Help Your Team Start 2019 with a Renewed Mind & Body

The end of the year is quickly approaching, which means the atmosphere at your office might be a little chaotic. People are scrambling to meet quotas and deadlines and finish up their 2019 planning before they take off for winter vacations or visits with family. Preparing for the holidays can put extra pressure on everyone—in fact 44% of Healthline survey respondents report being stressed around the holidays, and 18% report being very stressed. Amid all the hustle and bustle, your employees may be looking for ways to relieve stress and mentally prepare for the year to come. Since it takes around two months (and plenty of repetition) to learn a new skill or behavior, now is the perfect time to focus on building some new healthy habits for 2019.

Here are 6 personal development courses on Udemy that will help your employees start 2019 with a renewed mind and body.

1. Goal-setting

Around the start of a new year, people’s thoughts naturally turn towards setting goals and making resolutions. But it takes more than just good intentions to actually change behavior consistently. In Success: How to Set and Achieve Goals, Udemy instructor Joseph Phillips helps learners better define what they’d like to accomplish and then take small, realistic steps toward achieving those goals. He introduces techniques such as the Japanese approach of kaizen (continuous improvement), the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) framework, and how to schedule work to complete your goals.

“As a recovering serial procrastinator, this course gave me ideas and tactics on how to improve my ability in taking urgent and prompt actions towards achieving my goals.”—Learner Review

2. Productivity

Take a quick glance around your office and you’re likely to see a number of people looking at their phones—and chances are good that they’re not doing work-related activities. Udemy for Business research found that 36% of millennials and Gen Z employees spend two hours or more each day looking at their phones for personal activities. At the same time, 70% of study participants agree that training can help people get better at blocking out distractions and achieving focus. (See the 2018 Workplace Distraction Report to learn more.) Productivity also tends to dip around the holidays—an analysis by Peakon found a 30–40% drop in productivity by mid-December in the US, UK, and Nordic countries. Courses like Modern Productivity — Superhuman Focus In A Distracted World can help learners become more focused and productive. Instructor Brad Merrill believes that in today’s economy, “focus and productivity are infinitely more valuable than almost any other trait—including talent and intelligence.” In this course, Brad offers practical tips for adopting a productive mindset, staying focused, conducting regular reviews, and ending procrastination.

“I am loving this. Short, coherent videos packed with information and nuggets that are priceless. I will be implementing just about everything suggested and am looking forward to seeing the results.”—Learner Review

3. Happiness

Promoting happiness among your employees has a number of benefits, including boosting productivity, revenue, and stock prices, and just making your company a more pleasant place to be. But happiness can be an elusive goal, which is why it’s essential for people to take concrete steps towards understanding what makes them happy in both a personal and professional setting in 2019. In Life Mastery – Be Happy, Healthy and Successful, Udemy instructor Chris Croft helps learners consider how to choose a career they love, better manage their time, say “no” to projects and activities without fear or guilt, and change their self-talk, all with the goal of boosting happiness.

“Really interesting course with many easy-to-apply/introduce tips. Well presented and encouraging.”—Learner Review

4. Yoga

Are you sitting down while you’re reading this? Studies have found that Americans sit for an average of 13 hours a day, which has been linked to a number of serious health concerns. Yoga can be a gentle way to help employees add movement to their workday, and a course like Yoga For Relaxation: 15 Minutes A Day (4/6) by Abi Carver can be fit into a quick break or squeezed in at the beginning or end of the day. In this course, Abi introduces conscious breathing techniques that help switch the nervous system from the sympathetic ‘fight or flight’ mode into the parasympathetic ‘rest and digest’ state. Each 15-minute session introduces gentle stretches to release tension in muscles caused by stress, injury, poor health, pain, or overtraining. Abi’s mission is to bring a new simple, efficient style of yoga to busy men and women, serious and recreational athletes, and curious beginners.

“Makes relaxation concepts, benefits, and total body relaxation readily accessible. Really impressed. Love it.”—Learner Review

5. Posture

Posture refers to how you carry your body when you’re sitting or standing, and it’s more important than most people realize. Poor posture can lead to stress and tightness, which can make people more susceptible to accidents and injury. Dr. Paula Moore (also known as the Posture Doctor) has over a decade of clinical experience and is a “self-confessed posture addict.” Her course Posturecise (Level 1) – Create Healthy Posture Habits for Life, will help learners feel more flexible and less stiff, gain confidence, and perform quality posture movements that make them feel great.

“This course is one of the best, most value-packed health investments that I’ve ever made. I highly recommend it!”—Learner Review

6. Meditation

Around 60% of US workers are stressed all or most of the time at work, according to the Udemy Workplace Stress Report. Luckily, meditation can reduce feelings of stress while increasing feelings of relaxation and peace. Your employees can enjoy many other benefits of meditation by participating in Basics of Meditation with Deepak Chopra. In this course, world-renowned meditation teacher Deepak Chopra shares simple techniques and meditation basics in six guided meditations. The course also tackles some of the most frequently asked questions and concerns about meditation.

“I thought this was a great course for someone beginning to learn to meditate. It had a slow, steady pace with time to reflect on what you were learning, a little bit of humor, real-life examples, and it was realistic when it came to demands made on people’s lives for their time and energy.”—Learner Review

Want your employees to start 2019 with a clear mind, a relaxed body, and a reawakened sense of purpose? These courses—along with many other personal development courses available through Udemy for Business—can help employees reach their full potential and tackle 2019 with confidence. Explore the full course collection here.