Road-tested tips to live a good life

Innovate while you work

2010-01-08T14:05:09Z

Credit: Anonymous, Lomza/Gdansk, Podlaskie, PolandWhen I joined my present company, I was a part of a team. My team included two HRs, few web-designers, few developers and testers along with a team leader and a project manager, like any team in a typical IT company. Most of the things were handled in an unplanned manner and the To-Do list was just a messed up list. No deadlines, no targets and sometimes no tasks clearly defined. Staff just looked tired and occupied by fatigue due to lack of interest. Our boss often commented: "Don't do donkey work", but the staff didn't follow and continued with their donkey work.

I started finding ways to try to improve the way we collaborate and the way other things were handled in our office. I wanted to simplify things and make work interesting for me and others too. While coming and leaving office, ideas filled my mind and I started thinking of a concept, I named: Innovation at Work.

But how and what to innovate?

What, when and how to read.

2009-12-17T03:56:19Z

Credit: Sanja Gjenero, CroatiaReading is what you do everyday, even for a few minutes. The effect of the content on your thinking & personality not only depends on what you read but when and how you read. The time and the environment also plays the role, if you ever noticed it. If you are a general reader and don't read anything related to life & wellness, then the schedule doesn't matter much. Even if you don't remember what you read, it has no significant importance in your life. If you are a serious reader and mix a variety of content in your life and also try to digest the tips to apply in your life, then the timing and environment matters.

Most people prefer to read books (hard copy), whereas some prefer to read daily online feeds. It doesn't matter which medium you prefer, but what matters is the schedule that you are following.

In the last few years, I experimented on myself and tried to improve my reading habits. I try to digest what I read and seek every opportunity to apply the tips. I keep modifying my reading schedule to make it more significant for my life. Below is the schedule that I follow:

5 reasons why blogging boosts me.

2009-12-06T05:26:19Z

While this may seem to be a weird idea but it is a fact. In the last couple of years I have tested this idea on myself. At times of utter disappointment & depression, when thoughts of everything slipping away from my hands surround me, I get relief when I write. When I don't have a PC, I write on my personal notepad.

Blogging has other benefits other than marketing and socializing yourself. What actually happens when you write? When you write:

7 things I learnt lately

2009-11-08T07:59:32Z

Credit: Cristina Chirtes, RomaniaThe value and result of any life is directly proportional to the utilization of time and attitude. Certain situations force me to delve inside my own self to retrospect. I question, this could've been better at that time? This could've been avoided? While there is no sense crying over spilt milk, but the reason to look back is to teach myself that timing is all that matters. Some things can be controlled and improved lately, whereas some things go beyond our reach and you just can't revert back the pages to re-attempt.

I have extracted seven lessons from that big pile of mistakes I did till date. Below is the list of all those things that could've changed my life altogether:

A trip with a CEO

2009-08-30T14:43:34Z

While on a flight from Bangalore to Mumbai, I met a young CEO. His name is Aaditya and he was sitting next to me. He looked cool, calm and comfortable whereas I looked like an excited puppy sticking to the window. Aaditya flipped few pages of a business magazine and than pointed towards a book in my hand. With a slight smile, I gave him the book. Aaditya absorbed himself reading the back cover and than the preface. After sometime he lifted his head and with a slight smile asked me: "So, you want to become a CEO". Puzzled with his query, I answered:

The Story of Corporate Culture

2009-08-12T12:59:54Z

Credit: Sanja Gjenero, CroatiaIn one of the company, where I worked few years back, corporate culture had a different meaning. The terms like Motivation, Collaboration, Innovation, Governance etc. all had theoretical meanings and were often published in the company journals. In reality, these terms even had no distant connection with the company's culture and values. The company is a mid-sized company and develops software products for a particular segment. The company is driven by kith and kins of the senior management.

When I joined the company,

Why you must stop following the herd?

2009-08-03T08:15:04Z

Often our life is not driven by our choices. We give authority to others to make choices for us. This type of life is called "Puppet-Life". Lets see what definition Wikipedia gives:

A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by a puppeteer.

If you are living a Puppet-Life, you are dancing on the choices of Puppeteer i.e, to whom you have given authority. When you are living a Puppet-Life, you are a slave. You have lost meaning and identity of your life.

How to enrich your new year celebration

2009-07-31T11:26:48Z

I read about New Year Resolution in a blog. It is a great idea if you are serious and want a purpose driven life. Some people do even more on a new year party. Their new year party is not just beer, dinner and dance but involves blueprint of what they want more this year.

To improve fast, seek a mentor

2009-07-22T12:41:41Z

There is an old saying in India that says: "There is no wisdom without a guru (mentor)". Whether you have inclination towards spirituality, sports, self-improvement or you want success in business, mentoring will give your efforts a direction. An hour spent with a mentor is far more rewarding than reading hundreds of pages of a book and still remaining clueless.

I Forgot to Live...

2009-07-13T11:15:09Z

First I was dying to finish high school and start college.

And then I was dying to finish college and start working.

And then I was dying to marry and have children.

And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough so I could return to work.

And then I was dying to retire.

And now, I am dying -- and suddenly realize I forgot to live.

-- Anonymous

courtesy: The Positive Thinker's 10 Commandments - by Alice Potter.