Interxect Services Limited

4 Habits worth forming to become a better IT Professional Use these habits to grow yourself and your organisation

Sachin Ganpat — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 15:56:42 +0000

I’ve been trying to build a habit of writing every day. While much of the writings never see the public eye, the purpose of doing it every day is be comfortable writing and enjoying the practice of writing. Writing you see, plays an important role in my success and that of my business.

It occurred to me that several other practices should be developed as an IT professional to allow you to grow, and help grow the organisation as a result.

As an IT professional, or any professional for that matter, what habits are you forming? Here are some habits worth forming.

The Habit of Learning

It’s no secret that to succeed you have to keep learning, but how many people do this. I’m not just talking about getting certified in some technology or earning a degree (or degrees), but learning about what’s new in the industry, or what are the new ways of doing things, or learning about something outside of your profession. It’s important that you get into the habit of learning. The idea is to love learning.

Set aside time each day that you dedicate to learning, whether it’s reading business books, technical articles, or magazines. This should be your learning time.

The Habit of Teaching

Ancillary to learning, teaching plays a big role in the development of a true professional. IT professionals are notorious for being non-communicative (I’m no different, but I’ve been learning and improving).

Practice sharing information with everyone you interact with. Show how something works when you address an issue. Teach your juniors or peers about certain technologies or something new that you learned. Take the time to teach your kids (if you have any) something such as reading.

Teaching not only helps the person being taught but you yourself as you teach.

The Habit of Exercise

IT is a mostly sedentary job. Except for some jobs, you are mostly sitting down at a computer addressing issues or thinking up new solutions to challenges. This lifestyle has affected our health.

Create a habit of exercising every day for at least 15-30 minutes depending on the intensity. This could be a brisk walk or time at a gym. It doesn’t matter, just do it.

Try not to exercise with the aim of losing weight or building muscle. The goal here is to form a habit, so exercise at a regular period every day. Make it pleasurable by going with friends or a loved one, or take along some audio books so you can learn while you exercise.

Exercise beyond its physical benefits, has been shown to improve cognition in people. However, the benefits to cognition quickly go away when exercise stops, so keep exercising.

The Habit of Ideas

The reason why I’m trying to get into the habit of writing every day is that it helps me get ideas flowing, whether it’s for articles for my website, new solutions to problems or coming up with new strategies for my business.

IT professionals need ideas, so make it a habit to generate new ideas every day. Start with writing down one or two ideas, then work your way up to more and more, until every day you’re thinking up hundreds of new ideas. Some may be useful, others may not ever see the light of day, but you never know what one idea may lead to.

Writing helps me tremendously to get new ideas out, but you can try mind maps, or an app such as Trello, which are both really good for noting ideas visually.

By the way, the method of writing that I use is called free writing. A good book on the topic is Accidental Genius by Mark Levy.

Start Today

If you want to grow your career as an IT professional, start today. Choose just one habit that you would like to foster, and get going. To get ideas on how to form habits check out my article on my personal blog, “How to Grow and Improve yourself by forming new habits“.

What habits do you think are worth forming that I left out? Use the comment section below to share your ideas.

Original article: Use these habits to grow yourself and your organisation'">4 Habits worth forming to become a better IT Professional Use these habits to grow yourself and your organisation

6 Business lessons that I learned from losing weight and you should learn them too!

Sachin Ganpat — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 02:23:47 +0000

At the beginning of 2012 I was overweight, not by much, about 35 lbs. So I decided that it was the year that I lost weight and became healthier. By the end of that year I lost 15 lbs and thus still overweight.

I reviewed my program and implemented some new processes to help me, and by the end of March (within three months) I lost the final 20 lbs that I needed, and currently maintaining that weight.

This experience has taught me a few things that can be used by businesses to improve and help them reach their goals. Here are some of the lessons I learned.

1. Measuring progress is critical.

You can decide that you are going to lose weight by eating less and exercising more, but by how much of each do you mean? You need to note how many calories you intake by eating and expend by exercise, otherwise you are just making wild guesses and will not go far. Yes, you might lose weight, but not nearly as much as if you were accounting for those calories.

The same with business; if you decide on making certain changes, ensure that you determine how much you are going to change it by and then measure those changes as you go along.

2. What you measure is important.

Most people trying to lose weight look at only one measurement: how much weight they lose. The problem with that is that you cannot directly control your weight loss. You cannot will yourself to lose 10lbs. But you can control other things that your weight depends on – namely how many calories you eat and how much you burn by exercise. By looking primarily at those figures, you will start to see results. You will still look at your weight, but only as a secondary measure to determine if you are on the right track.

It is the same with business. You cannot will more profits, but you can control things like how much you spend on services or other expenses, and how many customers you speak to on a daily basis. By keeping track of those activities that you can directly control, you will have the type of profits you want.

3. The right activities matter.

When I first tried to lose weight I was doing a lot of cardio exercises and not merely eating as well as I should have. What I later learned is that I needed to improve my diet and include more weight training exercises and less cardio. With that my weight loss was far more dramatic.

What activities are your business following that may be outdated or just plain wrong? Read up on new and emerging business management research. Just like health, new findings may render the ways you thought you should follow as unbeneficial.

4. Be consistent.

We are hardwired for instant gratification, and we would often keep changing tactics when we don’t see results soon enough. I was doing a little of this, and when I didn’t get results I did a little of that. Exercised one week, dieted the next, then exercised two weeks later. As expected, I didn’t lose much during that time. Then I set a consistent routine of diet and exercise, which had a significant impact.

In your business, you can’t try one thing, then another and another without any type of structure and expect to see the results you want. Do your research, choose your method, give it serious effort and after some time determine if it’s been working or whether you need to improve it or change it altogether.

5. Determine your motivation.

Just wanting something is not enough! You must have a very good reason for wanting something, which resonates to cause real change. I wanted to lose weight, but it was not until I had a real reason that I got serious and lost most of my weight.

What is your reason for wanting to improve and grow your business? You might be motivated, but do you employees feel the same? You must have a reason that resonates with them as well; a rallying cry that everyone can agree with and want just as badly. Find that out and you will be unstoppable.

6. Sometimes you need help.

I got a lot of help in order to lose weight. I did research on the internet, read books, joined online forums and, one that really helped me, a mobile app for my phone. That app helped me keep track of my meals, exercise and weight and also gave me lots of excellent tips.

What help does your business need? Do you need information, support or tools? Ensure that you get the help you need to achieve the goals you want.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint!

There is a saying that weight loss is a marathon and not a sprint, which is to say, that it’s really a slow and steady effort to get where you’re going, otherwise you can burn out and never reach there. I understand that many businesses have shareholders and investors to report to, but you must also decide if you want a company that will last. While I know that nothing is guaranteed in business, continuous improvement is a proven way to keep a business going and growing.

May your hard work pay off, whether it’s in business or losing weight.

Original article: and you should learn them too!'">6 Business lessons that I learned from losing weight and you should learn them too!