Work-Life Balance? Maybe.

Lately, I’ve had to work a ridiculous number of hours at my day job to complete a major project. It’s really got me thinking about this concept called work-life balance. Since the past six weeks have been decidedly unbalanced, I think this is a great time to cover this concept and the three things I have realized.

1.      Being out of balance sometimes is part of being in balance. In other words, balance isn't perfection. It isn’t a perfectly divided pie. It’s part of life and life is messy and never symmetrical. For six weeks, my work took precedence and that was fine for me because there was an end date. At other times, my family and my health have taken precedence. That’s fine too as long as I’m dealing with a temporary situation and not a permanent life change.

2.      As soon as possible, reestablish old routines. I routinely get up at 5:00 AM, go upstairs and work out. I follow that up with prayer and meditation and then head back downstairs to get ready for work. I love this routine. It keeps me focused, sane and on track. However, being at work by 6:00 AM made this impossible. However, as soon as possible, I got back to it. My body and mind thank me for it.

3.      Do what you can, nothing more, maybe a bit less. While I was burning the morning and midnight oils, my blogging took a back seat. I spend weekends on the sofa instead of running a long list of errands and tasks. I realized that I could only do so much, so I accepted that. I was too tired and frazzled to do everything I had been doing. Working out in the evening would have been nice, but frankly, I didn't have the energy. Instead, I tried to focus on not eating too much junk. That much I could do.

The moral of the story is life happens. Part of being balanced is being flexible and realizing that what balance looks like will change from day-to-day. And that is okay. There will be times when one area takes a lion’s share of your time. Do what you can with the rest. But start by being gracious and realistic enough to recognize your limits and your limitations.

Ladies Who Lunch

Ladies Who Lunch is a term that originated in a Broadway musical to describe well-off women who have time for long, leisurely lunches. As a professional with a busy schedule, you probably wouldn't consider yourself a lady who lunches, but you should, sort of. I'm not advocating taking a two-hour, three martini lunch in the middle of the workday but I am advocating using your lunch time and taking your breaks.

Did you know, according to a 2010 survey by Right Management and Linked In, only 47% of American workers take a lunch away from their desks? Twenty percent eat at their desk, and 13% seldom or never take a lunch break at all.

Many employers even frown on taking a lunch. It looks like you are being more productive if you are tethered to your desk all day long. But guess what? Taking a lunch and maybe even a mid-morning or afternoon break actually makes you more productive. Your body and your mind need that breather. It needs the time away for physical nourishment and mental regeneration.

I too have been victim to task master bosses who equate lunch with slacking off but I also know that I feel better and my work is better if I take a breather. On nice days, I might eat at my desk while working, but I do it so I can take a short brisk walk afterwards.My methods may be unconventional but my results can't be denied.

Even if it's just 15 minutes, make a effort to get up and have a real lunch away from your desk. For those precious few moments: enjoy your food, chat with a co-worker, read a book, thumb through a magazine, play a game on your phone or take a short walk. Do something but do it away from your desk and make sure it's not work.

Be a lady (or gentleman) who lunches!

It Shouldn't Matter ... But It Does

A few weeks ago, as I was walking my dog, I approached two young men who had recently moved onto my street. One had on a white tank top and a pair of long baggy shorts that hung low revealing the gray plaid boxers he wore beneath them.

I didn’t know if I should have recoiled in horror or laughed out loud at what happened next. As I approached them, the young man’s shorts begin to slowly slide down the sides of his skinny frame. They glided passed his butt and down his thighs. They went as far as his knees before he casually pulled them up.

I had never seen this kid before. I didn’t know him. He didn’t know me. Yet, he felt perfectly comfortable revealing his undergarments in their entirety right in front of me, a stranger, and anyone else who happened to be passing by.

To me, it wasn’t cool. It wasn’t cute and it definitely wasn’t sexy! In my eyes, he looked foolish and sad. While volunteering at a local job readiness program, I’d met countless men like him. Men in their teens and 20’s (sometimes older) who didn’t own a decent pair of pants and in some cases didn’t know what size they actually wore.

Unable to find work, the frustration these men feel is real. They would say to me, “What I wear shouldn’t matter.” Maybe it wouldn’t in a perfect world; but this is not a perfect world. We live on Earth and not in Utopia.

All of us are guilty of pre-judging someone … especially based on appearance. It might not be fair but it’s true. Until we as a people learn to judge people solely by the content of their character, we’ll have to deal with this unpleasant reality. How we look matters. How we carry ourselves makes a difference.

I’m not saying that we should all run out and get break the bank on designer clothes but we should take pride in our appearance and realize when it does play a role. If my new neighbor and those looking for work must wear their pants low and expose their underwear (and I personally wish they wouldn’t), they should recognize that there is a time and place for that outfit and it isn’t on the job or at a job interview. They will be pre-judged.

I’ll even take it a step further. Our outlook about ourselves change when our appearance changes. After battling a long illness, many female patients on the road to recovery will ask for a tube of lipstick. They start to care about their appearance again. Since they have begun to feel better, they want to look better too.

People who work from home are often advised to ‘dress’ for work. Maybe they don’t have to adhere to a strict dress code but they should at least get out of their PJs! Why? Appearance affects mood and dressing for work helps make a mental distinction between the personal and the professional, between work and home.

The outside doesn’t matter nearly as much as who we are on the inside; but that doesn’t mean that the outside doesn’t matter at all.

Get Back to Work!

The holidays are over. Unless we work for the banks or the federal government, most of us won’t get a long weekend until Memorial Day. That’s the end of May! It’s time to get back to work.

Here are some tips I use for getting the job done.

1. Plan Your Days: I have a weekly planner. Throughout the day, I jot down upcoming tasks and place them on the day I plan to work on them. Before I leave for the day, I give my list another once over, focusing on things I need to do the next day. This goes a long way to eliminating that feeling that I’ve forgotten something or that something will fall through the cracks.

2. Set New Goals. Look at what’s on your plate and decide what you want to accomplish in the next month, three months and six months.

3. Clean It Out: There is a fascinating statistic that says 80% of the things we file, we never look at again. If you find you have some down time, spend a few minutes going through your files. If you have it electronically, you probably don’t need the paper copy. If the project ended years ago, keep a few pertinent summaries and maybe the finished product and get rid of the rest. If you are feeling really bold, tackle your electronic files. Delete what you don't need. Move old versions of reports and documents to an Archive folder and organize the rest.

4. Reestablish Your Routine: It’s not just for kids you know. Make a point to get back on track – have a consistent bed time and wake up time. Holiday splurges are over so get back into the habit of making healthier food choices.

5. Remember What You Like About Work: It might not be the job of your dreams but there must be a few good things about it. Coming back to work shouldn’t be a complete downer! Think out what you enjoy about your work: favorite co-workers, the work you do, a favorite lunch spot. Focus on what you enjoy about work and you’ll experience a lot less dread and negativity!

Customer Service Training - for the Customer!

Right now, I’m working on a project that focuses on customer service. We all have customer service horror stories: surly customer service representatives, eternities spent on hold or being transferred a handful of times to people unable or unwilling to help. In that respect, we have all been there and we definitely know what kind of service we don’t want to receive. There is a clear need for customer service training.

But, I have to wonder, if sometimes, we could use customer service training for the customer. Customer service representatives have some pretty stressful jobs and if we are honest, we know that we don’t always make it any easier for them.

Just out of college, I worked briefly answering phones for a swanky hotel. I was routinely maligned and verbally abused. Of course, most guests were very nice but the ones who weren’t, left quite an impression! I never understood why someone would think that yelling at me would compel me to give better service. In fact, it was just the opposite. I went out of my way to help those customers who genuinely wanted my help and were respectful. Those who weren’t ran into a lot more obstacles. Being nasty normally doesn’t work. Respect is a two-way street. If we expect to receive it, we should also give it.

Then there are times when we call in a perfectly respectful manner and receive rude treatment. I remember calling about a credit card statement once and getting a woman who was rude. I know I didn’t do anything to her and I told a little joke and her mood changed. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. But either way, I try not to take their attitude personally, and I also try not to respond to rudeness with more rudeness. Sarcasm is an easy way to make a bad situation worse.

I was not surprised when I read that a person who receives poor service shares the experience with at least 11 people. However, when that same person receives superior service, they share that experience with just four people. We need to be more generous with our compliments. Offer a thank you to the person who retrieves your information quickly and courteously. Tip your server and tell him that he did a great job. A little courtesy goes a long way and who doesn't like it when their hard work and efforts are acknowledged?

Don’t keep great service a secret!

Myth-Busters: Independence

From the time we are born we long for independence – we want to walk on our own and ride the bike without the training wheels. As we get older, the images of independence change – driver’s license, living on our own, surviving financially without those convenient calls home for cash. We want to do it all and we want to do it all on our own. But independence can only take us so far.

The quest for independence omits one important fact – we can’t possibly do it all on our own. We don’t have the know-how to do it all. We don’t have the resources to do it all. We don’t have the time to do it all. Any kind of real success is going to take help. We need other people.

This is not a sign of failure or lack; it is an admission of truth. It is an acceptance of who we are and where we want to go. As soon as a business begins to grow, the business owner knows that he’s going to need help. He can’t be responsible for generating all the sales, making all the sales calls, handling all the manufacturing, juggling all the accounting and fiscal responsibilities while, all the while, holding the vision for the company and its leadership.

Not only can he not do all of those things, he can’t possibly do them all well. He recognizes the need for a talented sales person or a bookkeeper with a knack for numbers. By hiring people who have those talents, he’s free to focus on what he’s best at.

In high school and college, students move from teacher to teacher. The science teacher/professor is not the one to go to for English composition and the English professor probably isn’t the best source for questions about calculus.

Yet, we are often unrealistic when it comes to our own capabilities and we tend to beat ourselves up when we need to reach out and ask for that dreaded ‘h’ word, help.

In many aspects independence is enough, however, if we want to reach beyond what we are individually capable of, we need to strive for interdependence ­– a state where independent people depend on one another. My strengths augments your weaknesses and vice versa. My passion and interest compliments yours.

Together we can do things that would have never been possible on our own.

A for Attitude

Recently, I started volunteering for a job readiness program. I’ve been dealing with a lot of my own struggles and I felt it was time that I got out of my own box and out of my own head and did something for someone else.

On my first day, I observed the first session for a new class full of job seekers. One of the first things the instructor said was that if they were going to be successful, they’d have to have the right attitude. And that attitude was one of professionalism and a willingness to do the work.

A man sitting next to me balked. “Attitude?” he said. “What does attitude have to do with anything?”

The instructor responded, “Attitude is everything. Your attitude determines your behavior. And your behaviors determine what you do.”

A positive attitude is critical to any real or lasting success. Your attitude is the canvas that your life is painted on.

So exactly what is attitude? Well, it’s more than emotion or a feeling. It’s more than positive thinking.

Your attitude is your overall outlook. It’s how you view a situation. It deals with how you see yourself and how you perceive others. Having a positive attitude doesn’t mean that you are always happy but a positive attitude does mean that you will get back up sooner than later after falling down. A positive attitude is one where you accept that you — and not a partner, job, economic downturn, political party or society — has the ultimate control over your life.

A positive attitude doesn’t come from a place of helplessness. When it encounters obstacles it doesn’t throw up its hands and declare defeat. Instead it puts its head down and gets to work, finding another way, looking for other options and sometimes even creating opportunities.

Attitude fuels belief. Consider this. You can’t have a positive attitude and negative beliefs. It just doesn’t work. You can’t have a positive attitude that says ‘anything is possible and then believe that ‘nothing good will ever happen’ for you. If yours is a negative attitude then it will be difficult to have positive beliefs come from it.

Beliefs fuel action. If you believe in persistence, then if one door closes, you will continue to push forward because you believe that you will eventually get that open door. If you believe that nothing good can happen for you, then as soon as that door closes, you will take that as proof of your negative belief. And chances are you will not find that open door.

It all starts with attitude. And you, … not anyone else has the power to create your attitude and the power to control it.

Takin' Care of Business: Be Careful Out There

This is the tenth in a ten part series called, Takin’ Care of Business – Making Work Work for You.

The Internet is a whole lot of fun. It’s so easy to meet new friends and share some intimate details of your life on Facebook, MySpace or maybe on your blog: the drunken party you went to July 4th weekend, the Katy Perry-inspired kiss you shared with some random girl at a friend’s bachelorette party, and of course, exactly what you did to get all those beads during Mardi Gras.

It’s all in good fun right. And besides, this is America, and you have the right to do what you want. Sure, you do – but your actions have repercussions. And when those chickens come home to roost, you could end up in some hot water (or chicken broth, if you want to be specific).

Your friends have access to all the intimate details of your life but so do other people. Let’s say, you are looking for a job. You have a good interview. You are feeling positive. But, what you don’t realize is that the interviewer did a simple Google search and saw for himself all those party pictures and some of the sexy comments and stories that went with them. Weeks later, you are wondering why you didn’t get called back.

But, “Karyn,” you say, “I make all of my pages private.” Well, I’ll tell you the same thing that I tell any class I’ve taught on written communication and email etiquette. Once it’s out there, it’s out there. You no longer have control. Just like you can’t reliably retrieve an email (the recall feature in Outlook is not even close to being reliable), you can’t control what people who do have access to your information do with it.

What if a friend or co-worker, with an axe to grind, copied some photos and comments from your profile and circulated them? It happens and it happens more than you think.

Technology from blogging to Twittering to making friends on Facebook has repercussions. It can prevent you from getting a job and it can also cause you to lose your job.

Image isn’t everything; but it still accounts for a heck of a lot. Be very careful with the image you construct because it might come back to haunt you.

Takin' Care of Business: Ending Interruptions

This is the ninth in a ten part series called, Takin’ Care of Business – Making Work Work for You.

If you don’t think interruptions are a big deal, think again.

• When an interruption occurs, it takes 10 to 15 minutes to get back on track with train of thought afterwards. Therefore 4 interruptions in a day can mean the loss of an hour in concentration.
  
• A manager on average spends 3 hours each day on interruptions.
  
• The average person gets 1 interruption every 8 minutes, or approximately 7 an hour, or 50-60 per day. The average interruption takes 5 minutes, totaling about 50% of the average workday. 80% of those interruptions are typically rated as "little value" or "no value" creating approximately 3 hours of wasted time per day.

When it comes to interruptions, you are either the interruptee or the interrupter. If you are the one being interrupted there are a few things you can do to keep them short and to the point.

• When someone asks if you have a minute, tell them exactly how many minutes you have and stick to it. If you have five minutes, when five minutes is up, offer an alternate time to continue the discussion. Or say ‘No’ and offer an alternate time.
  
• Stand up. If you stand and act as if you are leaving, the other person will normally speed up.
  
• If you have a chair in your office, keep it filled with books or magazines, and make it hard for someone to sit down.

Now, no one wants to admit this, but sometimes, you are the interrupter. If you are the interrupter, here are some things you can do to break that habit.

• Don’t pop into your bosses office every time you have a question. If the question isn’t urgent, then keep a log of questions and ask for a short meeting to get them all addressed at once. You can also create an email and save it as a draft. Add the questions as they come to you and then send it once you have collected several questions.
• Gossip and small talk can wait until breaks or lunch.
• If you need to make a work-related interruption, keep it short and to the point. Once your question is answered, leave.

Takin' Care of Business: Managing Your Manager

This is the eighth in a ten part series called, Takin’ Care of Business – Making Work Work for You.

Sure, you know who’s boss. And when I talk about managing your manager, I don’t mean secretly plotting to take her job or developing some sinister plan to make him look like an idiot. Managing your manager is the process of making your needs known and developing a relationship with him that will allow you to do your job more effectively.

At the heart of the matter, managers are people. As such, they have different personalities and styles. The first step in managing your manager is recognizing her style. Is she a micro-manager or more of a hands-off type? Once you have a handle on the style, then you can figure out how you want to communicate with them. And communication is key.

A micro-manager needs to have their hand in the pot at all times– even though you might be the one doing the stirring. Since you know they always need to know what’s going on, you will want to communicate with them regularly – probably more than you think is necessary. As progress is made and you hit your milestones, let your manager know – even before she asks. If decisions need to be made, clue him in on what you are doing. Sometimes it can be as simple as cc’ing him on an email thread.

For the hands-off manager, you still want to keep them in the loop too. A weekly email or touch base meeting is a good way to let them know what you are doing and how you are progressing with your work. It doesn’t have to be long and involved but just something to let them know what you’ve been up to.

Communication also becomes critical when your plate is getting particularly full. Often managers assign work without thinking about exactly how much work you already have or how much work it will take to complete the assignment. In this case, when your plate is full, it is perfectly fine to ask your manager, which project has the priority. Let them know what tasks you have in front of you and when you expect to have them done. Then, ask them which project needs to be completed first?

If you don’t ask, you are assuming and you know what happens when you assume. You don’t want to devote your time and energy to Project A only to find out Project B or Project C was more important.
Finally, make your needs known. If you need more information or if your boss needs to do something for you, then let them know exactly what is required of them and by when. If you cannot complete your work until your boss authorizes overtime or approves some additional expenses, then make your needs known.

Knowing your boss and communicating effectively with her can go a long way to alleviating your stress and making your job a lot easier.

Takin' Care of Business: Buzzing like a Bee

This is the seventh in a ten part series called, Takin’ Care of Business – Making Work Work for You.

While sitting at your desk, you decide to ‘straighten it up.’ Afterwards, you decide to clean out your inbox and color-code your mail. Then you go to lunch. When you get back from lunch, you realize that you have a stack of documents that need to be filed, so you tackle that. Afterwards, you call your doctor’s office to make an appointment, which reminds you of a question you had about your insurance. You spend a half-hour online trying to get the answer. Now, it’s time for your staff meeting. Returning to your office, you now have a half-hour left as you prepare to work on the presentation that’s due the day after tomorrow. You throw your hands up in frustration as you wonder, where did the time go? Granted, you were ‘busy’ all day. But what did you accomplish?

Busy looks good. Had your boss walked by and seen you filing or researching on your computer, you would have appeared to be working hard. Busy feels good. You are active and you are doing something. And although it’s nice to have a clean inbox and to have your papers filed, when you look at the tasks on your plate, did any of it help?

The answer is to focus. You need to start your day with a purpose and a focus. Today, I plan to _______. By the end of the day, I will have _______. If to-do list or scribbling it on a post-it note helps, do it. Regardless, whether you write it out or just think about it, know what you will focus on and then follow-though. After you’ve accomplished your tasks, then look around for the ‘busy work’. Then and only then, after the important tasks have been accomplished, do you clean your inbox or tackle the filing.

Also, realize the role that procrastination plays in busy work. Often, we chose the easy busywork because we don’t want to do the important work. Breaking down those big important tasks into smaller more manageable ones can help you get started. In fact, you can use some busy work to reward you when you accomplish one of the smaller steps of your project.

If you are procrastinating on your project because you need information or instruction, ask. It's better if you write out or think through the questions you want to ask and then make an effort to ask them early into the project. Don't wait until a day or week before the project is due to ask the basic questions.

Don't be busy - be productive.

Takin' Care of Business: Loose Lips Sink Ships

This is the sixth in a ten part series called, Takin’ Care of Business – Making Work Work for You.

Let’s be honest. Gossip can be a lot of fun. Talking about who did what to whom and what happened when can really help pass the time, especially on a hum-drum work day. But gossiping can get you in trouble … lots of trouble.

When it comes to idle chitchat, clearly some topics are better than others. Television, movies, and sports, are easy topics. Good news about co-workers and friends is also acceptable conversation.

However, negative comments, rumors and speculation about co-workers is a big no-no. The closer the relation, the more potentially damaging the conversation can be. Basically, if it is someone you can cross in the hall, don’t say it. If it is someone who works for the company but at a different site, it’s still not a good person to make the subject of speculation.

When people around you start talking, it’s best not to say anything. When they ask what you think, a good response is, “I really don’t know what to say about that.” You can also turn it back on them, “You really have some strong feelings about that/him/her,” or “That sounds like a tricky situation.”

Also when trying to stay out of gossip, watch your body language. Your goal is to remain neutral. So watch for things like nodding and smiling which some people could take as agreement. If it gets to be too much, excuse yourself from the group.

Your frustration is also something you need to be careful with. Venting to a friend is a great way to release stress and get things off of your chest. Even still, it’s important to pick to who, where and when you vent. Venting to a chatty co-worker or in ear shot of other employees is a very bad idea.

When I’ve been frustrated at work, I’ve been known to grab my cell phone, go outside and take a break. While I am walking, and away from the building, I phone-a-friend, a friend that doesn’t work with me and I vent to her. This way I get to release the tension without the negative repercussions of having my words come back to bite me.

Remember, once the words are out of your mouth or you hit send on the email, you are no longer in control. You cannot control how your words are interpreted or repeated or where that email goes.

Takin' Care of Business: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn

This is the fifth in a ten part series called, Takin’ Care of Business – Making Work Work for You.

Exactly what have you accomplished at work? It’s a hard question to answer because 1) We tend to downplay our successes, so a lot of the small accomplishments are quickly forgotten 2) We accomplish one thing and quickly move on to the next, so it becomes difficult to remember all of the things we’ve done.

Anyone who’s ever had to sit down and prepare for an annual performance evaluation knows what I mean. Wrecking your brain as you try to remember all of the things you’ve done in vivid detail. How can you toot your own horn or tell your bosses what an asset you are when your memory is failing you?

The solution is a simple one. Keep track of all of your accomplishments … as you accomplish them. I have a simple Word document where I list all of the projects and assignments I've been given. As needed, I update that document with exactly what I've done and when.

At the end of the year, it was easy to toot my horn and talk up my successes. And, when it comes time to update my resume, I havean accurate record of exactly what I have done.This success log, doesn’t need to be long. It does not need to be overly detail. Just describe the task at hand, and focus on the numbers.

For example:

Project: Office 2007 Overview
Description: Responsible for giving 200 employees a brief presentation on transitioning from Office 2003 to Office 2007.
Results: Delivered a series of 45 minute presentations to the staff of 225. Located and distributed several quick reference guides to the staff to support the transition. Worked with IT to assist people who were having trouble with the installation and who had questions about the new applications.

The key to making this work is keeping this document current. When you are assigned a new project, open up the document and add the description. When you have a successful result, don’t hesitate to record it immediately while it is fresh in your mind.

Focus on the numbers – how many people did you work with? How many calls on average did you handle a day? How much did you make in sales? How many phone lines did you answer? Did you complete the project under budget or before the deadline?

Nothing says success quite like results!

Takin' Care of Business: Leaving Work at Work

This is the fourth in a ten part series called, Takin’ Care of Business – Making Work Work for You.


Last week, I talked about managing stress on the job. However, if you don’t successfully manage it at work, you run the risk of taking it home with you. Not leaving work at work creates all sorts of problems: fighting with the spouse, snapping at the kids, emotional eating, withdrawing from social activities, and losing sleep are just some of the effects of not being able to leave work at work.

I had a co-worker who had recently been promoted to a supervisory position. He would spend 12 hours or more at work tying up loose ends. He told me he was afraid he’d forget something if he didn’t take care of everything right then. I gave him two suggestions. I told him at 5:00 p.m., to make a list of all the things he needed to take care of the next day. Writing out a to-do list would help keep things from falling through the cracks and give him some much needed piece of mind.

Then I told him to use his commuting time to separate from work. Favorite music or books on tape were a start but I also told him to start focusing on his evening. What would he have for dinner? Was anything good coming on TV? What things could he take care of around the house? The point was to stop focusing on work and start focusing on all of the other things he had to do. Work worries need to stay at work.

I ran into him a few days later and I could actually see the relief on his face! He had been using the list and as a result he’d been getting more done and leaving on time. He said using his commute to refocus also helped. By the time he got home, work was a distant memory.

I read about a man who, as he would come home in the evening, imagined putting his work worries on the potted tree outside his door. They would stay there until he picked them up the next morning, on his way to work. He made sure that he didn’t take them into the house with him. I do something similar with the shower. After a particularly bad day, I like to imagine all my worries and troubles washing down the drain with the soap suds. It can be a particularly powerful visualization.

Communication is also key. If you need a moment to refocus when you get home, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Sit in your car for a minute if you need to, or park for a moment around the corner. Work something out with your spouse so that you can have a moment or two to yourself when you get home. It doesn’t have to be an hour, sometimes five minutes can be enough.

Takin' Care of Business: Strike Out at Stress

This is the third in a ten part series called, Takin’ Care of Business – Making Work Work for You.

With major lay-offs being announced almost daily, those among us lucky enough to have jobs, and especially those who have survived a lay-off, are often stuck in stressful situation. Taking on extra work due to lay-offs or hiring freezes inevitably leads to more demanding schedules and increased stress levels. Because jobs appear to be scarce and employees often have a difficult time finding other work, management, unfortunately takes advantage of employees that feel they have nowhere else to go.

As workloads increase and morale takes a nosedive dealing with workplace stress is no longer an optional task, it’s a critical requirement.Successfully managing your stress on the job involves tackling the issue on a number of fronts. Unfortunately, I’ve had some experience with this topic. So here are some suggestions that I used to make life a little easier, when the job becomes increasingly more difficult.

1. Make a List and Check It Twice (a day): Think of the things you honestly like or enjoy about your job. When I made my list it included my co-workers (well most of them), sandwiches at the café near the job, the fact that I had my own office, and my favorite topics to train on. While there were a number of things that stressed me out, focusing on the people and things that I did enjoyed helped a bit.
   
2. Walk It Out: Using my break times to take short walks helped immensely. The act of walking as well as getting outside and out of the office helped to immediately alleviate some stress.
   
3. Talk About It: Find a sympathetic ear … who will let you vent. It could be a friend or a spouse but it helps if it is not a co-worker. When you confine in a co-worker, you run the risks of your venting becoming office gossip which could quickly make a bad situation worse.
   
4. Drive Your Troubles Away: When leaving work, I made sure that I did not pull out of the parking lot until I had put on one of my favorite CDs. As I sang along (and okay, yes, did a little dancing), it helped me put work in perspective and keep it where it belonged … in my rearview mirror.
   
5. Be a Lady (or Lad) Who Lunches: Like with the walks, having a lunch I enjoyed eating gave me a nice break. It’s even better if it can be enjoyed with friendly co-workers or at a place or in an environment you like. It is a great way to break up the day.
   
6. Look Elsewhere: Yes, the economy is bad. Yes, jobs are hard to find … but that doesn’t mean they are impossible to find. Update your resume and start looking. Looking for other work helped me to feel that I had some control of my circumstances.

Not only did I look for other employment, I found it - leaving a very toxic situation for one that is much healthier. So while good jobs are hard to find right now, it's still possible to find one.

Takin' Care of Business: Meetings 101

This is the second in a ten part series called, Takin’ Care of Business – Making Work Work for You.

Let me share with you a few statistics. If you have ever worked in corporate America, none of these stats will cause you to raise as much as an eyebrow.

• On an average day, there are 17 million meetings in America.
  
• Studies say that managers spend up to 10 hours a week in meetings, and 90% say more than half that time is wasted.
  
• A meeting between several managers or executives may cost upwards of $1000 per hour in salary costs alone.
  
• A Fortune 50 company estimates losses in excess of $75 million per year due to poor meetings.

Last month, I sat through a four-day meeting. I saw my entire life pass before me in excruciating detail several times. At one point, I could have sworn that Jack in the Box, The Burger King King and Ronald McDonald were leading one of the seemingly endless PowerPoint presentations.

When Sartre said, “Hell is other people,” he must have just come out of a marathon meeting.

But there is another way! Most people have never been instructed in how to plan and conduct a meeting. So here are a few tips to make the most of meetings.

1. Set the Agenda: What is the meeting about? What is the goal? What will the meeting accomplish? Scrawling the name of the project on a piece of paper is not an agenda. The agenda doesn’t need to be overly detailed but it does need to cover the basic topics of the meeting.


2. Be Selective: Who needs to be at the meeting and who can be briefed afterwards? Does the entire department really need to attend? This goes both ways, when you see yourself on the receiving end of another meeting invite, ask if your presence is necessary or if you can get the notes after the meeting.


3. Stay the Course: The good thing about having an agenda is that you can use it to stay on task. When someone goes off on a tangent, you can bring it back to the agenda. Offer to include their tangents as agenda items in the next meeting.


4. Take Action: The problem with a lot of meetings is that they end without any resolutions. So participants walk out wondering “What was that about?” It’s a good idea to end the meeting by assigning tasks that can be completed by the next meeting. Task = progress. Progress is good.


5. Time is of the Essence: Timely means starting on time but it also means ending on time. Every meeting should have a start and an end time and the end time should be honored. This doesn’t mean that you should block 2-3 hours for a meeting, ‘just in case.’ Shorter is usually more effective. If you have an agenda and a clear purpose, you should be able to conduct your business in an hour. If you are good, 45-minutes. If you are really good, a half hour.


6. Leave Lunch Alone: Some people think scheduling meetings right before lunch or at 4:30 p.m. is a good idea. It can be, if you respect the time. However, if there is a tendency towards running over, avoid setting meetings at these times. As a trainer, I know first hand how ‘feisty’ people can get when you run 5 – 10 minutes over into lunch time. You don’t want to confront a rabid dog and you definitely don’t want to cross hungry people at lunch or tired people at quittin’ time.


7. Follow-Up: Keep notes and send a recap of the meeting to all the relevant people (including those who didn’t really need to be there). Send the notes either that same day or the next day, not the next week, not the next month, not never.

Your want your time at work to be productive and effective. Spending an inordinate of time in mindless, meandering meetings might make you look busy few things zap your productivity as quickly or completely.

Takin’ Care of Business: Everyone’s an Entrepreneur

This is the first in the ten part series called, Takin’ Care of Business – Making Work Work for You.

You could be a teacher, a customer service representative, a waitress, a chef, a truck driver, a manager or a dog trainer. It doesn’t matter. You are a CEO. You are the Chief Executive Officer of a little company called You.

As the CEO, you are responsible for maintaining the vision and direction for the company. You are the one who decides what investments to make and what losses to cut. You make the decisions that decide whether you make a profit or suffer a loss … and unfortunately, there is no big bailout money for your business.

When you realize that you are the CEO of your career, you will make the right investments: getting that degree or that certification, upgrading your wardrobe, or joining that professional organization. You will plot the course and maintain the vision. Where do you want to be in two years or five? What is your plan for getting that promotion?

A CEO’s first priority is the survival and success of his or her company and your goal is the same. The Era of the Gold Watch is over. My grandfather spent over 40 years at the steel mill. When he retired, he got a nice pension and a gold watch. In Corporate America, the average worker stays on the job for 3-4 years. You don’t even qualify for a Swatch watch after that.

You are responsible for making yourself marketable. You are responsible for investing in yourself. Keeping your nose clean and being good at your job is no longer enough. I had several co-workers who were ‘good at their jobs’, but it didn’t stop corporate from flying in, calling them into Human Resources, throwing a small severance at them and escorting out of the building — so much for seven or eight years of work and loyalty.

In today’s economic climate, you have to always be thinking of the next step. You can’t expect your boss or your company to do it for you. A CEO is concerned about the health of its company. Likewise, you need to be concerned about the health of your career and your bank account.
So start acting like you are the one with the big corner office. Start making some executive decisions regarding your career, your benefits and your bottom line:

• 
  Do you need additional training?


• Are you in a position with upward mobility?


• Are you making the most of your 401K?


• Should you go back to school?


• Are you up-to-date on the software applications you need to learn?


• If you were offered a promotion right now, would you have the skills and the knowledge to jump into that position and hit the ground running?


• If the answer to that question is no, then what can you do to prepare yourself to go to the next level?

Sure, there is a recession going on. I know things are extremely difficult for job seekers and people stuck in jobs they don’t like. All this means is that it even more critical to take control of your career now. Don’t wait until you are downsized to start making change. Don’t wait until things get go from bad to worse. Even if you are happy where you are and doing what you are doing, now is the time to take the reins.

As CEO of You, what will be the first executive decision you make?