It may be tough to stay motivated at work every day, all day, through the cold months and into spring. So, how do we get motivated when we feel overwhelmed with too much to do?
Practical information is the only useful thing I can provide. “Rah, rah, you can do it” is not going to work for people who procrastinate or who already feel like they can’t do everything they need to.
So, Step 1: Make a priority list! Think about the big picture and what things really matter at home and at work. What brings revenue into the home and workplace? Preserving your credit and keeping a job to ensure bills are paid may be at the top of your list. What keywords are important? In the home, you may include food, shelter, electricity, and credit cards payments. At work, it could be what you are selling, whether a service, oil, retail, or whatever is it that keeps the business humming along.
Step 2: Write up a task list, starting with the day to day tasks that need to be accomplished. Home tasks may include doing dishes and paying bills. Work tasks might include answering emails, pumping gas, or whatever those tasks are that you were hired to complete. Start with the small tasks that can get done quickly and work down to the heavy stuff that may take awhile. You will be more motivated to check things off the list that can get done easily, and this momentum should help you tackle the bigger projects once you get to them!
Step 3: Find someone to help with accountability, whether it be a friend, spouse, or co-worker. Then, commit to that person and to yourself that you will work through these lists with deadlines attached.
This brings me to Step 4: Give yourself some rewards! Think of small but fun rewards to help motivate you, like if I do the first five things on my list by Friday, I will buy that new CD I’ve been wanting!
Step 5 is to be okay with good enough. This one can be tough for a lot of people. Let’s be realistic; many of us are perfectionists and we delay starting things for fear that it won’t be good enough. Well, to kick start that motivation, you have to be okay with average. Just getting the task completed on time is good enough.
And lastly, for today, Step 6: work your way through these lists in ten to twenty minute increments. No one has hours and hours of spare time, but we all have at least ten minutes here and there to get our priorities straight, and complete the tasks that have the most impact in the shortest amount of time!
Congratulations, you are now on your way to working through that massive to do list!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
A man and a woman walk into a bar
A man and a woman walk into a bar one afternoon and sit on a couple of stools, loudly discussing what’s new. The man starts talking about work while the woman talks about being out of work.
Yes, I was eavesdropping. And yes, I was in a bar in the middle of the afternoon, but I was on holidays! Being a writer, an employer, and in the staffing industry, I felt I had a legitimate reason for eavesdropping as I thought perhaps I could be of assistance to the woman. Instead, I found myself holding my tongue.
The woman was discussing how she really needs a job and how she has sent out hundreds of resumes, but was not getting any interviews. I was dying to ask her where she was sending these hundreds of resumes. Was she blasting them out without cover letters, addressed to no one in particular? She would have been better off researching a few companies that were at the top of her list, finding out exactly what they were looking for, tracking down a contact name, and personalizing the application. I remained silent.
The woman continued to tell her employed friend about how everyday she would do a quick internet search for jobs, usually finding that she was overqualified for most of the opportunities that came up. She went on about how she refused to apply for 20 dollar per hour jobs, when she has the skill set of a 30 dollar per hour person! Ugh, I almost jumped across the bar.
So how about this, I felt like announcing, apply for positions that interest you, in the industries that are comparable to your past work experience, and be open to taking a pay cut. Why? Because once someone is working, they start to feel better. They feel like a valuable part of society, their skills are improving or at least being maintained, and they are meeting people who perhaps can help them advance their career in the future. Once you prove your abilities in a company, doors should open up to you and you should find yourself working your way up the ladder.
If I’d decided to speak up, I would have told that woman to keep her options open, apply in person, make follow up calls, and not put herself on a pedestal about wages. Once in the interview, if offered the job, there might be some negotiation on pay or the opportunity to negotiate wage reviews in three months. But instead of speaking up, I let this woman go on complaining and it became very clear to me why she was still unemployed. On the bright side, she gave me a great article idea.
Yes, I was eavesdropping. And yes, I was in a bar in the middle of the afternoon, but I was on holidays! Being a writer, an employer, and in the staffing industry, I felt I had a legitimate reason for eavesdropping as I thought perhaps I could be of assistance to the woman. Instead, I found myself holding my tongue.
The woman was discussing how she really needs a job and how she has sent out hundreds of resumes, but was not getting any interviews. I was dying to ask her where she was sending these hundreds of resumes. Was she blasting them out without cover letters, addressed to no one in particular? She would have been better off researching a few companies that were at the top of her list, finding out exactly what they were looking for, tracking down a contact name, and personalizing the application. I remained silent.
The woman continued to tell her employed friend about how everyday she would do a quick internet search for jobs, usually finding that she was overqualified for most of the opportunities that came up. She went on about how she refused to apply for 20 dollar per hour jobs, when she has the skill set of a 30 dollar per hour person! Ugh, I almost jumped across the bar.
So how about this, I felt like announcing, apply for positions that interest you, in the industries that are comparable to your past work experience, and be open to taking a pay cut. Why? Because once someone is working, they start to feel better. They feel like a valuable part of society, their skills are improving or at least being maintained, and they are meeting people who perhaps can help them advance their career in the future. Once you prove your abilities in a company, doors should open up to you and you should find yourself working your way up the ladder.
If I’d decided to speak up, I would have told that woman to keep her options open, apply in person, make follow up calls, and not put herself on a pedestal about wages. Once in the interview, if offered the job, there might be some negotiation on pay or the opportunity to negotiate wage reviews in three months. But instead of speaking up, I let this woman go on complaining and it became very clear to me why she was still unemployed. On the bright side, she gave me a great article idea.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
What makes a great leader?
I have read so many articles, books, stories, and emails about the qualities of great leaders. Most of the information out there is about the touchy feely metrics of great leadership. Even I have been known to talk about the necessary qualities of leaders in order to take employees to their full potential.
Every business needs a leader, someone who can stand at the helm and create the vision. Even if the business is small, someone needs to create the direction the company will go. Most experts would agree that leadership needs to start with vision, then must live and breathe the communication of that vision.
A great leader makes fast decisions, and then works hard to make sure they are the right decisions, making necessary changes along the way. A good leader will also realize when they don’t know the answer and will go out and find someone who does. I believe true leaders do not have an ego; they don’t feel the need to tell everyone how important they are and they treat everyone in their company with respect, understanding that each person in the organization offers value.
A great leader is trusted and is trusting of the people around them. A leader needs to understand the bottom line of the business, because if there is no money, there is no business. Well, that is unless they work in government! A good leader needs to know how to get employees to be productive most of the time, but knows that all of the time is unrealistic.
A good leader knows their competition, who it is and what they do, and respects not abuses this knowledge. Good leaders know that true teamwork in the workplace means a fair distribution of workload and offering a fair pay for the work done.
I have heard that good leaders manage change, but I disagree. I believe good leaders see change far off in the horizon and plan for it, knowing that business environments are always changing and it’s better to foresee this change and be proactive.
A few key traits that I have seen in great leaders are sincerity, loyalty, quiet power and understanding. There is a ton of literature on great leadership, but I am sure there is a good reason for all of it. My reason for writing this article is because I feel we do not see that many great leaders these days. There are a lot of average leaders leading the businesses of today, and those who think they are great, are often the worst ones! I bet many employees would agree with me.
Every business needs a leader, someone who can stand at the helm and create the vision. Even if the business is small, someone needs to create the direction the company will go. Most experts would agree that leadership needs to start with vision, then must live and breathe the communication of that vision.
A great leader makes fast decisions, and then works hard to make sure they are the right decisions, making necessary changes along the way. A good leader will also realize when they don’t know the answer and will go out and find someone who does. I believe true leaders do not have an ego; they don’t feel the need to tell everyone how important they are and they treat everyone in their company with respect, understanding that each person in the organization offers value.
A great leader is trusted and is trusting of the people around them. A leader needs to understand the bottom line of the business, because if there is no money, there is no business. Well, that is unless they work in government! A good leader needs to know how to get employees to be productive most of the time, but knows that all of the time is unrealistic.
A good leader knows their competition, who it is and what they do, and respects not abuses this knowledge. Good leaders know that true teamwork in the workplace means a fair distribution of workload and offering a fair pay for the work done.
I have heard that good leaders manage change, but I disagree. I believe good leaders see change far off in the horizon and plan for it, knowing that business environments are always changing and it’s better to foresee this change and be proactive.
A few key traits that I have seen in great leaders are sincerity, loyalty, quiet power and understanding. There is a ton of literature on great leadership, but I am sure there is a good reason for all of it. My reason for writing this article is because I feel we do not see that many great leaders these days. There are a lot of average leaders leading the businesses of today, and those who think they are great, are often the worst ones! I bet many employees would agree with me.
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