I actually had some time to read over the summer for the first time in years. I read only non-fiction books. Actually I didn’t read all of them- I listened to a few on tape(or CD). I’m a harsh grader so you can see a difference between books. Ratings of 2.5 and above is recommended. Here’s a rundown of a few highlights (not many low-lights):
The first part of the story was interesting, but not enough substance. the last chapter had substance but although an interesting wasn’t sustaining. Plus I don’t agree with the premise of OS!M- you shouldn’t need to embarrass yourself in front of people to win them over.
Good book. Made me think (which is all I can ask) and inspired me. It makes you really think about outsourcing. Don’t like all it’s concepts on the “new rich” as it’s too “vegabond”, overall worth the read.
This small tip may get you money and lift your spirits when you are down.
During the course of your work you may get emails that tell you “great job” or similar praise from co-workers, clients and even bosses. Instead of simply smiling and deleting it, put it all in a special folder. Then when the day to day grind starts wearing you down just take a quick scroll through this folder for instant gratification. So how could this make you money? Before your performance review, check this folder and you’ll see all your past accomplishments and the recognition you received. This will provide you with good ammunition when speaking with your boss.
In the previous article, Labor Day Resolutions I: Making the Most of your Career, we discussed how to achieve the most at your current position. In this installment we’ll provide a blue print if it’s time to move to a new opportunity.
Figure out what you want Before you start your search you should determine what you really want to do (that you have at least some qualifications to do).
Get your resume ready– Have trusted friends look over your resume. They will find grammatical errors, logical errors, confusing text errors and many other errors- do not get offended- they are only trying to help! Try to look at your resume objectively and see if there is merit to their complaint. Sometimes you know exactly what you are saying but it doesn’t come across on paper. Even If you are absolutely sure that their suggestions don’t apply, thank them anyway.
Structure your resume so you answer a companies question “what can you do for me”.
Prime your network– Be on the lookout. You have built a informal network of friends and acquaintances- contact them and try getting leads to help you in your search. Networks are one of the best sources for new jobs.
Don’t Burn Bridges– Always be courteous to employers and coworkers, you never know if they will be your future boss or client.
New Years Day i.e. January 1st is a time for physical reflection- many people make resolutions to work on their weight etc. With Labor Day here, it’s time to reflect on our careers.
With summer vacation/relaxation over, now is the time to determine how to take your career to the next level. You should think about how to achieve the most at your current position or decide if it’s time to move on.
Action Steps to achieve the most at your current position
Look back at your last review to see what to work on.
Inventory all that you’ve accomplished recently and try to finish up any lose ends.
Take some initiative, so you can begin building major accomplishments for your year end review.
Make sure your accomplishments are known. Be sure that your boss etc know what you’ve accomplished without showing off. Look to your praise list for some of your accomplishments.
Enjoy your Labor Day! In Labor Day Resolutions II (coming this week), you can read how to best position yourself for a new job.
Deprecated: Function create_function() is deprecated in /home/metcomp/smm/wp-content/plugins/wp-spamshield/wp-spamshield.php on line 1858
Previously I asked Realist or Optimist: Which is better? Those of you who know me know that if I have an either/or choice I’ll usually pick both- why limit yourself. So it’s better to be both a realist and optimist. So should you be a realistic optimist or an optimistic realist?
To me the answer is clear- a realistic optimist. why? because to succeed you want to be optimistic, you want to go as far as possible. The realism only adds a little of reality to make sure you are a little grounded. Why shouldn’t you be an “optimistic realist”? Because then your base is realism, which limits you. It’s not a bad way to go but the other way you can gain that extra edge.
Is this all symantics? Maybe. But the point is that you should try to be an optimist but don’t go overboard.
Deprecated: Function create_function() is deprecated in /home/metcomp/smm/wp-content/plugins/wp-spamshield/wp-spamshield.php on line 1858
ZenHabits recently published “The Dirty Little Secrets of Productivity Bloggers” about how bloggers and productivity professionals don’t always follow all the rules of productivity. Today I’ll admit it too- I’m not always productive. Frankly, I don’t think it’s a secret- people aren’t perfect and sometimes it’s more fun not to be perfectly productive. Here I’ll point out one way I violate my own rule of keeping an empty inbox, but why it makes me more productive. First lets’ start with the rule:
An Email Box is Not a To Do List
One of the most common reasons people don’t empty their inbox is because they keep it as a to do list. Here are 5 reasons I point out for why an inbox is not a to do list:
Clear To-Do List– If your inbox and your to do list both have to dos then there is a lot of going back and forth trying to figure out what to do.
Have Specific Information on Tasks– It’s hard to know what to do on email message because the subject line isn’t clear (e.g. “fwd: Re> Hi”).
Nothing Gets Lost– Too many messages makes it hard to manage an inbox to do list.
Easy to see new urgent items– With many messages it’s hard to see what’s important.
Clear Head– Everything has a place: to dos go on a list. Inboxes need to be processed.
Keeping an empty inbox helps you know what you need to accomplish.
My violation
I sometimes keep messages in my inbox as a to do list.
My Reasons
I keep messages as my to do list to remind me to reply later that day. I feel that putting it on my to do list may add some extra steps to find it and it may get cluttered with my other responsibilities so I dont get to it the same day.
Now let’s see how my system goes against the five reasons above and may not be a bad violation:
Clear To-Do List- With minimal items in my inbox it isn’t that hard to see what to do and it keeps these important items front and center.
Have Specific Information on Tasks- Being that i read the emails earlier in the day it’s still fresh in my mind what i need to do about them.
Nothing Gets Lost- With minimal messages no dos get lost.
Easy to see new urgent items- With minimal messages it’s easy to spot what’s important.
Clear Head- Everything still has it’s place. Important to dos for today are in my inbox.
As you see my excuse has some logic to it. Perhaps it can be considered an advances hack. As long as I don’t abuse it I’m fine violating this tenet.
Some people are optimists and everything looks rosy to them. Always. They are even optimistic when crossing a street full of traffic. “The traffic will stop for me” they say. Some times they’re right and they cross safely. But other times they get hit by a truck.
Other people are realists. Realists see things in a grounded way. They see the traffic and know that it will be a while until the traffic clears. They’ll wait and wait because their prepared to until the traffic subsides. Then they cross.
Pessimists, by the way, aren’t in this discussion. Once they spot a street that needs crossing they just turn back and give up because they know streets have traffic and they dont want to get hit by a truck.
So what’s better realists or optimists? Both (or none if that’s how you look at it). Being overly optimistic can get you in trouble as you’re not grounded and your projects fail as you don’t anticipate setbacks. Being overly realistic doesn’t let you meet your full potential because you may be limiting your potential.
So how would a person who is both realistic and optimistic cross the street? He’d figure out when traffic is lite and start waving a sign- “I’m crossing- dont hit me” he’d go cautiously across all the lanes to safety.
The question now is, should you be an optimistic realist or a realistic optimist?
Meetings can be big time wasters or productive planning sessions. But there is one you should have daily- first thing in the morning – a meeting with yourself and it will increase your chances for success. This will give you time to prepare for the day and not rush into your morning. Let’s start with a case study of a typically morning for Eileen (based on a true story).
8:48am Eileen gets off her train at central station. She heads for the connecting bus and takes a seat- today she’s luck that she got one. She anxiously looks at her watch, still on schedule for her 9am conference call.
8:50am The Bus leaves central station. At this point it’s packed, Eileen is feeling the elbow of her neighbor in her ribs. Eileen glances at her watch and is glad the bus left on time.
8:55am The bus arrives at the front door of MegaCorp, where Eileen works. Eileen waits for her turn to get out and proceeds to the building. She’s still on schedule.
8:56 am Eileen is waiting at the elevator bank at MegaCorp. Only 4 minutes to her 9am meeting.
8:57am Bill from IT gets on the elevator just before the doors close, causing them to reopen. Eileen smiles at Bill, though secretly she’s upset at the 4 seconds he stole off her morning. They discuss the previous nights game as they ride up to the 20th floor, but Eileen is only partially engaged. She’s already thinking about her dash to her desk as soon as the doors open.
8:59am Eileen wishes Bill a good day and says “Gotta run, I have a nine o’clock”. She gets to her desk puts down her bag. Flips the on switch on her computer and sits down. Just in time as the phone rings for her 9am phone meeting.
9:02am Eileen scans her email during the call. She sees one from the client, just as the the content of it comes up. “I sent you an updated widget report overnight.” says the client.
“Yes I saw it. I’ll look at it closely and let you know my feedback later today.” she answers quickly while opening the attachment.
9:05am The subject of the new computer equipment comes up. Eileen says she’ll follow up on it and notes it on her to do list.
9:22am The client call ends. Eileen puts her bag in the corner where it belongs. She puts her lunch in the office fridge. She comes back to her desk to listen to her voice mails and processes her email.
9:40am Eileen goes through the client’s widget report and sends a detailed report of her feedback.
9:55am Eileen calls Bill from IT. They exchange pleasantries. Then she asks about the progress on the computer order.
10:00am Eileen dashes another email to the client about the computer order progress.
10:02am Eileen is happy with her productive start.
Now lets image Eileen changes just one thing- she has blocked her calendar so no appointments can be made first thing in the morning. Her 9am appointment is now at 9:30am.
8:48am Eileen gets off her train at central station. It’s a nice day for a walk to the office. She glances at her watch, she has time and strolls to the office. It’s a 10 minute walk or a five minute ride by bus. She’s glad she doesn’t have to rush and can walk.
8:50am As she walks she passes some school kids playing in the yard and thinks of the funny thing her five year old said that morning.
8:55am She’s two blocks away from MegaCorp but she sees the bus stops in front of her building. She sees people rushing out. It reminds her of the opening scene of the Charlie Chaplin Movie “Modern Times”. She chuckles to herself as she thinks of the pigs.
8:57 Bill from IT sees her coming in the building and waves to her as the elevator doors close in front of him. He waits for her to arrive. They take the next elevator up.
8:58am Eileen and Bill chat about the previous night’s game as they head up the elevator to the 20th floor.
9:00am Eileen and Bill finish their sports chat in front of the elevator banks. Eileen asks about the the equipment he’s ordered for “The Client”. He says he’ll look into it. She says “I have a 9:30 call with them. If you can get me the answers by then it would be great.” He assures her he can and they depart.
9:03am She puts her lunch in the office fridge as she passes the employee lounge.
9:04am She gets to her desk and puts away her bag. Flips the on switch on her computer. Eileen listens to her voice mails as the computer starts up. Then processes her email.
9:15am Eileen notices an email from “The Client” and goes through the client’s widget report. Instead of composing a long email, she prints it out and marks it up so that she can go over it during the phone call. She highlights the four main issues.
9:25am Eileen goes back to finish processing her emails. She sees Bill’s response which includes the tracking number.
9:28am She prepares her notes on the meeting with a few bullet points.
9:30am The phone rings and Eileen picks it up confidently.
9:35am The subject of the new computer equipment comes up. Eileen gives them the update and says she has the tracking number if it’s not received.
9:45am “I sent you an updated widget report overnight.” says the client.
“I got it. I went through it and have 4 questions for you.” Eileen replies and they talk about the widget report.
10:01am The client call ends.
10:02am Eileen is happy with her productive start.
As you can see in both these scenarios Eileen was productive. But in the second one she had time in the morning to prepare. The preparation gave her more confidence and allowed her to accomplish two important tasks: First, the meeting gave her feedback on what she needs to do with the widget report. Second, she was a step ahead following up on the equipment order.
She was also able to squeese some relaxing exercise into her morning and wasn’t curt when talking to co-workers. Of course I worked out these times to correlate. But less stress and more time thinking help. The ideal scenario would be to come in early each morning, but that isn’t always possible. Coming in early allows you to prepare in a quiet environment.
Starting your day with stress can send a bad tone for your day. So don’t run, walk into your new day.
In his recent post “Destroying Happiness“, Seth Godin admits that he is! OK not him specifically but all marketers (he seems like a good guy personally).
Marketers trying to grow market share will always work to make their non-customers unhappy.
Seth Godin
We are living in a time of relative affluence where “Most people have a better standard of living today than Louis XIV did in his day” but people are not happier because marketers make them want more!
Who is rich? One who is satisfied with his lot.
Ethics of the Fathers, Chapter 4
Be happy with what you have and cut down the materialism. Notice I didn’t say cut out- you can have some fun.
The problem: in today’s super-sized world it’s easy to keep eating (especially because of the productivity curse) as we get bigger portions and food is everywhere (meetings, occassion etc). What I’m suggesting is eat just a little bit less of what you don’t need. I’m not saying you need to starve yourself. Just cut back a little at a time and before you know it you need less to be satisfied.
Stop and Think
Sometimes people eat just because the food is there. Stop yourself. Think am I full? Then turn your attention to something else besides food.
Take a Drink
Sometimes when you think you’re hungry when your thirsty. Take a drink (plain water is best) and then reevaluate.
Take a Break
It takes a few minutes for you brain to realize that you’re full. Take a break and come back. If you’re still hungry eat.
Take Less in Your Plate
We’re all achievers- we want to finish what we start. If you take less in your plate you wont feel like you have to finish it. You may also realize that you don’t want as much as you think.
Think Of The Money You’ll Save
For some people financial incentives help them succeed. There’s a potentially large one here- the less you need to eat the less you pay for food. This is especially true in restaurants where food is expensive.
Split The Meal
If you get a super-sized meal split it with a friend or family member. Or just take a doggy back and save it for the next day.
Only Have Food When/Where You Need It
Don’t have food readily available when you don’t need It. If you don’t need the food keep it away. This means don’t have it at your desk at work, in your car etc. Before a recent long trip (3 hours) with my sister she offered to bring snacks (chips- which are my favorite) in the car. I just had a good dinner so I knew I didn’t need the food. So I told her “it’s better if you don’t bring it- I’ll eat it all” (and I would have).
So do you control your food or does it control you?
The first part of the story was interesting, but not enough substance. the last chapter had substance but although an interesting wasn’t sustaining. Plus I don’t agree with the premise of OS!M- you shouldn’t need to embarrass yourself in front of people to win them over.
The Art of Friendship: 70 Simple Rules for Making Meaningful Connections
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer (P.S.)
ZenHabits recently published