Staying Positive

Happiness can boost your productivity, motivation and ambition

With increasing pressure to achieve results, understaffed teams and uncertainty about the future, happiness at work can be hard to sustain. But there are a number of things that managers can do to stay positive, perform to the best of their ability and deal with new challenges as they make their way up the career ladder.

Avoid the two-year itch

Managers are at their happiest and performing best, during the first two years at an organisation, and after that their performance and positivity tends to drop significantly. Managers can avoid this danger zone by seeking out new challenges and taking on new responsibilities to keep them stimulated and motivated.

Develop skills for the future

Before you reach the two-year mark in your organisation, find out training or qualifications are on offer and talk to your boss about how these may help your career progression.

Develop a vision

To develop a vision, you need to analyse the environment in which you work, forecast how it will develop, and you are to where you want to be.

Find your optimum stress level

While too much stress can have a negative impact, a certain amount is actually a key ingredient for the happy manager and their team. The challenge for managers is to keep stress at the right levels.

Master your workload

Focus on developing the skills you need to break down your tasks and conquer your to-do list. Softer skills, such as goal-setting and delegation, will help you to get things done in an efficient way.

Keep an eye on your team

The happiness of your staff is a reliable indicator of their performance, so be sure to act on any signs of unhappiness amongst your team. — The Guardian

9 Google Search Tricks

Use these cool shortcuts to find things better and faster

Not many users know the little tricks that can be used to get more out of a simple Google search. Following are the top nine Google search tricks:

1. Use the ‘site:’ operator to limit searches to a particular site. It is particularly handy because many sites’ built-in search tools do not return the results users are looking for, and some sites do not even have a search feature. If you are looking for Google related posts from UltraSpectra blog, for example, try this search: Google site:ultraspectra.com.

2. Search within numerical ranges using the ‘..’ operator. Say, for example, you want to look for information about Nepali blogs and their progress 2009 till 2010, you could use this search: ‘Nepali Blogs’ 2009..2010.

3. Use Google to crunch numbers by using its built-in-calculator — try entering a calculation like 110*(654/8+3). Yes, your computer also has a calculator, but if you spend most of your day inside a browser, typing your calculation into the browser’s search box is quicker than firing up your calculator app.

4. Get quick currency conversions through Google, simply by typing in the two currencies. For example: Type 5,000 Pakistani rupees in dollars to get the result. However, it only has the more mainstream currencies.

5. Use Google as a spelling aid. Entering a word into Google is a quick way to see if you have the right spelling. If it is incorrect, Google will suggest the correct spelling instead. Additionally, if you want to get a word’s definition, use the ‘define:’ operator to return definitions from various dictionaries (for example, define: blogging).

6. Use the ‘or’ operator. This can be useful when you are researching a topic but are unsure which keywords will return the information you need. It can be particularly handy in conjunction with the ‘site:’ operator. For example, Google Or ‘Google X’ site:ultraspectra.com.

7. Find out what time it is anywhere in the world. This one is really handy if you want to make sure that you are not phoning someone in the middle of the night. Just search for ‘time’ and then the name of the city. For example, try: time Islamabad.

8. Exclude specific terms with the ‘-’operator. You can narrow your searches using this operator. For example, if you are looking for information about UltraSpectra but do not want any discussion related to Google, you could try: ‘ultraspectra.com’ – google.

9. Search for specific document types. Google can search the web for specific types of files using the ‘filetype:’ operator. If you are looking for PPT files about blogging, for example, you could try: ‘blogging’ filetype:ppt.

Some Interesting Google Tricks

If you search "Who's the cutest" using Google's "I'm Feeling Lucky," it will say "YOU ARE"

— Milan Aryal (@MilanAryal) October 20, 2013

If you type "Google gravity" and then hit "I'm feeling lucky" on Google the entire page will lose it's gravity and you can play with it.

— Milan Aryal (@MilanAryal) October 16, 2013

You can use Google as a timer by typing "Set timer (x) minutes" into the search bar.

— Milan Aryal (@MilanAryal) October 11, 2013

If you search "askew" in Google search, the page will tilt slightly clockwise. Try it now.

— Milan Aryal (@MilanAryal) October 10, 2013

If you type in any flight number into Google you can see exactly where the plane is.

— Milan Aryal (@MilanAryal) October 8, 2013

When you search for 'Tilt' on Google, it will make the search results page tilt slightly to the right.

— Milan Aryal (@MilanAryal) May 14, 2014

Post by Milan Aryal.

Right Now is Okay for Happiness

The truth is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when?

We convince ourselves life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the children aren't old enough and we’ll be more content when they are.

After that, we’re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire. The truth is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when?

Your life will always be filled with challenges. It’s best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. One of my favourite quotes come from Alfred D Souse. He said, “For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin — real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life”.

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time... and remember that time waits for no one.

So, stop waiting as it is time to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So as Randall G Leighton says, “Work like you don’t need money, love like you’ve never been hurt and dance like no one is watching.”

Candy Crush Life Lessons

There are so many lessons for our lives in random candies falling in a game.

By Marianne

If you have a smartphone, tablet or Facebook, you’ve probably played the game Candy Crush Saga. I fell prey to it about a month ago using it to relax at the end of a long work day. It’s fun, it’s relatively easy (or it was), it’s often frustrating and it has hidden rewards when you least expect it. That’s if you play it mindlessly. Once you begin to understand the game, everything changes. As I was playing the game, it reminded me that life is the same way. It’s fun at times, often frustrating and has hidden rewards when you least expect it. Once you understand the game of life, the strategies that help you design your life the way you want it, everything changes.

There are so many lessons for our lives in random candies falling in a game. Here’s what I learnt —

• Just like the candy falling, events good or pad, people happy or otherwise, fall into our lives right from the start. We can’t control what or who shows up. We just have to keep playing the game of life. What we can control is how we react to them. We can get frustrated and give up, or figure things out and keep playing.

• As we start to play (grow), we learn. Three of a kind forms a row and it drops out. If we want to win the game, we must be looking to eliminate those things that stand in the way of success, whatever that means to us.

• Jelly means stuck! For many levels of the game, the goal is to remove the jelly. In life, we need to come up strategies to help us get unstuck too. We just need to gather the ones that work for us.

• As we go through levels (grow up), life gets tougher. The good news is we get smarter — if we practice. If we keep noticing what works, if we learn. Learning is the key. It always has been. If we stay mindless we can still play the game and occasionally win, but we don’t get as far as we could and it can be a very stressful journey.

• Those special rewards can be repeated over and over once we figure out how to make them happen. Some give you great power in the game hust as in life. They’re like great strategies. You come into life without knowing the best ones for dealing with stress, relationships, health and money. You can stumble on great ones every now and then and feel lucky. Or you can learn them from books, TV shows, from someone who’s figured them out and use them in your life so that you take charge of how to make your life easier and more successful.

• You can ask for help. After you’re played a certain amount of time, the game has beed designed to stop you. Now their goal is to have you so hooked, you’ll pay to go to the next level. Or you can ask friend, usually on Facebook. I love that. I’ve never paid. I can wait till it lets me play again. I choose to be patient. In fact, I’m grateful that it stops me so I don’t spend too long playing games no matter how much fun or additive they are. I have a business to run and while I can justify a few minutes distraction, I certainly can’t let it use up too much time. I haven’t asked a Facebook friend for help yet but I like knowing I could. People would help me — at first. As long as I helped them when they needed it and didn’t constantly pester them with requests. Same as life. Help a friend when you can, but don’t take advantage of that friendship.

• Don’t forget the goal. In the game you’re looking for three of a kind, for special candies but if you forget the goal of the game, you lose. And you lose quickly. Whether it’s to remove all the jelly the candies are stuck in or to bring all the fruit home, you’ve got to keep your eye on the finish line. You can play the game of life with no goal but you won’t get where you want to go. You’ll be blown about like an airplane without an autopilot or GPS. You life will be an endless game of maybe, an often frustrating one.

But if you know your goal, if you learn and use strategies along the way, if you’re patient as obstacles pop up — and they will both in the game and in life — you can really enjoy the process as you go along the journey.

A Personal Relationship

"for every step we take closer to God"

By Claude Pitout

In life we are all searching for something and in life there is something we all need and may be lacking, we live our stressful lives in search of wealth for temporary comfort and worldly desires in search of pleasure, yet there is something we all need and are lacking. The thing I feel we all search for and may be lacking is love, the greatest command was to love God and I say be loved by Him in return, we all search to love and be loved, through a personal relationship with God we come to find love, not only is God love but we begin to love God and God loves us in return, finding the highest form of love.

In order to have an experience with God one does not necessarily need to live a religious lifestyle or have to go to church but that rather through talks, prayers and communion with God one can form and have their very own personal relationship with God their dad.

“A personal relationship” is based around and rooted in belief, faith and love and helps one to learn to trust and rely on God on a day to day basis in your life. In order to be in right relation with God and to live and experience the fullness of God’s favour and blessings “A personal relationship” teaches one the wisdom of the importance of a path of goodness, to be a good person and to always give out and do good, it then takes you into the principle to love one another as we wish to be loved in order to be in right relation with God. A personal relationship with God does not matter what religion, faith or path you are from as all the streams of a river but lead to the ultimate source God and as a personal relationship should be the base to any religion, path or faith as “are you just religious” or do you truly have a relationship with your God.

In the above picture I have used the two wolves to show you the relationship that we have with our father, the older wolf I relate to being God and the younger wolf I relate to being us, the older more wise wolf rests his chin on his sons neck which to me shows the protective nature of God over us while the younger more innocent and curious wolf looks on into the wilderness with a playful nature, the picture to me symbolises the relationship that we have with God our father, a relationship of father is to son, while we go out into life “the open wilderness” God our father who is more wise protects us from the open wilderness “the dangers in life that we have to face and may also come across”.

A personal relationship with God is a one on one personal experience that we have with God our father and dad and can be done in a quiet moment where we find the space and time or even when we find a peaceful moment like watching the sun set over the ocean, there in this space and time, there in a peaceful moment we enter talks and prayers with God where we get to know and experience God on a close and personal level and God likewise gets to know and experience us on this same level in the comfort of our own home, not in any congregation or gathering.

The book “A personal relationship” by Claude Pitout is now available to purchase from the various online bookstores like Amazon, Barnes & Noble or it can be bought directly from the publishers site at a reduced rate FeedARead.com, the book can also be bought from your local bookstore given the title, author and ISBN code, the ISBN code for the book is 9781782992875, there is an ebook available to purchase from Amazon, Kobo or Scribd.

You are welcome to like my books Facebook page “A personal relationship” for more information or you can also join me on Twitter @ClaudePitout, If you would like to view your opinions and experiences you can join my group on Facebook “Spirituality, A personal relationship” devoted to the root of spirituality being and devoted to a personal relationship with God. My website is : claudepitout.wix.com/spirit.

About The Author

Claude Pitout found he had a close connection with God from a young age whom he likes to call his dad giving him the strength to cope with his troubles in life, through his difficulties and in his relationship with God finding not only a father but friend in God. Claude grew up in an abusive home with a father who drank excessively and which his drinking often resulted in rages and outbursts, yet Claude held strong to his faith in God, trusting in Him always bringing Claude this friend and father in God. Today Claude has been delivered by the hand of God from many of his life’s challenges and would like to share with others who may be going through similar difficulties in life or whom simply may be seeking an experience and relationship with God. Claude would like to share through his writing the lessons he has gained through the wisdom of personal experience in order to help others to cope with the difficulties in life and then to seek a relationship with their father and dad, God

May God always be with you

This is a guest post by Claude Pitout. He can be contacted through ghostinusa@msn.com, claudepitout.wix.com/spirit.

A New Dawn for the iOS

After the unexpected drop of the long-time Apple iOS executive Scott Forstall, people have been keeping on what the next version of the iOS will bring. Now under senior vice presidents Craig Federighi and JonyIve, the iOS has changed a lot. The newest installment to the iOS family, the iOS 7 brings a whole lot of change in terms of functionality and design. The iOS is much whiter and with more flat look and the icons have a more 2D feel to it than its predecessor, iOS 6, with its glasslike smooth icons. The iOS 7 brings a lot to the table than any of its previous updates. And although there have been numerous complaints about the battery life and installation problems, iOS 7 still proves a worthy foe to its mobile OS competitors.

Apple has decided to drop most of its older generation phones like the iPhone 3GS and iOS 7 and only supports iPhones 4 and above. Although there have been numerous complaints about the performance of iOS 7 or iPhone 4s, there seems to be no problems with iPhone 4S and above. The first thing iOS 7 users will notice is the new feel to the iOS 7, unlike any other iOS. Apple has decided to get rid of its old flux-glass icons and have reverted to more basic, color-prioritized flat icons. The applications have lost most of textures and now provide a basic streamlined design. No more of the notepad feel to the Notes app and no more of the rich black leather or the brown wood textures. This flat user-interface feel more like a mobile app and makes it easier for the user to concentrate on the more important buttons and content of an app. The latest version of the iOS has been known for its Android and Windows 7 Phone-type features, like the Android-styled control center or the Windows Phone animations. There are plenty of features on the iOS 7 that you won’t find on any of its competitors.

Turning on your phone will introduce you to a more Android Ice Scream Sandwich-type of lock screen that seems to have done away with the thick bars and the realistic slider. Now you are greeted by a simple text and two bars on the top and bottom that encourage you to pull down the notification center or the control center, again a feature previously seen on Android devices. But no matter how different you expect the iOS 7 to be, the general feel and usability of the iOS remains the same. It’s the same page-by-page application icons, and the much loved widget feature of the Android system still seems to be absent although multitasking has been improved greatly with the Web OS-style app switcher. The recent applications that have been running around show up next to each other and dismissing them is as simple as swiping them up or down.

Another visual upgrade on the iOS 7 is the more prominent User Interface (UI) animations that had been much simpler and transparent than the ones on iOS 7. Unlocking the phone prompts a swooping effect of the application icons. Opening up a folder icon or the application switcher prompts a zoom-in and zoom-out effect and even the screen’s off and on animations have been beautified with a slight fadeout and fade-in. The notification icon on the top of the phone also seems to have undergone some serious redesign. The signal bar seems to be the most prominent with dots instead of bars that puts the whole mobile design into question because of the fact that bars have turned into a universal language for network. Can Apple change it to dots is yet to be seen.

The iOS 7 also brings a lot of new features, like the Control Center that provides quick access to frequently used settings. It’s in stark contrast to its predecessors when every setting had to be changed from the setting app. Or the new tabbed notification center that makes it easier to browse notifications by type, or the new translucent feel to all of these features. There are colors everywhere now, even in places where it becomes more of a nuisance rather than an addition to design. The new design to the iOS design also calls for new application design. Most of the applications on the AppStore are built for iOS 6 and that slight hiccup on switching from a more modern design to the old would call for a light inconvenience. Most of the proprietary software that comes designed by Apple possesses the streamlined feel of the OS but many third-party applications still need a facelift.

The performance of the new OS seems smooth and quick on the newer A5 and A6 processors but on older phones like the iPhone 4, which sports an A4, the OS can seem quite slow and sludgy. The OS also creates new opportunities for sluggishness with more prominent animations that can be easily noticed if it stutters. Another problem that the iOS 7 brings is the quick depletion of the battery life. The iOS 7 seems to be notorious for hogging the CPU and cutting down on battery life.

But all in all, the iOS 7 seems to bring a lot of new features and clean new UI design to the table. No doubt that it poses a big threat for its competitors but the new iOS also seems to spark up some love and hate relationship with its users. Some users seem to love the new flat look of the iOS 7 whereas others seem to prefer the more professional look of the iOS 6. The iOS has definitely changed, but for the better or the worse is yet to be seen.

Prajesh Sjb Rana, the writer of this post is República The Week’s much loved tech guru.

One at a Time

Where do we start? People tell me about their work, relationship, family, exams et cetera. And how difficult it is to handle situations, emotions, and pressures. I too share my own ups and downs with my friends.

We never could provide each other answers, but we sure know that ultimately we will overcome them or rather we have to. It is indeed important to plan for the future but it is important to also understand that achievements take time. As one proverb goes “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.”

I believe it is better to handle things at one’s own pace them to plunge into it. We just have to concentrate on the building pieces of our lives, one at a time. Go through adversities, one at a time. Solve our problems, one at a time. Go through life, one step at a time. Beautiful paintings that have taken their place in history were not painted in a day, in a week, or in a month. It took time. Each brush-stroke was just a little foundation on which a masterpiece rested. Similarly, our lives are also a function of many single strokes. Let’s handle these strokes, one at a time. — Han Senthil