Ep 152 - The Bigger Strategy Behind Workplace Productivity - Workology

Ep 152 - The Bigger Strategy Behind Workplace Productivity - Workology Episode 152: The Bigger Strategy Behind Workplace Productivity with Maura Nevel Thomas (@mnthomas) The search for optimum productivity and maximum efficiency is a struggle as we juggle our personal lives and professional ones, not to mention friendships, families and our personal interests. There never seems like there is enough time to get things done. Our next podcast guest walks us through strategies for being your most productive and effective self, and tackling that to-do list. Episode 152: The Bigger Strategy Behind Workplace Productivity with Maura Nevel Thomas (@mnthomas) Maura Nevel Thomas is a productivity expert who trains individuals, organizations, and teams on how to be their most productive, organized, and happy selves. Mauras work has been featured all over the world in publications like the Harvard Business Review. In my ongoing quest to drive my own productivity, I didnt just want to focus on tools but the bigger picture and strategy behind being more productive at work, which is what Maura absolutely does. Maura talks us through what she calls attention management, which is very different from time management. Attention management is giving that person, that meeting, or that moment your full attention. You can manage your time well, but not be present in a conversation with a friend, say, over lunch because you are waiting on a call from a business colleague. Maura says that attention management is just as important as time management, if not more so. With all of our modern distractions, the ability to be present  in the moment during a project or meeting is of the utmost importance. If you can focus your attention, Maura says the ability to be present in your moments and to engage your flow can bring out your highest performing and best self. Bringing Intentionality to Your Work Day: Workflow Management Maura says that it isnt just focus that can drive success.  The decision to be organized and productive is an intentional one and it keeps us from getting swept away by all of the demands that are constantly assaulting us. Maura says that offering training and support in this area is how an organization can support the productivity of its staff. Doing so frees up their people to really bring the full weight of their genius to the organization, contributing to the organizations success. Intentionality is more than being focused. Its about promising yourself, your team, and your organization that you wont fall into the trap of reaction. As a leader, we can really help our teams grow and flourish by giving them the tools to be successful not just at work but in all aspects of their lives through productivity training and resources. One of these intentional philosophies and processes when it comes to productivity is something that Maura calls workflow management. The system serves as a guide and process for those of us (including myself) who arent fans of those things. It still needs to be a part of our lives in order to be able to function at our best. Ive been diving into Mauras book,  Work Without Walls, and am committed to bringing more structure to my life. Maura shares that creative people (which I am) especially need this so they can be their most creative selves. I love Maura’s insights and the idea that we have control over the environment and the distractions that we let into our lives. Interviewing Maura reminds me of this as, during this podcast interview, I had no less than two phone calls, three text messages and a handful of emails notifying me that they had arrived. It’s easy to fall into that trap where we have to be always available. I hope that together we can help become better at attention management and workflow processes together. It’s something I’m really focused on the rest of this year. Connect with Maura Nevel Thomas. RECOMMENDED RESOURCES 4 Organizational Mistakes That Plague Modern Knowledge Workers Your Late-Night Emails Are Hurting Your Team Not As Productive As You Could Be? Heres the Secret Why Quitting is the Secret to Ultimate Productivity Essential Productivity Hacks for Young Leaders The Workplace Productivity Lie We Tell Ourselves How to Subscribe to the Workology Podcast Stitcher PocketCast iTunes Podcast RSS Google Play YouTube TuneIn You can also click here to find out how to be a guest on the Workology Podcast. *A special thank you to my production team at Total Picture Radio.

Quitting Your JobShould I Stay or Should I Go - Pathfinder Careers

Stopping Your JobShould I Stay or Should I Go - Pathfinder Careers Stopping Your Job:Should I Stay or Should I Go? Echoes of the well known Clash melody have without a doubt resounded at that difficult snapshot of concluding whether to leave a place of employment or not. Go ahead. It's alright to every so often entertain yourself with that dream of going out in a blast of greatness like a specific JetBlue airline steward did a year ago. Be that as it may, at that point, we should get genuine. Sooner or later in our vocation, the majority of us wind up in such a thorny situation. The genuine stunt to exploring a befuddling chaos of clashing feelings is to tear verses directly from this tune and apply them to the genuine work world. Along these lines, darlin,' you gotta let me know: 1) In the event that you state that you are mine, I'll be there to the furthest limit of time. Most managers are about as faithful to you as you are to them. Ultimately, your being their worker is a common business choice, and unwaveringness can vacate the premises if organization accounts take a tumble. You have to do intermittent gut keeps an eye on the financial wellbeing of your manager. On the off chance that the vibes aren't acceptable, follow your instinct. 2) It's consistently bother, bother, bother. You need to choose whether guarantees of advancements, raises, and impetuses just as development will be conveyed on by employers. If you continually get consolations, however the organization doesn't convey the merchandise, it may be an ideal opportunity to put the prodding as far as possible and call it for what it is: being driven down the way of hedonism. Time to begin looking. 3) One day it's fine; the following day, it's dark. Ever work in a 'yo-yo' condition? One day you feel extraordinary about your work, just to crash in the wake of being hung out to dry by unsupportive bosses? A sound workplace implies you are energized each and every day about going to work, and feel compensated and perceived for your commitments. Without a doubt, we as a whole have terrible days, however when they approach or dwarf the great ones, at that point you are very brave choices to make… soon. 4) In the event that I go, will there be inconvenience? The hardest part about leaving a current manager, sans elective business, is perhaps confronting broadened times of no income. It's the hazard you take, which is the reason most vocation experts prompt that you don't withdraw one boss until you've arranged something else. Ultimately, it comes down to you choosing whether the difficulty of searching for an occupation merits the conceivable compensation of an incredible employment (and leave methodology of your momentum work). 5) In the event that I remain, will it be twofold? Weighing in the psychological expense and cost that having steady issues or stressors at work is something you can't disregard. Remaining in an occupation you loathe can add a long time to your life, also effect or start wellbeing problems. Do you know any individual who has landed ulcers from their position? I do. Bounty. 6) This hesitation is bothering me. Someone once disclosed to me that when we dread change the most (in this way delaying), is actually when we most need the change. If you have been going back and forth for quite a while now, it implies that there is something bothering you and clearly, the norm isn't comprehending it. 7) Who precisely am I expected to be? Are you arriving at your profession potential in your current position? Rose Tremain wrote the well known expression: Life is definitely not a dress practice on the off chance that you are not associated with your energy and acknowledging what you COULD be, possibly that implies that the time has come to proceed onward. You just get one possibility in this life! 8) Should I cool it or should I blow? I once had an instigator of a chief, who, now and again, was unreasonable to the point that it would nearly drive ME to the brink… it was so maddening a portion of the things that this individual did. In any case, cooling it may be a smart thought â€" as opposed to submitting the general direction to our recently referenced JetBlue airline steward friend. Short-term responses could affect your drawn out employability, so returning a stage to decide if official conflicts are one-time just events, or side effects of a bigger, more profound issue. On the off chance that the business doesn't need you, at that point perhaps setting yourself free could be the response to making the way for additional opportunities and a more beneficial workplace!

Red Flags in Job Interviews

Warnings in Job Interviews Warnings in Job Interviews Have you at any point left a prospective employee meet-up with annoying questions about the business? Check yourself fortunate for taking note. You without a doubt recognized some warnings. Suppose you were amped up for your new position open door when you showed up at organization base camp for a meeting. However, at that point the employing chief made you hold up in the hall an additional hour. He didn't keep in touch or ask about your expert objectives during your meeting. Furthermore, when you requested instances of how you may utilize your bookkeeping aptitudes and experience to add to the organization's exhibition and development, he offered a slippery response. Alone, one of those prospective employee meet-up slips up may be satisfactory. Be that as it may, together, they're a clarion get to graciously pull out of thought and continue searching for another position, regardless of whether you're edgy to escape your present place of employment or need to begin procuring a check soon. Here are seven prospective employee meeting warnings that up-and-comers shouldn't disregard: 1. Legitimate inquiries find dubious solutions Obviously, it's never proper for the questioner to uncover individual data about a past representative. Be that as it may, the recruiting chief ought to have the option to address any inquiries you present about the desires for the position and give some history about the job and its impact on organization tasks. Search for explicit replies answers to questions like the accompanying: What is the primary test the individual recruited for this activity should manage? What do you see as the fund or bookkeeping office's strategic? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the activity? What would you be able to educate me regarding the individual to whom I would report? 2. The questioner can't give an away from of the activity Regardless of whether you're applying to be a passage level staff bookkeeper or the CFO, your questioner ought to have the option to clarify the obligations of the job and how achievement will be estimated. On the off chance that he can't, you will probably make some troublesome memories fashioning a make profession way in the organization. 3. Portrayals of workplace are unbiased Ask the employing administrator what he loves most about working at the organization. In the event that he can't reply without faltering, it could flag work disappointment on his part. On the off chance that the open door emerges during your visit, suggest a similar conversation starter to different representatives in the division, from the bookkeeping supervisor to the information passage assistant. Do they appear enthused about their day by day obligations? Accomplishes the organization work to keep them upbeat and prize them for their endeavors? Are there open doors for progression? Focus on the workplace state of mind. 4. Representative residency is short An example of representative turnover can be an indication of a high-stress, low-resolve office culture. In the event that you discover that past representatives didn't remain long at the organization, and there's no proof of residency among the staff, you may have an awful supervisor circumstance or a poisonous workplace. 5. The employing administrator isn't readied Similarly as you've contributed time getting ready for the meeting, made a point to show up immediately, read desires for the accessible position and showed up with inquiries concerning the organization and its objectives, your forthcoming boss ought to likewise be prepared to survey whether you are an ideal fit for the position. Observe if it's evident that the business hasn't read your resume, or is late for the arrangement. 6. The workplace isn't speaking to you From the second you stroll in the entryway for your prospective employee meet-up, focus on the earth. Are laborers effectively occupied with their obligations, or would they say they are drooped over their work spaces like automatons? Does your forthcoming manager manage his companions and subordinates in an expert way, or does he appear to be standoffish and cavalier? In the event that you see these issues during your meeting, there's no motivation to accept they'll improve once you begin working in the workplace. 7. You don't feel like you're being heard On the off chance that the recruiting administrator does all the talking in the meeting and doesn't seem to tune in to your remarks or pose astute inquiries about your vocation objectives and past achievements, that is a warning. You can tell whether an administrator is truly intrigued and connected by watching his non-verbal communication, eye to eye connection and in general decorum during the meeting. Warnings for work competitors aren't difficult to spot in the event that you recognize what to search for during the meeting. Try not to dismiss them. Rather, direct your concentration toward discovering business somewhere else. As yet looking? Find out about how a staffing office like our own can assist you with finding an impermanent position. SEE WHAT TEMPORARY ROLES WE PLACE

Do We Give a Sh!t About Swearing at Work - Spark Hire

Do We Give a Sh!t About Swearing at Work - Spark Hire Rules on terrible language can and ought to vary by calling and working environment. Most working environments keep up a don't do it strategy. For instance, I could never swear before my chief. In any case, in a cutting edge working environment, are the principles for proficient direct with regards to terrible language evolving? A few examinations show that swearing in the workplace isnt such an awful thing. Past that, consider how most of your customers and representatives feel about the periodic bleep-capable at work: OK care if your associates began swearing transparently? On the off chance that you couldn't care less… does any other individual? An article on Huffington Post the previous spring discussed an investigation demonstrating that terrible language in the working environment can really advance solidarity among representatives. While swearing probably won't be the most expert approach to vent outrage, it releases strain. The arrival of strain permits representatives to bargain all the more profitably with worry in the advanced work environment. The genuine admonition to this conversation is that awful language ought to never be utilized as a major aspect of badgering or harassing. While swearing among colleagues may not appear that large of an arrangement, shouldn't something be said about terrible language before outside colleagues? Customers? While swearing before these individuals may appear as though strolling through an expert mine field, individuals who have done investigations on terrible language and open talking state in any case. In the cutting edge working environment, being affable may best being proficient. A recent report requested that undergrads rank the influence and enthusiasm of speakers. Given addresses of comparative tone and substance, the speakers who swore once during their discourse scored better grades. One master says, Swearing is a method of conveying that you are the most notable individual in the room. For specific sorts of deals and arrangement circumstances, this could be a valuable strategy in a cutting edge working environment. Swearing can likewise cause you to show up increasingly relatable. I don't claim to think a lot about deals, however a feeling of fellowship can unquestionably go far toward great customer relations. Further, it is essential to address what number of individuals in an advanced working environment truly care about swearing. In an overview on CBC News, 75% of workers fell into the swearing periodically or noisily and every now and again classes. Less than 20% tried to smother their swearing (once in a while and softly) and a minor 5% said that swearing wasnt allowed at their work environment. In view of these figures, should organizations have a terrible language strategy? Should present day working environments transparently support terrible language? With quantifiable beneficial outcomes from swearing, and everyone doing it generally at any rate, apparently the periodicâ€"or not all that infrequentâ€"foulness can be a piece of an expert working environment. Picture: Courtesy of Flickr by stockicide