6 Steps To Kickstart Your Career As A University Freshman

So, you and your parents have just invested a significant amount of money for your university education. As a freshman, what can you do to make sure you get your money’s worth? How will you assure a return on your investment (ROI)?

Step 1: Get Organized

Developing a strong, structured time management routine is crucial to being successful in college. Your first semester will set the tone for your following four years. It is imperative that you establish a strong GPA that first semester because maintaining a high GPA is much easier than trying to bring up a low one.

Being organized will also keep you healthy, reduce your stress levels, and prevent fatigue.

Work on maximizing your time between the hours of 8am and 5pm, Monday through Friday. Take advantage of free time between classes to work on homework, projects, career development, and exercise. This will free up your evenings and weekends for additional activities, rest, and relaxation. Then, spend a few hours at the end of your weekend to review and plan for the following week.

Step 2: Schedule Monthly Meetings With A Career Coach Because career development is a process that takes as many semesters as your established major, scheduling career coaching appointments monthly will benefit you tremendously. Every college has a career development office. Locate it and visit your first semester. Then, establish a relationship with this office

and keep consistent appointments with a career coach. He/she will help you plan out your professional

development goals for each semester.

If you do not do this, you will not be educated on how to transition from student to professional. Would you dare wait until your final semester of college to visit your professors, attend class, and follow through with your major requirements for graduation? Of course not! So, why would you dare make the mistake of doing this with your career development?

Step 3: Engage In Your Career Development

The majority of students who fail to attend and participate in career development events do so because

they choose not to engage and prioritize this development. Again, it is imperative that students educate

themselves on how to transition from student to professional. Establish and keep consistent appointments with a career coach so you can identify professional interests, build strategies for out of classroom experiences, identify strong, mentor-based internships, and establish a strong professional brand. Learning to be professional starts freshman year, not senior year.

Step 4: Investigate Extra Curricular Activities

Once you have identified professional interests, it is time to celebrate those interests and meet others who have those same interests. This is where extra curricular activities come in. As a freshman, finding a community that celebrates these same interests will help you learn more about yourself, your goals and passions, and your interpersonal style. College provides an abundance of clubs and activities for students to choose from, so investigate these choices and participate starting your freshman year. This will set the

stage for future leadership opportunities within these clubs or activities and will help strengthen your

professional interests.

Step 5: Create Your LinkedIn Profile

Establishing a professional on line presence begins freshman year. Yes, students need to clean up their Facebook page and even lock it down, if preferred. However, the main focus freshman year, is to establish your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is a professional networking site every bit as relevant to first year college students as it is to seasoned professionals.

The difference is in the strategies used by freshman versus seasoned professionals. Freshman can research

alumni, learn about their majors and subsequent careers, research those careers and the companies in which they work and learn tons about the professional world. And, the career development coaches and staff can assist freshman in building their profiles and using the site strategically.

Step 6: Get A Mentor

Because your first year in college is a huge transition, it can be a tremendous help to build a relationship with someone a bit ahead of you. Someone who has recently been in your shoes, can guide you, give you advice and support you through this transition. This is where mentoring comes in. Ask the career development office if they can assist you in locating a mentor. Alumni can be fabulous mentors for freshman and a career coach can assist you in making connections with alumni through LinkedIn.

These are six easy steps to accomplish during your freshman year. Remember, you have made a significant financial investment to attend college, so follow these steps and you will be on your way to gaining a huge ROI.

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21 powerful lessons to remember in life

Yesterday is a beautiful reflection. Today is a new beginning. Tomorrow is a limitless possibility. On my birthday am sharing 21 life lessons i have experienced while living.

life lessons

1. Never give up on anything. Miracle's happen everyday.

2. It is better to strive for excellence than perfection.

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HOW TO WIN OVER YOUR FEARS

If you really want to do something
you will always find a way.
But if you don't want to do it,
you will find execuses.

win over your fears

The easiest way to combat fear is by not using excuses. Instead, you need to look for positive approaches to accomplish your goal. If you want to start a business, attend a meeting at the Better Business Bureau. Read some national magazines like "Income Opportunities" or "Spare Time." Start reading the business section of your newspaper. Gather some ideas and do a little reading before actually jumping into a business. Surely you can find some spare time to read. Also, begin associating yourself with people who are in their own business already. If you're afraid to go out and make new friends, attend local business-related seminars in your community. Start watching television shows that are related to business. You'll eventually find people to associate with who know others and you'll be the part of a new crowd - the motivating ones! 

FEAR is always your enemy. Look at it this way: If you never try, FEAR wins by 100%. However, if you do try, FEAR only has a chance of winning by 50%. If you needed a place to live and only had $10 to your name would you allow FEAR to win and make you homeless? No, most of us would find a job or borrow the money to have a roof over our heads! FEAR is the root of failure, depression and lifelong problems. Are you going to let FEAR ruin your life? FEAR also will cause you to lose out on many other things in life. If you FEAR the boss at work is going to fire you _ it will naturally be on your mind day in and day out. It will eventually wear you down and you will begin making mistakes on the job. You will also get depressed and build up resentments that may have never been there in the first place. Facing FEAR head on is the best way to combat it. If you think the boss is going to fire you _ go up and ask him. It takes guts, but isn't it better than putting yourself through many months of agonizing torture? Are you full of so much FEAR to even ask him because you think it will trigger him to say "yes" when he might not have been considering it at all? Believe me _ asking a boss "if" they are thinking about firing you will put you in no different position than you are now. In fact _ it will have the opposite effect. The boss will more than likely respect you for your candidness and ability to face FEAR head-on. Is FEAR holding you back from a lot of things? Are you afraid to confront people and tell them how you really feel? Do you smile in their face and talk about them behind their back? What's so hard about being truthful but using tact? Doesn't it get rid of FEAR and solve many problems? Complaining is also an act that emotionally drains you and goes hand-in-hand with FEAR. In fact, FEAR is normally the root of any complaint. People don't want to admit their FEAR so they will complain to release some tension. This is a crazy merry-go-round! Instead of complaining, try to find ways to solve the problem.

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TIPS TO BUILDING SELF CONFIDENCE AND SELF DISCOVERY

Lets drive to the meaning of the term confidence.

Confidence is the ability to perform to a certain standards. It is synonymous to self assuredness. Confidence is also seen as the belief in the ability of other people.

UNCOVERING YOUR CONFIDENCE

Most people lack self confidence because they failed to direct or connect to what is important to them.  When you connect yourself to what is important to you and what you value. People failed to believe in themselves because they consider what other people think about them more prominence than what they think about themselves.

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Watch out, These Nine Obstacles can hinder you from Creative Thinking

These are nine obstacles to creative thinking i will be sharing with you. Each of them may apply to yourself or someone you know. Any one of them, if you fail to recognize and remove it, can hold you back. 

1. Lack of Direction
The first obstacle to creative thinking is the lack of clear goals and objectives, written down, accompanied by detailed, written plans of action. When you become crystal clear about what you want, and how you are going to achieve it, your creative mind springs to life. You immediately begin to sparkle with ideas and insights that help you to move forward.

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10 Golden Rules In Safety To Work Successfully In Construction And Oil And Gas

There are many cases of incident and accident in the construction sites even in the offices as a result of not adhering to safety precautions. Below are 10 golden rules to help us work in safely.

1. work planning: Before commencing any task, it is worthwhile to adequately state the task procedures and associated hazards.

2. Work permit: in oil and gas sector or any construction site, it is advised that all personnel should make sure they have their work permit before carrying out any task. work permit is a document that states down the procedures and risks associated to a task.

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Dealing with procrastination! 10 Tips To Help You Boost Productivity &Overcome Procrastination

1. Accept the fact that there simply isn’t enough time to do everything. That’s why it’s so important to work on the most important things. If you’re always focused on the important things, both in your business and personal life, you’ll always be making the greatest contribution by using your time wisely.

2. Establish a relaxed state of mind. Keep calm. Stay focused on what you have to do. Ignore everything else. Too much additional stress can make the whole task that much more challenging. Your mental state is something you can control. Don’t let outside pressures get to you. Understand what must be done and do it in a calm, relaxed, self-assured manner.

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Effective time management in achieving tasks

Lots of books,  blogs and seminars have addressed the issue of time management. In this article i will explore the various tips for effective time management.

Time management is the effective and efficient utilization of time resources to maximize results or achieve tasks. Time they said is money,  therefore adequate carefulness should be pay in time usage as it waits for no one.

Below are tips to guide you:

1.  Identify important values.. 
Base your plans on your priorities, taking into account your way of working. You might find it useful to plan first your week, then your day:

*.Identify which tasks will help you achieve your goals, and allocate your time accordingly.

*.Delegate work if other people can do it as well, or more quickly, cheaply or effectively.

*.Ensure other people know what they need to achieve each day.

*.Divide the principal tasks for the day into achievable blocks of work.

*.Tackle them one at a time.

2. Setting deadlines.
Remember every task or goal must have a measurable time to be achieved. Set deadlines to your tasks and dare to complete.
Schedule your work to suit your temperament at different times of the day or week. Determine whether your deadline is a fixed or flexible one. Don't allow minor work or task to take longer than it should.

3.  Minimising distractions
However carefully you prioritise the use of your time, your attempts to manage it efficiently will be undermined unless you can find effective ways of dealing with distractions:

*.Manage mail at the beginning of the day. It may have a bearing on your activities during the rest of the day and you will be in a position to deal quickly with any subsequent queries.

*.Limit the time spent on each call, and differentiate calls from VIPs, regular contacts and time wasters.

*.Avoid unproductive and inefficient meetings. Agree on start and finish times in advance and establish an agenda.

*.Use email as a less intrusive form of communication and pick up your messages when it suits you, rather than having to respond immediately. Be careful not to cut yourself off completely, or you could stifle the flow of ideas and creativity from your colleagues and contacts.

4. Employ the use of time management tools.
Time management tools such as diary, computerised calendar and alarms are important for effective time utilization.

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Steps to boost your self esteem and confidence

Low self-esteem can negatively affect virtually every facet of your life, including your relationships, your job and your health. But you can take steps to boost your self-esteem by taking cues from types of mental health counseling.
Consider these steps, based on cognitive behavioral therapy:

1. Identify troubling conditions or situations

Think about the conditions or situations that seem to deflate your self-esteem. Common triggers might include:

• A work or school presentation

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Combating Stage fright.

Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, whether actually or potentially (for example, when performing before a camera). In the context of public speaking, this may precede or accompany participation in any activity involving public self-presentation.

The fear of public speaking or performance, often called stage fright, exacts a huge toll on self-confidence and self-esteem and causes some people to leave school or a job or pass up a promotion. Many, including seasoned professional performers, suffer in silent terror. And because they feel embarrassed, people try to keep their fear a secret, even from a spouse or other close family members or friends.

From Anxiety and Depression Association of America, below are ten tips to conquer stage phobia

1. Shift the focus from yourself and your fear to your true purpose—contributing something of value to your audience.

2. Stop scaring yourself with thoughts about what might go wrong. Instead, focus your attention on thoughts and images that are calming and reassuring.

3. Refuse to think thoughts that create self-doubt and low confidence.

4. Practice ways to calm and relax your mind and body, such as deep breathing, relaxation exercises, yoga, and meditation.

5. Exercise, eat well, and practice other healthful lifestyle habits. Try to limit caffeine, sugar, and alcohol as much as possible.

6. Visualize your success: Always focus on your strength and ability to handle challenging situations.

7. Prepare your material in advance and read it aloud to hear your voice.

8. Make connections with your audience: Smile and greet people, thinking of them as friends rather than enemies.

9. Stand or sit in a self-assured, confident posture. Remain warm and open and make eye contact.

10. Give up trying to be perfect and know that it is OK to make mistakes. Be natural, be yourself.

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Dealing with inferiority complex (part one)

Inferiority complex is an unrealistic feeling of general inadequacy caused by actual or supposed inferiority in one sphere, sometimes marked by aggressive behaviour in compensation. An inferiority complex is a persistent feeling of being inferior to others in some way. It is usually connected with a real or imaginary shortcoming in physical appearance, intelligence, personality, education, social status or economic status.

CAUSES

An inferiority complex occurs when the feelings of inferiority are intensified in the individual through discouragement or failure. Those who are at risk for developing a complex include people who: show signs of low self-esteem or self-worth, have low socioeconomic status, or have a history

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Basic Rules Of Table Manner

few tips and rules for basic table manners...

Napkins should be placed on the lap as soon as you are seated.

When you get downfrom the table, leave the napkin, unfolded on the table, to the left of the place setting.

Sit a comfortable distance away from the table, so that with the elbows bent the hands are level with the knives and forks.

Sit up straight, sit square with hands in the lap and do not fidget. Do not put elbows on the table.

If you are served a meal that is already on the plate, wait until everyone has been served before picking up your cutlery, unless invited by your host to start.

Make sure others have been offered anything they might want from the table, such as butter, water, salt or pepper. Help yourself last and never stretch across people.

Do not begin eating until everyone has been served, unless the host or hostess gives their permission for diners to start.

Eat at a relaxed pace and pace yourself to match your fellow diners.
Keep your mouth closed and try to avoid making noises of any kind while eating, either with implements against the plate or teeth, or with actual ingestion of the food, eg slurping soup.

Talking while there is food in your mouth should be avoided at all costs - even when you have a conversational gem up your sleeve.

When you have finished, place your knife and fork - with the tines facing upwards - together on your plate.

If you are confronted with a plateful that is not to your taste, try to soldier on to avoid hurt feelings.

Always compliment the cook.

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Difference Between Quality Assuarance(QA) And Quality Control (QC) in companies

Quality Assurance is process oriented and focuses on defect prevention,
while quality control is product oriented and focuses on defect identification.

By definition,
QA is a set of activities for ensuring quality in the processes by which products are developed.
QC is a set of activities for ensuring quality in products. The activities focus on identifying defects in the actual products produced.

Focus on
QA aims to prevent defects with a focus on the process used to make the product. It is a proactive quality process.
QC aims to identify (and correct) defects in the finished product. Quality control, therefore, is a reactive process.

Goal
The goal of QA is to improve development and test processes so that defects do not arise when the product is being developed.
The goal of QC is to identify defects after a product is developed and before it's released.

Responsibility
Everyone on the team involved in developing the product is responsible for quality assurance.
Quality control is usually the responsibility of a specific team that tests the product for defects.

As a tool
QA is a managerial tool
QC is a corrective tool

so, as a graduate of any field, you can be a QA/QC inspector once u undergo the required training.

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Four Things You Should Not Do With Your Company's Computer

Most workers get overwhelmed with the computer and free internet connection given to them by their company at the office. It is pertinent to note this four things before one falls victims.

1. Don't use the company's network server to email your cv to another company or job website.

2. Don't browse irrelevant sites like Facebook, youtube etc. with the company's network server especially during work hour.

3. Do not watch video or play game with the company's computer,

4. Beware most company's I.T. dept install kernels and spyware which records activities done with the computer.

source: industrial training experience in a multinational construction and revamping company.

like if am right.

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7 Basic Office Etiquette That Will Help You Build A Successful Career

Etiquette. The word alone has the power to dredge up childhood memories of dinnertime reprimands: Elbows off the table! Napkin in your lap! Excuse yourself before leaving the table! Most of us likely have mastered table manners by now (or at least know not to talk with a full mouth). But what about office etiquette?

1. THAT TEXT (OR FACEBOOK UPDATE) CAN WAIT
Hey… it’s just a quick text to a friend confirming your after-work plans. No problem there, right? If it happens during a meeting or presentation. As harmless as it may seem, the person you’re supposed to be giving your attention to will notice, and it can end up straining workplace relationships. “It’s kind of a snub,”. Even outside of a meeting, using social media and doing other personal stuff distracts from the work at hand. Bottom line: no one is that good at multitasking, and productivity will suffer.

2. PRETEND THERE’S A WALL
For the most part, the days of private offices and high cubicle walls are gone. But does an open workplace mean personal space is a thing of the past? No. You should pretend that the walls are still there. Send an e-mail to see if someone is available to chat, rather than just barging into their space, don’t sneak up behind someone, announce yourself as you approach and knock on the edge of their desk when you arrive. You should “bend over backwards” to respect co-workers’ personal space.

3. FOR WORKPLACE FASHION, GO WITH THE CROWD
To dress up or dress down, that is the question. The answer: Dress to fit the workplace. “You want to blend in,” “Fit in with those around you.” Use the boss as a gauge. If the boss comes in in khakis and a short sleeve shirt, that’s a good indication that casual dress is appropriate for the office.

4. KEEP THAT PHONE CALL TO YOURSELF
That call may be important to you, but chances are it’s not vital your co-workers hear it as well. Just like gossip, loud phone conversations in the office can distract people from their work. phone conversations in the workplace should be kept down to a “polite murmur.” And if it’s a personal call, take it elsewhere. Also, don’t use speaker phone (unless, of course, it’s necessary for the call).

5. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, YOU CAN STILL LEARN SOME THINGS
No one says you’re not great at what you do. Likely, you wouldn’t have been hired if you weren’t. Confidence is good. Arrogance, on the other hand, is not. “Sometimes people feel like they don’t have to pay their dues…like they don’t have to learn from those who came before them,”. Don’t hold back your good ideas. But have respect for what people already have done at the company, even if you would have done it differently.

6. DON’T SEARCH FOR JOBS ON THE JOB
So, you want a new job. That’s fine. But, keep your job search separate from your current job. Don’t use
company resources to look for new employment. It demonstrates a lack of respect and loyalty to your current employer. And don’t tell co-workers about your job search. The information will leak out (we all know not everyone adheres to the rule about office gossip) and can damage your position at your current job before you’ve found a new one.

7. GOSSIP ON YOUR OWN TIME
Don’t be the source of gossip in the office — whether it’s'about your life or someone else’s — or a participant in it. Gossip distracts people from their work and can create an unprofessional environment. That’s not to say you have to quit gossip cold turkey, deflecting gossip in the workplace – saying you’re too busy to chat, for example – and moving the conversation to a personal space, such as meeting for a drink after work.

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Why Workplace Safety Is Important To Companies.

Workplace safety is so important that a government agency exists solely to monitor and regulate it.

Workers
Employers have a basic moral obligation to provide for their workers' safety and well-being, regardless of any safety laws. It’s just the right thing to do, because you’re not going to get much work done if you’re dead or maimed. Chances are, you won’t even stick around very long if the workplace is a needlessly hazardous environment. Employers that provide workplace safety training and enact safety policies empower workers to do their best work in a safe manner. Employees who thoroughly understand the potential dangers of their work are more likely to perform tasks with confidence and up to standard. Workplace safety also provides a psychological comfort to workers, creating a more pleasant environment for them to work in.

Standardization
Workplace safety policies give employees standard operating procedures. Implementing a clear code of workplace safety eliminates needless debates and arguments over the "right way" to perform any task. Standardized procedure, which is central to workplace safety, also gives workers a common understanding of their jobs and the tasks they involve. This eliminates competition and corner-cutting, an allows workers to communicate more effectively. Productivity benefits from the common language that workplace safety provides, as workers know exactly how to perform certain tasks. The benefits carry on when training new employees is simplified.

Cutting Costs
Workplace safety policies save more money than they cost in the long run. Enforcing safety policies strengthens productivity and decreases the number of worker absences due to injuries. Safety programs and policies reduce costs associated with medical attention, insurance policies, workers' compensation, injury lawsuits and OSHA fees. They substantially decrease the need to rebuild or replace damaged or misused equipment. Additionally, by implementing workplace safety regulations, you reduce the risk of being shut down by regulatory authorities for safety violations.

Reputation
No business wants to be known as "the place where that worker lost an arm last year," or "the shop down the street that got sued." An unsafe work environment eventually gets noticed, and the news can be more than unflattering. Customers stop coming when they believe a business doesn’t care about its staff -- or its customers. In the long run, it’s much better for a business to have the reputation of rigorous adherence to safety laws, than getting the job done quickly but haphazardly. Workplace safety is a form of positive PR for a business.

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Top 10 Fun And Useful Ways To Spend Your Weekend Days After work

Despite your tight schedules as a worker in any organization, there are still ways to you can spend your weekend and remain healthy.

1. Volunteer: Be a part of something that can bring a change or an act of kindness. Volunteer yourself into a public service or a charity act. There is no scarcity of services that need volunteer. Enroll yourself into weekend teaching service let everyone who desires for education know the taste of alphabets and words. Feed the ones who starve all weekdays until some group of good hearted people decide to provide them with food. Volunteer for neighborhood cleaning programs. Possibilities are infinite where you can volunteer yourself and prove yourself useful and worthy for social welfare and social upliftment.

2. Meet Old Friends: When you are involved in the race of life often time doesn’t allow you to be with friends. Weekends can be the best time for get-togethers after a long interval of time. Renew the decaying bond of friendship in time. Make plans with them to travel, visit any place. Awake those memories that you will laugh on now. Experience the feeling of meeting old friends, learning how things have changed, realize how time has passed and how far you have travelled on the path of life for friends are the best way to measure life.

3. Photography: Capture the moments of your life. Frame it later or share it instant on social networking sites as per the latest trend. Tell tales through your photographs. Join photography workshops; learn new methods and techniques of photography. Visit places you like and click photos of those places. Bird watching and photography is also a trending hobby among people. Start clicking pictures you like, the way you see things. Professionalism comes later.

4. Write Letters: The generation of internet and virtual message services letter writing may seem a little old fashioned but some things are better old fashioned way. Write a letter or postcard to your afar staying friends. It may be surprise for your friend but the special and nostalgic feeling of letter writing is irreplaceable. To the impatient energy filled youth it will be new experience and may probably seem boring. The real fun begins when you get a reply to your letter.

5. Experiment in Kitchen: A way to a man’s heart is from his stomach a very famous proverb of course. Learn new dishes, explore new dishes, create new dishes experiment your experiences in kitchen to make something new out of it and dig he way from his stomach to heart. Well women have the same passion for food as men. So, weekend time can also be a good time for men to learn cooking and surprise their women with new food. Spice up the life, may be add some sugar. Baking cakes and cookies-sounds good? May be it will taste better if you try it once. Now if you are not good at cooking use the weekends to learn cooking. Buy a How to cook book and learn from the scratch.

6. Art and Music: Every person is an unexplored artist. The real question is have you explored the artist in you? Or kept it pinned in the to-do list in the fast pace work life. Which is a better time than weekends to spend exploring the hidden artistic talents in you? Try drawing, sketching or painting- the basic forms of art or try graffiti, sculptures, wood carving, making the best out of the waste and many more ideas and you may have the caliber to add to the list your new innovative definition of art. Learn guitar, keyboard or any instrument that you fancy and try mastering them. Try composing music. Nobody hates Music.

7. Shopping: Shopping is the best stress buster for women, works 99.9% of the times. Money cannot buy happiness but it can buy you a pretty clothes, diamond rings and new watches and you rarely find someone unhappy in brand new clothes wearing a brand new watch or a diamond ring. Spending is an effective way of buying happiness. Spending on yourself buys happiness but spending on friends and family buys love and happiness. Buying surprise gifts for your loved ones, friends, children if married. Make relationships better.

8. Start writing: Start writing about anything that comes into your mind; give a boost to your writing skills. Things that catch your attention, which motivates you, inspires you, touches you or moves you and writing it down makes you feel better. write about your motivations and goals. Write down about places you want to visit, things you want to do and people you want to meet. Make a blog ID and start blogging about things you like. Making it a regular weekend habit can improve you to become a better and professional blogger. If reading gives you new words expanding your ‘wordrobe’ then writing makes you wear those words on paper. People confident enough can start writing a book about the topic they like, thus making a constructive use of weekend days.

9. Play Sport: Try a hand in tennis or try a leg in football. Try any game, moving those lazy muscles; put it work before it rusts. Sports help in developing team spirit and cooperation. Sports develop strategic the functioning process of the mind. Sports are considered to be constructive expenditure of energy as it contributes to stress free and well-disciplined mind. How do you know you don’t have it in you? You try it and determine yourself. Beside sports is a good way to meet new people and make new friends. Go jogging and meet people, play badminton with them which is a trend among working class people who are equally concerned about health and fitness. Cricket and football is craze among children, teens and people with youthful energy. Play ground is a nice place to spend working out the muscles, meeting new people, playing games and being a team.

10. Read a Book: There are amazing people who can make you climb Everest, sail strange and unknown waters, fly the higher skies that no one has explored, ride into a fairytale, fiction, adventure or any genre of book you like in week end. Add into your account some significant amount of knowledge, facts, figures, and statistics. Books may or may not help you escape reality, time travel, travel to exotic places by sitting in your room, meet strangers and live another life but it will definitely help your from scratching itself into idleness. It helps to gradually improve your memory with consistent reading habit. It molds your mind into analytical thinking making it possible for you to look at matters through different perspectives. It polishes your writing skills and expands your hold on vocabulary. It injects peace of mind better than any other drug.

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The Need To Employ Step Back 5 X 5 before undertaking any task in your workplace

Its another new working week. Different activities and works here and there. There is need to ensure safety in each of your activities for i believed that He who works safely lives to work another day.

What Is StepBack 5 x 5?
StepBack 5x5 is a simple activity that encourages workers to identify and deal with hazards associated with all tasks for all jobs and is completed at each step in every job - all day long. It helps to promote a hazard management culture through continual self monitoring of your job site and work activity. The higher the risk factor of the job you are undertaking, the more important it is to do effective StepBack 5x5 reviews all day long.

The Risk Management Model
All jobs should be assessed for their risk potential. These simple questions should be asked:
1. What is the sequence of steps in the job?
2. What are they hazards at each step in the job?
3. How can we control those hazards?
These are the three fundamental steps in the completion of any risk assessment and any formal Job Hazard Analysis. However, once complete, any risk assessment must be continually
monitored for any changes in the work environment or in the job task itself that the risk assessment might not have identified. This is the value of StepBack 5x5 — in a high risk, complex and rapidly changing work environment it allows you to continually monitor the job and stay on top of hazards.


How Does a StepBack 5x5 Work?
To complete a StepBack 5x5, follow these steps:

1. Take 5 steps back from your job —
Put your tools down and step back from your job far enough to get a "big picture view" of what you are doing. Actually putting your tools down and stepping away from the work face allows you to disengage from the task and see things differently. You will more easily be able to spot hidden hazards and changes in the work environment.

2. Take 5 minutes to discuss —
• What has changed in the work environment?
• What are the known hazards in the next step of the job?
• What are the new or unforeseen hazards that we previously weren't aware of?
• Do we have these hazards adequately controlled? Or should we stop the job and reassess what we are doing?
This step is an active conversation between workmates on the job, not a silent meditation. A StepBack 5x5 doesn't work if you don't talk to each other.

3. Repeat the process for each identified step in the job, all day long, from the beginning of the job to the end of the job —
Whether you have completed a formal JHA or not, the StepBack 5x5 process does not work effectively if you don't continue it all day long for each step of the job. The step you miss will invariably hide the hazard that injures or kills you.

The Value of the Model
The StepBack 5x5 is such a powerful and effective work safety tool that we recommend everyone in high risk work environments do them continually all day long. If you adopt this practice, some day a StepBack 5x5 will save you or one of your workmates from a serious or fatal injury. Don't ever feel afraid to stop a job when you think things may be unsafe.

do have a smooth working week.

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Lifestyle- 17 Golden rules to remember in Life

17 IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER IN LIFE.

1. Never give up on anything;miracles happen everyday.

2.Be brave even if you are not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.

3. Think big thoughts, relish small pleasures.

4. Learn to listen. Opportunity sometimes knocks very softly.

5. Never deprive someone of hope, it might be all they have.

6. Strive for excellence, not perfection.

7. Don't waste time greiving over past mistakes. Learn from them and move on.

8. When someone hugs you let them be the first to let go.

9. Never cut what can be untied.

10. Don't expect life to be fair.

11. Remember: Success comes to the one that acts first.

12. Never waste an oppurtunity to tell someone you love them.

13. Remember that nobody makes it alone. Have a greatful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who help you.

14. Never underestimate the power of a kind word or deed.

15. Laugh alot. A good sense of humor cures almost all of life's ills.

16. Don't miss the magic of the moment by focusing on whats to come.

17. Watch for big problems. They disguise big oppurtunities.

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Ten Rules To Giving An Effective Talk/presentation

Every academic career is filled with presentations. In fact, giving a good presentation is one of the more important tasks of our careers. Talks/presentations are how we inform our peers and students about recent developments in science/medicine, our research, new techniques, etc. They are how we inform colleagues (who might also be reviewers) of our work before they see it in grants or papers. And, they can and should be fun to give. Therefore, to ensure that you get your message across and do not completely bore or overwhelm your audience, I would suggest following these “Ten Rules.”

1. Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. This particular rule does not require a great degree of explanation. However, it can be easily forgotten. Remember the introductory slide, follow the order of that slide, and conclude
with a slide that generally lists, at a minimum, the most important points you were trying to make.

2. Keep it short and simple. While some of this is dictated by the people asking you to give a talk, shorter really can be better. Most studies have suggested that 30 minutes is the limit for most people’s

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Five Tips on how to improve your Diction

If you’ve spent any amount of time around top executives or business leaders, you’ve probably found that most of them don’t speak like your typical employee. There is a recognizable confidence, timbre and clarity to their vocal presence that can motivate and inspire the masses.

1. Um, drop verbal crutches
These crutches are most pronounced during pauses that occur while delivering a speech or presentation. They can come in the form of unintelligible sub-vocalizations such as "um" and "er" which awkwardly fill the silence, or as a subconscious habitual cough, lip-licking or overused hand gesture. They can also manifest as any number of verbal ticks which can be distracting and ultimately undermine your credibility (think phrases such as "you know,” “like,” “frankly,” or “to be honest”).

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