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Do you miss deadlines?

 Do you often forget meetings? 

Are you staying unproductive the whole day? Or Do you keep on looking at the watch to see the clock tick 5?

Well, time passes slowly when you’re doing something you don’t like. However, when you have tonnes of responsibilities in your head, even 24 hours a day seems less.

A workplace can be a tiring and challenging place. You can do so many tasks in so little time. The only way you can manage your office tasks is by efficient time management techniques. 

In 1998, I was married and had one daughter. I was a housewife back then and would do all the household chores. I used to plan many things, but would not fulfill them and think to myself that I do not have enough time. 

Once, my friend and I were having a cup of coffee when I jokingly said, “ 24 hours are too little to accomplish all my tasks. There should be 36 hours in a day.”

She laughed and replied, “ It is not only you, the time is the same for everyone. The president of America or Prime-minister of India, all get the same 24 hours. It is on us how we make the most of those 24 hours. You first need to check where you waste your time the most.”

It was in 2004 when I went for a spiritual training course, one of the people from the group asked, how should she manage her time. She was a working woman and had to manage family, work, house, and other chores. 

The coach there taught us a beautiful life lesson. He asked us to think that we have three rabbits and we need to catch them. Now, when you’ll try to catch the first one, the second rabbit will run away when you’ll try to catch the second one, the third one will escape, and you’ll be wasting the entire day. You will end up being tired and unsuccessful.

But, how can you fulfill this task? He suggested simple planning and management can help you catch all of them. He said if we could put some carrots in, all the rabbits will come to eat them, and you’ll get hold of three of them easily and quickly. 

The moral of the lesson is that planning, wisdom, and execution can change your perspective about not having enough time. If you pre-plan things, you’ll execute your plan and get results quickly. However, if you start working without a plan, you’ll end up getting late or missing a deadline.

The lesson was indeed useful, but I didn’t know where to execute it. In 2007, when I lost my husband, I had to take charge of everything from family to business. From managing home, raising my daughters, and taking care of our business, I had to manage all single-handedly. At that moment, I realized these are the three rabbits that I need to catch, and it is my planning and determination that can help me do so. 

Today, when clients ask me why they are unable to get the results of their efforts even after working for so long on a project, I don’t get surprised. There’s one common reason for all these complaints, and it is that most people today do not give their 100% to a task. 

I believe that when we are 100% involved in one task, we perform it efficiently. When we try to jump our minds from one task to another, we end up getting tired without even achieving our goals. When you start giving your 100% to each task, you’ll take less than the required time to finish that task.

What are Time Management Skills?

Time management is the process of planning and executing control over your time. In simple words, it is the process of spending your time consciously by meditating each time slot to specific tasks. It is a simple act of working smarter and attaining more.

Time management is the way you juggle various activities of your day to increase efficiency and form a better work-life balance. Time management skills can improve your work at the office and enhance the performance of a worker. Moreover, it helps you achieve your desired goals with minimum effort and effective strategies. 

What if you do not manage time at the workplace?

Time management is a very useful skill for every person. However, when it comes to the workplace, time management becomes even more critical. If you do not manage your time well at the office, someone else will overtake you. Today, the corporate world is very competitive. Only the person who can manage their tasks and time well on time can sustain and succeed.

You cannot afford to lag behind in today’s superfast work culture. If you fail to manage your time or you show poor time management skills at work, it can result in the following problems:

• You will miss deadlines and appointments. It can degrade your impression and work performance. No one likes an employee who is not responsible enough to submit work on time.

• You will lose focus and miss on details. As I said, it is crucial to be completely present at the moment, when accomplishing a task Distraction or procrastination can decline the quality of the work.

• If you do not manage your time efficiently, then your work will lack the required professional touch. It is better to give professionally best in all your tasks.

• Even if one person is inefficient in managing time, the entire workflow of the office is disrupted. In a workplace, most tasks are interdependent. 

• We all know how stressful situations get when we leave our work at the last minute. Poor time management causes unwanted stress to a person as they reach deadlines or miss completing tasks.

• An employee’s reputation highly depends on his working style. An employee who hardly finishes tasks on time or even attends meetings on time will not be given bigger responsibilities.

• Moreover, workplace relationships often strain when an employee remains irresponsible about managing time. Your manager or supervisor will soon start getting angry at you.

• The worst part about poor time management is that it does not let you form a work-life balance. It is crucial to managing your professional and personal life equally. However, when you don’t complete your tasks on time, you have to work extra and overtime. It disrupts your personal life.

10 Tips for Time Management Techniques in Workplace

Time management can completely change your working style. Once you learn how to manage your time efficiently, you can ace your work and stand ahead of other employees. We have collected some tips for you to manage your time.

• Evaluate Your Schedule

As I said earlier, the first thing that you need to do is evaluate your current schedule. Most of the time, we create a new schedule before evaluating what we’re doing wrong currently. We then perform the same mistakes again unintentionally. 

So, you first need to evaluate how you are currently spending your time. You need to find where your most time goes. You can track your daily activities for a week and note down your observations. It will give you a pattern of your time management behavior. You can also determine how much time you utilize efficiently and how much of your time is wasted in other activities. Through this method, you can also focus on the activities that provide the greatest returns.

This time audit will make it clear how much of your time is spent on conversations, unproductive activities, and phones. Also, you’ll understand how much time a specific type of task takes. This time audit will also determine when you are the most productive and when your creativity is at a low. 

• Create a Daily Plan

It is the most crucial aspect of time management. If you’re a beginner, you should always start by writing a to-do list. It is the simplest and most satisfying way of managing the day efficiently. 

You can use the ‘Eat the frog’ method for creating to-do lists. First, you need to complete the tasks that you feel are boring or will take the most time. Once you eat the frog or complete the hardest task then you can complete your other tasks. 

At the workplace, before leaving your home, create a list of things you need to do during that day. If you do so, you’ll get going as soon as you reach the office. Also, you may put it on paper or create a digital task list. If you create the list at night, you can sleep peacefully without stress. You may also write it early in the morning if you don’t have time at night. When you’ll do so, you’ll see how much time it will save.

• Set Priorities

As I said earlier, time management is all about setting priorities. Even when you are preparing the to-do list, you should know how to prioritize your work. One ancient method is the ‘Eat the Frog’ method. You should first think of the tasks that you do not need to do on an urgent basis. We all always have three to four major tasks that are to complete first. Make them your priority and finish those tasks.

Once you complete those tasks, you can complete one or two smaller tasks in the remaining time. At the workplace, important responsibilities need more attention, but urgent responsibilities need to be the priority. As you create the to-do list, you should arrange the priority of the task wise. The most important tasks need to be done first, followed by less crucial tasks. 

You can take help from a time management matrix. It has four quadrants:

• Important and urgent: These are the tasks with crucial deadlines and high urgency. You need to complete these tasks right away. 

• Important but not urgent: These are crucial tasks but have no deadlines. It means you can spend time working on these tasks and ensure good quality work.

• Urgent but not important: As the name suggests, these tasks are urgent but not important. So, you can delegate, minimize, or eliminate them because they do not affect your overall output.

• Urgent and unimportant: You should eliminate these tasks from your to-do list immediately as they hold no value.

As you figure prioritization, your time management reaches a whole new level. You’ll be more focused on your time throughout the day.

• Group Similar Tasks

Grouping similar tasks together are the best way of saving your time. I have always followed this time management technique. It has helped me a lot in my personal and professional life. Grouping similar tasks also saves your physical and mental energy. For instance, I answer all my emails or phone calls while I commute. I do not respond to each mail as I receive them. 

When I’m sure I have replied to people, I am not distracted by my phone time and again. Similarly, when you go to a department to ask some query, you can also complete some other tasks if you are there. When you create a to-do list, you’ll get an idea of how many times you need to go to a particular department.

• Avoid Multitasking Always

Many people think multitasking is the most effective way of time management. However, I believe multitasking is hyped and generally does not provide good results. Many people multitask to finish many tasks at once but end up not completing even a single task with efficiency. 

With so many devices and gadgets around us, it is quite easy to get distracted. We must focus on one task and block all other distractions. While multitasking, you lose both productivity and accuracy. A lot of time is wasted in switching from one task to another. If you have a to-do list, then try completing it on time. However, you should stay stressed over completing it will only hurt your health. 

All you have to do is take one task at a time and complete it efficiently.

• Assign Time Slots

One very effective way of accomplishing tasks on time or even before time is, assigning time limits to tasks. You can set time limits on tasks instead of just working and completing them. To-do lists are wonderful, but you might spend too much time on a task that requires only a few minutes. 

At the workplace, it is critical to complete tasks within the given time limits or time frames. You can use the Pomodoro Technique. It helps by checking off the to-do list every 25-minutes to mark your progress. You can also take short breaks between each stint and a long break after completing four hours. You get a narrow focus through this time management technique and also get breaks to reduce mental strain.

• Give Scheduled Breaks

One of the very critical and often neglected aspects of time management is taking frequent breaks. In the urge to complete all our tasks on time, we forget or avoid taking breaks. However, avoiding breaks only reduces your quality of work.

At the workplace, with time, your energy declines, and you get less productive. If you take frequent short breaks, it will reduce mental strain and refresh your mind. Breaks should always be a part of your schedule. As you finish a task, give yourself some time to breathe. Mini-breaks help you recharge your body for the next task. 

You can go for a short walk, meditate, breathe, or play your favorite game in the break to reduce stress. However, do not let your work breaks get too long that you lose track of time.

• Do as much as you can

One thing that I have observed in many people is the inability to say no. Many employees have the charisma to say yes to every task they are allocated. No one really likes taking extra workload. It is just their personality to please everyone that they are unable to say no to work.

However, It is very very wrong. If you have a to-do list prepared, you’ll hardly have time for new tasks to be adjusted. You will never learn to manage time at the workplace if you do not learn to say no. It is only you who knows how many tasks you have and what you’ve come so far. If you feel you have some other important task needing your attention, you should not be afraid to say no and let it go.

Have you heard of the 80/20 rule? It states that 80% of your output comes from 20% of your inputs. It is your efforts that make all the difference. Many times, we do not have the option to say no to a task. In such cases, you can delegate the work to someone free. Delegating tasks works wonders for personal time management.

• Get More Organized

Time management is not only about arranging tasks according to time. It is much more than that. Time management is about organizing your tasks and work. The first stage of organizing time is organizing your desk. You cannot work with concentration on a desk that has paper scattered all over it. If you need to find one paper out of them, it will become a daunting task. There is nothing worse than wasting time on tasks like finding a document or Pendrive. Also, a cluttered table is the biggest distraction. A cluttered table clutters your mind. It gets really hard to focus in such situations. 

You should always keep your desk clear and clean. It will enhance focus, boost productivity, and keep you stress-free. You can create a simple filing system for all the documents. You may even unsubscribe to the emails you no longer need. These simple ideas of organizations do not consume much of your time but yield promising results.

• Remove All Distractions

When we talk about distractions, it is not only the clutter on your table. Social media, OTT platforms, messaging, e-mailing, and many more can be very distracting while working. At the workplace, web browsing, chatty co-workers, and text messages can be highly distracting. 

One of the best tips for time management is being proactive about getting rid of these sources. For instance, you can close your room door when you’re working, as it will limit interruptions. When working on the laptop, you can close all the tabs that you are not working on currently. Similarly, you can turn off notifications and leave your personal phone calls on hold while you’re working.

Many people do not even realize how they are getting distracted. You might pick up your phone to look for something but end up spending 40 minutes on social media. You cannot transform in one day. You need to take small steps to eliminate distractions.

To start with, you need to identify your top two distractions. For the first two weeks, you should work on those distractions and conquer them. Also, eating, sleeping, and drinking enough water is very crucial.   

Overall Outlook

Time management in the workplace is critical. A person who does not know the value of time will end up wasting all the time they have on this earth. As Charles Buxton quotes, 

“You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.”

We hope our selected time management skills and techniques help you, and become the best employee of your company. 

When it comes to making career choices, we all get confused. It might seem or feel like I’m the only one who does not know what to do with life. However, each one of us goes through such phases in life.

Life is unpredictable. We might feel everything is going well one day, and the other day, things might change. My point here is that it is not always necessary to have a career plan ready. It is great to have one, but even if you don’t have one, there’s nothing to feel guilty about.

We all learn through experiences, and we might not know when life takes a different turn, and things change. When I was young, I wanted to become a lawyer. I had a passion to follow the career, and so I did. As I was graduating, I decided to prepare for the Civil services exam and shift towards that career.

However, as I said, not everything goes as you plan. As soon as I graduated, my husband proposed to me to marry him. At that moment, it felt right, my family agreed, and I gave up the IAS dream to get married. My husband was an established businessman, and I decided to stay at home.

When my daughters were born, I gave all my time and attention to their growth and career. I would devote most of my time to make sure they do well in academics and co-curricular. No matter what plans I had for my life did not match what I was actually doing, but I never felt guilty or sad. I took responsibility for my daughters and home with a full heart. 

As soon as I started feeling my life was going well, and maybe that’s it, that’s how I’ll spend the rest of my life, something devastating happened. My daughters were still young when my husband committed suicide. Our business was not doing well, and my husband could not take the failure and decided to give up.

I became a single mother to my two daughters at a very young age. Our family business was in debt and colossal loans. There were many court cases and issues that needed to be resolved. It was at that time that I decided to take over our family business myself. 

Not everyone supported or liked my decision as a women entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry was a rare sight back then. However, I did not let my confidence shake with such thoughts or people. Soon, I joined the family business and decided to bring it back on track. I worked hard day and night, managed business, home, and my daughters. It was a challenging time, but I worked with grit and determination. 

Not only we repaid all the loans of banks, but also, fought and won court cases. Today, my business is flourishing, and so is my family. So you see, sometimes things don’t go as you plan, but it doesn’t mean you don’t need a plan.

Having a career plan is very important. It heads you in the right direction, however changing plans with time is also essential. You should not give up if things don’t go the way you plan. 

Being a life coach and an entrepreneur, I know the necessity of having a career plan and finding your passion. I have counseled many people to help them find passion and follow a career they love. Working or learning something that doesn’t excite you will bore you in some time. You need to find a career that makes you happy.

Finding your passion for career plans 

It is very important to follow a career that you are passionate about. If you do not love the work you do, it will not bring the best of you. Many people casually ask you to follow your passion. However, the question is how to know what your passion is. You can work hard with commitment and persistence, but you need to know where to put your energy.

Many times in life, we feel stuck. We may feel stuck in our jobs, our homes, or college. We doubt if what we are doing makes us happy or not. If you are going through the same situation, here are some ways you can use it to find your passion.

• Find the right perspective

It is very important to find the right perspective to find your next move. If you go to a restaurant without feeling hungry, the menu will not look good no matter what. You may order something from the menu, but you won’t enjoy the dish. So, when you look out to find passion while thinking finding passion is hard, you won’t find it. 

When we restrict ourselves by believing something is hard, we do not find it in the simplest places. You need to remain open to possibilities. As you’ll stay open to options, many pulls, blockages, and nudges will get out of your way. Keep a simple thought that you can do what you love with your life. You can look around for people who are following their passion seamlessly. It will motivate you and give you direction.

• Attract what you like

Once you’ve formed a welcoming attitude towards your passion, you can start looking for it around you. You just need to sit and think about the tasks that you love to do. For instance, you love teaching children, or maybe you love teaching a specific subject. It can be because that subject excites you. 

You don’t have to go far away or explore every option. All you need to do is sit and think about the things you genuinely care about. Once you know what brings you happiness, be it cooking, painting, coding, or writing, you’ll have your list of passions that you can consider. 

• Collect what you need

You cannot just sit and decide, “Oh! I love to paint, I must follow my passion.” If you want to use your passion as a hobby, then it’s fine. However, if you want to build a career plan on that passion, then you need to consider certain other factors. 

Firstly, you need to form an umbrella and bring all your interests and requirements under it. You need to evaluate various factors and then form a practical list.

• Turn a hobby into a profitable passion

As I said, your hobby won’t pay your bills. You need to convert that hobby into a profitable passion to earn money. You might love painting, but painting for your home will not carry your expenses. You need a complete plan to turn a hobby into a passionate career. 

Most of the time, when people realize they have to follow their passion to earn money, it becomes boring to them. It changes from “love to do” to “have to do.” You might love writing journals, but when you write professionally for clients, it might not bring the same joy. You may have to get professional training or education to earn from a profession. 

For this, you should contact people with similar interests. You can talk to them and ask how they managed to earn profits from their passion. They might give you some real-life advice.

• Prepare for setbacks

Now, no matter what type of work you’re doing, there will be setbacks and obstacles in your path. As I said earlier, things might not always go the way you plan them to. First, it takes courage to follow a passion. There are fears, doubts, and complexities in leaving a secure career to follow passion.

There will be phases where you’ll feel regretful and rebellious. However, these are a part of growing and evolving. This vulnerability to failure, success, or visibility is natural, and you need to be prepared for it. 

If you believe in yourself, your dreams, and your passion, then such setbacks can be easily overcome. I had overcome many such obstacles and setbacks to become the Women Entrepreneur of the year 2011. 

• Backup Plans

We all know it is not a movie or TV show! Everything never goes well, and I always suggest to my clients to have a backup plan. I believe it is critical to have a backup plan. It gives you a sense of security during tough times.

I have seen many people feel devastated when they could not achieve what they wanted. In such situations, if you have a backup, you feel composed. However, it does not mean you do not put your best effort into thinking you have a backup plan.

The point is to give your best shot to your passion, but keep a safe option until you succeed. For instance, do not leave your job until you find a stable career in your hobby. When you feel you have enough work and savings to take the big leap, take it. 

Learn With The Art of Ikigai

Ikigai means “ a reason for being.” It simply illustrates your mission on the planet. It gives you a reason to get out of your bed and work each morning. 

The Ikigai framework is critical to understand what one truly wants in life. The Ikigai framework is divided into four main sections.

1. What you love?

This question is about finding out what you find fun and interesting in life. You need to ask yourself what you’d like to do without worrying about money. It should be the thing that excites you and you can talk about it for hours.

2. What the world needs?

The second question is what you can give to the world, your family or culture. It basically means how you can solve the problems of society. It is your way of returning to the community by helping them.

You also need to consider this question while doing business. You need to ask if people are willing to buy the products that you’re selling. Also, if your work will still be relevant  after a decade from now.

3. What you can be paid for?

As I said, money is an essential part of our lives. No matter what you love to do, it should bring enough funds to put bread on your table. Think of ways you can be paid for something that you love to do.

4. What you are good at?

We all are born with one or more skills. We just need to find what we’re good at. This question means the same. You need to figure out things that you can do without even making an effort. Also, you need to check if you can enhance this skill of yours to become umatchable.

It is how the Ikigai career chart helps you find the right career for yourself. 

12 Creative Career Options to Follow in Today’s Time 

Today, young people are shifting their interests towards creative career fields. Gone are the days when people would run after boring desk jobs. People today are more inclined towards honing their skills and sharpening their careers in unique fields.

Well, it isn’t that these jobs do not require qualifications or hard work. In fact, they require a more advanced skill set than other regular jobs. We have collected some creative career options to explore various career prospects driven by creativity.

• Designing

Design is everywhere, from digital to physical, designing is a bright career option. You can find many respected job opportunities in the field of design. It includes fashion, interior, technology, and many more. So, if you love to create designs in any way, then designing can be a great career for you. You may decide to be a fashion designer, tattoo artist, digital designer, fabric, furniture, or crockery designer.

• Baking

Baking has become very common today as compared to older times. People used to bake as a hobby before, but today most people do professional baking. You can opt for a course in baking to sharpen your skills and create your bakery. It is great to work from home jobs. You can open a home bakery and work at the convenience of your home. Once you learn baking and market your services well, you can boost your business in many ways.

• Photography

Photography is not only a skill or talent but also a great profession. Today, photographers are everywhere, thanks to social media. You can choose any photography that interests you, from wildlife photography and portrait photography to landscape photography. Fashion photography and photojournalism are also great career opportunities for young people. You can easily change your hobby of photography to a full-time profession.

• Writing

There was a time when people used to write journals and diaries as a hobby and leisure. However, writers today are making more money than many other professions. With digitization and technology, the demand for content writers has increased tremendously. If you love writing, it is time you make it a profession and not just a hobby. Moreover, the writing field is not limited to one type. You can be a freelance writer, scriptwriter, editor, screenwriter, or content writer. 

• Fashion

The fashion industry is booming worldwide. Fashion is a very stable industry that hardly suffers any problems. Now, with influencers and YouTubers, fashion has taken a new turn. It has reached newer heights. One thing great about this career field is that it is all about creativity. The fashion industry has a vast scope for people with a passion for fashion. From influencers, designers to fashion writers, you can specialize in the field you want.

• Videography

Videography or filmmaking is one of the most evolving career options. With OTT platforms and other video content, a new arena for video makers has opened. Although videography requires proper training and experience, it is a perfect career option for people who are passionate about visual storytelling. You can work and land a job as a director, video editor, visual effects artist, film critic, and many more. 

• Advertising

What is any business without right advertising? We all know the value of marketing and advertising in every industry. With the change in times, marketing is shifting more towards digital platforms. Today, more and more companies are investing in digital marketing than the traditional forms of marketing. If you have a thing to market services, then many brands will be happy to have you. You may choose self-employment or get immense jobs in digital marketing and advertising.

• Social Media Marketing

People today live by social media trends. Every person is using one or the other social media platform to engage and connect with new people. However, social media is much more than fun and games. It can be a great platform to earn and hone your skills. Social media is extensively used by startups and Fortune 500 companies to boost their audience. SM has made it very easy for companies to reach their target audience. Once you know the target audience, you can directly pitch your services. Moreover, social media marketing is a creative career opportunity for work from home or office jobs. All you need is the right knowledge and skills. 

• Makeup Artists

Makeup artists have not only grown in number but are also doing extremely well in their work. A makeup artist has a wide range of options to choose from. You can be a celebrity makeup artist, a wedding makeup artist, a fashion magazine makeup artist, and many more. Once you get professional training on makeup skills, you can start your own company or work with brands.

• Web developers

A web developer is a person who develops websites. We all know how crucial it is for companies to have a website in today’s time. You need a website to take your company digital. With so many startups and companies, web developers are so much in demand these days. However, you need professional training and courses to be a web developer. Efficient computer knowledge is a must. There is a wide scope for web developers to work from home or work in a corporation.

• Interior designers

Interior designers are not only important but necessary in today’s time. Everyone hires interior designers to decorate their homes. Interior decoration is a very creative field. If you are someone who loves decorating homes and buildings, then interior designing can be a great option for you. You can pursue a degree or follow interior designing as a passion. You can collaborate with architects and firms to offer your services.

• Animation & Graphics

Animation and graphics are a sizzling career in today’s time. It is a very creative career field for youth. Many people with the gist to follow a career in computer graphics and animations take up a professional course or degree in the field. If you are very good at your skills, then this career option can bring good income and amount of work for you.

A Step-by-Step Career Guide

Now that you have many creative career options to choose from, here is a step-by-step guide to know what is right for you. It might feel daunting to choose your next career move, but it is essential. Here is a step-by-step guide to take your career ahead.

• Visualize what you want: The first thing you need to do is visualize yourself 5-6 years ahead. You need to plan your ideal day and how your life would look like. List down things you will like to do, people you’ll like to meet, the money you’ll like to make, and so on. It will give you an overview of what interests you. 

• Arrange activities to their level of happiness: Once you’ve listed what all you’ll like in a day, you need to rate these activities. Think to yourself what makes you most happy. It can be talking to customers, completing a book, or painting a picture, and so on. You’ll get an idea of the things that make you happy.

• Think what you don’t like: The next thing you need to do is note down what you don’t like doing. It is essential to pay attention to what you dislike. It can be one activity or your complete job. 

• Make Plans: When you have a list of your likes and dislikes, it gets easier to draw a plan. You just need to work more towards attaining the things that you like and get rid of things you don’t like. However, planning is important, and you shouldn’t just jump to conclusions.

• Plan your next 10 years: See, you cannot plan your entire life at once. However, you can set some attainable goals for the next 5-10 years of your life. It is always better to have a plan than simply following the crowd.

Final Takeaway

No one knows their next career move unless they sit and decide on that. If you think you’re the only one confused, then you’re wrong. There’s nothing to worry about! You can take your time, explore your options, and then find a career you’re passionate about.

Zoom meetings and zoom calls have become a part of our lives now. In unprecedented times like these, we are connected to our offices and institutes through Zoom and other video conferencing platforms.

There has been a lot of emphasis on screen time and how to limit it, but during times like these, most of us are left with no other option than sitting for hours on Zoom. When we sit continuously at one place every day, we tend to feel tired and lazy. Zoom fatigue is a real thing, and a massive part of the world is suffering from it. 

From students attending online classes to employees working remotely, zoom has become a part of our life.

A close friend of mine who is a teacher and is teaching from home shared her experience with me. She was teaching and finished her lecture over Zoom. As soon as she finished her lecture, she fell asleep on the couch itself. She is a great professor and loves teaching. However, she told me how teaching online is exhausting. She would never feel tired after coming from the university. 

Her live classes were loved and appreciated by all. She loved interacting and connecting emotionally with the students. When the COVID-19 pandemic came, everything changed for her. Her teaching was now limited to a virtual space. 

She discussed it with other teachers, and all of them felt the same. They started realizing how tired and unhappy Zoom life is. It is like you are emoting extra because you are just a little box on screen. 

This fatigue or exhaustion is not limited to Zoom, but also to Google Hangouts, Meet, FaceTime, and Skype. Human communication has been much more than just words. It was never about two people simply talking, but constituted various aspects. For instance, a person’s body language and mannerisms are reflected through his way of communication. These non-verbal interactions meant so much to us. It also prepared us to paint a holistic picture of the tone of the conversation.

How is Zoom Call Different from regular conversation?

A video call is nowhere near real-time communication. Due to the pandemic, we all have been missing the fun of meeting and interacting with our favorite people. A typical video call requires more attention to understand the speaker’s words and intentions. 

If someone talks in front of you, you can understand their intention by their actions and body language. However, it is not the case with video calls. Moreover, if the video quality is not good, you might miss details in words or expressions.

There are a lot of people who heavily depend on non-verbal communication, and it is very difficult for them to cope with zoom calls. The problem intensifies, even more, when it’s a multi-person call or meeting.  

No matter how hard we try, we can only give partial attention to the video calls. There are many distractions that eliminate our attention. We also start feeling stressed with continuous screen staring. It makes the Zoom meetings less collaborative. 

How has Zoom saved education and businesses worldwide?

With the pandemic and uninvited lockdown, everything was shut all of a sudden. No one knew how to run businesses or run education systems. While work and education was important, everyone was confused about how to continue the same during a lockdown. 

It was during this time that remote work came into existence. Moreover, platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Skype were highly helpful to all companies and educational institutes. It was through these platforms that we could continue working and studying amidst a lockdown.

Being an entrepreneur, the initial lockdown time was hard to run our business. However, as we started Zoom meetings, I realized how things have become even more efficient than they earlier were.

For instance, we had to travel long distances to attend company meetings or conferences in different cities or states. It consumed so much of our time and energy. Also, we could not take our entire team with us. Now, we prganize Zoom meets and everyone from the company can be a part of the meeting and understand its nature. Zoom meetings have really changed how things worked. 

It is a great platform for companies to carry out the seamless work of the organization. Companies can organize 2-3 meetings per week with people from different places joining it. It saves both the time and money of the company and its employees. Also, the interactions are better and understandable. 

Why does zoom make you feel tired?

The critical question here is why zoom calls make you feel tired when all you have to do is sit at home and open your laptop. 

As remote work started, people were very happy, especially office employees. They were working from home, and they did not have meetings clogging up their day. They felt life was good back then until they discovered a new type of fatigue, called ‘Zoom fatigue.’

As I said earlier, it is not just zoomed, but all video conferencing platforms that are posing problems. If you’re using any video calling platform a lot, then you tend to feel tired. Here are some reasons why we feel tired of virtual meet-ups.

• You were a no-screen person: We all know so many people who are not much into technology. If you are someone who doesn’t like spending much time on screen, then you’ll start feeling tired within the first few hours of the video call. Most of us were not used to being on video for meetings, it was a new thing for us. From students to employees, we were more inclined towards physical meetings. Now that we have to spend 6-7 hours on the screen to study or work, we might feel anxious and tired.

• Back to Back Calls: Today, most educational institutes are working remotely. All classes are online. Back-to-back lectures make students extra tired. They lose concentration and track of topics while being on screen for so long. Schools and Colleges should provide proper breaks for students to revive energy. Similarly, employees feel super-tired when they have back-to-back work calls. When you are put in a situation, where you have to sit without moving for hours, your body starts feeling tired, making you anxious.

• Virtual Engagement is hard for you: Just like introverts avoid social interactions, there are people who avoid virtual interactions. A person who is not used to engaging with other people via screens and video calls will start feeling tired in some time. You might have the capacity to work on your laptop most of the day, but interacting with people stresses you out. It is another reason for Zoom fatigue.

• Multi-person meetings scare you: Most office meetings and class lectures include many people interacting with each other. When you see so many faces, it makes you anxious. Moreover, you feel like everyone is looking at you, and you need to behave. Everyone has to sit formally to avoid getting noticed, and it gets very tiring at times.

• Fear of Presenting: We all know the struggle of giving a proper presentation during online meetings. Most of the time, the audio and video do not align making things difficult for you. Another major problem is network issues. You might give your best, but someone interrupts saying the sound was not clear. You need to repeat the words, and the anxiety increases even more. You feel tired of repeating and explaining your point.

• Longer Meetings: It has been observed that virtual meetings last longer than regular meetings. It is mostly because of technical glitches and network problems. Many times, things have to be repeated again and again to bring everyone in the loop. Conference room meetings were precise, short, and not tiring. 

• Constant Distractions: While we are working from home, we are unable to concentrate as much as we did while being in the office. Be it your kids, husband, or maid, you get distracted constantly. These distractions break your concentration and exhaust your mind. The task that you could have completed in 30 minutes, takes more than an hour while working from home.

All these were some reasons why a person feels more tired during virtual meetings. It might sound simple, but it is really tiring and burns out the brain. 

Common Signs of Zoom Fatigue

Now that we know Zoom fatigue is a real thing, much of our tiredness is justified. Not only physically, but zoom calls burn us out emotionally and mentally. 

 If you feel more tired now than ever, then here are some signs you need to look for. 

• You feel tired between work calls. There might even be times when you did not have the energy to call clients or work. You might feel tired and plan on taking a break after every call.

• At the end of the day, you are more exhausted than before. You’ve been working for a long time now, and you know the difference between the two fatigues. If you get more tired now than before, it is probably zoom fatigue.

• You are mentally somewhere else and physically on the call. In fact, most students and employees are daydreaming while sitting in front of the screen. If you find it very hard to pay attention to your meetings, then it is also a sign of zoom fatigue.

• Your eyes dry out with excess screen time. Many people are facing eye problems because of the extended screen time. Strain in eyes or irritation in eyes are common signs of zoom fatigue. However, this irritation or strain should not be pre-existing.

• Headaches have become a lifestyle for you. Most students and workers suffer from headaches and migraines because of sitting in front of screens for long. You should give your health a priority if you suffer from regular headaches.

• You feel exhausted and unhappy throughout the working hours. Work has become a stressful part of the day now. People used to enjoy working and meeting people at the office, but the virtual office leads to a constant feeling of exhaustion. 

• Do you feel anxious about turning on your camera? Well, it is another sign of Zoom fatigue. People feel stressed about facing others and sitting in front of the screen.

So, if you are suffering from any of the above-mentioned symptoms, you are probably down to Zoom fatigue. 

5 Zoom Fatigue Solutions that Work Extremely Well

If you feel stressed and anxious because of this virtual work environment, then we have some great solutions for you. Zoom fatigue can get to your nerves at times, but we are left with no choice other than to adjust.

Here are some ways in which you can prevent zoom fatigue.

• Avoid Multitasking

Multitasking is a myth. People often believe that multitasking improves efficiency, but it is absolutely wrong. Multitasking not only reduces your productivity but also provides low-grade results. A single task is done with much more efficacy than a bunch of tasks.

One of the reasons why zoom fatigue is more exhausting is because we often multitask while working at home. Most people mute their mics and start working on other tasks. Some people start typing messages on another platform or start doing a household chore. All these activities make you feel more tired. 

If you listen to the meeting attentively and dedicate your 100% attention, then you’ll be able to follow up easily without getting lost. It will also save your mind from spending hours recalling what happened in the meeting. When your brain does not divide attention between two or more sources, it won’t feel tired. 

So, multitasking is overrated and leaves you more exhausted. You should perform one activity at a time, but with full attention. 

•  Set a Meeting Time for Yourself

It might sound rude, but it isn’t. There is no harm in agreeing upon an end time to virtual meetings. Most Zoom meetings are overrunning because we’re scared of leaving the meeting first. 

So, it is better if everyone gets on the same page and decides an end time for the meetings in advance. You can spare 9-10 A.M for meetings and do not drag it beyond this period. 

It might be a challenge initially to run a time limit on meetings. However, as you realize how you need to cover everything in 60 minutes, you become more efficient with managing the meetings. Only the important points will be covered, giving no room to lengthy conversations. 

• Do not set back to back calls or lectures

You might like or dislike the idea of back-to-back calls, but you can’t deny it gets exhausting. Be it college lectures or office meetings, sitting in front of screens for a long time is stressful. 

If you set breaks between two meetings, then you get enough time to refresh and prepare yourself for the next meeting. Also, you sit with a fresh mind and act more productively. You can take restroom breaks, snack breaks, or a simple meditative break. 

You may also limit the number of zoom calls you take per day. Since most people are working from home these days, there are no official call timings. Clients tend to call at any time of the day. However, it is very annoying. You should book Zoom calls according to your work schedule and time slots. 

You don’t have to take calls at odd hours just because you are working from home.

• You may shift to phone calls or email

If you are someone who genuinely hates being on screen, then you can talk to your superiors and ask them to exempt you from Zoom meetings. However, you can ask them to contact you through regular phone calls or emails,

Whenever a client sets a Zoom meeting with you, check if you can avoid the meeting by having a conversation over slack or email. At times, you might have Zoom meetings scheduled for evenings. But, you might feel tired or zoomed out about attending the meeting. You can politely ask the client to switch to a phone call or set a meeting for a later time. 

Not only you, but the person on the other side will also feel relieved about not attending a video call. You can simply say, “I’m a bit tired of the screen. Would you mind discussing details over the phone?” 

• Do not set Zoom meetings with unknown people

I have seen many people who have made video calls a primary mode of communication. However, setting video calls with new prospects, clients, or office workers can be daunting. Many people feel zoom calls are invasive at times. 

It is always safe to use phone calls for initial meet-ups, and you may later shift to video calling. If you get video calls from your workplace at odd hours, you can decline them without thinking twice. You may ask through email, text, or a phone call if there’s anything urgent. 

 Final Thoughts

No matter how much we hate the new remote work culture, it cannot be avoided. During times like these, you should be grateful for having worked in hand. However, your work should be treated as work and not life. You need to know your boundaries. Burning out and feeling tired the entire day because of excess screen time is unfair. You should always give your mental well-being and physical health a priority over Zoom meetings. Follow these simple zoom fatigue solutions to prevent the problem.

A workplace with no problems is a dream. No organization does not have to deal with criticisms, backlashes, or problems. Conflicts are an inevitable part of any company.

An organization is formed by the collaboration of many people. Many people from different states, cultures, backgrounds, education, and upbringing come together to work under one roof. When so many different people come together to work as a team, differences are bound to happen. These differences often take the turn of conflicts if not looked after. 

Corporate counseling is like a health care program for the employees. It helps bring solutions to the psychological health problems of the employees. Employees build a mindset and learn to solve their problems through it. 

Today, workplaces have stressful environments. Everyone is jealous and strives to be better than the other person. However, not only in the workplace, but stress is an inevitable part of human nature. In such situations, it becomes the responsibility of the managers or employers to enhance employee motivation. 

Only a motivated employee can work productively and yield results. Corporate counselling boosts the willpower and satisfaction of the employees and employers. 

Business Growth with Corporate Counselling

Being an entrepreneur, I know how hard it is to manage a workplace efficiently. With so many things to manage and work to complete, it gets very arduous to look after each employee and their relation with others. It is where corporate counseling comes into play. Corporate counselling can help your organization by looking after the problems and finding the solutions for employees. I have counseled many workplaces. From startups to Fortune 500 companies, I have helped them all reach new heights.

An employee who is not in the right mindset will never help your business grow. A corporation where the working conditions are highly stressful and competitive will find it hard to witness business growth. 

The growth of any business completely depends on its employees. If the employees are in good mental health, working productively, and giving their best at work, then a corporate counselling session can be extremely helpful. 

How does corporate counselling work?

Counselling is a two-way process. A counselor helps you by providing guidance and advice. A coach would listen to your problems and show you the right path. 

Many times, we do not realize how much our employees need mental health therapy. Employers believe giving cash benefits or leaves is enough to keep an employee happy and productive. Well, it is not. 

In many situations, employees feel the need for guidance and counselling to improve their performance. Counselling is a process of helping employees achieve better adjustment with their work environment. If an employee finds it hard to adapt and adjust to the office environment, then he or she will not be productive enough to bring changes.

Also, an employee might not be able to understand how to deal with different situations at work. Many times we feel we do not belong to the office, or the work is sucking the life out of us. All these thoughts start affecting our mental health. When we aren’t mentally healthy, our physical condition will also start declining.

The three essential elements of the cycle are:

1. Correspondence: Communication or correspondence includes accepting messages or listening to the clients (tuning in), giving suggestions and advice to clients (reacting), and giving feed­back to the client. The counselor does all these activities for effective communication.
2.  Engaging: The way toward engaging empowers the other individual to practice more self-governance, giving encouraging feedback so the alluring conduct is additionally fortified and makes conditions in which the individual can gain from the conduct of the men­tor.
3. Making a difference: At long last, helping basically includes ID of the formative requirements of the individual being directed with the goal that he/she might have the option to create and build his/her viability.

Why do you need corporate counselling?

If you’re wondering or are confused if you need corporate counselling or why you need it, then here are some reasons to look upon. 

• Your employees need to come out of a problem that has been disturbing them lately. It can be an office problem or even a personal problem that is distracting them from working efficiently. Counselling will help them by giving them a new way to deal with their problems.

• Most of the time counselling is a way for the employer to show how much they care about their employees. If you hold a counseling session at your organization, it will make your employees feel valued and cared for. It shows how you care about their well-being.

• There can be long-going problems at your office that need to be resolved. Most of the time, you don’t even know problems are going on among employees and managers. Corporate counselling can help in solving such problems. Being a counselor myself, I have helped organizations resolve very long conflicts from the root. Today, the employees of my organization work happily and attentively because they know their health is valued. In the same way, your office can get a new environment by counseling.

• The employees of your organization have not been performing well for a long time. Many times, when work becomes monotonous, and employees feel burnt out, they stop feeling productive. It starts reflecting in their performance. Corporate counseling is the best solution if you feel the employees of your organization are not performing like they once were.

• If your employees do not feel confident or open about sharing their thoughts and feelings, then counseling can really help them. Most organizations arrange company training for the new employees to learn work. However, organizations often ignore the fact that employees also need to learn to adjust to the new working environment. It is where counselling can help. Corporate counseling helps people by boosting their confidence and guiding them to adjust and learn.

• The work environment of your organization is toxic is another reason for arranging a corporate counselling session. There are chances that your employees are jealous and insecure of each other’s growth and create a very negative and toxic environment. No One would like to work at such an office where there is negativity. Counseling can help in removing these feelings of insecurity from employees.

12 Benefits of Corporate Counselling

Corporate counseling can bring an organization many benefits. Let us throw light on some major benefits of corporate counseling to any organization. 

Workplace counseling services can play an essential role in support of a healthy working environment. In today’s fast-paced, sometimes stressful, corporate world, it’s not uncommon for an employer to have staff struggling with personal or workplace-based stress.

1.   Entrepreneur skills

Corporate counselling also provides entrepreneurs with techniques to deal with problems related to money, and finances as well as skills required for success. These include decision-making skills and also effective communication skills. The person gets to learn new approaches that can help him make decisions even in unfamiliar situations. It can help in solving problems that can hamper the business very quickly.

It can also be of great help in creating expansion plans. It helps in keeping one’s business in the right direction at all times and also makes sure that it remains profitable. It teaches one to choose one’s clients wisely, help one’s employees develop themselves, and also creates awareness among customers about one’s products. One of the main purposes of this training is to ensure that the staff develops and maintains personal relationships with each and every customer, which is crucial in building long-lasting rapport.

2.   Conflict Resolution Techniques

One of the greatest benefits of corporate counselling is that it helps in conflict resolution techniques to build teams. While there are many benefits to working as part of a team, some people argue that building cohesive teams is harder than simply putting individuals to work. Often teams have to work through communication problems, and they may never be able to achieve consensus on key issues because their personality differences create an enormous divide. While it’s difficult to predict whether individual contributions will ever prove sufficient on their own, working as a team can make it easier to come up with solutions to common problems.

3.   Improves Decision Making

For the companies, corporate counselling helps in improving decision making and also for the employees this is one of the best options to get out of the situation which they are not very satisfied with. The company counseling also helps in getting good project management done for the business. The process of project management helps the company in getting better output at the end of the day. There are many other benefits as well which the company gets by going for corporate counselling.

The company will be able to get more time for the completion of the projects. They will also be given better chances to progress the project in the right direction. It will help in getting the results at the soonest time possible. When the company is under pressure, they will be able to make decisions quickly, but the wrong decisions will cost them heavily, and therefore it is a must to have good decision-making skills. The company will be able to concentrate on its core business which will result in better profits. It will also help in increasing the sales of the product or service provided by the company.

4.   Creates Positive Environment

Corporate counselling helps in building a positive environment for employees and management to work smoothly. It is one of the best methods to overcome organizational dysfunction, breakdown of communication, lack of trust, conflict resolution, and lack of direction. This method can be used in every type of business, whether it is a small-scale business or a large one. The concept of corporate counselling has evolved after the increasing issues in the past years. Many organizations have started using this method to overcome their conflicts, shortcomings, and in building a unified team. It helps in building a positive environment for management and employees by offering services like Problem-solving, conflict resolution, team building, career development, and leadership development.

5.   Distributes Roles and Responsibilities

There are various types of benefits that corporate counselling helps in distributing tasks and responsibilities among employees. A good manager is one who has a clear idea as to what he wants from each employee. He sees to it that duties are properly distributed because if this is not the case, then there will be a conflict between objectives. The first thing that is noticed after a company implements corporate training is that its customers tend to respond better to its products and services. A manager who knows what he wants from each employee can easily identify what each employee is good at and what is not so good. 

6.   Enhances Productivity

Corporate counselling helps in enhancing productivity in a corporate organization. The overall productivity of a company is determined by the amount of time it takes to accomplish various tasks and this productivity is highly dependent on the efficiency of the management of the company. Some of the tasks that consume most of the productive time are records gathering, document preparation, planning meetings, purchasing of necessary supplies and equipment, etc. The entire process of running the business may take up a lot of time that can be enhanced with the help of corporate coaching. It will allow you to increase the speed at which tasks are accomplished, and this will, in turn, help in increasing the amount of profit the firm makes.

7.   Gives Confidence to Employees

Corporate counselling is essential as it enables the management to build a strong foundation. It helps to reduce costs and to streamline several processes. It facilitates better communication and collaboration between employees and supervisors. It helps to ensure that goals are consistently maintained while employees continue to develop and grow.

8.   Employees understand each other

Corporate counselling helps employees to understand each other and to adapt to changing situations. This is because it helps employees learn how to work with others in a way that is conducive to their individual strengths and weaknesses. In the process of helping people understand each other, the sessions also help the employees to develop leadership skills.

9.   Reduce Absenteeism

Corporate counselling helps companies to reduce their absenteeism rate by analyzing the problem and suggesting solutions. The counsellors help the workers to get more time for work, thereby increasing production and enhancing the revenue of the company. The counsellor also helps to improve the working environment and reduces stress on the workers. The trained counsellor not only provides theoretical understanding but also helps you to implement practical steps that can help you to make the business better.

10. Improves Mental Health of Employees

Corporate counselling is a crucial component of any effective Human Resources (HR) department. It improves the mental health of employees, as well as their productivity. Many employees are subjected to harsh working conditions and supervisors that create mental stress in workers. Counseling helps address these issues and helps employees develop skills that will improve their job performance and their enjoyment of working in their particular company.