Increasing your productivity in the kitchen is something we can all use, especially if we have a family to feed. A boost in productivity will especially be helpful to working mothers who cook for their families, due to the scarcity of time that they have allotted to preparing dinner each night. Even stay-at-home Dads or freelancing folk can be well served learning the art of fast cooking. What steps can be taken to achieve an increase in kitchen productivity? Click Here to Read Article …
Popular search terms for this article:Using Spare Time: What Can You Do in 10 Minutes?
Imagine you have a scheduled appointment or phone call in 10 minutes (let’s assume that you’re fully prepped for the appointment – or it’s not the type of thing that requires advanced work). 10 minutes is not enough time to tackle a major project, but still enough time to accomplish some small task. The question is: what will that task be?
When I have a window of spare time, I typically pull up Google Reader and scan through a couple of posts. It’s productive, because I’d want to read those posts at some point later. However, sometimes I’ll keep longer posts marked as unread if I don’t want to get sucked in to a “think” piece.
What about you? Will you click over to Facebook or Twitter and see what your friends are up to? Open a desk drawer and give it a quick refresh? Or start that big project and return to it later? Click Here to Read Article …
Popular search terms for this article:what can you do in 10 minutes, what to do for 10 minutes, what to do in 10 minutes, what to do in spare time, What can I do for 10 minutes, what can i do in 10 minutes, things to do in spare time, what can you do in ten minutes, 10 minutes to spare, things to do in 10 minutes
Do You Actually Use an RSS Reader?
Last week, I gave seven advanced tips on reading RSS feeds. The post got some nice comments and fueled further discussion, and fellow WorkAwesome contributor Georgiana Cohen followed up with some Google Reader tips.
While I personally love my RSS reader, there are no doubts about the fact that RSS usage has seen a decline since it was invented. The main reason behind that: the birth of a variety of content aggregators and social media tools in the last 2-3 years.
I’ve found more and more people moving towards things like Twitter lists, alerts and aggregators like Alltop for consuming content. The good ol’ feed reader may be not be that relevant anymore.
Do you still use a feed reader as the primary tool to consume content? If not, what do you use? Click Here to Read Article …
Popular search terms for this article:5 Tips for Happy Office Sharing
Having office space to share can definitely be a great thing. But even if you and your office mate are the best of friends, it still has its challenges. Think of any other time in your life where you shared space with another person – whether it was your parents, a total stranger at summer camp or your freshman year at college. This is the same type of situation; you have to adjust to another person’s quirks, habits, and styles. Yet unlike a shared living space scenario, moving out may not be so easy. For this reason alone, it’s crucial to communicate and keep a high level of mutual respect in order to maintain harmonious office co-habitation. Click Here to Read Article …
Popular search terms for this article:sharing an office, office sharing, sharing an office with a coworker, happy office, sharing an office at work, sharing office, how to share an office with a coworker, sharing offices, sharing an office space, how to share office space
Realism vs. Enthusiasm in the Workplace
Enthusiasm in the workplace is in a constant territorial battle with realism. New ideas emerge from your group, and they will either get welcomed by the energy of enthusiasm or cut down by the criticism of an overly-cautious environment. Every new idea, good or bad, has a risk and a cost involved. The ultimate challenge in any organization is to separate the viable ideas from the unworthy ones.
Where enthusiasm wins, you may find a daily brainstorm of overambitious ideas, all of which get encouraged, approved and pursued. The aftermath of enthusiasm’s victory is an ever-growing list of large, ambitious projects, and a staff stretched so thin that even the best ideas don’t get the attention they deserve. If you speak up and suggest that the group “picks their battles,” your realistic thinking might look like the product of a poor, negative attitude.
Where realism wins, the best ideas get cut down alongside the bad ones. People become obsessed with managing expectations, limiting the scope of projects, and running a “tight ship.” There’s no room in over-realism for risk; the status quo prevails. Practicality dictates that the ship “stays the course.”
Perhaps the best thing to do is fuel the fire, achieve “double-agent” status, and make sure there’s a constant, healthy battle between the two. You may not want either side to win.
Have you encountered over-enthusiasm? Have you been to a place that is all too cautious and realistic? Click Here to Read Article …
Popular search terms for this article:Working Like A Deep Sea Diver
Deep sea divers strain to survive in the depths of their work environment. There’s a lot to be won in those deep waters, but they need a long, meticulous preparation ritual to ward themselves from the intense pressure of their workplace. After the job is done, it takes a long time to “decompress” from their daily routine and recover from the effort.
Surface level work can feel exactly the same. High expectations, low resources and constantly changing priorities can leave you reaching for the nearest oxygen mask. Frequently, workers struggle to hold themselves in “working stiff” mode during the week. As a result, their weekends are mostly spent “decompressing” from the past week and preparing for the next.
Deep sea diving isn’t exactly safe or healthy, but to some it’s a way of life. They wouldn’t have it any other way. Maybe it’s crazy; maybe it’s just good, hard work.
Does your work ever feel like deep sea diving? Have you got a winning formula to prepare for – or recover from – the pressure of intense work? Are you the cautious kind that fishes stress-free on the surface, or do you take the plunge for the big game? Click Here to Read Article …
Popular search terms for this article:deep sea diver, deep sea diving, deep sea divers, sea diver, sea divers
Google Voice Tips for More Productive Communication
Last week was a big week in the world of phone services. The Apple faithful got their hands on the iPhone 4. New Droid phones were announced. And Google Voice announced that anyone can sign up for its free service.
What, you don’t know about Google Voice? That’s probably because it has only been open to people who get invited to use it. You had to know someone who knew someone who invited them.
Not anymore. No one has to wait for an invitation to use this service which can help you organize your telephone use.
How does it do that? Well, at the heart of it is the free number you can create and use to make free calls in the United States. And cheap international calls. But sorry, for now you have to be in the United States to use it – or at least have a United States number. Click Here to Read Article …
Popular search terms for this article:google voice tips, google voice tricks, google voice mexico, google voice tips and tricks, google voice in mexico
Join Our Mailing List
Get twice-a-month updates from the blog and
occasional subscriber-only tips and giveaways.
