Berlin and other stories

Concentration in a Busy Environment

· 2 Comments

Concentration at work

Concentration at work 
 
 
As you know, in my day job I work at a PR agency. That in itself can be quite the hectic environment. Telephones ringing, people talking to journalists day in, day out and running around, trying to make deadlines. Additionally, the agency has grown quite a bit in the last 6 months. We are now up to almost 40 people, trying to fit into an open plan office that is honestly much too small to hold everyone comfortably. You can imagine how that can affect everybody’s concentration for the worse. 
 
Due to the situation, I had to find different ways to help me get into my zone and keep my productivity on fleek. In this post, I want to share some of these methods, to hopefully keep you concentrated as well. 
 

 

Clean your Desk

 
In all honesty, I have to admit that I am quite messy and scattered when it comes to my desk at the office. (To my co-workers reading this, trying to mend my ways guys. Promise!). However, whenever I have a hard time concentrating on a task, cleaning my desk is the first step I take. Here is why: 
 
The Princeton Neuroscience Institut has found that clutter can be a cause for distraction. According to the study, having various visual impulses within your field of vision will cause the impulses to compete against each other for the attention of your brain. This will lead to unnecessary distraction. Therefore, having a clean desk can help clear your mind and focus on the important tasks at hand. 
 

 

Organize + Prioritize

 
Often when I get distracted from work, I just have too much on my mind. I attempt to do three things at once and end up not accomplishing anything at all. To overcome this problem I try to get a structured mind, before jumping into a task. I do this with these two steps:
 
  • To Do List
    I dump out everything that I have to do, keep in mind and think about on a piece o paper. This clears up space in my head and gives my brain back some breathing room. Without having to constantly keep these To Do’s in the back of my mind, I can focus on the actual assignments. 
  • Order
    To make sure that deadlines are met and every task is finished when needed, it is now time to prioritize. The most time sensitive or crucial assignment should be your number one on that list. Following with the second important task and so on and so on. 
 

 

Limit Distractions

 
As mentioned in the beginning of the post, my work environment is temporarily pretty chaotic. That said, it is tough to always drown out every distraction completely. There are however a few things, that can be done so spike your concentration. Here is a list of examples: 
 
  • Turn your Skype on “Do not Disturb”
  • Switch your phone to silent. If you are not expecting an important phone call, you can call them back.
  • And now put it away. You don’t need to see the flashy light of an incoming notification. Your Instagram followers will survive a few hours without you. 
  • Turn off your e-mail notifications. That way all mail will still be coming in. You can then check and respond after you have finished your task.
 

 

Turn on the Music

 
The last step before jumping into the first assignment is to zone out from the rest of the world. For me, it sometimes even helps to just put on my headphones. Why? My co-workers will be under the impression that I am busy and therefore far less tempted to disturb me for meaningless chatter.  
 
If I really need to get into my headspace though, I put on a playlist. Usually, I turn to classical film tracks. To learn more about my favorite tracks for concentration and follow my work playlists, check out my post on “The best Playlists for every Girlboss”. 
 
 
I hope these tips can help you with your concentration to stay on top of your productivity. Let me know if you have any other techniques or tips for staying focused. Be it in a noisy office or at home in your workspace. I would love to hear about them!
 
xx
Nico
 
 

Why you Need an Office BFF

· 2 Comments

Why you need an office bff

Why you need an office bff

 

Your job, just like every other aspect of your life, get’s way better when you don’t have to go through it alone. So it’s crucial that you have somebody on a day to day basis that can brighten your life at the office. 

 

Before we jump in, let me tell you a little bit about my office BFF and why I adore her so much. Her name is Melli and she makes my days at work just so much more enjoyable. She looks like the sweetest girl on the block, so on first glance, you would never know how fierce and passionate she actually is. And the best thing about her? She can put up with me. 
 
 
Now, I know what you are thinking. You already have a bestie outside of work. You like your co-workers but… do you really need a special office BFF? The answer is YES! I am going to share four reasons with you why it is so crucial to have an office bestie.
 
 
Why you need an office bff
 

 

Why you Need an Office BFF

 

 

1 Spend your time wisely. 

 
On a normal 9 to 5 job, you spend about 40 hours a week with your co-workers. That is about 160 hours a month and 2.080 hours a year. Holy shit, right? Well, my job often requires overtime so you could imagine how the hours add up. Now think about spending all of that time there without anyone you can stand? There is just no way, no matter how great your job is. Having an office BFF means you don’t have to get along with everybody at work. You know you have one person who’s got your back. A friend to get you through the day. And that’s all that matters. 
 
 

2 Bad days happen to everyone. 

 
I think we can agree that here are good and bad days in every job. You might have just gotten a mouth full from you boss because you didn’t turn in the brief they wanted in time. Your client might just have fired you for no apparent reason. Or maybe you just spilled tomato juice over your white blazer at lunch. Whatever the reason may be. When that day comes you need somebody in your corner. And there is no one better for the job than your office BFF.
 
 
Why you need an office bff 
 

3 Take all the help you can get. 

 
There comes a point in every job, every career, where you are overwhelmed. The presentation is due tomorrow, but your co-workers have left due to personal reasons, doctors appointments or other important meetings. That is when you call in your office BFF for help! And she will be there to help out because she knows you would do the same for her. Beats spending a night alone at the office until 2 a.m., right?
 
 

4 Bring your social life to work.

 
Naturally, we as humans are social beings. We need interaction with other people, a smile here and a good laugh there to help us through the day… or life for that matter. Especially at the office, while slaving away at your computer, your office BFF can be a life saver on that account. And yes, you might be laughing a little too loud for those around you, wasting a few minutes talking about meaningless stuff and comparing nail polish instead of report numbers sometimes. But overall you will be a lot happier at the office, which will reflect on your work. Trust me!
 
Do you guys have an office BFF that you just couldn’t live without? Give a shout out to them in the comments and let them know how much you appreciate them. 
 
xx
Nico
 

What every boss needs to know about millennial employees

· Leave a Comment

 
 
 
What every boss needs to know about millennial employees
What every boss needs to know about millennial employees
 
If you’ve been around for a while, you might know that this month I have made my one year mark as a graduate in the workforce (whoop whoop!). During that time I have made some observations about the discrepancy between millennials and their executives. 
 
Every generation works a little different they say. I get that. And I do understand that because of small inventions like the internet a few years back, everything got a little crazy there for awhile. But it is true when they say that our beliefs and the way we think and operate are entirely different from those generations before us. 
 
Back in the day, Wired published we would take over the workplace by 2015. It’s 2017 now, we’re here!
 
So for all of you executives and CEO’s it’s time to recognize that in order to work with your millennial employees, you need to change it up. I know you’ve all heard a lot about work-life balance and how we choose our employer based on a “sense of purpose”. I don’t think I need to talk about that anymore (hopefully).
 
But you do need to know these 3 things about us: 
 
 

We need mentors. 

 
If we have made it this far, it’s most likely that we had a long way to go. We went to college because it was expected if we wanted a good paying job. During and after college we did internships to gain as much work experience as possible because that was expected. After college we were told that we needed to get more work experience to get an entry-level job – so we got traineeships. 
 
After so many expectations and being told over and over again that we’re not there yet, we started to believe it. It being the experience, skill, and mindset we would need for the job of your dreams. 
 
So what we really need is a mentor. Someone to show and tell us that it is okay to make mistakes and how to best avoid them. Someone to guide us to success. Gently.
 
 

We take cell phone breaks. 

 
What the cigarette break was ten years ago is now the short encounter to our smartphones. And yes, we are on their way too often (pretty much all the time). But while some senior employees may think that we are wasting precious working time, don’t worry.
 
First and foremost those few moments are a way for us to get out of our heads and think about something else for a minute, before returning to our task with a clearer mind. Also, going on social media platforms inspires and strikes our creativity. 
 
So if your millennial employee isn’t taking a 15-minute break only to play Candycrush, relax. 
 
 

We want credit. 

 
We have pretty much grown up in a world where our Instagram likes mean more than a smile from a stranger. And while you could shake your head and feel bad for our generation, you could also use that time to realize how that transfers to our work environment. 
 
More than ever this generation of employees needs to feel seen and rewarded. If we complete a task to your liking, it is not enough to recognize it. We need your personal confirmation. Just go with it. 
 
 

How to Knock Off Procrastination

· Leave a Comment

How to knock off procrastination

How to knock off procrastination

 

Today I have another treat for you guys. I am very excited to announce that Mecyll from Bitchy Chicken kindly graced us with a guest post on the blog. She covered one of my favorite topics: Procrastination. A big word for a big problem that slumbers somewhere inside every one of us. I don’t know about you, but I need all the help I can get on it. 

 

So without further ado: Mecyll Jamila everyone!

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How to knock off Procrastination

by eliminating your two unhealthy  mind monsters

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

You don’t know what to do next. You are overthinking, stressing yourself with a lot of unnecessary things in mind, and suffering from the countless frustrations in the past few years.

You don’t know why you keep on failing. You don’t have any idea why you become the magnet of painful failures with almost anything you do.

You don’t know why you don’t have the energy to hustle, to grind, to work on your own dreams today, tomorrow, and in the next day.

You haven’t noticed that you are already procrastinating in the last few days, thinking that you don’t know what to do at this hour.

Why?

Apparently, there are two unhealthy objects that are stuck in your head that block you from productivity. And I know you don’t know they existed. If you do, you failed to notice them. You’re too busy anyway.

 

Meet Mr. Fear and Mrs. Pride

 

These two are the perfect couple who will help you build that sturdy wall between you and your productiveness.

Literally, you don’t like to do that Etsy item or your clients’ blog layout design in fear that you might not satisfy your customers. You don’t like to risk working on your business blog, thinking that this won’t work anyway.

You don’t like to level up the experience with your husband or wife in bed because you’re scared he or she might not be okay with it. I bet.

In the past few days, Mr. Fear consumed me that I failed to write two guest posts. I feared that the site owners would reject my posts. So, I kept thinking, thinking, thinking for several days, which then turned into weeks, instead of writing these posts on the day they were assigned. It took me a week to gather myself up and wrote the blog posts.

Another instance happened. I should have started making more handmade journal designs to sell in our online shop. But then, Mr. Fear came again. It took me a week to scan Etsy and the craft sellers’ Instagram accounts.

Instead of saying, “Oh, that’s a good idea! I should make that one,” I said, “Oh, they made more beautiful journals because they have materials and they’re already big craft shops” and “Oh, what if they won’t like my sewing skills?”

At the same time, Mrs. Pride kept on telling me, “Hey, why should I do that? Who are they? They’re just small businesses anyway. They’re in Manila anyway.” My list of alibis went on and on until I became absolutely unproductive.

Because of this mind monster, I failed to start writing and crafting my next handmade journal. Again with Mrs. Pride’s influence, I failed to see the mistakes of my behavior and the outcomes it brought to our business and our blog.

Apparently, it took me a lot of courage to evaluate myself why I keep on failing in the last two years since I left my job and graduated in college. With courage and guts, I assessed my behavioral patterns.

Unfortunately, they all originated to Mr. Fear and Mrs. Pride’s huge influence on me. These are the two mind monsters that succumbed me to successive painful failures since 2014.

 

Detrimental effects of listening to Mr. Fear and Mrs. Pride

 

If you keep on listening to what these two mind monsters have to say, you won’t achieve anything. You’ll embrace status quo and suck in a lot of things you usually love doing.

You love to be in a handmade journal business, but you fear nobody will like your products. You want to produce music, but you fear nobody will love listening to it.

Your pride prevents you from being seen as a hustler. I’ll tell you my story.

I graduated in a top university in 2013 in the Philippines with almost flying colors. Literally, I could fill an 8-page resume. Obviously, pride was with me. “Who wouldn’t hire me anyway? I have a lot of leadership experiences and my grades were almost straight As” I said.

But then, everything changed when I started applying for jobs. Nobody hired me. My sister told me I was overqualified. I don’t know if it was a compliment, however, I was devastated.

Instead of teaching in a top school, I ended up teaching in a small private school, earning $100 per month and working for almost 100 hours per week for a year.

It was crushing. So, I left the job and studied German for months in Manila. My cousin told me that I should start teaching German in a language institute, given that I achieved 93 percent result and try applying for huge companies because she really thought many of them will hire me.

She even complimented me that with I’m the type of applicant I am, I can really guarantee to land a great job with a great payment to receive every single month.

I chose the status quo. I didn’t do anything. Instead, I returned to my hometown and stayed at home for months.

I started searching jobs online. But, nobody wanted to employ me. So, I started as a contributor at Lifehack and eventually, my works were noticed and I got hired by a news site. Mrs. Pride influenced me again. My head kept on saying, “I’m too great to work for only $250 per month.”

So, I kept on changing online writing jobs several times in a year. After months of working as a freelancer, I met a blogger named Hannah. She said she’s earning some bucks through it.

On the following months, I asked my fiance for some bucks to start my own blog, which he did. When I started it, however, I kept on experiencing dissatisfaction with what I’m doing. For months, I kept on studying how other bloggers do it.

 Procrastination is inevitable. Just don't let it consume you. Click To Tweet

 

I knew their tactics a hundred percent. But what prevented me from applying them? Guess what? It’s because of Mr. Fear.

I kept on changing blog names and niches in the past two years, wasted a lot of money buying domains and hosting, instead of focusing on that creative niche — journaling — that I started in early 2015.

With my indecisiveness, I decided to leave my job and started to run a small handmade business. I did for how long? Two months and I quit.

These mind monsters have made me suffer for a long time and prevented me from doing I really love. I usually quit when everything’s getting harder and sacrificial.

Because of this, I haven’t had an idea on what should be my focus and my business. I even forgot my real idea of my business. I was too blinded until my fiance told me recently, “I’m getting a shop in Waldshut (Germany) and registered the car to Bitchy Chicken’s initials.”

I was shocked. It triggered my desire to let go of these mind monsters Mr. Fear and Mrs. Pride.

Adhering to their principles certainly brought me to a lot of successive painful failures. In fact, it succumbed me to depression and suicidal attempts. They affected my work, my behavior, my attitude, and even my relationships.

With these experiences, I realized that I should let go of these two mind monsters and be productive. I should start moving forward.

I believe that procrastination is still inevitable. Yet, never allow these mind monsters consume you until such time you’re unable to move forward to your business goals.

Let me painful failures be your lesson. It wasn’t a joyful ride at all.

 

How to knock off procrastination

 

 

About the author:

Mecyll Jamila is a freelance online writer, a full-time blogger, and craftswoman at her business blog and shop Bitchy Chicken .

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Let’s hear it! Did you enjoy the post as much as I did? How do you like to deal with Mr. Fear and Mrs. Pride? Let me know in the comments and make sure to check out Bitchy Chicken for more of Mecyll and her creative work. 

xx

Nico

 

 

How to make your Day Off count

· 2 Comments

Daily Schedule to make your Day Off count

Daily Schedule to make your Day Off count

 

We’ve all been there. You have a day off from work or school and there is not a single thing you can think of, that you could possibly do. Last week I had one of those magical days. After working full time for three months whilst blogging and maintaining a social life, I was so excited to have one day all to myself. A day, where I didn’t have any appointments, commitments or assignments. When that day came, though, I had no idea what to do with myself.

Being busy all the time, it’s almost like we have forgotten how to use our free time. We are wired at all times, sometimes doing three things at once. Therefore “just” sitting on the couch or “just” reading a book seems like wasted time. We don’t realize, that doing nothing can actually be quite productive at times. In this case, though I was so annoyed with myself because I really wanted to be productive. Get all the things done, that I never get to do during work weeks. On the other hand, though I also wanted time to slack off. I didn’t know how to cope with this day, so I just sat in the kitchen waiting for a magical To-Do list to pop up in my head and tell me where to start.

To make your life a little easier and spare you from this horrible feeling of not knowing what to do with yourself I created a list (because that’s apparently what I know and do best). A daily schedule to make your day off count and give you a feeling of productivity and accomplishment whilst also taking the time to relax like a pro.

 

A Daily Schedule to make your Day Off count

 

9:00 a.m. – Time for Coffee

This is your day off. You deserve to sleep in a little and take some time for yourself to really enjoy your morning coffee and get started with the day. Since 9 a.m. is still considered one of the morning hours you are not sleeping half way through your day off. On the other hand, it’s also better than your usual wake-up time, am I right?

So take your cup of coffee and enjoy an hour of “me-time”. If you are a breakfast person, this will probably be a good time to also get a little something in your tummy. For me, Morning-Coffee-Time is usually the part of the day, where I pop open a magazine (since I just never actually have time to read a magazine) or browse through my Pinterest.

 

10 a.m – Do some chores

Remember that sweater you wanted to wear last Thursday or the cute flower dress that would have been perfect for last Saturday? Catch up on your washing. The machine does the work for you, therefore it will only take a couple of minutes. But you will thank me later when it’s time to find something to wear to work. 😉

While the washing is on, how about 30 minutes of bathroom cleaning? I realize this is not a fun thing to do on your day off. But believe me, it’s so much better than having to do it after a full day at work. So let’s buckle down and get to it.

This chore can obviously be followed and/ or substituted with other tasks, such as doing the dishes, vacuuming and dusting the living room, cleaning out the fridge etc. Whatever your little heart prefers. I personally love changing the bed sheets on those days. Don’t get me wrong, I hate changing bed sheets. But the reward at the end of the day is always worth it.

 

12 a.m. – Enjoy your lunch

After all this cleaning it is time to get some real food in your stomach. Remember, today you actually have time to eat and enjoy your lunch. So be good to yourself and prepare something nicer than those sandwiches you usually get across from the office. Maybe something a little bit more healthy, maybe not. But definitely, a meal that has you sitting down and relaxing for a while.

 

1 p.m. – Nap time

This is my favorite part of the day. I LOVE taking naps. It is such a luxury to be able to lay down in the middle of the day and just sleep for an hour to recharge your batteries. Especially after a big and yummy lunch, this is gold. I genreally take the book I am reading at the moment and cuddle up on the sofa. After max. 30 min I often can’t keep my eyes open anymore and am happily snoozing away.

 

 It is such a luxury to be able to lay down in the middle of the day and just sleep for an hour… Click To Tweet

 

 

3 p.m. – Clean out your closet

Alright, break time is over. Time to be a little more productive again. You wanted to make your day off count, remember? 😉

Cleaning out my closet is something I NEVER have time for. And to be honest, when I do I really, really dread it. But we all know it needs to be done once in a while, so why not today? And just think about all the space you will have for prettier, new clothes … 😃

Depending on how big your closet is, this can take a while. However, it’s not like you have anywhere to go, so no excuses.

 

5 p.m. – Coffee break

Before we tackle the next task, it is time for a short coffee break. After all, this is a day to relax. So finish the article from this morning, or play some Candy Crush while sipping your coffee.

 

5.15 p.m. – Manage your personal documents

This is one of those tasks I always wish I would’ve done. Do you have those? A task I never truly want to do, but every time I look for an important piece of paper or try to do my taxes I just hate myself for never taking the time to get a little organized with my personal documents.

Consequently, this is what you will be doing right now. Get out your folders and some cute stationary out to make this task a little more fun and then start organizing bank statements, old post, cell phone bills etc. etc. Your life will be much easier afterwards, I promise.

 

6 p.m. – Make a nice dinner

We all have those days, where we get out late at the office and just grab something on the way home, or eat yet another frozen pizza. Well not today my friend. Finally, you have time to cook something really nice for yourself. It doesn’t have to be fancy or hard, but just take the time to prepare a good meal. It will be worth it.

I also think that cooking is a great way to wind down and relax. You can put on some music, dance around in the kitchen and really let loose.

 

 Put on some music, dance around the kitchen and let go of all stress. Click To Tweet

 

 

7 p.m. – Organize your month

Before we get into the relaxing evening mode, let’s do one more productive task to finish up the day on a high note. Take 30 minutes and plan out all you have to do for the next month. Appointments, meetings, calls, trips. Put it all to paper (or whatever digital device you prefer). It will give you a sense of clarity and calmness to know that you have your life figured out.

 

7.30 p.m. – Watch some Netflix

Finally, time for fun again: This is also a part of the day that I thoroughly enjoy. I am addicted to TV shows, so I always have something to catch up on. To me, it’s just a great way to rewind, and switch off from my own daily problems. So magical. I generally go overboard with watching Netflix, hence the following time stamp. But you can obviously do this as long as you enjoy it. It’s your day off and you schedule it however you like.

 

10 p.m. – Take a bath / or steamy shower and get ready for bed

The best way to end the day is taking a bath or a really hot shower. Washing off the day and relaxing for five minutes will help you get sleepy and is always good for body and soul.

After you are clean and comfortable, get out a fresh pair of pyjamas and cuddle up in your new, clean bed sheets. Isn’t it the best feeling in the world?

Now go to sleep, you had a big day. 😃

 

I hope you enjoyed my daily schedule for a maximised day off. It has definitely helped me over the helpless feeling of not knowing what to do with myself. Let me know if you tried it out and what you think about it. What is your daily schedule to make your day off count? Any tips? Let’s chat in the comments.

xx
Nico

 

 

Daily Schedule to make your Day Off count

 

 

Copyright 2016 Berlin and other stories | All rights reserved