Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
Education
Study online effectively in 2021
Excerpts from article published in the India Education Diary
With the pandemic far from over, online studies will continue to be the norm. Here are some tips for students to effectively manage their studies online:
1. Stay focused on your study programme
Due to plenty of changes that this pandemic forced us to implement in our lives, it may be hard for students to stay focused on their syllabus. However, they must find a way to maintain balance between their academic obligations and their health & well-being
They must stay well informed about the lessons, important announcements and exam schedules. This is crucial for effective online learning and good performance.
2. Don’t forget your assignments
Flexibility is one of the advantages of online lessons. However, this can lead to complacency and a too relaxed attitude among students. They may get distracted with other things while attending classes – and they may do so without even noticing it. That is something you have to avoid. Focus on your assignments and submit them within deadlines.
3. Stay interactive
Communication represents one of the most useful parts of college time but many students don’t realise its significance. If you want to stand out in your class, you must participate actively in your online lessons and be interactive. Furthermore, you will increase your capacity and learn a lot more if you engage with others and constantly search for learning.
4. Organisation is the key
Keep your organisation and planning skills at a high level. By doing this, you will be able to follow your progress, see where you are at a certain moment, and what you can do to improve your performance. Students who are well organised have a higher chance of graduating than those who aren’t.
5. Don’t postpone ‘must-dos’
With the flexibility of going through the videos of online lessons later, at a time of their convenience, many students develop the tendency to not attend lectures. It’s advisable to not postpone one’s must-dos. That way you won’t make them disappear. They will still be there waiting to get done, sooner or later. Instead of postponing tasks, get to work. This will help you submit quality assignments.
Career
Slow down and write better emails
Excerpts from article by Erica Dhawan, published in the Harvard Business Review
Misunderstandings are rampant in today’s workplaces. While communicating with colleagues, we should always strive to engage with clarity and empathy, especially as we come to rely more on remote work and digital communication.
Given how central reading and writing comprehension is to our virtual lives, it’s time to remind ourselves what good communication looks like. Reading carefully is the new listening, and writing clearly is the new empathy. So before you send off that next email, pause and ask yourself these three questions:
1. Is my email too brief?
Always reference details in your communications. If someone sends you a longer email debriefing about a virtual meeting, respond to specific components of the email rather than sending back a blanket response. It shows that you put in the time to really read through the other person’s communication.
Brevity can make a person appear important, but it can also hurt your team and your business. Getting a slapdash email means that the recipient has to spend time deciphering what it means, causing delays and potentially leading to costly mistakes.
Also, proofread your emails before sending them. A lot of the time, misinterpretation comes down to a dropped word or misleading a punctuation. Take advantage of spell check and other proofreading tools. Proofreading is both a habit and a skill: making it a point of pride to send clean, unambiguous copy will help people take what you write more seriously.
2. What tone am I projecting?
The overall attitude or character of a message is another key component of strong reading and writing skills. It’s the greatest tool for communicating empathy. Make sure to keep in mind the visual impact of the message.
Tone deficiencies can hurt morale and sew confusion. It’s no surprise that responding to someone’s hard work with one word response communicates a lack of empathy for the person at the receiving end. Don’t respond for the sake of responding if you don’t have something substantive to offer. If you are having one of those days where you can’t give thoughtful attention to an email, send a quick reply acknowledging you received it, and let them know that you plan to respond to it at greater length as soon as possible.
3. Would it help to talk instead?
With so many written platforms at our disposal, we can also get caught up in asking too many small questions in emails or group chats. Phone, video, or live meetings can force us to ask the right questions instead of asking one tiny question after the next. It can also save lots of time while simultaneously generating goodwill.
If you just received a vague or confusing text or email, don’t be afraid to request a phone conversation or, if possible, a video or in-person meeting. If it’s a sensitive dialogue, requesting a quick call shows you’re being thoughtful. Instead of making you look indecisive, waiting a few beats before responding to questions shows the other person that you are listening and taking your work seriously.
Lacking cues like eye contact, tone of voice, or body language to clarify what another person means makes digital communication challenging. In lieu of traditional body language, having the skills to read and write carefully is essential to organisations that want to make sure their teams are on the same page and excel in the virtual world.
(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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