Category: Mindset

Puzzle

How can I support my team through the current global crisis?

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As most working professionals spend a third of their time at work, it’s been a massive adjustment for the millions of people who have had to start working from home. With many other stressors and worries piled on top of this, it’s no surprise then that this has had a major impact on the health, happiness, and the wellbeing of those employees.

For a thriving business, you need thriving employees, but not many people are thriving during this time. Therefore, to keep businesses afloat during the current global crisis, it is the responsibility of the employers to support their employees and this includes their mental wellbeing. Here’s how to do just that.

The 3 Ps

1. Prioritise – the health of your team

You need to create the right conditions to help your employees feel empowered and supported during this stressful time. You can do this by:

  • Taking advice from the World Health Organization and region-specific public health authorities such as the CDC.
  • Measuring and tracking the stress of your team via surveys and then offering help to those who need it most.
  • Providing consistent and clear objectives to give your employees a sense of control and purpose.

2. Promote – positive habits

Anxiety and stress can lead to the formation of bad (and unhealthy) habits. To help your employees deal with this stress, encourage the formation of positive habits such as:

  • Making a weekly and daily plan of action.
  • Sticking to their daily routine as much as possible.
  • Self-care activities such as meditation, mindfulness, and breathing exercises.
  • Taking regular breaks to properly ‘switch off.’
  • Limiting their use/exposure to social media and the news.

3. Practice – compassion and empathy

Some of your employees may have lost loved ones or they may be suffering from anxiety or depression during this time. To support them as best you can, here is how to be a more compassionate and empathetic leader:

  • Check-in with your employees regularly and keep an eye on their energy levels.
  • Listen to how they are feeling and encourage sharing when your team communicates.
  • Pause and give yourself time to respond to certain situations rather than reacting to them.

How to change your Mindset to trade through a recession

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The global pandemic has hit everyone hard, the knock-on effects of which will be ongoing for the years to come. So how do we make it through? How can we keep trading successfully through the recession? While there are many changes and improvements you can make, the most underrated one by far is your mindset. By simply choosing the right mindset, you can not only survive in the recession but you can thrive in it.

How to change your mindset to successfully navigate the recession

It’s very easy to dwell on the doom and gloom when it comes to the current state of the economy, but what does that do? How does that help us to navigate through the recession so that we can come out of it stronger and more successful, and ready for the economic upturn? In short, it doesn’t.

Here are a few ways that you can change your mindset to a more positive one. One that facilitates growth and success in a time where we need it most:

1, Remember that the economy is cyclical

It’s important to remind yourself that the upturn will come. The economy is cyclical. Yes, we are currently in a downward spiral but there’s still business out there. Businesses are still doing business and they are looking for help. That’s an opportunity for you to try and grab some of that opportunity.

Be creative – how else can you offer value? What does your target audience need help with the most?

2. See this as an opportunity to review and improve

It may be difficult to see but the recession is an opportunity to put everything under the microscope and see whether you can do it differently. In some instances, you could even find a way to do things better. This is a massive opportunity for businesses and one that will go as quickly as it has come.

3. Appreciate that recessions are cleansing times

It might not feel like it now, but recessions are cleansing. If you find yourself less busy, is it because you’ve just weeded out the time-wasters? Many businesses have reported that the recession has forced them to focus on what really matters and as a result, they are focusing on their core business and what they are good at. They’ve found that the clients who were producing the most ‘noise’ have gone and they actually have time to focus on tasks that help their business to grow.

4. Reconnect with your “why?”

We’ve been forced to look at our businesses in a different way so re-evaluate. Why are you doing this? What is it that you are doing it for? What does it actually mean? Reconnecting with why you started is a great way to re-ignite the fire. It’s a great way to self-motivate and to start being proactive.

5. Surround yourself with people who support you

The last way to get the right mindset is to appoint a war cabinet. What we mean by this is surround yourself with people that you trust, people who you can lean on and who can advise you to get through this time. If you choose the right people to have around you, who you can vent to and laugh with, and who can lift you up, it’s really easy to choose the right mindset and to make positive changes.

Believe that you can and you will

Mindset is really all about attitude and you can choose it. If you think you can, you can, but if you think you can’t, then you can’t. It really is that powerful.

If you think that you can grow through this recession, you will, not because of magic but because of the decisions you make and all the things that you’ll put in place. So how can you change your mindset during this recession? How can you innovate and offer more value so that you can grow?

If you would like some more advice on changing your mindset please click here to get in touch. 
Or feel free to use our chat box —>

How to get your distractions under control

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How many times are you distracted during an average workday? Once, five times, ten times?

Now, multiple this by 25.

You’ve probably heard this productivity statistic before – that it takes an average of about 25 minutes to return to the task at hand after you’ve been distracted – so imagine just how much time is being lost to distractions every day.

That means distractions don’t just eat up time during that interruption, but they affect your progress afterwards (e.g. that 30 seconds on social media is actually 25 minutes and 30 seconds), so we have to do something about it.

If you need to be contactable via social media and various messaging apps, it may seem an impossible challenge, but here are some tips on how to get the main distractions under control.

For the social media scrollers…ditch your phone and join an online networking group

A lot of us check our social media throughout the day, but there are some that do it frequently enough that it eats into their productivity. So how do you stop this?

The easy fix is to ditch your phone in the day and not have it with you at all. However, if that isn’t possible, consider adding an app on your phone that tracks your usage or limits you from using it for certain apps. Time limits mean you can tell friends and family that you have to spend your time on clients during the day, even if they see that you’re active on any social media channel during the day.

For the web surfers…install an internet blocking tool

It’s so easy to open up a tab and be diverted from a helpful article to a mass of other websites, so how do you knock it off during work hours?

Another easy fix is to install an internet blocking tool on your computer such as FocusMe or Freedom. These applications allow you to block certain websites for set periods of time so that you can still use the internet for work but you can’t get distracted by, for example, news sites.

For the easily distracted…plan a schedule and stick to it

It can be really hard working from home. Having family there is distracting, so many chores are to be done that are on your mind, and that hour for lunch seems to turn into tackling the household “to do” list. If this sounds like you, then you may be the type of person that is easily distracted.

The way to combat this problem is to create a schedule for yourself both for the week and for every day. It can help you see how much you have to get done and it gives you the discipline to sit down and do it. You can be flexible with this, e.g. setting your work hours earlier because you’re more productive, so find your best routine and stick to it.

For the busy fools…collate groups of tasks together

If you feel like you firefight through your days answering emails and phone calls, only to end the day not having done what you wanted, you can end this chaos! Start managing your time by managing your tasks.

What we mean by this is to group similar tasks together. For example, start your day off with a difficult task or dedicate 30 minutes just before lunch to answer all your emails. If you start grouping tasks together, you’ll find your productivity increases because you don’t have to shift your mindset from one task to another all the time.

For the fidgety folk…create a dedicated working space

For the people who can’t seem to sit still, who need to organise their desk every five minutes or who spend too much time gazing into space or at their photos on the wall, usually, we would recommend working from a café. Since this isn’t really possible right now, the next best thing is to create a dedicated working space at home.

Whether that’s in the spare room or in the conservatory, set up a comfortable desk with minimal distractions around you, and preferably, somewhere that has a door that you can close. This will help you to switch on your work mind when you’re in there, and switch off when you leave.

For the bored, overworked or burnt out…take a real break

Last but not least is the overworked. It’s very difficult working from home, especially if you still have your family at home too, so don’t be too hard on yourself. Not being able to concentrate or ‘switch off’ completely can really impact your productivity in the moment and the next day, so give yourself a break.

Make sure to take regular breaks away from your desk every day, go for a walk, and truly switch off at the end of the day so that you can start the next one ready to smash it.

Today is going to be a good day coffee cup

How to stay positive for your family and your team

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How to stay positive for your family and your team (even if you are scared and worried too)

Do you run a business where you’re responsible for your employees’ wellbeing? Do you manage a team at work? Do you have children or vulnerable family members who depend on you?

Whether you said to yes to just one or all of the above, having people depend on you, especially during such a difficult time as now, can quickly lead to burnout. If this happens, who will you be able to help then?

To help you stay strong so that you can be there for others during this time, here is how to stay positive even if you’re scared and worried too.

3 steps for staying positive

Step 1: Deal with your fear and anxiety first

You need to let go of the negative feelings draining your energy first before you’re able to feel positive and expend this energy for others. Here are a few ways that you can do that:

  • Seek community and support by talking to friends and family or joining a support group online.
  • Get your news and facts from reputable resources but limit your exposure to news and social media.
  • Plan your daily routine and stick to it to maintain a sense of structure and normality.
  • Prioritise your own self-care and practice mindfulness activities such as yoga and meditation.

Step 2: Train your brain to think positively 

Our brains are wired to protect us, therefore sensing ‘threats’ and thinking ‘negatively’ are often a reflex response. To overcome this, you need to train your mind to think differently. Here are a few ways that you can do that:

  • Believe a positive attitude is a choice and start to focus on positive thoughts.
  • Rid your life of negativity by limiting your exposure to the news and people who think negatively.
  • Practice positivity every day by writing down things that you are grateful for.
  • Look for positivity to reinforce it in your life. You can do this by re-framing things that happen in a positive way (e.g. finding the silver lining).

Step 3: Share this positivity with others 

Only when you let go of negative feelings that are a drain on your energy can you be there for others. Here are some of the best ways you can help others:

  • Check-in regularly and really listen to them.
  • Be empathetic and share what works for you.
  • Help them to be more positive in their lives too.
  • Spread kindness as much as possible and show your appreciation for people with words and gestures.

How has Paul kept positive during lockdown?

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1 Accounts is a family run business with the Donno family all depending on the businesses survival. When lockdown was announced, Paul could have panicked – but he didn’t he stayed calm, collected his thoughts and worked out how to overcome the biggest crisis businesses have faced since the war.

So what has Paul done to stay positive?

In early March, when the virus was just being mentioned just in passing, Paul brought hand sanitiser and additional hand wash for the office. He also increased the frequency of cleaning to the office and communal areas. We also started to change all our meetings to ‘Zoom’ meetings. This was still early days and the team thought Paul was mad but as usual humoured him.

Two weeks later we were all working from home. 

Panic mode

With the help of Platform 365 and Convergence communications, the 1 Accounts team adjusted quickly to working from home. With a morning and afternoon team zoom call to keep in touch. However, for our clients, this wasn’t always possible causing anxiety for Paul and the team. After all if our clients were to ‘go under’ we would go with them.

As a businesses owner, you can often feel alone, with the weight of the world on your shoulders. However this situation has proven to Paul, that this could not be further from the truth.

Our team have really adapted and supported our clients and helped take pressure away from Paul. We are so grateful for our amazing team and are thankful they have all stayed safe and well. Testimonials and feedback from clients has helped to keep all our spirits up, they have been wonderful and uplifting. Keep them coming.

Our clients, some who are under immense pressure have also realised that we are under pressure too, and many have been very considerate and supportive.

A pain point for Paul was the banks struggling to get money out to clients. This has now been rectified with the ‘bounce back loan’ but it caused a lot of anxiety for many of our clients and us.

Great minds think alike

One of the biggest helps to Paul has been being a member of the Accountants Millionaires Club (something to aspire to!). His business coach Heather Townsend (founder of the club) and her team have supported Paul and other accountants through this situation.

Every morning Paul meets with other like-minded accountants and they share the previous days experiences from furloughing, bank loans, software issues, growing veg, guide dog support and general day to day things. The group has some real characters and has without a doubt kept Paul positive.

Paul recommends that even if you are talking ‘with the enemy’ try and support each other. Talking to other businesses, like yours, may give you ideas and help you realise you are not alone! We are all in this together and it is nice to talk with other businesses to get a real sense of community.

Sharing your thoughts with like minded people really does work and saves on the wine stocks too!

cup of tea

12 Ways to Cope When Life Suddenly Changes 

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12 Ways to Cope When Life Suddenly Changes

“We can’t control every aspect of our lives and we can’t stop change from happening. But how we respond to change will greatly affect our overall life experience.” This statement can’t be any more relevant than now due to the Coronavirus.

From a few dozen cases to a full-blown pandemic, the virus has had a massive global impact where millions of people have been affected in some way. Many have lost loved ones, many have lost their jobs, many are confined to their homes, and many more are suffering every day from feelings of anxiety, stress, helplessness, panic, and fear. To help you make it through this difficult time, here are 12 ways to cope with this sudden change to your life.

1

Don’t resist the change, try to accept it 

Resistance causes suffering so stop fighting and start accepting. Be present in each moment and focus on the things you can control.

2

Recognise, redirect and reframe 

Recognise that your brain automatically assumes the worst, redirect this uncertainty, and reframe your perspective to a more positive outlook.

Make a plan and be proactive.   

Taking control of what you can will ease anxiety, so make a plan and set yourself some goals during this time. They can be both personal and business.

Stick to your regular schedule as much as possible 

The best way to deal with change is to try and maintain the normal where you can. Keep to your routine no matter how small and you’ll feel less helpless for it.

Exercise often and eat healthily 

Exercise releases those all-important endorphins and the right food fuels us properly, both of which are essential to boost mood and promote better sleep.

Practice and prioritise self-care.

Add meditation, yoga, daily journaling or mindfulness to your daily routine.

Seek support but keep it positive.

Call or skype your friends and family as much as you can. Turn any venting into action so that it isn’t detrimental to your health.

Delegate or outsource if you need to.

Delegate tasks to your team or outsource jobs that are low-value.

9

Focus on gratitude.

Write down three things that you are grateful for every morning to start off positively and with a better perspective.

Work through any grief and loss.

Grief and loss can often be found at the heart of major life changes, make sure to work through all the stages to be able to let these feelings go.

11

Limit social media and the news.

Try to schedule in a certain amount of time each day to look at social media and the news and that’s it.

12

Give yourself a break. 

Don’t push yourself too much or set high expectations during this time. Don’t be hard on yourself if you’re feeling a certain way, accept it and give yourself a break when you need one.

We can’t control change but we can cope with it

It can be hard to accept that things have changed and are changing, especially since we are unsure of the future, but we can control how we cope with it. If you implement these 12 ways above into your daily life over the next few weeks, you will be able to maintain your mental health and come out the other end ready to grab the opportunities that the future will hold.

Ice cream

How to keep employees motivated when working virtually

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How to keep employees motivated when working virtually.

Working virtually for a day or two is often a welcome relief from the noise and distractions of the office. But after a while, as sure as the sun rises in the morning, the novelty will wear off. This tip sheet is there to help you keep your team happy, healthy and motivated regardless of whether they are in the office or at home.

Tip 1: Regularly pick up the phone to talk to employees

Imagine you were back in the office. You’d probably now and then circulate around the office and have a natter with your team. Of course, with everyone working virtually, this just isn’t feasible to do. So, make a point of picking up the phone to speak with a team member or two each day, just to see how they are.

Old telephone

Tip 2: Keep an eye out for who has gone quiet

In these uncertain times many people process their fear and uncertainty by going very internal. In other words, they will go quiet and not contribute much to any of the dialogue. If you have one of these members of staff, then make a point of giving them a phone call and asking them explicitly how they are feeling right now. And if your instinct says they are not fine if they say “fine” in response to that question, ask more questions of them.

Tip 3: Set up a group chat for each individual team and encourage a mix of 50/50 work vs non-work stuff

If you were sitting in the office every day you wouldn’t just talk work, so it is the same when your staff are working from home. It may take a while for the conversation to get going on the group chat, so much sure that you take the lead. See something which makes you laugh? Then share this. Getting annoyed by the kids being under your feet at home now? Then share this. Loving the fact that the sun is shining, then share this. Etc (You get the idea…)

Tip 4: Encourage your team to look for the positives

Thumbs Up

Right now, it doesn’t feel like much is positive. However, looking for the positives is a great way to counteract all the doom and gloom, and constant fear in our minds. You will need to lead the ‘being positive’ attitude with your staff. For example, how about on the group chat ask everyone to tell them something good which has happened today. Or share something which made them laugh.

Tip 5: Set up daily team calls

It depends how many staff you have whether you have all employee calls or individual team-based calls, or a mixture of both. If you have young, inexperienced or staff who are struggling working based from home you may like to have 2 of these calls; one in the morning and one after lunch. Ideally, in these calls you want everyone to answer these questions:

  • How am I feeling right now?
  • What am I happy, grateful or positive about?
  • What am I planning to get done today?
  • What help do I need to get this done today?

Tip 6: Encourage your staff to do some exercise and get outside every day

This isn’t the time or place to lecture about the benefits of exercise. But it is a great mood and immune system enhancer, and even more so when the sun is shining and we can get out into nature. (And we all need this right now!) Many of your employees may fall into the trap of working from their desk all day. So, encourage them to think about their own well-being and how they will look after their physical and mental health in this uncertain time.

Trainer

Tip 7: Help your staff structure their day

Calander

It’s really easy when working from home to get sucked into the myriad of distractions available… laundry, Netflix, social media, kids …. Therefore, you may need to have a 1:2:1 with each member of staff to help them think through how they are going to structure their workload, particularly if they now have the kids at home and need to spend time looking after them

Tip 8: Be the strong leader your team need

You need to be there and present for your staff. Now is not the time to hide in a corner and stop talking to people. Your staff are looking to you to keep them calm, positive and motivated. This doesn’t mean bottling up your own fears and vulnerabilities. Actually, this is the time to admit to your staff that you are scared too. Strong teams form when leaders are prepared to admit their vulnerabilities.

Strong arm

Tip 9: Take decisive action

Your team are looking for you to take decisive action and be clear in what you want and need from them. It’s pretty easy to get down and depressed when you don’t know what is expected or required from you. The more direction you can give your team now, the better the morale will be from your staff.

Tip 10: Encourage staff to have a buddy to check in with

Remember that your business is not just you. How about encouraging team members to buddy up and look out for each other?

Tip 11: Remember to praise and thank staff more than normal

We often take our staff for granted. So, now is the time to make sure you are showing how much you appreciate the effort from each member of your team.

Tip 12: Make it easy for staff to speak up in meetings

If you struggle to get your staff to talk in meetings, it is going to be even harder to get them to talk when you and they are working virtually. If this is the case for your business, then start a document which everyone can access virtually and contribute to with agenda items for the meeting. In addition to this, start each remote meeting by asking everyone to answer some basic questions in the chat box, such as “on a scale of 1 – 10, where 1 = very down and 10 = amazingly positive, where are you today”.

Tip 13: Don’t talk about ‘remote workers’, talk about ‘virtual working’ or ‘virtual team members’

The language you use with your team really does matter. Talking about people as remote or workers can really emphasis the distance between your team and contribute to a sense of isolation.

Prison sells - lockdown

How to survive Lockdown.

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How to survive Lockdown.

Being on ‘lockdown’ and staying away from others can be a lot harder and more challenging than we probably could have imagined. The majority of us come into contact with people many times a day, even if we aren’t ‘socialising’ we come into contact with strangers all the time. From a visit to the shop, collecting a coffee, getting some petrol, visiting the gym, most of us have some form of social contact daily. For most of us staying in either alone or with just our families can feel very strange and difficult.

There are things that can make this easier, less stressful and anxiety provoking. Here are my top tips:

Routine, routine, routine!

This is more important than you probably realise. Firstly, distinguish between your ‘work’ days and your ‘off days’ if you can. Having a timetable will make your day go quicker and give it structure and purpose. Remember to factor in breaks, exercise and fresh air. These are all more important than ever, especially with the added stresses this pandemic brings. Take your time over things that you would normally rush, take time to find the recipe, chop the ingredients, do those hobbies you’ve never had time for.

Limit the News and Social Media Feeds

There is only so much that can happen in a day. Checking and rechecking can become addictive, destructive and all consuming; at the very least keeping your stress levels high and not allowing you to function. Also it is best NOT to check it upon awakening, you are likely to set yourself up for a stressful day, or before you go to sleep at night, we know that blue light can hinder restful sleep and that together with anxiety provoking news is not going to help you sleep well. Sleep is super important now more than ever to help you be calm and productive in the days ahead. I was listening to a podcast by Dr Judd who used the analogy of negative social media being like socially sneezing over people. This is a great analogy at the moment as we have all witnessed the sharing of the empty supermarket shelves causing more and more empty supermarket shelves. He describes it as a ‘social contagion’ whereby we are sneezing on others brains causing panic; the panic pandemic! Limit social media and unfollow/unlike people or groups that spread negativity.

Out of your head and onto the page….

Many suffer from anxiety and already know techniques to help. However for many this pandemic has caused new and unfamiliar feelings of anxiety. If you are feeling anxious I would highly recommend writing down your thoughts and feelings either as you wake up or before you go to sleep, or both! Many keep paper or a journal by the bed for this reason. By offloading these feelings you can set yourself up for a productive day or good nights sleep. This can be even more important if you have more limited social contact and haven’t been able to talk things through like you would normally.

Move It!

We all know that movement and exercise is good for our physical bodies, and it is widely known that it is good for our mental health. Whatever it is that you enjoy, timetable it into your day. You could dance to music, skip in the garden, there are loads of FREE workouts online now across loads of genres, many now streamed live, so you can join in with others ‘virtually’. Go for a walk, run or cycle, get off the beaten track if you can to avoid others and make sure you keep your distance if you can’t. While you are outside, make the most of it, take time to really appreciate nature, pay attention to what you see, birds, trees, flowers, use all of your senses, deep breathe the fresh air, be in the moment.

Stay Connected.

Social media and the internet have had a bad reputation over the last few years and sometimes with good reason. But where would we be without it now? Use the phone, email, Zoom, Facetime, Skype to stay in touch with your family and friends. Speak to people everyday. The possibilities are endless, our local pub is arranging virtual dinner parties and quiz nights! If you know of those who aren’t so technology savvy please pick up the phone and give them a ring and have a chat. Just because we are separated it doesn’t mean we have to be isolated.

Touch is important.

This is tricky while we are all socially distancing, but touch is still important, take time to cuddle your loved ones that you can at home, and don’t forget your pets. Giving them lots of love and attention is not just great for them but for you too!

There is no doubt that this is going to be a challenging time for most of us. Many are worried about their loved ones and many are concerned about their livelihoods, keeping their businesses going and paying their bills. However, there are some positives if you look for them. We will get to spend some quality time at home with loved ones and learn to appreciate things that get forgotten about in our busy and hectic lives. Try to appreciate the benefits of this time while you can as it will soon be just a memory we can tell future generations about.