In handling our businesses or doing our work, it can be challenging to always be efficient, creative and productive. Considering all the distractions and enormous tasks assigned to us, it can be a drag to just finish anything. For busy and workaholic people in Singapore, this is a challenge that seriously needs to be addressed. Here are helpful ways on how to become more productive:

1. Make a priority list of your tasks. It is important to write down all the tasks that you need to finish. In order to become more organized, arrange them according to your priority or their importance. You need to be able to create a mental picture of the things you need to achieve and translate it to actions. With this list, you can work according to plan.

2. Take one task at a time. Although multi-tasking can get things done faster, let’s admit the fact that not all people can manage to accommodate multiple tasks at one time. To suggest, you need to focus, slow down and take one task at a time. The objective is to finish your tasks and make it even better than the quality expected. To ensure that, you need to give ample time to work and finish each task with no error.

3. Shake off the negative vibes. If you want to maximize your full potential and optimize your resources, try to get rid of any form of negativity around you. As much as possible, avoid inhibiting yourself with thoughts of failure or inadequacy. These can greatly affect your way of thinking, thus draining your brain and body even when you haven’t started yet. To shake off those negative vibes, try to breathe in and out to release the tension, think of positive notions and tasks you have accomplished so far, etc.

4. Fend off procrastination. Procrastination is one of man’s most unhelpful habits. We all have moments when we put off tasks just because we think we need to do something else “more important”, when it truth we’re just being lazy or too afraid to tackle the task ahead. To combat this, you need to seriously focus on the task at hand. Avoid getting too distracted by things that really doesn’t matter or doesn’t contribute to your tasks and project as a whole.

5. Think forward. You need to think of the final product. If you can, place an output board in front of you in order to remind you of the project you need to finish by the end of your tasks. You need to know the direction that you should follow in order to become more effective and productive.

Landing your dream job is tough, but acing an interview is tougher – both requires perseverance and an indomitable will. But aside from these, you need a good strategy to successfully win over your interviewer. These are the reasons why it pays to be prepared for an interview for a job. Don’t let the anxiety and terror of undergoing an interview take over you. Instead, boost your self-esteem using the following tips.

1. Gain Control Over Your Nervous Tics

Whether its nail biting or feet tapping against the floor, we all give in to our nervous tics when faced with circumstances that threaten our comfort. So before leaving your house for an interview, ensure that you get your tics under control. You certainly wouldn’t want to end up doing them in front of your potential employer.

2. Avoid Overthinking

It’s only natural to imagine and overthink the result of your interview when you have no idea what will be its outcome. But instead of doing this, pull yourself back together and regain your confidence. Also, learn to embrace the fact that you’ll never know how worse the interview could get, and whether or not you’ll land the job later on.

3. Listen to an Upbeat Music

On your way to your interview, make sure that you listen to an energy-boosting music. Sing along to the song as you drive to help you release some tension. Doing so will help in the circulation of your blood so you’ll be more alert throughout the interview.

4. Practice Answering Interview Questions Aloud

Knowing that you’re walking into an interview informed about the company, the responsibilities of the position you’re applying for, and anything else you’ll likely be asked instantly boosts your self-confidence. So prepare yourself for this by rehearsing your answers aloud prior to your interview. Have a family member or a friend act as your interviewer, and ask them to give a constructive feedback afterwards.

5. Imagine Acing the Interview and Getting the Job

Close your eyes for several minutes, and imagine yourself confidently answering the interview questions thrown at you. Think of how the interviewer is focused on you, and how well you present yourself. Finally, imagine yourself shaking the hand of your potential employer as he or she offers you your dream job. Doing all these will guarantee an instant self-confidence boost.

Although interviews are done to assess a person’s character and skill, remember that it’s not a comprehensive picture of who you are and what you can achieve. So whatever the outcome of interview is, leave the room with your head held high especially if you gave it your best shot.

For one, the office is considered to be someone’s second home. However, when this place becomes a “home” of verbal abuse and offensive non-verbal behavior brought about by fellow employees, then the company’s success is threatened by workplace bullying. Although this term encompasses a large array of circumstances, it is simply the biggest factor for every affected employee’s productivity.

It is said that no matter how high paying the job is, employees who are unhappy of their colleagues will jump right off the boat without second thoughts. Workplace bullying has become a social problem in fact, in an online survey in 2012 by JobsCentral, about 24% of Singaporean employees perceived themselves as victims of this while its nearby country, Malaysia, have problems in recognizing the parameters of getting bullied which, in turn, make companies unaware of the anti-bullying programs they should be implementing.

This throbbing issue should be addressed from all levels of the organization in order to keep a healthy working environment but before that, it is important to carefully understand why this isn’t a thing to be ignored and overlooked:

1. It negatively affects employee engagement

Research suggests, in general, that an uncomfortable or hostile work environment make employees less engaged (in any way), less productive and worse, less likely to stay. In turn, professional relationships are inevitably affected by means of poor treatment towards their coworkers (offenders) and after some time of being bashed, they might also turn out to be doing the same according to psychologist, Dr. Mantell.

2. It can lead to health-related problems of employees

Employees who feel disrespected and stressed by the thought of it, tend to skip work for health reasons such as headache, stomach pain or somatic symptoms. It can also lead to depressive and burn out symptoms not only to the one being bullied but also to someone who witness it. This can create a bigger problem especially if the employee has no close friends at work that he/she can seek support to. According to research, a support from supervisor such as offering light work load or inviting a stress management program can make a great help.

3. It can result to high turn-over rate

High attrition rate is not only inconvenient in terms of looking for an equally competent employee but it would also slow down the operations of the department. Training a new employee usually take some extensive amount of time while you allow room for errors along the process, too. After all, losing a human asset is not worth the ignorance of workplace bullying.