Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
Education
The ultimate guide to beat boredom coming from attending online classes
Excerpts from article by Aakanksha Ahire, published in Youth Incorporated
As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic that led to a worldwide lockdown, online education or remote learning emerged as the only solution to keep the education system going. This put the students through a lot, right from struggling for good internet connectivity and network, to uploading of assignments and projects online.
Almost one year into the lockdown, many students are now bored of attending online classes. This has led to students skipping lectures with excuses such as “my laptop crashed”, “I had to help my grandmother”, “My mic/camera is not working”, “I am having network issues”, etc.
So, here are some tips to beating boredom when it comes to attending online classes:
1. Manage time
The lectures of any school or colleges usually begin at 8:30 am. If you wake up just a few minutes before the class, you are obviously going to feel lethargic and won’t feel like getting out of bed. If you wake up an hour prior to your class, you get enough time to freshen up, eat breakfast, and set yourself up to attend the lecture with a fresh mind.
If possible, stay away from screens during the break time and give your eyes some rest too. Talking to your parents during break time, listening to songs, or doing a few stretching exercises will help you keep your mind active.
2. Find Motivation
To keep boredom at bay and continue attending lectures, we need to find some motivation. You can discuss the curriculum or whatever that was taught in class with your fellow classmates, initiate constructive discussion, and find something to look forward to in the following classes. It need not always be related to your studies.
3. Participate
If you sit blankly in class and choose to zone out, you will obviously find online classes boring. Rather, participate. Listen and engage. The more questions you ask, the more you make the virtual environment lively. This will also encourage your classmates to join in.
4. Keep munching
Some lectures are heavy and not that interactive. For such classes, you can always sit with some munchies in a bowl. Make sure you pick something healthy, like salads, or ragi chips or nuts. The reason for this is, when you keep munching, you tend to keep your brain working instead of letting it slip into a state of lull. This way, you will have something to enjoy while you attend your online classes.
Career
7 self-improvement actions all leaders must take
Excerpts from article by Brent Gleeson, published in Forbes
The importance of personal and professional development for current and aspiring leaders can’t be overstated. It’s the secret to separating yourself from the pack, the bridge that carries you toward the goals you have yet to reach. It’s also the only way to continually forge a path that people will follow you down.
We often waste immense amounts of time investing in things that numb us to the reality of how short life is―such as scrolling the internet and social media for hours on end or watching TV to the point of restlessness. Entertainment is fun, but how much time do we save for ourselves? For career growth? How often do we set aside dedicated time for personal development? Usually not enough.
So, when the inevitable life or business ambush strikes, it’s the leader’s responsibility to take action. Here are seven self improvement actions all leaders must take, especially during volatile and unpredictable times:
1 – Actively improve Self-Awareness
Emotional intelligence is crucial for effective leadership in any environment. Possibly now more than ever. Simply put, EI is the capability of individuals to recognise their own emotions and those of others, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately. It’s also the ability to use emotional information to guide thinking and behaviour, and manage/ adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one’s goals.
Emotional intelligence can be broken down into self-awareness, self management, social awareness and relationship management.
2 – Enhance Communication Style and Technique
Leaders need to learn how to properly communicate. This doesn’t mean more Zoom meetings. Within an appropriate timeframe of already existing meetings, make time to ensure that the objectives are clear, concise, measurable and timebound. Set standards for proper virtual meeting etiquette. Most importantly, we must ensure each team member is immensely clear on their role in mission success.
3 – Learn to Show Greater Degrees of Empathy
Empathy has always been a leadership quality imperative for truly connecting with others, for building meaningful relationships, and for improving the ability to inspire others, enhance engagement, and effectively provide feedback. Now, with most leaders and managers learning to lead remote teams, empathy is crucial for connecting with each team member’s unique work-from-home situation.
4 – Develop Skills in Motivating Self and Others
Ability x Motivation = Performance. This is a multiplication formula because if either ability or motivation are zero, performance equals zero. Adding in the pressures of social isolation on top of already low levels of engagement, leaders must learn first how to stay motivated, and then coach others in self-motivation. Employees need tools and resources to keep themselves at the top of their game.
5 – Invest time in Mentorship and Coaching
True leaders are life-long learners and never satisfied with the status quo. Always seeking transparent feedback and accountability mechanisms, they choose to be in a constant state of improvement. They actively seek mentors and coaches that prepare them not for their existing level of leadership necessity, but for the next. Great leaders always assume the battlefield will change and become more complex. For this they must prepare.
6 – Improve Change Leadership Capability
Change leadership is arguably the most challenging burden of command, yet critical for leading in any environment. To continually drive better business outcomes despite the inevitable obstacles we all face, requires continuous transformation when it comes to effectively leading change.
7 – Manage Anxiety through better Wellness Activities
It’s far more challenging to lead a team through uncertainty when you lack the energy and focus to stay the course. We encourage making time for fitness, meditation, reflection, reading, healthy eating, more sleep and less alcohol! And as Brian Tracy says, “Personal development is a major time-saver. The better you become, the less time it takes you to achieve your goals.”
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)
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