Keep Calm Through The Crazy

What is your favorite ritual?

We all have a way of finding peace in our lives. Now, that’s not about connecting to one’s secret inner hippy, with all that light and love stuff.

Simply put, the busier, the crazier the world becomes around us, the more grounded we need to feel. Finding that sense of calm throughout the crazy, makes all the difference.

Who knows how life is going to turn out? Being organized is one approach that provides us with a sense of stability in this uncertain world. With iStratus we have the ability to be prepared and stay that way.

So… How Can We Keep Calm Throughout The Crazy?

Would you dare to apply that favorite ritual, to your agenda?

The iStratus Organizer is here to help. Designed to keep you on track, with the multitude of tasks we’re expected to juggle –To Keep Calm Throughout the Crazy, finding that balance in what is simply life.

With its multifaceted interface, you can easily and efficiently use the iStratus Organizer to:

Notate a clear “To Do” List, in order of priority, with a click of a button.

Generate reminders to send follow-up emails.
Effortlessly set multiple alarms to navigate schedules that always have you on the go. Whether it’s supporting your kids with multiple activities, or staying atop that crazy college schedule, iStratus has you covered.
Create seamless shopping lists for the household meal plan, which does not have to be complicated. Keeping it light, and easy.
Quickly coordinate appointments you need to attend for yourself. The process is as simple as you can get.

Leaving a little time for that favorite ritual. Yes, you should!

5 Benefits of Being Organized:

Remember, balance is always key. Thus, there are simultaneously 5 beneficial elements of being organized with iStratus for creating calm:

Stress Relief

Experts suggest an endless list of “things to do” constantly invading your headspace is a major source of stress on the tipping scale of life. It may seem obvious (but not necessarily easy) that becoming organized lessens that pesky weight upon our shoulders.

Bustle.com says, one of the most productive things that can be done is simply tracking your day.

Anyone can take three hours to complete a task, largely because of the task itself or because of the interruptions allowed.

Simple adjustments to your lifestyle and timing using iStratus can help reduce the “stressors” in your life.

De-Clutter, Sleep Better

Clutter creates chaos. Even if you don’t realize it, clutter in your bedroom can result in the loss of Zzzzzzzz’s. Furthermore, if you are disorganized you may unintentionally become a night owl, staying awake later to do something last minute, or worrying about everything that needs to be addressed.

Use iStratus to de-clutter, schedule that time, and stick to it. Organize the clutter in your life to lessen that endless ‘chaotic craziness’ invading your precious dreams to sleep longer and deeper at night.

A Healthier Lifestyle

When you’ve planned out your meals, you’re less likely to forget to eat, avoiding hunger pangs, which flows through to impulsive consumption. You’re also more inclined to find motivation for physical fitness if you plan time on the schedule for it. Increase those necessary endorphins for better health. Who’s up for a triathlon?

Essential ‘Me Time’

We’ve finally arrived at that favorite ritual, we’ve mentioned! Perhaps it’s PB on toast or a warm cup of Tea? (Sometimes, the simplest things mean the most). We frequently leave ourselves until last! You can put yourself on your own agenda when you actually make time for it!

It’s difficult to be at your best for anyone else – family, friends, colleagues – if you’re running on fumes. Bustle.com advises it doesn’t matter what you do – it matters that you do it.

Try the iStratus App for prioritizing time to do something you enjoy. Coffee anyone?

“Create the kind of climate in your organization [processes] where personal growth is expected, recognized and rewarded.”

 ~ Author Unknown

Be More Productive Professionally

Let’s be honest, disorganization is un-motivating. Along with clearing out the clutter in your home life, it also gives you the energy to focus on what’s required during office hours. If you’re feeling tired of four walls, try taking a few minutes to organize your iCalendar or filing your emails.

Did you know that iStratus easily allows you to file photographic evidence with paperwork for an appointment or task? Once it’s where it belongs, you won’t be yelling at your phone, whilst searching inboxes for the information you require at the Doctor’s Office.

A little effort goes a long way. Spending a few minutes each day getting organized makes a difference towards being healthier, happier, and calmer throughout the crazy!

Live life and roll well with iStratus.

Revitalize Your Workspace with ‘Balance’

What does your day look like? Are you balancing?

No, not checks. Yourself. Whether we’re one month down or six months into the year, it’s always a good time to revisit personal values. If you have found yourself feeling overwhelmed or dissatisfied this past year, (it’s normal, whatever that is? However, let’s not digress).

Simply put, aside from external circumstances, often doubt arises from not upholding the personal values and goals you set for yourself during day-to-day life.

Before time slips away, it’s worth taking a few minutes within your day to reflect on what your personal values and goals are to revitalize your daily routine.

As cliché as it may seem, there’s no escaping the fact, feeling accomplished is a value in life, which increases happiness.

Here are five tips on how creating a functional workspace with iStratus, can honor your values:

Accountability

Being aware of your values in decision-making also holds you accountable for choices.

The iStratus ‘Daily Drop Box’ helps set things out. So next time a new project lands on your desk, use iStratus to establish a ‘sketch’ of your values before saying, “Yes” or “No”.

Following through with a clear direction could lead to an unexpected outcome where you aren’t compromising what is truly important to you.

Prioritization

Ah yes, an iStratus favorite: Prioritization. Organize your workspace planning by re-arranging “To-Do’s” that honor your values first.

Endless “To-Do’s” often make it more difficult to accomplish tasks. Thus, instead of bringing order to the chaos of life, it can actually lead to feeling the opposite, like you’re not accomplishing anything.

iStratus Recommends:

Prioritizing your “To-Do’s”, with your top two or three values. These could be anything. For example, improved fitness, creativity, or family time. Think about what matters to you most.
Tasks responding to unimportant items in your inbox should be completed following time spent tackling projects that are hanging over your head.

Balance

Honestly, ‘work-life balance’ feels like a myth. As stifling as mapping out your values might seem, it will bring a bit of balance to your life, no matter how hectic or crazy it becomes.

The iStratus Workspace aims to support the process of applying your values within your schedule. When your week is filled with multiple activities, we feel storing important items with reminders on your phone can help re-create a balanced to-do list that honors values, on all levels.

Authenticity

It’s easy to get bogged down, especially when it feels like others are succeeding, where you’re struggling.

In time, we must take action for completion. Even mundane tasks can be done with heart, when we commit to what we do.

In iStratus, simplicity is the only shortcut. You still need to stick with your goals and values in order to see what is working and what isn’t. We feel this is a good thing! When you practice looking at your own values for achieving your goals, you’ll be living with sincerity.

Happiness

Happiness comes back to making time for positive planning, prioritizing and holding yourself accountable. The ability to find balance and live authentically, all leads to a happier you.

Find the right fit. Spend some time using iStratus to kick-start your value-based goal setting today.

Like everything in life, there are two sides to the coin or plan. Pro’s and Con’s are key to revitalizing your workspace with iStratus:

Position The Positive

Planning is a Guide for Action: Coordinated and focused actions work because they apply specific outcomes.
Plans Facilitate Commitment: Planning reduces uncertainty. Clear expectations become a win for commitment, working towards goals and subsequent rewards.
Plans Establish Performance Standards: Planning outlines desired outcomes as well as mileposts to define progress. Growth is always fundamental.

A Few Drawbacks –

To planning that iStratus aims to reduce:

Planning Prevents Action: “Death (figuratively) by planning” exists. Planning does little good if it doesn’t lead to functionality.
Planning Leads to Complacency: Solid plans can lead to believing the ‘where to’ and ‘how to’ is concrete, causing lapses in progress. Remember, planning is not a one-time process. Continual implementation and modification arei critical.
Plans Inhibit Creativity/Flexibility: If something isn’t working, scrap it from the folder. Success comes from innovation and organization, however, it shouldn’t inhibit you from applying creativity or intuitiveness.

Progress is rarely made through random activity. Plans are not objectives, but a means to an objective. The iStratus App is designed to help you make headway.

When you revitalize your workspace ‘balance’ with a whole new modality for the future, it’s got to be a good thing.

“AN IDEA ISN’T WORTH THAT MUCH. IT’S THE EXECUTION OF THE IDEA THAT HAS VALUE. IF YOU CAN’T CONVINCE ONE OTHER PERSON THAT THIS IS SOMETHING TO DEVOTE YOUR LIFE TO, THEN IT’S NOT WORTH IT.”

~ JOEL SPOLSKY

Live life and roll well with iStratus.

Synchronize It!

Synchronicity. We approve of that. Don’t you?

Synchronicity brings organization.

For you. And your Calendar, that is.

What is it with life that causes, those days, weeks followed by months on end to become a mind-boggling swamp? When you think about it, it’s the daily calendar we often find ever so monotomous.

Isn’t it a pleasure when things just work impeccably well? All those dates and dot points connect together without a hitch across various platforms.

Welcome to iStratus.

Our calendar function does just that. Allows access via your phone settings, and it’s as simple as one, two, three. In fact, it is even simpler.

Set an event, in one calendar and it transfers directly to iStratus. One-click. No-fuss. Just purely, perfect synchronicity.

Organization Simplified. Book it in.

Your calendar is akin to armor in the skirmish of working life. It safely guards your boundaries against other people’s priorities and influence, which can easily impede upon your own precipitously expanding list of “Must Do’s”.

All you need is something like iStratus, a proven calendar management strategy, to win the battle.

Follow Your Instincts When Planning Ahead

It’s natural to feel more energized by certain activities at different points during work hours.

For instance, when working from home some of us like to hit the gym in the morning. Followed by meetings, phone calls and transcribing reports or proposals that require completion. By late afternoon, procrastination on Facebook beckons — and then to avoid becoming a complete couch potato with Netflix, it feels far better to address more tasks, paying bills or reviewing stats on your SEO.

A culinary adventure for becoming the next Master-Chef in the evening works well. Or perhaps not. Do whatever floats your boat.

The point is, the specifics of your day are less important than recognizing when responsibilities motivate you to be productive as opposed to when they vampire your internal fuel tank.

Armed with this knowledge, block-book everything in your iStratus calendar for the coming week —and then work on what matters most.

Give Your Days Some Color

Color Coding, that is. Let’s consider work overload.

Various activities require diverse skills, involving different parts of the brain. Thus, it’s no surprise it can be difficult to juggle time and fit all of life’s business in. It’s not news that multiple tasks due simultaneously can become overwhelming, and cause a rise in blood pressure.

Phew!

If this sounds like you, why not begin planning your days by theme? iStratus allows you to:

Created colored categories on your calendar, making things more recognizable.
Dedicate an entire day to a colored theme.
Easily allocate a chunk each day to a project, highlight in one color.

This way, you’ll free up headspace with iStratus, because you’ll know what to cover and when.

The Importance of Gaps

The truth is, none of us have “time to kill”. Often, calendared items run back-to-back. It’s one class, meeting, or appointment to the next, without breaks.

However, regardless of how “flat out” situations seem, it is important to:

Incorporate at least fifteen-minute gaps on your calendar.
Use such moments to decompress or address factors arising from a previous meeting/appointment.

Or go hardcore. Of course, the choice is yours. The aim of your calendar is to achieve goals. Every meeting (no matter what form) should create connection, rather than small talk.

According to The Business Insider, Elron Musk once said:

“WALK OUT OF A MEETING OR DROP OFF A CALL AS SOON AS BECOMES OBVIOUS YOU AREN’T ADDING VALUE. IT IS NOT RUDE TO LEAVE, IT IS EXPECTED. IT IS RUDE TO HAVE SOMEONE STAY AND WASTE THEIR TIME.”

The Calendar Review

We all know, situations don’t always run as expected. Work commitments, seep into personal time. Today, it’s considered normalcy.

On the contrary, iStratus sees your time as being relevant. We recommend reviewing your calendar, every Friday to consider:

How closely your previous week’s calendar matches up with what your next one needs to look like. Plot progress;
Scheduling appointments and meetings that are a must, canceling anything irrelevant if you can;
How you wish to spend your time.

“WE MUST NOT ALLOW THE CLOCK AND THE CALENDAR TO BLIND US TO THE FACT THAT EACH MOMENT OF LIFE IS A MIRACLE AND MYSTERY.”

~ H.G. WELLS

You might lack full control over your working week specifies, but there are undoubtedly some weeds requiring attention, aka pulling to break the feeling of monotony.

Remember, your calendar is a clear representation of how you’re spending your time and where your priorities lie.

Using iStratus effectively will organize your days and allow you to accomplish more without burning out. Keep that synchronizing simple.

LIVE LIFE AND ROLL WELL WITH ISTRATUS.

Checklist Chatter

Check.

Check.
Check.

How can one little word and symbol be so satisfying to see? We love the productivity of Checklists. Needless to say, a key purpose of the iStratus Organizer App and its Checklists ensure the process is even simpler.

Checklist or Not to Checklist?

Generally speaking, checklists entail a set of statements that correspond to specific criteria and indications of the action required. They may be “single-use” or designed for repeated usage.

With a single tap, a checkmark appears in iStratus Organizer App to keep your daily, weekly, monthly tasks in order, avoiding the backlog of those “To Do’s” that can overwhelm our lives.

Often it’s easier to prioritize things of importance and relevance when you apply checklists. To checklist or not to checklist? Bottom line: Checklisting works.

6 Reasons Why iStratus Checklists Work:

PRODUCTIVITY IS PROVEN

When using checklists you’re likely to make fewer mistakes, as every action to be taken is clear and concise.
Complete repetitive tasks more efficiently and quickly.
Increase productiveness with more time in a day to accomplish multiple important tasks.

ORGANIZATION BEATS THE DRAG

Organization is one of our favorite words and we hope that by using the iStratus Organizer it quickly becomes one of yours too.

With an accurately configured checklist:

No steps in a process will be skipped or forgotten
Multi-tasking remains more systematized
All your items and necessary tasks are synchronized in one place.
It allows effective scheduling so that nothing “slips through the cracks.”

DELEGATION RATHER THAN PROCRASTINATION

Major tasks become smaller and more specific in terms of priority.
Providing comfort and confidence that all tasks will be completed more effectively and correctly, increasing yet again, our productivity.

MOTIVATION FOR SUCCESS

We’re not running a marathon to take out the Gold however, using iStratus for checklists motivate people towards success because they also:

Encourage us to take timely action and complete our daily tasks
Even with the smallest achievements and that faithful checkmark, our brains release dopamine, a positive chemical associated with enthusiasm, learning, and pleasure.

Evidence from The Harvard Business Review suggests we are more likely to repeat the activities that lead to success. (Yes, we are creatures of habit, who really just want to make the world a better place). Together in an ever-changing world, we use can motivation to do good and consciously be ready to accomplish greater things. iStratus strives to achieve better results, and we want you to be part of that too.

Creativity For Clarity

Ticking off a checklist results in less stress and fewer ‘Groundhog Day’ moments.

By mastering the tedious, repetitive tasks more effectively, you’ll be free and able to apply improved focus and brainpower for creative activities.
With a little extra free time and fewer things competing for attention within your mind, you will have greater clarity.

Excellence Is Fundamental

When nothing is forgotten, the quality of your work and life often exceeds expectations. Feel better about the daily grind.

Finding The Right Fit

Essentially there are three main types of Checklists:

Procedural Checklists: Highlight the steps that must be followed in sequential order;
Project Checklists: Indicate tasks that must be completed; and
Communication Checklists: Encourage communication in organizations, which is great for prioritizing those notes to support your weekly meetings.

With iStratus you can design a list that best fits the intended purpose. Feel free to click for yourself. The choice is yours.

Checks Equal Balance

Obviously, we want our App to simplify your life and provide a feeling of satisfaction, checks equal balance. In order to achieve this, our main tips, using the iStratus Checklist approach are:

Tick off checklists as you go
Allow your checklists to be flexible. It’s ok not to achieve every item at once!
Don’t micromanage yourself. Stick with the process. Trust in your direction. Not everything is always Black and White.
For the workplace, collaborate your ideas! Constructive feedback can be an invaluable part of the process for achieving goals.

Checking In With Your Checklist

There is always room for improvement. We practice what we preach, using our own iStratus tools.

Checklists are an invaluable tool and work in a wide variety of circumstances and industries.

Covering ground so that you are prepared for almost anything. Even highly complex tasks can feel like a walk in the park.

Will you begin some Checklist Chatter?

Brave it. Give it a Go. Checklist along with us.

“The constant free flow of communication amount us – enabling the free interchange of ideas – forms the very bloodstream of our nation. It keeps the mind and body of our democracy eternally vital, eternally young.”

~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

Live life and roll well with iStratus.

Keeping Calm Throughout The Crazy

What is your favorite ritual?

We all have a way of finding peace in our lives. Now, that’s not about connecting to one’s secret inner hippy, with all that light and love stuff.

Simply put, the busier, the crazier the world becomes around us, the more grounded we need to feel. Finding that sense of calm throughout the crazy, makes all the difference.

So… How Can We Keep Calm Throughout The Crazy?

WOULD YOU DARE TO APPLY THAT FAVORITE RITUAL, TO YOUR AGENDA?

The iStratus Organizer is here to help. Designed to keep you on track, with the multitude of tasks we’re expected to juggle –To Keep Calm Throughout the Crazy, finding that balance in your life.

With its multifaceted interface, you can easily and efficiently use the iStratus Organizer to:

Notate a clear “To Do” List, in order of priority, with a click of a button.

Generate reminders to send follow-up emails.
Effortlessly set multiple alarms to navigate schedules that always have you on the go. Whether it’s supporting your kids with multiple activities, or staying atop that crazy college schedule, iStratus has you covered.
Create seamless shopping lists for the household meal plan, which does not have to be complicated. Keeping it light, and easy.
Quickly coordinate appointments you need to attend for yourself. The process is as simple as you can get.

Leaving a little time for that favorite ritual. Yes, you should!

5 Benefits of Being Organized:

Remember, balance is always key. Thus, there are simultaneously 5 beneficial elements of being organized with iStratus for creating calm:

STRESS RELIEF

Bustle.com says, one of the most productive things that can be done is simply tracking your day.

Anyone can take three hours to complete a task, largely because of the task itself or because of the interruptions allowed.

SIMPLE ADJUSTMENTS TO YOUR LIFESTYLE AND TIMING USING ISTRATUS CAN HELP REDUCE THE “STRESSORS” IN YOUR LIFE.

DE-CLUTTER, SLEEP BETTER

A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE

ESSENTIAL ‘ME TIME’

It’s difficult to be at your best for anyone else – family, friends, colleagues – if you’re running on fumes. Bustle.com advises, it doesn’t matter what you do – it matters that you do it.

Try the iStratus App for prioritizing time to do something you enjoy. Coffee anyone?

“Create the kind of climate in your organization [processes] where personal growth is expected, recognized and rewarded.”

 ~ Author Unknown

BE MORE PRODUCTIVE PROFESSIONALLY

Let’s be honest, disorganization is un-motivating. Along with clearing out the clutter in your home life, it also gives you the energy to focus on what’s required during office hours. If you’re feeling tired by four walls, try taking a few minutes to organize your iCalendar or filing your emails.

A little effort goes a long way. Spending a few minutes each day getting organized makes a difference towards being healthier, happier, and calmer throughout the crazy!

Live life and roll well with iStratus.

Develop a Growth Mindset to Boost Performance

How great could work be if you genuinely believed you had limitless potential?

It is possible, with a growth mindset.

What’s a growth mindset?

The term—growth mindset—was coined by Stanford Professor Carol Dweck after her research of student performance.

Dweck found that students fell into two groups: students who believe that their success is a product of their own hard work and persistence (growth mindset); or, students who believe that whatever success they might have is solely a product of some innate intelligence or talent, not effort (a fixed mindset).

What Dweck found is that students with a growth mindset had significantly better grades than students with fixed mindsets.

While this research was done in classrooms, her book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,” prompted business leaders to recognize how applicable a growth mindset could apply in business as well. If you want to boost your work performance, develop a growth mindset.

What does a growth mindset look like?

If you believe that you have the power to build capacity through your own hard work and passion, you’ll likely find the following to be true:

You’ll clamber for meaningful professional development and mentoring opportunities.

You’ll take challenges and risks confidently, knowing that all experiences (even failures) present learning opportunities.

You’ll take setbacks in stride, not as an insult to the value of your core self.

You’ll welcome and act on constructive feedback.

You’ll be enthusiastic to work collaboratively (rather than threatened), knowing that you can learn from others.

You’ll be consistently more productive and satisfied, and a more significant asset to your organization, because you are continually looking to grow.

If you are working within an organization that supports the growth mindset, you’ll feel more integral and committed to the overall organizational mission.

Sounds terrific, right?

Unfortunately, not everyone has a growth mindset.

What if I have a fixed mindset?

If you are like many, you grew up with an internal dialogue that told you what you weren’t. I’m not a math person. I’m not a good public speaker.

Whether it was fear, subtle (or not so subtle) messaging from friends or family, or messages absorbed from society-at-large, you internalized the belief that you are who you are. Nothing you do will change that.

If this sounds familiar, you have a fixed mindset.

By accepting these messages as fact, and feeding them back to you on an endless loop, these “facts” about yourself became a reality.

All of the outward evidence proved your point: you struggled in math and avoided or stumbled through public speaking.

Even for high-performers, a fixed mindset is limiting.

For the “natural talent,” they see no real reason to push themselves because their work is already superior and they believe work should come easily. So, again, reaching full potential is squashed.

Also, high-performers with a fixed mindset do not take feedback well and are more prone to shift blame or cheat to cover failure.

If this sounds painfully familiar, don’t worry.

The good news from Dweck’s research is that your mindset is more malleable than you think. And, honestly, it’s typical to have a fluid mindset not consistent in all domains. For instance, a person who has a growth mindset in writing proposals may have a fixed mindset about public speaking.

How can I develop a growth mindset?

A growth mindset is a process of reframing your thinking.

The tagline that emerged from Dweck’s work is the Power of Yet.

That’s your new mantra.

Believe that areas in which you don’t currently feel as confident are merely areas that you are NOT YET confident.

With hard work, persistence, and a relentless pursuit of growth, you CAN become more capable.

The following quote captures the fixed vs. growth mindset struggle perfectly, “It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.”

Whatever you think you are NOT now, is merely temporary.

Belief in capacity needs to be followed with action.

Here are some actionable steps to develop a growth mindset (Bradbury, 2016):

Don’t be helpless.

Learn from successes and failures—they are both valuable.

Work with passion.

You may not be as talented as another, but you can compensate with passion.

Act now and take risks.

Don’t let fear and anxiety paralyze you.

Exceed your personal best a little every day.

Seek out constructive feedback and opportunities to collaborate with others to spur your growth.

Be results-driven.

Just because you ought to be progress-focused, don’t let yourself off the hook when it comes to striving for results.

Face adversity with flexibility. If you face a setback, no whining—learn and move on.

Be honest with your boss about areas in which you’d like to grow.

Maybe you’re ready for growth, but what about the boss?

If you are a manager, your personal mindset has an even broader impact on the success of your employees and organization.

If you have a fixed mindset, you won’t see or foster full potential in others and are less likely to provide growth opportunities because you believe capacity is fixed.

You are more likely to praise only the highest of outcomes (not progress) and natural abilities (e.g., you’re so smart/talented).

By recognizing high outcomes or innate abilities only, you effectively cap growth.

If employees get the message that no matter how hard they work, they’ll only get positive recognition for the highest of outcomes and assume they just aren’t capable enough. They’ll see no point in exerting extra effort.

Even for high-performing employees, a boss’s fixed mindset is a detriment. High-performers typically have a history of producing well without having to stretch themselves.

They get the praise anyway, so who needs to grow?

However, a boss with a growth mindset can unlock limitless potential in their workforce by praising hard work, progress, perseverance, and thirst for growth.

A boss with a growth mindset knows that developing a culture of growth is both good for employees and good for the health and success of the organization.

A growth mindset culture encourages higher quality work, fosters mutual trust, and deepens the worker’s commitment to the company.

Dweck’s research found that growth mindset employees are, 34 percent more likely to have a strong sense of ownership and commitment to their organization and 47 percent more likely to say their colleagues are trustworthy than their fixed-mindset peers.

Given the highly competitive business world, a growth mindset at the individual and organizational level is critical.

It ensures all employees reach their full potential, fully engage in their work, and produce the best outcomes.

Whether you want to improve your public speaking, learn a new software language, or improve how you coach your employees, you have the capacity for growth with hard work and passion.

Even better, you’ll be part of a happier workforce.

For more information about tools that support your growth and organization at work and at home, visit iStratus.com to check out the DayPlanner app for iPhone.

Workspace Design

When an employee is genuinely engaged in work, they feel invigorated, dedicated, and absorbed.

An engaged employee finds the task so fulfilling that he/she brings nearly limitless physical and mental energy to the job and is energized by its pursuit. They willingly show perseverance and tenacity in overcoming the challenges of the task.

At the pinnacle of work, engagement is flow.

Flow, a term created by psychologist and author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, is a state of heightened performance during which an individual feels, “satisfied, alert, in effortless control, confident, and at the peak of their abilities.”

During flow, a person can become completely absorbed in work and lose the sense of time passing.

Csikszentmihalyi contends that achieving flow could be critical to developing a meaningful career and experiencing a joyful life.

We should all be so lucky to have job tasks that leverage the perfect intersection of our strengths and interests, at just the right level of challenge to bring about flow.

While you should strive for this, is your workspace designed for engagement and flow?

Without a workspace that’s conducive to this focused work, it will be more challenging to engage and find a state of flow.

Below are factors to consider as you assess whether your current workspace allows you to maximize your work.

An “Engaging” Workspace

Ergonomic workstation

In genuinely engaged work, you are likely to spend long periods of time at your desk. It’s critical that you can work comfortably. Preferably, opt for a variable height desk that allows you to cycle between sitting and standing. This not only supports a healthy back, but a change in position can also provide a small brain break as well. It also promotes creativity.

Research has found that people are more creative when standing or walking vs. sitting.

Also, make sure that your monitor is at a comfortable eye level and directly in front of you to protect your neck.

If you work on a laptop, this may require purchasing another monitor to get proper alignment for both keyboarding and looking at the monitor.

Lighting

Choosing the right light not only affects how you are visually processing information but also affects you mentally and physically as well.

Cool blue (the color associated with natural daylight) is the ideal color light for a workspace.

Blue light keeps you alert, boosts your mood, and increases productivity. If you have no window and are working under fluorescent lights, supplement your lighting with a task light or floor lamp with a blue-white bulb.

Also, consider a desk-top SAD light to mimic natural light.

It’s important to consider the brightness or direction of lighting. Opt for no-glare or lower-wattage bulbs for overhead lights to reduce glare.

Alternately, you could remove some of the high-wattage bulbs or tubes in an existing hanging light fixture. By adding adjustable, low-glare task lighting, you can move the light as needed to reduce glare on your screen while still having adequate light for paperwork.

Uplighting and diffusers can help control glare too. If you’re lucky enough to have a window in your office, don’t forget adjustable blinds to control potential glare as well.

Noise Control

Hopefully, your office observes some quiet hours for concentrated work. If not, an open-door policy can derail your workflow.

It’s ok to set limits and establish closed-door, quiet time. You can always reconnect with your colleagues on a break.

Snack Time

You can’t think if you’re hungry and dehydrated. That’s a fast track to fatigue, headache, and a lack of focus.

Keep a stash of healthy snacks like fruit or trail mix and water on hand to fuel your body during these extended periods of engaged work

Lose the Clock

The goal of engaged work is flow, and with flow comes total absorption in the task to the point of losing all sense of time.

If a clock is staring down at you, ticking in your ear, flow can be hard to get into. Remove or temporarily hide the clock, even the clock on your computer desktop.

Also, protect your smartphone, turn off alerts and notifications, and add an away message on your email to minimize possible distractions.

Inspirational Setting

Engaging work requires creativity. Does your space inspire creative thought and problem-solving?

If not, it might be time for a workspace re-do.

We’ve already talked about how blue lighting is optimal, but don’t stop there with the color blue. Blue is also a color that we subconsciously associate with openness and tranquility, according to a 2009 research study.

Researchers found that while in this de-stressed state of openness and tranquility, people were receptive to new ideas and, therefore, more creative.

If you don’t have blue in your space now, consider blue walls or artwork/décor.

While you’re at it, take another cue from nature’s color palette and add some green. Adding plants can bring the nature vibe indoors and allow you to reap the relaxing benefits while at work.

Also, if you want to produce inspiring work, it might help to work in an inspiring space. Add images or artifacts that inspire and motivate you.

You spend hours every week working, so why not strive for engaged work?

If your current workspace doesn’t support that goal, it’s worth taking some time to design a space that inspires the possibility of engagement and flow.

You may not reach that goal tomorrow, but with practice and persistence and a little help from your surroundings, you’ll be gratified with more meaningful work, you’ll boost your overall happiness, and your company will benefit from a superior product and a more satisfied employee. To find more strategies to maximize your work life, visit iStratus.com.

6 Tips for Effective Goal Setting

The beginning of the year inspires many of us to reflect, assess where we are professionally or personally, and, hopefully, set goals for the New Year.

There’s something about the flip of the calendar that fills us with a sense of opportunity, excitement, or curiosity for what the year ahead might bring.

If the year just past was not what we’d hoped, we might look to the New Year as our clean slate; our chance to makeover some part of ourselves, our jobs, our organizations anew.

However, inspiration can fall flat in no time if you don’t create an exact plan of action driven by a foundation of effective goal setting.

Why is goal setting important?

Think of goal setting as mapping a course. Without setting yourself (or your team/organization) on a specific path, you might as well be a rudderless ship adrift on the ocean.

Where your ship lands might be lovely, but just as likely, your destination could be awful. You’ve left it up to chance.

How will you know if you’ve had a prosperous voyage if you didn’t know where you were sailing in the first place?

Does that sound like a plan for success?

Success doesn’t usually happen by accident.

Goal setting propels you forward with inspiration, intention, and purpose.

The act of goal setting develops key characteristics of the successful person.

Research by Locke & Lathan in 2006 found that setting goals result in motivation, self-confidence, and autonomy.

These qualities not only breed success but happiness as well.

We know goal setting is a positive, but what does effective goal setting look like?

Six Tips for Effective Goal Setting

Tip 1. Be passionate

The best, most fulfilling goals are those for which you feel passionate.

Ideally, this is not an “I should” kind of goal, because others tell you it’s important.

Or, if it’s a team or organizational goal, craft a goal that is one your team/organization can genuinely get behind because it’s closely aligned with your core mission.

Without passion, you’re likely to flop.

Tip 2. Set a goal that stretches you

Being passionate about your goal is important, but setting a goal that insists on significant growth (and maybe even a little risk) is critical.

What do you really gain by setting a goal that’s too easy? A checked box? Bragging rights?

Who cares if there’s no real growth. This is where a growth mindset is truly your friend.

Tip 3. Craft a goal with clarity

And, it’s not enough to think about a lofty goal in some vague, hopeful, unspecified terms.

Zero in on that passionate goal, but follow up with a detailed, clearly-outlined plan of actionable steps, and measurements to take to assess progress.

One popular system for setting and achieving goals is called OKR–Objectives and Key Results.

OKR was developed in 1975 at Intel by Andy Grove.

Today, OKR is a system followed by the likes of Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, ING Bank, Target, and Bono, to name a few.

The key tenets of OKR are:

Objectives: The WHAT of your goal. This is the passion and inspiration and can be a little more “big picture” rather than detailed.

Intel’s original model suggested monthly goals so they could be agile and adjustments could be made quickly.

For example, your objective could be–I want to be an attentive parent.

Key Results: The ACTIONS or HOW you will go about attaining your goal and MEASURING your progress.

KRs must be quantifiable and should number between 2 and 5.

For the attentive parent example, your OKRs could be, I want to be an attentive parent by spending at least 30 minutes of one-on-one time with my child at least 4 days per week and initiate family time at least 2 weekends a month for the next month.

I will (Objective) as measured by (this set of Key Results).

For more information about OKR, check out this TED Talk or visit https://felipecastro.com.

Tip 4. Write it down

It’s not enough to feel passion, you must put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and write down your goal.

Psychologist Gail Matthews at Dominican University conducted a 2015 research study that found goal achievement is 42% more likely when goals are written.

Tip 5. Accountability works

The same Dominican University study also found that people who not only wrote their goals, but shared their goals and/or action plan with a friend, and committed to periodic progress reports were significantly more likely to succeed in reaching their goals.

Commit to a friend to chat every week.

Or for a team/organizational goal, schedule recurring progress review meetings and commit to making them non-negotiable.

Tip 6. Don’t quit when the going gets tough

There are times when you may need to abandon a goal.

This is especially true if it’s one that was ill-conceived—you’re not passionate about it, it was an “I should” goal.

But entrepreneur Molly Cain writing for Forbes warns us that more often, goals are abandoned prematurely because of fear.

Maybe it’s a fear of failure. What’s going to happen to my career if I don’t reach my goal? Or maybe fear of success. How will I possibly manage it all if this business gets off the ground?

Remember; growth involves discomfort.

Just like those leg pains you got as a kid before you shot up two inches, growth in your professional and personal life also involves discomfort.

Discomfort in the unknown. Discomfort in the uncertainty of success and putting your neck out there. But, in the end, growth towards a goal for which you feel passionate is worth discomfort for the chance of earning exhilarating success.

What supports can I use to help me meet my goals?

Technology can be a powerful tool in achieving any goal.

The iStratus DayPlanner app for iPhone has multiple functionalities directly aligned with the goal-achievement process.

For instance, when you clearly document your goal, your actionable steps, and record progress measurements, those documents can always be at hand and top-of-mind.

By saving and storing them securely, you have ready access wherever you are.

Trying to map out your action plan?

Use the task list function tied to your calendar to make sure you are on target with scheduled tasks.

Keep yourself accountable by adding color-coded meetings on your calendar (or multiple integrated calendars, if needed) for progress check-ins and deadlines.

Keep your key results doc linked to your calendar at your goal dates to compare actual progress vs. plan.

By following the tips above to craft an inspiring, growth-oriented goal, to implement a clear action plan whose results will be accurately measured, accountability partner(s), and guts to persevere, you put yourself in the best position to set and achieve significant goals and experience personal growth.