Benefits of being organised

Less Stress means you can Relax more 

 “Organised people are just too lazy to search for stuff.” That’s cute, but I’d rather be the “lazy” one mentioned in the punchline. Less time spent running around means more time. Just, more time to do what I want to do, like, spending time with your friends and family.

Less Stress also means Improved health. The stress I mentioned earlier, which I feel when things start to get out of control, does not promote good health. 

And if you are a parent, you are setting a good example for the kids. There was a time when I spent most of my time behind my computer, working on this or that. I felt productive, sure, but I also worried about the message I was sending to the kids. Adults work all the time? My job is more important than them? I want my kids to become productive, contributing adults, of course, but I want them to enjoy life, too, and that absolutely includes time spent not working.

Greater productivity. When you know where things are, what your goals are, and take care of the spontaneous work as it appears, you’ve got significantly more time and energy for the big goals in life.

An organised life takes some doing, and you’re going to slip up. No one is clean and clear all day, every day! But when you strive to do the best you can, and this is the start (hold organiser in the right hand)

Diversity

Every year at AUT University in collaboration with AuSM organised a diversity week to celebrate diversity in action in our everyday life. We live in a diverse society. Every person you meet at university or in the workplace is different. Since the day I came to New Zealand, this great diversity has impacted the way I communicate and interact with people. I find myself lucky to live in this beautiful city where people from different parts of the world come and live together in peace and harmony.

Many migrants who are living in Auckland today come from a country faced with conflicts, both internal and external. According to Statistics New Zealand, in 2013, there were almost 1 in 4 people that are 23.1 percent people living in Auckland region identified with one or more Asian ethnic groups, compared with 1 in 5 people that is 18.9 percent, in 2006. We have all heard from media sources, the majority of conflict today is happening in Asia.  Every nation is plagued with numerous problems. I am migrant myself coming from India. I know the political problems faced by the country with its neighbours. But here in New Zealand, although our homelands are at war with their neighbours, we live in peace and harmony. I have not just friends, but good friends, the friends that I can call them my best friends are from Asian countries. Even I don’t have any problems to interact with people from Pakistan. I could see true diversity here in New Zealand in regards everyday lifestyle and occupational pursuits.

Today when I look at my photo album, hard or soft version, I see great diversity, a beautiful bond and unconditional love among all the friends from around the world. While the political leaders will take a long time to solve the problems. We citizens of the nations have already overcome the problem through social equality and are living with peace together in New Zealand, far away from our homeland. I hope the world leaders can learn from the citizens of the nations and how we live our daily lives when making policies. 

What attracted me to join Toastmasters Club in Auckland?

For me giving presentations and going for the interview would always give me a fright. However, I am part of a drama team and I love performing in front of an audience. When it comes to giving presentations or interviews, I am not able to get the right words at the right time.  I love acting, especially in dramas. I came to know about toastmasters when Steve and Maxine visited my class of hospitality career development. They brought with them the range of table topics, which we can choose from the pool of topics and speak about it for 90 seconds and they evaluate us by providing us commendations and recommendations. I saw that it was really a good way to help us to improve our communication skills. Because whenever I tried to speak in public and ask people for feedback, it does not help you. In short, the feedback given in toastmasters is more like an educational series. I still remember the time in India, in college or universities when seniors will come to freshman and tell us to introduce our self and many times I would feel threaten by them. 

Steve and Maxine also invited us to join us for one of their meetings. In the beginning, I was a bit scared to come for the meetings. But then I thought why not go to the first meeting and check it out. After coming to toastmasters meeting subsequent times, I was surprised it was not just about giving speeches and presentations, but also about leadership development through different leadership roles, such as Grammarian, Time Keeper and Evaluators.

For Me, Toastmasters is much more than about public speaking. The skills you learn do improve your ability to share your message with style, and these skills can be used in everyday situations, such as social interactions with friends and not just interviews or executive presentations.