My Fixation on Time Management Almost Broke Me

Summary.   

It can be easy to absorb messages in our society that time is a limited resource — a commodity to be managed rather than squandered. And certainly, the various hacks to manage time more efficiently are necessary if you need more discipline and structure. But for some people, time management is a barrier to true effectiveness and productivity. The author, a lifelong proponent of efficient time management, found that her meticulous planning had negative impacts on her health. After researching and then shifting toward subjective — rather than objective — time management, she found more joy in her work, and her health began to improve. She offers three lessons that reveal why our traditional time-management methods can hold us back.

In 2019, I hit a wall. To the outside observer, my career was successful, my family was happy, and I seemed to be living the dream. What people didn’t know, however, was that I was struggling with chronic insomnia, malnourishment, a pinched nerve in my neck, and a wicked hormonal imbalance. I would later discover that, ironically, time management was to blame.

Source: HBR 

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upGrad aims hire over 1000 employees in next 3 months

 

upGrad, South Asia’s largest higher edtech company, announces big hiring plans for the upcoming quarter as it aims to onboard over 1000 employees in the next 3 months, generating employment in a COVID-impacted job market. The opportunities are available across departments like Learning Experience, Delivery, Marketing, and Program, along with Sales which will remain predominant. The edtech leader will be hiring from its own learners’ talent pool through upGrad Rekrut  (the recruitment and staffing solutions firm is a 100% subsidiary of upGrad) hiring drive.

The fresh Sales recruits will be working out of the specially created ‘Temporary Safe Workplace Bubbles’ across 5-star hotel properties in Mumbai and Bangalore, and the brand is further extending to include cities like Hyderabad, Delhi, and Kolkata.

This move comes at a time where over 15 Million jobs were lost in the country just in May, this year due to the second wave of the pandemic, which has led the urban joblessness to hit 18% in the week ending May 30th - the highest in the past one year, as per the data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy.

While the upGrad Rekrut hiring drive will include upGrad learners from multiple courses, the edtech leader will also have fresh campus recruits from 100+ campuses across the country.

Source: People matters

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How to Improve Your Listening Skills?

Having effective listening skills means being able to display interest in the topic discussed and understand the information provided. In today’s society, the ability to communicate effectively is becoming increasingly important. Although the ability to speak effectively is a highly sought-after skill, developing effective listening skills is often not regarded in the same respect.

In fact, listening is just as important as speaking. Being a good listener helps solve problems, resolve conflicts, and improve relationships. In the workplace, effective listening contributes to fewer errors, less wasted time, and improved accuracy. Effective listening helps build friendships and careers.

Five ways to improve your listening skills

1. Face the speaker and give them your attention

It is difficult to talk to someone who is constantly looking around. Make sure to face the speaker, maintain eye contact, and give them your undivided attention. In Western cultures, eye contact is necessary for effective communication. Although shyness, uncertainty, or cultural taboos may inhibit eye contact, try your best to make sure the speaker knows that they have your full attention.

2. Keep an open mind

Do not judge or mentally criticize what the speaker is telling you. Doing so can compromise your ability to take in what is being said. Never exhibit judgmental behavior, as it compromises your effectiveness as a listener. You can evaluate what was said after the speaker is finished talking, but don’t do so while you are still listening to them.

Let the speaker finish what they are saying and don’t be a sentence-grabber. Interrupting the speaker or prohibiting them from finishing what they are saying can indicate disrespect to the speaker. Often, interrupting the speaker mid-sentence interrupts their train of thought and can easily destroy a productive conversation.

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5 Models for the Post-Pandemic Workplace

Summary.   

Since late 2020, Australians have been going back into the office with numbers approaching pre-pandemic levels in some regions. A new survey of Australian workers identifies five workplace models being used: as it was, clubhouse, activity-based working, hub and spoke, and fully virtual. The author explores how companies might weigh this decision now that vaccines are increasingly available and restrictions are being relaxed in many countries.

In March of 2020, most companies would have seen their offices as essential to their business. But as the pandemic dragged on, leaders have been surprised to learn that people often work just as productively from home.

Now that vaccines are becoming available and social distancing restrictions are being relaxed in some regions, leaders need to decide whether to bring employees back to the office, remain at home, or use this as an opportunity to adopt a new, possibly more beneficial workplace model.

Where employees work has significant implications, not only for the design of workplaces, but for how corporations allocate capital and manage staff. Experts are divided on what is likely to happen next. Some argue that our experiment with working from home has been so successful that remote work is here to stay. Others speculate that people are starving for face-to-face interaction, and that central business districts are primed to come roaring back. Splitting the difference, another group believes that the future of work won’t be either of these two extremes, but a hybrid solution between home and the office.

We’ve already seen these dynamics play out in Australia, where companies have grappled with returning to the workplace after a largely successful effort to control the virus, providing an early indication of how businesses in other countries are likely to adjust their workplaces after the pandemic.

The Future is Already Here

To help get a clearer picture of the future of the office, I recently surveyed 1,600 Australian office workers and interviewed a number of business leaders and workplace experts in the country. 

Source: HBR

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