What do you learn about work and business from games? Keep Reading…

Many of us are working at jobs that aren’t exactly horrible but they’re not quite our dream job, either. We might be harboring our own secret goal or ambition, but put it aside for the sake of a steady paycheck, benefits, and a sense of reasonable security.

But the more we ignore that persistent little tug that might be pointing us in a different direction, the stronger it gets. Eventually, you’ll have an important decision ahead of you—continue on the path you’re traveling, or at least consider pursuing that long-suppressed goal that’s never totally gone away. Keep Reading…

It sounds backwards, doesn’t it? How could you be “stuck” with a fairly decent job? In today’s economy, millions of unemployed workers would be delighted to be “stuck” with a steady stream of tolerable work.

But does that mean that we should be satisfied with “steady”?

The difference between a “steady” job and a great job involves the ability to personally invest yourself in your work: If you draw enthusiasm from what you’re doing, and you feel a personal stake in the success of your efforts, then you have a great job.  Keep this in mind:

Great jobs are part of your identity; steady jobs are just part of your resume.

Steady jobs are dangerous; they might be just barely good enough to keep you in a permanent holding pattern and stop you from pursuing that dream job. Your boss and your customers are never happy with the bare minimum, so why should you be happy with a job that is just good enough?

Ask yourself this: Is your job great, or just “steady”? Keep Reading…

Having goals is an automatic tendency for everyone – and the goals will be wide in range and scope.  What might be something you find not really worthy of being pursued another may envision as an ultimate achievement.  It is the achieving them that is the challenging part – although I’d argue that even sitting down to set goals is a larger challenge.  It should serve to be an offshoot of your to-do list…and once you’ve put them down and have them in writing, they’re a lot tougher to ignore.

The Freelance Folder blog put together a great post that not only outlines a few of the author’s “bucket list” items, but challenges the reader to come up with their own.  It’s an inspiring read and will hopefully serveto get you thinking about what you really want to achieve to live your life to the fullest.

The Freelancer’s Bucket List Keep Reading…

Keeping on top of your game both at work and in life is a real challenge; you can’t stay super-productive if you’re super-exhausted.  It just won’t happen.

This is where having a workout routine comes into play.

It’s called a “workout” for a reason – it’s work.  You have to treat it as such.  If you didn’t show up for work when you were scheduled, you’d have to face the consequences.  Same goes with working out.  Both set of consequences could spell long-term trouble for you.

Freelancers may have an easier time consistently working out – they generally have a strong sense of self-discipline to call on and keep them honest.  That said, they may be “too busy” to do a regular workout.  Those who work at the office 9 to 5 will use the same excuse – or bring up plenty of others that fit the bill.

A site I like to check out for fitness tips is NerdFitness – and it’s fitting that the creator of the site, Steve Kamb, took the plunge this week by quitting his “safe” job to focus solely on the site.  He’s got the goods to make it all work, too.

So, what’s your workout routine?  What are your favorite sites to get fitness tips?  Let us know in the comments. Keep Reading…

Life is pretty good here in Canada.  Things are generally pretty quiet, so much so that a lottery jackpot going unclaimed for three weeks in a row is newsworthy.  Very newsworthy.

LottoMax is a weekly lottery where you pick seven numbers, from 1 to 49, for your chance to win.  The pot starts at $10 million, and once it hits $50 million it goes into super-fancy “maxmillions” mode, with additional $1 million draws on top of the main jackpot.   The other night there was one draw for the $50 million prize, and an additional 45 – $1 million draws.  No one won the $50 million.

The odds of winning are 1 in 28 million, but considering that there are only 33 million people in Canada – it’s surprising that it hasn’t been won yet, but not that surprising that it’s featured prominently in the news.

So what does this have to do with WorkAwesome?  I’m sure I’m not the only one to play the “what if?” game:

“What would I do if I won the big jackpot?”

How much would you need to win in order to quit your job?  Or would you keep working where you are if you had an extra $50 million in the bank?  Would you move on to something else altogether – something you truly love?

What would you do if you won the big jackpot?  Keep Reading…

Some people keep a giant calendar listing all of their deadlines. Others use online tools like Google Calendar or ReminderFox to keep track of important dates. Whatever your strategy, I think we can all agree that deadlines are pretty darn important.

I use an Excel spreadsheet that lists all my past, current, and future writing assignments. Upcoming deadlines are in green and projects I’ve completed are in black. I reserve red for when checks are overdue, which (knock on wood) doesn’t happen very often. Admittedly, it’s rather low-tech compared to the other options out there, but it works. After all, Excel is pretty versatile.

What about you? How do you ensure that you never miss a deadline? Keep Reading…

One really awesome way to give your personal productivity a nice boost is to get your very own manifesto. Not to be confused with the mission statement, a manifesto is like the mission statement’s tougher, cooler older brother or sister. The awesome one that everyone likes, everyone respects and everyone emulates because they’re totally punk rock and better than you at everything.

Don’t let the most famous manifesto dissuade you either. Yes, I know Karl Marx wrote one. But so did Guy Kawasaki, career renegade Jonathan Fields and designer Bruce Mau. In fact, there is a whole website dedicated to people’s manifestos on various topics ranging from change and achievement to creativity and how to give a compelling presentation.

A manifesto is a bold statement, or extended mantra, that sets a tone for your day, your career, heck, even your life. It’s a road map to awesomeness that should induce a surge of adrenaline pulsing through your body with each reading. Keep Reading…

We are always rolling the idea of a “dream job” around in our heads. Whether you’re sagging your head on a slow workday or sweating bullets during a hectic one, thoughts of your perfect job will cross your mind. What is a “dream job” anyway? It’s different for everyone, but it usually comes to us as an ever-changing counterpoint to our current job: If you’re bored by your current job, you dream of an active, fulfilling one. If you’re overloaded with work, you dream of a slower, simpler workday. If you have no autonomy at your current job, you dream of being an entrepreneur empowered with control over your own destiny.

But, despite all of these passing, changing thoughts, few of us have paused and allowed our dream job the consideration it deserves. Ask yourself: Have you given any real thought or definition to your dream job? Would you recognize it if you saw it? Would you be ready to pursue it if it appeared? If you struggle with any of the answers, perhaps you should stop, sit down, and give the matter your full attention. Keep Reading…