Tag: Work

Relationship Survival Strategies for Working From Home

When you are literally “in it together.”: Relationship Survival Strategies for Working From Home

15 Tips to Manage Shift Work and Your Quality of Life

If you have a shift work job, it’s not easy to maintain a healthy and good quality of life. These 15 tips will help you manage shift work better while living a healthy and happy life: 15 Tips to Manage Shift Work and Your Quality of Life

 

How to Permanently Resolve Cross-Department Rivalries

These conflicts are usually about structure, not personalities: How to Permanently Resolve Cross-Department Rivalries

 

BS Jobs: How Meaningless Work Wears Us Down

Have you ever had a job where you had to stop and ask yourself: what am I doing here? If I quit tomorrow, would anyone even notice? This week on Hidden Brain, we talk with anthropologist David Graeber about the rise of what he calls “bullshit jobs,” and how these positions affect the people who hold them: BS Jobs: How Meaningless Work Wears Us Down

 

@DavidAmerland on How Neuroscience Is Helping Us Understand Ourselves Better

Here’s a truism: If you can’t analyze it, you can’t measure it. If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. If you can’t improve it, you can’t understand it. Apply this to pretty much anything, it is probably applicable to everything and never more so than when it comes to the brain. Long regarded as a hermetically sealed black box we could never hope to peer into the brain has turned into the latest arena where established companies, hot startups and even national armies, look to for a competitive advantage. The reason for this is because we have finally understood that everything is data. What your senses report is data. What your brain makes of the world around you is data. What you do and how you do it is data. And the impact your every action and inaction has is data too. This page, how it was created and how it is being transmitted is data. Your accessing it is data and what you will do after you have finished reading it is, you guessed it, data. Source: David Amerland on Google

Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace

I wish I would have found this book earlier in my career!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0670879835/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Laying the Foundation

Melody-Beattie.pngMelody Beattie writes:

The groundwork has been laid.

Do you not see that?

Don’t you understand that all you have gone through was for a purpose?

There was a reason, a good reason, for the waiting, the struggle, the pain, and finally the release.

You have been prepared. The same way a builder must first tear down and dig out the old to make way for the new, your Higher Power has been cleaning out the foundation in your life.

Have you ever watched a builder at construction? When he begins his work, it looks worse than before he began. What is old and decayed must be removed. What is insufficient or too weak to support the new structure must be removed, replaced, or reinforced. No builder who cares about his or her work would put a new surface over an insufficient support system. The foundation would give way. It would not last.

If the finished product is to be what is desired, the work must be done thoroughly from the bottom up. As the work progresses, it often appears to be an upheaval. Often, it does not seem to make sense. It may appear to be wasted time and effort, because we cannot see the final product yet.

But it is so important that the foundation be laid properly if the fun work, the finishing touches, is to be all that we want it to be.

This long, hard time in your life has been for laying of groundwork. It was not without purpose, although at times the purpose may not have been evident or apparent.

Now, the foundation has been laid. The structure is solid.

Now, it is time for the finishing touches, the completion.

It is time to move the furniture in and enjoy the fruits of the labor.

Congratulations. You have had the patience to endure the hard parts. You have trusted, surrendered, and allowed your Higher Power and the Universe to heal and prepare you.

Now, you shall enjoy the good that has been planned.

Now, you shall see the purpose.

Now, it shall all come together and make sense.

Enjoy.

Today, I will surrender to the laying of the foundation – the groundwork – in my life. If it is time to enjoy the placement of the finishing touches, I will surrender to that, and enjoy that too. I will remember to be grateful for a Higher Power that is a Master Builder and only has my best interests in mind, creating and constructing my life. I will be grateful for my Higher Power’s care and attention to details in laying the foundation – even though I become impatient at times. I will stand in awe at the beauty of God’s finished product.

Source: Blog | Just For Today Meditations | Maintaining A Life

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The only person you are destined to become…

simple-reminders:

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Photo by Jenni Young

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Do the Work: An Important Message for Labor Day

Click image to go to amazon.com

Katharine Brooks writes:

As a career counselor/coach I listen to your ideas and dreams about the future. You have a project you long to do. It’s a screenplay, a book, or a song you want to write. You have an idea for a new invention or a new business you want to start. It’s that new job, diet or marathon training you keep thinking about. It’s that class you’d like to take or the commitment to something or someone important you’d like to make.Doing any of these activities will likely enrich and enhance your life. And that’s probably why you’re not doing them.

You’ll tell me about self-doubt, procrastination, fear, perfectionism, a lack of support from family or friends, and even how rational thinking stops you from going forward. But Steven Pressfield, in his marvelous book/manifesto Do The Work: Overcome Resistance and Get Out of Your Own Way, will drive a stake through all of that and tell you it’s simply Resistance. With a capital “R.” Get the rest here: Do the Work: An Important Message for Labor Day | Psychology Today.

Note: You can borrow this book free from your Kindle or purchase it for the low cost of $4.99 for Kindle software. Why not get it and read it today? It’s a quick but inspiring read…

What Would You Do if You Could Take a Year Off?

English: Harlech Beach On a Sunny June Day

Mallika Chopra poses an interesting question:

What would you do if you were given $100,000 to take the year off?

  • Would you quit your miserable job, buy some cozy sweats, redo your bedroom and chill at home watching movies, eating good food, sleep and get back to a state of balance?
  • Would you travel the world and see those places on your dream list?
  • Moms: Would you hire a good nanny and a housekeeper and treat yourself to spa days and getaway weekends with girlfriends?
  • Would you decide to volunteer for a year — perhaps give back to your community with money and time?
  • Would you go back to school?  Pay off your loans? Start a college fund for your kids?
  • Pursue your hobby or lifelong dream to become a filmmaker or guitar player?
  • Would you take care of your health?  Perhaps you need to learn how to meditate, get a trainer, and revamp your eating habits. Or, as a caretaker, perhaps you can help someone you love heal and find comfort?  How could $100,000 bring healing into your life?

Posed with this question, my mind began racing with the infinite things I could, should and would do with $100,000. (FYI, I was inspired to think about this by a promotion by Gold Peak Tea, which is supporting someone to take a year off — to enjoy the comforts of home, rejuvenate and do whatever they want — with $100,000.)

An interesting Gallup study from several years ago distinguished “life satisfaction” from “enjoyment of life.” This amount of money definitely can give most people in the U.S. the day-to-day security (life satisfaction), which leads to happiness.  But people who “enjoy life” don’t necessarily find it with more money.  Enjoyment of life generally includes being socially connected, having fun, and feeling a sense of purpose.

So if you were gifted some money, how would you decide what to do with it?

Here’s how I would decide: what would make me feel happy and more balanced in my life. Here’s a model of balance I have been using to make choices about how I spend my time and financial resources.  In each bucket, I think about where I am thriving, struggling or suffering:

  • Rest and Sleep
  • Good Nutrition and Exercise
  • Relationships (Family, Friends and Community)
  • Work, Financial, Career
  • Intellectual Stimulation
  • Creativity and Play
  • Spirituality and Sense of Purpose

Be honest with yourself about those buckets where you feel balanced and those you need some help on. Think about if you had more resources how could you use them to bring your life in more balance. And decide which ones you can improve right now, by making an intent to embrace what makes you stronger, happier, more purposeful and fulfilled.

For more by Mallika Chopra, click here.

For more on happiness, click here.

via Mallika Chopra: What Would You Do if You Could Take a Year Off?.

Me? I don’t even know where to begin…

Finding Peace

One cannot find peace in work or in pleasure, in the world or in a convent, but only in one's soul.

More on being your own hero…

Kute Blackson’s post made me think of another epic post on ‘being your own hero’ written by friend, client and Harvard Business Review author Nilofer Merchant on the deification of Steve Jobs and the lessons it holds for us…

So, it’s with that life context that I am watching the beatification of Steve Jobs. Google the term, “Steve Jobs tribute” and you get back 5 million plus results. And I’m fairly sure that’s an undercount. There’s a good reason for this; the Hero Narrative has deep roots in our culture. We find it in history books and religions, in our sports teams and, yes, even in our corporate cultures. We obsess. We deify, as if there is a single defining idea of how innovation works, what makes a leader great, or how success happens.

This is not new. It is the idea of The One and it shows up in many ways: Who will be the next leader of the free world? What nation will be the next superpower? Which visionary company is the single conqueror of industry? (It’s Amazon, it’s Google, it’s Facebook, it’s Apple!). And we have it in management disciplines with debates like: isn’t it better to have one smart person than lots of ordinary people working for our organizations?

But I wonder if this framework is wrong.

Continue reading “More on being your own hero…” →

Balance

current desktop (left view)

A balanced life has harmony between a professional life and a personal life. There may be times when we need to climb mountains at work. There may be times when we put extra energy into our relationships. But the overall picture needs to balance.

Just as a balanced nutritional diet takes into account the realm of our nutritional needs to stay healthy, a balanced life takes into account all our needs: our need for friends, work, love, family, play, private time, recovery time, and spiritual time — time with God. If we get out of balance, our inner voice will tell us. We need to listen.

Today, I will examine my life to see if the scales have swung too far in any area, or not far enough in some. I will work toward achieving balance.

via March 21: Balance | Language of Letting Go.

Focus On The Best Of You

Focus On The Best Of You
Here are some good thoughts from Ishta Gupta that I wanted to share with you…

Many of us are raised to be anxious, fearful, insecure people. These emotional aspects have a lot of pull over us, and it feels like an uphill, losing battle when we try and improve. Eventually, we begin to believe that no matter how much we do, we just can’t change.

Hopelessness is created and sustained by self-bullying.

What if instead of exhausting ourselves with doubt, we listened to the parts of us that encourage? You know the ones. We forget them because it takes quiet and safety for them to come out, and bullying ourselves doesn’t make us feel safe.

But these benevolent parts do—very much—exist. And when they are heard, they’re powerful.

They give you energy, rather than make you spend it. You feel nourished, not judged. Sustained, not drained. They show you that you’re all right—maybe even good. You’re at ease, able to pause instead of quickly reacting. They show you that you may even be mostly kind and honest.

Source: Focus On The Best Of You [BLOG] « Positively Positive

Go to the source if you’d like to see her thoughts on discovering the best parts of you…

Are you an entrepreneur? Want to be one? Then it’s good to ponder this…

What exactly is it that sets entrepreneurs apart from the rest? What is it that makes certain people believe in themselves enough to take the prospect of failure head-on and have the determination to come out on top? It takes a special kind of person to set an idea in motion, riding the highs and lows from humble beginnings to ultimate success.”

Click here to read more…

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Clipart of bills and coins
Image via Wikipedia

“There’s never been a better time to take advantage of the expansive opportunities for online business development and growth that the internet affords. According to a Juniper Research study, the number of U.S. internet shoppers will grow at an average rate of 12 percent per year through 2010, resulting in more than $144 billion in online sales.” Click here to read more…

Study: Work may be costing people

LOL!

“The National Sleep Foundation says Americans are not getting enough rest and work may be getting in the way.

In a study released Monday the Washington, D.C.-based organization said average nightly sleep for adults is 6 hours and 40 minutes, below the 7 hours and 18 minutes that most people say they need.

The reason for less sleep may be due to increased workload. The report said workers are spending an average of nearly 4.5 hours each week doing additional work from home on top of a 9.5 hour average workday.”

Work gets in the way of a lot of things — one reason you better love what you’re doing… ;-)

I’m working on a project…

…to put my business online using only tools that are freely available from Google. The purpose of the exercise is to ‘eat my own dog food’ so to speak and thereby demonstrate that it’s possible for any entrepreneur, SMB, volunteer group, etc. to have a robust web presence and take advantage of these tools for their own purposes. Sign up for updates in the Feedblitz box in the right hand column and track my progress…

Update, November 9: I ultimately had to pass on this project in favor of adding WordPress and a few other tools to the mix. Since the time of this original post, I’ve learned 10x more about ‘good, fast and cheap’ tools to put your business on the internet. Questions? Feedback? Comment, call or write!

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Alltop a single page blog dashboard of sorts | B2B Lead Generation Blog

Gathering information via newsfeeds is a critical part of the inbox zero approach to email. It will help you get distracting newsletters out of your inbox and into a newsreader where they belong.

“If you don’t have time to search though multiple blogs I recommend you check out Alltop. The site was launched by marketing wiz, blogger, author, entrepreneur & venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki.

What’s different about Alltop? It’s really a selection of the top 50 RSS feeds (i.e. mostly blogs) in 20 categories. All that information is collected listed in a single page. Personally, I’m finding Alltop useful for keeping up with other topics I’m interested in but don’t want to spend a lot of time on.

“Where are you going to put all the great stuff you find on Alltop? My suggestion is use Google Reader to collect and organize the feeds. Reader works with Gmail as a 1-2 combination to end clutter in your inbox. Gmail is for ‘just in time’ information and Reader is for ‘just in case’. Don’t let the two get mixed together…

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