental health and well-being. Setting healthy boundaries can have many benefits, including helping people make decisions based on what is best for them, not just for the people around them. This autonomy is an important part of self-care.
5. Self care Sundays: Practicing a weekly digital detox and spending time on self will help a lot in enhancing your health and well-being. More and more studies are showing how our screen time negatively impacts everything from our sleep and memory to attention span, creativity, productivity, and even health. Unmindful social media usage can also lead to social comparison, which can result in impaired self-esteem and even depression, just having our phones in sight causes a rise in cortisol – body’s main stress hormone. Carve out time for meaningful purposes, relationships and self care tasks.
6. Make social connections: Meaningful relationships remain at the core of our emotional and psychological well-being as humans. However, the last one year has isolated us in our homes and left us with only virtual connections. More and more people are experiencing anxiety, depression and loneliness due to lack of human connections. Encourage ‘virtual water cooler chats’ during breaks. Login early to just ‘check-in’, ‘build emotional connections’ and have a ‘buddy system’.
7. Ask for support: Sometimes it’s not other’s unwillingness to provide Support, it’s our inability to ask for help. While growing up if I have seen my mother managing home front efficiently, somewhere I started believing that asking for help would mean “weakness” or “lack”. Most of the organisations and leaders are also willing to help but how often do we come over that self – limiting thought and seek help. Remember, people like to reciprocate and as a leader you can create the culture of asking and giving help in your organisation.
Embrace change, give up perfectionism and fine tune where you need to. After all what life throws at you is not your choice but what you make of it is 100% your choice.
20th March is the International Day of Happiness it recognises the relevance of happiness and well-being as a universal goal in the lives of human beings around the world and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives.
It also recognises the need for a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes sustainable development, poverty eradication, happiness and the well-being of all. (UN)
As we are all facing an ongoing global crisis together, this year’s International Day of Happiness is a chance to find uplifting and positive ways to look after ourselves – and one another, as individuals or as an organisation.
Based on that values this year’s international happiness day theme is – Keep Calm, Stay wise and Be kind.
Due to the pandemic the world needs to be in alignment with these values. How do we that? How can organisations build a happy cultural? Let’s understand these values at first:
Keep calm: Life has been unprecedented and overwhelming for all of us. Worries and panic only worsens the situations rather than helping. A calm mind brings inner strength and clarity. Imagine a jar full of water and sand, shake it and the sand will mix with water making it cloudy but keep it and let the sand settle to see the clear water. Our mind also gets cluttered and cloudy with thoughts, worries and doubts. Let it settle, practice calming techniques and experience stillness of mind.
Stay wise: Most of the scriptures, Guru’s and parents talk about gaining wisdom as the ultimate goal of life. It leads us towards happiness and enlightenment. I have experienced that some quotes/books or saying often become the guiding principles of life. So choose to spend time wisely, learn new skills, change with time, adopt a growth mindset and ask someone to Mentor.
Be kind: It comes in many forms, like being nice, thoughtful, loving nature, caring for others and then being considerate is the root of pure kindness. Be kind, as everyone is fighting a hard battle. Simply asking someone how they are doing can bring a huge difference in their mood and self esteem. Smile more often, practice patience, let go and let live.
Be kind, but not weak. Be strong, but not rude. Be proud, but not arrogant. Be a reason for spreading happiness all around you.
As an individual learn ways to handle stress, connect with like minded people and communities. As an organisation create awareness sessions, talks and promote well-being. Create happy Workplace and stay safe.
Overdrive on Passion was my confession of how we tend to get so excited about our work/responsibilities that it overrides our own health and well-being. Those of us who are fortunate to have a job/business at these unprecedented times are holding it dearly and others are working overtime through this challenge discovering new ways ahead.
Extended hours of work lead to poor eating and causes health issues like colds/flu, reduces our immunity, causes irritability, depression, headaches and heart disease. Fatigue sets in as hindrance to our productivity and mood fluctuations.
It can also contribute to failed relationships, divorce and constant stress among family members.
Here’s 7 ways to integrate work and life:
1. Health: Our work will suffers if our health is suffering. Mental and physical vitality is the fuel we need to drive our actions. Check for the nutritional deficiencies and have food and snacks that are good for your mind and body.
2. Exercise: It’s a great stress buster and pumps feel-good hormone called endorphins throughout our body. There is a correlation between physical activity and better brain function. But still most of us procrastinate to get out of the bed few minutes early for exercising. Join a class or make friends with people who prioritise exercise. Having a fitness buddy will encourage you and even 10 to 15 minutes of aerobic exercise a day can have enormous benefits.
3. Limit: Limit time wasting people and activities such as gossiping and browsing on phone for hours. Drawing firm boundaries, we can devote quality time to high-priority people and activities.
Persistent use of gadgets encourages a sedentary lifestyle and may lead to poor posture and weight gain. Similarly people around us affect our brain function so choose your surroundings wisely. Who you spend time with is what you become.
You are the average of 5 people you spend the most time with.
Jim Rohn
4. Passion: Success is usually thought of as creating wealth and achieving fame, but true success is not all about money. It’s the larger purpose which comes by following our passion. The time and effort investment comes with a great deal of enthusiasm. The more passionate someone is about their job, the more inclined they are to work hard on self-improvement, increasing their chances of success.
5. Perfectionism: Like most of us I was also told to do my work perfectly since childhood. Initially I received a lot of praises but slowly it started to create a negative belief about myself. Always striving for perfection which soon turned into procrastination. Perfectionism reduces creativity and innovation and leads to fear of failure. So go ahead, finish the task and feel the joy.
6. Multitasking: Technology has made us all available 24/7. We surf social media while talking or attending meetings, answer calls while walking or cooking and order food also from our smartphones. Multitasking reduces attention, increases stress, causes distractions and spoils relationships. We all do it at some point or the other but an awareness helps in organising our day in advance.
7. Self expectations: There are always a lot of expectations from family and work. This also leads to self expectations and sometimes self doubt. This may lead to over working and being unkind to our body and mind. Remember “you are perfect just the way you are.” I had to remind myself this often whenever the inner critic came out.
So take that break, read that book and have tea watching the sunset. May each one of us be loving and kind to self and others.
My life changed the day I learned to love myself. It wasn’t easy at first but reduction on dependency for others approval and appreciation was the first step. It’s been more than 7 years and I realise that loving oneself is a continuous journey and every time we explore it in new and different ways. Just like peeling the onion, layer by layer we keep discovering new ways and skills. I took this journey inspired by Louise Hay, a great teacher, mentor and self-love advocate who transformed many lives through her books and talks. I highly recommend – “You can Heal your life” books and workshops for deeper learning.
Here’s 7 ways to start this happy relationship with self:
1. When we criticise, we change in negative ways. When we approve of ourselves we take positive actions towards that change. Have you heard yourself saying “ I am fat”, “I am always late” and “I am clumsy” it’s time to stop. Self criticism creates disrupted self identity.
2. Praise yourself as much as you can. “Wow I did it”, “I cook well” and “I try to take out time for reading” are simple praises you can remind yourself every day. Let go of your inner perfectionist!
3. Forgive yourself. You did the best you could at the time with the understanding, awareness and knowledge that you had. It doesn’t make others right, but is healing for you.
4. Be kind towards your negatives too. Acknowledge that you created them to fulfil a need. Lovingly release old negative patterns. Practising kindness towards self will help you become more mindful of your thoughts towards others too.
5. Learn about nutrition, mind power and exercise. Choose what works with your schedule and dedicate time every day to nourish yourself. I struggled with it for the longest time as baby care and family needs along with growing my business was always my priority. So I started dedicating first few hours of the day to myself before I get busy with the day.
6. Stand in front of the mirror and express gratitude for your body for being healthy and notice the beautiful things about yourself. I promise the list of things you love about yourself will grow once you start focusing on it.
7. Have a network of friends who support you. There are many communities and social media groups dedicated towards uplifting and empowering individuals. Stay connected and love yourself!
Love can heal even the deepest and most painful memories because love brings the light of understanding to the darkest corners of our hearts and minds.
In the last few months of the pandemic, I had gone into overdrive to achieve some of my goals, and I felt passionate to maintain a high level of productivity. Talking about happiness and well-being at work was so exciting that I didn’t realise it could also lead to burnout. I got caught up in a belief that I must always be doing, being, creating and that I must always give my best, be it work, family/relationships or my fitness goals.
This took a toll on my health. I had to step back, reflect and rework on my priorities. Few weeks of deep introspection, inner work, solitude and I am happy to be back in action.
Sharing what I learned:
1. Pausing and giving yourself the chance to breathe will save you from deeper pain and anxiety related issues.
2. Loving yourself means giving yourself the time to heal and process. Yes, we all have different ways of defining self love/care. And we all have a different definition of the word “rest.” To some, resting is just going to a place where they can be in solitude and have time to think and rejuvenate. Others would define “rest” as spending more time with their loved ones, going on a vacation, focusing on things that will make them happy and passionate.
3. Your physiological well-being is utmost important for your psychology to work at its best. If these needs are not satisfied the human body cannot function optimally.
So when your passion for work or for your employees becomes overwhelming and time consuming it’s time to take a break or offer one.
How do you manage your time and energy on extremely busy day? What’s the first thing that you will remove from your schedule if you are busy?
21 days of lockdown due to Covid19 – Honeymoon phase over let’s gear up for the future.
Conference calls with a kid screaming at the back, a dog to be taken for walk, no helpers coming, food to be put on table and a sink full of dishes. These are just few of the things adding to the Covid-19 challenge.
Here’s a simple vaccine – 3R an emergency happy trick to shake off the stress away.
Reconnect – Focusing on your breath helps you lower your anxiety levels. Try adopting any one stress relief repertoire today and notice the changes it brings now and even later during a heavy workload day. Start with one and progress slowly. A simple way could be breathe in to the count of 4 and breathe out 4 counts then repeat.
“I am more connected to my breath than ever as I take up so many responsibilities.”
Reframe – If you only think about the stress of the situation and not it’s larger purpose you will only reap negative effects. Reframe your thoughts to more positive and uplifting ones. One of the ways is to deal with mental hijackers is to shift your mind from “make me stressed” to “make me happy” thoughts. Difficult but worth the effort.
“My house is scattered with books, paints and sheets. I am exploring my creativity without being worried about a visitor walking in.”
Reach Out – Social connects and happy relationships are the best harbingers of happiness. Go virtual, connect with old friends, teachers and family. Send a gratitude note to someone you love. More often than not, people are happy to connect and help in anyway they can.
“I connect with old teachers, friends and family and they remind me of how far I have come. Grateful and blessed.”
3R’S along with adequate sleep and nutrition will definitely help you have a happy isolation days ahead.
P.S: Some philosophers believe that 21 days is a good time to form habit, Are you ready?
Hopeandhappinesscoach 