Waking Up Early – 15 Tips That Work

It has almost been one year since I posted about how to wake up early and consistently. I thought now might be a good time to post a follow up, including what I have personally found to work.

Let me first start by saying that waking up early has made a huge difference in my life. I used to be the complete opposite – late sleeper and late riser. These days, I wake up at 5:30am everyday.

What I like most about being an early riser is getting that extra quiet time in the mornings to work at a few next actions even before the day officially begins. Lately though, I’ve opted to go to work earlier, so that I can clock in my 8 hours, leave at a reasonable time and still have a few precious moments with my baby daughter before she heads off to bed. Being able to maximise my free time doing things I rather be doing has made all the difference to my quality of life.

Here is a list of things that worked for me:

1. Have a good reason to get up.

I’ve found this to be the single most important element in being an early riser. Days in which I did not crystallise the reasons for getting up were more likely to result in sleep ins. Now, I make it clear the night before what it is I want to wake up early for. Initially, I found writing things down to be helpful, but this isn’t always necessary, as long as it is clear what the reasons are.

2. Be productive in the mornings.

It wasn’t enough to just be an early riser. If I had committed to waking up early for a reason, I’ve found it was crucial that I followed through. Not following through is like slow working poison. Over time, this has a cumulative effect and makes it harder and harder to rise early. This was a huge drain on motivation for me, especially when I was losing sleep and yet not getting the things I wanted to done. So stick to the plan and be productive.

3. Get enough sleep.

Your body is trying to tell you something if you constantly feel overly tired during the day. I’ve found it wasn’t really worthwhile trying to get up early if I didn’t get enough good sleep the night before. In the short term, I might get more discretionary time because I was sleeping less, which is good for coping with the spikes in workload. However, in the long term, things generally evened out – either because I was tired and couldn’t work as fast or I was sick as a result of a weakened immune system. My advice is to ensure you get enough sleep.

4. Go to bed earlier

One simple thing which helped me get enough sleep was to … well … go to bed earlier. Instead of constantly staying up past midnight and feeling tired the next morning, I now start preparing for bed around 11pm. I’ve found, around this time of night, I’m generally winding down anyway and not engaged in productive work. So shifting the hours around slightly has meant that overall my free time gets used more effectively – which is the primary reason for being an early riser! The amount of sleep needed is different from person to person and day to day. So, I listen to my body when it tells me that it is tired and it is time for bed.

5. Sleep more effectively.

The other thing I noticed about sleep is sleeping longer doesn’t necessarily translate to sleeping better. Somedays I can have 8 hours of sleep, yet feel like I haven’t slept at all. Other days I can be fully alert, productive and cheerful after only a few short hours.

If you find that you are still tired after a good stretch of 6-8 hours, chances are you’re not sleeping well. Most people just don’t need much more sleep than that. Sleeping well can be attained in various ways. I find having a good mattress and pillow with some quiet reading time before bed to be helpful.

6. No more another 10 mins.

I think everyone including me has two conflicting aspects to their personality. There’s the one which is good and generally seeks to self improve and be productive. Then there’s the other one – the little voice in the head urging us to sleep in for another 10 mins. I’ve learned the hard way that this little voice rarely has anything good to say. My advice is don’t ever have a discussion with him or indulge in anything he says! Sleeping in for another 10 mins is guaranteed to lead to another 10 mins and then another. The next time you hear that little voice, just say “No” out loud and …

7. Jump out of bed.

One trick I’ve found to be very effective in being an early riser and to stop myself from rationalising is to simply jump out of bed instantly. Once I am outside the comforts of the warm and cozy bed, I’m more likely to actually wake up and stay up. Someone once suggested to me by leaving the bedroom immediately, you also leave no doubt about your intentions to actually wake up and start doing things. Jumping out of bed and leaving the room actually works. They have prevented me from sleeping in on many a cold winter morning.

8. Use an alarm clock, just not the snooze.

Every day without fail, I wake up before the alarm goes off. I’m tempted to say setting it might not even be necessary! However, I take comfort in the knowledge that it’s there and waiting to go off, so I don’t have to worry about sleeping in. The trick with the alarm clock is to make it loud, annoying and not easily accessible. Try placing it away from arms reach, so that you can’t turn it off or get to the snooze button unless you get up out of bed. For me, this works wonders, because when it goes off, my wife and daughter are both still asleep and I instinctively try to get to it as quickly as possible.

9. Establish a stable routine.

What I recently learned from being a new dad is babies thrive on routine. My daughter now knows that bath time is followed by reading time and then bed time. Initially, she put up a fight resisting the bed. Now, she expects it!

In many ways, things are no different for us adults. I view the body as an instrument which can be trained. I’ve found establishing a consistent routine to be a key factor in becoming an early riser. This means waking up at same time everyday, not just the days I have to. This includes weekends, which typically aren’t as busy as the weekdays. Now, my body doesn’t even remember what it was like to sleep in and being a late riser.

10. Have something to look forward to.

Waking up early can be hard work, especially when you are used to sleeping in. Having a purpose is a good start, but this isn’t always enough. I mean, come one, are you really going to get up early to work on some TPS report for work? What I do in addition to having a purpose is to have a reward or other attractive incentive to get up for. It can be anything. I personally look forward to having time to check my emails in the morning, eat breakfast and drink a cup of tea.

11. Be aware of the consequences.

As I’ve written about previously, when faced with doing something we don’t want to do, we’re generally motivated not just by Pleasure, but also Pain. I’ve found that it was very effective to be aware of the consequences of sleeping in. For me, losing that extra 2 hours in the morning can have a significant flow on effect to my day and the rest of the week. Everytime I sleep in, I have to stay at work later and sacrifice quality time with my daughter in the evenings. This is something I clearly want to avoid, so being aware of this has been really effective in keeping me motivated when the alarm goes off.

12. Remove the option completely.

One trick I’ve found to work well also is removing the option of sleeping in completely. If we don’t have the option to sleep in, we won’t. The best way of doing this is schedule meetings and deadlines early in the mornings. This leaves one with no option at all but to get up because by the time the morning comes round, it is too late to cancel or reschedule a commitment. I’ve found this to be very effective because my actions now impact not just me but others as well.

13. Have a similarly motivated buddy.

Over the year, I have mentioned to various friends my desire to be a consistent early riser. Being encouraged by my example and results, they too have adopted the drive to be early risers. Not only is it gratifying to be helping others improve their productivity and quality of life, but having friends similarly committed helps keep me motivated and on track. Whenever we meet up, we always ask each other how we are doing with respect to being early risers. If anyone has fallen off the wagon, as a group we try to get them motivated again. Your spouse may be a good buddy even if only to kick you out of bed.

14. Keep track of your times.

Have you ever told yourself that you can sleep in just this once because you’ve already been good the whole week? I have. Unfortunately, my perception on how good I’ve been is subjective and often inaccurate. Sometimes I consider sleeping in because I feel that I’ve been good when in fact I’ve already slept in twice this week or six times this month. I’ve found keeping track of the days I have been good and not good to be immensely useful. I review this list periodically and whenever I find I’m falling behind, I use this list to renew my motivation and commitment.

15. Review all the things you got done.

I’ve written about the 10 R’s to success before. If you haven’t read that post, take a moment to do so. One of the more important R’s is Review which describes the importance of looking back on how successful you have been with your goals and what you’ve managed to accomplish. If things aren’t working out or the results weren’t as expected, then adjust your approach. Looking back at all the things you’ve managed to get done in the early mornings is a great motivator to keep you going.

Conclusions

Being an early riser is tough work, but I’ve managed to do it consistently. To be honest, I didn’t realise how hard it would be when I first started. I might not even have tried if I knew better in the beginning. However, I’m glad I did because the rewards are amazing. I get much more done now and my quality of life has improved.

If you want to be early risers yourselves, try out the tips I’ve highlighted. Some of them may not work for you, but I can bet that if you applied at least a few of these, you will see immediate results. Feel free to experiment and refine the process until you find a healthy balance you can sustain.

Good luck! Let me know how you go.

www.davecheong.com

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Interview tips

Since you’ll almost always have to go through a phone interview in order to get in front of actual people in a company, it’s important to nail it.

Here are some tips for prepping and carrying out the interview:

1. Use your invisibility! Speaking on the phone carries the huge advantage of the interviewer not being able to see what you’re doing.

Have the job description, your resume, and your cover letter printed out or in front of you. Take some time beforehand to highlight the experiences and qualities that you want to be sure to hit on in the interview, and refer to these while you’re chatting. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Write out your three strongest selling points, and your three weaknesses — with an answer to how that weakness can be improved or leveraged. Have questions for the interviewers written down, and take notes as others come up in the conversation. Of course, don’t be reading something you’ve written already - they’ll know you sound rehearsed. Bullet points will keep you on track.

2. Get dressed up. Okay, you don’t have to go all out business attire, but if you’re at home, wear something nice that will put you in the “work” mindset and keep you feeling sharp.

3. Just because they can’t see it doesn’t mean they can’t hear it. Don’t be eating, chewing gum, or smoking while you’re on the phone. It’s fine to have a glass of water around just like you would in a normal interview.

4. Find a quiet place. You wouldn’t believe how many people having yelling kids, barking dogs, nearby traffic and other distractions around when they’re doing phone interviews. Not only will these be a distraction to your train of thought and presentation, but they could make you feel apologetic or embarrassed to the interviewer, which isn’t a psychological place you want to be in when you’re selling yourself.

5. Enunciate and speak deliberately. Because you can’t read the interviewers’ facial expressions, it’s easy to start doubting whether they’re still with you and to speed up your answers. Take your time, be deliberate, and finish each thought.

6. Make sure you have phone service, or use a landline. With most people speaking on cell phones, calls can drop easily - creating an awkward break in the conversation and more uncertainty. If you are having trouble hearing the interviewer, tell them - there’s no point in going through an interview where you can’t understand what they’re asking just because you feel embarrassed to call it out.

7. Get follow up contact information. You’ll want to send a thank you note, so be sure you have an email address of whoever you spoke with.

And some more interview tips

Here’s what we came up with to help you avoid those moments of scattered, forced laughter (or blank stares) from the crowd:

10. Know your audience and cater to them. If you’re in a room full of women, don’t make sexist jokes. Same goes for an interview or cover letter - figure out what you can say that will resonate with the reader. Sensitivity and judgment will go a long way in warming the interviewer up to you; lack thereof will quickly get you blacklisted.

9. Just the right amount of eye contact… Not too much and definitely not too little! In an interview, don’t look up or out the window too much when you’re considering a question…better to look down at your notes. We’ve had people disqualified for jobs because of wandering gazes.

8. Energy! The comedians who were too loud and energetic for the crowd seemed overbearing; those who were lethargic seemed like they were unprepared, nervous or just didn’t care. Find the right balance of energy between sluggish and overzealous so that you can express both your passion and your composure.

7. Be confident and natural in what you are saying. Sounding too rehearsed will not bode well. If you give canned answers that mirror your resume or cover letter exactly, it can appear as though you have no more to offer than what they already read about you in the application. (Though practice does make perfect in this case - “mock interviewing” with friends is one of the most effective ways to prepare for an interview.)

6. Be concise. Know where the story is going and get there! (With the appropriate tangents along the way…) For the comedian, if it’s obvious that your joke isn’t funny to the audience, don’t beat a dead horse — change tacks. This goes for interviewing too — if something you’re trying to express about your experience or passion is drawing blank stares (or worse, offended looks), carefully exit from that strand of conversation and strike out in a new, hopefully more successful, direction.

5. Timing is everything. Hey, delivery matters. Just look at Jon Stewart.

4. Incorporate others only as much as they want to be incorporated. Actually, this comparison doesn’t actually work: Interviews are considered successful when they are a conversation between two people rather than drawing a clear distinction between interviewer and interviewee. Whereas for a comedian, the audience may prefer to be passive and that’s okay!

3. Work with whatever makes you, you. The best and most successful comedians are those with a memorable, distinctive style which they have made “work” for them. This is true for the rest of us as well. Know your strengths and quirks and make them work for you.

2. Don’t be negative about previous employers. At this show, we saw an elementary-school-principal-by-day reference how ridiculous her students and parents were — with a fair number of expletives laced in — while her husband was enthusiastically filming the performance. We couldn’t help but think if that video ever got in the “wrong” hands of her colleagues, school parents, or anyone else, she would likely lose her job and her reputation would take a serious hit. There is never a need to un-constructively criticize an organization just to prove dedication to a job opportunity; rather, emphasize the things you would change and how you think the experience has prepared you to contribute to a new organization.

1. If you make people laugh, that is a very good sign! Interviews can be tense situations. If you find that you have a good enough rapport with your interviewer, finding some (appropriate!) humor can take the edge off and make you seem poised, confident and likeable…all good things when they are evaluating whether they want to work with you!

www.tiptheplanet.com

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6 Tips for Commuting to Work by Bike

Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter.

This morning, I rode my bike in to work (a distance of about 10 miles), and it felt great. It was the second time I’ve done that now — I also did it last week — and I hope to make it a more frequent thing.

My goal is to get some exercise (I’m training for a triathlon) while also helping the environment and saving money on gas. With the gas prices rising so much in the last few years, it’s frustrating to not be able to do anything about it — but now I am.

Although it’s a bit scary riding a bike in the middle of traffic, I have to say it was a great experience. Not only did I feel really good to get the exercise, but I had a great view of nature as I headed to work, and it was a lot more peaceful and relaxing than the regular commute by car. I hope to eventually build up my stamina so that I can ride my bike to and from work at least three or four times a week, or even five days a week, but for now I’m starting out slowly, as I’m new to cycling.

Tips for Commuting by Bike

• Plan ahead. One of the reasons people don’t commute by bike, even if they have a bike, is that they don’t want to be sweaty. I’m lucky, as my work just installed a new shower, but before that I planned to use the shower of an office next door, or use the shower at a nearby gym (even becoming a member at a gym is cheaper than gas). You’ll also need soap and deodorant and a towel and other toiletries. Then there’s the issue of how to get your clothes to work, which is my next tip.
• Drop your clothes to work ahead of time. You could pack them in a backpack, to wear on your back, but it gets your back sweaty. You could also put it in a pannier and carry it on a rack, which is a good option, but you might not want your clothes wrinkly for some reason. The solution I’ve been using (and it’s not an original idea) is to bring my clothes to work the day before. This also saves some extra pounds that I have to carry on my bike, which is an issue for a beginner like me. You could even bring in clothes for the rest of the week. Eventually, if I ride to work five days a week, I might have to drop a week’s worth of clothes sometime in the weekend.
• Any ol’ bike will do. You don’t need a fancy racing bike or touring bike or anything to commute. If you’ve got an old mountain bike, which I do, that’s good enough. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on a bike and gear to get started. Later, you can always spend more, a little at a time, but whatever you’ve got is good enough for now.
• Have a spare tube and tools, and know how to change a tire. You never know if you’ll get a flat, and you don’t want to be stuck walking your bike for several miles. A patch kit is good, but it’s even easier if you just have a spare tube, a pump, and the right tools so that you can quickly change the punctured tube for a new one, and patch the old one later at home.
• Be safe. This is a no brainer, but it is good to read up on tips on cycling safety (see links below) before heading out into dangerous traffic.
• It’s a blast! Cycling is a lot of fun, as I’ve discovered in recent weeks, and riding to work is much, much better than driving. Try it. You’ll love it.

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5 Weight Loss Motivation Tips That Work

Mark Tyrrell

Stay Focused on Getting Slimmer and Staying that Way

“I’m going to be a fat blob on my wedding day!” The voice on the other end of the phone was desperate. “Can you help me?”

So Karen came to see me. “It’s always the same,” she told me. “I’m motivated for a few days and lose weight, then something happens. I gain everything – and more – back again! My wedding’s in three months! That should be motivation enough, but lately my weight’s been even more all over the place!”

Karen was right. Weight loss motivation is easy…at first. Rapid progress, compliments, wearing outfits you really want to, feeling more attractive, having more energy. All this positive feedback is motivating, captivating. Yet this weight loss ‘honeymoon period’ inevitably wanes. And then it can get tough.

Slim people do it! How?

Living as a slim person is a way of life. A healthy weight won’t be sustainable long-term if it requires constant positive feedback and the excitement of feeling newly slimmer.

“What do you mean: ‘Something happens’?” I asked Karen.

“Well, I might have a problem at work, or my kids wind me up, or I start worrying about being fat at my wedding!”

Ah, so Karen, like millions of people who struggle with their weight, was using food for emotional support as well as simply nutrition.

We had a simple goal, then. Karen needed to start thinking and behaving like a slim person long-term, up to and beyond her wedding. What follows are some of the approaches we used; you can ‘make them your own’ so they really work for you.

Tip 1: Think slim

This tip is about that all-important moment: What do you experience just before you eat something? Do you tussle with yourself? “I really shouldn’t… but I want to!” Do you imagine how the food will taste, even feel in the mouth? Or do you focus on the real consequences, rather than the temporary satisfactions of eating?

People who are overweight tend to imagine how food is going to taste and feel as they eat. In contrast, people who naturally ‘eat slim’ tend to imagine how that pie or cake will feel heavy in their stomachs for so long after they’ve eaten it. Jumping from a great height might feel fun whilst it lasts, but the consequences that come after we hit the ground are what we consider when deciding not to do it.

So when you’re tempted to eat something you don’t need, practice imagining how your stomach is going to feel ten minutes or an hour after you’ve consumed that weight-increasing food. Keep it up until this becomes a natural habit for you.

Tip 2: Surround yourself with slim people

No, I’m not suggesting you dump all your less-than-slender friends. But research has shown that the average body type of the people with whom you hang out affects your weight and size (1). Start hanging around with slimmer, fitter types (perhaps at the gym) and your subconscious mind will pick up a new template for what is ‘normal’. Karen started hanging out and socializing with slim types at a jogging club.

Tip 3: Be fair to yourself

Imagine someone walks up a hundred steps but feels a bit tired, so they stop and step back down one step. They tell you bitterly: “Now I may as well forget this whole idea of reaching the top! I’ve totally blown it!”

What?! You’d think that was crazy, right? Acting as if all that progress, the 99 steps they did climb, never happened – because they had one slip! But people do this all the time when it comes to weight loss.

You lose weight, maybe four or five pounds, maybe much more. But you slip, have a bad day or a ‘weak moment’, and eat something you shouldn’t have. And what do you tell yourself? “I’ve completely blown it! Now I might as well really binge!”

Beware the perfectionism trap. Aim to eat sensibly and healthily most of the time, not all the time. We all consume more than we should of the wrong kind of food or drink now and then.

Everyone’s weight fluctuates a bit and you should prepare for this (once you’ve reached a healthy weight). Have a ’sliding scale’ in your mind of a couple of pounds on either side of your target weight. No one can live for long under a self-imposed, too harsh dictatorship.

Tip 4: Weight loss is not a cure-all

Sure, being healthier, fitter, and so on will have positive and maybe unexpected ripple effects. However, even as a slimmer person you’ll still have a bad day in the office, moments of self-doubt, or times when you feel undervalued.

Many people feel let down when they become slimmer and then find that being slim doesn’t solve all their problems in one go. They then revert to eating poorly again. Don’t fall into this trap.

You have lots of different needs which need to be fulfilled in life. Being slimmer, healthier, and fitter is just one of them.

Tip 5: Eat when you’re hungry

I know this sounds obvious, but eating sugary foods causes a subsequent crash in energy, leaving you wanting more sweetness. On the other hand, eating for slow energy release is a sustainable way to keep your weight loss motivation firing on all cylinders without you having to consciously think about it. For slow-release energy, eat protein with every meal alongside ‘good carbs’ such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans. This avoids the ‘crash and burn’ of sugar overdosing.

Karen walked down the aisle over six years ago. I still see her at my gym sometimes. She tells me that the happiest day of her life was so happy because she felt so healthy. The fact that she was slim was (and is) just a happy outer reflection of the changes she’s experienced in the ways she feels and thinks about food.

(1) Having an obese friend dramatically increases the risk of becoming similarly fat, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Obesity is ’socially contagious’, spreading from person to person in a social network, researchers said. The study found that if one person becomes obese, those closely connected to them have a greater chance of becoming obese themselves. Surprisingly, the greatest effect was seen not among people sharing the same genes or household, but among friends.

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Boss, Apakah Rapat Yang Anda Pimpin Sudah Efektif?

Boss, Anda pasti sudah pernah memimpin rapat, salah satu aktifitas penting yang umum dilakukan dalam sebuah korporasi atau organisasi. Pertemuan yang diadakan secara rutin maupun insidental adalah kesempatan bagi Anda sebagai pemimpin untuk mengkomunikasikan segala perkembangan terbaru dalam perusahaan, memantau perkembangan terakhir dalam kinerja tim Anda dan membahas serta mendiskusikan solusi masalah yang timbul dalam sebuah tim. Secara teori, meeting juga bisa jadi tempat yang melahirkan ide-ide kreatif, sarana untuk menyelesaikan konflik yang tidak bisa dirundingkan melalui email, telepon atau memo, serta efektif untuk menyampaikan sebuah maksud karena arti dan perasaan 55% ditunjukkan dengan ekspresi wajah dan sinyal non-verbal (Penelitian Dr. Albert Mehrabian).


Namun keuntungan dan hal positif tersebut hanya bisa diperoleh jika Anda merencanakan, memimpin dan meninjaklanjuti hasil meeting dengan efektif. Rapat yang tidak dapat memutuskan atau menghasilkan apapun dan berjalan tidak ada ‘juntrungannya’ adalah aktifitas yang membuang-buang waktu dan tidak akan memotivasi anggota tim Anda.


Ada tips yang bisa membantu Anda untuk memimpin dan menindaklanjuti rapat dengan efektif agar maksud dan tujuannya bisa tercapai :

1. Undang karyawan yang benar-benar berkepentingan. Pastikan setiap peserta adalah karyawan yang pekerjaannya memiliki kaitan dengan tujuan dan agenda meeting.

2. Informasikan agenda meeting. Saat mengundang anggota tim, sampaikan dengan jelas agenda rapat tersebut agar mereka bisa mempersiapkan diri sebaik-baiknya. Dengan demikian peserta sudah siap dengan materi rapat sehingga waktu yang dihabiskan untuk rapat bisa lebih efektif.

3. Tuliskan di whiteboard atau bacakan agenda pertemuan. Dituliskan memang akan lebih baik karena ada ‘penanda’ yang bisa dilihat semua orang yang mengingatkan Anda dan peserta saat rapat mulai keluar dari rencana awal. Hal ini untuk mengarahkan para peserta dan Anda agar tetap pada ‘jalur’ pembahasan yang benar sepanjang rapat.

4. Buka meeting dengan mengevaluasi goal, pencapaian dan aktivitas yang telah dilakukan selama ini. Hal ini akan mengingatkan kembali setiap anggota tim Anda tentang pencapaian dan ‘janji’ target mereka yang belum dicapai. Puji dan ingatkan mereka yang sudah mencapai target agar mempertahankan kinerja mereka. Secara singkat ingatkan karyawan yang ketinggalan deadline atau target agar lebih memacu kinerja mereka. Jika perlu jadwalkan langsung pertemuan untuk mendiskusikan masalah dan solusinya deadline tersebut.

5. Try to keep it short. Meeting tidak akan jadi efektif bila berlangsung terlalu lama. Karena itulah pentingnya untuk tetap menjaga agar diskusi tetap pada agendanya. Anda tidak harus selalu serius dan memasang wajah ‘tegang’, tapi saat Anda melemparkan candaan, pastikan hal ini tidak berlarut-larut.

6. Libatkan semua orang. Jangan biarkan salah satu dari peserta pertemuan yang Anda pimpin tertidur saking bosannya atau menunggu giliran presentasi sampai terkantuk-kantuk. Encourage diskusi yang hidup dan biarkan setiap peserta mengemukakan pendapatnya tentang informasi, ide atau tanggapan peserta rapat lainnya. Biarkan perbedaan pendapat hadir dalam meeting.

7. Catat setiap ide atau masukan dari setiap peserta rapat di whiteboard. Hal ini akan memberikan kesan bahwa sebagai pimpinan rapat Anda menghargai setiap pendapat para karyawan Anda. Melihat pendapat mereka ditulis di papan dan dilihat orang lain juga akan mendorong peserta lain untuk turut sumbang ide atau saran. Hal ini sangat diharapkan terlebih jika rapat yang Anda pimpin adalah brainstorming yang diharapkan bisa melahirkan ide-ide segar.

8. Jangan lupa siapkan notulensi. Setiap pertemuan di kantor harus dibuatkan notulensi atau minute meeting. Selain berfungsi sebagai dokumentasi, notulensi adalah bukti untuk menindaklanjuti hasil keputusan rapat tersebut di masa yang akan datang. Jaga agar bentuknya singkat dan berorientasi pada hasil yang disepakati oleh peserta rapat, bukan percakapan setiap orang di meeting tersebut.

Remember!
Ruang rapat seringkali menjadi arena Anda melatih kepemimpinan Anda, so setialah.

Chandra Ming (General Manager JobsDB.com)

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24 Tips for being happy at work

by Gretchen Rubin

Of course, being happy at work depends mostly on how much you like your job. But there are also smaller steps that can boost your happiness, as well.

Your work space:

• Check for eyestrain: put your hand to your forehead in a salute. If your eyes feel relieved, your space is too bright.
• Get a good desk chair and take the time to adjust it properly. (A friend works at Goldman Sachs, where they have a person who specializes in this, zoikes!)
• Sit up straight—every time I do, I instantly feel more energetic and cheerier.
• Think about how your space could be more pleasant. Could you invest in some desk accessories to help stay organized? Could you replace a hideous lamp with something more attractive?
• Get a phone headset. I resisted for a long time, because it looks so preposterous, but it’s really much more comfortable.
• Don’t keep treats around. A handful of M&Ms each day will mean a weight gain five pounds by year’s end.
• Periodically, take time to deep-clean the loose papers that have piled up. I never do this until I specifically schedule a time, but am always amazed at the wonderful calm it brings.

Your day:

• Never say “yes” on the phone; instead, say, “I’ll get back to you.” When you’re actually speaking to someone, the desire to be accommodating is very strong, and can lead you to say “yes” without enough consideration.
• Take care of difficult calls or emails as quickly as possible. Procrastinating just makes it harder; getting them done gives a big boost of relieved energy.
• When accepting a responsibility, imagine that it’s something that you’ll have to do next week. That way you don’t agree to something just because it seems so far off that it doesn’t seem onerous.
• Be honest about how you’re spending your time. You feel overwhelmed, but are you really working hard? How much time do you spend surfing the internet, chatting on the phone, looking for things you’ve misplaced, or doing a task that’s really someone else’s job?
• Go outside at least once a day, and if possible, take a walk. The sunlight and activity is good for your focus, mood, and retention of information.
• Even if you can’t go outside, take a ten-minute break each hour. Studies show that the break boosts your retention level.
• Don’t let yourself get too hungry.
• Let yourself stay ignorant of things you don’t need to know.
• Try to make a lunch date with someone outside the office at least once a week.

Your colleagues:

• Although some people believe it’s best to keep work life and personal life separate, and therefore avoid making friends with colleagues, for most people, having strong friendships makes work more fun. Science supports this: having close relationships is essential to happiness, strengthens the immune system, and reduces anxiety.
• If you work alone, take time to mix with other people. Socializing boosts the moods of introverts, as well as extroverts.
• Each week, walk around your company and introduce yourself to a few people you don’t know each week. You’ll feel more comfortable socially, plus knowing more people facilitates work flow.
• If a colleague gets under your skin, figure out why. I used to work with a guy who enraged me at every meeting. When I started analyzing his techniques, I became fascinated with the brilliance of his subtle put-downs.
• A friend took a job where she knew she’d have a difficult boss. From the beginning, she told herself, “There is only love.” She doesn’t allow herself to criticize her boss, even in her own mind, and won’t listen to anyone else’s criticism. She says it’s tough to do, but it has made her job far easier.
• Say “Good morning” to everyone.
• Periodically, have lunch with co-workers. This can be a time to talk about personal life, and so become better friends, or to talk about work, so that everyone has a bigger picture of what’s going on in the office—both good results.
• Lighten up.

careers, Jobs Indonesia, Indonesia Vacancy

Twelve Tips to Create a Happier (and More Productive) Workplace.

Every Wednesday is Tip Day.

This Wednesday: 12 tips to create a happier (and more productive) workplace.

I just finished First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. I’d heard about it for years, but I didn’t actually pick up a copy until a smart friend told me to read it.

The authors did a study with the Gallup Organization to find a way, among other things, to measure strong workplaces, ones that would attract and retain the most productive employees.

They came up with a list of twelve questions, where, if employees answered “yes” and were happier in their workplaces, they tended to work in business units with higher levels of productivity, profit, retention, and customer satisfaction – which shows that there is a link between how employees feel and how they perform.

This is a good list to use if you’re a manager who wants to create a happier and more productive work environment, or if you’re a job seeker/holder who wants criteria by which to judge a workplace.

Also, if you’re not happy at work, and you’re trying to Identify the problem, take a look at this list. It suggests strategies for improving your situation. Not everything is within your control, of course, but perhaps you could identify for your boss what you need to change #2 from “no” to “yes” or to shift responsibilities so you get #3. Or can you make an effort to gain #10?

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?
3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?
6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?
8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important?
9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
10. Do I have a best friend at work? [But don’t have an office affair!]
11. In the last six months, have I talked with someone about my progress?
12. This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

The first six questions have the strongest links to business outcomes (productivity, profitability, retention, and customer satisfaction).

I was also interested to see that the study suggested that people’s opinions of their workplaces are more determined by their immediate manager than by the overall company. It was their direct manager – not money, benefits, perks, or a charismatic leader at the top – that was the critical element for people.

careers, Jobs Indonesia, Indonesia Vacancy