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The Importance of Keystone Habits

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importance of keystone habits

As Charles Duhigg stated in his book the Power of Habits, detecting keystone habits means searching out certain characteristics. These kinds of habits nurture other behaviors that create widespread change in one’s life. Thus, it is essential to know the importance of keystone habits.

Influential Habits

Keystone habits are habits that are correlated with other good habits. Regular exercise is an example that works hand-in-hand with healthy eating habits. Importantly, these habits do not directly generate a cause-and-effect relationship. They become transformative because since they create chain reactions with other good behaviors. For short, keystone habits are influential ones.

Knowing the Importance of Keystone Habits

Since keystone habits are little behaviors that spur progress to one’s life, they should be incorporated into our everyday lifestyle. For example, making your bed every morning is a waste of time for some since you’re just going to mess it up again by night time. But this morning routine can increase one’s productivity. Thus, adopting keystone habits enhances your productivity.

Another importance of keystone habits is that they affect you to acquire positive habits that create positive outcomes. When you are cooking your own food, you control what comes in your body. Hence, it is more likely that you will be health-conscious.

Interestingly, keystone habits are essential in making other habits easier. Impactful habits generate immediate boost and reward making future habits easier. A great example is a regular exercise. After working out, you feel good, have more energy, and better sleep. This will trigger your brain to crave more of it.

When you want to change something in your life, start the change within your routines. It is not breakthroughs that change your mind but your daily routines.

Sources:

  1. https://www.gen-i.co.uk/index.php/2019/12/19/what-are-keystone-habits/
  2. https://www.businessinsider.com/keystone-habits-that-transform-your-life-2015-8#having-strong-willpower-8

Ways to Improve Your Time Management At Home

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mprove your time management

In today’s new normal, people are having difficulty disciplining themselves in doing their tasks. No more alarms, no more office rules to adhere, and reduced micromanagement from your boss give most employees the freedom to work. However, without structure, workers and even students experience procrastination. Here are some helpful ways to improve your time management at home.

Time blocking improves time management at home

Learn to plan your schedule for the upcoming days. Time blocking is a method wherein you can divide your schedule into blocks of time. A To-do list may help you to be reminded of the tasks you need to do. But with time blocking, it enhances the time you allot in doing a specific task.

Since you already set a certain task to that specific time frame, it is difficult for you to multi-task or even commit to other responsibilities that can affect your productivity and focus. This type of method helps you to prioritize deep works—tasks that need more focus, and setting shallow tasks when your energy dips during the day.

Time blocking allows you to focus at one task at a time making you 80% more productive.

Different Types of Time Blocking

Task Batching

Task batching is a practice of time blocking wherein you group similar tasks within a day to avoid interruptions. By this, you can identify tasks that are shallow and deep.

“Switching between various tasks can make projects take up to 50% longer to complete. Instead, it’s best to focus on a single batch of similar tasks,” John Media, author of the Brain Rules, stated.

Credits to Todoist.com

Day Theming

Day theming primes your mind what you need to do for that specific day. It helps you to do things based on importance, According to Blue Key,” by assigning goal themes to each workday and then relating a task to its daily theme, we can see which tasks are important specifically to that day’s theme”.

This method is helpful if you are doing group projects. This can help you to be progressive since you and your team are in sync even you are physically apart.

Credits to Entropy Organized

With this type of list, this does not only improve your time management but also helps you to declutter your mind to execute essential tasks.

How to be More Creative at Work?

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People tend to think that creativity is limited to a few. Steve Jobs, a former CEO of Apple, imparted his strategies on how to be more creative at work. Job and even Albert Einstein, a well-known scientists, believe that the key to be more creative is to do nothing.

Tat Bellamy Walker and Shana Lebowitz in Business Insider stated that the best products of Apple such as the iPod were generated when Jobs took breaks and procrastinated. Thus, they emphasized that busyness limits individuals to be more creative.

Professor Adam Grant of Wharton explained that when Jobs put things off, he increases the divergence of his ideas to flow. For people to be more creative at work, business leaders should allow employees to do nothing.

This idea might be difficult for business leaders to consider especially if they are hooked with the traditional mindset that the more hours that employees work, their productivity also increases. A study found out that ‘incubation stage’ spurs innovative and creative ideas from people.

The incubation stage refers to your brain’s ability to wander. Allowing your brain to wander leads to attain greater ideas. Your brain can wander when you go for a walk, get some breather, and anything that will make a space in your brain.

According to a study, during incubation period unconsciousness contribute to creative thinking. Giving yourself a break from all the deliverable will give you Eureka moment, wherein you can acquire great ideas.

Another prominent CEO, Bill Gates promoted “think week” allowing himself to stay in a new place that will give him an ability to focus and disconnecting from all higher-order activities to create ideas and decisions.

Creativity is not for a chosen people. It is for everyone since it is the most important asset in today’s 21st century. This will enhance how people solve present problems. Creativity impacts how people live and think.

Morning Routines to Boost Productivity

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morning routine to boost productivity

Being dedicated to your morning routines help you to boost your productivity and prime your entire day. If you’re wondering what morning routines you can consider, this article provides you ideal morning routines to boost productivity.

1. Eliminate decision-making routine

Make it a habit to prepare and plan things the night before. Elimination is the key to optimization. Most successful people are busy planning during the night. Hence, they can do essential works every morning seamlessly without compromising their productivity.

Spending too much time thinking in the morning will drain your energy for the rest of the day. It is ideal to lessen decision making during the morning so that you can accomplish a lot of things when you start your day.

It is recommended to do your to-do list, prepare your outfit, ready the food to cook in the morning, and the things you need to bring for the next day. Plus, if you want to build a habit of exercising, some people do not just prepare their workout clothes but even wear them while sleeping.

2. Increase your focus

Pick a routine that will enhance your focus. There has no one-morning routine that works best for everyone. However, the most common element that all routines obtain is the ability to boost one’s focus.

Interestingly, most CEOs meditate, read something inspirational, journal, and exercise. You do not need to spend too much time doing these routines. All you need to remember is that you need to acquire the outcome of doing these drills.

Increasing your focus will help kick-start your productivity. This can also set your mind and heart to have the right attitude.

3. Be physically active

Exercising is one of the morning routines to boost productivity. It will not only make you fit but this will also make you feel great. Waking up early morning to workout is difficult. But it is ideal to start with moving around for almost 5 minutes until you will not notice that you are working out for more than an hour.

As cited in the article from Trello, the following successful CEOs begin their day working out:

Kevin Kruse does a daily 20-minute HIIT session on the treadmill.

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square, jogs every morning.

Howard Schulz, CEO of Starbucks, bikes first thing.

Congresswoman and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi power walk before she sits down to work.

Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk works out with his trainer.

Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary gets on his elliptical or exercise bike.

Starwood Hotels CEO Frits van Paaschen runs 10 miles each morning

4. Make sure to finish the planned tasks

Finishing your planned task whether it is daunting or you are focusing on incremental progress can help increase your productivity even more. A study revealed that finishing your tasks can make you more productive in the long run.

Winning your morning routines is a great way to kick-start not just your entire day but also your productivity. Do not be afraid to try different morning routines until you find the best that fits you.

Source: https://blog.trello.com/best-productive-morning-routines

A Good Boss is Beneficial for First-time Job Seekers

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good boss is beneficial

At present, most of the young professionals prefer to have a good boss than having high salaries. There are various explanations of why having a good boss is beneficial for first-time job seekers.

According to Jack Ma, a Chinese philanthropist and CEO of Alibaba said that a good boss is better than a good company. A good boss would discipline you, train you, develop you. The first job might not be your dream job but make sure that it is where you can learn a lot from others and stretch yourself.

“Not necessarily a company that has a great name, (but) you should find a good boss that can teach you how to be a human being — how to do things right, how to do things properly — and (you should) stay there,” Jack Ma added.

Apart from learning a lot, a good boss inspires you. If you are a young professional, having a good boss that inspires you is very beneficial. You are motivated to work and hope that someday you can also be as passionate as your boss.

More so, good bosses knows how to execute their purpose not just in the workplace but including life as a whole.

Accordingly,based on the data reported by the National Board of Economic Research, good managers can increase the productivity of employees by 11% and contribute to lowering turn over.

Having a good boss is beneficial for first-time job seekers because your first boss attributes to your career success. A good boss does not act like a boss but rather a leader. They help you to discover and attain your full potential not just as an employee but as who you are. Most importantly, they trust and empower their people rather than pushing their weight around.

The good bosses make work meaningful and exciting even you have a bad company. If employees do not have a great boss they thought of, they prefer to leave. A research conducted by Hogan Assessments showed that their direct superior appears to be the worst part of their job.

Moreover, direct bosses influenced employee happiness, satisfaction, productivity, and performance directly. Thus, a good relationship between employees and their managers is vital to the success of the company.

Opting to have a good boss rather than a high pay translates that people are being remembered on how they touch others’ lives rather than achieving a lot of things in life.

Sources:

(1) https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahlandrum/2017/12/08/the-importance-of-working-for-a-boss-that-supports-you/#28f67489486a
(2) https://getlighthouse.com/blog/why-employees-leave-managers-not-companies/

The Key Difference between Ego and Confidence

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In life, confidence is a requirement to obtain what we pursue. However, the majority insisted that too much confidence breeds ego that disrupts a lot of things. But how can we distinguish the difference ego and confidence?

In my workplace, I’ve witnessed two different beings. I’ve seen one who engages with confidence while the other imparted arrogance to his co-employees. My workmate who embodied confidence imparted what he learned regarding a specific matter by letting others understand his experiences about it. He listened to the questions and concerns of our co-workers and tried to address it based on his experiences.

Confidence boosts your abilities and skills so that you can be successful in what you need to do. When you have confidence, people around you can witness how passionate you are in communicating. Keep in mind that effective communication entails comprehension from what you are hearing. Egoistic person, on the other hand, limits to absorb other’s ideas. This is one key to remember in distinguishing the difference between ego and confidence.

My other workmate that I’ve witnessed becoming egoistic in engaging with others dominantly implemented his ideas and had not to welcome other suggestions. When people become arrogant, they embrace self-interest rather than considering the ideas and the situation of others.

Another thing that I’ve witnessed with my arrogant co-worker is his lack of ability to recognize things that he does not know. I believe that ignorance is bliss but the illusion of knowledge is more dangerous.

When we welcome ideas and new perspectives from other individuals, we also increase our knowledge. That’s why we read books and articles because we want to know more about what’s going on.

Similar to how we engage with other people, regardless of what platform we communicate, exchanging ideas is essential to learning.

Moreover, another reason that makes managers egoistic is when they failed to recognize team effort and worst, they take all the credit of the team’s success.

As cited in the blog of Entrepreneur, when the boss takes credit all the credit, it breeds resentment, and will likely have a chilling effect on employees’ willingness to offer up more of their great ideas.

In today’s world, the majority appreciates a person who shares experiences than wins alone. It is through an individual’s struggle and motivation that most people become inspired. 

The Importance of Communicating Your Purpose

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the importance of communicating your purpose

A common question that most young adults encounter is what do you want to choose purpose or passion? This article is excerpted from a chapter of Simon Sinek’s book, Start With the Why. This will give you an understanding of the correlation between purpose and passion, and knowing the importance of communicating your purpose.

There was a man named Ben Comen who suffered from Cerebral Palsy. But his condition didn’t stop him from joining race running. When most people are ahead of him, he did not bother the time he spent running.

With his condition, he struggles to balance and move due to withered muscles and slow reflexes of the motor. While doing the race, he always slips and falls to the ground. Yet, he picks himself and continues running.

While the rest of the runners finished the race in about twenty-five minutes, Ben takes more than forty-five minutes to reach the finish line. Because he trips over often, he feels lonely while running. Whenever he reached the finish line, he is exhausted and in pain.

Interestingly, when everybody else is finished running, runners come back to run with Ben. The story taught us how Ben communicated his purpose despite his condition. He was clear on why he was running. Thus, everyone else followed.

Most importantly, when you know your purpose, everyone else will follow you. It is important to note that when you compete with yourself, others will help you. But if you compete against everyone, no one will ever help you.

When we truly believe with our purpose, we become passionate, and this radiates within us making other people be inspired by what we are doing.

No matter what purpose you have right now, do not belittle it because you will never know who will believe in you. Like Ben, he keeps an eye on his purpose. Therefore, he was not just able to finish the race but he was able to inspire others. This is the utmost importance of communicating your purpose.

Imagine if the companies right now focus on their whys and not on competing who is doing the best. Only a few businesses opt to outdo themselves than achieving to defeat others.

According to Simon, if companies are clear with their why decisions would be simpler and loyalties would be greater.

Ideal Things To Consider When Finding a Job

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ideal things to consider when finding a job

In this fast-changing world, even factors to consider for searching for a job are also changing. Most people say that salary is the best driver for productivity. However, things today are different. Check out what are the ideal things to consider when finding a job.

1.Purpose of the company

Have you read the book of Simon Sinek entitled Start With Why? In his book, he revealed how the most successful companies on Earth effectively communicate and manifest their purpose toward other people.

When finding a job, it is important what are the goals that the company you are eyeing on. Do their values enable them to reach their goals? With those goals and values, do you believe that they can do it?

2. People

One of the ideal things to consider when finding a job is the people inside the company. Are you aware of the culture they have? Are they people-oriented? Do they observe work-life balance?

Knowing the type of people inside the company is essential because this will reflect the culture that radiates within the company. Not to mention, culture breeds unity, which attributes in solidifying the values and goals of a company among the employees.

Most people said that it is through the culture that the quality of work emanates.

3. Growth of Opportunity

For fresh graduates, the more likely to seek growth opportunities than a high salary. They rather consider a company that has a career path that will help them develop their skills and potentials.

Having said that, you do not need to worry if your job entails specialized skills because if your employers see that you can be trained well, you can be considered. Respectively, employers prefer people who are genuine and well-mannered because these values are difficult to teach relative to skills.

So if you’re looking for a job, consider your career path in the company. What will happen to you after a year? What skills can you learn from your job? Most importantly, ask if there are trainings that can hone your abilities and enable you to have better outputs.

4. Company’s reputation

Aside from the purpose of the company, you should also consider what other people can tell about your future employer. Do they have labor issues? Do they compensate their employees well?

“The social aspect of this reputation — one of the many manifestations of corporate social responsibility — is increasingly appearing on the agendas of many senior management teams, specifically because of its perceived role in influencing key stakeholders, particularly employees,” as Maurice et al. stated in the report of MIT Sloan Management Review.

Being employed to a company that has a bad reputation is risky and it’s difficult for you to defend or speak on behalf of your company.

5. Location of the company

Another thing that you should consider when looking for a job is the location of the workplace. Some may prefer to travel or to be relocated. Yet, this will entail cost. Ask yourself with the offered salary, how much are you willing to spend commuting, and how much time needed for you to travel.

How Smart Cities Improve Quality of Life

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smart cities

United Nations (UN) projected that by 2050, 68 percent of the world population will live in urban cities. Thus, environmental, societal, and economic challenges will also worsen with the increasing population. The help of smart cities can debunk the predicted future regarding populated cities.

McKinsey Global Institute reported that cities with smart technologies can increase 10-30% of the key quality of life indicators particularly the crime incidents, health issues, and daily commute.

With the big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and autonomous vehicles can change people’s life especially the convenience of living.

Installing Wi-Fi and CCTVs protects people’s lives by heightening the security of the place. The existence of these gadgets can increase incident response time and the safety of the residence.

Apart from security, smart cities aim to reduce energy consumption in making place sustainable.

“In Amsterdam, homes are being provided with smart energy meters that are designed to incentivize reduced energy consumption, and the city of Schenectady, New York is upgrading its street lights to LED technology, which allows the lights to be adjusted or dimmed based on real-time data,” Bernard Marr of Forbes reported.

Not to mention, smart cities promote the convenience of people in riding public transportation. Interestingly, the AI-based smart “City Brain “of Hangzhou, China help in reducing 15% of the traffic jam of the city.

The most interesting part of living in a smart city is encouraging residents to engage with one another. The community networking platform enables neighbours to share resources and to connect with other people. Plus, some apps allow people to report community issues easily.

5 Ways to Combat Work-Related Stress

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stress

Most people experience stress when working. It is a normal reaction of the body when it identifies changes. Check out various ways that can reduce work-related stress based on Science.


1. Journaling

Writing down things can reduce work-related stress especially your feelings. A study revealed that students who wrote about their traumatic events were less often to visit the health center and the use of pain relievers. Writing down your thoughts and feelings can relieve the anxiety and uncertain feelings that bother you.


Apart from reducing stress, journaling can improve your self-awareness. This can help you determine negative and positive thoughts.


2.Drinking tea

Interestingly, consuming tea does not only provide health benefits but it can lessen stress cortisol and may improve relaxation.

Study shows that during periods of stress tea’s reputation for inducing calm extends beyond the effects of its physical properties on our bodies and brains,”  Cross and Michaels, psychologists at the City University London, stated.


3. Workout regularly

You may not be interested to go to the gym. But exercising regularly does not only improve physical health but it can also be beneficial to your mind. If you think that exercising is difficult, here are ways to make home-workouts easy.

Keep in mind that exercising impacts overall health to increase one’s well-being. It generates endorphins that make you feel good. Plus, it can increase your self-confidence.

“Physical activity can also help take your mind off your worries. The repetitive motions involved in exercise promote a focus on your body, rather than your mind,” Robin Madell, a writer from Healthline, stated.

4. Chewing gum


Another way to reduce work-related stress is to chew gum.

When chewing gum, participants reported lower levels of anxiety.

“Gum chewers showed a reduction in anxiety as compared to non-gum chewers by nearly 17 percent during mild stress and nearly 10 percent in moderate stress,” a study revealed.

“Levels of salivary cortisol (a physiological stress marker) in gum chewers were lower than those of non-gum chewers by 16 percent during mild stress and nearly 12 percent in moderate stress,” it added.

Aside from that, chewing gum can increase alertness and can improve multi-tasking activities.


5. Listen to music

Simple as it is, listening to your favorite hits obtain a stress-busting benefit. This can be done before, during, and after work in order to manage stress. Listening to your favorite hits on your way home can wind down stress.

“Listening to music seems to be able to change brain functioning to the same extent as medication,” Researchers at Stanford University stated.

“Faster music can make you feel more alert and concentrate better. Upbeat music can make you feel more optimistic and positive about life. A slower tempo can quiet your mind and relax your muscles, making you feel soothed while releasing the stress of the day,” as cited in the article from the University of Nevada, Reno.

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