Displaying All Posts tagged with Office Life

How Do You Handle Distractions?

Some people use headphones or a closed door to tell office mates when they’d rather not be disturbed. Some resort to web plugins to block certain websites that are just too good to resist (I’m looking at you, Facebook and ApartmentTherapy!). Others could work just fine with the TV blaring, phone ringing, and small children screaming incoherently.

How do you deal with distractions?

Do you put up a “Do Not Disturb” sign? Lock yourself in a secluded room without TV or phone service? Or are you one of those lucky few who don’t get fazed by noise or other disruptions?

As a work-at-home freelance writer without kids or pets, I don’t have many of the same distractions that office workers or even work-at-home parents have. Still, there are plenty of cyber-distractions threatening to hijack my productivity. I give myself a few minutes of Facebook and Twitter time each day (after all, social media is like my virtual water cooler and without it out I might go stir crazy all day by myself). Then it’s “back to work, missy.” Occasionally, when deadlines loom and household chores beckon, I might escape to the library or coffee shop.

What about you? While there are some suggestions here, we want to hear from our WorkAwesome readership…let us know in the comments. Click Here to Read Article …

Ask Forgiveness, Not Permission

Peter North 7th June Office Life Leave a Comment

“Ask forgiveness, not permission.”

Have you heard this around your workplace? It’s basically a pithy way of saying “I’d rather you go too far than do too little.” Instead of getting bogged down in the bureaucracy, they’re telling you to move forward with your work – even if you have to bend a few rules.

Whoever says this to you clearly trusts your judgment and approves of your past work. The phrase may sound a little strange, but consider it a compliment and a testament to your reliability. You’re getting permission to bulldoze through the roadblocks instead of stopping the whole operation – you get to keep the “flow” going for both you and your organization.

Just don’t take it too far.

Have you ever worked for an organization that endorses this philosophy? Punishes those who follow it? Let us know in the comments. Click Here to Read Article …

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Paying Your Dues As An Entry-Level Employee

Peter North 5th June Goals Leave a Comment

“Entry-level” work often consists of the mundane, tedious tasks that managers and veterans just won’t do anymore. The term itself makes it quite clear that entry-level positions are at the bottom of the office rankings. Being the “new guy” or the “rookie” at work can seem like a raw deal, but the right outlook can help you pay your dues as painlessly as possible. It’s a rite of passage that almost every one of your co-workers survived at the start of their career. If you do your entry-level work right the first time, you’ll never have to revisit the bottom of the totem pole. But, if you approach it with a poor attitude and a shaky work ethic, you might find yourself a permanent position in entry-level limbo. Click Here to Read Article …

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How to Ask Your Boss to Work From Home

Mike Vardy 25th May Office Life Leave a Comment

I’m writing this article from home – where I’d love to do all of my work. Much of my writing is done here, but my day job doesn’t afford me the ability to enjoy the same “luxury.” That’s not to say I don’t do some of my work for my day job at home – that does happen from time to time. Actually, the separation of the two pursuits makes not only for a clear set of responsibilities depending on where I am (for example, I can leave my work at the office should I choose), but it makes for more productivity on the whole.

But many of you have one job. One that you could do just as easily from home. One that you know you could do better from home. So why not do that? How can you go from working at the office to working at home? Here’s a step by step method to get your boss to say “yes” to your request to work from home… Click Here to Read Article …

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Habits That Annoy Your Cubicle Mates

Ana da Silva 13th May Office Life Leave a Comment

There are certain habits that one has at home that should not be brought into Cube Land. We all have our habits and though we may disagree on what’s acceptable in our personal lives, the workplace is a different story as there are certain things that just do not belong in it at all. There is always the problem with the exposed belly for example (or the butt cleavage!). Then there are those things that I had thought were even more obvious but obviously they weren’t. Click Here to Read Article …

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In Conversation With: Sean Aiken of One-Week Job

Mike Vardy 12th May Career Leave a Comment

While we’re all striving to have an awesome time working at one job, I scored an interview with a gentleman you managed to do so with 52 of them over the span of one year!

Introducing Sean Aiken, founder and “do-er” of The One-Week Job Project. I met Sean last year at a local TEDx event and after hearing about his project, I knew I had to keep up with his adventures. He’s been featured on several major news outlets (New York Times, CBC, CNN, 20/20, among others) and has authored a book on the subject and documented his story on film as well. During my conversation with Sean, he discusses the reasons he embarked upon this year long journey and what his results were. I can tell you that his book about it, entitled (appropriately) The One-Week Job Project is available now at fine bookstores – both online and not-so-online. He’s also completed his film and was showcasing it at a private premiere this week. Hopefully it’ll come to a theatre or television near you in the not-too-distant future. Click Here to Read Article …

Why Complaining Doesn’t Work

Mike Vardy 15th March Career Leave a Comment

“I hate to be a kicker, I always long for peace, but the wheel that does the squeaking is the one that gets the grease.”

The above is the actual quote (often commonly stated as “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”) attributed to American humorist Josh Billings. It’s from his poem “The Kicker” describing his frustration with being polite and not getting his way with the authorities. A kicker, by the way, is also known by a more common name: a complainer.

Click Here to Read Article …

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Meetings 101: Always Bring Something to the Table

Mike Vardy 10th February Management Leave a Comment

During family dinners in my household, we’d all bring an item from the kitchen to the table. None was exempt from this ritual. No matter who cooked dinner that night, everyone ended up contributing to the meal because of what they brought to the table. What they brought was incidental–the fact they brought something was what was important.

The same applies in a work environment–especially in meetings. We all have different things we bring to the table. What we bring often depends on the role we have in the organization or the area of expertise we apply every day to our work. None of these are really any different than setting a dinner table – every part of the meal is important.

Click Here to Read Article …

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