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Productivity

Why and how to delegate?

By Vaishnavi Kumar

“You can do anything, but not everything”

– David Allen

It is well known to us that no matter the amount of work we put in, we do need support and help at a point. Being efficient is a great skill, but dividing the workload is an art that only a few can master. Sharing your work does not signify that you’re incapable of achieving something on your own. Instead, delegating will help you attain things that you could have never achieved alone.

Why is delegating important?

Delegating refers to entrusting your work and sharing your burden with others. As said by Harvey Mackay, “Delegating doesn’t mean passing off work you don’t enjoy but letting your employees stretch their skills and judgement.” Some people believe delegating doesn’t help. They think it increases one’s responsibility and stress.

Let us look at a few points which will help us understand the importance of delegation:
- Delegating improves the various abilities of your team members. When you assign tasks to your employees, they will explore new ways to accomplish them. This will help them maximise their knowledge as well. A sense of confidence is instilled in them. This enhances their commitment towards work and the company. Cooperation is an important skill that all workers should master.
- Delegating saves time and unnecessary effort. It might take you 10 hours to complete a certain task. When you pass on the work to your employees it might merely take 3 hours, if they work collectively. Working with others reduces efforts and increases results.
- Delegating helps reduce stress. People trying to fulfil all their work by themselves will experience severe burnout. Not eating meals on time, messed-up sleep schedules, excessive stress and anxiety will be a part of your life if you don’t learn to delegate. Ultimately, you will reach a stage where you can no longer function properly and all the hard work will count for nothing.
How to delegate?
- Begin with choosing the right employees– Delegating becomes easier and more beneficial when you have the right workers under you. Employees with the appropriate skills and abilities are all you need. Be wise and choose the right people for the given task. If it’s a task where you need good communication skills, choose employees who are soft-spoken yet witty.
- Delegate authority along with work– It is a proven fact that people work more efficiently when they have the authority. The sense of power makes them want to do more and better. Empower them and you’ll see your work happening at an unexpected pace. Craig Groeschel says, “If you delegate tasks you create followers. If you delegate authority you create leaders”.
- Provide employees with proper knowledge and resources One of the most important steps in the process of delegating is to provide necessary training and resources to employees. Everyone working at your firm should be appropriately skilled. They must have ample knowledge about the mindset required to work efficiently.
- Show your gratitude– Lastly, always be grateful. Appreciating and recognising their work and rewarding them with incentives will boost their productivity. These little things may not seem like a lot, but they influence the ones receiving them.
For more tips on Delegation see this post by BetterUp

See our post on Productivity here

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Why it is important to ask for support?

By Vaishnavi Kumar

Anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you
– Misty Copeland

Asking for support in the past has been generally seen as a sign of people who are weak, dependent, and uncertain about what to do. It is assumed that they aren’t smart or brave enough to get things done. People are told to be independent, strong, and firm with the decisions they make from the beginning. Most of them misinterpret this advice as to not seek support and to accomplish everything on their own.

In reality, that’s not the case. Seeking support or help when you need it should have no shame attached to it. It gives a sense of confidence to the person seeking it. The person providing it feels better that they could help. People don’t become a burden when they ask for help. Everybody needs help, guidance and more at a point in their life and it’s absolutely fine to ask for it. Instead of struggling alone, reach out to someone and share your problems.

Important reasons to ask for support:

The first reason is that you don’t have to go through everything alone. Having friends and family isn’t just for the sake of enjoying. Reach out to them, be open with the fact that you need support and you’ll instantly feel much better. Your bond with the person also tends to become stronger when you show your confidence in them.

Secondly, when you approach someone for help, you allow the other person to showcase their abilities and talents. Everyone is different and has a unique way of tackling problems. You learn about the various ways in which a particular thing can be solved and the other person gets to hone their skills as well.

Thirdly, it improves your social skills. Seeking support is one of the hardest things that people can do. If you do develop this skill and have no regrets or hesitation while asking for support, you have taken your social skills further.

Lastly, when you ask for support, you are breaking the stereotype and encouraging more people to seek help when they need it. You are making a statement that it is okay to be flawed. We are there for each other to make things easier and better.

Things to remember while seeking support –
- Always be polite – You are the one in need of support, so be kind and gentle.
- Be frank – Don’t go beating around the bush. Have confidence and get to the point.
- Ask for it only when in need – Don’t be lazy and rely on others for minute problems as well. Seek support only when you need it.
- Be truthful- Never lie about a situation when seeking help. Let the other person know the entire story.
- Don’t force – Let people decide whether they want to provide support. Don’t pressurise them to do so.
We hope after reading this, you will be a little less hesitant and more open to asking when you need it.

For more on this topic see here

See this post on asking for support when getting back on track from work related burn out.

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Toxic Productivity – All you need to know

By Vaishnavi Kumar

“NEVER CONFUSE ACTIVITY WITH PRODUCTIVITY”
RICK WARREN

People who misunderstand toxic productivity with being productive – you are probably reading the right thing for you today.

What is toxic productivity?

Toxic productivity is just a fancy term for workaholism. Workaholism means obsessing over work. Working constantly without achieving an output is not productive. Productivity is when you put aside time for a certain job, accomplish it and end your day feeling good about the time put in.

Toxic productivity is a buzzword lately. Many people are victims, especially due to the pandemic and the resultant lockdown. It is also a side effect of perfectionism.

In simple words, toxic productivity is an unhealthy tendency to be productive all the time and to not stop even when the job has been completed.

How does toxic productivity affect us?

When individuals are obsessed with being productive they tend to ignore other important things in life. The constant desire to work and accomplish things steals the happiness from them. Being never satisfied no matter what they achieve and are constantly on the go. They continue to judge themselves based on what they have not done instead of the things they have achieved. And often they tend to push themselves above their threshold and eventually end up in a terrible state of physical and mental health.

Signs which show you are a victim of toxic productivity:
- No satisfaction: People who feel dissatisfied often. Working for a short time doesn’t give them satisfaction and relaxing doesn’t give them pleasure.
- Isolation: People tend to distance themselves because they see these as distractions that will affect their work.
- Guilt: A sense of guilt arises when you do or even think about something other than work.
- The feeling of failure: When you don’t meet commitments, for whatever reasons, they start considering themselves as a failure who is worthless.
- Abnormal fatigue: Toxic productive people suffer from unusual tiredness. Even after a 8-hour sleep, they wake up extremely tired and sick.
How to avoid it?
- Set up a schedule- Make a schedule for yourself and try to follow it. The schedule must include exercise, tasks at work, and of course leisure time.
- Pursuing a hobby– Take your mind off work and start pursuing a hobby. Do what makes you happy and relax for a while.
- Spend time with your loved ones– Spending quality with family and friends works like magic. The best way to avoid toxic productivity is by being around people you love.
- Get Counseling – If things go out of control, and you are not able to handle the situation on your own, seek professional help.
Toxic productivity is something that might seem very normal to a lot of people because most of them see this as a sign of ambitious people. The constant anxiety of knowing that if we stop, our competitors might go ahead of us is not healthy and is a major sign of toxic productivity.

It is important to understand when productivity is turning toxic and affecting your well-being.

We like this post on Huffpost on this topic.

Dealing with burnout already, see this post on self care on our blog.

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Simple ways to create a lovely WFH space

By Vaishanvi Kumar

WFH (Work from home) has become the new normal or lets say normal. We have all been dealing with this for almost 2 years now. But some people are yet to cope with it. It’s difficult for people with small homes, noisy surroundings, dim lights and other problems to create a nice WFH space. This coupled with waking up in the same home and working, not really stepping out and meeting new people or people has created stress and mental fatigue in many.

So today we bring to you some simple ways which will help you create a lovely WFH space whether you’re in full WFH mode or a Hybrid model –

The first and foremost step is to find a suitable place in your home. By suitable we mean, a corner where there is minimal disturbance, natural light, and a nice view with fresh air if you have access to it. As rightly said by Louis Kahn, “A room is not a room without natural light.” And sometimes all you need is some fresh air to boost your morale and uplift your mood.

The second step is to arrange the essentials. Since you’ll use this space for longer hours, it is necessary that the place you are working in is comfortable. A cosy chair, laptop stand, spacious table, a diary, ring light etc. If you have a budget constraint then be creative to make your work space not only comfortable but add a touch of your personal style to it.

The third step is to maintain cleanliness, not only of the space visible in your screen but your entire work place. Cleanliness may be defined to be the emblem of purity of mind, as said by Joseph Addison. Neat and spotless place keeps our mind fresh and gives us more motivation to work. Cleaning also serves as a therapy as we gain a sense of accomplishing something. Prepare your desk for the next day when you wind up for the day. So you start on a fresh note vs a messy one.

The fourth step is to decorate your workspace. Add fun decor items, book ends, photographs, stationery, fresh flowers, comfortable cushions and your favourite coffee mug. It may be painting a wall, or beautifying it with indoor plants. You could add pretty art prints too, anything that makes you happy. This can be done on a budget, but the investment will be worth it. The livelier the place, the more you’ll enjoy your work.

We all know how stressful these times are and it’ll take a little time to cope with these situations. Incorporate the above simple things in your life and you’ll observe that WFH is not so stressful and boring. We hope that these tips will help you and make your WFH fun!!

Successfully working from home is a skill just like programming, designing or writing. It takes time and commitment to develop that skill.

– ALEX TURNBULL

Don’t stress out, take your time and do your best!!

For more tips on WFH decor read this article from @goop

For tips on increasing or being productive while you work from home read our blog post here

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How to grow your side hustle while slaying it at your 9-to-5

By Anusha Bapat

A side hustle can help you grow personally as well as professionally. Not only can it aid you financially but it can also act as an escape from work. With a practical schedule and a positive attitude, you can set up a successful side hustle while doing your 9-to-5.

Here I share 4 things to help you stay the course:

1 Commit to a schedule – Productivity is key. You need to create a schedule that allows you to set up your business without allowing it to eat up time from your other projects. Analyse what time of the day or week you have a clear mind and when you are most productive. Some people work better early in the morning and others work better before bedtime. Figure out how often you want to spend time on your side hustle and do your best to stick to the plan.

2. Treat the side hustle the same way you treat your job – Give it the same effort, seriousness and importance. You would not forfeit from doing office work just because you were lazy. Don’t skip your side hustle schedule just because you aren’t in the mood for it. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. It’s important to set a practical schedule. Set small, reasonable goals so that you feel productive and motivated.

3. Be a part of an entrepreneurs community – This could be a facebook group or an online forum where individuals like you wanting to be entrepreneurs while holding a job discuss resources and tips to grow. This is a great way to help keep yourself accountable while also building your network and connections.

4. Don’t compromise on quality – Outsource and hire when you need help. Investing in a good team,can really boost your performance. Not only will your business look more professional but you will also have more time to manage all your work load.

Ensure you have a sustainable flow of customers before quitting your day job. People often get carried away with the excitement of starting a business but forget that it takes time and effort for it to return profits. Don’t quit your day job until you have financially padded yourself, for both personal and business use. Plan for at least 6 months to a year in savings to help you survive the loss of earnings.

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4 essentials to get you back on track after a work burnout

By Anusha Bapat

The overwhelming feeling of drowning in work isn’t very pleasant. Work burnout is a form of stress that leaves you physically and emotionally tired and unmotivated.

The common causes of this are heavy workload, long working hours and unclear expectations that leave you feeling unaccomplished.

1.Seek support. Look for employee support programs at your workplace. Asking for different responsibilities can break you from feeling bored and tired of repetitive work. Share your thoughts and concerns with the people who genuinely care for you.

2. Join a yoga or meditation class. Meditation and light exercise has been clinically proven to help with stress and anxiety. You may not get results right away but in the long run it is greatly beneficial to your body, mind and soul. It will stop you from depending on caffeine and alcohol too. Make time for meaningful things outside of work like spending time with your friends and journaling. Practicing affirmations and positive thinking help prevent lack of enthusiasm.

3. Ponder on the reasons you feel unsatisfied and discouraged at work. Address the root causes. Remind yourself of what you did differently when you actually loved the job. Some questions to ask yourself are: ‘What is causing the burnout- is it the work or people around me?’, ‘What can I do to stop feeling this way?’, ‘Am I only tired of this particular project or is it my role as a whole?’

4. Take some time off. Use this time to think about the future and whether your current job is accelerating you towards it. Taking a vacation can recharge you and improve your attitude towards work. If you dread work to a point where it takes away your sleep and happiness then it is a sign to recourse your life. Talking to a therapist or finding a new job can help solve your distress.

Work burnout is a very common drawback in every professional’s life. Often it could be a result of a particular project. Although if it causes long term stress and adversely affects your physical and mental health,it may be a good idea to get professional help.

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Work smarter, not harder and Start today!

By Bhumika Ramesh

We all want to be more productive and get more out of the hours we put in. Most of us feel we should to put in more hours and way more work to get desired results. Nevertheless, we still exhaust ourselves trying to reach such goals or deadlines. Working hard is an important factor, but it does not count for everything – working smarter is a finer option. Be effective, it is beneficial in the long run rather than just putting in long hours. In this article, I’ll be going through a few tips that can help optimize your workload and make it a much more efficient process.
- Don’t romanticize the hustle.
A lot of people have the idea that working long hours and functioning in a high-pressure environment is an achievement. This has evolved into what is now ‘hustle culture’. We need to stop romanticizing this hustle. It doesn’t bid well to anyone who is a part of it. Working all the time, being available 24/7 isn’t the answer – it just creates an illusion of productivity in the beholder. Quality work in short time periods has proven to be much more effective than a long drawn out hustle.
- It’s okay to take a break!
Pushing yourself to the edge of burnout is never a good thing. It takes a huge toll on your physical and mental health. Making sure you get breaks between tasks to revitalize is extremely crucial. Rejuvenation and a vacation can do wonders. Get smart about how you organise yourself.
- Don’t compete with people who have a huge team behind them.
Taking on the workload of an entire team is no easy feat and it isn’t feasible in the long run. Do not push yourself by doing so. Work at your own pace and you’ll get there in time. You can hire people later to help you with the rest of your goals!
- Watch out for the Law of Diminishing Results!
It is proven that productivity falls sharply after a 50-hour-workweek and drops down almost completely after 55 hours. It isn’t going to mean a lot if you overexert yourself – the quality of your work can diminish.
- Build a business that works for you.
When you work for a business that favors you and your time, the quality of your work and your output will definitely see an increase. Make sure the businesses you get into don’t work against you, otherwise it becomes easy for exertion to take over.

Working smarter can save us a lot of energy, increase motivation, and develop passion deep inside. It can make you an extremely valuable asset to your company. It can also create a quality work-life balance and help to cultivate relationships in and out of the workspace. Hoping this article brought some new insight!

Read this article on Digital organization here.

For more tips on approaching work smarter, we love this article on Inc.com

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5 Tips to have an organised digital life

By Jivitha Shobashree

We all like our houses to be neat, clean and organised. We take in the effort to remove all the unwanted stuff. It will be the same in our digital life as well. All our digital devices needs to be organised and arranged.

The other need for an organised digital life is that it saves time. Digital Declutter slows down your productivity and makes your computer slow due to the excess storage present in your devices.

These days our devices are used as storage for all aspects in our digital lives. We tend to save things which we know we will never need or be able to find. Digital declutter is a phenomenon of poor device maintenance.

So in this post I will be explaining different ways to efficiently declutter your digital life.
1. Documents/files
We save tons of our work documents and files thinking it will be of use one day but that one day will never come.

Try to remove these unnecessary documents or store them in an external drive. It will reduce your storage and you can easily access the files or documents which are of urgent need.

All of us have a backup of all our documents. First thing you need to do is segregate the ones required and the ones not required. Then delete all the not required documents and the backups.

If you have too many files, start arranging them in chronological order.
1. Detox your email
We all get a lot of mails which we don’t read. And searching for the required mails is a tiresome process because it gets mixed up with all the unnecessary mails.

Hence organising your mails is essential. Unsubscribe to the news letters you don’t read, arrange your mails in different folders. Don’t read your mails as and when you get them keep a time slot for an hour or so to read and reply to the mails.
1. Social media
I believe social media is a boon and bane. It can be very addictive to some people while the others make efficient use of it.

If using social media makes you sad the best way is to take some time of and try something new.

Organise your social media apps by either

-Blocking feeds you don’t read.

-Unfollow people on your social media and be close to the ones who are close to you.

-Schedule a time to open your social media.

– mute your notifications so that you don’t get distracted.
1. Organised Photos
-First thing you all should do to organise your photos is to delete all the unwanted photos.

-Then start arranging your photos into different files and folders.

-Back your photos up into an external drive or other apps such as Google photos, iCloud etc.

-Delete the other photos on other devices.
1. Unused Apps
We download so many apps as a one time use or thinking we’d use it again but how many of us continue to use those apps frequently?

Those apps are the unused apps.

Go through the apps you have in your phone and laptop/computer.

-delete the unused apps.

-go to your settings and find out the app that you use less frequently, hide them or offload the app.

-then start organising your apps based on the usage and tasks performed.

The conclusion

This digital age has been muddled and misguided.

With an explosion of apps and information it becomes difficult to keep track of what is required and what is not which ultimately leads to reaching your storage capacity.

That is when organizing your digital life comes into picture.

In the words of Francine jay

“Decluttering is infinitely easier when you think of it as deciding what to keep, rather than deciding what to throw away.”

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Why grit is the most important quality to be successful?

By Sowmya Narasimhan

We all have our fears. Some fear taking the first step. While others fear the consequences.

But should this stop us from doing what we want to do?

Not at all. We have to face our fears and try to overcome them. To accomplish this you have to have grit.

Grit means to be courageous. It means to make a decision, stand by it, and doing what must be done. It is a blend of passion and persistence.

How does it help you to be successful?
1. Following your passion
Not everyone can achieve what they dream. Most of us are afraid of failures and choose to live our life the monotonous way. But this will not make you successful. You must be brave and never give up. You may fail but be bold and never stop chasing your dreams.

2. Initiation and motivation

“Failure is the stepping stone to success” is a very common proverb we’ve all come across but to come back after a failure, one must have grit. Grit also helps you to be motivated and to keep you focused on your goal.

3. Success and talent

Most of us have a misconception that only talented people are successful. Grit is a far more reliable predictor of success than talent. It is a powerful attitude that helps you to stand out from the crowd. Here’s Duckworth’s formula for success:

Talent X Effort = Skill

Skill X Effort = Achievement

Handling criticism and being a sport

No matter which field you choose you have to know how to deal with criticism. To deal with false allegations and trolls, grit is very important. You may win or lose but you have to be gritty and handle both failure and success with the same attitude.

Grit is the grain of character. A grit mind strengthens all of your strengths. Thus you can clearly say grit is an important quality that you should have in your life.

I would like to conclude by suggesting to you this amazing book written by Angela Duckworth: Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

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Detox Your Inbox

by Jivitha Shobashree

Distractions aren’t they vicious. They can take your mind of something effortlessly. Your Email being one of the distractions.

What does Detox your email mean?

When you open your phone or laptop to do a particular work and your mind gets diverted into seeing the notifications or emails. And then to focus back on your work becomes difficult.

Therefore there should be a particular time set for seeing your emails. And only the important mails or the ones required should be there.

Detoxing your inbox is very similar to cleaning your wardrobe. Though it sounds like a lot of work, once you set aside the clothes you don’t wear and arrange your new ones in an orderly manner the next time you want to choose an outfit you would be quick with your choice.

It’s the same with emails, remove the old and unwanted mails arrange your mailbox in an orderly manner, create different files for important mails so you’ll read only the resourceful ones and the amount of time you spend is less.

5 tips to detox your inbox

Turn off notifications:

First thing you have to do if you want to work without any distractions is to turn off your notifications.

Try to keep a specific time to check your mails:

Most people get distracted when the alert sound rings, when you lose your focus it takes 23 minutes to get back to your task after an interruption.

Unsubscribe as much as possible:

Out of the mails you get which ones do you actually read? How many of these mails are important, that you reply to? Start by unsubscribing the mails you don’t read. Then your mailbox becomes more organised and clean.

Suppose a few mails are of interest but not at that particular time then mark those mails as read and have them go directly into a special folder such as “Read later” or “promo’s” You can open up this folder whenever you have the time.

Draft without distraction:

When you reply or draft a mail, can you type it without getting distracted by other mails or opening your inbox first? When you compose a mail try not getting distracted, type and send the mail. Also you can draft mails in a batch and have them set to go at a certain time.

Check your mail:

Like I shared above we should have a time scheduled for everything. Which includes checking our mail box as well. Set aside an hour or so, to reply and read your mails. This will help you focus on the activities that you do without having to think about replying to those mails. It reduces your stress.

Change of app:

When you try to draft a mail and that’s when you get tons of notifications that you feel tempted to open them. A solution to this problem is to try changing your app. Suppose you want to text a colleague you can use an instant messaging app. Instead of writing emails just call and talk.

Detox your mail!

Start detoxing your inbox right away. You will feel more at peace and organised. This will help you in the long run.

In the words of Mark Zuckerburg, “I’m here to build something for the long-term. Anything else is a distraction.”

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