FIGHT THE MONDAY BLUES

 

Monday blues are for real.Period.Yes and it’s not just me saying this but thousands of other working professionals believe that they feel the lowest on Monday mornings. It might sound funny but I actually read a few statistics which proves the fact that the starting of work week might even be hazardous to our health if we continue to hate Mondays. Researchers say that most heart attacks happen on a Monday , most people do not smile till noon on Mondays and almost everyone feels groggy on a Monday morning. But, don’t let Mondays pin you down, fight back and here are 7 ways how you can do it –

1. Avoid keeping pending work for Monday – Mondays will always be more stressful if there is a long pending list of tasks even before you start with something afresh. So,leave that unnecessary stress out by completing the work in the week itself and start Mondays with fresh tasks which you can look forward to.
2. Stick to the Sleep schedule –  Do not over sleep on weekends, stick to a schedule through the week.Rather,go to bed a little earlier than usual on Sunday night so that you can wake up  early and allow your mind and body to relax and adjust to the Monday morning instead of feeling rushed.
3. Don’t live for the weekends – If you are unhappy at work,you naturally tend to be much happier when you are not working on the weekends. So try to spread out the plans through the week like a dinner out on a Wednesday, a family time on Tuesday or maybe a movie on a Thursday?
4. Plan your Monday- Plan and prioritize to create a clear plan to get more productivity. If you can, plan a gym session before you start the day or even an elaborate breakfast – either way, it will up your endorphin levels or add further energy to your day.
5. Dress up and show up – We all know that if we look good, we feel good. So, save the best dress for a Monday and your confidence will increase manifold.
6. Love what you do – If you love your work, you will look forward to go to your workplace. If you feel miserable every day irrespective of what you do to combat the feeling, you possibly need to change your career plan.
7. Smile: Always carry an attitude of happiness with you. Be a source of positivity for people around you. Compliment someone at work, acknowledge your team’s efforts or thank someone for their contribution. A happy environment will not just help you but also make others feel better.

Happy Monday People!

DOES BEING A MOMMY MAKE YOU MORE EMPLOYABLE?

We have heard enough of how motherhood is a big hindrance to the quintessential career woman. Well, to think of it, it is undoubtedly a very big challenge to manage a flourishing career with a baby yet being a mother actually necessitates a whole barrage of highly employable skills and competencies which can only benefit a career woman.

While we may not consciously acknowledge or recognize the ways we have up skilled ourselves, I think it is very important that the same should be broadcasted to the world. Who knows our potential future employers might be able to identify with our skill set better after reading this!  I am going to write on 7 most important skills that we develop as mothers that actually give us an edge over our colleagues at the workplace.

1. Time Management: Yes, this is the primary skill which makes us superwomen. None of us feel we have enough time to complete all the tasks in a day but as moms, we have mastered the art of meeting deadlines and magically completing all the tasks despite the uncertain circumstances. Like many other moms, I too mentally scan the whole day in advance every morning and divide activities in neat slots nearly perfecting the ambition of task completion by end of the day.
2. Planning and Priority Setting: Yes, even without a scheduler, we manage to feed, wash, clean and complete all the important tasks with no qualms. And when we’re able to mentally plan and juggle these tasks throughout the day, we’re adeptly sorting out which ones are priority to us and which ones can be postponed for later. As a trainer myself, I have done multiple sessions on planning and prioritization for the employees in my organization but lately I realized that post motherhood, I have found new effective tricks to manage gaps, assemble activities and schedule tasks.
3. Crisis Management: How you deal with crises is a big deal in Corporate life. As a mother, we already are experts in being on top of situational awareness, adaptability and conflict management. These are the most important skills required to deal with any kind of crisis at work and having developed these can actually put us in a pedestal at the workplace.
4. Negotiation: Any parent who has survived the baby is definitely a pro at convincing an unreasonable person to do what they want. While we get to develop this skill absolutely for free, there is no denying to the fact that it has been developed during the toughest of times. So, negotiating with stubborn people would be a cakewalk for us now.
5. Change Management: With a baby, every day is a new experience. We cannot predict what is coming our way next but dealing with these uncertain requirements every single day makes us a stone wall ready to take any kind of hit. This is a huge plus for the Corporate employees and in the current scenario, something that should go right on the top of our CV.
6. Problem Solving : If you have more than one child, you probably practise this every single day. Babies and children always present an endless list of problems that need solving and with multiple children, you possibly got an added flavor of conflict management as well. Starting with sleep training to fixing broken toys, our minds are programmed in such a way that we literally figure out a solution for every problem that crops up.
7. Communication : The other day during a fun Friday at work, we were playing a game of Dumb Charades. Bam, I was a pro at it. Thanks to all the non-verbal cues I pick up every single day from my darling daughter. Dealing with a baby helps us realize that language is not a barrier. It makes us more positive, empathetic and effective in both verbal and non-verbal communication. It also brings out a great listener in us, after all listening to the endless blabbering and answering repetitive questions is a test of patience that we can pass only with experience.

Personally, I think I learnt better in my motherhood journey than all the management lessons put together during my Business school days.:D

I hope you mommies find this useful as well!