Marcel van Marrewijk's Blog, page 13

Top 8 Reasons Why Every Kid Should Learn to Code

We all want our students to gain the life skills they need to achieve academic, personal, and eventually career success. But with so many important skills and extracurriculars available for them to learn, it can be hard to know what to prioritize.

Coding is one skill that stands out in the modern era. It offers kids a boost in important life skills, socialization, and schooling — as well as a headstart on their future careers.

Here are our top 8 reasons why every kid should learn to code.

1. Coding gives a new way to look at the world

Computer code is a way to describe reality — similar to English or any other language. A programming language, just like any natural language, has its own grammar and syntactic rules. Thus, learning to code is very much like learning a second language and provides many of the same advantages.

Each new language gives us a new perspective that is uniquely attuned to a certain environment. In the 21st century, fluency in coding languages like JavaScript, Python, or Scratch gives kids an excellent vocabulary for interacting with the world around them. It’s no wonder that programming has been described as the new literacy!

2. Coding fosters creativity

Taking a mental image and giving it form in the real world is the very heart of creativity. Even at an early age, students can harness their creative abilities to make animated graphics, websites, and interactive video games with their coding skills.

Coding is one of the few creative venues that results in truly interactive works — and there is nothing more exciting for kids than interacting with your own creations. This serves as an excellent supplement to other creative venues, giving kids another way to bring their artistic ideas to life.

3. Coding improves math and logic skills

Learning code teaches kids computational thinking — the process of breaking down complicated tasks into individual steps (like loops, conditionals, etc.) that a computer can understand. This is the same process used to break down complex arguments, and is a pillar of logical thinking. The more kids practice coding, the better their logic skills will become.

Math skills can often feel abstract and hard to grasp. This is particularly true as a student enters high school-level mathematics, a transition that many of us have struggled with. Coding projects can make math concepts feel more real. As students proceed to learn pre-algebra, algebra, and geometry, variables and other concepts that they have already garnered from computer science are sure to give them a headstart.

4. Coding helps children with problem-solving

Simple coding projects offer an excellent introduction to problem-solving skills at a young age. Coders learn how to break down complex problems into simpler ones. This is one of the most crucial and rewarding parts of problem-solving.

With coding, students can test solutions to make sure they work. Few other problem-solving experiences offer this benefit. When all else fails, they improve their Google research skills while seeking solutions, and who wouldn’t benefit from being better at independent research?

5. Coding projects help kids develop resilience

The ability to cope with failure is a vital life skill. Through coding, kids learn that failure is a stepping stone, not an ending. Recovering from a misstep happens quickly with coding. The process is less frustrating because students can try several solutions quickly. This makes it much easier to develop resilience without feeling overwhelmed.

Even just an hour of code a day through hands-on coding projects can teach kids the importance of persistence and resilience.

6. Coding makes learning fun

Computer programming projects give exciting results, that you can see right in front of your eyes. Your student can build stand-alone projects like Tic Tac Toe, an animated animal face drawing, or even their own video game design from their imagination.

They can also bring their coding skills into their current favorite toys and games. Minecraft add-ons are an amazing example. Kids can use code to enhance activities that they already know and love!

7. Coding is a social activity

Remember all those coding projects we already talked about? Your student can also show off what they built to their friends! Sharing how they built their favorite game reinforces what they have learned and improves their confidence. When your student shows off that new Minecraft add-on or video game they built, their friends are sure to be impressed.

And there’s another way to turn coding into a social activity: Hackathons for kids. These virtual competitions give kids a chance to work on collaborative problem-solving and building with a goal in mind. It’s hard to find better preparation for teamwork skills in school or work!

8. Coding prepares students for the careers of the future

Finally, we can’t end this list without mentioning careers. Coding skills are indicators of digital literacy — a necessity in this digital age! Nearly 50% of all jobs require some coding skills.

Of course, these skills are especially crucial for coding and computer science careers. Further, coders are proven problem solvers and logical thinkers, skills that are valuable in any career field.

Ready to get started learning code?

Individually, each of these is a strong reason for your student to learn coding. When combined, they make coding one of the most valuable skills for young kids in the 21st century!

Finding resources to help kids become computer programmers used to be hard. Over the past several years, the advent of online courses and guided coding projects has made the process much easier.

Juni Learning is here to help as well. We offer a range of private and group online coding courses for kids ages 8-18 that gives students solid foundations in computer science, logical thinking, and even creative subjects like website design. Every student is matched with an expert instructor who’ll be their personal guide into the world of coding.

Check out our coding curriculum or contact our admissions team to jump-start your student’s future today!

This article originally appeared on junilearning.com.

The post Top 8 Reasons Why Every Kid Should Learn to Code appeared first on Seats2meet.

5 Ways to Consistently Deliver Amazing Customer Service

Any business that has poor customer service isn’t likely to remain in business for long. Good customer service is almost a prerequisite to having a successful business, but amazing customer service is what sets a business apart from the competition.

Learning how to tailor your customer service to your customers to offer the best service is a guaranteed way to increase business and develop long-term relations. Unfortunately, not many customers will talk about or review good customer service as they would bad, but if a business can offer something amazing, something different from their competitors that really leaves an impression, then customers are sure to mention it. Let’s take a look at some of the ways to consistently deliver that standard of amazing customer service.

Communicate Quickly and Courteously

Whatever the product being offered or the type of customers the business attracts, one thing always remains true. The core tenant of amazing customer service is good communication. Customers can be very forgiving to issues, problems, and other elements if they are being communicated with regularly, quickly, and courteously. 

It may not always seem like there is information to convey, but even in such cases staying in touch with the customer, just to remind them they haven’t been forgotten about, will do wonders for the business’s reputation.

Understand Your Customers Needs

Very few businesses in the world offer a truly unique product. While there may be some differences between competing products from competing companies, it’s rare to find something unique and niche enough that customers can’t find it elsewhere if they desire. With that in mind, what sets a business apart from its competitors is superior quality and service, and to offer that the business needs to understand what it is they are looking for.

Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon has this to say on meeting the customer needs – “We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job to make the customer experience a little bit better.” 

Understanding the customers’ needs will help to direct and shape the type of customer service that should be offered. Keep in mind it’s not always about doing more, though. In a supermarket, most customers are looking for a fast, efficient, hands-off experience, whereas in a car dealership that same customer will likely be looking for a more attention orientated approach.

Fix Your Mistakes

Running a business is a complex operation. There can be hundreds of moving parts keeping a business running and serving its customers. Businesses are also run by humans, and even the most careful of us are prone to make mistakes occasionally. Often businesses try to make promises of flawless customer service and attention to detail, but the truth is that no business can guarantee that every customer will have a completely issue-free transaction. Even when the utmost care and attention is given to all business operations, the nature of a complex entity run by humans is that from time to time errors will happen—and that’s not even taking into account external factors such as supplier problems or technical issues.

The true test of stellar customer service isn’t promising to never have any problems, but instead how you deal with them when they arise. If a business admits their mistakes when something goes wrong and makes every effort possible to rectify it as a priority, then customers will generally have more respect for it than a business that makes promises that are impossible to keep.

Bree Bensley, National Marketing Manager of Narellan Pools, comments, “in order to attract the right talent to our team, we have a comprehensive approach to recruitment, with detailed and relevant job ads posted in a range of places. As an organisation, we are all about providing opportunities for career growth, so we always seek to find and create career pathways for the right candidates.” 

Offer Premium Service

Premium service doesn’t have to be the sole territory of high-end businesses selling expensive and tailor-made products. Whether the business is selling sports cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars or loaves of bread, targeting premium service is a guaranteed way to improve the overall customer service experience for customers. 

Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla, and CEO of SpaceX,  “I do think there is a lot of potential if you have a compelling product and people are willing to pay a premium for that. I think that is what Apple has shown. You can buy a much cheaper cell phone or laptop, but Apple’s product is so much better than the alternative, and people are willing to pay that premium.”  

What exactly premium service looks like will differ depending on the products and type of business. Start by examining both internal business practices and those of competitors to get a baseline for the type of service offered, before finding the ways it can be tweaked and improved to add a premium feel.

Plan for the Future

When trying to provide a customer service experience that stands out from the crowd, it’s important to not only consider the service offered today, but also how that service will apply, evolve, and adapt going into the future. Thinking about how the business’s customer service both applies in the future and how it may change and develop over time is crucial to maintaining a record of amazing customer service.

Without good customer service, a business is almost certainly doomed to failure. It’s exceptionally rare for a business to offer something so unique that customers can’t seek it elsewhere if they feel like the service they are offered doesn’t warrant them spending their money. Finding the right type of customer service to offer your clients can be a fine balance, but one that will pay off far into the future. When customers experience superior customer service they tend to develop strong brand loyalty. Using the tips in this article, you can evaluate and refine your customer service experience to guarantee you are always offering amazing customer service, ensuring you gain the repeat business that is the life-blood of most companies.

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Delen is mooi, maar zijn mensen er wel toe in staat?

Door Daan Weddepohl – oprichter van deelplatform Peerby

Let op: aan het einde van dit artikel geven we iets leuks weg!

“Mensen willen hun spullen niet uitlenen,” was een veelgehoorde reactie toen ik in 2011 voor het eerst het idee pitchte om via een website spullen te gaan delen. De meeste mensen zagen er niet veel toekomst in. Een van de weinige mensen die mijn pitch wel een kans gaf was Ronald van den Hoff, mede-oprichter van Seats2meet. Hij voorspelde in het boek Society 3.0 dat datzelfde jaar uitkwam, misschien wel als eerste Nederlander, het concept van de deeleconomie. Hij wilde me wel ontvangen toen ik hem naar aanleiding van dat boek een mail stuurde. Bijna een decennium is er voorbij gegaan sinds die eerste pitch. Hadden de nee-zeggers het bij het rechte eind? Was het een droom die te mooi was om waar te zijn? Een mooi moment om even stil te staan en te reflecteren.

Het plan dat ik in 2011 pitchte heette destijds “buurhuur”. Inmiddels heet het Peerby. Misschien heb je er wel eens van gehoord, misschien ook niet. Het is een website van spullen te lenen van anderen in de buurt. En ja, dat kan dus wel, bleek al snel. De meeste obstakels die men opwierp toen ik het verhaal voor het eerst verkondigde, bleken helemaal niet te bestaan. Ze gingen uit van een heel klassiek beeld van de mens als homo economicus; iemand die enkel economische beslissingen neemt, niemand vertrouwt en alleen handelt uit eigen belang. Ik heb gezien dat er van dat beeld geen spaander heel blijft als je het aan de werkelijke aard van mensen blootstelt. We handelen graag om een ander een plezier te doen, hoeven daar vaak niet per se iets voor terug en er is heel veel onderling vertrouwen. Dat mensen niets willen uitlenen is dus een fabeltje gebleken. Over de hele wereld ontstonden Peerby communities die actief met elkaar delen, van Sint Michielsgestel tot San Francisco. De klopboor van de buurman, de barbecue van een straat verderop, een DJ set elders in de stad, alles is te vinden in de buurt.

De dilemma’s van het delen bleken geen uitdaging te zijn voor de menselijk aard, maar eerder voor de menselijke fantasie. Waren er dan helemaal geen obstakels onderweg? Oh zeker wel, talloze. Maar die hadden vaak met hele andere dingen te maken. Met hoe je delen kostendekkend maakt bijvoorbeeld. De kosten van dat delen rezen de pan uit voor ons en we moesten hard werken om in de afgelopen jaren een manier te vinden om het hoofd boven water te houden. Daarover kan je meer lezen in mijn boek, 99 redenen om te stoppen en toch door te gaan, mocht je benieuwd zijn wat er wel allemaal op je pad komt als je een sociale onderneming wilt opzetten.

Maar wat betreft die menselijke aard: daar zit het volgens mij wel goed mee. Wij mensen zitten een stuk leuker in elkaar dan we soms denken. Ik nodig daarom iedereen dit jaar uit om alvast te gaan fantaseren over 2031. Wat zou er in de komende tien jaar allemaal mogelijk zijn als we beperkende mensbeelden loslaten en onszelf toestaan om te dromen over wat er *wel* allemaal zou kunnen?

Wil je ook ervaren dat mensen graag delen? Samen met Ronald en Seats2meet geven we Peerby jaarabonnementen met deeltegoed (t.w.v. €65) weg aan de eerste 10 mensen die zich aanmelden. Da’s een lekker begin van 2021. Meld je aan via deze link en je krijgt bericht of je bij de gelukkige 10 zit (en voor de rest hebben we ook iets leuks).

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Trend Event 2021

The annual MAEUR Trend Event will take place on the 20th of January 2021. Each year we pick the most exciting business trend to analyze and discuss. This time, the spotlight is on the Sharing Economy. Ronald van den Hoff, president and co-founder of Seats2meet will be presenting.

With over 1400 members, the Marketing Association Erasmus University Rotterdam is the biggest marketing study association in the Netherlands. The MAEUR is the official study association of the marketing Masters of both RSM (Rotterdam School of Management) and ESE (Erasmus School of Economics).

As one of the fastest growing business trends in history, the Sharing Economy is constantly evolving and disrupting traditional business sectors. The event offers the chance to take an inside glance into the inner-workings of Sharing Economy companies. No matter the size of the innovation, whether it is creating a long-lasting social impact for the communities the business interacts with or creating a well-functioning shared economy model, we are interested in hearing about it.

It will be especially interesting to learn about the future-outlook of the Sharing Economy and how Sharing Economy companies are dealing with difficulties of the current situation.

We are very excited!

Details and Subscribe here

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How to Maintain a Healthy Body When You Work 9-to-5

Maintaining a healthy body should be a goal for all of us. You don’t have to be obsessed with working out, counting calories, and eating right to keep your body in good health, but a little bit of effort and work will go a long way. Even small amounts of effort and changes to our routines can have substantial and long-lasting impacts on our health. Finding the time to maintain a fit and healthy body can be a challenge when you work a full-time 9-to-5 job, though. 

Bring Your Own Lunch

Eating the right things can be a particular challenge when you have a full and busy working day ahead. Unhealthy convenience food is often the choice of 9-to-5 workers looking to save some extra time for relaxing during their lunch break. Convenience food isn’t necessarily bad as an occasional indulgence, but wouldn’t it be better if you could save that indulgence for evening and weekends rather than to save some extra time at work? Bringing your own lunch is a great way to give yourself the choice of tasty and healthy options, and save even more time since you won’t have to head out and find something at lunchtime. Using meal-prep techniques, you can easily prepare a week’s worth of lunches in only a few hours at the weekend, meaning all you have to worry about during the week is what you are going to do with the extra time.

Carry A Large Bottle of Water

Water is essential for life and therefore a healthy body; we are after all made from 60%+ water. Drinking water regularly throughout the day helps your body operate at its best, making you feel more energised and focused, which has the added benefit of lowering stress. Even if your workplace has easy access to a water cooler, kitchen, or fountain, remembering and motivating yourself to go and take regular drinks can be hard—regular drinking is better than waiting till you feel thirsty. Bringing a large bottle of water from home ensures that you will always have water on you and will help to develop the habit of taking a regular drink. You can also add flavourings or fruit to your bottle if you want something a little more interesting.

Squeeze A Workout In

Regular daily exercise is one of the best ways to improve your overall health and wellbeing. Not only does regular exercise have direct general health benefits like improving circulation and cardiovascular health, but it is also a great way to stay at your target weight and reduce your stress levels. Fitting regular daily exercise in can be hard when you work 9-to-5, most of us want to relax outside of working rather than doing more work, albeit of a different sort. Regular exercise doesn’t have to be long or intensive, though. A short walk or workout squeezed into your day in the morning, at lunch, or after dinner provides you with all the benefits you need. You can even incorporate it into existing activities by deciding to walk home from work rather than driving or using public transport. It doesn’t matter so much what form the exercise takes, or how intensive it is, so much as that you get up and move at some point each day.

Exercise at Home

In addition to lighter every day exercise, doctors and health professionals recommend you perform at least an hour of intensive activities a week. Finding the time to go to the gym or head out for an additional intensive workout can be hard, and risks eating into what little leisure time you have. Exercising at home allows you to get a more intense workout while minimising the effort and time it takes, even if it’s going for a few laps in the pool, it will make a huge difference to your health.

Get To Bed Early

A good night’s rest is a core element to keeping your body healthy, especially if you are working long and stressful days. Generally, it is recommended to get 6 – 8 hours sleep a night, with anything under or over risking long-term health problems. Sleep has many great direct health benefits, allowing your body to recharge itself, but it also has some excellent secondary benefits. The earlier you can get to bed, the earlier you can get up giving you more time in the mornings to fit in exercise or a healthy breakfast in. Lack of sleep has also been shown to cause an increase in stress levels which take a toll on all aspects of our health.

It can often feel like a challenge to put in the extra work to stay fit and healthy after a long day at your job. It’s something that requires conscious effort and thought, at least in the beginning. As time goes on, however, the tasks you perform to maintain your health will become second nature, an automatic part of your routine requiring very little effort and thought. The work you put in is worth it, though. A healthy lifestyle and body pays us back in immeasurable amounts both in the short-term and as we age. There is no better time to start focussing on a healthier body than the present.

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Seats staat niet stil!

De maatregelen worden verlengd. Met een diepe zucht als gevolg voor veel mensen en ondernemers. We zijn er klaar mee. Begrijpelijk. Toch gaat onze gezamenlijke verantwoordelijkheid boven alles. De verantwoordelijkheid voor elkaar, voor ieders gezondheid en toekomst. Dat geldt ook voor onze 5 hoofdlocaties, die daarom gesloten blijven voor co-working. Daarnaast heeft elke locatie zo zijn eigen focus. Denk aan meetings in Virtual Reality, online co-working en een tool die werkplekken managen makkelijk maakt. Je leest er in dit artikel meer over.

Niet stilzitten

Stilzitten is niks voor Seats. Daarom zetten we ons samen in voor verbeterd (virtueel) ontmoeten. Zo kun je straks hybride events organiseren waarbij meerdere locaties betrokken zijn. Een deel van de bezoekers sluit online aan, de anderen in S2M ruimtes verspreid over het land. Zo helpen we bewegingsstromen (en CO2 uitstoot;-) te verminderen en stimuleren toch het samenkomen in events.

Essentieel ontmoeten

De deuren zijn dicht. Maar er zijn uitzonderingen. Daarom hebben we besloten op aanvraag de deur te openen voor wat we noemen ‘essentiële ontmoetingen’. Zo kregen we aanvragen van bijzondere partijen. Die bijvoorbeeld geen eigen locatie hebben en voor wie het noodzaak is om elkaar te zien. In zulke gevallen willen we graag helpen. Dus: voelen jullie de noodzaak tot fysiek ontmoeten, maar ontbreekt de plek? Neem dan contact op met één van onze locaties, we denken graag mee!

Digital Office HostWerken is voorgoed veranderd. We gaan soms naar kantoor, dan naar een koffietentje, werken thuis of zoeken een co-werkplek. Hoe ondersteun je die beweging als organisatie, zodat je in verbinding blijft met je mensen? Daar helpt de Digital Office Host jullie bij. Via deze simpele tool boeken medewerkers een werkplek op kantoor of ergens anders. Doe je mee? www.digitalofficehost.nlHybride trainingen

Bij S2M Amersfoort CS kun je als trainer je hart ophalen. Er zijn meeting spaces ingericht met speciale tools waarmee je eenvoudig jouw hybride sessie organiseert. De trainer is met een deel van de groep op locatie aanwezig en de anderen sluiten online aan. Een mooie oplossing die het beste van twee werelden combineert!

Work & Connect, online coworkingHeb je behoefte aan meer verbinding en echt ‘samenwerken’, ook al kan dat niet op een fysieke locatie? Doe dan – elke dinsdag – mee aan Work & Connect!, conscious coworking, georganiseerd door S2M Amersfoort. Meer weten? Bel 033-2022190WebVR: Ontmoeten in Virtual Reality‘The future is now’, bij Seats Utrecht: je kunt er vanaf 2021 futuristisch vergaderen via Virtual Reality! Je checkt in via je laptop, kiest een een avatar en stapt een virtueel event of meeting binnen op de locatie. Nieuwsgierig hoe dat werkt?
Voor een impressie van WebVR op onze locatie check hier de video. Meer info? Bel 030-2393838Hybride en online mogelijkhedenIn deze onzekere tijden is de kans groot dat niet al je deelnemers bij je vergadering of training kunnen zijn. Onze locaties in Brabant bieden daarom de mogelijkheid om bijeenkomsten te organiseren in een hybride vorm. Een deel van de mensen is dan fysiek aanwezig, denk aan de sprekers of workshopbegeleiders. De andere deelnemers haken virtueel aan in een online omgeving. Onze locaties hebben alle faciliteiten voor zulke meetings in huis en zorgen bij elke reservering voor een link naar een virtuele vergaderruimte!Meer weten?
Seats2meet Eindhoven: 040-780 5039
Seats2meet Tilburg: 013-208 4052
Seats2meet ‘s-Hertogenbosch: 073-690 0515Via jouw persoonlijke profiel, je passport, blijf je met ons in verbinding. En met alle andere professionals uit ons netwerk natuurlijk!

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How Spirituality Can Reduce Stress and Prolong Lifespan

 

All of us face stress sometime in our lives, but some among us suffer from chronic stress, which is a paralysing psychological condition with far-reaching health effects. I, myself, have been dealing with clinical stress for the past two years.

My inability to cope with the stress caused me to leave my job, and it affected my home life as well. Initially, I brushed it off as everyday anxiety. However, soon I started to overthink and panic about every small thing.

Like most people, I tried to manage it by distracting myself; I busied myself in household chores such as laundry, cooking, and carpet cleaning. I tried long walks and then joined a box kicking class at the local gym. Although they worked temporarily, nothing helped me deal with my stress effectively.

Then my friend came to my rescue. They suggested that I go to a spiritual retreat. At first, I was skeptical, but then my desperation to get my life back took over, and I booked myself a spot in the retreat. In just a few days, I observed a big change in myself. My thought process began to evolve from the constant self-doubt and anxiousness to one of calm deliberation and restraint.

I started loving myself and felt the internal peace, which was missing in me for a long time. Since it helped me so much today, I am going to share how you can deal with stress and prolong your lifespan with spirituality.

Let’s begin:

Spirituality and Stress

Spirituality is a great stress healer. This is how it works:

Understanding the Purpose of Life

When you are close to God, you know what the core purpose of life is. As a result, you start ignoring less important things. Stress eliminates the purpose of life, whereas spirituality primarily focuses on it.

Accepting the Challenges

Spirituality makes you learn about the will of God. When you know whatever is happening is not in your control, you start accepting challenges and start worrying about controlling your life. Once you accept a challenge, you can then think of concrete solutions for that challenge rather than being upset that it happened.

Building Network

Some people find spirituality in connecting with friends, while others relate it with nature, mosque, or church. No matter where you find spirituality, it helps you build your network. When you meet new people in life, you learn from their experiences and develop a feeling of fraternity, which helps you manage stress more effectively.

Staying Healthy

Spirituality makes you realize the blessings in life. As a result, you start consuming healthy meals, fruits, and vegetables that are a blessing of God. Healthy food makes you feel good, which in turn reduces stress levels.

Gaining Peace

In our daily life, we get so involved in getting things done. Rushing from one project to another, which stresses us stress out. However, mediation tactics and praying detaches us from the materialistic and superficial things around us. We start accepting positivity in life and gain internal peace. This peace is enough to combat stress.

Accepting Stress and Moving On

Spirituality makes you accept negative events in life. When you meditate and find your inner soul, you consider stress as normal. You realise that stress is common and inevitable. Even in these stressful events, spirituality makes you move on. It is because you know, who you are, what the purpose of your life is, and what your journey is.

Discovering Strengths and Accepting Weaknesses

When you get involved in spirituality, you start knowing about your inner soul. You discover your strengths and accept your weaknesses. Stress, which is often the result of comparison with others, is alleviated. We start working on your weaknesses instead of crying on them.

Spirituality and Life Span

Several studies have been conducted in the field of gerontology. It is the study of the human lifespan. Researchers have strong beliefs on the spiritual and emotional needs of adults and older individuals. Older people are more spiritual in comparison to young ones because they find peace and devote their entire life to spirituality.

Since spirituality is indirectly proportional to stress, it helps in improving health and mental well-being. This becomes a cause of a longer life span. The following reasons show how spirituality is connected to life span:

Feeling Grateful

Spirituality makes us realise the importance of everything we have. With spirituality, things that are taken for granted convert into a blessing. This makes us show gratitude towards God. When we feel grateful, we realise how many things we have. It brings the feeling of happiness and satisfaction. Thus, the stress level is reduced, and overall health gets a positive impact. When health is good, a feeling of positivity is present, and stress is absent, longevity comes.

Looking Forward to Positivity

Many individuals feel low and lose hope in life. These moments of distress reduce the will-power of moving forward, which affects our health negatively. A stressed person is more likely to have bad eating habits, which lead to a shorter life. In extreme cases, stress even leads to suicidal thoughts.

However, spiritual people have a more positive outlook on life. They never feel down and wait for the good events to come in life. This way of being optimistic is imperative for increasing life span. For instance, a COVID-19 patient can easily lose hope and stop taking a healthy diet. On the other hand, a patient with high spirituality keeps on consuming healthy nutrition in the hope of getting better.

Learning from Failures

Hardships and challenges are inevitable in life. Spiritual people think about difficult times as a test from God. They also believe in getting success one day in life. That is why they positively take every failure. They understand which new lesson they have learned from the failure and try to improve. It is because of their strong connection with God. They try repeatedly and never lose hope. This attitude of dealing with failure never lets a spiritual person feel distressed. They always dig out a positive impact from the negative events.

Wrapping It Up

In short, people who have a close connection with God have a positive perspective on life. The mediation techniques and spirituality help in reducing highly alleviated stress levels because spiritual people understand the core purpose of life; they build new connections, accept every challenge, stay healthy, and discover their strengths.

Additionally, spirituality helps in prolonging the life span. Spiritually strong people feel grateful for life’s blessings, learn from the hardships of life, and always look forward to the positive events. The amalgamation of all these things helps in improving the physical and mental health of a person.

What is your experience with spirituality? Have you felt a difference in stress levels? Share your views with us!

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S2m, Bangladesh is connected with VR world!

“VR is the future”, That’s the word I heard back in 2017 in online. I was just an underdog boy who is struggling for an identity and getting into a platform or network.  I looked into online and saw only tech companies and tech guys are having it and some are quite expensive as hell. I love to dream anyway. I always wanted to have a VR play with the new world. I bought a cheap VR from the Chinese brand Xiaomi back in 2017 and it needed a phone to watch only 180 degree videos, nothing more than that.

Here is a photo of that VR named Xiaomi VR play 2. 

*April 16, 2018.

I always wanted to experience real VR but here in Bangladesh it’s not that popular and you can’t experience it in an open source location like Permanent future lab. So I always just have to watch youtube videos. 

But things changed when my buddy Jurjen de Vries traveled to Bangladesh last year. I experienced the VR that I know and I always wanted to experience it. He had an oculus quest 1 by facebook which works without any help from a computer. Jurjen showed VR to the villagers, teachers in a school and everyone he could get to put eyes inside it, loved his enthusiasm to share tech.

I was amazed to see the view and games and 360 videos looked real. Here is a photo of me experiencing VR in front of visitors of seats2meet and helping them to view it.

* 4 february 2020.

My heart broke when he got back home. I start to miss two of them, Jurjen of course and the VR too.

Time flies and Oculus quest 2 by facebook was released in October and Jurjen told me he is sending me a surprise, fortunately I read and follow Tech news and I know what product comes in the market and I knew it was an oculus. He sent it via DHL and it took 2 months to come and finally last week I unboxed the parcel and experimented with my tech buddies.

You can watch the video on my youtube channel, here is the link— https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MInKw1wT9Kk.

The reaction from everyone was so amazing! This is most of their first VR experience and they watched 360 degree VR videos, played tennis, boxing and many more. I used my chrome book to cast the VR experience so that others can also see and enjoy when one is playing with it. That worked otherwise it would be boring to wait for the turn.

You can see how much everyone loved VR by their smile. I captured it as a candid shot.

I unboxed with the tech dudes in the town I live in which is 15 min away from my village where the seats2meet location actually is. It was my marriage ceremony so I had to close the location for 4 days. After setting up the device it was time for the real meetup in seats2meet Bangladesh location.

Sharp 4 pm, Some of my dudes came and they know what VR is from Jurjen’s last meetup. They didn’t know I had a VR on my backpack and when I took it out they had a wow moment and this time I didn’t need to teach them how to use or play with it. 

We had a lot of fun and I showed how I met Jurjen and Nick van Breda in the VR in the rec room and they loved it. 

VR is my dream gadget and I am sharing it with anyone who wishes to experience it and spending hours exploring and having fun and meeting new friends on oculus social.

Looking forward to meeting and seeing the world through VR and we all will be on one party! 

Thanks for reading and if you want to help the movement of seats2meet, Bangladesh where we are sharing technology with the remote village people who are living below poverty line and inspire kids, youth and all of them to learn tech.



Here is our patreon page link for help———- https://www.patreon.com/s2mBD.

See you on next blog.

The post S2m, Bangladesh is connected with VR world! appeared first on Seats2meet.

Learning: Your Secret Weapon to Employee Engagement

In an immensely competitive environment, firms struggle to stay productive. Along with other factors, employee engagement is significantly related to productivity, customer service, revenues, and employee turnover. Organizations where employees are truly engaged face fewer troubles and work smoothly. Such employees develop emotional connectivity with the business and work for a collective cause. 

Unfortunately, engaged employees make up only 1/3rd of the total employees in any business. As per a Gallup study, 17% of the U.S workforce is disengaged, and just half of them were engaged. In the year 2017, research was conducted by the engagement institute; they found that the total loss of employee engagement was estimated to be $500 billion annually. Let us now see the key differences among engaged, disengaged, and not engaged employees:

Engaged Employees

Engaged employees are highly passionate about their work. They always go the extra mile to achieve organizational objectives. 

Disengaged Employees 

These employees always show reluctance at work. They are unhappy and often undermine the positive efforts of others. 

Not Engaged Employees

Such employees are only concerned with their routine work. They do not worry about the firm’s goals and objectives. Thus they do not willingly make additional efforts for the firm. 

Today, firms are actively working to boost employee engagement. Although various tactics can be used to increase employee engagement, learning, and development has proven to be very effective. Learning and development is effective because it’s mutually beneficial for the employee and the employer; employees are willing to work hard if they get something worthwhile in return.

Learning and development do just that; it improves employee’s skills, brings growth in career, and makes them passionate about work. Here are a few things to focus on in L&D:

Communicating Objectives and Goals 

A deeper connection should be developed with employees. For this, they should know why the firm is doing some business. In many cases, employees only know what the firm is doing. However, knowing the reason, passion, and motivation is highly important. For instance, an internet marketing services firm is planning to expand its service in a new region. 

Employees should not just know about the expansion. They should know how the new expansion will increase revenue, how this additional revenue can benefit employees, and how it can contribute to their career growth. Instead of just communicating goals in employee orientation, weekly and monthly goals should be communicated. 

When employers communicate goals, employees are more likely to work hard to achieve them as they feel entrusted with responsibility. Moreover, employees are more willing to learn new skills and hone previous ones because they want to excel and grow as the company grows. Besides this, goal achievement should be celebrated to show employees the benefit of learning and getting results.

Teamwork and Cooperation 

Training sessions also develop an environment for teamwork. Since collective sessions are arranged, employees learn to work in a group and start taking more interest in work. Similarly, teamwork helps employees in understanding the strengths and shortcomings of other employees. They learn to communicate effectively, cooperate, and share common goals. This sense of coordination and cooperation among employees give rise to employee engagement. 

Focusing on Individual Motivators 

A common misconception among several managers is about motivators. Money, which is often thought of as a key motivator, is not always a motivator for all. Some employees consider recognition as highly motivating, while others consider career growth. It is, therefore, imperative to determine the key motivators for individual employees. Today, most employees are motivated by learning and development; they want to work only if the job is teaching them employable skills. Therefore, you can keep your workforce engaged by giving them new things to learn each day; if they are bored, they will be disinterested and less productive.

L&D of Virtual Employees 

Since more and more employees are working remotely, managers need to make coherent plans for virtual learning and development. In comparison to on-site training and workshops, virtual learning is highly imperative. Since employees are not physically present in the firm, the chances of turning into disengaged employees are higher. Comprehensive course material should be emailed to every employee. Besides this, video-conferencing should be used for virtual training. Time- management and multi-tasking games can also be used for boosting productivity and employee engagement. 

Embracing Change 

Every firm experience change at some stage. Employees often show resistance to change. Since this change comes along with various risks, resistance to accepting change is normal. However, managers can mitigate the risks and prepare employees for accepting change. This can be done through regular training and development. Training to deal with change involves using new methodologies, new tools, and a new mindset. If appropriate training and impeccable assistance are provided, employees will perfectly develop the new skills to accept change. Since they already have the skills, work will be smoother, and employee engagement will increase. 

Improving Employee Retention

Employees love being valued. Investing in training sessions is one way to show the worth of employees. When employees notice ample career growth in any firm, they resist from going to any other workplace. Thus, engagement develops automatically. Since the training is usually based on performance and designation, employees work hard because they want to get the next big position. Thus, training sessions should be planned at multiple stages; skill development sessions should also be offered for boosting employee skills. Focus on industry exposure is imperative, and ample growth opportunities should be highlighted. 

Leadership 

Employees love to become leaders. However, every employee cannot prove to be an ideal leader. If leadership learning is included from the very beginning, employees can learn the skills required to lead a team. It is another opportunity for employees to grow their careers. Thus, when they get leadership training, they start getting involved in the firm. This directly improves productivity and employee morale. 

Wrapping It Up 

In short, modern-day management is different. Today, if a firm takes good care of the employees, employees will take care of the firm’s objectives. Employee engagement is an asset. This asset is often treated as a competitive edge over various competitors because employee engagement is vital for productivity. Firms can develop many coherent strategies for building employee engagement. 

However, learning and development is an ideal secret to develop engaged employees. L&D increases the soft and technical skills of employees, ensure career growth, give industry exposure, improve employee morale, and develop coordination among teams. When employees realize the countless benefits of learning and development, they engage actively in the firm. Thus, employee training is directly proportional to employee engagement. 

 

The post Learning: Your Secret Weapon to Employee Engagement appeared first on Seats2meet.

Permanent Bèta and a journey through the art of tea

Binnen ons netwerk zijn we doorlopend bezig dingen sneller, beter en slimmer te doen, maar ook om lastige situaties om te buigen en iets te creëren. Ook nu.

Daarom dit keer een kort artikel – ja echt – middenin de lockdown, middenin coronatijd.

Het is een inkijkje in de culturele wereld rondom (Dilmah) thee, in mijn persoonlijke achtergrond en in een nieuw project(!).

Koffie





Het oude normaal

Ik was nooit zo’n liefhebber van thee. Ooit was er alleen Pickwick met 1 of 2 smaken. Mijn ouders leerden me van jongs af aan filterkoffie en Wiener Melange drinken. Wat associaties over thee deden de rest. En met mijn eerste baan als pensioenspecialist wilde het wel met de automaat koffie. Alleen ‘s ochtends gingen er al zo’n 6 tot 8 bekertjes cappuccino doorheen. And counting! Want zeker als er teamoverleg volgde liep dat met zwarte koffie nog verder op. In het weekend zat ik dan met een koffiekater. Dat vond ik normaal.

Pas toen ik weer eens een cholesteroltest had gedaan, stopte ik subiet met de cappuccino.

Een half jaar lang…

En het nieuwe: de weg vooruit is nooit de weg terug

Daarna nam ik 1 cappuccino bij diezelfde automaat op dezelfde afdeling. Ik was er binnen het uur letterlijk ziek van. Zo gaat dat als je zeg maar ‘afkickt’.

Inmiddels werk ik al een jaar of 6 niet meer voor een werkgever. Een andere associatie is weggevallen. Afgelopen jaar brak ik definitief met de koffie dankzij een graan- en vruchtenkoffiesoort: A. Vogel Bambu. Deze vervanger bestaat vooral uit cichorei, tarwe en eikeltjes.

De truc is dat je niet in één keer overschakelt, want dan gaan je smaakpapillen theater zitten maken, maar dat je het 50/50 combineert met gewone koffie. En vervolgens breng je het deel koffie dat je nog gebruikt, telkens een stukje terug. Totdat je verhemelte volledig gewend is.

Thee





Celestial Seasonings

Nu kwam ik enkele jaren terug bij het Permanent Future Lab op een Tech Tuesday dankzij Isaac Shawky voor het eerst in contact met biologische thee: Celestial Seasonings. Het was Organic Ginger & Turmeric; voornamelijk gember en kurkuma dus. En ook al is het aanbod bij Seats2meet Utrecht CS ruim en gezond, van deze theesoort had ik nog nooit gehoord.

Van kurkuma oftewel geelwortel wel. Dat is bijvoorbeeld het hoofdbestanddeel in kerrie. Verder is de werkzame stof, het Curcuminoïde extract, behulpzaam bij allerlei processen in ons lichaam:

“Het is een sterke ontstekingsremmer. Bij sommige voedingssupplementen ligt de verhouding tussen dit Curcuminoïde extract / Curcuma longa op 54/280 μg, maar meestal is dit 95/100 μg of 100/105 μg. Zo’n 95%.

Organic Ginger & Turmeric thee bevat zo’n 20% kurkuma en daarvan is dan ongeveer 14% Curcuminoïde werkzaam,” aldus de medewerksters en filiaalmanager van G&W Kampen.

Maar dit is maar één van de vele toepassingen die kurkuma heeft. Vanwege het pigment kun je het ook als verf gebruiken en ermee schilderen.

USDA Organic

De thee had het keurmerk USDA Organic. Normaal gesproken let ik er niet zo op, maar dit keurmerk kwam ik eerder tegen op organisch vogelvoer. Mijn ouders hadden heel lang een volière en ik heb ook graag dwergpapegaaien, zebravinken, kanaries of andere vogels als huisdier. Alleen gingen ze allemaal met 5 à 10 jaar na een ziekbed dood.

Volgens (gepensioneerd) dierenarts en gedragstherepaut Jan Hooimeijer van de Adviespraktijk voor Vogels in Meppel komt dit door slecht voer: standaard zaadmengsels, ei- en krachtvoer. Met betere voeding kunnen vogels wel 35 jaar(!) een levensgezel zijn.

Hij beval me Harrison’s Bird Foods aan dat alleen bij dierenartsen verkrijgbaar is. Met dit keurmerk.

Dilmah thee en Permanent Furure Lab op een nieuwe locatie

Terwijl ik steeds meer de Celestial Seasonings ben gaan uitproberen, is er nog niet zo lang geleden in Amsterdam een nieuw Permanent Future Lab geopend in Het Sieraad. Waar ook Dilmah Benelux kantoor houdt.

Uiteraard wordt ook hier weer gave technologie gedeeld zoals een Pancakebot, een EEG-hersenscanner, een SCiO, een 3D-Pen Starterskit.

En uit een Dilmah welkomstpakket – compleet met timer voor de verschillende trektijden – heb ik al diverse theesoorten uit kunnen proberen. Onder andere: Dilmah Peaceful, Dilmah Organic, Dilmah Infusion, Dilmah Dreamy.

Tot nog toe zijn mijn ervaringen uitermate positief! Allevier de soorten zijn fris van smaak. En stevig en uitgebalanceerd (licht)zoet. Belangrijk, omdat het anders te sterk wordt. Vooral bij infusion-series kan de smaak extreem sterk worden. Ook wordt er bij andere merken te vaak kruidnagelen in combinatie met zoethout en kaneel gebruikt. En hoewel gezonder, is het dan soms net of je suiker gebruikt.

Meetup & events

Vanwege het coronavirus liggen fysieke events op de Permanent Bèta Meetup Groep stil. 

Wel hopen we je na de lockdown weer te mogen begroeten op onze nieuwe locatie in Amsterdam, Postjesweg 1.

Onder het genot van een kopje Dilmah thee!

De toegang, koffie, water en natuurlijk de thee(!) zijn op basis van sociaal kapitaal. Je betaalt niet met geld, maar met je aanwezigheid en het delen van kennis, oplossingen en/of technologie, gadgets die je bij je hebt.

Bij @DilmahNL is er plek gecreëerd om de meest innovatieve tech te ontdekken onder het genot van een kopje thee. O.a. @bartroorda deelt daar een Oculus Quest VR bril. Tof zo’n @permanentfuture #PFLab weer in Amsterdam te zien! Kom ook naar de Postjesweg. https://t.co/PIADR3rGP5 pic.twitter.com/EbOSCUfK5o

— Jurjen de Vries (@jurjendevries) August 17, 2020

Digitaal buurten

Je kunt natuurlijk wel digitaal toegang krijgen tot ons netwerk. Er is een Permanent Bèta open Facebook groep en op Twitter kun je ons vinden onder Twitter handle @PermanentBetaNL.

Ook is er een Permanent Bèta community op Okuna (eerder Openbook).

Op aanvraag kun je hiervoor per mail een uitnodiging krijgen. Laat hiervoor ajb een reactie (zonder e-mailadres) achter in de comments!

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