Habits are automatic, learned behaviours that provide a quick answer to life’s puzzles.Without habits, you’d be paralysed by endless deliberation from the moment you woke each day – whether to shower then eat, or eat then shower, what to eat, what to wear, which route to take to work, or where to park.Habits can also be comforting. If you follow the same routines each day, then you mostly know what to expect. A downside to habits is that not only are some of them obviously unhealthy, but having too many can hamper your creativity and deprive you of serendipity.

Creature Of Habit

If you want to change, bear in mind that habits tend to be triggered by cues in the environment – that cereal box in the kitchen, the café on the way to work. That’s why holidays are such a great antidote. Put yourself in novel situations and you’re forced to think afresh rather than rely on old habits.

Changing Habits

As it turns out, there may be an advantage to always doing things the same way.

Stashed ideas

Why am I such a creature of habit? | BBC Science Focus Magazine

Virtual recruiting has grown in popularity since the start of the pandemic, with one global survey across industries showing <a href="https://www.cielotalent.com/insights/infographic-the-impact-of-remote-working-on-talent-acquisition/">65% of companies having hired a new candidate</a> without ever meeting them in person. Along with video interviews, new tech solutions are increasingly making video resumes part of the recruitment process.

Video Interviews, And Video Resumes

The demand for video resumes looks set to grow. A LinkedIn survey from March 2021 showed that <a href="https://news.linkedin.com/2021/march/linkedin-and-microsoft-skills-commitment">79% of hiring managers thought that video had become “more important”</a> than before for vetting candidates, and 61% of job seekers thought “a recorded video could be the next iteration of the traditional cover letter”.

The New Cover Letter: Video

Video resumes are a unique chance to stand out, and they show your personality, creativity and editing skills.This can be particularly helpful for applicants with little experience applying in competitive fields who need an extra edge to secure a role.As well as sending a written resume, this could include sending video resumes, personal email and LinkedIn connection requests to employers – anything to help create a human connection in an overcrowded field.

Video Stands Out

While PDF and paper resumes may get lost in the crowd, a 2021 study by Canadian research institute Cirano found two-thirds of employers opened and watched spontaneous video resume submissions, and video resumes increased call-back rates by more than 10%.

Increased Call Back Rates

Glossophobia, or fear of public speaking, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3647380/#b1-ndt-9-609">affects people around the globe</a> in staggering numbers, and even speaking on camera to an empty room can cause feelings of stage fright. During the pandemic, researchers have connected feelings of Zoom fatigue to the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350899855_Nonverbal_Mechanisms_Predict_Zoom_Fatigue_and_Explain_Why_Women_Experience_Higher_Levels_than_Men">anxiety of speaking on camera</a> due to stressors such as feeling hyper-aware of one’s appearance and non-verbal gestures, feeling trapped in the camera view and difficulty reading the non-verbal reactions of others.

The Problem With Speaking On Video

One 2016 survey of 100 US employers suggested that <a href="https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/writing-a-resume/best-resume-format">just 3%</a> of companies preferred to receive a video resume over other resume formats (just 2% did in 2013). But experts say there’s a likelihood that number is changing, as video-savvy Gen Z’ers are beginning to apply for jobs, and the nature of recruiting is increasingly digital.

Video Savvy Gen Z

Many companies use AI systems to help reduce subjectivity in the screening process. Companies are using tools to remove photos, names, even names of the universities, when recruiters and sources are searching for candidates on LinkedIn and from other sourcing tools.But as video resumes cannot be filtered in the same way, candidates can leave themselves open to a more human selection process that is potentially flawed. They raise the chance that your resume will create some kind of bias, and you will be discriminated against based on age, race or ethnicity.

The Flawed Hiring System

A study showed that while using video resumes increased call-back rates for all candidates by 10%, wheelchair users were still less likely to be called to interview, and prospective employers were more likely to stop watching their videos when it was revealed the candidate had a disability; for example, when their wheelchair came into view, even in workplaces where accessibility was ensured. Call-back rates are at their highest when the applicant uses a video resume without revealing a disability.

Video Resumes And Disability

Despite the challenges of making and submitting video resumes, we will see them used more in the future, for one simple reason: many people don’t know how to write effective CVs.This difficulty leaves a window open for video resumes and other tools that can boost candidacies, rather than replacing written documents altogether. While a video resume can give some valuable insight into a candidate, they’re definitely not make-or-break.

The Future

As hiring shifts towards virtual interviews, an increasing number of candidates are jumping in front of the camera to boost their odds of winning a job. Should you do the same?

The jobseekers boosting their applications with video CVs

If you love what you do, it’s all too easy for it to consume your identity—especially if your career is demanding and fast-paced. You find yourself checking email after hours, and thinking about work all the time.For many people work—and overwork—is comfortable. What isn’t comfortable is what resides outside the office walls. Because inside there are clear-cut steps, structures, systems, and goals, while other areas of life don’t adhere to a rulebook.

Our identity outside of work

If you can’t find anything they’re interested in outside of work, explore your city without any agenda. The only rule is to pay attention to what piques your interest. Because that’ll likely point you in the right direction.After you’ve gathered some data on what you might be curious about, give yourself several months to explore these interests.Don’t be surprised if you feel some discomfort. You might be used to being in charge and being seasoned at work. Try to embrace the unfamiliar, and focus on the process.

Wander your city

<ul><li>Many people don’t have strict boundaries between work and home. In other words, our home is no longer the place we exclusively relax and leave work behind.</li><li>Boundaries are critical when you’re just starting your career, too. You might be tempted to work long hours and be available to your clients all the time. However, it’s best to set boundaries right away. </li><li>Other examples of boundaries include: not responding to work-related matters on weekends, and requesting another team member if you’re feeling overworked or overburdened.</li></ul>

Set boundaries

<ul><li>Reflect on the activities and hobbies that you loved as a child, teen, or young adult. Then carve out time to practice them. </li><li>When someone’s work-life takes precedence, their personal relationships often start to suffer. This is why is recommended to refocus on your relationships with a partner, kids, friends, and family. Spend quality time with them. Have real conversations without interruption.</li></ul>

Revisit old hobbies and relationships

We have to intentionally create space for our true selves to emerge, which means holding time for ourselves to just be. This is also a helpful way to practice tolerating discomfort.You might spend 20 minutes in the morning drinking your coffee or tea, without any digital devices, or spend Sunday afternoons by yourself. Notice what thoughts and feelings arise. Where does your mind go when there’s no task or structure?

Create space to just be

Check out local meet-up groups, spiritual centers, or adult sports teams. Think about other places around potential passions, such as book clubs, art clubs, and non-profit organizations. Experiment with new experiences. Even if you end up not enjoying an experience, that’s still important information.

Meet like-minded people

If you love what you do, it’s all-too easy for it to consume your identity—especially if your career is de

How to Figure Out Who You Are Outside of Work

There are many benefits to working remotely, such as setting your own schedule or working with teams across the globe. However, remote workers may also feel less engaged in a company's team and overarching culture when there is little in-person interaction. Without some external validation, it's easy to feel disconnected from your work. That's why it's important to ensure you celebrate your work accomplishments.

Celebrating your own wins

Every year, try to do something special to celebrate another year of successful remote work.  Keep the following in mind:<ul><li>Activities. Do you want a day at the spa? A weekend hike? A list will help you prioritize and plan.</li><li>Budget. Establish a spending cap. You could base it on a milestone, such as after getting a promotion or new client.</li><li>Time frame. How long do you want to be away?</li><li>Location. How long will it take to get there?</li><li>The number of travel companions. Do you want a group activity or go away solo?</li></ul>

Planning your own annual celebration

Celebrating doesn't have to be extravagant.<ul><li>When you complete a difficult task, enjoy a few moments away from your screen.</li><li>Set up lunches and coffee dates with colleagues and friends to celebrate each other's wins.</li><li>Find an accountability partner who can notice when you're showing signs of burnout.</li><li>Carve breaks into your day. It's easy to slip into an always-on mentality. Take breaks throughout the day so that you can come back fresh and ready to go.</li></ul>

Celebrate your accomplishments on a smaller scale

Working from home can be great, but it can also feel lonely when you reach a big milestone.


How to celebrate big achievements when your entire team works remotely

Late philosopher Hubert Dreyfus said that habits are a part of our daily coping practices. We don't consciously assess what we are going to do at any given moment - e.g., we don't deliberately reflect on brewing a morning coffee.
But, even when we do something habitually, we can still interact intelligently with it. For example, when habitually driving the same road to work, we might be consumed with thoughts about the day and still be able to navigate the roads.

Habit is the foundation of routines

In Gilbert Ryle's book, The Concept of Mind (1949), he rejected the idea that habits were intelligent. Instead, he thought habits were an unintelligent way of responding to the world. Other influential philosophers held the same view, including Baruch Spinoza, Immanuel Kant and Henri Bergson. Even today, many think of habits as rigid patterns of behaviour that are naturally activated by context prompts.

Habit thought of as unintelligent

Habits are not stupefied and inflexible reactions to environmental triggers. To understand this, we need to see that it is not possible to make a clear-cut distinction between habit and skill. <ul><li>Many of our skills consist of habits. For example, a sport skill is often just the process of pursuing a new motor habit through repetitive practice.</li><li>Habits often are made up of skills. For example, think of someone whistling when they are bored. Whistling is a skilful act.</li></ul>

Habits and skills are interlinked

In contrast to the view that habits are mechanistic, some, like philosopher Jason Stanley, promote habits as intelligent. In this context, habits are a kind of resolved belief about ways of achieving certain goals. For example, within a few weeks at a new workplace, we develop a belief about how to successfully get to work. The settled belief becomes ingrained. Even if I become convinced of a more efficient route, I can still accidentally take this route.

Habit as a deeply entrenched belief

Habits are generally context-sensitive. Stanley thought habits to be intelligent and rational when unconscious beliefs guide them. His underlying thought is that intelligent flexibility of habits depends on the rapid updating of unconscious beliefs. <ul><li>This is in conflict with his claim that habits are guided by stubborn unconscious beliefs.</li><li>It is also unclear how unconscious processes can even involve beliefs.</li></ul>

Habit as a form of belief is problematic

Dreyfus held that we are experts at our daily habitual routines and that our daily habits will be guided by expert-level perception and intuition. It means that we will think only of one course of action for each situation. But his view of habits is too mindless and mechanical. While agreeing that habits facilitate intelligent behaviour by shaping perception, John Dewey denies that our habitual responses become entirely automatic. For him, the more numerous our habits, the wider the field of possible observation.

Habits are not entirely automatic

As philosopher John Dewey points out, habits are intelligently modified to the context because we see the environment in which habits have been encouraged in light of the vast habitual responses we can make to it. Habits are then not blunt reflexes but a wellspring of possible responses to our environment.

Habits are not blunt reflexes

Rather than mindless mechanisms for routines, habits are a species of belief that display a great deal of intelligence

In praise of habits – so much more than mindless reflexes | Psyche Ideas

Loving your job often means that you may be working more. It's harder to stop when you care.
It's deceptive to think that remote work means that you can start and stop whenever you want. Bloomberg reported that people who started working from home since the beginning of the pandemic are working three hours longer per day.

Remote workers work more

When you're working from home, don't work more. Use that flexibility to bring more balance in your life, not less.
There's no commute when we work remotely, which can easily add extra hours to our day. It can be tempting to pour these hours into work. Working longer often means burnout, which means doing less. It is best to make a routine to prevent work from consuming our day.

Don't replace your commute with more work

When we work remotely, we don't have to replicate the nine-to-five workday. Remote work means you have flexibility, so you can order your work that will suit you.
Some people will split their days into two four-four blocks, with a four-hour break in the middle. Others may swap a weekday morning for a weekend one. Ensure that your coworkers are aware of when you are and aren't working.

Remote work means flexibility

Remote work is about trust. Research shows that remote workers put in more hours, so any time-tracking may be a waste of time. 
Moreover, micromanaging gives a message that employees won't do their jobs unless someone is watching over their shoulder. That message can be demoralising.

Don't use time to measure productivity

If you work longer than reasonable, consider creating a system that ends your work session.
You could wrap up your day by reviewing what you spent time on and what got done. Look at your completed tasks from your to-do list and check your time-tracking app. You may find that you accomplished a lot, which could bring closure to your day and help you to stop working.

Wrap up your day when it's done

Time Management

Don't work more when you work from home | Zapier

At the beginning of every week, write a two-by-two matrix on a blank sheet of paper.One side of the matrix says "urgent" and "not urgent".  The other side of the matrix says "important" and "not important." Then, write all the things you want to do that week.

Time management matrix

These are the most pressing tasks we'll likely get to this week.  When we do fire-fighting, it's all relating to stuff in this quadrant.

Quadrant 1: Urgent-Important

These are the things that matter in the long-term but will offer no concrete benefits right now or even this year. They are things we know we need to get to but probably will push off.

Quadrant 2: Not Urgent - Important

These tasks keep us busy today, but if we stop to really think about it, were a waste of time. These are interruptions that happen, such as phone calls.

Quadrant 3: Urgent - Not Important

These things are the time wasters we do because we feel like we're tired and need a break: checking and rechecking Facebook and Twitter during the day, or mindlessly eating, even though we're not hungry.

Quadrant 4: Not Urgent - Not Important

Quadrant 1 (the urgent/important tasks) you will always automatically take care off. Quadrants 3 & 4 should be eliminated to a great extent.Quadrant 2 (not urgent but important) is what will change your life over time. At least 10% of your day needs to be devoted to this important but not urgent stuff. Ideally, you're spending 30% of every day on this.

The most important quadrant

Stephen Covey died last week. He pioneered the business self-help genre with the 1989 publication of his mega-hit book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." When I saw he died, I got a little panic-stricken because I couldn't remember a single one of the seven habits.

The Only Thing You Need To Remember About The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

<ul>
<li>Since shifting into a more virtual work situation our workday has been proven to be lengthed by more than an hour and meetings extended for a full 10 minutes longer.</li>
<li>As we feed into these longer working hours it causes us to have higher chances for cognitive overhead. We may not be aware of it but our brains aren't wired to look at a flat image of a person on a grid.</li>
<li>Our brain produces beta waves every time we process a lot of information at once and then our brain starts to slow down.</li>
</ul>

Working virtually is taxing

<ul>
<li>In order to reduce the beta waves our brain makes, it's important to take a break here and there and do something that will relax your brain - preferably not involving a screen.</li>
<li>By doing so, your brain will begin to produce alpha waves. We'll become more and engaged and focused on our tasks.</li>
<li>When we take breaks it allows us to rest and maintain better brain health throughout the day because it helps restore alpha waves which restore our cognitive function.</li>
</ul>

Short-term fixes for cognitive dysfunction

So that we may be able to make a significant change we must reassess the way we communicate with each other at work.
Many schedule wasteful meetings that are evidently not helpful most of the time. In order to reduce overworking, we need to communicate policies and expectations to workers clearly but this doesn't mean we should micromanage them.
When we end presenteeism in our work culture, we are establishing a healthier habit of knowing when to log off.

Taking strides forward on virtual workings

Since the pandemic hit, we’ve been using more digital tools to work longer hours, creating a cognitive load that’s tough on our brains. How do we fix that?

Is there an antidote to 'digital intensity'?

When we force ourselves to wake up early and fail to do so we tend to beat ourselves up over it. However, we must keep in mind that we are wired differently according to Chris Bailey, the author of The Productivity Project. 
It doesn't matter what time we wake up as long as we're able to finish the tasks that are supposed to be done with the schedule it won't make a difference whether you wake up at 5 AM or 10 AM as long as you act deliberately within schedule.

Forcing Yourself To Wake Up Early

By the time you wake up, it is important to choose to be proactive and not stay reactive while interchangeably scrolling through your phone's apps.
Spend this time to think about your priorities for the day and run through your calendar to make a to-do list. It's a huge mistake to start the day without knowing what you intend to do.

Starting Your Day in Reactive Mode

Dressing up actually has a real influence on your attention levels because it symbolizes the start of a new day and it helps your brain to shift gears. 
A study was done back in 2012 related to the effect of clothing on a person's mental process. Evidently, it showed that you perform differently when wearing a suit or a scientist's lab coat and even get better intelligence scores.

Not Getting Dressed

Skipping breakfast is not ideal when starting a new day. It is important to take care of your body, provide it enough food to create energy in order for you to focus on the things that you have going on for the rest of the day.
The most recommended breakfast is a balanced breakfast containing both protein and carbs. Alongside this, it is also important to drink enough water to hydrate the body and the brain. Even mild dehydration can impair one's mood, memory, and concentration.

Skipping Breakfast and Hydration

Multitasking slows down productivity by about 40% and actually has long-term negative effects on our brain such as memory impairment on new subject matters, difficulty in learning new materials, and increased stress levels. 
It is recommended to transition into the habit of monotasking where you focus on one task at a time. It will take a few weeks to get used to it but daily practice for more than a couple of weeks will be able to retrain your brain for longer focus.

Doing Too Much Multitasking

When we prepare for tomorrow, it gives us a big boost in productivity levels; 1. Because we'll be able to plan out our day without worrying about what gets left behind; and 2. Prioritizing tasks is not as hard as it seems.
Anxiety for what's to come tomorrow happens every so often that we tend to lose sleep over it. When we prepare we will have lower anxiety levels, therefore, getting a better quality of sleep instead of being sleep deprived.

Not Prepping The Night Before

<ul>
<li>Starting the day off on a note of anxiety instead of calm will carry on throughout the rest of the day. </li>
<li>Mornings tend to be chaotic most especially if you're trying to cram everything to be done in the morning all at once. </li>
<li>Peace looks different for every individual thus it can look like meditating for 10 minutes or just having a quiet breakfast. </li>
<li>When it comes to productivity, slow and steady wins the race.</li>
</ul>

Not Prioritizing Calm

It's hard to complete tasks when you're barely making it through the day right now, but these small habits might really be sabotaging you.

7 Mistakes You're Making In The Morning That Ruin Your Productivity

Having no routine or structure is so much more draining mentally, physically, and emotionally than any routine could ever be. You're depriving your body and mind of the energy and direction these activities would bring.

Routines and structure

"Good habits are hard to form but easy to live with. Bad habits are easy to form but hard to live with."

If you immediately check your email or social media accounts when you wake up in the morning, you’re starting your day off in reactive mode instead of proactive. It means spending the best part of the day on other people's priorities.

No e-mails in the morning

Spending time writing every day helps you become a better communicator, improves your ability to recall important information, and it also enhances your creativity. Writing in a diary format will add the benefit of greater self-understanding

Writing as a self-improvement tool

Taking regular breaks keeps you from getting bored and losing focus, increasing your brain’s function at the same time. It also forces you to reevaluate what you’re working on, ensuring that you’re going in the right direction.

Taking breaks during the day

1. Choose a task (just one at a time)2. Set a timer for 25 minutes3. Work on the task until the timer rings then put a check mark in a tracker4. Take a five minutes break5. Repeat steps 1-4 three more times, followed by a 15 minutes break.

The POMODORO technique

Breaking your day into chunks helps you be the best you as too much time spent doing one thing can cause you to lose focus and interest. And if you’re working on something you don’t really want to do, it makes it easier because you only have to do it for a short while.

Break your day into chunks

Your brain operates optimally when you consume a very specific amount of glucose (25 grams) in a form that is released slowly over time. Foods that fall into this category and have positive effects on you include fish, nuts, seeds, avocado, blueberries, raw carrots, and dark chocolate.

Eating “productive” foods

Set aside different tasks for different days of the week. And even if you can’t set aside full days to deal with certain issues, block off certain hours of the day to handle them. This can give you the time you need to make headway in those particular areas, without putting your brain on overload.

Theme your week

<ol><li>Jumping jacks;</li><li>Wall sit;</li><li>Push-up;</li><li>Abdominal crunch;</li><li>Step-up onto a chair;</li><li>Squat;</li><li>Triceps dip on a chair;</li><li>Plank;</li><li>High knees running in place;</li><li>Lunge;</li><li>Push-up and rotation;</li><li>Side plank.</li></ol>

Scientific 7-Minute Workout:

<ul>
<li>Limit your caffeine to early in the day</li>
<li>Choose late-day foods that bring on sleep, like bananas, oatmeal, and potatoes</li>
<li>Using earplugs or a white noise machine to cut out outside noise at night</li>
<li>Darken your room</li>
<li>Stay away from technology for a good hour before bedtime</li></ul>

Get a good night’s sleep:

Aristotle is credited with saying these 15 famous words. And for most of my life...I didn't believe him. I fought against cultivating good habits and routines because I didn't want to feel like I had to live my life by other people's rules. I wanted to be my own person and do my own thing.

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Juan B.
@juan_bb

Why am I such a creature of habit? | BBC Science Focus Magazine

The jobseekers boosting their applications with video CVs

How to Figure Out Who You Are Outside of Work

How to celebrate big achievements when your entire team works remotely

In praise of habits – so much more than mindless reflexes | Psyche Ideas

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Juan B.@juan_bb

Why am I such a creature of habit? | BBC Science Focus Magazine

The jobseekers boosting their applications with video CVs

How to Figure Out Who You Are Outside of Work

How to celebrate big achievements when your entire team works remotely

In praise of habits – so much more than mindless reflexes | Psyche Ideas

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Juan B.
@juan_bb