MS Office and Email: About MS Office

MS Office or Microsoft Office is a suite of computer programs developed by Microsoft Although meant for all users, it offers different versions that cater specifically to students, home users and business users. All the programs are compatible with both, Windows and Macintosh.

Most Popular Office Products

Some of the most popular and universally used MS Office applications are:

• Microsoft Word: Allows users to type text and add images to a document. 
• Microsoft Exel: Allows users to enter data into a spreadsheet and create calculations and graphs. 
• Microsoft PowerPoint: Allows users to add text, pictures and media and create slideshows and presentations. 
• Microsoft outlook: Allows users to send and receive email. 
• Microsoft Outlook: Allows users toake drawings and notes with the feel of the pen on paper 
• Microsoft Access: Allows users to store data over many tables. 

Why Choose Microsoft Outlook? 

A popular email management choice especially in the workplace, Microsoft Outlook also includes an address book, notebook, web browser and calendar. Some major benefits of this program are:

• Integrated search function: You can use keywords to search for data across all Outlook programs. 
• Enhanced security: Your email is safe from gathered, junk mail and phishing website email. 
• Email syncing: Sync your mail with your calendar, contact list, notes in One Note and..... your phone!
• Offline access to email: No Internet? No problem!  Write ema8ls offline and send them when you're connected again. 

Computer and Internet basics: Basic Parts of a Computer

Computer and Internet basics: Basic Parts of a Computer 

• Central Processing Unit (CPU) : The brain of the computer. It interprets and carries out program instructions. 
• Hard Drive: A device that stored large amounts of data. 
• Monitor : The device that contains the computer screen where the information is visually displayed. 
• Mouse : A hand-held device used to point to items on the monitor. 
• Speakers: Devices that enable you to hear sound from the computer. 
• Printer: A device that converts output from a computer into printed paper documents. 

Basic Parts of a Keyboard 

• Arrow keys: Press these keys to move your cursor. 
• Space bar: Adds a space. 
• Enter / Return : Moves your cursing to a new line. 
• Shift: Press this key if you want to type a capital letter or the upper symbol of a key. 
• Caps Lock: Press this key if you want all the letters you type to be capital letters. Press it again to revert back to typing lowercase letters. 
• Backspace : Deletes everything to the left of your cursor. 

Basic Internet Terms 

• The Internet : A vast, international collection of computer networks that transfers information. 
• The World Wide Web: A system that lets you access information on the Internet. 
• Website: A location on the World Wide Web (and Internet) that contains information about a specific topic. 
• Homepage: Provides information about a website and directs you to other pages on that website. 
• Link/Hyperlink: A highlighted or underlined icon, graphic, or text that takes you to another file or object. 
• Web Address/URL: The address for a website. 
• Address Box: A box in the browser window where you can type in web address. 

Stress Management: What is Stress?

We say we are 'stressed' when we feel overloaded and unsure of aur well-being can be defined as a stress. It is important to note that stress can be good and bad. While good stress keeps us going, negative stress undermines our mental and physical health. This is why it is so important to manage negative stress effectively.

Causes of Stress 

Stress can be caused by internal and external factors.

Internal causes of stress6

• Constant worry 
• Rigid thinking 
• Unrealistic expectations 
• Pessimism 
• Negative self-talk 
• All in OR all out attitude 

External causes of stress

• Major life changes 
• Difficulties with relationships
• Having too much to do 
• Difficulties at work or in school 
• Financial diff6
• Worrying about one's children and/or family 

Symptoms of Stress6

Stress can manifest itself in numerous ways. Take a look at the cognitive, emotional, physical and behavioural symptoms of stress. 

Cognitive Symptoms 

• Memory problems 
• Concentration issues 
• Lack of judgement 
• Pessimism 
• Anxiety
• Constant worrying 

Emotional Symptoms 

• Depression 
• Agitation 
• Irritability
• Loneliness 
• Anxiety 
• Anger 

Physical Symptoms 

• Aches and pains 
• Diarrhoea or constipation 
• Nausea 
• Dizziness 
• Chest pain and/or rapid heartbeat 
• Frequent cold or flu like feelings 

Behavioural Symptoms 

• Increase or decrease in appetite 
• Over sleeping or not sleeping enough
• Withdrawing socially 
• Ignoring responsibilities 
• Consumption of alcohol or cigarettes 
• Nervous habits like nail biting and pacing 

Tips to Manage Stress 

The following tips can help you manage your stress better:

• Note down the different ways in which you can handle them various sources of your stress. 
• Remember that you cannot control everything, but you can control how you respond. 
• Discuss your feelings, opinions and beliefs rather than reacting angrily, defensively or passively. 
• Practice relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga or tai chi when you start feeling stressed. 
• Devote a part of your day towards exercise. 
• Eat healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. Avoid unhealthy foods especially those containing large amounts of sugar .
• Plan your day so that you can manage your time better, with less stress. 
• Say no to Peoria and things when required. 
• Schedule time to pursue your hobbies and interests. 
• Ensure you get at least 7-8 hours of sleep. 
• Reduce your caffeine intake. 
• Increase the time spent with family and friends. 

Anger Management: What is Anger Management?

Anger management is the process of:

1. Learning to recognize the signs that you, or someone else, is becoming angry
2. Taking the best course of action to calm down the situation in a positive way 

Anger management does not suppressing anger. 

Importance of Anger Management 

Anger is a perfectly normal human emotion. In fact, when managed the right way, anger can be considered a healthy emotion. However, if it is not kept in check, anger can make us act inappropriate and can lead to us saying or doing things that we will likely later regret. 

Extreme anger can:

• Hurt you physically: It leads to heart disease, diabetes, a weakened immune system insomnia, and high blood pressure. 
• Hurt you mentally: It can cloud your thinking and lead to stress, depression and mental health issues. 
• Hurt your career: It can result in alienating your colleagues, bosses, clients and lead to the loss of respect. 
• Hurt your relationships: It makes it hard for your family and friends to trust you, be honest with you and feel comfortable around you. 

This is why anger management ,or managing anger appropriately, is so important. 

Anger Management Strategies 

Here are some strategiesbthat can help you control your anger:

Strategy 1: Relaxation 

Something as simple as breathing deeply and looking at relaxing images works wonders on calming down angry feelings. 

Try this simple breathing exerciee:

1. Take a deep breath from your diaphragm (don't breathe from your chest) 
2. Visualize your breath coming up from your stomach 
3. Keep repeating a calming word like 'relax'or 'take it easy'(remember to keep breathing deeply while repeating the word) 
4. Picture a relaxing moment (this can be from your memory or your imagination)
5. Follow this relaxation technique daily, especially when you realize that you're starting to feel angry. 

Strategy 2: Cognitive Restructuring 

Cognitive restructuring means changing theanner in which you think. Anger can make you curse, swear, exaggerate and act very dramatically. When this happens, force yourself to replace your angry thoughts with more logical ones. For instance, instead of thinking.  'Everything is ruined ' change your mindset and tell yourself It's not the end of the world and getting angry won't solve this '.

Strategy 3: Problem Solving

Getting angry about a problem that you cannot control is a perfectly natural response. Sometimes, try as you may, there may not be a solution to the difficulty you are feces with. In such cases, stop focusing on solving the problem, and instead focus on handling and facing the problem. Remind yourself that you will do your best to deal with the situation, but that you will not blame yourself if you don't get the solution you desire. 

Strategy 4: Better Communication 

When you're angry, it is very easy to jump to inaccurate conclusions. In this case, you need to force yourself to stop reading, and think carefully about what you want to say, before saying it. Avoid saying the first thing that enters your head. Force yourself to listen carefully to what the other person is saying. Then think about the conversation before responding. 

Strategy 5: Changing Your Environment 

If you find that your environment I stayed cause of your angar ,try and give yourself a break from your surroundings. Make an active decision to schedule some personal time for yourself, especially on days that are very hectic and stressful. Having even a brief amount of quiet or alone time is sure to help calm you down. 

Tips for Anger Management 

The following tips will help you keep your anger in check:

• Take some time to collect your thoughts before you speak out in anger 
• Express the reason for your anger in an assertive, but non-confrintational manner ones you have calmed down. Do some from of physical exercise like running or walking briskly when you feel yourself getting angry. 
• Make short breaks part of your daily routine, especially during days that are stressful. 
• Focus on how to solve a problem that's making you angry, rather than focusing on the fact that the problem is making you angry. 

Time management :what is time management

Time management is the process organizing your time, and deciding how to allocate your time between different activities. Good time management is the difference between working smart (getting more done in less time) and working hard (working for more time to get more done).
Effective time management leads to an efficient work output, even when you are faced with tight deadlines and high pressure situations. On the other hand, not managing your time effectively results in inefficient output and increases stress and anxiety.

Benefits of time management

Time management can lead to huge benefits like:

• Greater productively 
• Better professional reputation 
• Higher chances for career advancement 
• Higher efficiency 
• Reduced stress
• Greater opportunities to achieve goals 

Not managing time effectively can results in undesirable consequences likr:

• Missing deadlines 
• Substandard work quality 
• Stalled career
• Inefficient work output 
• Poor professional reputation
• Increase in stress and anxiety

Traits of effective time managers

Some trails of effective time managers are:

• They begin projects early
• They set daily objectives 
• They modify planes if required, to achieve better results
• They are flexible and open -minded
• They inform people in advance if their help will be required
• They know how to say no
• They break tasks into steps with specific deadlines 
• They continually review long term goals
• They think of alternate solutions if and when required
• They ask for help when required
• They create backup plans

Effective time management techniques

You can manage your time better by putting in practice certain time management techniques. Some helpful tips are:

• Plan out your day as well as plan for interruptions. Give yourself at least 30 minutes to figure out your time plan. In your plan, schedule some some time for interruptions. 
• Put up a "do not disturb"sing when you absolutely have a complete a certain amount of work.
• Close your mind to all distraction. Train yourself to egnore ringing phones, don't replay to chat massages and disconnate from social media sites. 
• Delegate your work .tjis will not only help your work get done faster, but will also show you the unique skills and abilities of those around you. 
• Stop procrastinating. Remind yourself that procrastinating typically arises due to the fear of failure or the belief that you cannot do things as perfectly as you wish to do them. 
• Prioritize. List each task to be completed in order of its urgency or importance level.then focus on completing each task one by one. 
• Maintain a long of your work activities. Analyse the long to help you understand how efficient you are, and how much time is wasted every day. 
• Create time management goals to reduce time wastage. 

Creativity & Innovation: What is Creativity

Creativity means thinking outside the box. It means viewing this in new or from different perspectives, and producing. Simply having an idea makes you imaginative, not creative However, having an idea and acting on it makes you creative.

Characteristics of Highly Creative People 

Some characteristics of creative people are:

• They are imaginative and playful 
• They see issues from different angles 
• They notice small details 
• They have very little tolerance for boredom 
• They detest rules and routine 
• They love to daydream They are very curious 

What is Innovation?

There are many different definitions of innovation. In simple terms, innovation means turning an idea into a solution that adds value. It can also mean adding value by implementing a new product, service or process, or significantly improving on an existing product, service or process. 

Characteristics of Highly Innovative People 

Some characteristics of highly innovative people are: 

• They embrace doing things differently 
• They don't believe in taking shortcuts 
• They are not afraid to be unconventional 
• They are highly proactive and persistent 
• They are organized, cautious and risk-averse 

Honestly and work ethics:what is honestly?

Honestly is the quality of being fair and truthfully. It means speaking and acting in a manner that inspires trust. A person who is described as honest is seen as truthfull ansincere ,and as someone  who is not deceitful or devious and doesn't steal or cheat. There are two dimensions of honestly-one is honestly in communication and the other is honestly in conduct.
Honestly is an extremely important train because it results in peace of mind and builds relationships that are based on trust. Being dishonest, on the other hand results in anxiety and leads to relationships full of destrust and conflict.

Qualities of Honest People

Honest individuals have certain distinct characteristics. Some common qualities among honest people are:

1. They don't worry about what others think of them.they believe in being themselves _they don't bother about whether they are liked or disliked for their personalities. 
2. They stand up for their beliefs. They want think twice about giving their honest opinion, even if they are aware that their point of view lies with the minority. 
3. They are think skinned. This means they are not affected by others judging them harshly for their honest opinions.
4. They forge trusting, meaningful and healthy friendships. Honest people usually surround themselves with honest friends. They have falth that their friends will be truthful and upfront with them at all times.
5. They are trusted by their peers. They are seen as people who can be counted on for truthful and objective feedback and advice. 

Importance of Honestly in Entrepreneurs

One of the most important characteristics of entrepreneurs is honestly. When entrepreneurs are honest with their customers, employers and investors, it shows that they respect those that they work with. It is also important that entrepreneurs remain honest with themselves.

Let's look at how being honest would lead to great benefits for entrepreneurs.

• Honestly and customers: When entrepreneurs are honest with their customers it leads to stronger relationships, which in turn results in business growth and a stronger customer network. 
• Honestly and employees :when entrepreneurs build honest relationship with their employees, it leads to more transparency in the workplace, which results in higher work performance and better results.
•  Honestly and investors:for entrepreneurs, being honest with investors means not only sharing strengths but also candidly disclosing current and potential weaknesses, problems areas and solution strategies. Keep in mind that investors have a lot of experience with start -ups and are aware that all new companies have problems. Claiming that everything is perfectly fine and running smoothly is a red flag for most investors. 
• Honestly with oneself : The consequences of being dishonest with oneself can lead to dire results, especially in the case of entrepreneurs. For entrepreneurs to succeed, it is critical that they remain realistic about their situation at all times, and accurately judge every aspect of their enterprise for what it truly is. 

What are work ethics?

 Being ethical in the workplace means displaying values like honestly, integrity and respect in all your decisions and communncations.it means not it means not displaying negative qualities like lying, eating and stealing.

Workplace ethics play a big role in the possibilities of a company. It is an crucial to an enterprise as high morale and teamwork. This is why most companies lay down specific workplace ethics guidelines that must compulsorily be followed by their employees.

These guidelines are typically outlined in a company's employee handbook.

Elements of a strong work ethic 

An entrepreneur must display strong work ethics, as well as hire only those individuals who of a strong work ethic are:

• Professionalism :This involves everything from how you present yourself in a corporate setting to the manner in which you treat others in the workplace. 
• Respectfulness :This means remaining poised and diplomatic regardless of how stressful or volatile a situation is.
• Dependability :This mean always keeping your word, whether it's arriving on time for a meeting or delivering work on time. 
• Dedication : This means refusing to quit until the designated work is done, and completing the work at the highest possible level of excellence. 
• Determination : This means embracing obstacles as challenges rather than letting them stop you, and pushing ahead with purpose and resilience to get the desired results. 
•  Accountability : ccountability : This means taking responsibility for your actions and the consequences of your actions, and not making excuses for your mistakes. 
• Humility : This means acknowledging everyone's efforts and had work, and sharing the credit for accomplishments. 

How to Foster a Good Work Ethic?

As an entrepreneur, it is important that you clearly define the kind of behaviour that you expect from each and every team member in the workplace. You should make it clear that you expect employees to display positive work ethics like:

• Honestly : All work assigned to a person should be done with honesty, without any deceit or lies. 
• Good attitude : All team member should be optimistic, energetic, and positive. 
• Reliability : Employees should show up where they are supposed to be, when they are supposed to be there. 
• Good work habits: Employees should always be well groomed, never use inappropriate language, conduct themselves professionally at all times and so on. 
• Initiative : Doing the bare minimum is not enough. Every team member needs to be proactive and show initiative. 
• Trustworthiness : Trust is non-negotiable. If an employee cannot be trusted, it's time to and themselves. 
• Integrity : Each and every team member should be completely ethical and must display above board behaviour at all times. 
• Efficiency : Efficient employees help a company grow while inefficient employees result in a waste of time and resources.