5 Tips to Develop Confidence in English & Communication

How To Make Your Day Productive

It is said that "WORK IS WORSHIP". We all are involved in some activity or the other. We all get the same number of hours to do our work. Yet, we have different results. Many people do their work aimlessly, having no purpose and planning. At the end of the day, they do not have the desired results. 

Given below are some tips which can help in improving productivity:

• Planning: Generally people prepare a plan for the day in the morning. But it is advisable that you plan your next day’s work in advance before going to bed the previous night. This gives you an edge. It saves a lot of time. You can also do the more important tasks first rather than wasting time on doing the less important ones.
• Upgrading: Many people know, it helps to sharpen your axe from time to time. Keep upgrading yourself in every possible way. It is necessary that day by day we improve ourselves to increase productivity.
• Time Management: Proper time management improves your productivity. Therefore prioritize your work and do not waste your previous time in non-productive activities. Giving value to your time adds value to your work.
• Learn From Mistakes: Be quick to learn from mistakes and do not repeat them. Carelessness and ignorance can lead to wastage of previous time and can keep you busy with no productivity.
• Attain Balance: Live a life of balance. There are seven important areas in our life. For long lasting and true success, devote equal time to your health, family, wealth, intellect, society, spiritualism and religion. Have a holistic approach.
• Be Neat: De clutter your work station. It does save a lot of time!
• Be Organized: File important papers separately and be meticulous. Waste papers should be discarded in the bin. All this saves energy which can be used to produce more work.
• Be Result-Oriented: Spend your time only in qualitative work whether it is in your personal life or professional life.
• Sleep: Though it is the simplest, it is also very important that you get enough sleep and rest during the dry. Never compromise on sleep because in the long run it can affect your productivity drastically. Sleep deprivation can cause lack of enthusiasm.
• Relax: Learn to relax and rejuvenate yourself. Take a break from time to time, especially the meal break is very important. Never compromise on that. People, who feel that skipping their meals to do some work is a great idea, often feel exhausted very soon. Therefore do not commit their blunder. You definitely need proper meals to recharge your batteries.

Thus planning and organizing your work enables you to get better results and in the end leaves you satisfied. This way you don’t feel stressed and you can enjoy a peaceful sleep.

Importance Of Positive Thinking

There is a saying that “Every cloud has a silver lining”. Positive attitude is when you are able to see that silver lining. It is our outlook towards life. When a person is able to see the brighter side of things, he is said to have a Positive Attitude. Such people are certainly more content than the rest of the people as they focus more on the good even in adverse conditions. They treat obstacles as opportunities. Positive attitude is also the key to success in life.

Positive thinkers are always upbeat. They find happiness in whatever they do. As a result negative energies do not affect them. Those who have a positive state of mind usually prove motivating to others in society. They love to see their near and dear ones prosper.

Positive thinkers are the ones who have understood very early in life that problems are a part of life and it is better to focus on the solution. They never cringe about a situation. Instead they go through the struggle without complaining and always remain hopeful that something good will come out of the difficult situations.

7 WAYS TO BE POSITIVE:

1.  At first, you need to make a choice. Once you make a choice about changing your attitude for the good, then there’s no looking back. Your determination can help you in being a positive thinker.
2. Many great positive thinkers have quoted about attitude. One can read those quotes and get inspired. There are many books and tapes available in the market on ATTITUDE DEVELOPMENT. One can also attend Personality Development workshops for the same.
3. A sure-shot way to feel good and positive is to help others in their growth. Your success lies in their success.
4. Knowledge grows with sharing. So never keep it to yourself. Go ahead and share your knowledge with others. It gives immense satisfaction to see others grow due to your sharing knowledge with them.
5. Writing your goals also helps us to focus on the positive things on life.
6. Staying with Negative thinkers can have a bad influence on us. Therefore one must avoid such company.
7. People who think Positive are always welcome wherever they go. They are respected by others. You can count on such people in time of distress. Positive thinkers always stand by you, providing moral support.
   Even if you have a negative attitude, you can surely change it to a positive one with your determination. Finally, remember that EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR THE BEST. 

Always Keep Your Sunny Side Up.

Listening Skills - Importance of Listening

It is more important to listen well rather than speak. By simply speaking one never communicates. It is only when one listens that the transaction is complete. Listening is not nearly hearing a set of sounds. Effective listening is when you not only hear but clearly understand what is being spoken. This is effective communication.

Listening is an art in which we must fully participate with our body, mind and soul. Like any other skill you can learn to listen. Speaking less and listening more is the quality which people find desirable.

Tips for Effective Listening: Hearing only means that you are aware of the sounds made by other person. Listening means that you only hear the sounds but also clearly understand the meaning of what is said.

Five basic tips to be a good listener:

1. Pay Attention: You must respect others than only you will pay attention to what they have to say. Look directly at others without being distracted, looking at your watch or speaking on your cell phone.
2. Do not Interrupt: No one like to be interrupted while speaking. Allowing the speaker to complete what he has to say will show that you are interested in it.
3. Do not let your mind Wander: If you are thinking of something else when the speaker is speaking you are nearly hearing but not listening.
4. Clarify: Requesting a speaker to clarify demonstrates your interest in what he is saying. It also helps to clearly understand the subject and remember the points made.
5. Do not jump to Conclusion: Nothing is more disturbing a speaker than someone leaping to conclusion before he has completed his speech.

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Definition of Stress: Stress is the change in human behavior caused by situations & circumstances around us which affect us mentally, physically & emotionally. Stress can have both good and bad effect on our behavior. Stress can be an impetus for positive action for a desired result. At the other extreme, stress can create anger, feeling of inadequacy, lack of faith in others, depression etc. which causes actual physical problems in the form of headaches, stomach upset, sleepless, high blood pressure, cardiac problems, stroke etc. Normally the loss of spouse or close relative, delivery of child, friction in relationships, a job promotion etc causes stress. Stress can also be caused when you are joining or leaving a job, interviews at the time of annual appraisal by your boss, pressure at work, the desire to conform with friends and colleagues, relocation out of town, salary can be either positive or negative.

Stress is Relative: The identical situation may or may not be stressful to different persons. Though two persons may be working in the same organization, under the same boss, with identical designations, one may feel stressed while the other may actual enjoy his job. Stress if therefore relative.  Similarly, there is no one uniform solution to stress. It will differ from person to person depending upon the nature and qualities of that person. Lots of things cause stress at work. Deadlines, competition and friction at work lead to anger, anxiety and sadness but the stress level is never constant but keeps varying.

Stress Management: To cope with stress and may be get rid of it, you first need to understand the cause of stress.

• Neglect stress at your peril. Tackle it, lead on by finding out what causes you stress.
• If you can identify what causes you stress may be you can avoid such a situation the next time. 
• Impersonally analyze the effect of stress upon your physical & mental state. 
• Ask yourself whether you can avoid situations and circumstances which trigger stress? 
• If stress simply cannot be avoided, ask yourself, whether you can limit the period you are exposed to stress? 
• One way to reduce stress is simply to take a break when you are stressed. Stretch your legs. Go for a walk. Take a vacation. 
• Stress Management techniques should effectively put you on top of situations which you previously feared or were anxious about. 
• Understand that it is simply impossible to please everyone in life. So do not doubt yourself at the first sign of disapproved or criticism. 
• You can reduce stress by refusing to treat every matter as urgent or critical. 
• Stress is a good servant but a bad master. Do not allow stress to dominate you. Think of ways in which you can harness stress to get things done. 
• If you are stressed you tend to become emotional. It also works the other way round. If you can control emotions or find a safe outlet (like exercise, for example) you can control stress. 
• When stressed your heart beat start racing in readiness to cope with the threat. Bring it down through deep breathing. 
• Monitor your physical parameters with regular check-ups by our doctor and keep blood pressure under control to ensure that your body doesn’t take a beating. 
• But remember that addiction to medicines as a way to control stress can actually lead to more stress. 
• Natural and common sense ways of controlling stress are best. 
• Exercises which are good for the heart are also good for relieving stress. 
• If you have your weight under control, it is likely that you have stress under control. 
• Give yourself the 8 hours or whatever you require to really feel rested. Sleep like a child and you can deal much better with stress at work.