Posts Tagged ‘Thank God It’s Monday’

Show Appreciation This Thanksgiving Week

Thursday, November 17th, 2016

It’s Thanksgiving week—a week where we show appreciation. And it’s a good time to remember that the people we work with are not perfect.

Our bosses? Not perfect. Our companies? Not perfect.

But, what an opportunity to appreciate the perfection within them, the wonderful things they do, and the caring they give.

Let me ask you this—if you were to sit down and ask yourself every morning, “What are three things I’m really appreciative of?” I suspect that you’ll find—if you force yourself to say something new every day—that the list would be UNLIMITED.

So today, go around to the people you appreciate, thank them for what they do. Thank your boss for the fact that you have a job. Thank your company for making sure you get a pay check every week. And be in that gracious spirit because the spirit of Thanksgiving is alive and well.

Keep your goals visible

Thursday, November 17th, 2016

You made a New Year’s resolution to set goals, and you’re doing it. Bravo! But are you doing it as effectively as possible?

Goals are only effective if you act on them, and you can’t act on them if you can’t see them. Too many people create a list of personal or professional goals, then sock it away in a drawer somewhere. Those goals are as good as dead. They will never happen.

Instead of filing them away, create a very visible place for those goals.

I have a friend who made her list of goals the screensaver on her computer. She sees them a hundred times a day, which means there’s a good chance she’ll achieve them. Laminate them and put them up in the shower. Stick them to your steering wheel. Whatever it takes to keep them front and center.

Organize your goals into separate lists according to timescale—goals for the week, for the month, and for life.

Don’t include everything. Life offers thousands of opportunities, but maybe ten of those will take you where you want to go. Don’t let those crucial ten get lost in a list a mile long. Focus on the ones that count, then post them where you’ll see them every single day.

Be Direct

Friday, September 30th, 2016

Every employee who disagrees with a policy or a decision has a choice: ignore it, whine about it, or be direct.

Ignoring something you don’t agree with is fine, so long as you feel the difference of opinion is not a serious error. If you feel that a policy or decision is harmful in a way that really matters, you have an obligation as a member of the team to voice your concern.

But here’s the thing: Don’t whisper your concern in a “meeting outside of the meeting.” That’s destructive to the team. Don’t cross your arms, roll your eyes, and whine to your colleagues who have no way to influence the outcome.

If it doesn’t matter, forget it! But if it does, you have an obligation to put your grownup pants on and head straight for the decision makers who can do something about it.

If those decision makers are worth their salt, and you present the idea calmly and clearly, your stock will go up in their eyes.

Overwhelm

Friday, September 23rd, 2016

A Princeton study shows that work is more overwhelming than ever—or at least that’s our perception. Three-quarters of the workers in the study said work is more stressful than it was a generation ago.

That’s certainly true in some ways. But overwhelm often has just as much to do with a conversation going in your head as in the real world. When you tell yourself, “I don’t even know where to start,” a feeling of helplessness sets in. Every task seems to be shouting your name.

STOP. There are priorities here. Take a deep breath and figure out what has to happen first, what can wait until later, and what doesn’t have to be happening at all.

Suddenly the priorities are standing in line, waiting patiently for their turn.

Finally, stop telling others how overwhelmed you are. That adds to everyone’s feeling of overwhelm, and it gives the tasks in your head permission to jump out of line again. They are not in charge—you are!

Once you step off the treadmill of overwhelm, you’ll NEVER go back.

Keep your goals visible

Monday, June 9th, 2014

You made a New Year’s resolution to set goals, and you’re doing it. Bravo! But are you doing it as effectively as possible?

Goals are only effective if you act on them, and you can’t act on them if you can’t see them. Too many people create a list of personal or professional goals, then sock it away in a drawer somewhere. Those goals are as good as dead. They will never happen.

Instead of filing them away, create a very visible place for those goals.

I have a friend who made her list of goals the screensaver on her computer. She sees them a hundred times a day, which means there’s a good chance she’ll achieve them. Laminate them and put them up in the shower. Stick them to your steering wheel. Whatever it takes to keep them front and center.

Organize your goals into separate lists according to timescale—goals for the week, for the month, and for life.

Don’t include everything. Life offers thousands of opportunities, but maybe ten of those will take you where you want to go. Don’t let those crucial ten get lost in a list a mile long. Focus on the ones that count, then post them where you’ll see them every single day.