Day: 26 January 2021

8 Habits of Highly Effective People

Post author By Mind You
Post date 26 January 2021

8 Habits of Highly Effective People

26 January 2021

Trying to stay on track at work can feel overwhelming at times. You feel as though you’re falling behind and can’t seem to get anything done. You find yourself staying late after work and skipping your lunch break when in reality, the extra hours don’t make much of a difference. In addition, working long hours can negatively impact your overall health.

Highly effective people (HEPs) rarely need to work extra hours to complete their tasks on time. Their secret? Working smarter, not longer. Here are habits you can pick up to become more highly effective:

1. Prioritize the Most Important Tasks

Trim the fat of your to-do list by completing the most important tasks first. The start of your shift is usually the best time to complete tasks as you’re more likely to be more alert and energetic.

2. Focus on the Task, and Less on the Time

When assigned a new project don’t think too much about how long it will actually take. Instead, think about what actually needs to get done and break it down into sub-projects. By starting a project with this mindset, the tasks will feel more manageable.

3. Communication is Key

What usually distinguishes HEPs from the rest is their ability to communicate and collaborate with their team and superiors. By improving your communication skills you’ll eliminate the chances of miscommunications or misunderstandings and avoid wasting precious time on a project.

4. Create a Routine to Automate Decisions

There’s a reason why some of the top CEOs, like Mark Zuckerberg, choose to wear the same outfit every day. Create a work uniform. Start meal prepping over the weekend. Automate decisions, so you can transfer the saved energy into your work.

5. Avoid Multi-tasking

If you have many things to do, go through them one at a time. Studies have shown that those who work on multiple tasks at the same time are less likely to perform well compared to participants who focus on one task at a time.

6. Manage Stress

While some work stress is inevitable, using your free time to relieve yourself from tension can boost your effectiveness when it’s time to head back to the desk. Some great stress relievers include exercising, meditation, spending time with friends and family, practicing a hobby, or even just walking in a park.

7. Let Joy Be Your Main Motivator

Whether it’s big or small, if you enjoy something then keep doing it. That being said, for every job there will always be a task or two that is less fun. But once you become aware of the things that bring you joy at work, volunteer to do them whenever you have the chance.

8. Attitude is Everything

A positive attitude can go a long way during the workday. A good attitude will help you set high standards for your work, make decisions easier and ensure that you’re taking responsibility for yourself and the team.

Here are ways to reinforce your ability to stay resilient when facing adversity.

Correct self-defeating behaviours. When we feel lonely, we sometimes act counterproductively by avoiding further social interactions to minimise the risk of feeling this way again. Take a moment to identify the excuses you make in social situations and challenge yourself to attend or initiate despite your fears. You can also make a list of people whose company you enjoy, and initiate plans to meet up with them.
Fail fast and learn faster. Failure can sometimes distort our perception of reality by making our goals seem further out of reach, which demotivates us from continuing to pursue them. Reorient your mind to acknowledge that everybody makes mistakes, and take this failure as an opportunity to learn and grow. Establish what you had under your control, such as your effort or preparation time, then identify how you can improve on these factors moving forward. Not only will this help you develop a more positive and productive attitude towards future roadblocks, but it will also increase your chances of success.

Do not dwell. When we make mistakes, we tend to turn the situation around in our heads and become very self-critical. While it is important to reflect in order to improve, catch yourself from spending too much time thinking about what happened and what could have been. You can do this by distracting yourself with an activity that requires concentration, such as doing brain teasers, reading educational articles, or watching light-hearted TV shows.

Understand rejection. Rejections have a way of making us feel undervalued and invalidated. For instance, you may feel dismissed by a social circle, or your application for a job did not progress to the next stage. While our friendship groups and careers form part of our identity, they do not define us entirely. Affirm yourself by listing down attributes and qualities that are important to you and that you believe you possess, your achievements, and hardships you have overcome.

Unload emotional baggage. We carry excessive guilt often because someone we care about has not yet forgiven us. A key ingredient to a sincere apology is empathy. When you apologise to someone, make sure you show that you understand how you made them feel. If your apology is sincere and they are still not ready to forgive you, know that this is something out of your control. Time and space heals all wounds, yet there will be times when the other party will not give you the closure you need, and you will need to learn how to do this for yourself. Practice self-forgiveness and self-betterment by acknowledging your shortcomings, identifying how to improve, and following through.

Tags Featured Article

COVID-19

How to Keep Employees Motivated From Home

Post author By Mind You
Post date 26 January 2021

How to Keep Employees Motivated From Home

26 January 2021

With an impending recession, it is vital to ensure that your team and business are able to tackle this challenge head on. Upkeeping a high level of productivity is key when working against a declining economy. To add to this, having no control over workspace can affect a worker’s productivity, a study from the Harvard Business Review suggests. So, how can you motivate employees as a manager? The key is adaptability and experimentation.

Leaders must encourage workers to learn to adapt to their new work life and allow them to experiment with new and unique ways to approach work-related problems. The same Harvard Business Review study suggests three positive key motivators that can help increase an employee’s work performance: play, purpose and potential. It is crucial to ensure that all three motivators are still present when working from home. Studies have shown that when a worker loses direct access and physical connection to colleagues and superiors, all the key motivators are likely to be threatened. Even after the lockdown period, it’s important to maintain those positive motivators.

With all of this in mind, here’s what you can do to motivate your employees during self-isolation:

Loosen the boundaries and previous strict rules.

Old rules may not be relevant to the new conditions, especially when working remotely. It’s important to make sure previous strict rules and processes are addressed and re-evaluated to better suit the current situation. Too many rules can cause people’s motivation to decrease and lose their ability to problem-solve and think creatively. By lessening the boundaries, workers are more likely to improve their adaptability performance.

If you want your team to be engaged in their work, you have to make their work engaging.

Provide workers the opportunity to solve both minor and major problems that could benefit the company. When workers are stuck using the same-old tactical approach and find difficulty in accomplishing their goals, their purpose will be badly affected. By offering new problems to solve, a worker’s engagement will likely increase. Be sure these problems are worth the time and effort and contribute to the overall goal for the team or company.

Re-structure your meetings

Shift weekly goals/performance meeting from tactical led to focus on adaptive performance. Meetings at the start of the week should focus on whatever new experiments and approaches will be conducted during that same week. Use the time to evaluate the previous week’s experiment and discuss what worked and what didn’t. At the end of the week, meetings should be a time to reflect on the overall performance.

Arrange to have one-on-one weekly meetings with team members to set personal goals.

During the week be sure to hold individual meetings and catch-ups with each team member to discuss their own goals and progress. Best practice is to discuss each team member’s motivators and demotivators and what can be done to optimise their work performance. This is also a great opportunity to see what you as a leader can do to motivate and support them.

Provide an environment for your team to talk and share their experiences.

During meetings, make an effort to encourage group discussions on the current climate. This can be a time for the team to provide tips on how to cope, whether it be work related or not, or even to express their grievances. This creates a safe environment for employees to share ideas, discuss their problems and maintain a sense of connection with each other.

When workers are feeling anxious, it’s important to offer them a break from thinking about the worst-case scenarios. Providing a good work environment and motivation can certainly help with their overall mental health and even provide a healthy escape from the current situation.

Workers whose duties, prior to COVID-19, mainly focused on tactical goals may find difficulty in the sudden shift. When an event such as COVID-19 abruptly changes the way business works, it is vital to learn how to adapt to the change and use new techniques for problem-solving. Be sure to remember that this sudden change doesn’t have to be the end of your business. Rather, see this as an opportunity to strengthen your team and practice the art of resilience.

COVID-19

The ROI of Mental Health

Post author By Mind You
Post date 26 January 2021

The ROI of Mental Health

26 January 2021

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, health and well-being should be the utmost priorities of employers and companies across the globe. The global health crisis has greatly taken a toll on the mental health of people as a result of lockdown measures, social distancing, and isolation.

Companies, among others, should be the first ones to ensure the well-being of their constituents. Most importantly, business leaders should focus more on the mental health of their staff, as the negative impacts of the pandemic may have caused distress, anxiety, and depression.

The Global Burden of Mental Health Issues

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about one in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. About 450 million people are currently suffering from these conditions, putting mental disorders among the leading causes of illness and disability across the globe.

The latest estimates of mental health disorder prevalence show that about 792 million people lived with a mental health disorder in 2017, which is more than one in ten people globally.

Worldwide, more than 40 percent of countries have no mental health policy and more than 33 percent of the countries allocate less than 1 percent of their health budget to mental health, with another 33 percent spending about 1 percent of their budgets on mental health.

Return on Investment (ROI) of Mental Health

Employers should invest in mental health programs to benefit not only their employees but the company as a whole. Employers and companies must take into consideration the mental health of their workforce.

Poor mental health among employees may take a toll on the finances of employers. However, there is still a lingering problem of investing in workplace mental health, with many employers lacking the knowledge of best practices to promote mental health.

Some companies do not understand the benefits of investing in the mental health of their workforce, which can promote productivity and creativity among the employees.

Workplaces that promote mental health and support people with mental disorders are more likely to have decreased levels of absenteeism, increased productivity, and better economic gains. The WHO says that for every $1 invested into scaled-up treatment for common mental disorders, there is a return of about $4 in improved health and productivity.

In Canada, companies that invested in mental health programs for workers for at least a year experienced a median annual return on investment (ROI) of $1.62 for every dollar spend. Meanwhile, companies that had similar programs, which have been running for at least three years, had an ROI of $2.18 for every dollar invested.

Prioritizing the mental health of the workforce provides benefits for both parties, with a promising ROI for companies. Investing in mental health is a win-win situation for both the company and its workers.

Business & Mental Health

SM Supermalls and Mind You team up for mental health awareness in the workplace

Post author By Mind You
Post date 26 January 2021

SM Supermalls and Mind You team up for mental health awareness in the workplace

26 January 2021

SM Supermalls, one of the largest mall developers and operators in Southeast Asia, has recently joined hands with Mind You, a mental-health technology company, to boost its mental health and wellness programs for its employees amid the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“There is a duality to the benefits of SM’s partnership with Mind You as employees can finally access unlimited mental healthcare without the barriers of stigma or financial cost, while SM will improve workforce productivity,” said Cheryll Ruth Agsaoay, SM Supermalls Vice President for Human Resources.

With this partnership, SM Supermalls will be helping its employees deal with stress from personal challenges, the workplace, and isolation. SM employees may now book therapy sessions instantly and anonymously through Mind You’s online platform.

“It will lead the way for employee wellness in the Philippines. The whole team is excited to provide SM employees with access to our world-class online platform,” said Cameron Quin, Mind You Chief Coordinator.

Quin lauded SM Supermalls’ proactive approach to supporting its employees, as many companies cut costs as they grapple with the pandemic. Due to the stigma of mental health, most Filipinos choose not to seek professional help. Studies say that many employees often call in sick because of stress.

Incorporated by Filipino-Australian Entrepreneur Yuri Marshall, Mind You was established to combat mental health crisis resulting from the effects of COVID-19. It offers an innovative online platform designed to assess employee’s stress levels and provides unlimited access to psychological counseling, educational resources, live webinars, and management, and leadership training on mental health.

To know more about career opportunities at SM Supermalls, visit www.smprimecareers.com/smsupermalls, or follow SM Supermalls on LinkedIn (@SMSupermalls).

Business & Mental Health

Financial Tips: Saving Money

Post author By Mind You
Post date 26 January 2021

Financial Tips: Saving Money

26 January 2021

Do you want to save more money?

Saving money is a good habit to develop because it has many benefits. Some of them include being prepared for unexpected emergencies, paying off debts, and creating a nest egg of money for your future.

In traditional Filipino culture there is typically a breadwinner of the family. Not just for immediate family but extended family members also. This reduces the remaining income that an individual has to save for themselves. Circumstances like this can exacerbate a person’s debt, leading to a downward spiral. Financial stresses are a common source of mental health concerns.

Use the following tips below to help grow your savings and reduce your financial stress.

Tips to help you save more money:

Make a list of all your monthly expenses

List everything at first! From big-ticket items like car maintenance to smaller ones, such as cups of coffee. You can then sort your list into categories e.g. groceries, mortgage and gas. Don’t forget to verify the accuracy of your own accounting by checking credit card and bank statements.

Create a strict monthly budget

Once you have a list of your expenses, you can work out a budget that is in line with your monthly income. This will give you a clear idea of your expenses vs. your monthly income. Be sure to put some of that money aside, as part of your emergency funds and as part of your long-term savings goals. Aim to save 10-20% of your income.

Cut down on unnecessary spending

Eating out is one of the main areas of over spending. You can lessen the amount of times you eat out by cooking at home and packing your own work lunch. If there is something expensive you want to buy, give yourself a couple of days to think about it before making the purchase. You may be glad you passed up on spending money for it. Refer to your list and decide which things you can do without and replace them with activities that truly make you happy.

Set financial goals:

A good time is to divide your goals into short-term and long-term goals. Short-term goals (1-3 years) could include rent, insurance and student loan payments, holidays, and personal goods. Long-term goals (4+ years) could include your children’s education or retirement. While it is important to never lose sight of long-term goals, short-term goals can be important, too. Save up for a fun gift to yourself, like a smartphone or a weekend trip – saving and reaping the rewards for these smaller goals can help keep you motivated to stay on track with your other saving goals.

Productivity

How To Approach A Coworker You Are Unsure About

Post author By Mind You
Post date 26 January 2021

How To Approach A Coworker You Are Unsure About

26 January 2021

As with normal, everyday life, you will meet all kinds of people at work. In order to navigate these relationships, it is necessary to employ a number of interpersonal skills.

It is tempting to just minimise contact with the person and avoid them when possible. And in some situations, this may actually be an appropriate answer – for instance, if the difficult coworker is someone you hardly work with or if you know that the short-term project you’re both working on will come to an end soon. However, more often than not, it is important to address relationship strains sooner rather than later. Unresolved tensions may lead to altercations and disagreements that could have been avoided.

Follow these steps if you are unsure about how to approach your coworker.

Look inwards. Take this as an opportunity to self-reflect. Could it be that it is you that is overreacting to the situation? Perhaps you have a heavy workload, looming deadlines or are even facing some personal crises at home, unconsciously projecting these worries onto other people. Take note of what was said to you that you found offensive or frustrating – was it about something you are insecure over? Ensure that you are able to determine whether it is really another person’s behaviour that is frustrating you.

Consult colleagues you trust for advice. It is always good to have an objective perspective to weigh in on your situation. Perhaps your colleague has worked with that coworker in the past and can give some useful advice on how best to communicate with them.

Have a private conversation with the person concerned. Always phrase what you say in terms of how their words or actions affected YOU, so it doesn’t seem like you are attacking them. Be amicable and agreeable when you speak with them. Sometimes, people don’t know how they affect others and it could just be a case of ignorance. You may also use positive statements, such as “I really enjoy working at this company and would like to have good relationships with everyone,” or open-ended ones, such as “I value our work relationship and so would like to know what you think of our current interactions.”

Have a follow-up conversation. Determine whether their behaviour has improved, stayed the same, or gotten worse. If it has worsened, it may be time to escalate the issue to your manager or supervisor.

Escalation. Show your boss that you tried to handle things independently first; if not, it will look like you are unable to take responsibility. Make sure you frame your concerns in terms of how it affects your productivity and the quality of your work, as opposed to solely about the interpersonal relationship itself.

Productivity

Leadership In Times of Crisis

Post author By Mind You
Post date 26 January 2021

Leadership In Times of Crisis

26 January 2021

The unpredictability of crises means that there is no telling when they will happen, and for how long they will endure. Thus good leadership is often tested and therefore most apparent during a crisis. It is important for leaders to be prepared for anything at a moment’s notice. To be an effective leader, you must equip your team with a clear idea of the circumstances, a plan of action, and tools to help them execute the plan. Lastly, ensure you provide support throughout whatever comes their way.

Be a clear communicator. Periods of uncertainty can create lots of confusion, so convey the situation in a concise and easily digestible manner. Construct the narrative so that it is grounded in reality but also hopeful. While it is vital that your team has a clear grasp of what is happening, it is just as important to speak to them with empathy and optimism.

Be honest. Your credibility hinges on your expertise and dependability, but there will be times you won’t know what to do or will require further expertise. It is acceptable to be transparent about these moments as long as you have next steps – for instance, you may decide to call on professors, policymakers or scientists to help you reach an informed decision.

Manage stress – both yours and theirs. Your team will be counting on you to make well-informed decisions in a calm and deliberate way. A display of panic may exacerbate existing anxieties, so ensure that you take a moment for yourself to fully absorb the situation in front of you before you make any public announcements. Of course there will still be concerns and worries to manage, which you can do by answering any questions your team may have, delegating tasks or simply even just bringing the room to order. Keeping everyone focused amidst the chaos is a key ingredient to being a great leader.

Be decisive and adaptable. A cornerstone of effective leadership is the ability to take action when others cannot, to make the hard decisions when others cannot. Equip yourself with the tools to make decisions quickly, whether that be through smoothing out systems and processes or having advisors on-call. Be ready to make changes at any given moment. Try your best to reach a decision that benefits everyone, but know that you cannot please everybody.

Provide a forum for feedback and support through regular communications. Communication is a two-way street. Provide a space for your team to leave feedback about the new changes so they can see that you are taking their opinions into consideration when you make decisions. Support them by checking in on their wellbeing and progress to show that you will be there for them as they are there for you.

Practice what you preach. Your team wants a role model to look up to. Set the standard by doing what you are asking them to do.

Productivity

How To Strengthen Your Emotional Resilience

Post author By Mind You
Post date 26 January 2021

How To Strengthen Your Emotional Resilience

26 January 2021

It is instinctual to tend to our wounds when they are physical ones. If I cut my finger, I’ll put a bandaid on it. If I have a persisting migraine, I’ll take over-the-counter painkillers. We are so quick to tend to our physical injuries, but not yet so accustomed to treating our psychological ones.

Here are ways to reinforce your ability to stay resilient when facing adversity.