Quantcast
Channel: Calling Dreams

Personal Development Techniques Busy Executives Can Use

$
0
0

Personal development is vital for every human. It is a personal development that helps each one of us to maintain the work-home harmony by aligning our inner peace. Although it won’t be wrong to say that we all are busy in our lives, but the life of a business executive is definitely a lot harder and more stressful.

With the monumental pressure of work responsibilities on their fragile shoulders, executives are too busy and sloshed out to pay more attention to their personal development. Having reached the zenith at the workplace, you may feel that you can do with practicing deliberate techniques to hone your personal skills. But that certainly isn’t the case!

No matter how well you’re doing in your professional life, there is always scope to do better. You must learn to grow personally and improve your interpersonal and communicative skills.

This will eventually help you to achieve your long-term goals. Since the scope for development isn’t going to present itself at your doorstep, you simply cannot afford to sit back and wait for your chance. If you are really serious about making your life better (both personally and professionally), then you must be the one to bring about a significant change. Here are 10 tips that you can practice as a part of your personal development strategy.

10 Personal Development Techniques Every Busy Executive Should Use

Techniques Busy Executives Can Use for Personal Development

Personal development will help you get closer to your objectives – both in the home front and in your career. Here are top 10 tips that can make things easier for you!

1. Take out some time to read more.

Books are a man’s best friend. Reading is a habit that you must cultivate irrespective of what field you are from. Books can help you gather more knowledge and learn new things. When it comes to books, do not be picky.

Read all kinds of books – from science fiction to management books, from novels to autobiographies – every book has something in store for you. Books can also serve as the best source for creative innovation!

Reading books on leadership and personal development can train you in problem-solving. If you are too busy or your schedule is too packed up, making it impossible for you to read through tedious tomes, then start your day by reading a few articles in the morning. You can only imagine the ways in which this little step is going to help you.

2. Spend time with your thoughts.

I understand that as an executive you have too much going on in your head. You must be categorizing and prioritizing the things that you need to do. And that is exactly why you do not spend enough time reflecting on your thoughts.

The first step in personal development is assessing your inner-self. You can only assess your inner self when you learn to ponder about what you feel and what you do. If you want to grow as a leader and a person, then allow yourself the much-needed you-time when you are disconnected from your work and other distractions. Use the time to reflect on your actions, and think peacefully.

3. Remember your bigger goals.

Quite often, we start taking our life goals less seriously after we have achieved success in our work life. You need to remember that a designation and a higher paycheck isn’t really your goal.

We all have a broader goal for our lives, and our responsibility is to work towards it, slowly and steadily. Nowadays, life is hectic, and more so for a business executive. While it certainly is easy to take shortcuts, what you must remember is that these shortcuts can cost you dearly.

So, do not make rash decisions and do not lose sight of yourself. Keep to the earth and maintain a clear connection with your soul. Although your work will demand otherwise, make sure that you stay connected to your vision.  

4. Try to understand the people around you.

Each one of us is unique in our own way. The true personal development would mean that we learn to understand each person, irrespective of our differences.

To hone your leadership skills, you must be curious about the people around you. You need to understand how human beings behave in different situations. When you try to understand the people around you, you learn to think like them.

You get an insight into their approaches towards a task or a challenge. These insights can prove to be beneficial for your business. You can take better decisions when you learn to think from other people’s perspective.

5. Understand how others feel about you.

One of the most effective techniques is to first get a proper understanding of how people around you feel about you and how they perceive you. Just having enough ideas about how to improve isn’t all.

It is only when you know about people’s perception, you know the areas that you need to work upon for personal development. So, ask for candid and honest feedback from your colleagues, subordinates, and seniors at your workplace.

Considering the many hours that you spend with them, they are the best people who can judge you for what you really are. Use their feedback to make improvements.

6. Maintain a balanced calendar.

Procrastination is the biggest enemy that makes it harder for busy executives to achieve their goals. Do you believe procrastination was your foe in your school life?

Do you remember the time when your assignments remained due and you had no option, but to opt for online assignment help? The situation is quite similar for busy executives. The problem of procrastination bothers you in your work life too.

So, what is the best way to counter activities that lead to procrastination? The answer is to maintain a calendar. When you put things on a calendar, you learn to do the tasks right on time. So, put every little task on the calendar, so that you can get better at prioritizing.

This will also help you make space for other things besides your work commitments, thus, helping you to grow personally. With more time for personal thinking, the odds for personal development score better.

7. Take actions TODAY!

The more you wait for chances, the more you lose out on opportunities to grow personally. So, instead of waiting for miracles, seize the day and act at the moment.

Planning is definitely a good thing, but extensive planning will make you lose out on the actual activities. Do not wait. Just take a step forward. Do it TODAY itself. Start at this very moment, and finish off that pending task.

Make it a regular practice. Stop rescheduling things. An added tip: Keep 30 minutes of your daily work schedule to work on yourself. And not just you! Urge those around you to do the same too.

8. Practice Mindfulness

You have no idea about the multiple benefits of being mindful. Mindfulness not only helps you to optimize your well-being, but it also helps you to achieve success and a peaceful life.

Practicing mindfulness can have a positive impact on your organization on many levels. When you are mindful and alert, you will be able to create positive relationships and cultivate personal growth. Mindfulness also allows you to align your passion and your purpose in life, helping you achieve that work-home harmony.

9. Be Self-Aware

Self-awareness is a vital part of leadership development. As a leader, you need to be alert and proactive in seeking, accepting, and using feedback for personal development.

Understanding how others see us not only helps to plan future endeavors, but it also validates your intentions and actions. There are many ways in which you can practice self-awareness to your benefit.

10. Make use of silence

Yes! I know that there are very few moments when you are greeted with silence. Irrespective of your location, you need to learn to make better use of the silent hours.

You need to learn to manage silence so that you are comfortable with your thoughts when you have nothing but silence around you. Effective use of silence will help you use the little moments of solitude to think of a solution to a persisting issue.

Often, silence is the best medicine for a troubled mind. All you need to do is reap the rewards that solitude has in store for each of us.

Parting Words

You must believe that you deserve better. It is only when you let go of the self-limiting beliefs, you are truly going to evolve personally. Replace all the negativities with more developmental and supporting beliefs and you will see the miracle happen.

The key to development is self-awareness and emotional intelligence. Follow the above-mentioned tips, and your busy schedule isn’t going to come in your way. Go, be the best version of yourself!

The post Personal Development Techniques Busy Executives Can Use appeared first on Calling Dreams.


Best 10 Mobile Applications to Take Your Productivity to the Next Level

$
0
0

Everyone wants to finish tasks on time, submit assignments by deadlines, and work efficiently. Unfortunately, many people get distracted – they cannot say no to parties or spend too many hours scrolling down on social media. While relaxation should take up a decent part of your day, increasing your work rate is also essential. If you work smartly and finish quicker than expected, you can still enjoy your day doing what you please.

Nowadays, there are apps for reducing procrastination and developing efficiency. I will present you some of them. However, take in consideration that technology is not everything – it’s indeed a useful tool, but it will never solve your time-management problems. Here’s how these apps will help you –

  • Organize your time.
  • Prioritize tasks.
  • Map out schedules.
  • Stay on top of your work.
  • Track your progress.

Now let’s discover what cool trends 2018 brought with it and how to use them.

1. RescueTime

According to their website, RescueTime is a personal analytics service that shows you how you spend your time and provides tools to help you be more productive. This time-management software will help you find your work-life balance. This is how it works –

    • Download the application on your computer or smartphone.
    • Let it run.
    • The application will track your time spent on various platforms online.
    • It will provide you a summary of your day by analyzing how much time you’ve spent on every app and website you’ve accessed.
    • You can later compare today’s data with next week’s and see how less distracted you are now.

Some other features: sets alerts, blocks distracting websites, highlights accomplishments, measures your time.

2. Evernote

Our professional assignments team recommends using Evernote to keep an organized schedule and orderly life. It’s an online service that helps you keep lists and project ideas safe. You can forget losing track of your tasks with Evernote! The best thing is that the application does not even need to be downloaded – just go online, search for it, and use it from any computer.

Other features: you can now connect with your team and collaborate online by managing deadlines, clients, and projects remotely.

3. FocusBooster

The Pomodoro technique is a time management method based on 25-minute stretches of focused work broken by 3-to-5-minute breaks and 15-to-30-minute breaks following the completion of four work periods, according to WhatIs.com. FocusBooster uses this technique to keep you on top of your work. This application is free of charge and super-efficient.

You can find FocusBooster available for both Android and iOS devices, as well as for Mac and Windows computers. Your sessions will be automatically saved and recorded in your designated timesheets –there’s no need to recall where your time went anymore. FocusBooster will do it for you!

4. Lift

Another efficient app for tracking and managing your time, Lift is easy to download and use. It records your progress over time and gives you advice on what to improve. This is what you’ll have to do – you think about a goal. Write it down. Set up a schedule and deadline to complete it. Log in your project-completion updates.

Here’s how the app will help you – show your progress, encourage you to complete your goals, share your growth with friends or family, and peer-coach you if needed.

5. Accompany

Business leaders must prepare for various meetings and conferences, set updates, and keep track of his or her customers. Accompany helps you out with all the above tasks. According to their webpage, Accompany has comprehensive, real-time profiles for every single Fortune 500 CEO. Their Al-driven database provides everything you need, such as insights for hundreds of customers and companies.

How does it help you?

  • Gain a competitive edge.
  • Network.
  • Keep business relationships tight.

If you don’t want to be stressed about following up with clients anymore, download Accompany!

6. Calroo

Whoever said that being a parent is less stressful than being an entrepreneur was utterly wrong. Being a parent is one of the toughest jobs on the planet; when you are also an entrepreneur, that’s when things start to get even heavier. That’s why you need Calroo – this application helps you become more productive by delegating tasks to your family members while you are at work.

It helps you remember which evening Sally had to take the trash out and which morning John had to mop out the floor. Reminders save the day, right?

7. Flipboard

Between endless tasks and infinite work assignments, who has got the time to read the news? That’s right. Nobody. That’s why you need an app to keep you updated on the latest world reports. Reading the most recent political or financial news is crucial, especially when you are working in a similar field.

According to Apple, Flipboard curates the world’s stories so you can focus on investing in yourself, staying informed, and getting involved. With curated packages that offer insights and inspiration for any interest, Flipboard will make you feel like you’ve spent your time well

8. TaskRay

The leader in customer onboarding worldwide, TaskRay takes an innovative approach to project management solutions and onboarding new personnel. Here are some of its best features:

    • It decreases time to value by delivering impressive onboarding experience.
    • It increases your clients’ satisfaction by increasing loyalty in your products and services.
    • It helps your business grow by eliminating redundancies and fortifying continual progress.

Other features – it’s easy to learn, quick to understand, and facile to teach. Together with other productivity-oriented apps, it can boost your efficiency in a hot second.

9. Expensify

With their funny slogan, “Expense reports that don’t suck!”, Expensify has quite a renowned reputation in the online market. Why? Because it creates expense reports efficiently — and we all know how time-consuming these reports are!

The app will scan your receipts, submit, approve, and reimburse your money. Instead of losing time and focus on the little things, design this task to Expensify. They got your back!

10. Slack

You can now turn a conversation into action by using Slack! This app facilitates communication between you and your team – it allows you to organize time properly, directly message your colleagues, call them online, share files, notify them, and last but not least, archive your work when the time has come.

Some essentials

    • The app works through channels, which can be organized however you wish.
    • The conversation boxes are opened to everyone. (they’re one click away!)
    • The platform is compatible with different tools and extra-services you might need.
    • It offers reliable authentication systems while protecting your company.

Wrapping Up

Remember! Time is money, so minimize your working time while maximizing your productivity! Use the above apps to stay on top of your work and keep track of your progress. You got this!

The post Best 10 Mobile Applications to Take Your Productivity to the Next Level appeared first on Calling Dreams.

How to Manage Your Time Wisely Between Life and Work

$
0
0

In this day and age – balancing between life and work becomes an increasingly challenging task. As an integral part of living – work takes up a significant chunk of time. At times it is excruciating, but there is no way around it – one gotta provide to sustain oneself.

Given the fact that the rapid development of the technologies made us online all the time – it is really hard to plug out completely and stay out of the loop for a prolonged period of time.

On the other hand, work is often related to the realization of personal ambitions and that is something that drives a long way without bumping on a doubt.  

Either way, work is often engulfing the entirety of life, leaving no space for anything else. And then things go south and here comes yer olde pal “burnout”.

What is Work-Life Balance?

Work-life balance is an informal term used to describe how much time either of the mentioned elements takes in a certain period of time. Usually, work-life balance is measured in 24-hour cycles and refers to how much one person can do of either thing during the day.

In addition to that, the term “work-life balance” refers to techniques that enable reaching said balance. It includes certain time management methodologies, mental exercises, and such practices as “drop out”, “tuning out” and “getting out of the loop”.

In its core, it was an attempt of peaceful and meaningful reconciliation between the two conflicting parts of the whole.

Why work-life balance matters today?

These days work-life balance is basically a nonexistent differentiation. It is more of a buzzword,  a mirage yearned by those who are tormented by the nondescript longing than an actual thing.

Due to instant connectivity and the increasing pace of life – in one way or another, people are working around the clock. Even though they think they don’t. And they feel quite fine about it.

Think about:

  • How many times you are checking your email inbox and messengers?
  • Or how much are you perceiving stuff related to what you do on the job?
  • Or how much you discuss things related to the work.
  • Think about how many things you think are unrelated to the job you do in your spare time that actually contributes to your work.

While “working hard” per se is not a crime, it seems weird that so much time in our lives is occupied by the mandatory activity instead of anything else.

What are the downsides of lacking work-life balance?

The biggest downside of poor work-life balance is unreasonably growing expectations from the employers. If you are working long hours, prefers going overtime and practice crunch sessions – you might get saddled with more responsibilities up to the point it might be more than one can chew.

The immediate result of erratic or nonexistent work-life balance is fatigue. Here’s how it goes – you work and work and work and work and work. And during this act, “all work and no play makes the jack a dull boy” comes creeping slowly-slowly. Fatigue is something like a moveable feast. You get accustomed to it and stop noticing it after a while.

Then goes burnout. Due to constant stress and lack of downtime, the human organism just gives up at some point and requires a hard reset.

Then comes lack of social life outside of job which opens the floodgate for a wide array of psychological issues starting from loneliness and ending with the clinical depression and other disorders.

Because of that, it is important to keep things balanced out in a reasonable.

Here are several tips regarding how to make it work.

How to manage work-life balance?

1. Time Management

In the context of a work-life balancing act, time management provides a framework for further proceedings.

There are two major parts and your goal is to map out that its every element. Basically, you need to set long-term and short-term priorities regarding certain tasks before further management throughout the day.

The key is realistic positioning and achievability under normal circumstances.

In order to make it effective you need to keep in mind the following:

  • What do you need to do?
  • How much time does it take?

2. Set the Priorities

Knowing what you need to do when is the key to effective work-life balancing. The best way of doing it is through setting strict priorities upon each task and further managing them in a timetable.

Basically, the priorities can be broken down to the following elements:

  • Long-term / Short-term – provide basic perspective for a time period
  • Urgent / Important – first rate priority
  • Not urgent / Important – second-rate priority
  • Urgent / Not Important – tasks that can be delegated
  • Not Urgent / Not Important – so-called “noise-task”

3. Monitor your energy level

While this section sounds a bit mechanic, in reality, it only means your physical and mental capabilities of accomplishing tasks.

The thing is – human organisms got its own peaks and troughs and it is important to know when they occur in order to plan certain tasks at the appropriate time.

The first step is to study your work patterns. Basically, these are three elements:

  1. When is your peak activity time?
  2. when is your low-energy period?
  3. When you can take a break?

Then it comes to task management. Here’s how it can go:

  1. Try to place the most important tasks at the approximate peak periods
  2. Delegate the background, auxiliary and supplementary tasks to the down periods.

4. Manage your attention

In one way or another, the secret of the effective working process boils down to keeping your attention focused strictly on the goal. The other important skills is an ability to avoid and ignore the distractions that might occur along the way. These features are both important for life and work and their merry balancing act.

However, this is no easy task considering that we are surrounded by the distractions at all times.

For instance:

  • there are numerous notifications that can throw a wrench into your well-calibrated focus.
  • there are distractive elements surrounding your workplace, such as background murmur, overcrowded desk.
  • Then there is a phenomenon of “too much stuff going through the head”.

How to make it right? It takes a couple of mental exercises. In the context of accomplishing one task it looks like this:

  1. Break down the task into stages (basically, pre-production, production, post-production).
  2. Clear your mindset and immerse yourself into the working process
  3. Turn off mechanical distractions.
  4. Set a strict deadline.
  5. Do the background research, prepare initial structure;
  6. Do the thing itself.
  7. Take a break.
  8. Make revisions.

In addition to that, it is good to know how much time which task takes in order to better plan the day.

5. Unplug / Get out of the loop

The most important thing in maintaining a reasonable work-life balance is a keeping strict distinction between the two time-wise and content-wise.

In practice this means “work stays at work” and the rest of the day is dedicated to the stuff that strictly not works (unless there’s an emergency). This can manifest to limited access to work tools at home or conscious avoidance of such.

However, it can go as far as completely changing the pace of the day after the work is over. This can be physical exercises, meditation, going out or just indulging yourself in competitive tickling.

In Conclusion

These are some of the tips that may help you to manage work-life balance successfully without making a mess and burning yourself out.

It should be noted, that while most of the suggestion can fit anybody – you need to find your own approach to them in order to make them for you.

The post How to Manage Your Time Wisely Between Life and Work appeared first on Calling Dreams.

Why You May Fail With Your New Year’s Resolution and How to Deal With It

$
0
0

It’s almost the end of the first month of 2019. Jilian has crafted an exceptionally well content to give you the reality check about your new year’s resolutions. Go ahead and enjoy the article. Let me know in the content how you find it?

Vishnu

New Year’s resolutions – they don’t last over a month. But with little patience and planning they could. After a little research, I’ve determined that there are two psychological factors which cause most resolutions to fail.

These are willpower fatigue and decision fatigue. Impulsive decision making and over-exercising willpower cause these fatigues. That’s why most of us give up our resolutions halfway through January. But is there a way to make your New Year’s resolution work? What can we learn from people who train themselves to avoid these fatigues?

An Example of Willpower Fatigue

Jack is at a friend’s party. His New Year’s resolution is to cut down on drinking, and this party is an excellent test for his willpower. The first round of drinks is an easy pass. So is the second. But self-imposed sobriety makes Jack feel exiled, especially as it gets closer to midnight. Jack soon gives up and chugs a few, catching up to his friends. Willpower fatigue has ruined Jack’s resolution. His self-control has given him a lot of stress – resulting in a classic “screw it, let’s do it” scenario.

And let’s face it, most of us are Jack halfway through January.

An Example of Decision Fatigue

Jane is an office worker, and January is a harsh month at the office. She has to make a lot of decisions throughout her workday, more than enough to exhaust a mammoth. After the office, Jane heads to the supermarket for grocery shopping. But little does she know that decision fatigue will drive her reckless. Jane has made a lot of decisions throughout her workday. This supermarket trip will cost her a fortune, as she struggles to calculate her necessities and spendings accurately.  

Decision fatigue seems trivial until you apply it to a field like law. A study shows us that judges can make better or worse decisions depending on various external factors like the time of day. This means that if the judge had a bad breakfast, he’s more likely to give someone a life sentence — scary stuff.

An irrational judge suffering from decision fatigue can be a nightmare for justice.

Now the question arises…

How does this affect my New Year’s resolution?

Pursuing a New Year’s resolution without a proper plan is pretty reckless. It will almost guarantee that you will fall victim to one of these fatigues. As January kicks off, everyone you know is hitting the gym, following a harsh diet, or cutting down on bad habits. And then – in the most “unexpected” turn of events – they all give up halfway through the month.

In a private conversation with one of the essay writers at EssayPro, it was said that those employees who overwork at the office often fall victim to decision fatigue. Their minds give up, and their writing becomes a jumbled mess of sentences. Those who decided to quit bad habits at midnight will most definitely face willpower fatigue soon after.

Life can’t change at the strike of a bell.

How famous people combat decision fatigue

Everyone is different, we know. But some successful people have managed to combat decision fatigue efficiently.

Politicians and businesspeople have a lot of decisions to make every day. Imagine being Mark Zuckerberg – it must be exhausting.

Mark has something in common with other iconic businessmen and politicians (Steve Jobs, Barack Obama.) They have stacks of the same clothes for everyday wear. They are avoiding the decision of what to wear – thus decreasing the number of choices they make per day. It helps keep their minds clear and focus on more important things. Have you ever seen Mark Zuckerberg NOT wearing a gray t-shirt?

Observing examples such as these, fighting decision fatigue comes down to baby steps. If you can’t decide where to go for lunch – bring a sandwich to work. If picking clothes makes you agitated – plan your outfits.

A different opinion: emotional success

Making resolutions work can be more stressful than rewarding. Most resolutions fail because they are impulsively executed. They focus on momentary gain without looking into the future.

Psychology professor David DeSteno offers a different approach preserving New Year’s resolutions. In an article for the New York Times, DeSteno argues that the most effective way to preserve a New Year’s resolution is to focus on emotional success. People obey impulses and are often short-sighted. And resolutions are very much long-term goals.

DeSteno quotes a famous study conducted on a group of kids, where each kid received one marshmallow as a test. If they resisted the first marshmallow, they would receive two marshmallows shortly after. The group which resisted had shown academic and professional success later in their life.

DeSteno suggests that exercising patience and selflessness is what helps people make significant changes in their life. It allows people to see both professional and personal virtues in their change. While impulsively pushing change can backfire and cause lots of tension and anxiety.

Patience and planning are stronger than any momentary gain; the ideal New Year’s resolution.

Conclusion

Most people see New Year’s resolutions as an exercise in self-control; a fight with one’s ego and a test of willpower. But this approach is a bubble doomed to burst. Resolutions fail because forcing yourself to do something to a great extent will cause willpower fatigue and decision fatigue.

You end up tired and give up your resolution halfway through January. If you wish for your resolution to succeed, look to people who have made it work. Iconic politicians and businesspeople limit the decisions they make per day. If a little planning can help you fend off the anxiety of pushing yourself too far – then that’s what can make your resolution work.

A little planning goes a long way!

The post Why You May Fail With Your New Year’s Resolution and How to Deal With It appeared first on Calling Dreams.

Why You Should Never Stop Learning and Invest in Yourself from Time to Time

$
0
0

“Never stop learning.”

It’s easier said than done. Isn’t it?

Every single day is full of new challenges and hustles. In order to overcome these obstacles, one has to update oneself with new skills from time to time.

I believe that learning any new skill is like adding more arrows in your stock so whenever the challenging time arises, you hit the bull’s eye with your skills.

But for most of us.

This is not how it works!

Why?

Because either we are too comfortable in our zones or we think that we are witty enough.

In most cases, we only start learning new things either we are obliged to do it or there are no other options left!

Only a few percents of the world’s population makes this learning habit as part of their regime. And it’s no surprise that they are the most successful people in their respective careers.

Take the example of Warren Buffet, after achieving so much in life, even today he spends most of his time reading.

You know why?

Because the top entrepreneurs in the world don’t act like they know everything.

They always stay humble and grounded to acquire as much they can even from a small kid.

Alright.

It’s time now to give you more reasons to start updating yourself because all we need is the one strong motive, find yours below!

Why You Should Never Stop Learning

1. To keep yourself updated with the world.

“Work like there is someone working 24 hours a day to take it all away from you.” – Mark Cuban

No matter what stage of work and life you’re in, you have to keep yourself updated in order to compete with the world otherwise there will always be someone who would be more deserving than you.

So work and cultivate your life skills and career skills because the day you stop learning would be the day your graph in every sphere of life would start declining. 

2. To enhance your creativity.

“But out of limitations comes creativity” – Debbie Allen

The best thing about living a creative life is that we lose our fear of being wrong because we just do who we love.

Creativity is like a fuel for a mind, nobody judges you, nobody questions you and you become the free-flowing soul which is really important in this competitive and judgemental world!

Along with your career, just find one thing that you like doing in your spare time. It could be cooking, cycling, dancing or maybe hiking.

In my case, it’s being bilingual. I started learning the French Language from Alliance Francaise 4 months back and it amazing! It refreshes you within and it’s a life-changing experience.

Just search for some creative outlet in your town and jump in. You never know, it could open up a lot of other opportunities for you.

3. To enhance your existing skills.

Enhancing skills is just like sharpening your an axe so that you could cut more trees (achieve more) every day!

Sadly, we all are busy in cutting trees and almost forgot to sit back and sharpen our axes(minds). Therefore, always spare some time to enhance yourself so that you never feel rejected and outdated. Keep enhancing your daily work practices from time to time, it helps!

4. To add new skills.

“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine, it is lethal.” – Paulo Coelho

Adding new skills is an adventurous ride but in the end, it’s fruitful. On the other hand, a routine is monotonous, it kills your desires and makes you numb. Time demands upgradations and updations from us, therefore, adding new skills would make you stand out from the crowd. No matter what profession you are in, adding new skills is always a smart choice in furthering your career.

If you think your skills are outdated or your industry is changing, it’s time to adapt to new techniques. If traditional marketing is disappearing, have you considered learning Digital Marketing? If you’re in the IT sector, you can always learn new programming languages by opting for courses online.

Luckily, the Internet makes educational opportunities endless. Whether you use an e-learning site like Udemy for shorter online courses or you pursue an entirely new degree online, there are plenty of options. All you need is desire and a little (which I’m giving) to start.

5. To keep yourself happy and productive.

Just like we do a software update on our mobile phones in order to keep it fast and avoid crashing. Similarly, our mind needs daily updates otherwise it would start crashing.

Life would become meaningless if you keep on doing whatever you are doing, the productiveness would vanish, you will always feel stressful and left out.

This is not how you are supposed to live, you are here to live life to the fullest and just be happy! Therefore, it is the need of the hour to learn new things and check for the updates from time to time.

Over to you

I know it is always hard at the beginning, however, a little progress every day would compile up to big results.

Because, it’s only when you move out of the comfort zone, you start growing. So prepare yourself to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you are going to try something new.

And by the end….Trust me, you would enjoy every bit of it…Good Luck!

The post Why You Should Never Stop Learning and Invest in Yourself from Time to Time appeared first on Calling Dreams.

8 Unexpectedly Positive Effects Of Stress During High Workload

$
0
0

 

Stress is a feeling and psychological situation that happens to everyone at least once per life. It doesn’t matter the gender, the genetics or type of profession a person is working in. Tension is a general phenomenon that can develop in everyday life and it is so hard to avoid. Generally, stress is pressure. It can cause mental uneasiness, loss of self-balance, even drive a change in someone’s behavior.

But what if people would find out that stress can bring lots of positive parts? Especially when they are so concentrated and under the pressure of a work deadline? Everybody perceives pressure as a negative notion. But there are some crucial advantages of it. Following an inspiring line, tension is much like a spice. If people add it in the right proportion, it enhances life and gives a “flavor” to employment activities.

The article analyzes the term “eustress”, which is the positive part of the tension. Why it helps in achieving more, how it can improve life and, more than anything, which is its positive effects during high workload.

Eustress develops the cognitive function and makes people more creative

The health psychologist Kelly McGonigal reveals a similar approach to stress. She said that the harmful consequences of strain might be actually just a perception. People think that pressure is bad and they attract negative results.

The effects of tension on the nervous system have been investigated for 50 years. Many studies have shown that tension can cause structural changes in different parts of the brain.

When talking about the tension in employment, this has a lot of manifestations like depression, pain, anxiety, chronic pains, ulcer, and many others. These are the effects that company the negativity of tension in the workplace.

Meanwhile, humans don’t observe that it can also become the best thing that happened to them while working. Discoveries and creative ideas are the products of positive tension. On the other hand, as a response to strain, people have rescheduled their career path or have completed some demanding projects.

Positive effects of stress at the workplace

  1. Pressure develops cognitive function. Eustress or good stain has remarkable effects on how people concentrate, pay attention or learn to work in a team.
  2. Pressure enables creativity. Tension pushes an individual’s limits. People sometimes don’t know how much they can do until they face a tightness situation. The same happens with creativity. Eustress accompanies a breakout in creativity. It can help people to develop their writing skills, draw an amazing marketing sketch or even support students with generating original topic idea when they order essay from writing services company.
  3. Short-term tightness boosts productivity and concentration. Eustress helps the brain produce chemicals called neurotrophins. These neurons strengthen the connection between neurons in the brain. As a result, people start to concentrate better and to be more productive in their work.
  4. Eustress makes workers stronger. It might seem strange, as tightness leaves people without energy. Dealing with manageable tensioned situations can transform these situations easier to handle in the future. Exposing to more anxious events will make individuals have a better sense of control. The body develops both physical and psychological to get stronger in future difficulties.
  5. Eustress motivates people to succeed. It can be the best thing to get someone’s job done. By thinking about a deadline, the first thing that comes in mind is a strain, but this feeling of strong pressure encourages to manage difficult situations.
  6. Moderate tightness can develop the brain’s learning centers. Small amounts of stress enhance neural function and learning as well.
  7. Pressure may be correlated to longevity. People who reported having high levels of worry had a 43% increased risk of death. But, those individuals that faced a lot of stress, but didn’t think of it like of something bad, were the least likely to die.
  8. Increases short-term immunity. When the body responds to anxiety, it actually prepares itself for what it thinks might come. This way, the organism produces extra interleukins, that help to regulate the immune system. These cells provide a temporary defensive mechanism.

Antidotes to negative tension at work

As highlighted above, the strain has positive effects during high workload as long as it is moderate. If not so, stress can degenerate in really complex health diseases.

To keep pressure away, here is some simple advice to draw attention to:

  1. Humans should keep their relationships strong. For a pleasant workplace, one should always interact with others and communicate.
  2. Worry less. It seems natural to say it, but as much a person concentrates more on his work than the deadline, as greater will be his work results.
  3. To be thankful. Reducing worries and thank for everything that happens around can give an attitude of gratitude and keep the nervousness away.
  4. Doing what’s really important. Some are addicted to business or their workplace. But sometimes, saying “no” makes better than getting busy with irrelevant stuff.
  5. Taking care of health. The exercising routine works great against stress. Eating well, getting rest and respecting the spare time are also great antidotes.

Humans would think that tension is bad, but it is really a part of the fundamental survival system. Yes, it can be harmful many times, especially if it is in high doses. But the short-term pressure is the organism “fight-or-flight” response and can be actually beneficial. People should learn to embrace the good pressure in their lives and use it in their favor.

The post 8 Unexpectedly Positive Effects Of Stress During High Workload appeared first on Calling Dreams.

Inspiring Amazon Entrepreneurship: 5 Success Stories to Motivate You

$
0
0

The most inspiring entrepreneurial success story surrounding Amazon is that of Jeff Bezos himself, who started out by selling books from his garage on the website in 1994 and ended up as the richest man to ever exist, with the largest retail business the world had ever seen. However, today we are going to look at some of the lesser known and more relatable entrepreneurial success stories that have flourished on Amazon itself.

Inspiring Amazon Entrepreneurship

1. YogaRat by Wendell Morris

Wendell Morris was already quite successful as a TV writer and he actually has an Emmy Award to his name. However, that was before he launched YogaRat, which exclusively sells products related to yoga on Amazon.

Ever since that decision, Morris has expressed how much happier and more successful he is now, as his business has grown significantly and very quickly on the platform.

2. Toy Barn by Sandy and Doug Powell

Toys “R” Us closed down last year and it was a heart-breaking news for people around the world. While some blamed Amazon for the brand’s demise, that’s not entirely true. In fact, Amazon saved many smaller stores such as Toy Barn from going out of business during and after the recession.

When Sandy and Doug Powell’s brick-and-mortar retail toy business was on the brink of closing down forever, they were desperate and sought to open an online store on Amazon. As of 2019, they have reported that Toy Barn is now more successful on Amazon than it ever was as a localized offline business.

3. Advil by Pfizer Consumer Products

We are suddenly stepping out of mom-n-pop stores and into to a major pharmaceutical company like Pfizer Consumer Products, but did you know that before PCP decided to partner up with Amazon, their Advil Liqui-Gels were nowhere near as popular as they are today?

They are selling by the thousands now and most of the Advil sales can be traced back to Amazon’s Pantry section.

4. Seventh Generation, Now Owned by Unilever

Unilever did not own Seventh Generation originally but only acquired it in 2016 after the eco-friendly personal care product company managed to generate a revenue of $200 million in 2015 from its Amazon sales. They actually relied quite heavily on a CPC strategy to achieve those astounding figures and we are going to mention an even more enhanced and up to date version of that strategy next.

5. The Honest Company by Jessica Alba

The last entry on this list is inspirational in spite of the actress already being a millionaire by the time she started her online company, which only sells safe and ecologically sustainable baby care products, as well as other household personal care products that do not contain any harmful chemicals in them.

It is inspirational because unlike most other celebrities who go down with their acting careers, Jessica did not. The company is right now worth more than a billion dollars, although it had very humble beginnings and everyone involved took huge risks. Amazon played a huge role in The Honest Company’s growth and it continues to be the major sales point for the business.

Can You Become a Success Story Too?

Once you have opened your Amazon store, follow these Amazon pay per click tips listed on Search Scientists to understand how any Amazon store can grow sales and start generating significantly higher revenues in only six months, if not less.

Given the scope of the platform and popularity of Amazon, there are thousands of other success stories all around the world to be inspired by. The Amazon marketplace is competitive, but with the right marketing tools and a good business plan, you too can be featured as one of these success stories on Amazon next.

The post Inspiring Amazon Entrepreneurship: 5 Success Stories to Motivate You appeared first on Calling Dreams.

How To Study When You’ve Lost Motivation

$
0
0

We’ve all been there, we all know what it is like to lose all the motivation and not be able to focus on your homework. That is totally normal since every student loses a study mojo from time to time, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of here.

Sometimes you just don’t feel like doing your assignment and just procrastinate scrolling through the endless memes online and doing anything but studying. So, how to concentrate on studies and how to increase motivation to study and learn?

Well, here are a couple of tips for you to use, but you’ve got to remember that only you can give yourself that positive drive that helps you accomplish all of your goals.

How To Study When You’ve Lost Motivation

1. Set Up Your Goals

What are you working towards? Is there any end-goal you want to achieve? That is a very important question you should give yourself the answer to because that is a justification for all of your trials and tribulations. The worst thing in the life of a student is spending all of your time doing all of that homework and not knowing what’s the point behind all of that time and effort you put into it. That is a horrible feeling, especially when you could be spending your time surfing with friends on one of the Australian beaches or doing all sorts of fun stuff instead. So, you’ve got to set yourself a goal — something to justify all of the time you spend studying.

2. Find a Study Buddy

Finding a study buddy is a great idea for those who like working in pairs. Let’s say you have a friend in your class who has all the exact same problems with motivation as you do, so why not unite and find that exam motivation together?

There are thousands and thousands of students in Australia who need help with their assignment, and who might be a better homework help than your friend who studies all the same stuff? There are still writing services and you can try this if you need help with assignments, and you’ll never be disappointed but working with peers is fun and productive. Make sure you have a buddy who is truly interested in learning and is not going to be a distractor to you because you might end up just wasting tons of time and not going anywhere.

3. Think About the Future

How to stay motivated? You need to visualize your future, all of the possible scenarios you can get if you follow the path you are currently on. What will you achieve if you study hard right now? What will you be able to do in the future if you put all of your effort into learning? What will you lose if you fail your education? Visualize all of that: best-case and worst-case scenarios, all the tiny little possibilities. That’s right, knowledge and good education can give you so many opportunities in life, so do not waste your time and study while you can.

4. Ditch Studying for a While

Set your books aside for a while, just do whatever it is that you like to do, go to the beach, there are lots of them in Australia, watch a movie, spend some time with friends, play video games, or whatnot, just switch your mind and not think about studying at all. Don’t even think about how to motivate yourself to study. Just go out, have fun, and relax. If you have a couple of hours or even days to spare, just have your time, chill out and help yourself have some good time. Change your routine and enjoy life, and after you’ve recharged your batteries, came back to studying and show the world what you are made of.

5. Eliminate Distractors

It is necessary that you focus on your task and work hard to achieve it. In case you see any negative influences around, people that distract you, a phone that keeps on ringing, or anything at all that distracts you from your task, set it aside. Keep your mind focused on the exact thing you need to achieve — write a good essay, finish your home project, or read that textbook. And after you finish your task, only then can you go and do other stuff. Be focused and don’t get distracted.

6. Just Get Started

Sometimes, to start is the hardest step of the whole task. Making that very first step might just happen to be the toughest challenge you’ll encounter along your way, so it is best that you make an effort and write that first sentence of your essay. From that point on, you’ll find it so much easier to focus and work on your task in a more efficient manner. Just make that first step, and you’ll be on a journey that can take you far and wide. 

Conclusion

So, if you lack motivation, there are some sharp methods to boost it up. Focus and visualize your future, get some buddies to study with you, or change your routine all together to clear up your mind. These are some basic tips on how to increase your motivation to study, and you are free to use all of them to get through the low point in your education. That is the best way to increase your productivity and break through the cycle of procrastination.

The post How To Study When You’ve Lost Motivation appeared first on Calling Dreams.


Practical Tips for Crafting the Best Essay

$
0
0

If you’re reading our today’s article, chances are you’re struggling to cope with the academic burden placed on so many young learners. Feel overwhelmed with your college life with its never-ending homework? Well, you’re not alone. Essay writing is one of the most popular and, truth be told, complicated assignments students need to deal with in college. We want to alleviate this burden at least a little bit and offer some helpful tips on how to craft the best essay effortlessly. Let’s go over how to write a strong essay from the beginning to planning stage all the way to the final product. 

Brainstorm

Experienced college teacher often hear their students complain, “I don’t really know what to write about,” “Nothing big or interesting has ever happened to me,” etc. But in reality, they just don’t where to start to find that “interesting,” “big,” or “significant” that can help write an effective essay.

No matter whether you need to pick the essay topic yourself or are given a concrete prompt, it’s essential to do some brainstorming to figure out what thoughts, ideas, and facts should be developed in your paper. Of course, you may find it difficult to start generating worthwhile ideas from the get-go. While some students need just a couple of minutes to hit on a brilliant writing strategy or interesting ideas, while others would need days, not to say weeks, to do the same. Brainstorm or use a mind map to play your narrative.

First things first, read through the prompts carefully. Once you’ve dissected your options, you know what you’re up against. Furthermore, you may want to brainstorm without considering your prompt and isolate your best stories. It’s time to collect your tentative ideas, no matter good or bad. Then, make sure to fit your story to the prompt. This will come pretty naturally if you choose a proper topic.  

Create an Outline

It’s not a secret that many students get stuck in their first sentence or run out of ideas shortly after commencing writing. And whatever they write after that no longer run smoothly with the rest of their argument. Not to find yourself in a writing predicament, be sure to make an outline.

We know that lots of students abhor the very idea of doing some extra writing, which is is not required by their instructors or essay prompts. We also bet you feel the same way. But try to think of an outline not as some extra work but the thing that will significantly ease your way into creating an essay and reduce the amount of time spent on pulling yourself and your paper together.

If don’t want to create a formal outline for your essay, you may get by with a list of ideas, main argument, and a couple of supporting sentences for each paragraph. Jot down a few phrases or sentences that lead up to the logical conclusion and confirm your thesis statement. Alternatively, you may create a diagram or an idea map that will help you throughout the writing process.

Be Clear on the Structure 

It’s possible to compare the structure of your formal essay with a hamburger. There’s an introduction and conclusion that just like buns hold your paper together. But it all comes down to the body paragraphs of the essay, which are akin to meat, cheese, and vegetables.

This is what actually gives your essay hamburger its flavor. Moreover, any academic essay requires a thesis generally stated in your introduction. The thesis is a central message of your paper, and your whole argument should reflect that idea. However, you may not know your thesis until you have all of your points. This is why we recommend that you always start by reading and analyzing the text you’re writing your essay on.

Find the key points of the author backed up by quotes on the text. Put all the important points that you locate into dot points and compile these into a document. Make sure to gather your points from all over the text not just the beginning. Then you can reorder these points in a way such that they flow better. 

Once you’re done picking the key points, all that remains is to put them in a sentence format and make sure they flow on from one another. To do this, you can use words like “furthermore,” “additionally,” “on the other hand,” etc. After that you’ll need to add a topic sentence and a concluding phrase to each paragraph. This will be a lot easier to do now as you already know the key points of what you’re actually talking in your body paragraphs. 

Revise and Proofread 

Before finalizing your essay, be sure to read through, revise, and make appropriate changes to it. Ensure that no important points have been overlooked. Also, remove any information that doesn’t pertain to your topic. Check your work for the flow, spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation. Use descriptive words and appropriate transitions between your paragraphs. 

Don’t be overly repetitive. Make sure to eliminate redundant phrases, words, and sentences. Also, try to avoid tautologies in your writing. To do it, pay your special attention to the logic of what you’re writing. Also, keep in mind that repeated words can be replaced with different words with similar meanings. 

It’s also a good idea to ask another person, for example, a friend or a mentor, to go over your essay. That way, you’ll know how your paper looks to a potential reader. If certain sections seem not up to par, you may want to make some edits or changes to your work.

The article was contributed by the academic writing expert at PapersOwl, the online custom essay writing service.

The post Practical Tips for Crafting the Best Essay appeared first on Calling Dreams.

Eyes on the Prize: 6 Challenges New Entrepreneurs Face and How to Overcome Them3

$
0
0

If you have an idea that you can’t wait to share with the world, and you’re looking to start your own business, it’s important that you’re aware of the many challenges and obstacles in the ultra-competitive business world of today. When coming up to a barrier, knowing how to handle the situation is key, so here are six challenges that most new entrepreneurs face, as well as strategies to overcome them.

  1. Choosing a Business Structure

Before diving into the business world, it’s important that you’re aware of the four main types of business structures in the United States. Limited liability, corporation, partnership, and sole proprietorship each have different tax, liability, and income implications. It’s always best to speak to an accountant if you’re unsure of the best option for you. If you would like to set up a limited liability company, here is everything you need to form an LLC.

2. Cash Flow Management

For your small business to survive, cash flow management is crucial. Many entrepreneurs find it difficult to pay the bills while they are waiting for checks to arrive. The reason for this can be put down to a number of things, such as delayed invoicing. To maintain cash flow, it’s important that you create a budget plan, as well as require a down payment for the products and services you offer.

3. Time Management

Many entrepreneurs are required to wear many different hats to keep their business running smoothly. There are only so many hours in the day, so if we all had more time, you could accomplish a lot more. Time management skills are crucial if you’re going to succeed in business. There are several things that you can do to organize your time better, such as by creating goal lists, learning how to prioritize, as well as avoiding distractions. No matter what project or task you’re working on, you need to regularly ask yourself whether what you’re working on is making the best use of your time.

4. Delegating Tasks

If you employ others in your business, delegating or outsourcing tasks correctly is vital for the health of your company. New entrepreneurs may struggle to delegate tasks to the right people, so it’s important that you find employees who have your back and are confident in their abilities. Taking the time to learn more about your team and identifying strengths and weaknesses can help make the delegation process easier. You should also hold regular one on one and team meetings, which can be good opportunities for your team to share their thoughts and feelings, as well as the duties they feel comfortable performing.

5. Marketing Strategy

With a whole host of marketing strategies at your disposal, knowing which ones to pick can be frightening. Understandably, you will want to maximize your ROI (return on investment), so using the right method can be the difference between attracting new consumers to your brand and gaining little to no interest. To begin, you should create a marketing plan that details what marketing activities you will undertake to motivate purchases. Whether it’s creating a Facebook business profile, relationship marketing, or creating a newsletter to send out via email, the final decision is down to you.

6. Capital

Even if you have an idea that you know will be a success, you will need to obtain capital to get the ball rolling. There are several things that you can do to earn funding, such as by asking friends and family for financial help, creating a Kickstarter campaign, or taking out a traditional business loan. Without the proper funding, it’s likely that your business won’t get off the ground, so creating a financial plan and outlining objectives is key. 

While there are lots of challenges that you will face when setting up a business, knowing what strategies to use to overcome problems will help you stay one step ahead and keep your company running in the right direction.

The post Eyes on the Prize: 6 Challenges New Entrepreneurs Face and How to Overcome Them3 appeared first on Calling Dreams.





Latest Images