So you’re at work and its a slow day.
All the work allotted to you has been done and you’re just sitting there. What do you do?
Do you open YouTube and start watching those cat videos you’ve already watched 974 times? Do you start reading on your Kindle? Do you scroll through Facebook thinking about how everyone else is having an amazing life while you’re stuck in your office with nothing to do?
The right answer – None.
The thing to remember – What you do during this time firmly defines your work ethic.
Are you enterprising enough to find work for yourself? Can you use this time to build a better relationship with your colleagues and contribute further to the team by helping them out?
Can you take a look at all the systems and processes in your workplace and identify any issues with it such that you can suggest a better alternative? Often, in the fast-paced work environment people just blindly follow the systems in place and might not always be able to retrospect on the efficiency of these systems. Can you bring a new perspective to this?
Obviously, am not against taking a breather at work when things get hectic. Everyone needs some time off to let go of the steam. But what do you do with the time when you have continuous slow days?

Zero Fox

In my first proper job (with a world-class university) after coming to Australia, I assisted in designing a new framework for events within the Faculty I was working in. I also redesigned their whole intranet website and created a Google site for internal communications. None of this I was asked to do, but all this I did during the free time I would get at work.
In my second role, I designed detailed documentation for the implementation of a new facilities management system and also created a statistical document to understand the efficiency of a new system the team was planning to implement. None of this I was asked to do, but all this I did during the free time I would get at work.
And I recently started my third role last week. And am already working, in my “slow time”, on something which I believe would be of use to the team. This too, I wasn’t asked to do.
Putting your free/slow time at work for something professionally beneficial does reap its rewards. It not only keeps your mind working effectively but also showcases your skills and reflects your strong work ethics and commitment to work.
And the best proof I have for that is my present and previous jobs. The second job I got on reference from my manager at the first one, and the present job I got after a strong recommendation from multiple senior managers.

So, what are you doing in your free time at work?

Artwork Courtesy: https://lingvistov.com/

If you know me well, you also know the fact that I take my writing very seriously.

And if you don’t know me well, please do understand that I take my writing very seriously.

So, after writing professionally for years (since 2009 to be exact), if someone tells me that I have a grammatical error or if my content is plagiarised, it does give me a heart attack, and, to an extent, hurts my self-inflated balloon-sized ego.

And there’s where this story leads to.Continue reading

Before I go any further, let me put it out there that this post is inspired by James Veitch.

Even though I started responding to scam emails before I saw his TED Talk, I have never been nearly as hilarious as him. Probably I’ll reach there someday.

From princes in Nigeria to lottery winners in London, we have received it all. Like everyone else who dreams of miracles, even I have too. How wonderful would it be that you’re scrolling through your email one day and someone out of the blue offers you a million dollars?

Oh well, life’s not a fairy tale and scams are as real as the fact that Manchester United is having a horrible 2018/19 EPL season. But I have always had a funny bone in me and nothing gives me more pleasure than having a laugh.

A couple of weeks back, I received an email which went as below:Continue reading

Price is what you pay; value is what you get.

Warren Buffet

Read it again.

And now let the meaning sink in.

How many times have you thought of the difference between value and price? How many times have you considered them to be the same?

If I sell you a new iPhone for $2000, you’ll never say yes to the deal. Why? Because you see the price to be much higher compared to the value you feel you’d get out of it.

But let’s say I am ready to pay you $2000 for your present phone which you’re using, without you being able to keep a backup of the files in it. Would you agree?

Again no.

Why? Because in this case, the perceived value of your phone (along with all the information and memories in it in the form of digital data) is seen as much higher than the price am willing to pay for it.

And these basics apply to every transaction in life – whether you’re buying something from your local grocery shop, whether it’s the new tuxedo you saw on offer or even if you’re negotiating the salary for your new job.

What the organization pays you is the price they’re “buying” you for, with the goal of extracting more value from you. And from your end, the price you agree on is the price you believe you’re worth, for the value addition you’re giving to them.Continue reading

We all consume content. Everyday.

It might be through watching videos on YouTube while sitting on your couch, reading your timeline on Twitter during your daily commute, scrolling through your Facebook Feed during the lunch breaks in office or reading on your Kindle before you sleep.

But what do you consume?

Or rather, do you consume something of value?

A very good friend of mine once told me –

You and your thoughts are the sum average of the things you read…. of the things you consume. Because it showcases how you use your time. How you value it.

 

And it couldn’t have been more true.

Do you spend multiple hours a day sifting through cat videos for a good laugh? Do you read about the latest gossip in Tinseltown and who has married whom or which celebrity got a new tattoo on what part of his body? Do you scroll through all the twerking videos on Instagram and imagine yourself to be the next Musically superstar?

Well, maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. I don’t judge you for that. But I have always believed that our brain trains our thoughts based on what we feed it.Continue reading