Mindfulness!!! becoming a fad in office nowadays..

“In this moment, there is plenty of time. In this moment, you are precisely as you should be. In this moment, there is infinite possibility.” ~Victoria Moran

                                                   
Mindfulness—the practice of being aware of where you are, what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it—has become trendy lately. Talk show hosts are discussing it, newspapers are putting it in headlines, gurus are popping up on YouTube. But mindfulness is more than just a fad, and it turns out the workplace can really benefit from it.  

                                            image source:www.sueblimely.com

A growing number of companies are acknowledging the power of mindfulness and bringing the practice to the office with meditation sessions, mindful lunches, and more. In fact, a recent survey of over 100 companies found that 22% of employers currently have a mindfulness program at their organization, and 21% are thinking about introducing one in 2017.

Because of meetings, deadlines, presentations, and more, it’s only natural to feel the inevitable stress that comes with your job. But mindfulness can act as a tool to help you manage that stress and take on your day with ease and confidence. Several recent studies have indicated that there could be health benefits to mindfulness, including lowering stress levels (by decreasing levels of the stress hormone cortisol) and helping you focus (by helping the brain have better control over processing emotions). And participants in “Search Inside Yourself,” the popular mindfulness course offered to Google employees, report being calmer, more patient, and better able to handle stress.

                                                         image source:www.livemindfully.co.uk

Ready to make room in your workday for a mindfulness practice? Even if your company doesn’t offer an official program, you can still reap the benefits. Here’s how:

                                                   image source:goodnet.org

Just breathe. Simply breathe in and out. If your mind starts to wander, notice what you are thinking about and work on bringing your attention back to your breath. No need to resist your mind’s natural tendency to wander, but with practice, you can train yourself to return to the present and focus on your breath.

                                                image source:imgur.com

Do nothing. Sounds simple right? It’s actually harder than you think. Try to spend 5 minutes a day doing nothing—literally, nothing. Just sit in silence, become aware of your thoughts and most importantly, step away from any distractions—your laptop, phone, iPad—and just be.

Eat mindfully.  Instead of racing through your meal, slow down and simply enjoy the food in front of you. Observe the smells and tastes that you are taking in, bite by bite, and think about how your food is making you feel. Step away from your desk, put away any distractions, and focus on each delicious bite. You’ll end up appreciating and enjoying your food more.

                                            image source:eatingmindfully.com

Take things one at a time. When you’re overwhelmed with a long to-do list, you might find yourself half-doing everything at once. You’re drafting an email, while reading an unrelated message, while trying to read the New York Times. Slow down! Instead of juggling several items at once, try to focus on completing each task one at a time.  You’ll end up feeling more productive and focused on your work. And before starting a new task, consider taking a break—do some stretches or get some steps in.

Avoid Negativity around you. Our surroundings affect us in various ways; there may be negative people around us who can affect our aura and unknowingly we tend to be affected by the negativity. So please avoid chatting negative stories for long time and don't speak with negative people for long, just  move on.

Keep focus on your surroundings: Sometime our surrounding may contain some negativity which emits some negative vibration which in turn affects our mind. Make sure your surrounding is clean and hygienic and remove the things which you are not using for long time or things which are broken (empty pen, broken pencil...etc) which may emit negative vibrations around you.

This article is not intended to substitute for informed medical advice. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or condition. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, altering your sleep habits, taking supplements, or starting a new fitness routine. 

How to craft a professional email ??.. Email etiquette or Netiquette

Email etiquette, or 'netiquette', has been around for many years in the World Wide Web. Netiquette is a set of widely-accepted guidelines for how to show respect and competence in your email. Sadly, there are people who have never taken the time to learn email netiquette for business settings.  Even worse: there are people who confuse email netiquette with the loose and informal style of text messaging. 

Don't let a poorly crafted email kill your credibility with a customer or a superior or a potential employer. Here are the email netiquette rules that will serve you well, and save you embarrassment in the workplace.

1. Subject:Field: This field is the window into your e-mail and can many times determine whether your email will be opened or not. If this is an initial contact with a customer based on their request through your site or otherwise, be sure to have a short SUBJECT: that indicates clearly what the topic of the email is. Typos, all caps or all small case can lend to an unprofessional impression or that you may be spammer.

2.Insert the email address as the last thing you do before sending

This seems counter-intuitive, but this is excellent form. You wait until the very end of your writing and proofreading before you add the email address(es) to the email header. This technique will save you the embarrassment of accidentally sending the message too soon before you’ve finished your content and proofreading.

§  This is particularly critical for a longer email that has sensitive content, like submitting a job application, responding to a customer's question, or communicating bad news to your team. In these cases, deferring the email address adds safety when you need to step away from your email for a while to collect your thoughts and rehearse your words in your mind.

§        If you are replying to an email, and you consider the content to have sensitivities, then simply delete the recipient's email address temporarily until you are ready to send, and then add the address back.  You could alternatively cut-and-paste the recipient's email address into a Notepad file or OneNote page, write the email, and then cut-and-paste the email address back.

3. Triple check that you are emailing the correct person.

This is particularly important if you work in a large company or government department. When you are sending a sensitive email to 'Michael' or 'Priya' or ‘Vijay', your email software will want to predicatively type the full address for you.  Popular names like these will have many results in your company address book, and you could accidentally send a grouchy later to your vice president, or a confidential reply to people down in accounting.

4.Use professional greetings instead of colloquial expressions.

The best way to start a professional email is some version of the following:

1. Good afternoon, Ms. Chandra.
2. Hello, project team and volunteers.
3. Hi, Jennifer.
4. Good morning, Patrick.

Do NOT, under any circumstances, use the following to start a professional email:

1. Hey,
2. Sup, team!
3. Hi, Jen.
4. Mornin, Pat.

Colloquial expressions like 'hey', 'yo', 'sup' may seem friendly and warm to you, but they actually erode your credibility in a business setting. While you can certainly use these colloquialisms in conversation once you have a trusted rapport with the other person, it is a bad idea to use these words in a business email.

Additionally, it is bad form to take spelling shortcuts, like 'mornin'. It is very bad form to shorten someone's name (Jennifer --> Jen) unless that person has expressly asked you to do so.

As with any intelligent business communications, it is smart to err on the side of being too formal and demonstrating that you believe in etiquette and respect

                                                Pic: example for an unprofessional greeting 

5.Use only the two classic fonts: Arial and Times Roman variants, with black ink.

It can be tempting to add stylish font faces and color to your email to make it flashy, but you're better off using black 12-pt or 10-pt Arial or Times New Roman. Similar variants like Tahoma or Calibri are fine, too. And if you are drawing attention to a specific phrase or bullet, then red ink or bold font can be very helpful in moderation.

6.Always end with a short classy 'thank you' and a signature block.

The power of niceties like 'thank you' and 'please' are immeasurable.  Also, the extra several seconds to include your professional signature block speaks volumes about your attentiveness to detail, and that you take ownership of your communications by stamping your name and contact information.

Hello, Mr.James

Thank you for your inquiry into our cloud services at TGI software.  I would be very happy to speak with you on the phone to tell you more about our cloud service options for your business.  We could also have you visit our company later this week, and I can send one of our technician to explain about our process and our new services.

What number may I call you at?  I'm available to talk after 1:00 pm today.

Thank you,

Peter H.Manuel
Director of Client Services
TGI, Incorporated
587 337 1088 pmanuel@tgionline.com
"Your branding is our focus"

The problem is when your emails start to become incoherent and unfocused, or start to convey maverick or disruptive attitude on your part. In the world of business, people want communications to trustworthy and clear and brief, not decorative and distracting. 

7.Proofread every message, as if your professional reputation depended on it.

And indeed, your reputation is easily dismantled by poor grammar, bad spelling, and ill-chosen words.  

Imagine how your professionalism will take a hit if you accidentally send 'You need to check your meth, Ala' when you really meant to say 'you need to check your math, Alma'.  Or if you say 'I can do an intervue on tomorrow' when you meant 'I can do an interview tomorrow'.

Proof read every email you send; do it as if your professional reputation depends on it.

 So far we have seen the basic steps to write a best professional email . Here is an example for a formal business email.

                                                                

                                                                    ALL THE BEST!!!

How to successfully get through a telephone interview

Many recruiters do their first interview over the phone. The telephone interview is a tool for the recruiter to assess whether you are a serious applicant and decide whether or not to take you further through the application process. The questions are more likely to focus more on your general competences and skills. Your aim is to try to show your enthusiasm and commitment in a short conversation.

TIPS TO SUCCEED IN THE TELEPHONIC INTERVIEWS

1.Research and plan your telephone interview

Be prepared. It's normal to be nervous before a telephone interview, but it will really help if you know you've done the groundwork. Make sure you find out as much as you can about the recruiter. Read the job description carefully and think about how you match the selection criteria.

Write down any questions you might like to ask, as well as planning answers to those questions you think are likely to come up – especially questions such as ‘Tell me about yourself’ and ‘What interests you in the job?’.

2.Do not Switch Off Your Mobile Phone

The candidates should keep their mobile phone always ON because the phone call can ring anytime. The battery of mobile phone should be fully charged. In case of meeting or other official appointments, the phone may be placed in vibration or silent mode rather than switched-off. It leaves very bad impression on employer if the phone of candidate is in switched-off mode or giving message that the number is out of service.

3.Control your environment:

• Attend Call at a quiet room. Select a quiet, private room with a cell phone in good working condition. Make sure that you do not receive other phone calls if you know the time of telephonic interview.

• Keep important documents ready. Keep yourself free at least at the time of interview and make sure that that there is no background noises to disturb and hinder the interview process.  You should be having the copy of your Resume (Professional Profile/CV) that was sent to the company. It will give you the information which information you have sent to the company. You should have a Pen and Paper to note the points. 

4.Avoid Rescheduling of the interview. If you want to change the interview time due to busy schedule, don’t reschedule the interview again and again. It will give bad impression of non-seriousness to the interviewers. Try to reschedule the interview only once if unavoidable. You should not reschedule the interview because of not being prepared. Try to have all the certificates and testimonials with you so that you are ready to give any information on demand.

5.Respond Quickly.In telephonic interview, the candidate should respond to questions within 1 minute. In case you are thinking for the answers, the first response should be delivered within 10 seconds otherwise simply say sorry. Candidates should avoid lengthy responses because the interviewer expects short answers on phone rather than long stories.

6.Avoid single word answers like 'yes','No','Ya'. The response delivered by the candidate should be well explained so that it is understood by the interviewer. The candidate should keep the voice clear, conversant and non confusing.

7.Justify yourself. The candidate should be well prepared to justify his/her performance in last few years. It will leave a very good impression on the employer regarding your current status and performance evaluation. Moreover, there is an impression of being confident to the interviewer. The candidate should be able to describe the goals and objectives, should not give more attention to salary and promotion.

8.Deliver true and honest information.One of the important points the candidate should remember is not to give any manipulated or false information while answering the Tell Me about Yourself Interview question. Now days, the organizations are taking help of detective agencies to keep track of candidates’ personal and professional background. Such checks have become very important and strict today. The employer may dismiss the person even after years of working, on the basis of some false information provided during the initial phase of interview.

9.Do not do multitasking. resist the urge to reply to e-mails, check your Facebook page,taking other calls or responding to texts, make your lunch, wash up, etc - focus only on the person at the other end of the line. 

10.Listen Carefully. Then only you can understand the question properly .Do not dominate the conversation by interrupting so much, since it can irritate the interviewer.Let the interviewer guide the conversation.

11.Organize your answers Clearly.It clearly gives the impression that you are a good communicator and a good thinker under pressure.

12.Have a glass of water nearby just in case your mouth goes dry mid call, but don't eat or drink proper while taking part in a telephone interview.

13.Here are some commonly asked telephone interview questions and explanations.

• Tell me about yourself: This question is an ice-breaker and is asked to open up the communication. However, it also offers you the opportunity to prove that you are the best choice for the position under discussion. In your phone interview, answer this question by providing some information about your relevant work experience and any specific qualities you possess or projects you may have done which can add value to the job under discussion. You can also talk about your educational background if it adds some value to the job you are being interviewed for.It is extremely important to be enthusiastic during a phone interview. The interviewer is not able to see your body language or facial expressions but they can definitely feel the enthusiasm and smile in your voice.

• why did you apply for this job? This question should be answered by relating the requirements of the job with your work experience, personal qualities and education background. Keep the answer focused on the requirements of the job rather than talking about how the job can help your career grow and earn more.

• Why do you want to leave your current job? There can be enormous reasons for you to leave the job but keep the focus of your answer on the potential of the new job to offer you more responsibilities and challenges & hence an opportunity to grow as a professional and improve as a person.

14.     DO NOT use unprofessional language ,Sound courteous and polite. Thank the                interviewer for giving you the opportunity.

Most importantly keep your tone pleasant as most interviewers are experienced and can easily judge the comfort level of the candidate, so it is important to smile and stay relaxed. Give your best during the telephonic interview as it will pave the way for further interactions

                                                                      GOOD LUCK!!!

Tips to Handle Stress and Anxiety

When you're feeling anxious or stressed, these strategies will help you to handle them better

·         Take a time-out. Practice yoga, listen to music, meditate, get a massage, or learn relaxation techniques. Stepping back from the problem helps clear your head.

·         Eat well-balanced meals. Do not skip any meals. Do keep healthful, energy-boosting snacks on hand.

·         Limit alcohol and caffeine, which can aggravate anxiety and trigger panic attacks.

·         Sleep before 10 pm, a good night sleep is a good medicine to your body and mind.

·         Try to get up Early morning before 6 am, During Early morning your body and will be more relaxed due to the cool climate. Also you will have enough time to do some exercise

·         Take deep breaths. When you are in stress, Inhale and exhale slowly.

·         Count to 10 slowly. Repeat, and count to 20 if necessary or Speak Gibberish, so that your mind cant understand so as to relax your stress.

·         Do NOT FOCUS THE PROBLEM, Rather focus on the solution.

·         Do your best. Instead of aiming for perfection, which isn't possible, be proud of however close you get.

·         Accept that you cannot control everything. Put your stress in perspective: Is it really as bad as you think?

·         Welcome humor. A good laugh goes a long way.

·         Maintain a positive attitude. Make an effort to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.

·         

    Distance yourself from Negative people, Withdrawing yourself from negativity will automatically decrease your stress

·         Develop courage to face stressful situation, whenever you face any situation with confidence and courage you tend to handle the situation far better.

·         Get involved. Volunteer or find another way to be active in your community, which creates a support network and gives you a break from everyday stress.

·         Learn what triggers your anxiety. Is it work, family, school, or something else you can identify? Write in a journal when you’re feeling stressed or anxious, and look for a pattern.

·         Talk to someone. Tell friends and family you’re feeling overwhelmed, and let them know how they can help you. Talk to a physician or therapist for professional help.

GOOD LUCK!!!