1. Plan your week on Sunday night
Look at your work calendar and plan your week on Sunday night or Monday morning. This would include important meetings, deliverables, a brief summary of things that are pending from last week and any tasks to be achieved during the week. Though this might look like a time management tip, at the end of the week, on Friday night when you re-visit what you have achieved over the last five days, the satisfaction is immense.
2. Undertake activities that you are passionate about even though it might not be in your job profile
Start an initiative that you would love to do irrespective of whether it is required for you to do or not.
Send a daily newsletter to your team on the topics that most of them will be interested.
Do a presentation on the topic that you are passionate about.
Organise a small sports event for your team.
Call everyone in your team for a team coffee, breakfast or lunch break
Appreciate colleagues in your team or in a cross-functional team who did a great job
Write a poem on your team's achievements
Arrange a potluck lunch
3. Do not indulge in the blame game
If something goes wrong do not blame others blindly. If you commit a mistake, do not hesitate to accept it. As Gauthama Buddha said, there are three things we can't hide for long: the sun, earth and the truth. Accepting your mistake gracefully will only make you look like a true professional and also give you the satisfaction of not cheating.
4. Communicate more often in person
Utilise all the opportunities where you can speak to an individual in person rather than e-mail or phone. But be aware of the other person's time and availability. Listening to a positive answer from a person will give you more happiness than if it is done over the phone or via e-mail.
5. Know what is happening at your workplace
Will this make a person happy? Truly, yes! Imagine a cricket team that doesn't know how many runs to score to win a match? More than losing the game, the player will never be interested or motivated to play well.
Attend all meetings that are addressed by the CEO to your immediate manager to know what is going to happen around you. It could be the company's growth plan or your department's next big project. Jack Welch mentions in his book Winning "every employee, not just the senior people, should know how a company is doing."
You will also get an extra edge if you are in a position to answer queries raised by your peers or juniors. This is not just for the good reasons, but bad reasons as well. You do not want to be the last employee to know if your company is laying off employees (in the worst case, if you are the one who is on that list).
6. Participate in organisation- level activities
This could be as simple as spending one weekend for a corporate social responsibility activity or attending a recruitment drive to help your HR team or arranging a technical/sports event at the organisational level. Most of these events will be successful as people do come on their own to contribute.
7. Have a hobby that keeps you busy and happy
Many people say their hobby is watching TV or listening to music or reading the newspaper. These aren't hobbies, they are just ways of passing the time. Some hobbies are evergreen and will keep you evergreen as well: dancing, painting, writing short stories, poems, blogs and sharing your experiences.
8. Take up a sport
While choosing a sport make sure that there is physical activity. There is the danger of becoming addicted to sports where there is less physical activity (like computer games, chess, cards etc). Physical activity keeps a person healthy and happy. If you pick up one sport well, you can represent your organisation in corporate sports event too.
9. Keep yourself away from office politics
Politics, as a practice, whatever its profession, has always been the systematic organization of hatreds. -- Henry Brooks Adams
Politics is everywhere and the office is no exception. Playing politics might be beneficial but only for the short term. So the best thing to do is play fair.
10. Wish and smile
More often than not, there are fair chances that the other person will smile back. This could be your security guard at the gate, your receptionist, your office boy, your CEO or your manager -- never forget to wish them and smile.
11. Volunteer for some activity
"The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving." � Albert Einstein
Do at least one activity without expecting anything in return. There is no set frequency for this. This could be once in a day or once in a week or thrice in a week. It could be as simple as making tea at the office for your colleague, helping a colleague who is working in another department by using your skills, dropping your colleague at his door step in your car, going to your manager or colleague to ask if there is any help you can extend, contributing to technical or knowledge management communities in your organisation etc.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
A Special World
A special world for you and me A special bond one cannot see It wraps us up in its cocoon And holds us fiercely in its womb.Its fingers spread like fine spun gold Gently nestling us to the fold Like silken thread it holds us fast Bonds like this are meant to last. And though at times a thread may break A new one forms in its wake To bind us closer and keep us strong In a special world, where we belong.
21 Advices
1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
4. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.
5. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slowly but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.
16. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
17. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.
18. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
19. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
20. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
21. Spend some time alone.
2. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
4. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.
5. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slowly but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.
16. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
17. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.
18. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
19. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
20. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
21. Spend some time alone.
Why It Is So Hard To Let Go
The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.
"Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?" Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face. "300/- rupees. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra responsibilities for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get more money from Grandma."
As soon as girl got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 70 rupees. After dinner, she did more than her share of responsibilities.
On her birthday, Grandma did give her 100 rupees. And at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.
Girl loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere – functions, nursery school, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.
Girl had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked her, "Do you love me?" "Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess - the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my favorite." "That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.
About a week later, after the story time, her daddy asked again, "Do you love me?" "Daddy, you know I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper." "That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you" And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.
A few nights later when her daddy came in, girl was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek. "What is it, dear? What's the matter?" she didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little shiver, she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you."
With tears gathering in his own eyes, Girl's kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to her. He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.
So it is with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasure. Isn't God good?
Are you holding onto things which God wants you to let go of?
Are you holding on to harmful relationships, habits and activities which you have become so attached to that it seems impossible to let go?
Always remember…
When God takes away something he's sure to replace it with something better!
"Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?" Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face. "300/- rupees. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra responsibilities for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get more money from Grandma."
As soon as girl got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 70 rupees. After dinner, she did more than her share of responsibilities.
On her birthday, Grandma did give her 100 rupees. And at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.
Girl loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere – functions, nursery school, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.
Girl had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked her, "Do you love me?" "Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess - the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my favorite." "That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.
About a week later, after the story time, her daddy asked again, "Do you love me?" "Daddy, you know I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper." "That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you" And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.
A few nights later when her daddy came in, girl was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek. "What is it, dear? What's the matter?" she didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little shiver, she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you."
With tears gathering in his own eyes, Girl's kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to her. He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.
So it is with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasure. Isn't God good?
Are you holding onto things which God wants you to let go of?
Are you holding on to harmful relationships, habits and activities which you have become so attached to that it seems impossible to let go?
Always remember…
When God takes away something he's sure to replace it with something better!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Osho International Foundation
Love totally while someone is alive
Ordinarily, this is our logic, that if you love a person too much you will grieve too much when he is gone. The logic is fallacious. In fact, if you have loved a person really, when he is gone he is gone; you will not grieve much.
Your father dies, if you have loved him totally while he was alive, you will be able to say goodbye to him without any grief. The experience of love was total and fulfilling; nothing is left undone; nothing is hanging over your head. The experience is complete.
Complete the Experience
Try to understand this. Whatever an experience is complete, you are ready to say goodbye very easily. But if you have not loved your father as you always wanted to, you have not been respectful towards him, and you will feel guilty. Now the father is gone; now there is no way to fulfill your desire, to show your respect, your love. You will cry and weep and you will be broken, and you will say that you are broken because your father is dead, but the real thing is something else.
You are broken because now the possibility to love is gone. The son will cry more if he as not really loved his father. If he has loved his father he will be able to accept the fact – Love is very accepting and very understanding.
~Courtesy Osho International foundation/ http://www.osho.com/
Ordinarily, this is our logic, that if you love a person too much you will grieve too much when he is gone. The logic is fallacious. In fact, if you have loved a person really, when he is gone he is gone; you will not grieve much.
Your father dies, if you have loved him totally while he was alive, you will be able to say goodbye to him without any grief. The experience of love was total and fulfilling; nothing is left undone; nothing is hanging over your head. The experience is complete.
Complete the Experience
Try to understand this. Whatever an experience is complete, you are ready to say goodbye very easily. But if you have not loved your father as you always wanted to, you have not been respectful towards him, and you will feel guilty. Now the father is gone; now there is no way to fulfill your desire, to show your respect, your love. You will cry and weep and you will be broken, and you will say that you are broken because your father is dead, but the real thing is something else.
You are broken because now the possibility to love is gone. The son will cry more if he as not really loved his father. If he has loved his father he will be able to accept the fact – Love is very accepting and very understanding.
~Courtesy Osho International foundation/ http://www.osho.com/
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Memory Lane
"Once upon a memory someone wiped away a tear, held me close and loved me, Thank you, Mother dear."
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