Displaying All Posts from April, 2011

Smart Ways to Get Outside the Office

Jacki Christopher 29th April Office Life 9 Comments
get-outside

You know about the push to go green, get outside into nature, and hug your fellow trees. But is it really worth it? Does too much time spent within four walls really lead to a disorder?

Experts have defined it—there is such a thing as Nature Deficit Disorder. Though Nature Deficit Disorder, the result of a cultural trend towards everything indoors, has been cited as a possible explanation for hyperactivity disorders in children, common sense would suggest that if kids are bearing the negative brunt of too much walled-in screen time, you could be too. Click Here to Read Article …

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7 Ways to an Effective Team Meeting

Rochelle del Callar 27th April Communication 8 Comments
team meeting

The top management has just assigned a very important project to your department. You eagerly gather your team and show them what the management wants. Your teammates share their opinions, brainstorm on ideas, laugh a little, and tell stories on their personal lives.

After two hours, you adjourn the meeting, anticipating what the team can and will do on this project. A week later, you ask your staff for updates and no one gives a good enough answer. You ask yourself, “Where are the accomplishments?”

It’s a common dilemma of managers. Many hours are spent on team meetings only to realize that nobody is clear on what they must do and nothing is accomplished. Click Here to Read Article …

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Why We Should Say “No”

Amy Hunter 25th April Communication 21 Comments
say no

A good friend of mine recently shared a secret with me. When I asked her how she managed to stay so calm, cool and collected, she told me it was something she learned years ago that has helped her both professionally and personally.

She learned to say “NO”.

Personal Observations

After listening to her share how this has changed her life, I tried to do this myself. While I’m still learning and caving once in awhile, I can now clearly see the benefits of using this little two-lettered word when need be.

You can do it too. It’s an easy way to change your life without spending any of your money or time. Try to say no more often and enjoy these benefits: Click Here to Read Article …

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Episode 18 – Jason Womack: Work Awesome Podcast

Mike Vardy 22nd April Podcast 15 Comments
womack

On this week’s episode of the Work Awesome podcast (the first under new ownership, I might add), we start a new era. A new theme will greet listeners as they tune in, but a familiar voice can still be heard as host.

I continue my journey with this site in my new role as Podcast Prodigy, and every other week the Work Awesome podcast will bring tips, tricks, interviews and more. This week, I had the opportunity to speak with Jason Womack, noted productivity expert and author. Jason is one of the principals at The Womack Company, a company that aims to help those in all walks of business (and in life) “level up” their productivity.

Jason recently inked a book deal with Wiley Publishing, and his first book under its banner, Your Best Just Got Better, will hit bookshelves later in 2011.
Click Here to Read Article …

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Personal Life Outside of Work

Scott McIntyre 20th April Office Life 8 Comments
personal-life

Are you spending longer at work these days, putting in extra hours just to get everything done? And, when you finally clock out and leave, do you bring your job — and workplace worries — through the front door with you?

It can be a constant struggle protecting your precious personal life from the pressures of work. And it’s a battle many people are losing.

The temptation is to do the extra hours tonight in the weak hope you’ll get caught up and be able to relax a little in the morning. But, the ‘to do’ list keeps on growing — and you end up waiting behind again tomorrow. Click Here to Read Article …

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How to Be Consistent & Get Stuff Done

Scott H Young 18th April Goals 38 Comments
consistent

It’s easy to go running once. It isn’t even that hard to go running for an entire month. What’s really difficult is going running, day after day, for years. It’s easy to start something; it’s much harder to consistently finish it.

Many people think consistency is a matter of willpower. That the people who exercise every day, always save a percentage of their income. Or those who manages to upkeep a blog for years have a special ability to endure.

I completely disagree. I think consistency has little to do with willpower and I want to use this article to explain why. Click Here to Read Article …

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Office Gossip — 3 Ways to Deal With It

Patricia Julian 15th April Office Life 11 Comments
office gossip

So the office gossiper approaches you, saying that she’s got the latest scoop on one of your co-workers. Do you sit down and listen eagerly, or do you walk away, proudly proclaiming that you don’t participate in office gossip of any kind?

Let’s admit it. We all participate in gossip at least once in a while in our lives. After all, it’s not always easy to resist a piece of new information about another person. Humans are naturally curious beings, most especially about each other.

Despite its bad reputation, gossip—the light talk about other people’s personal affairs—has helped humans learn more about each. It has proven to be useful as well. If you’re an art-lover, hearing that your new neighbor “was in the art gallery last week” could help you start a new and meaningful friendship.

Click Here to Read Article …

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Networking Tips for Freelancers

Amy Hunter 13th April Communication 8 Comments
networking tips

The idea of working at home is a dream for a lot of people and for good reason. Let’s face it: Who doesn’t like the idea of staying indoors in a nice warm house on a cold snowy winter day when everyone else is scraping ice off their windows so they can make a long slow commute during rush hour?

Problem is, there are some downsides to working at home, and I’m not talking about the obvious ones such as getting distracted or trying to constantly get away from home and work. I’m talking about something that can seriously hurt your professional career if you let it.

In business, it’s all about who you know and who you can call when you need a favor; you can’t put a price on having a good friend in your industry who will help you out in a jam. Networking is not hard if you work in a large office building with lots of people around who you talk to daily or at least occasionally. Working at home however is another story. Click Here to Read Article …

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Meet The New Owner: Tina Su

Tina Su 12th April Site News 61 Comments
tina su ryan work awesome

Hi Work Awesome!

My name is Tina Su. That’s me on the right. The little smiling boy I’m holding is my son, Ryan.

I’m the proud new owner here on Work Awesome. I just wanted to spend a moment to say hello and to introduce myself.

I am a writer, a photographer and a mom. I live in Seattle with my husband Jeremy, our son Ryan and our fluffy dog Tommy. I am Canadian from Toronto. I was born in Beijing, China.

I used to work as a Software Engineer for amazon.com, and later as a User Experience Designer. Somewhere along my cubical existence at amazon, I became obsessed with the topic of happiness, productivity and personal motivation.

In 2007, I began writing on these topics, sharing the life lessons I’ve learned on my blog–Think Simple Now. In 2008, I left my fulltime job to focus on my blog, thus transitioning into my new career as a professional blogger and online publisher.  This is what I do today.

I am passionate about many things: helping people lead happy lives is at the top of that list. And I am extremely honored to be able to oversee the direction for Work Awesome. I really want to maintain the current publication quality, and directing it such that the site continues to be a valuable resource to help you work happily and productively.

This site is about you and I am committed to creating the best experience for you. As such, please take a minute to tell me what type of content will make you happy via this quick survey.
Click Here to Read Article …

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Essential Email Tip: Clean Your Inbox Weekly

Carl Natale 11th April Productivity 5 Comments
Day 57 - The Day I Sent 90 Emails

When was the last time your e-mail inbox was empty?

I can’t remember either. I know the Getting Things Done gurus say it’s an essential step to reaching productive nirvana. But I just can’t reach it.

But look at it. I have less than 20 e-mails stashed in my inbox. The bulk are part of an e-course on content marketing that I subscribed to. And as soon as I’m done with this blog post, I’m reading all of them. Promise.

I confess that this doesn’t happen every day. Who has time for that?
Click Here to Read Article …

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Teambox: An Excellent Open Source Collaborative Project Management Solution

Leslie A Joy 9th April Software 17 Comments
Screen shot 2011-04-04 at 10.34.11 PM

While there are approximately 3 million project management apps (I’m guessing. I lost count around 102,463), TeamBox manages to stand out from the crowd by being both open source and focusing heavily on collaboration.

While many hosted web-based project management apps focus on collaboration, few of them are open source. And while there are quite a few open source project management apps, few focus heavily on collaboration in a way that’s designed for virtual teams.

Teambox has both of those covered.
Click Here to Read Article …

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Light a Fire! 4 Ways to Inspire Yourself (and Complacent Coworkers)

Breanna Carey 8th April Office Life Leave a Comment
spitting fire

You know the type…it may even be you.

That certain individual in the workplace who seems to get by on doing the least amount possible. It is frustrating when you’re working harder and they’re getting the same amount of credit. Although rare, it’s painful to attempt to distinguish yourself if everyone is assigned virtually the same job.That being said, in order to grow in your personal workspace and prove your value amidst co-workers and omnipotent bosses, you must actively seek out tasks, projects and ideas.

Armed and Ready

When faced with lazy and defiant co-workers, there is only so much energy that can be expelled into making them tolerable to deal with. Since some of us are extremely ambitious and learn best by doing things independently, we are inspired on our terms. Others require being told and shown. Which is where showcasing your particular earnest for a job yields varying results depending on who you are dealing with.

I’m a firm believer in kids needing to be inspired by someone or something in order to achieve things in life. The same can be said for adults who end up in a work environment that may not be their calling. People generally think well of and enjoy talking about themselves. You can learn immense amounts with active listening. Too many of us can’t wait to spit our next thought out only to have missed the punchline.

After working a number of random jobs, I’ve learned that tapping into another person’s interest is an easy and promising way to gain their trust. Through that connection you are able to find a way to get them more ‘in the game’ at work. Humor, when used correctly (no racist, sexist or grossly foul jokes); food, (ensuring that allergic concerns are addressed); discussing family pets and giving genuine compliments all work towards your success. Lazy workers dispel ‘against the grain’ personality types because they raise the bar for what’s expected at work and while change is a vital part of life, we tend to resist it. Disturb the stagnant water that is workplace politics and be prepared for a ripple effect.
Click Here to Read Article …

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