How to Troubleshoot Productivity

How to Troubleshoot Productivity Ever feel like your productivity at work is on the decline? Perhaps you’re not meeting your employer’s goals, or your own. A recent lack of energy or enthusiasm, increased mistakes or a general feeling of apathy may be contributing to your less-than-stellar performance in the office. Before you blame your declining performance on burnout or ADD, you might consider a few simpler and much more obvious reasons: If you’re uncomfortable, you’re not productive: How is the temperature in your office? Do you need to wear gloves and a scarf to work? We may be 44 years past putting a man on the moon, but developing the technology to regulate the temperature of an office building seems to be an unattainable goal for many companies. If you’re constantly cold in the office, this may be a reason for a slip in your productivity. Cornell University researchers conducted a study involving temperature in the workplace. When temperatures were lowered to 68 degrees, employees made 44 percent more errors and were less than half as productive as when temperatures were raised to 77 degrees. Essentially, it was determined that the drop in performance cost employers 10 percent more per hour, per employee. According to Ron Friedman from FastCompany.com, when the body temperature drops, the body’s natural tendency is to try to get warm, which requires energy. Energy spent trying to get warm is energy NOT being spent concentrating on work. If you’re unhealthy, you’re not productive: Anyone who works in an office knows how difficult it can be to maintain a healthy lifestyle while keeping up with work responsibilities. Skipping meals, donuts in the break room, fast-food lunches, birthday cake celebrations and after-work happy hours with coworkers are commonplace for most office workers. Combine this with eight plus hours a day sitting at a desk with little or no physical activity and it’s no wonder your performance isn’t at its peak. According to a 2003 report from the Society for Neuroscience, junk food does more than add pounds â€" it affects your brain. Studies show that rats who consumed approximately 40 percent of their daily calories from saturated fats performed poorly on memory and learning tests. Human studies have shown similar negative effects. School children who consumed fast food three times a week displayed lower test scores by up to 16 percent, whereas children who ate a nutritious breakfast showed improved cognition, attention and memory. Many companies are learning that employing a healthy workforce is in their best interest. Healthy cafeteria meals, healthy vending machine snacks and company-subsidized gym memberships are becoming more widespread. According to the Wellness Council of America, a $1 investment in a company wellness program saves $3 in healthcare costs, and can decrease turnover among program-enrolled employees by up to 90 percent. If you’re tired, you’re not productive: When was the last time you got a good night’s sleep? Most people would probably say it’s been a while. When forced to juggle all of life’s challenges, sometimes an extra hour or two in the day is essential, and taking it away from sleep time is often the easiest solution. And if Facebook has taught us anything, it’s how many people rely on coffee to get them through the workday. According to a 2008 National Sleep Foundation poll, nearly one-third of American employees report that daytime sleepiness interferes with their daily activities at least a few days each month. Lack of sleep results in reduced efficiency and productivity, errors and accidents in the workplace. This is especially evident with shift workers and employees with busy travel schedules. For those with careers in healthcare, aviation and operating heavy machinery, the results of sleep deprivation can prove fatal. In the long term, chronic sleep deprivation may lead to a number of health problems including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even early mortality. Conclusion: The takeaway from all of this is that if you or your manager have noticed your work isn’t up to its usual standard, it may be within your control. A simple lifestyle (or temperature) change may be all that’s required to fix, or at least improve upon, the problem. If the human body is physically stressed, it will react, and that reaction may result in mistakes in your work, lack of concentration or detail-orientation, or much worse. Get used to treating your body right, and it will respond accordingly.

How to Use Science in Your Resume

How to Use Science in Your ResumeThere are many effective techniques for a job interview that look for a person's resume skills. Scientific writing is one such technique. However, many scientific writers do not actually consider writing resumes as part of their job. So, how does one go about using science to their benefit?This can actually be part of a job you already have. For example, a dog walker, janitor, or even a mechanic might have some experience with writing resumes. For example, perhaps they came across a job posting that seemed suitable for them. Maybe they had some samples they could follow to help them get the most from the application.If you're looking for jobs in the job market that require you to be science-oriented, it might be helpful to know how to use scientific writing. On the one hand, scientific writing is writing that deals with the natural world. This means that many people in a position like yours will also have experience in studying nature. It also means t hat you will be using scientific concepts as part of your resume.However, you're applying for more than just the janitorial and mechanic positions. In fact, when you're writing for a resume, you're dealing with the whole world of a person. You will be including topics such as physics, chemistry, biology, and other natural sciences. You'll also be using the human anatomy, physiology, and physiology in your resume. That means that you're going to be including some concepts of science that will not be included in your actual field of study.When you think about what you're writing about, your resume is an opportunity to show that you have knowledge about the world around you. You want your resume to give potential employers an idea about what kind of worker you are. To do this, you need to write in an objective way that uses scientific concepts in your resume.You should be using technical terms in your resume that describes the particular subject matter you are writing about. That doesn 't mean that your resume should be boring. The key is to be able to write in a language your reader can understand. Many applicants simply don't know how to do this. If you want to be successful, learn how to write using your target audience in mind.Your resume may also need to show examples of your previous work. One way you can show your abilities is to show how you used one of your scientific concepts in another situation. Make sure that you can tell a story or illustrate an important concept with examples that are based on real life situations.The most important element of scientific writing is to write with an objective. You can make a great scientific writer by following certain principles. But it also helps to learn from an expert. The writer William Shakespeare did this when he wrote the play of Hamlet. He developed several scientific concepts into the story of this play.

How to deal with an insane commute

How to deal with an insane commute I usually leave work at 2:30 to pick up my kids. But on days when I ditch the kids and work to go to the farm, I allay my guilt by staying at work well after 2:30 so everyone will think I stayed late. I call the farmer when Im on the road because I always leave a little later than I say I will and he never believes Im on my way until I am. I have written before about how insane it is to have a long commute. In case youre wondering, the average commute in the US is 25 minutes each way. Newsweek describes the population of people who travel at least 90 minutes each way as extreme commuters. That is me, twice a week, on farm days. Before I leave work, I line up five calls at twenty minute intervals because if I dont get a lot done on the drive then I question whether it is responsible for a woman who struggles to find time for her kids and career to also have a boyfriend ninety minutes from civilization. I wonder a lot if the guys at work know how often I go to the farm. When I lived in Los Angeles, I had a 50 minute commute each way, and I had a panic attack on the 405. So I know a bit about long commutes. Mostly, that they are impossible. So I try to pretend Im not actually doing a commute. I make a list of stuff to think about and tell myself its thinking time. I do Kegel exercises and tell myself its Pilates time. (Because most of Pilates is Kegel-based anyway. Really.) At the one-hour point theres a gas station. It used to be, when my company was out of funding, I wouldnt buy gas until the last minute. And I worried that Id run out of money before I got myself home. That actually happened once, I took the farmers credit card to get home. And he didnt blink. Because we both know that I take home 25 times his salary but he always has more money than I do. I used to stop at the gas station to put on makeup, when I was nervous and trying to win him over and showering extra, because farmers are nuts about being clean. (Way more than city people because, lets face it, city people never get dirty if the standard for dirty is working knee-deep in pig manure for a day.) At the beginning I was clean and fresh-faced and stopped at the hour point to put on makeup. After a while, I just touched up makeup from earlier in the day. And now were close enough that he takes me to the free dinner from the seed manufacturer on farmer appreciation night. So now I just stop at the gas station to buy staples, like Power Bars, which I need to eat for breakfast when I need comfort food. The farmer says Im addicted to carbs, but I noticed that when he has to deal with anything beyond the farmlike my kids, or me having a crisis then he eats carbs, too. So I pick up three Power Bars, in case he wants one, and the woman at the counter asks me again, Where is your farm? I know she knows. Shes already asked once. So I give her more information, which I know shes looking for because the farmer has told me that people in the country dont ask directly for what they want. I have my own company in Madison, I say. I come here to see my boyfriend. Oh. What kind of company? Internet. Oooohhh. I check myself out in the bathroom. I want to look hot. I just dont want to do a lot to get there. And I pee. Because what if the farmer wants to have sex right away when I get there? He rarely does. But peeing at the gas station is my expression of my hope. I get back in the car and listen to music. The transition is important. If you have a bad commute, your bad mood permeates your whole mood after the commute. I am determined to not let that happen. So the gas station stop is a separator. I have to rest there so the last 30 minutes is all that counts toward the post-commute mood. The last 30 minutes to his house is through rolling hills hiding large corn fields and small vegetable gardens, and every driver who passes by me waves like Im a neighbor. I have been talking all day. The farmer has been quiet all day. So when I pull up the dirt road, I go straight to the porch, lay my head on his lap, and I listen. I listen to his voice above the wrestling wind through the tall corn stalks. He reports chicken and cows and hay for thirty minutes while I rest. And then Moby Dick. Hes reading that. He tells me about Ahabs antics from the three nights since I have been there. I am stuck on the fact that Ahab got crazier and crazier chasing his whale and he spent his whole life in transit, looking for it. I tell him my commute is insane. We go running in the hay field. He serves steaks as finger food. We sleep on his bed on the porch, sort of under the stars. In the morning I tell him again that the commute will never work. He tells me he sees were at a big decision point in the relationship and he needs time to think. Alone. Alone? Yes. How long? Just a week. Silence. How about six days? We make a plan. And I set off for the commute to work, wondering what will happen next. He leaves me with two dozen eggs, some just-ripe squash, and a bite mark on the inside of my thigh.

Complete Guide to Pitching Bloggers Using Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Complete Guide to Pitching Bloggers Using Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, anyone can become a member of the media. PR practitioners care wholeheartedly about the blogger population these days, but they tend to treat them like traditional journalists. We shouldnt be surprised with the sheer amount of press releases that cross wire services, and PR people who flock to bloggers for extra coverage (this especially happens in niche markets). To me, PR has become the supreme way of communicating your personal brand. PR has the power to make you a celebrity or to skip over you to the next expert who has one extra connection or a lot of money (to pay PR firms). In order to become known, the media (blogs/traditional sources) is the way to grow your brand and your business. PR vs the media Aside from Chris Andersons PR lashings and promotion of PR email addresses, there have been other feuds on the net. Gina Trapani, of Lifehacker fame, has her own blacklist now. Nothing against either of these web celebrities, but I think they need to reconsider posting peoples email addresses and names. I say this because, as Ive noted before, this information will stay in Google for the duration of peoples lives and possibly tarnish their brand. I use an example below, but hide the persons information, because my job is to help people instead of punish them. We can learn from mistakes without addressing individuals directly. There has been a lot of mentions on how PR people are evil and how they dont understand bloggers. There are even blogs called The Bad Pitch and The Good Pitch. Before we break this topic down anymore, I would like to recommend the top 5 PR agencies that get it and the personal brands behind them. 1) Edelman Steve Rubel 2) Outcast Dave Donohue (disclaimer: they are EMCs PR Agency) 3) FutureWorks PR Brian Solis 4) Shift Todd Defren 5) Perkett PR Jeff Glasson Bad pitch example Tips when pitching bloggers 1) Know your blogger. What works for one blogger may not work for another: Im not sure any blogger has mentioned this tip yet, but feel its essential. Since people have individuality, read information differently and have inborn personal preferences, a press release may work for one and a phone call might work for someone else. Some bloggers might enjoy your usage of social media, such as Twitter (Twitpitch) in order to connect with them and share news. 2) Dont play by the rules because there are no rules. Few bloggers may admit to you that there are actually no rules (at least yet) for distributing content through a blog. If you email a blogger, understand that it may be leveraged for a blog post within the next 5 minutes. In traditional media practices, there are editors and policies, whereas blogs are created by individuals, who dont have any organizational constraints. Steve Rubel talks about this as well. All you can do is use best practices that are highlighted in this post and the ones linking from it. 3) Lead with your personal brand. As with everything else we talk about on this blog; you need to introduce yourself by explaining who you are and who you are representing. Ryan Block of Engadget sheds some light on this as well. Brand recognition matters as well. If I already know the person who is pitching me, the probability that I will at least respond is quite high. 4) Become a part of their community. This involves reading their posts, commenting on the posts that you can contribute value or experience to, sharing their posts and linking to their blog. Basically, bloggers love dealing with other bloggers. If you are a PR person, then just having a blog will position you favorably to other bloggers. Darren Rowse has some tips on this as well. 5) Content is king, even with PR pitches. Bloggers enjoy fresh and relevant content, that is unique or special to them. In order to do this, you must customize your pitch to fit their preferences, which you can learn about on their blog. Also, in the subject line of your pitch, use their name. The more effort you put into the strategy behind the pitch and the actually content, the less work we have to do to post it. Lee Odden talks about this in more depth. 6) The social media release. More than anything, I believe in the value of a press release that has extra components to it. The flat and original release has too much spin and is typically too long. Another issue is that it doesnt tabulate the conversations around the release and is only consumable in written format. The social media release or SMR uses multimedia elements, such as podcasts and pictures (YouTube/Flickr), embedded hyperlinks, and sharing utilities such as Digg, del.icio.us and Redit. These releases are optimized for the web as well. Here are a few examples. Bloggers appreciate this type of release because there is rich content for their posts. 7) Be passionate and creative. Scott Monty is one of my favorite web 2.0 friends and he blogged about how we was pitched by two people who constructed a video-pitch on YouTube. He enjoyed it so much that he blogged about the pitch, endorsing the product as well. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSd0V5MxdRQ] 8 ) Relationships still trump everything. If you are already friends with the person you are pitching, it becomes less of a pitch and more of a friendly conversation. The first question a blogger asks when receiving a pitch is do I know you?

Writing a Production Assistant Resume

Writing a Production Assistant ResumeWriting a production assistant resume is one of the most crucial steps you need to take when applying for a position in the film industry. For aspiring directors, or for new writers, it is a basic requirement to produce a resume, especially if you want to enter into the film industry.How does a production assistant work? They are used by studios to help organize the everyday running of a movie studio, by assisting with activities such as rehearsals, workshops, shooting and post-production tasks.This will be an entry level job, so it may not pay much, but it is a full time job that can be done from home. The salary ranges from about $10 per hour for a variety of tasks, to more. It is not necessary to have any experience to get a job, as employers want people with experience who can show enthusiasm for their work.When writing a production assistant resume, you must take note of these types of duties. If you think you might do well with this, then yo u should send your resume to several film production companies and write down everything you can about what type of things you could do for them.What kind of experience do you have in the film industry, such as directing or acting? You might want to consider applying for a producing assistant, which would get you more experience in this field. Production assistants often get noticed for their enthusiasm and hard work.Sometimes, you will need to write a production assistant resume that emphasizes this as the first thing, and it is an additional attachment to your CV. Some companies ask for your resume first before they interview you, which can lead to the studio making you an offer. Always have a bit of extra information on your resume so that you are visible as someone who is willing to contribute and needs the money to do so. By knowing how to write a production assistant resume, you can start looking for jobs faster. Also, if you are talented in directing, and can create your own short films, then you can still go on to more serious jobs and make your own film. It is worth taking a shot at it, to keep your skills up to date.You need to show companies what you can do, especially if you are writing a production assistant resume. Let them know that you can produce movies, shoot them, edit them, and can serve as a proof of experience.

3 Easy Ways to Make a Successful Career Plan CareerMetis.com

3 Easy Ways to Make a Successful Career Plan â€" CareerMetis.com Source â€" Pexels.comEveryone needs a career plan to follow; it’s not good enough to wander through your working life and take whatever comes your way.Yes, there are random events that impact us, but we are in a better position to respond to them and carve out a rewarding outcome if we have an end game in mind.There are many suggestions offered by many experts on how to develop a career plan, but the secret is to come up with an approach that works for you; that fits your unique capabilities, perspective, and outlook.evalI developed my own career game plan method. I didn’t want a boilerplate; I wanted something different that would focus on the practical task of implementation as opposed to having a “grand plan”.What I didn’t want was a planning framework that everyone else used that merely focused on the completeness of the plan; making sure that all of the boilerplate topics were covered, and expecting that success would come from that.The process that I created â€" and h as worked for me over a 33-year career from an analyst position to the president â€" was to build a path to your destiny by answering three basic questions.1) What job do you want?evalThis question addresses personal growth â€" what specific position do you covet and when?Most people are vague when asked about their career goals: “I would like a position managing people” or “I want to lead a marketing or sales team”.These aspirations don’t feed implementation very well; they don’t direct you to a specific action plan. And a game plan that can’t be executed isn’t worth much.Define the specific position you intend to get and when you intend to get there. It makes a big difference to the actions you take, for example, if you are interested in a VP Marketing position versus a Sales Account Manager position.evalAnd be as clear as you can on the organization you are targeting. Your game plan tactics will be different if you are interested in BMW as opposed to Apple. Each h as a different business challenge and a different priority on the skills and competencies they require.Too many career hunters are unclear on where they want to land, which is a normal situation for most people. The problem is, as long as you are hovering over a number of possibilities you don’t act. You ponder and reflect. But you don’t DO anything to move forward.It’s better to declare what you think you want today based on the best information you have available and your particular interests. Go after it. You will learn soon enough if it is the right path and you can then adjust your game plan on the run.The answer to this question could be “I intend to achieve a sales director role with BMW in 12 months”.2) Who can help you?evalWho are the individuals â€" the foxes â€" within an organization who influence decisions on who gets selectedfor various positions in the organization you are targeting?Career game plan success means engaging with the right people to spread your word and get attention so you get the invitation to make your pitch. I have seen many talented people fail because they did not cultivate the right channels to express their skills and experience.If you covet the VP Marketing position for TELUS, for example, identify who can help you, and “mentor up” with high currency individuals.Other venues for your fox hunt include social media communities, Chambers of Commerce, Boards of Trade and Industry Associations.The answer to this question could be: “I will focus my attention on and efforts on connecting with TELUS managers who are on LinkedIn as well as who are members of local communications networking groups”.3) How can you beat your competition?The competition for career positions has never been greater; you need to be able to position yourself as THE most logical choice; you need to separate yourself from the job-hunting herd.The killer questions you must have a believable and compelling answer to is: “There are many appl icants for this position; why should I pick you?” “What makes you special?”If your pitch doesn’t crisply identify the experience and competencies you possess that are critical for the position AND how you are different from others, you won’t likely get picked.My eyes glaze over when I hear “I have great interpersonal skills.” or “I have 10 years of sales experience.”evalCreate your personal ONLY statementto express your uniqueness. The one I came up with was â€" “I am will the ONLY one with demonstrated marketing experience necessary to successfully move the organization from a regulated monopoly to competitive one requiring an obsessive focus on the customer and delivering highly differentiated value.”Test the statement with friends and colleagues and be prepared to provide proof points to defend your words.The answer to this question could be: “I intend to compete with other potential candidates â€" and win â€" by being the ONLY one who has the sales experi ence of delivering both double-digit revenue growth from my high-value clients AND growth in their loyalty”.3 questions; 3 answers and you have a game plan to start your career journey.Ponder no longer.eval

Putting It Out There

Putting It Out There A great number of Boomers are not comfortable putting themselves out there.   They are far different from the narcissistic Gen Y who seek opportunities to share information about themselves readily. Maybe the Boomers can learn something from the younger generation. Ryan Healy of Brazen Careerist addresses two key points: 1) People have the power (hard to believe but true) 2) People make the best matches You have to read the full article to see why.   It makes sense to me! Frequently I hear Boomers or Gen X job seekers or transitioners tell me that they dont want to put their information out there.   FEAR.   What they dont understand yet is that they have to play.   LinkedIn is the bare minimum.   Recruiters of all kinds from all industries are using this tool to find candidates.   Healy explains there are too many factors to consider when hiring.   Plus: But the truth is that the future of online recruiting is not simply in search engines. It’s in human connections and conversations. Brazen Careerist has taken the concept of self promotion one step further by offering a forum/tool to attract match making.   Social Resumes.   Here are some of the components that can be incorporated: You might be thinking it sounds a bit like VisualCV.   Yes, but with more real time features.   It is also within the Brazen domain and I think that draws some employers.   Its interactive, VisualCV is not. I am not necessarily suggesting that you all pop your information on Social Resumes.   I am however, suggesting that you begin to consider the fact that you have power to promote and control you message.   You also should remember that having the greatest resume in the world wont necessarily get you the job.   Getting the job is about relationships

How to stay motivated at work during the holidays

How to stay motivated at work during the holidays Oh, the weather outside is frightful….but you’re stuck inside an office building collating papers all day while your boss and their family jets off to sunny beaches for the week. It can be depressing, especially when you look outside and see nothing but gray skies. During the end of the year rush, a lot of employees will save their vacation time to use during the holiday season, and while people are out of the office on vacation, it becomes very important to try and stay motivated in an empty office building. Here are some ways that you can stay motivated during the holiday season: Clean your office Take some time and go through your office area, closet, filing cabinet, desk tops, email inbox, whatever and make sure what items you need or which can be discarded. Cleaning is a great distraction from everyday boredom, so find some time for your office. Schedule business meetings during slow times You can invite potential or current clients to your office during the holiday season. The business meeting can be as formal or informal as you like, but make sure you stack the place with plenty of refreshments. You can serve finger foods or have a local restaurant cater the lunch. Whatever you do, do not spike the eggnog. Planning for next year A lot of businesses are given a yearly budget to spend before the year is up, and leftover funds cannot be rolled over into next year, so they are lost. If you act quickly you can build relationships with these companies and then hit them up for business as the end of the year comes, they will have excess cash that will not be around for the New Year, so why not spend it now? Review your marketing or business expansion plan Take a look at your goals and see which ones have been accomplished and find dates of completion for your other plans. If you have any unfinished goals, you can add them to the list for next year. The end of the year gets many people worried about next year, but this is your chance to be one step ahead. Go to every networking or holiday event When the holidays are in season, you can bet there will be holiday parties. But while others are busy socializing, you can be busy building relationships with people you meet at these events. Keep your eyes open because you never know when you’ll pick up a new client. Offer close out deals If you are a small business, discount prices and packages for existing clients, or even new clients, as a great way to form alliances with a strategic business. Deals allow you to reach that one tough client you’ve been trying to get and at this time of the year, a lot of bosses want to look good on the bottom line. Switch it up and do something different every day Have coffee from somewhere new or just add two sugars instead of one. No matter what it is, just try something new. Break up the monotony.