How Life Coaching Can Set You On A Path To Success

by Yumna Aysen | Mar 20, 2020 | Jobs

CONFUSED about your career and in need of a change? Feeling demotivated, directionless and unable to get out of a rut? These questions aren’t only the domain of 40-somethings facing a mid-life crisis, but a very real issue for those just starting out in their careers or even students who haven’t hit the working world yet.

Despite the stereotypical jokes about avo on toast and a sense of entitlement aimed at millennials, they do face unique challenges. Technology and social media have piled on the pressure to be more, do more and live a life that is hard to maintain without losing one’s sanity. There is also more choice, creating another avenue for anxiety. Many young people don’t know where to start or what decision to make, so they get stuck and then struggle to get unstuck.

That’s where life coaching comes into play. Unlike traditional psychotherapy, which mainly focuses on resolving past traumas to improve behaviour and relationships, life coaching uses your present situation as a starting point and creates an action plan so that you can achieve your goals. Of course, therapy has its very important place, but life coaching tackles a different self-improvement angle: helping clarify the destination you want to reach and mapping out the stepping stones of how to get there.

The life coach’s job is to take the client on a journey of self-discovery, often by using a variety of visualisation exercises and asking the right questions to help their client uncover what they’d like to achieve out of their career and life. But that’s only half the story – magic also happens when the life coach helps clients put their plan into action, keeping them accountable for their progress.

A life coach can offer a 20-something guidance on how to envisage and create a life that is true to themselves and brings them joy. If you’re going to be working for 40 years, it makes a huge amount of sense to figure that out as early as possible rather than wasting years following an unfulfilling path. Ultimately, the process of life coaching is about igniting self-confidence, which creates a beautiful domino effect. Increased self-confidence can help you with making better life decisions, improving your communication skills and having the confidence to put yourself out there to create more opportunities. That’s win-win all the way.

Yumna Aysen is a motivational speaker and life coach. For more information, visit Oh Yes It’s Yumi

Four simple ways to make your work day more productive

by Yumna Aysen | Mar 20, 2020 | Jobs

MOST workers probably think they spend their time in the office being highly productive. Well, they need to think again.

Did you know that on average, a person working an eight-hour day is only productive for two hours and 53 minutes? Read that again – that’s only three hours out of eight that they are doing any real work. So, what do the other five hours of the working day get spent on? According to Inc. magazine, the biggest time-wasters, in order of importance, are: Reading news websites, checking social media, discussing non-work related issues with colleagues, searching for new jobs, smoke breaks, making calls, making hot drinks, texting or instant messaging, eating snacks and preparing food.

Now you can see where the time disappears. Imagine how much more you could achieve if you claimed even one of those five hours back? Here are top four tips for becoming more productive in your working day:

1. Put the phone on airplane mode

   Yes, will-power isn’t enough. You have to take extreme steps to avoid this major distraction and disrupter.
   Many a good idea or urgent task has been derailed by a WhatsApp notification or “urgent” telephone call. Believe it or not, the rest of the world can wait while you pay attention to the task at hand.

2. Tackle the big tasks of the day first

   Often one gets into a pattern of checking news websites or scanning through emails first thing in the morning, with the plan of working on the more demanding projects later. Before you know it, a few hours have passed and you haven’t got any closer to the more important work. It is more effective to start with the big things first, before being distracted by tasks that can wait.

3. Use the Pomodoro time-management technique

   Developed in the 1980s by Francesco Cirillo, it involves working in short bursts using a timer, generally for 25 minutes with a five-minute break. It is a simple method that can be integrated into your work life and allows you to work in manageable time slots that create a sense of urgency.

4. Don’t force yourself to be a morning person if you’re not

   We’re all different. Person A’s most productive times of working won’t necessarily be the same as Person B’s. Know that just because you’re not a morning person doesn’t mean you’re unproductive, but use your energy more effectively by working when you are most efficient.

Yumna Aysen is a motivational speaker and life coach. For more information, visit Oh Yes It’s Yumi