My Holland, Author at EQuest Asia

Staying Focused on your Resolutions and Goals

Goals, Motivation, Productivity / My Holland / Goals, Resolutions

Recently, we’ve written a blog about resolutions and adopting new habits. People can forget them or lose focus. Many procrastinate and justify their delay with what they promised for the new year. Now, we’re sharing tips to keep you focused. Adopting these will help you stay on track. Here they are: 1. First, go over each and check for the following attributes. Rewrite your resolutions if these are missing the above. 2. Place reminders where you can see them. It’s easy to become distracted at home and work. Before you know it, you forget what you planned to do to achieve your goals. Successful people have reminders all around them. Some are direct, like post-it notes, while others are subtle, like a small round sticker on a watch’s strap.Others use technology like their smartphones. What’s important is to create reminders that will work for you. 3. Write a to-do list before sleeping at night. Every person doing this will swear that they accomplish more than they have without one. A list reminds you of what tasks are important or urgent. Don’t forget to put a checkmark by a finished task on your list.You’ll always feel great and proud of yourself. 4. Attend to one task at a time. Machines are the only true multitaskers. Sure, you can cook a meal and talk on the phone simultaneously. But it’s different when you try to accomplish focus-intensive work. Quality will suffer when you work on two or more tasks simultaneously. You become inefficient, less productive and end up spending more time. 5. Find an accountability partner. This person could be anybody who can check on you regularly. You don’t have to see them in person. A call or text message will be okay. Studies show that when people are accountable to others, they feel obligated to act and keep their eyes on their goals. 6. Pause to relax. Can’t figure out that problem at work? Take deep breaths or short walks, especially when you’re stressed. These are good for the mind and body. You’ll feel recharged when you return to your tasks.

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Agile Thinking – It’s not just about what you think

Nhận Thức, Brain / My Holland / Agile Thinking

You’re walking on the sidewalk when suddenly something falls on your path. You sidestep quickly and easily to avoid it. You are agile like most people. You can be mentally agile too. You can change your thinking to adapt to challenges and unexpected events – not to avoid them but to conquer these. Do you have an agile mind? If your answer is “yes” to most of these, chances are you have an agile mind. Why having an agile mind is essential? COVID-19 is an excellent example of what the world was unprepared for. With agile thinking, most people proved they can respond and adapt to a deadly virus in the modern era. Those who can handle the unexpected will make it in life. Often, obstacles are thrown in everybody’s way. But with mental agility, anyone can surmount difficulties that seem paralyzing. An agile mind will help you weather storms and become successful in life. Be careful of this trap. You’re driving on the highway and overtake a car you feel is going too slow. The other driver sees you pass and thinks you’re going too fast. You may disagree with the other driver, who is right. Not everyone sees the world as you do. You may have agile thinking, but your mindset can also be wrong. Believing that your analysis of a situation is always correct can be counterproductive. You may convince others to share your viewpoint. There’s always a chance you close your doors to other people’s viewpoints. There’s no guarantee you’re always right, even though you are mentally agile.Someone disagreeing with you is always good. It’s both a challenge to your mindset and a learning opportunity. Having an agile mind means readily accepting you’re mistaken when you are and being gracious when you’re right. And always keep in mind to continue respecting others when they disagree with you.

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Dealing with Flight or Fight

Nhận Thức, Brain / My Holland

It’s natural to feel guarded when you’re about to meet people for the first time. You’re unsure of whether they’ll accept you in their circle. You hesitate to approach them and may only introduce yourself if they do so first. It’s your fear of rejection at work. You’ve heard of “flight or fight“ responses. These are automatic reactions when people face threats. They experience shortness of breath, an increased heart rate and sudden stomach pain. Sounds familiar? The amygdala activates responses in the human brain when people face physical danger. It protected the first humans against the elements and predators. Walking down the street, you might not be worried by a hungry bear today. But indeed, you get concerned when an out-of-control vehicle approaches you. When the latter happens, you instinctively get out of the way. When a person experiences stage fright before speaking to an audience or a group, you might be surprised to learn that there may be a connection to the amygdala. Early humans needed to belong to a group to survive. Rejection then could have meant a high probability of death. Studies have shown that the amygdala retains the idea that a rebuff is a threat. Now you know why you won’t just introduce yourself to anybody. It’s not always because of a lack of confidence. Experience may play a role in why people have fears. Examples are public speaking and socializing. These can be stressful events that can trigger the flight or fight responses even when there are no threats to one’s life. Many of your responses to challenging situations may not be rational in hindsight. Instead, these were the result of your instinct to remain physically safe. The amygdala can block rational brain functions, especially when people are unaware of this. For instance, not knowing why your boss wants to talk to you might cause you to avoid or delay. But, if you pause for a moment and discover why the hesitancy, you might realize that your brain is exaggerating the situation and that there’s no real threat to your life. Counting to ten before reacting or responding to a stressful situation gives the rational part of your brain time to process information. And take at least three deep breaths to lower your heart rate and relax your muscles. Knowing more about your brain, you can avoid overreacting and making rash decisions. When you face threats, you’ll discover most are not that serious.

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Resolutions are Good but Focus on Habits

Nhận Thức, Goals, Productivity / My Holland / Resolutions

Most people create new year’s resolutions to improve themselves, set things right and take complete control of their lives. Making these is a form of reset to clear the slate. Save more, losing weight and quitting smoking are some examples. But according to a study by the Journal of Clinical Psychology, less than half of people with resolutions were successful. The rest couldn’t make their promises happen. There are reasons, but maybe these can be narrowed down to a few. Habits are defined as repeated practices and behaviors that do not need thought. These are learned and challenging to give up. According to experts, actions repeated for more than two months become habits. Making coffee and taking a shower after waking up are examples. Now imagine a person who wants to save more but sticks to the routine of buying coffee every day at Starbucks before going to work. Old habits are hard to break. People often fail to recognize habits associated with other actions, like eating potato chips while watching a movie or a sports event at home. They can forget about losing weight if this is part of their new year’s resolution list.Only with careful thought will people realize that many ingrained practices are stopping them from realizing their resolutions. If losing weight is one of your resolutions, can you abstain from eating your favorite pastry? Commitment means making sacrifices and avoiding old habits. Most people revert to their old routines because they aren’t fully committed to their resolutions. Worse, they’ve become comfortable with their present habits, which makes them more hesitant to change. » Adopt New Habits It’s okay to write resolutions but follow through with a list of new habits. For example: saving more by looking for an alternative to Starbucks. If a cup of Starbucks coffee is $3.00 versus $1.00 from a grocery, that’s a difference of $2.00. In 20 days, one could save at least $40.00. Taking a different route to work to avoid Starbucks can be a new habit too. Yes, it’s a simple illustration, but applying the same principle with other resolutions can result in big changes. Even with greater challenges, begin with a small act and expand on it. Try something new with your resolutions in mind. Constantly thinking of ways to achieve these will soon become a habit. Source: adapted from Tal Ben Shahar Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!

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Build More Trust in Hybrid Settings

Hạnh phúc tại nơi làm việc, Khả năng lãnh đạo / My Holland / Trust

It wasn’t long ago that the whole world came to a standstill because of the pandemic. Remote work became the new norm, if at all possible. Employees who still received paychecks while working at home faced new challenges. Leaders and executives, too, were caught unprepared as they were unsure of how to manage people who were only virtually present. The All-Seeing Eye Sixty percent of employers surveyed used tracking software to monitor employees working from home. Also, they checked the social media accounts of their workers more often to see what they had been up to. Companies justified the use of technology to “watch” employees. Also, many managers believed that their direct reports would not be as productive when nobody could “see” them. Many remote workers felt they weren’t trusted enough and soon developed negative views about their superiors. Trust Begins With You As a leader, do you need to monitor your remote employees closely? About 40% of more than 200 managers surveyed in 2020 were not confident with people working offsite. As a result, they tend to micromanage employees they can’t see. Why not cut remote workers slack and give them the benefit of the doubt? And if you want them to perform as expected, follow these tips to build trust instead. Do you look down on remote work? If you believe it’s not beneficial, you’re setting yourself and your colleagues up for failure. Give it a chance! What tasks need to be done by the end of the day or week? As long as employees know these, you don’t need to check on them often or “look” over their shoulders. Asking for a progress report every hour is counterproductive. Be clear when you want people working from home to contact you. Call for zoom meetings only when necessary, as messaging or SMS for updates can be enough. You can’t assume workers have the right equipment for remote work. Maybe, they need new software or faster internet connections. Many studies show that working at home is not a vacation and can be stressful. Employees end up accomplishing tasks and unavoidable chores. Be flexible and help your remote workers cope. Sure, they save on travel and meals, but they might babysit, prepare food, answer the door and feed pets. When you show that you understand their situation and believe they’ll deliver, then you’re building trust.

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My Holland

Staying Focused on your Resolutions and Goals

Agile Thinking – It’s not just about what you think

Dealing with Flight or Fight

Resolutions are Good but Focus on Habits

Build More Trust in Hybrid Settings

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