Utilise workplace annoyances to boost your productivity

If you are working full time, you would be spending a minimum of about forty hours per week at your workplace. With so much of your time devoted at one place, there will be annoyances typical of the place. Even the best of workplaces are no exception; the very assertion that they are the best, implying perfect, manifests that there are annoyances prevalent there. 

You do not have to make an effort to identify what is irritating around you. You simply have to think of it and lo and behold, you will notice one. It could be somebody talking loudly over the phone, admonishing a subordinate for whatever reason or trying to unnecessarily engage you or someone in a conversation. The periodicity of annoyances striking you could be the same as any other activity that puts you off. Not getting recognition for a job well done, unwarranted criticism or even unjustified chinwag can be highly irritating too.

Everybody will regard all annoyances as distractions that contribute to interruptions and interferences at work. Be it inability to focus on work or reluctance to take on an additional assignment, the cause is attributed to affliction of some form of an annoyance at workplace. Likewise, if you do not feel self-assured or at ease at your workplace, the reason possibly in your logic is the unrestrained and sardonic criticism of you by your boss. These distractions and exasperations and blockings are figments of your sensitivity to which some degree of your non-performance is ascribed to.

The truth, however, is that all the workplace annoyances are not destructive; they enable ground-breaking endeavours. The very fact that your mind is incited by them in whatever manner, they serve as stimuli. And if they were not present, where would that stimuli come from? The following vexations at your workplace can enhance your output and novelty, both qualitatively and quantitatively:  

· Acerbity & censures:  If you are shouted at, you generally tend to be more industrious. Your effort is directed at complying with directions so that there is no second instance of admonishment or reproach. Research has shown that entertaining scorn requires a highly cognitive endeavour and intricate contemplation. You are forced to delve into the details of tongue-in-cheek comments and understand diverse connotations behind them, including reading in between the lines. This is a mental stimulus and leads to greater creativity and boosts skills to handle glitches and conundrums.

· Cluttered working area:  Some people believe that a cluttered desk indicates a cluttered mind. But then what does an open space indicate? Studies conducted have proved that people with a messy desk are more prone to creativity and risk taking, while people at cleaner desks tended to follow strict rules and are less likely to try new things or take risks. Disorderly environments seem to inspire breaking free of tradition, which can produce fresh insights.  Therefore, you need not get unduly worried if your workspace is messy; in fact, messiness and cleanliness both are a spectrum that have a corresponding creativity setting.

· Boisterous commotions:   Your creative faculties need a specific milieu noise calibre. If your thinking process is compelled to filter surplus commotion in the surroundings, the abstract component of it will get activated. Consequently, newer ideas will flow in even though your brain would be working in accelerated conditions. If there are no sounds surrounding you, your brain will not be put to its optimum capability; on the contrary, if you are able to subsist in a noisy environment, you will be pitched at an entirely new plane to face challenges.   

· Workplace blather:  If there happens to be workplace chinwag, research has shown that you stress gets relieved and output enhanced. However, the point to note is that inappropriate gossip need not be paid attention to. The reason is that you are inspired to work hard to negate all those blather doing rounds. Hence, gossip should not affect you in any manner.

· Absence of recognition:  If you genuinely seek to generate or produce something, your originality, ingenuity and inventiveness will automatically be of a high degree. In the light of the foregoing, your imaginative capability is by itself an incentive. And it gets further boosted when you do not look for any return or advantage. Resultantly, you are at ease with yourself and perform in an independent, unbiased and efficient manner.

Remember that it is wise to direct your anger towards problems, not people; to focus your energies on answers, not excuses.

Make your career success happen

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”

– Abraham Lincoln

There is no denying the fact that you are the maker of your own career success. You are its author, designer, engineer and architect. And nobody else is.  It should be remembered that in this entire process, being accountable and liable for your actions is a prime factor for success. Therefore, you cannot escape that responsibility.

The question, however, is how do you bring about your career success? You can do so if you realise and understand the following tenets:

· The resolution is yours:  The resolution to seek success customarily precedes its attainment. And that resolution is also invariably yours. Nobody else can take a call on it, leave aside a decision. It should be remembered that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. And if you do not, you gain nothing and accomplish nothing; the initiative has to come from you. You take a mindful decision on the basis of your own assessment of various factors. If you truly want to achieve success, you will find a way to do it, in spite of any or all obstacles. You will realise that by the very resolution that you make, you will scale all barriers between you and your success. However, it is important that you envision and define success as perceived by you; that is precisely why you are the author of your own success story.      

· You are the key player:  Your friends, philosophers and guides can show you the way and inspire you, but eventually it is you alone who has to make it a reality. You are the prime mover and facilitator of your success. You have to realise the value of hard work and that can be done by working hard. You may dream of success and even a miracle cannot transform it into a certainty. Since nothing but weeds grow without hard work, you have to sweat it out and do so with fortitude and resolve. Your success will depend on a large measure on your personal initiative and efforts; and hence it is you and you alone who can truly be the architect of your own success. 

· Planning for it is your baby:  If you fail to prepare for success, you will be preparing to fail in achieving it. There are many people who are unable to achieve any success and attribute their failure to their bad luck. They do not realise that the only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work. In fact, bad luck is simply an excuse for not working hard. You have to plan for your career success and that entails bringing the future into the present so that you are able to take necessary action in advance. You need to challenge and defy your shortcomings by way of knowledge and expertise; and thereafter, put into practice a strategy to bring about an enhancement and perfection. Here again, the preparation and planning is your initiative and therefore, the responsibility to make your career success happen is only yours. 

· Trouncing challenges is your concern:  Your career path will be a bumpy ride; you will encounter innumerable challenges in your career journey. You alone will have to knock them out. Your ultimate measure as an individual is not where you stand in times of comfort and convenience, but where you stand in moments of test and storm. And when you are able to overcome challenges, you always feel elated in your spirits. People generally blame their circumstances for whatever they are; this is baseless because you have to get up and create the circumstances that will facilitate your career success. In many instances, your own thoughts and conduct will be challenges by themselves; and you simply cannot persist with them. You will need to swim upstream to reach your destiny. There will be people to assist you, but trouncing all challenges will per force have to be done by you. This fact also supports the fact that your career success is to be actualized by you.

If you want to achieve success in your career, you must hold an image of it in your mind. You simply cannot keep dreaming about it; you have to knock off your slumber and toil at it. And unless you endeavour to do something beyond what you have already attained, you will never move forward. If you have to make footprints on the sands of time, you cannot keep squatting. The truth that you engineer your own career success should be viewed as positive scoop because then you will be at wheels of your own calling.   

Initiate a career road-map

A person who is ignorant of his current position and is oblivious of where he wants to go will invariably get lost. Directionless that he or she will be, golden opportunities will be missed and a desperate feeling of a lack of control over destiny will be suffered. In the world of careers too, you need guidance. And there is nothing better than making a career map that will serve to guide you at every stage of your career so that your bearing remains intact.

To be able to head in the right direction and make your career meaningful, you need to formulate a career roadmap. Here is how you can do so:

· Self-perception: You cannot discern anything that you seek without discerning yourself. A truthful evaluation is inescapable to know what your eventual objectives ought to be. Like in the case of life, there are strings of inclinations attached to every aspect of your career. A knowledge of all such penchants and preferences facilitate the generation of a career roadmap and moving as per it to your pleasure. If you reflect on your long-term concerns, the career plan that you formulate will offer repeated delight at every step. You also need to systematically and exhaustively ‘swot’ over every single aspect that you have achieved in your career. Towards this, it is essential that every learning experience that you have undergone becomes a focal point of your review. Thereafter, you ought to weigh those learning experiences and record all prime issues that emerge; and concurrently outline and describe the position where you stand. You may even consider going through a makeup evaluation so that you can utilize the findings to identify areas in which you are likely to excel and delight in. Discussing your thoughts and objectives with mentors will stand you in good stead.

· Generating a plan:  A well-thought of line of action will facilitate in centring in the correct direction and your destination. Evidently, you will not waste your time in getting involved with mundane issues pertaining to your job. It is your objectives that define your career endpoints; if your career objectives are vague, you move forward will also be similarly blurred. Therefore, you need to query yourself to become clear about your objectives. Pertinent questions that you should ask yourself  are:

v What is the echelon of responsibility that you want to shoulder?

v What are the assignments that you would prefer to undertake or lead?

v What is the outcome that you want in your section or company?

v What is the type of organisation that you would prefer to be working with?

v Who are the people with whom you would like to operate with?

v What is the remuneration package that you are looking for?

v What is the nature of work-life balance are you seeking in your life?

· Reassessment of objectives:  Your career path is not single-lane with no options of detours or turns. You must peruse your roadmap from time to time to see if the path you are trudging is the most suitable one or not. As you advance in age, there will be many happenings that will influence your life and routine; wedding and domestic obligations will be major occurrences. The realm of your career is never unvarying and it may not be possible to envision your future with precision. Several variables will come into play unannounced and you will have to be flexible towards them. It may appear that the generation of a career roadmap is restrictive, given the deviations, fluctuations and contests that you may face subsequently. However, this may not be truly relevant. A well-formulated career road map will help you traverse and sail across alterations and ups and downs with relative ease. It should be remembered that a career plan – be it extending into the immediate or distant future – with your career objectives enumerated without ambiguity will facilitate envisioning a thoughtful picture of your working span. You will find viewing at every issue pragmatically and plan for options that are significant and quickly attainable.

The crux of the matter is knowing where you want to be and once you are clear about it, there is every possibility that you will reach there. It is your objectives that will you going forward. Therefore setting them ought to be the maiden step; you will transform the invisible into visible and the intangible will thus become tangible. And if at all you feel that the objectives cannot be attained, you need not adjust them; instead you should adjust your moves.

Focal points of career success

They say that the road to success runs uphill and the secret of success is to do common things uncommonly well. Success by itself will never lower its standards to us; in fact, we have to raise our standards to success.    

To be successful in your career, there are some tenets that you must be conversant with because if your mind is troubled by doubt, it cannot focus on the course to victory. You need to comprehend and focus on the following aspects:

· Realising what success is all about:  You have to know the connotation of success to realise it in your career. Success is a continual process and different people interpret it differently. If you are able to attain something, you simply cannot afford to pause. You should make efforts to find out how others achieved success. The road to success is not a comfortable drive and you are bound to face impediments on it, however, in order to knock off any fright, you must keep looking at your objectives. And most importantly, there are many rules for success, but none of them will work unless you do. 

· Living up to obligations:  The importance of commitment in your career journey is immense and makes it imperative to follow through all of them. You may make commitments to yourself and others; and it is mandatory to also commit your time, effort and resources to them. There are also obligations towards your objectives and which entail even swimming against current. While luck could be a factor, it should be understood that most of life is hard work and commitment. Nobody has ever achieved anything without commitment.

· Having oomph & verve:  These words actually imply an upbeat disposition and a determination to shun unconstructive considerations. You need to deliberate on optimistic feelings, concentrate on upbeat issues and express your opinions politely to ward off self-engendered pessimism. When you generate oomph and verve, you become a magnet that entices people close to you. With their help, you are able to develop your optimum capacity for performance. Therefore, you must try to absorb upbeat outlooks and which produce the requisite vigour to enjoy the delights of living. And when you start doing so, the road to success becomes a relatively easy ride.

· Being the take-off point:  If you seek to attain success, the take-off point has to be you. You need to see how you can perfect yourself, abandon debauched practices and imbibe worthy conventions. These actions will facilitate your prospects of success. The process is bound to be long, time-consuming and inconvenient; but should be taken in stride. You should remember self-improvement ought to be a continual process and the initiative for it has to be taken by you because no other influence is of any import.

· Valuing the value of time:  Time is a valuable entity and should not be wasted. Lost time is never found again reinforcing the point that time is money. You require time for self-improvement, for endeavours to achieve your objectives and for living up to your promises that steer you towards their attainments.  Therefore, if you waste your time, you waste your life.       

· Sharing & giving: It is in giving that you will always receive. You can share knowledge, help others or have a few words of admiration for them – all these efforts entail selflessness and magnanimity and which, boost your chances of career success. You also get to realise that hurting others is detrimental to your wellbeing and interests alike. Therefore, you should be disposed to taking delight and not feeling envious in the success of others. The point of the matter is that when you rally round others, you lay the foundation of your own success.

· Displaying pluck:  The road to career success is lengthy and your journey on it time-consuming. You require high spirits and fortitude to be positive, confident and sanguine. The career journey can be tireless but there is no need to lose hope. The pluck that you display is in fact an impelling factor to overcome fear with astuteness, forbearance and tenacity – all experiences by themselves. Consequently and consequentially, you invariably emerge a winner.

Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it. In order to be successful in your career, you must stay positive, keep yourself charged, work hard and maintain focus. If you want to unveil the secret of achievement, you must hold a picture of a successful outcome in your mind. And remember that any fact facing you is not as important as your attitude towards it; it is eventually your outlook and disposition that will determine your success or failure.

Continual learning is inescapable for success

If you seek to outshine others - be it at your work or in your life – you must bind yourself to unceasing learning. Everybody understands this requirement but yet lose out on chances for potent learning and in the process are unable to move ahead towards the attainment of their objectives. There is no end to education and that is why, the whole of life is a process of learning.

Though we may be stimulated to learn at work, yet most of us do not pay much heed to this important factor for career success. This is largely on account of either our busy schedule, obliviousness of what to learn or non-availability of appropriate wherewithal. Resultantly, we finish up either with accidental learning or ordered learning and none of these arrangements are truly beneficial. Accidental learning implies making use of learning opportunities but not exploring them further; in simple words, you do not want to inconvenience yourself. On the other hand, ordered learning involves giving in to external directions or when you have no choice but to comply.

There is apparently nothing out of order in accidental or ordered learning as you improve upon your skills alright. However, if you feel that giving yourself to new learning may not lead to any improvement of your skills and hence not worth the effort, then there is definitely a major difficulty. You must not underestimate your capability and capacity; and realise that the benefits of learning are immense and hence it is simply not sensible to downgrade it to the quirks of accidental or ordered ones. That brings us to the third type of learning and that is learning by own choosing.

Learning by own choosing implies prudently creating your own learning openings that are centred exclusively on what you require to derive maximum advantages and generate better outcomes. The process is founded on several suppositions like:

· Knowledge is headship:  Any form of leadership calls for learning. In fact, any individual’s relentless pursuit of knowledge leads him to possess a cutting edge over others, concurrently also leading to betterment of business prospects, career advancement and personal satisfaction. For all these, you need to pick up leadership aids, purposeful systems and supervision methods. You must go over your outcomes and look for improvement areas. This type of exercise promotes and buoys influential headship.   

· Knowledge is viable gain:  Every business and job calls for inventiveness; in fact novelty, ingenuity and origination are the pillars of your own self-discovery. If you desire that your efforts pay you off during periods of change, you will have to be flexible enough to welcome change. In case you do not, you will suffer in averageness and stagnate. Such a state is not desirable in any way. You should not concede to postulations that times are difficult and hence results will not be forthcoming. If you feel that you are not contented, you must get out of that feeling by finding out what in you warrants a change. Doing so will pep you up and infuse a sense of being in charge and in direction; and will be better poised to lead others and excel in your efforts.   

· Knowledge is a state of being:  Besides learning for various pragmatic and cogent causes related to your career, acquisition of knowledge is an integral component of the excitement and enjoyment of your very existence. You need to reflect on the last time when you learnt something new – it could be a skill, sport or anything. Remember that you give yourself up to any activity not because of any compulsion, but due to an inert desire to indulge in and learn something new. It is a known fact that your desire and keenness to learn boosts you enthusiasm to achieve your dreams and objectives. You will realise that you can attain anything in life till such time you are kindled with the zest to learn.

Learning is a critical part of career advancement; and learning by own choosing helps you in comprehending precisely what is necessary to move ahead. You need to think about your objectives, weigh the qualitative requirements and select the most apt field to concentrate on. This exercise will keep you away from accidental learning and facilitate a premeditated approach that leads you directly to your objectives and dreams.

Anybody who wants to fly must learn to stand, walk and run; it is next to impossible to fly into the realm of flying straightaway. Likewise, if you actually want to excel in life, you must learn well too. The truth is that gaining wisdom and skills is lifelong attempt to acquire them.

Learn to like & enjoy your job

There are many people who like their job. They feel that their colleagues are understandable enough and serve to inspire them. Yet, they find their work a tiresome and monotonous toil. Every morning they suffer from Monday morning blues. How can they overcome such woes?

The fact is that there is nothing unusual about such feelings. This does not imply that you have to put up with them. You can always refuel and rejuvenate yourself so that every minute of your work is sixty seconds worth. In any case, if you love your job, rekindling the dwindled passion will not be difficult. Here is how you can do so:

· Evaluate & involve yourself:  Surely things are smooth sailing for you and the fact that it is so should be encouraging. However, you need to catalogue aspects of your job that you love and the list could well include your colleagues and seniors as also the very nature of your job. Issues related to the workplace environment and the facilities extended to you should also be reduced to writing. Likewise, aspects that you abhor to include commuting timings or absence of work facilitators should also be noted. Making a like and dislike list will help you identify the upbeat aspects and serve to motivate you day in and day out as also issues that have put you off; you can definitely get over disconcerting features of your routine. A comparison of the two lists will throw light on what is pre-eminent and help you discern if the overall situation is fine or bad. Your perspective will be clear and can always change for the better.

· Keep reminding yourself:  The list of upbeat facets that you compile should be perused off and on to boost your motivation level today, tomorrow and always. In addition, your self-respect, self-assuredness and security will stand greatly enhanced. Resultantly, you will appreciate your work, start enjoying it more and derive great job satisfaction. The point to note is that you need to glance at such jottings periodically and doing so will help you to negate the discouraging effects of downbeat issues.

· Take a sabbatical:  Do you remember the last occasion when you took a break from your busy routine? Most people accumulate their leave entitlements and after some time let it lapse. Therefore, it is always a good time to take some time off to relax and rejuvenate yourself. This will help you ward off fatigue. Even if you are not having problems doing whatever you like, you still need time to take a sabbatical and let bright ideas come to your mind. Indulging in a non-work related activity will facilitate this.

· Guide others & be guided: The likelihood of monotony and boredom about to creep into your routine cannot be totally discounted. Well, such a development can eventually be disastrous and hence nipping it in the bud is always recommended. You should focus on maintaining an appropriate work-life balance by pursuing leisure activities to include guiding others in their work. This will help you to evaluate your progress and new things learnt so and hence help you to share your knowledge with others. In a large number of instances, associating oneself with a guru can also be an exhilarating experience; interacting with somebody who has gone through what you are undergoing today and is currently in a position where you aspire to be. Guiding others and being guided by others can both be great impelling factors to perform better.

· Connect professionally:  If you join a professional club that has people of the same line as you, you will be presented with a plethora of supportive means. You will start building contacts with new people who face similar tests and contests as you. Just like an alumni meet of your school or college, attending organisational meetings as an ex-employee will be a motivating experience with support coming in from everybody.

· Pay attention to your wellbeing:  Happiness is more a state of health than of wealth. And a good rest is half the work. You may suffer from a fallacy that your work is a problem little realising that the problem lies with you, everything at work appearing to be okay notwithstanding. Remember that happiness starts with you and hence you should not falter on keeping yourself in good health – regular exercise, proper rest, healthy eating habits and an overall healthy conduct should be your focus.

 To be successful, the first thing to do is fall in love with your work. After all, work without love is slavery. And when you start taking pleasure in your job, you will automatically put perfection in your work.

Do you have a personal productivity outlook?

A comprehension of time-management facilitates a good grasp of whatever you are required to do. However, you have to ensure that whatever you are required to do is actually done; personal productivity facilitates precisely that. An inability to do so manifests a discrepancy in one of these fields; and is largely a result of a mismatched productivity outlook, that is, confusion about what and how you need to do something.   

Your personal productivity outlook comprises certain rudiments and if you are finding it difficult in handling any of them, you need to take stock of your productivity arrangements to make certain that you focus appropriately on all your pedestals. The important fundamentals of your productivity arrangements are:

· Visualisation:  When you have a personal productivity stance and attitude, you are not vague about whatever is required to be done by you at any time when the need arises. You will be able to discern the outcome and all follow-up actions so that forward movement is not hindered. You may not require to envision each and every action that will be undertaken as you move along.

· Alacrity:  If you are appropriately systematized and have a good personal productivity arrangement primed, you will automatically be aware of various actions required of you in all tasks being undertaken. And when you are assigned a fresh one, you will efficiently consider all known facts to decide on specific actions without problem or without wasting any time. The procedure that you have in place will serve to remind you of what to do and when to do; and obviate all hasty actions.

· Dynamism:  If you remain unnecessarily preoccupied, it is evident that there is something amiss. You are perhaps not clear about handling your own productivity. On the contrary, if you have a personal productivity outlook, you are better poised to work on the projects assigned to you, including what you are supposed to do. In this way, you can be dynamic and proficient but without getting unduly hectic. 

· Self-identity:  Self-identity is generally misconstrued with selfishness. You can be productive, however, if being so hinders other obligations, no useful purpose is served. You simply cannot afford to be not personally productive, or put in simple terms, you should not be feeling as if you are unimportant. If you have a personal productivity outlook, you will have a self-identity with distinct principles and precedence; and will habitually probe all activities that are not in sync.   

· Current Obligations:  If you do not have an effectual personal productivity scheme for yourself, you will be unable to fulfil your pledges. You will always be wishing to be told about pending tasks or engagements. But if you have a personal productivity outlook, you will not suffer any ambiguity of actions required and hence live in your present on the strength of your past with a deep focus into the future. In short, you will be in control of yourself and your work at hand.  

· Antipathies:  At workplace, you cannot harbour dislikes and complaints because they serve no purpose; and do not facilitate solution to problems. Moreover, antipathies drain out enthusiasm levels because of the strains caused by incessant pondering. Having a personal productivity outlook entails a self-assured disposition so that you can handle difficult situations efficiently. And to be firm and positive, you need to release all feelings of antipathy.

· Self-absorption:  This implies self-interest as distinct from selfishness; the former does not include any element of egoism or greediness. And if it does, the conclusion is that you have scant regard for others when they get upset. Self-absorption ought to be synonymous with self-effacing conduct so that you selflessly assist others to fulfil their requirements. While self-centredness and egocentricity may also be occasionally required, they are not recommended to handle life as an activity. The most apposite attitude is one of self-absorption in that you derive delight in helping others to attain their objectives but without giving up on your personal aspirations.   

· Precedence & Focus:  A personal productivity outlook helps you to determine anything required to be done at a particular time and thus facilitates concentration. You cannot engage in more than one activity concurrently or keep alternating from one task to another because you will not do justice to any of them. Moreover, you will consume more time and the final outcome will not be as favourable as it would have been if you had undertaken each task individually.

A good time-management disposition is inescapable to find out what you want to attain, accord precedence and discern what actions will be more fruitful. A personal productivity outlook ensures that you do whatever is required to be done; in other words, you are able to seize each of your obligation, choose the best option and make sure that relevant action is indulged in at the correct moment. While good time-management takes care of macro issues, your personal productivity outlook assures due consideration of micro matters. Combined, they help you to perform better and derive contentment.