All posts by John Rampton

Always Resolve Your Calendar Conflicts

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If you were able to have a superpower, what would it be? For me? I would want the ability to be in two places at once.

That might not sound like the most thrilling of powers. But think about it? You could tackle your work responsibilities while playing with your kids, reading, or whatever else you enjoy during your downtime.

A Properly Managed Calendar Can Feel Almost Magical

Of course, this isn’t realistic. That’s why it’s imperative that you properly manage your calendar. If you don’t, it will feel like you’re trying to be in multiple places simultaneously.

That might not sound like a biggie. But calendar conflicts are frustrating and stressful. They can also cause you to fall behind in your work. And, they could also fracture relationships if this becomes a recurring issue.

The good news? There are ways to resolve your calendar conflicts? And here are 8 such ways to achieve this feat.

1. Avoid conflicts by going digital.

Want to prevent conflicts from happening in the first place? Then you probably should make a move from a paper calendar or planner to a digital option.

I’m not completely hating on old-school paper calendars. In fact, they can still come in handy. After all, they excel at providing a quick visual reminder. And, we tend to remember events better when it’s written down.

At the same time, they can be problematic. Let’s say that you were at a networking event and agreed to follow-up with a new contact. You agree to a phone call next Wednesday at 1 pm. However, when you go to add this entry when you get back to your office, you see that you had a prior commitment.

It’s not the end of the word for you to reschedule. But, if you had a calendar app, you would have been able to see your availability right there on the spot. What’s more, most calendar software won’t even let you double-book your time and will suggest a different time.

As if that weren’t enough, you could share your calendar with others. When you do, they can either see when you’re available. Or, they can book a meeting with you directly through the calendar.

And, one more thing. Online calendars also come with time-zone recognition. That means it will automatically convert time zones to avoid any confusion.

2. Don’t wait until tomorrow.

The longer you wait to put entries into your calendar, the higher the probability for conflicts to arise. Going back to following-up with the contact you met. Until you had the call to your calendar, it doesn’t exist.

Even worse? Something else might creep in and try to claim that block of time. If that happens, you’re going to have to do some last-minute reshuffling.

In short, schedule your priorities and important dates ASAP. For instance, if you know, there’s a meeting scheduled on the 30th of the month book the conference room this very second. If you have a dentist’s appointment in 6 months, get that in your calendar before scheduling something else.

3. Keep your calendar lean and mean.

As I just mentioned, if something isn’t in your calendar, then it’s not worthy of your time and energy. But, does that mean that you need to literally plan every minute of your day? Not exactly.

By all means, get those key entries onto your calendar. But, also leave some blocks open. One example of this would be having a gap between meetings. It’s a simple way to prevent overlapping — plus, it allows you to catch your breath.

Furthermore, there’s another reason not to pack your calendar too tight. It will let you address any emergencies that might pop-up. In turn, you won’t completely ruin your schedule.

And, it’s also been found that healthy scheduling habits make you happy. Specifically, this applies to your social life. For instance, if you don’t have anything planned after running errands and you bumped into a friend, you could catch-up without feeling crunched for time.

4. Stay cool like a cucumber.

So, you’ve got a conflict? You might instinctively have a panic attack. Take a deep breath and relax. Everything’s going to be OK.

The worst possible outcome is that you might disappoint someone or have to adjust your schedule. It’s an annoyance. But, if you’re honest and aren’t making last-minute changes, everything will get back to order.

Additionally, if the other party made a mistake, show a little empathy. As humans, that’s going to happen. Besides, chastising them won’t help correct their time management problems.

5. Don’t have a communication breakdown.

While your handy online calendar can help avert possible conflicts, you can’t solely rely on it. Case in point, you have a family emergency a couple of hours before a meeting. Your calendar obviously doesn’t know this information. As a result, it’s still going to assume that the event will take place as scheduled.

In this case, you need to let the other attendees know. You also need to cancel or reschedule that event. If you don’t have a new date in mind, just let them know that you will pick a new date as soon as possible.

Long story short, keep the lines of communication open. It may take you a couple of minutes. But, it shows others that you respect their valuable time. And, it may also help you de-escalate any possible workplace conflicts.

6. Have a backup plan.

You can’t possibly prepare for every scenario. Personally, I just don’t think that’s possible. But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a Plan D, C, and D.

For instance, if you have to reschedule a virtual call, come up with a couple of other possible alternative dates. The reason? Since you have a proposal ready, you won’t play the time-consuming game of cat and mouse.

What if you don’t fill these blocks of time up? No worries. You can use that block to tackle backburner tasks, get the head start on a new project, or kick back and relax for a minute.

Another suggestion could be when it comes to employee scheduling. You might want to have some back-ups in cause someone can’t make it into work. To make this process a little easier on you, you could even permit your team members to pick their own subs.

7. It’s OK to say no.

What if you said yes to a time request only to find out that there’s a calendar dispute? The answer is easy. Just say, “no.”

I know that you don’t want to upset anyone. However, you aren’t doing anyone any favors by spreading yourself too thin. So, if you are already going to a party on Saturday, then you’ll have to pass on another invite.

When it comes to working, you also need to know your limitations. If you’re at full capacity, then don’t accept or volunteer for new assignments.

What exactly should you decline? That’s really up to you. But, some of the most common examples would be:

  • Anything that could be easily delegated or outsourced.
  • Actions that don’t align with your vision.
  • Things that distract you.
  • Unhealthy habits.
  • Things that aren’t in your control.

I’d also add that just because you reject a time request doesn’t mean you should feel guilty. In fact, you could offer an alternative date when you have the availability. After all, if you don’t protect your time, then who will?

Is WFH Making You Miserable?

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7 Easy Ways to Avoid Burnout at Home

For years those who were fortunate enough to work remotely praised its benefits from the rooftops. In fact, numerous research backed-up these claims. For example, Owl Labs found in its 2019 State of Remote Work Reportthe following:

  • 83% of survey respondents agree that the ability to work remotely would make them happier.
  • 82% of respondents agree with the statement that working remotely would make them feel more trusted at work.
  • 81% of respondents agree that working remotely would make them better able to manage work-life conflict.
  • 81% of survey respondents agreed that working remotely would make them more likely to recommend their company to a friend.
  • 80% of all survey respondents agreed that the ability to work remotely would make them less stressed.
  • 80% of respondents agree that working remotely would make them feel like their employer cares.
  • 74% of survey respondents agree that working remotely would make them less likely to leave their employer.

In short, remorse workers are happier, productive, and loyal. Reasons include autonomy, flexibility, and fewer workplace distractions. In turn, this is beneficial for their careers and well-being, as well as the bottom line.

Then the global pandemic yet. Suddenly people who had always dreamed of working from home who thrust into this new way of life. Some thrived, others didn’t.

You can’t fault them. A lot of folks just aren’t cut out for the WFH-life. Furthermore, there’s a dark side that’s making people downright miserable.

Why working from home is making people miserable?

“Working from home entails some degree of isolation,” explains business consultant Larry Alton. “If you live by yourself, you may go an entire day without seeing or talking to anybody.” But, even if this isn’t so, “you might customarily shut yourself away in a separate office.”

Why’s this such a big deal? Various research shows that social contact is paramount when it comes to our mental and physical health. Interacting with others can also calm and soothe us.

“Across multiple studies, controlling for factors like income, geographic regions, and even genetics, the single most important ingredient for long-term happiness appears to be how and how often we connect with other people,” adds Alton. “Loneliness, especially on a chronic basis, can subject you to depression, frustration, and career burnout.”

As if that weren’t bad enough, it’s tempting to fall into unhealthy habits. For instance, during your routine, you might tell yourself that you’re only going to catch-up with the local news. Next thing you know, you’re playing along with The Price Is Right.

It may also be easier to sleep-in, make frequent trips to the fridge, and get less physical activity. If you have children, it’s a struggle trying to homeschool them while trying to get your work done. It’s more challenging to leave work at work — I mean, you are essentially living at work.

When you’re working by yourself, there isn’t an opportunity to take advantage of Equity Theory. According to Alton, “This is a sociological phenomenon in which individuals gauge their own performance and sense of belonging against the habits and actions of others. When there are no coworkers around to help you measure your own performance, you might develop a constant, nagging feeling that something is not right.”

The good news? If working remotely has gotten you down, there are ways to turn that frown upside down. And you can start by trying out the following.

Overcome detachment.

In a pre-COVID world, this really wasn’t much of a problem. You could set-up a shop at your favorite cafe. You could join a shared workspace or actually go into work a couple of days per week.

Outside of work, you could socialize with friends or family. I’ve even taken breaks from work to chat with my neighbor. And you could attend local networking events.

While you might be able to do some of the above, it’s definitely more difficult living in a pandemic. If you’re uncomfortable being around others or can’t safely practice social distancing, you can still connect with others.

Obviously, the most popular way is via video calls using a platform like Zoom. Whether it’s meeting with your team or catching up with a friend, this has been a lifesaver. Just be cautious not to overdo it so that you miss a case of Zoom-fatigue.

Also, there’s nothing wrong with just picking up the phone and making a call. If you feel isolated, give your best friend or mentor a ring.

Set rituals, routines, and boundaries.

When you went to the office daily, you had a routine. That structure made it easier to schedule your time. More importantly, it helped you establish boundaries between work and home.

Does this mean you have to follow the exact same routine? Not exactly. The beauty of working from home is that you can set your schedule to fit your productivity peaks and personal obligations.

For example, if you’re a morning bird, you could wake-up before everyone else in your house. While it’s quiet and you have the energy, you can work on your most important task for the day. During your breaks, you could spend time with your family and get some exercise in.

Regardless of how you schedule your day, be consistent. And find ways to transition between your personal and professional lives. It could be something as simple as turning off your computer to changing your clothes.

Create a home “office” space.

I know it’s tempting to work from the comfort of your bed or couch. But, remember, you need separation between where you get things done and chillax. As such, you need a dedicated space that you associate with work.

Ideally, it should be somewhere quiet. A spare bedroom, basement, garage, or even closet would suffice. Additionally, it should also have the right tools and equipment — think desk, high-speed internet, and whatever else you need to work.

But, those are just the basics. Brighten your workspace with natural light, plants, and colors that match your work. For instance, if your job requires a ton of focus, surround yourself with the color blue.

And, go ahead and personalize your workspace by throwing in personal items like photos or memento from a past trip. Most importantly, keep this area clean and organized.

Use your breaks to get a dose of joy.

It’s no secret that frequent breaks throughout the day can boost productivity. The key is to use these breaks to rest and recharge and do something fun.

For me, that’s taking my dog for a walk after lunch — san phone. It’s been found multiple times that spending time outside can reduce anxiety, stress, and depression. But, you could try anything that makes you happy, such as phoning a friend, drawing, or dancing.

Take advantage of working from home.

While there are disadvantages of remote work, look on the bright side. You don’t have to put up with a daily commute. As a result, you’re saving more time and money — which can be spent on something more fulfilling.

Also, you might be able to have your dog be by your side all day. Or, you get to spend more quality time with your kids. And, unless you have a video meeting, every day is casual Friday.

Accept your negative feelings.

Finally, embrace any negative feelings that you’re experiencing. It’s a proven way to help you work them. Besides, constantly seeking happiness can backfire.

“Any time you’re setting a standard for your mood when you don’t meet that standard, it’s painful,” said Brett Ford, a psychologist who studies emotions at the University of Toronto. “You’re basically adding pain on top of a lack of happiness.”

“We can’t be happy all the time, but we can be OK with whatever emotions we are having,” says Dr. Judson Brewer, a psychiatrist who studies behavioral change. “And in that sense, there’s a level of contentment that comes with that.”

“I’m content that I’m happy,” says Brewer. “I’m content that I’m not happy. Whatever emotion is here is here.”

Arrest These 12 Time and Productivity Thieves

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Clock

Because time is your most valuable commodity, you must protect it at all costs. Unfortunately, you can’t hire a personal bodyguard to do this for you. Instead, you’re the only defense between you and time thieves. Here is how to arrest these twelve time and productivity thieves.

On the plus side, you can easily spot those bandits from miles away. TV, social media, and low-income tasks are some of the most common culprits. But, sometimes, these thieves can rob your time and productivity from right under your nose, such as the following 12 crooks.

1. Constant interruptions.

I highly doubt that we intend to let interruptions steal away our time and energy. After all, they just tend to pop-up since we’re so easily accessible. As a consequence, they are without question the leading time thief you have to thwart.

Why? Well, because they’re so frequent and detrimental. In fact, research has found that when you get distracted, it takes on average 23 minutes and 15 minutes to regain focus.

To put that another way, you take 30-seconds to see what message you just received. Harmless, right? Nope. That quick glance at your phone has derailed you for the next 25-minutes.

Even worse? If that happens throughout the day, then how can you possibly get anything done? I mean, just 2 interruptions and 2 recoveries will set you back over 2 hours.

What’s more, this can also influence your health and well-being.

“Our research has shown that attention distraction can lead to higher stress, a bad mood, and lower productivity,” writes Gloria Mark, who studies digital distraction at the University of California, Irvine, in The New York Times. Additionally, this builds-up attention residue. Eventually, this “adds to our cognitive load as we keep switching our focus of attention and trying to reorient to new topics,” explains Mark. “Once overloaded, we tend to do more lightweight activities.”

How can you stop interruptions in their tracks? The basics, like turning off notifications and working in isolation, are a start. I would also make the most out of your calendar. For example, sharing it with others so that they know your availability.

2. Inability to say “no.”

“As Gary Keller points out in The ONE Thing when you say yes to something you are inherently saying no to many other things,” explain The ONE Thing Team. “If you don’t, you end up getting pulled in so many directions it’s like you never said yes to your ONE Thing.”

The problem is that there is a negative association with the word “no.” But, that doesn’t always have to be the case. “It’s simply a matter of prioritizing what matters most. And when no is said in the right way, it can even be turned into a positive.”

To make this easier, first determine what you should decline. Usually, this would be anything that can be outsourced, are distracting, or unhealthy. Additionally, this could also include actions that don’t align with your vision or out of your control.

Next, practice the act of saying “no” by:

  • Never feel guilty for saying “no.”
  • Planning your “no’s” in advance. For example, if you always work on your priorities from 9 am to noon, you wouldn’t say “yes” to a phone during that block.
  • Taking baby steps by declining low-risk situations.
  • Consulting your calendar by committing.
  • Being brief, polite, and firm.
  • Offering alternatives. For example, suggesting a different time to meet or referring a colleague to help on a project.

3. Personal disorganization.

On the surface, you might assume that it is about keeping a neat and clean workspace. And you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. After all, clutter can be distracting, and you’ll protect your time by not looking for misplaced items.

However, I’m actually talking about getting organized so that you can optimize your time and preserve your energy. The reason is that when you’re not disorganized, you know exactly what to do and how to get it done.

If organization isn’t in your wheelhouse, Choncé Maddox has the following suggestions to correct that:

  • Make a to-do-list of what you need to accomplish tomorrow.
  • Write down your goals so that you have a sense of purpose.
  • Pack a lunch to save money and reduce decisions.
  • Do a brief cleanup like throwing trash away and putting things back where they belong.
  • Make time to exercise to counter a sedentary lifestyle and enhance your energy.
  • Layout your clothes so that this is one less decision you have to make.
  • Turn your devices off when planning out out your day, week, or month.

4. Unclear goals.

I like to think of goals like GPS. They give you step-by-step instructions on how to get from one location to the next. Without it, you may end up making a wrong turn resulting in driving miles to nowhere.

Just like the directions you’re given, your goals should be clear and well defined. If you’re still lost, they should be based on what you want to achieve and how you’ll commit to it. In most cases, using something like the SMART Formula can help you get started and remain motivated.

5. Fractured focus.

“Fractured focus is the division of your attention across multiple tasks,” writes David Perez for Evernote. For example, you may be doing some research online only to fall into the Wiki rabbit role. Next thing you know, you’ve just lost an hour and a half.

Why does this happen? One reason is that you’ve depleted your attention and energy reserves. Because of this, you’re going to be more prone to distractions.

The good news? You can take your focus back. For starters, schedule your most cognitively challenging tasks when you’re most productive. Additionally, you want to remove temptations, like blocking distracting apps or websites when working.

Other recommendations would be to focus on one task at a time and letting your mind wander. And, don’t forget to schedule breaks so that you can restore your attention through meditation or going for a walk outside.

6. Fear of chaos.

Is there a more ominous word than chaos? Not if you pride yourself on being a productive planner. Unfortunately, things don’t always go according to plans.

While natural and inevitable, chaos can stop us dead in our tracks. Since we’re frozen in fear, we can’t progress on our priorities. And, we end up wasting valuable time panicking.

The ONE Thing Team suggests that you can handle this “by letting the smaller stuff slide and not fearing the chaos it creates.” I’d also add that you add time blocks in your calendar. It’s a simple way to protect your priorities while adding flexibility to deal with the chaos.

7. Procrastination.

Conventional wisdom has often proclaimed that a person procrastinates because they’re lazy. Others believe that we put things off because we’re experiencing time management problems. In reality, we often drag our feet because we haven’t managed our emotions.

“We procrastinate when a task stirs up feelings like anxiety, confusion or boredom,” clarifies Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. “And although it makes us feel better today, we end up feeling worse — and falling behind — tomorrow.”

The solution? Change “your habits around emotion management,” adds Grant. You can do this through self-compassion, reconsidering when you work on difficult tasks, and working with others.

If you’re still procrastinating, practice mindfulness and align your to-do-lists with your values. And, when all else fails, just get started. When you do, you’ll build up the momentum to keep going.

8. Meetings.

According to an article in MIT’s Sloan Management Review, the average executive spends 23 hours in meetings each week. Considering that most of us work around 47 hours per week, that means we’re spending half of our time in meetings.

While some events are beneficial, the truth is that we waste a lot of time in unnecessary meetings. In fact, 71% of respondents in one said meetings are unproductive and inefficient.

Before scheduling or accepting a meeting request, make sure that it’s 100% necessary. If not, consider alternatives like a short phone call. If it is, keep it short, stick to the agenda, and troubleshoot any problems in advance — like testing software before the start of the meeting.

9. Poor health habits.

You aren’t surprised by this, are you? Just think about how well you perform when you’re exhausted, feel like trash, or struggling mentally. You’re definitely not in peak condition.

As I’m sure you’ve heard ad nauseam, make your health and well-being a top priority. Get 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night. Engage in physical activity, avoid unhealthy coping mechanisms, and eat a nutritious diet. And, please do not hesitate to ask for help if you need it.

10. Bad communication and task distribution.

Whenever collaborating or delegating tasks, you can save everyone a lot of time, and ibuprofen is clearly stating guidelines and expectations. Moreover, you need to make sure that the right person is working on the right tasks. And, if there are any issues, make yourself available so that they can be addressed immediately.

11. States of emergency.

Emergencies, just like interruptions, will happen. However, you can avoid full-fledged disasters by preventing a crisis in the first place. You can accomplish this by identifying your priorities, defining objectives, and making better decisions.

You could also have continuous plans in place. For instance, if an employee gets sick, know who will step-in and sub for them. And, make sure to leave some white space in your calendar so that you can shuffle your schedule around if need be.

12. Unsupportive environment.

You may have never realized this, but your environment plays a huge role in your life. For instance, it’s been found that if a close friend gains weight, you have a 57% chance of becoming obese as well.

So, if you surround yourself with toxic individuals, then you are more likely to follow suit. Instead, spend more time with those who are supportive and goal-oriented. It probably would be an assist if you can hold each other accountable too.

Positive Work Cultures Are More Productive: 10 Ways to Get There

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Positive work cultures

It’s no secret that positive work cultures are more productive. That’s because these types of environments lead to more creative, happy, and collaborative employees. Research has even found that happy employees work harder and smarter. If positive work cultures are more productive, how can you establish a more positive work environment? Well, here are ten ways to get started today.

1. Develop a set of core values and priorities.

The development of a set of core values and priorities will vary from one business to another. A foundation of any positive workplace culture starts with clearly defined values and priorities. Establishing these items give your work meaning and guides you in how you treat your team and customers. Knowing these goals will help you find the right personalities for your startup and aligns everyone towards a common goal.

What’s interesting, however, is that these core values can be whatever you want. “One of the exciting things I found from the research is that it doesn’t matter what your values are. What matters is that you have them and that you align the organization around them,” said Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh.

“And the power comes from the alignment, not from the actual values,” he added. “We’re not out there telling people [that they should adopt the Zappos values] and culture because that would probably not work in most cases. Our message is more ‘you should figure out what your values are and then align the entire organization around them.”

2. Greet your team.

“A little hello goes a long way in the workplace,” Ashely Alt writes on the SnackNation blog. “Your team members want to feel and be happy, so give them a little nudge in the morning with a big old smile that says, ‘I’m happy you are here, and I want you to love your job.’”

Additionally, make it a point to get out of your office and walk around the office. Do a quick pop in to check on your team and ask them if there’s anything you can help them with. If they’re taking a short break, go ahead, and chit chat with them so that you can both get to know each other better personally.

While it may sound simple, kicking the day off on positive note with a smile and a “Good morning!” sets the tone for the day. It can even turn that crummy morning into an awesome day. “Being upbeat and genuine in your approach boosts your team’s self-esteem, causing them to be more motivated and reminds them that working with you is pretty great,” adds Ashley.

3. Enhance your emotional intelligence.

There has been a lot of emphasis on emotional intelligence over the years. And, for a good reason. Those with high EI are more productive, successful, and effective leaders. In a nutshell, this is because of what EI can do for an individual.

  • Strengthens our self-awareness so that we know what our strengths and weaknesses are.
  • Helps us self-regulate our emotions.
  • Encourages us to be more self-motivated.
  • Increases our empathy.
  • Using the methods of emotional intelligence will help you develop stronger interpersonal skills like active listening and conflict resolution.

As you can see, when you sharpen your EI, you’ll be better suited to communicate with your team, as well as handle how you to respond to them. After you’ve worked on improving your emotional intelligence, provide opportunities for your team to strengthen their own.

4. Show your gratitude.

Think about how you feel when someone thanks you or acknowledges your hard work. Even if you have an ego that’s in check, it still makes you feel great about yourself. So, imagine how your team feels when you show your gratitude.

The best thing about this is that there are a variety of ways to achieve this. For example, you could give an employee a shoutout at the beginning of a team meeting. You could send them a handwritten note. Or, you could engage in random acts of kindness like buying them lunch or surprising them with a gift, raise, or new perk like flexible hours.

5. Grant employees autonomy.

A tried and true way of cultivating a more positive and productive work environment is to stop micromanaging. Instead, offer your team autonomy. Micromanaging makes your team ineffective and nervous. Independence in work conditions means giving them the freedom to work however and whenever they like — within reason of course. It also encourages them to share their opinions and feedback.

On your end, however, this involves learning how to delegate more effectively. You also have to hold your team accountable, frequent feedback, and making sure that your team has the tools to succeed.

6. Improve the physical workplace.

It’s almost impossible for you to be in a good mood and productive when you’re not comfortable. As such, you may want to look into making your office more comfortable. Some great places to start is by keeping the office at a steady temperature, letting in as much natural light as possible, and filling the office with plants.

Additionally, provide your team with ergonomic furniture and encourage them to take frequent breaks throughout the day. Also, keep the workplace clean so that germs aren’t spreading like wildfire. And, don’t be afraid to let your staff personalize their own workspaces.

7. Be respectful of everyone else’s time.

Time is the most valuable resource we have. Because of this, if you aren’t respectful of everyone else’s time, then it shows your team that this is a less then ideal culture. After all, if you can’t be respectful of other people’s time, then how can you be trusted in other areas?

There’s no one way to do this. But, here are a couple of suggestions:

  • Don’t leave for vacation or business trip without debriefing your team. They should know what to do while you’re away.
  • Always start and end the meeting on time.
  • Do not annoy your employees during their “off-hours,” like nights and weekends.
  • If your employees are at full capacity, then do not add to their workload.
  • Clearly define any guidelines and expectations so that they do not always have to redo their work.
  • Create and share a team calendar so that everyone knows what’s going on.

8. Encourage fun.

Your team is working their tails off for you. Help them blow off some steam while showing your appreciation by having a little fun. Recognition and fun could be as simple as celebrating milestones or even events like birthdays. You could also take everyone out of the office and go on a retreat or volunteer in the community.

As an added perk, this could be an excellent way to strengthen relationships and encourage collaboration among your team. It can also boost morale.

9. Prioritize your team’s well-being.

There’s a strong correlation between your well-being and productivity. I mean, how can you have the energy and focus on getting work done when you’re stressed, sleep-deprived, and feel like garbage because of your diet?

While it’s not always your responsibility to improve other’s health, you can at least encourage a healthier lifestyle at work. You could fill the healthy with healthier snack options instead of the standard vending machine options. You could offer gym memberships, hold more standing meetings, or provide weekly meditation sessions.

10. Don’t use fear.

Mistakes will happen. So, instead of freaking out on your team whenever they slip up, use that as a learning opportunity. The last thing that you want is to have your team be afraid of you. That’s not a healthy work environment for anyone to work at. And, fear is not an effective way to motivate your team.

Positive Work Cultures Are More Productive was originally published on Calendar by John Rampton

Why Business Leaders Should Talk About Their Mental Health

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For those of a certain age, I’m sure that being transparent about your mental health was taboo. Take my friends’ father, who’s a boomer, as an example. He never opened up about how he was feeling until one day he lost it. The stress, and the emotional and physical toll it took on him, finally came to head. And, he just started crying. I was floored. I mean I was always told that boys don’t cry. Here is why business leaders should talk about their mental health.

There’s been a sea of change when talking about mental health, and we can all learn from the shift.

Take Gen Z. They are more likely to seek help then other generations. Unfortunately, that figure is still low with only 37% reporting that they’ve received help from a psychologist or mental health professional.

Considering that some 450 million people suffer from a mental disorder, we still have a long way to go. And, this is particularly true for those in a leadership role.

For starters, as noted by the World Health Organization, “mental disorders among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide.” As a consequence, this can affect people’s behaviorally, emotionally, and physically, such as:

The Link Between Mental Health and Work

Economically, mental health costs the global economy $ 1 trillion per year in lost productivity! Aetna Behavioral Health has also found that employee mental health costs rise twice as fast as other medical costs.

More specifically, mental health can be negatively affected by businesses:

What’s more, via the CDC, “Depression interferes with a person’s ability to complete physical job tasks about 20% of the time and reduces cognitive performance about 35% of the time.”

Besides impacting your bottom line, there’s another reason why you need to prioritize mental health at your company; employees demand it.

One study has found that 62% of employees want leadership to speak openly about mental health. But, other research has found this to be higher.

“Mental health is becoming the next frontier of diversity and inclusion, and employees want their companies to address it, write Kelly Greenwood, Vivek Bapat, and Mike Maughan over at HBR. “Eighty-six percent of our respondents thought that a company’s culture should support mental health.” However, it “was even higher for Millennials and Gen Zers, who have higher turnover rates and are the largest demographic in the workforce.”

“Half of Millennials and 75% of Gen Zers had left roles in the past for mental health reasons, both voluntarily and involuntarily, compared with 34% of respondents overall — a finding that speaks to a generational shift in awareness,” add the authors. “It is not surprising then that providing employees with the support they need improves not only engagement but also recruitment and retention, whereas doing nothing reinforces an outdated and damaging stigma.”

How to Promote Mental Health Wellness in Your Workplace

So, yeah. Mental health needs to become a priority for your business. By being transparent and removing the stigma around mental health, you’ll improve every facet of your organization. And, to get started, here are the steps you should take.

Change the culture.

“Changing the culture is a top-down process,” writes Greenwood, Bapat, and Maughan. “It starts with transforming leaders into allies. Encourage executive teams, managers, and senior employees to share their experiences (or those of close family members or friends) at all-staff meetings or in other interactions with their teams.”

“Modeling disclosure and vulnerability as strengths, not weaknesses, goes a long way toward reducing the stigma and setting the tone for transparency,” they add.

Considering that almost half of entrepreneurs have experienced at least one form of mental health condition during their lifetime, you probably already have first-hand knowledge of this struggle. The challenge is to be open up about your experience. Once you do, this will help remove the stigma and encourage others to be more open about their struggles.

Additionally, if you want to change the culture, then you need to walk the walk. That means setting an example by showing others that you are addressing your well-being. For example, take breaks throughout the day and eat a healthy lunch. Most importantly, offer suggestions on how you addressed your mental health. If you spoke with a counselor, then refer an employee to that mental health professional.

Create an employee wellness program.

If you’re unfamiliar, an employee wellness program simply encourages healthy habits within the workplace. More importantly, it helps create a culture where health and wellness is a top priority.

To get started though, Howie Jones in a previous Calendar piece suggests using a Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) to assess your needs. “This is a questionnaire that reviews lifestyle practices like smoking and exercise,” explains Howie. “You could also conduct an interest survey and have your team rank what they would want the program to include.”

With this information, you can then design a program that works best for your company. For example, if a majority of your employees have admitted to dealing with a mental illness, then you may want to select a health insurance plan that covers mental health. You could also offer gym memberships, support services, or training to help them combat stress.

Focus on early intervention/prevention.

Let’s say that your bathroom faucet has a drip. You keep ignoring it thinking that it’s no big deal. Eventually, you may have to replace your sink because of water stains. Leaky faucets may also deteriorate caulk, grout, and damage ceilings and floorboards.

In short, don’t wait to solve this problem before it gets any worse.

The same is true with mental health. Educate your team on how they can cope with stress and anxiety. Provide support services, even if it’s paying for an app like Headspace. And, don’t punish them if they need to take a mental health day or leave early to speak with a therapist.

Enforce working hours.

Promote a healthy work-life balance by establishing boundaries. For instance, limit communication outside of office hours. That means not emailing an employee at midnight asking them a question that could wait until the morning.

You should also encourage them to set an out-of-office message in their calendar. Google and Outlook calendars have this feature. And, it’s a simple way to automatically reject event invites when you’re not available.

Cultivate a healthy and positive work environment.

Besides boosting productivity, healthy and positive work environments can improve morale and decrease turnover. Best of all, it’s not all that complicated to implement if you do the following:

  • Establish organizational guidelines that prevent bullying and harassment.
  • Show your gratitude and appreciation to your team members by recognizing their hard work.
  • Invest in your team’s well-being by investing in ergonomic furniture, providing healthy snacks, and placing plants throughout the workplace.
  • Help your employees curb vices and unhealthy habits.
  • Never motivate your team using fear.
  • Celebrate milestones and have fun through games and volunteering.

Frequently check-in with your employees.

Yes. You’ve got a million things to do. But, spend quality time with each team member. Get to know them better and ask how they’re doing. You don’t want to pry into their personal lives. But, checking-in with them builds trust. That means if they do have a mental health concern, they won’t be afraid to come to you for assistance.

Grant autonomy and flexible schedules.

Don’t micromanage your employees. Even better, provide flexible schedules and working arrangements so that they have opportunities to attend to their well-being.

Help them solve their time management problems.

Finally, help your team members improve their time management. That may not sound like much. But, if they’re struggling in this area, then don’t have the time to attend to their mental health. For example, help them prioritize their time so that they aren’t taking their work home with them. In turn, they’ll have more availability to work with a mental health professional or engage in healthy habits like exercising or meditating.

Operations Team Productivity: What They Do (and How to Build and Improve Yours)

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Even with the most competitive offerings or the most capable people representing them, it’s almost impossible for companies to achieve great things without reliable operations.

Not all small and mid-sized businesses have dedicated operations support, of course. Until they grow more sustainable, smaller companies might integrate operations into other divisions instead. But the danger there is allowing your teams to work in silos. And “by denying the opportunity to collaborate and cross-pollinate ideas,” says The 20 Media founder Pratik Dholakiya, “businesses contribute to their own speedy demise.”

Guess what helps reconnect those dots to keep everyone working toward the same goal? A dedicated operations team.

If you think it’s time to scale your operations workforce, you’re in the right place. In this post, you’ll learn how ops teams run businesses like well-oiled machines and the best ways to build your own.

First, the basics: What are operations, and how does this business function work?

The Operations Team Productivity: Roles and Responsibilities

Would you climb Mount Denali without a guide?

It’s a little easier to climb a behemoth like Denali with a trained mountaineer who can plot the course, gather all the right supplies, and plan for emergencies like bad weather.

In a company, that’s the operations team’s job.

An ops team’s #1 mission is to manage and optimize the details that keep its organization running profitably. That means delivering the resources that enable other departments to do their job – at peak efficiency and effectiveness – and cost-effectively converting their efforts into products and services that meet customers’ needs.

Phew. Let’s break that down a little. Here are a few examples of how the team supports each of the company’s stakeholders:

Employees

Operations might be responsible for keeping plenty of talent in the recruitment pipeline, promoting interdepartmental communication, supervising other teams’ activities, and figuring out how to best leverage resources to prevent and solve problems.

Executive team

Operations also lead business predictability by helping the C-Suite plan KPIs and holding them financially accountable. Some ops professionals are specifically trained to neutralize legal issues, too.

Customers

Ops teams rarely come into direct contact with customers, but it’s still their responsibility to make sure the company delivers the right products to the right customers on time. The product team relies on operations to recommend improvements, as ops are best positioned to weigh customer feedback against the company’s capacity.

Vendors

As any great ops professional will tell you, ensuring quality output means ensuring value at the source. To do this, the ops team focuses on acquiring inventory and services that maximize productivity, minimize risk and costs, and deliver on customer expectations.

You might have noticed a common thread here. For just about all activities, operations teams prioritize quality management. Not necessarily Steve Jobs-level attention to every detail of the business, but enough to:

  • Produce what needs to be produced without delays, errors, or rework.
  • Drive down failure costs, both internally and externally.
  • Find the best possible solutions to problems in any situation.
  • Ultimately inspire all stakeholders to champion the company’s value.

Before it can manage the quality of other business units, of course, operations must first manage itself. What’s the best set-up to achieve all these goals?

How to Build an Effective Operations Team

Step 1: Start from the Top Down.

A functional and well-run operations team relies on great support from the top down. Beyond the usual traits of great leaders, your ops manager will need a solid grasp of:

  • Various processes across the company, so your team can confidently coordinate and develop new methods.
  • Supply chain management, including knowledge of manufacturing, logistics, and transportation, if you’re a product-based company.
  • Problem-solving means pulling information from both an analytical and creative perspective.
  • Learning how to communicate effectively with all stakeholders.

Sure, all leaders need to communicate and solve problems. But an ops manager uses these skills on a bigger scale to unite people and processes seamlessly across the entire organization.

TIP: You can make your ops manager’s job much easier by making lines of communication easy to access. Digital channels (like project management or messaging apps) should be accessible for your ops teams to use on the go when they’re on a call, for example, while regular meetings can be a powerful way to sync up teams (as long as they’re not too regular). A written manual on communications processes can help clear up any confusion.

With those resources in place, you’re ready to think about the structure of the rest of the team.

Step 2: Organize Your Operations Team Structure.

In their book, The Practice of Cloud System Administration, three Silicon Valley-based authors describe the three sources and categories of operational work:

Sources of work

  1. Life-cycle management or the functional work — means to run a service within the company.
  2. Stakeholder interaction means meeting the needs of the people who use the service.
  3. Process improvement and automation mean the operational work needed to improve and upgrade various processes continually.
  

Categories of work

  1. Emergencies like power outages or emergency requests from other teams.
  2. Standard requests include questions about how to use a service or reports of the problems users experience.
  3. Project work, or the projects that automate and optimize team/company systems.

“It can be tempting to organize an operations team into three subteams, each focusing on one source of work or one category of work,” the authors write. But that creates those dreaded “silos of responsibility.”

Luckily, there’s a much simpler way to organize your team: Make project work the priority.

If you want to run your ops team at peak efficiency, you’ll need to focus most of its bandwidth on projects. Projects save them running from emergency to emergency until they burn out, or from slowing down to deal with interruptions (a big productivity killer).

How do you prioritize project work while responding to emergencies and requests promptly? There are two ways:

  1. Assign an emergency response team. If one person owns emergencies, and other standard requests, means that the rest of the team is free to focus all its energy on projects. TIP: Make sure the ERT emails out reports to the rest of the team, including alerts logged, action taken, trends noticed, and recommendations going forward.
  2. Take turns. Using a useful calendar management tool, you can move the team through a rotation for on-call duty (emergencies) and ticket duty (standard requests). TIP: Schedule each shift for no more than a week. Say you had a team of eight people; this would give each member a full six weeks of the cycle to focus on projects.

Depending on the size of the team’s workload, your ops manager might want to assign both on-call and ticket duty to one person or multiple people to one task. As long as they cross-train all team members, you’ll always be able to cover unexpected absences.

Bear in mind, though, that it’s best to limit each rotation to one person for a smoother hand-off to the next. Involving entire teams might lead to unnecessary meetings. It’s also good practice for the ops manager to include him- or herself in the rotation so they can keep tabs on what’s going on.

Step 3: Optimize Your Teamwork.

Congratulations: you now have a well-organized ops team.

But team-building doesn’t end there. It’s a journey – starting with every team member’s commitment to using the following six practices.

A knowledge bank

By documenting and sharing processes and templates across the team, you can streamline project management, cut time and effort wasted on reinventing the wheel, and ultimately ensure customers get the best results.

TIP: As with your communication channels, make it as quick and easy as possible for everyone to find these resources – using a tool like Box, for example.

A system of delivery

Take a standardized approach to deliver high-quality products and services by establishing bite-sized, repeatable processes in which everyone knows their role.

TIP: Projects are best accomplished in small teams. While solo projects disconnect team members and inhibit feedback, large teams face setbacks from decision-making challenges.

A system of measurement

Collect objective data on everything you do. How else can you improve your team’s output?

TIP: Google’s Objective and Key Results (OKR) is a great model to use. The aim is to set aggressive quarterly or annual targets, create incentives for your team to hit them, then stack up against your results against your forecasts.

(Keep in mind that because they’re so aggressive, you should only run 70% of your OKR goals.)

Productivity tracking.

To meet their many demands, operations teams should focus on getting the most done with as little time and resources as possible. Enter: time-tracking and productivity tools.

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Team building.

Team-building activities are beneficial for many reasons, including productivity. Think of opportunities to bring the team together to take a break, reconnect, celebrate wins, and have a little fun.

Team sports are a simplified example and one of the best ways to foster teamwork and personal connections.

A safe space to vent.

Operations are one of the most complex and demanding functions of the business. That’s why it’s also the most in need of transparency.

There will be times when team members need to deliver criticism, hold others accountable, and admit their own failures to reach goals. The most important lesson they can learn, though, is that effective team performance isn’t always about hitting numbers. It’s about being agile enough to deal with missing them and confronting sensitive issues for the collective good of the team.

Is everyone on board with all six practices? Remember: Feedback makes the dream work.

Final Thoughts

By now, you should have all the ideas you need to build a capable operations team, assign smart roles, and streamline operations over time.

That leaves us with one last important question: What happens when challenges arise?

Nobody enjoys finding shortfalls in their teams or processes. But especially in operations, where one mistake sets off company-wide chains of events, it’s the name of the game. As the leader, your goal should be consistency: bringing underperformers up to standards, encouraging top performers to keep doing their very best, and keeping burnout at bay.

Does your company have a small operations team? What other best practices do you use to improve team performance? Share with us what worked for you in the comments.

How to Kick Yourself Out of a Slump

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How to Kick Yourself Out of a Slump

We all get in slumps. Sometimes it’s because you’re under the weather. Or you’ve got that summertime sadness feeling. But, what if you’re really in the gutter and you don’t know why?

It happens to all of us from time-to-time. However, that doesn’t make it any easier. When your mood plummets, everything from your health, relationships, to career suffer. Even worse, you may not want to get better. It’s just easier to close yourself off and stay down. But, that’s no way to live. Instead, you have to kick yourself out of your slump so that you can enjoy your life and get back to being your bad-self.

Saying that from the outside, though, is easier said than done. But, I’ve been there more times then I would care to admit. And, through some trial and error, I used the following tricks to break free of my downward spiral.

Be on the lookout for red flags.

I’m going to tell you all an embarrassing story. Not that long ago, I was walking my dog before going out for the night. In my hurry, I didn’t pay attention to where I was going and tripped over a flowerpot. It happened so fast that I didn’t realize I was falling until I crashed to the ground.

Sometimes, that’s the case with slumps. There’s so much going on that you don’t realize that you’re down in a hole until you’re already in it.

Now and then, check-in with yourself so that you can spot any potential warning signs. While this varies from person to person, here are some of the more common symptoms that you may be in a slump:

  • You’re bored day, in-and-out.
  • You’re stuck in the past.
  • Daydreaming eats-up too much of your time and energy.
  • You refuse to get out of your comfort zone.
  • You continuously don’t feel well.
  • No one asks for your advice or feedback.
  • You put others ahead of yourself.
  • Business isn’t thriving.
  • You’re searching for an escape, like vacation deals or selling your business.

If any of these ring true, then it’s time to admit that you’re in a slump. From there, you can begin to get to the root of the problem so that you can dig yourself out. For example, if the main culprit is your business, then maybe it’s time to consider selling it and moving on to a new venture.

Prioritize yourself.

There’s nothing wrong with helping others. Helping others is a proven way to increase your happiness. Which, in turn, can pull yourself out of your slump. But, you still need to take care of yourself.

Always putting others first is exhausting and can impair your work performance. What’s more, “when you put yourself at the bottom of your to-do-list, you’re more stressed and less energetic and creative,” writes Angela Ruth in a previous Calendar article. “Your sleep is impaired, and you may turn to other vices.” Overall, without engaging in some self-care, you’re harming your physical and mental health.

So, how can you prioritize yourself so that you don’t drive yourself into a rut? Angela suggests:

  • Take a “me” moment, like blocking out specific times for you to something that you enjoy.
  • Increase your emotional intelligence.
  • Swap out the negative self-talk with more positive and supportive language.
  • Take a social media break.
  • Recite empowering mantras.
  • Remove the toxic elements from your life.
  • Get comfortable setting boundaries and saying “no.”
  • Remember your “why.”
  • Acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses.
  • Schedule downtime.

Decline your invite to the pity party.

Have you ever received an event to a function that you really don’t want to attend? You probably don’t hesitate to decline the invite.

Take the same approach whenever you have the urge to throw yourself a pity party. I know that it’s easy to fall into this trap and wallow. But, as Helen Keller correctly put it, “Self-pity is our worst enemy, and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in the world.”

Get your fill of inspiration and motivation.

Being in a slump sucks. There’s just no other way to put it. You’re not in a good mood. Energy and productivity have been drained. And, the things that you usually enjoy doing just don’t cut it anymore.

A simple way out of this? Surround yourself with as much inspiration and motivation that you can.

Inspiration and motivation are different for everyone. For me, I know that when I’m down, I might watch a comedy like “Step Brothers.” No matter how many times I’ve viewed it, it busts my guts every time. And guess what happens next? I’m in a slightly better mood and want even more. The next thing, I’m climbing out of my descent.

Whether if it’s a movie, song, podcast, book, or going for a hike, turn to the things that lift your spirits and give you a zap of energy.

Shock your system.

One of the easiest ways to get yourself in a rut is by staying within your comfort zone. You know how it is. Every. Single. Day. Is.The. Same.

The best way to counter this? Change things up. For example, instead of going to your office every day, try working somewhere else — even if it’s just one or two days a week. Try out a new exercise program or restaurant. Wake-up a little earlier so that you try out a new morning routine. Try out a new hobby, or do something that scares the crap out of you.

In short, shake things up so that you don’t get stuck in the same routine. And, if this is too nerve-racking, start small and work your way up. For example, instead of going to the same grocery store every Sunday morning, visit a local farmer’s market on Saturday morning.

Reach out to others.

The worst thing that you can do when you’re down is to keep it to yourself. As long as you’re reaching out to others because you’re looking for a way out of your slump — you’re not going to be bothering anyone. They are probably more than willing to listen and offer advice.

Don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and calling a trusted friend or family member. In my experience, a family member or best friend should always be your go-to. If they’re not around, consider reconnecting with an old friend. If that’s not an option, then please consult a support group or mental health professional.

Practice gratitude.

Research has found that gratitude has the power to change you and your brain for the better. Most notably, because it comes with psychological benefits like unshackling us from toxic emotions.

Best of all? Practicing gratitude doesn’t have to be a complicated activity. It’s a simple activity that you can do daily. Examples are writing in a journal, saying “thank you,” and spending quality time with your nearest and dearest.

Play hooky.

Of course, you don’t want this to become a frequent occurrence. But, everyone could benefit from taking a mental health day now and then. It’s most beneficial when you’re feeling rundown or don’t have any time off planned.

Whether you feel guilty about taking the day off, or don’t want to pry yourself from the couch, make the most of your day-off. You don’t have to go all-in like Ferris Bueller. But, definitely go out and have some fun. Indulge in a little self-care. You might take a moment to catch up on some cleaning or reading. Or, meet-up with a friend for lunch.

You’re going to survive, and work will be just fine without you for an hour or two or half a day. When wake-up the following day, you’ll find yourself refreshed and in a better state of mind.

Squash the ANTs.

And, finally, get those pesky ANTs out of your mind. Coined James Phu, these are Automatic Negative Thoughts that ruminate and prevent you from getting out of your rut.

The first step is to try to keep those thoughts from occurring in the first place. James suggests you can do this by avoiding toxic people, office gossip, and the news.

The next step is to become more self-aware so that you can catch any negative thoughts as early as possible. Some techniques that James has used are meditating, breathing exercises, and checking-in with yourself throughout the day. He also recommends using the rubber band trick. Whenever a negative thought pops in your head, “pull that elastic band and release.” That small amount of pain reminds you to stop and focus on something more positive.

Finally, find ways to defeat the negative. Gratitude, mindfulness, and keeping yourself busy are all great options. You can also try putting things in perspective and challenging these thoughts. For example, let’s say that you gave a presentation and made a couple of mistakes. You may tell yourself that it was a complete disaster. But, in reality, you got a standing ovation.

25 Productive Hacks and Things to Curb Your Boredom

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Last weekend was cool and rainy. I was ahead of my work, and I was trapped inside. Suffice to say; I got a little restless because I was bored with a capital B.

Here’s the thing though, being a little bored is not always a terrible position to be in. Research shows that boredom has the ability to inspire creativity. And, because boredom gives us a brief escape from the daily grind — it’s good for your mental health.

The catch? You have to get bored the right way. If that’s confusing, then there are 25 productive things that you can try the next time boredom strikes.

1. Plan way ahead.

If you want to be productive, then you need to make a plan. Of course, this isn’t always something that you have the time to do. But, if you ever feel restless between meetings or on a dreary Sunday, it’s one of the best ways to kill some time.

In my opinion, this should be a weekly activity. However, don’t be afraid to make plans for the next month or even year. It may sound overwhelming. But, this will let you book your priorities so far in advance that you’ll never have to worry about conflicts.

What’s more, it’s an effective way for you to get a head start on upcoming activities. You can also block-out some me-time in advance or identity tasks that can be assigned to others. It’s a win-win.

2. Tidy up your home or workspace.

Some people thrive when a mess surrounds them. But, for most of this isn’t true. In fact, clutter can be distracting and stressful.

Since you have some availability, pick an area and tidy it up. For example, if you only have a couple of minutes, throw the trash on your desktop, and file important documents. If you have nothing to do this weekend, you could organize your kitchen or clean out your bedroom closet.

3. Organize/clean your computer, phone, or tablet.

Just like your home and workplace, your electronics also have to be periodically be cleaned and organized. Some suggestions would be to remove apps that you no longer use, organizing your electronic files, and clearing your cache. You could also make sure that your contacts are up to date and backup any relevant digital data.

4. Clear out inbox.

If you don’t keep your inbox in-check, it can become so out-of-control that it can kill your productivity. Just think about the time you waste searching for important messages or trying to prevent it from interfering with your workflow.

Right now is the perfect time to tame your inbox. Go through and clear out your spam and unsubscribe to newsletters you aren’ reading. And, while you’re at it, set up filters and unify accounts.

5. Pursue a hobby.

Hobbies aren’t just fun. They can also help you professionally. Research shows that hobbies spark creativity, rescue stress, and improve your physical health. As if that weren’t enough, those with hobbies are more satisfied with their jobs and have a lower likelihood of burning out.

Just keep in mind that depending on where you’re at, you might have to be flexible. For instance, if you’re at home, then baking, gardening, homebrewing, or airplane modeling isn’t a problem. But, you probably can’t do them at your workplace, so you’ll have to opt for hobbies like writing, drawing, or coding.

And, who knows? Maybe your hobby can become a new business venture — or at least a way to earn a passive income.

6. Read.

I love to read. I have since I was a wee lad. And, it turns out that it’s one of the best activities to enjoy.

Reading has been found to strengthen your brain, vocabulary, and ability to emphasize. It can also reduce stress and bolster both focus and analytical skills. So, instead of complaining that you don’t have time to read, pick-up a book the next time you’re bored.

7. Play around on Spotify.

I use Spotify. But, if you’re using a different app like Apple Music, the idea is the same. Listen to educational or inspiring podcasts. Or create various playlists for activities like exercise or to drown out background noise.

I’ve also made a little game with one of my friends, where we create different playlists of our favorite songs and podcasts. Besides giving us something to talk about, it’s a great way to discover new auditory experiences.

8. Watch a TED Talk.

What’s not to love about TED Talks? They’re informative, motivational, and are always under 20-minutes. In my opinion, when you have some time to spare, this is the best way to spend it.

9. Compose a learning bucket list.

I’ve come across many lists that suggest when you’re bored; you learn something new. Obviously, that’s an excellent use of your downtime. The thing is, what exactly are you going to learn?

I might be an anomaly here. But, I’m not the type of person to say, “I’m bored. I think I’ll learn how to speak Italian today.” I’m more likely to wander around aimlessly until I bump into something.

To prevent, I have a list of things that I always wanted to learn. The next time I’m looking for something to do, I can refer to the list. To create your own learning bucket list, think about anything you’ve always wanted to know or try.

10. Practice your current skills.

Becoming an expert in your field can be extremely beneficial. It makes you more marketable. And you’ll be able to work smarter and more easily.

Whether if it’s keeping up with the latest industry trends, attending an online class, or working with a mentor, sharpen your ax.

11. Try something new.

Are you just sitting around the house? Why not hop in the car and try out something like geocaching or exploring a different part of town? Did you work up an appetite? Order dinner from a restaurant you’ve never patronized before.

When you try something new, you open yourself up to new opportunities and perspectives. And it forces you outside of your comfort zone.

12. Go for a stroll.

Spending time outside is one of my favorite activities. In fact, I cherish my daily walks with my dog.

Besides being good for us physically, it’s been found that walking can increase creativity levels. Additionally, being outside makes you happier, relieves stress, improves concentration, and boosts your energy.

13. Journal.

Journaling is hands down one of the best things to do for your mental health. After all, it can help you manage anxiety, reduce stress, and cope with depression. Moreover, journaling can help you prioritize and solve problems, track your triggers, and practice gratitude.

14. Play a brain game.

Unlike Trix, games aren’t just for kids. In fact, chess, Sudoku, crossword puzzles, and even certain video games are worth your time. Why? They’re able to boost your mental focus and fitness.

15. Meditate.

Meditation is one of the most effective ways to help put your mind at ease. It can also improve your focus. The reason for both is that when you meditate, you’re brought back into the present.

Even better? It takes just 5-minutes of meditation to change your life. And, it can be done wherever you’re at.

16. Update your resume/online profiles.

When was the last time you updated your resume or online profiles? If you can’t remember, then now is the perfect opportunity to do so.

Even if you aren’t looking for a new job, you never know when the opportunity will knock on your door. It’s better to have these items up-to-date instead of scrambling to do so when you’re crunched for time.

17. Network.

Whether it’s attending industry events or introducing yourself to relevant online communities, expanding your network is a must. After all, there’s no better way to grow your business, improve your skillset, and stay afloat on trends.

18. Hang out with friends or family.

Be spontaneous and see if a friend wants to grab lunch. Pick-up the phone and call your parents. Or, plan a last-minute day trip with your kids.

In addition to strengthening these connections, it’s good for your overall well-being. In fact, according to an 80-year-old Harvard study, relationships are key to happiness and long life.

19. Deal with financial stress.

Did you know that 60% of Americans feel stressed about money? As a consequence, this could lead to anxiety, insomnia, and poor coping habits. It can even put a strain on your marriage.

To counter this, think about ways to alleviate financial stress. It could be improving your financial literacy, launching a side-hustle, or creating a budget.

20. Run an errand or two.

Why put off going to the grocery store, dry cleaner, or whatever errand you have to do? If there’s nothing else going on, go out and knock these off your to-do-list.

21. Plan your next vacation.

You might be grounded right now. But, just the act of planning your next vacation can make you happy. And, with so much notice, this ensures that you won’t worry about work while away.

22. Help others.

You don’t have to be selfish with your boredom. If there’s a colleague why needs assistance, lend them a hand. You could also volunteer or share your expertise through blogging or webinars.

23. Self-reflect.

If you’re bored, go somewhere quiet and spend some alone time reflecting. It’s a proven way to improve your self-awareness, provide perspective, and challenge your thoughts. Also, self-reflection helps you review and track your progress, as well as make sense of things,

24. Daydream or take a nap.

Some might scoff at this. But, daydreaming can make you more productive. The reason is that it sparks creativity, reduces stress, and assist in problem-solving.

Similarly, napping can reduce fatigue, increase alertness, and improve your mood. Naps can also speed-up your reaction time and better your memory.

25. Veg out.

Here’s the main takeaway from this article; you need to stop worrying about being productive 24/7/365. That may sound counterproductive. But, when you obsess over maximizing every minute, you’re putting unnecessary stress on your health and well-being.

Furthermore, this can diminish the quality of your work. It also puts a strain on your relationships. And, eventually, you’ll get burned out.

So, the next time you’re bored, just kick back and relax. Use this downtime to recharge your batteries and reconnect with your priorities. When you’re refreshed, you can come roaring back to work.

10 Deliberate Sacrifices You Must Make if You Want to be Successful

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10 Deliberate Sacrifices You Must Make if You Want to be Successful

Despite the negative connotations, we all make sacrifices. For example, reflect on the years you spent in college. You might have gone out with your friends on Friday night — but never during finals week. Here are ten deliberate sacrifices you must make if you want to be successful.

Fast forward to being an adult. If you want to purchase a new vehicle or home, you need to make some financial sacrifices, like skipping an exotic vacation. When starting a new business, you may not see your friends or family as much.

Here’s the thing though, these were deliberate choices to reach your goals. While not exactly fun, you’re probably not in pain over this.

“Not all pain and suffering, however, amount to sacrifice,” explains Gianpiero Petriglieri is an HBR piece. “The difference is not just philosophical,” but also is practical. “Sacrifice might be hurtful and exhausting, but it is a conscious choice.”

“Suffering is the result of feeling that we cannot slow down or else we will be shamed and lose control,” adds Petriglieri. “Sacrifice makes us who we are. Suffering keeps us captive.”

“When putting our bodies through hell at work, at least for a while, is worth the rewards we get and the contribution we make, it is sacrifice,” he states. “But if you can come up with many reasons for hurting at work, but see little purpose in it, then it is not.”

Moreover, these sacrifices are usually temporary. They will also change to align with your priorities over time. And, even though not pleasant, they can also help you build confidence, resilience and maintain your motivation.

With that in mind, here are 10 sacrifices that you will make at some point in your life if you want to be successful and productive.

1. Sleep

I am in no way advocating that you surpass sleep. Your mind and body need a good night’s rest to recover and recharge. In fact, a lack of sleep will destroy your productivity.

I am saying that sometimes you aren’t going to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep. If you’re a parent, then you’re well aware of this fact. But, you also know that it’s temporary, and you will eventually get back to a somewhat normal sleep routine.

The same is true when it comes to your work life. You will have tasks or projects that require you to put in 12 hour days. You will definitely stay awake at night thinking about your next move like your a Bobby Fisher level chess player.

So, while sleep should be a priority, you also have to be real. There will be some long nights when you’re only going to get a couple of hours.

2. Relationships

Bear with me here as this might seem like a broad topic. If you’re married or have children, then I’m a firm believer in a family comes first. Simultaneously, you might have to scrap a two-week vacation and replace it will a long weekend instead.

But, I’m really talking about those relationships outside of your inner circle. It would be great to catch-up with a friend from college. But, if you already have a packed calendar, that might have to go on the back burner until you have the availability.

Networking is obviously a proven way to grow your business. However, if that’s preventing you from reaching your goals, you might have to scale back. For instance, instead of weekly get-togethers, make it a monthly occurrence or focus on online networking.

And, above everything else, remove toxic individuals from your life. You know who I’m talking about. These are the folks who drag your down or aren’t respectful of your time.

3. Evil Urges

Get your mind out of the gutter! These are unhealthy habits that are holding you back. For instance, you can look at your phone whenever you receive a notification or stay way pat happy hour with your colleagues.

I’ll be honest. We’re all guilty of slipping up every now and then. And I don’t think that you should be too hard on yourself when you do. But, that’s different than making this a recurring issue.

If you want to be productive and successful, then you need to take care of your health. You need to decline those late night functions. You need to ditch mentally unhealthy habits like perfectionism, comparisons, catastrophizing the future, and blaming others.

4. Fear

Being afraid isn’t always a bad thing. Fear, after all, can keep us safe, force us to live in the present, and can even be exciting. However, when left unchecked, it can interfere with your happiness and paralyze you.

While it’s natural to be afraid, like when taking the leap to start your own business, you need to overcome it. There are several ways to go about this, like understanding and embracing your fear. Others have found visualization, role-playing, or questioning the fear to be helpful.

If you’re really struggling with this, I strongly suggest you reach out for help. You could speak with your support system or seek out a mentor. There’s also no shame in working with a mental health professional as well.

5. Stress

Stress just won’t prevent you from reaching your true potential. It can also literally kill you. No wonder it’s been dubbed the silent killer.

As with fear, stress is a natural part of life. But, you can’t let widely grow out of control. Instead, you need to maintain your stress by using techniques like properly:

  • Regular physical activity.
  • Spending time with close family or friends.
  • Offloading some of your workloads.
  • Breathing exercises.
  • Identifying triggers and eliminating them.
  • Using essential oils.
  • Slowing down and celebrating your accomplishments.

What does that have to do with sacrifice? Well, when you feel like you’re on the edge of burnout, you might need to take a personal day. Work will have to wait until you attend to your own well-being.

6. Hobbies

“Before 2008, I was playing golf three times a week,” writes entrepreneur and best-selling author Grant Cardone. “What was I thinking spending time on the golf course, or anything for that matter, when I could have been spending time getting my financial house in order. I had gotten distracted and entitled, had started to rest on my laurels, and put my family at risk.”

“I know life is not just about work and money but notice how many people are not having much of a life because of work and money,” adds Cardone. “I decided to master my work and my money, and if my golf game or social status suffer, so be it.” As he concludes, “It’s all right if you sacrifice fun today for freedom tomorrow.”

At the same time, hobbies can help you hustle. The reason? They are non-work activities that can improve your mood, help you find inspiration, and develop problem-solving skills. The key is striking a balance.

In other words, if golf is your passion, hitting the links three times a week when you’re trying to start a business won’t gel. But, you could cut back to just once a week. Or, you could get a putting mat and practice your short game during a short break.

7. Other People’s Opinions

Asking for advice and feedback can come in handy. Both can be used to help you gain fresh perspectives and ideas. At the same time, don’t harp too much on what others think.

As Richard P. Feynman said, “You have no responsibility to live up to what other people think you ought to accomplish. I have no responsibility to be like they expect me to be. It’s their mistake, not my failing.”

8. Time-Wasters

Last weekend it was cool and rainy. Needless to say, I wasn’t getting much time outside. What’s more, I had a hectic week and just needed a day to veg.

I don’t do this frequently. Sometimes you just need a day to lay on the couch and watch Netflix. But, I also admit that this is a huge time-waster.

On a day-to-day basis, you should avoid these time thieves. In addition to television, other time-wasters would be getting sucked into social media feeds, unnecessary meetings, and bulky to-do-lists. Determine what wastes your time and avoid them as much as possible.

9. Pride

By all means, be proud of your accomplishments. After all, you’ve earned it. At the same time, don’t pride consume you.

You still need to hold yourself accountable when you slip-up. In my experience, failure is one of the best ways to learn and grow. And, more importantly, sometimes, that means doing things that are beneath you.

For example, you might have to pick up a side gig until your business takes off. Even then, there might be tedious takes that you dread. I’m talking about responding to emails, bookkeeping, or literally cleaning-up your workspace. You might be responsible for these tasks until you have the resources to delegate or outsource them.

Until then, you need to squeeze them into your packed schedule. One simple way to do this would be through batching. In this case, you would set aside a small block of time each day to clean out your inbox or declutter your work area.

10. Worrying About Being Productive 24/7

Wait. Isn’t this counterproductive? Absolutely not.

As opposed to obsessing about productivity, you should focus on being intentional. In other words, instead of maximizing every minute and working 80-hours a week, focus on the vital few. When you do, you’re dedicating your time and energy to what’s truly important instead of the unnecessary.

10 Daily Habits to Boost Your Productivity

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Have you ever wondered why some people are more productive than others? You have been told this answer for years — and it’s simple — your productivity really boils down to habits.

In fact, it’s been found that about 40 percent of people’s daily activities are performed each day in almost the same situations. Sometimes, that can be beneficial, like maintaining a wake-sleep schedule. Other times that can work against you, think unhealthy habits like perfectionism.

If you feel that your bad habits have been holding you back, I’ve got some good news for you. You can replace them with healthier habits so that you’ll be more productive. And, while some of these are obvious, I wanted to put a spotlight on 10 lesser-known daily habits that you should be embracing,

1. Don’t snooze.

What’s your first instinct when your alarm, whether if it’s your phone or old-school clock, goes off in the morning? I would assume that it would be like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. You wish that you could smash the alarm into a million little pieces.

Maybe that’s why Americans are hitting snooze twice every morning? But, considering that we’re also relying on two alarms and are waking-up groggy, it’s probably because we’re not getting enough quality sleep.

I’m not going to lecture you on the importance of prizing sleep. However, I am going to stress why you need to remove the snooze button from your morning routine.

According to Reena Mehra, M.D., M.S., Director of Sleep Disorders Research at Cleveland Clinic, this prevents our bodies from getting that much-needed restorative sleep. “Much of the latter part of our sleep cycle is comprised of REM sleep, or dream sleep, which is a restorative sleep state,” explained Dr. Mehra. “And so, if you’re hitting the snooze button, then you’re disrupting that REM sleep or dream sleep.”

Moreover, those short periods of sleep you’re getting aren’t enough to qualify as restorative sleep. The easiest solution is to make sure that you’re getting seven to eight hours of sufficient sleep. If you struggle with this, you might want to schedule a visit to your “physician to make sure there’s no undiagnosed sleep disorder,” suggests Dr. Mehra.

In addition to waking-up without hitting snooze, you’ll have more energy and stamina throughout the day. More importantly, you’ll be less stressed, more creative, and process complex information. It can even help regulate your appetite.

2. Focus on just one goal.

Despite what you may believe, multitasking isn’t possible. Similarly, the same can be said of trying to juggle multiple goals at once.

“While it might seem very difficult, focusing on one goal at a time is the most powerful way of achieving your goals,” writes Leo Babauta. “When you try to take on many goals at once, you’re spreading thin your focus and energy — the two critical components for achieving a goal.”

“What if you have 5 goals you want to achieve?” asks Leo. “Pick one to focus on first.” Next, for long-term goals, you’ll want to fragment that into a mini-goal — preferably one that you can accomplish this month.

“Keep doing this until the goal is accomplished — do an action every day, finish the mini-goal, pick the next mini-goal to work on,” Leo adds. “Then, when your One Goal is completed, focus on the next goal.”

“Some goals are ongoing ones — like blogging every day, or exercising every day,” he says. “In those cases, turn them into habits — focus exclusively on turning the goal into a habit, until the habit is ingrained.” After that, move on to the next goal.

3. Start off calm.

When you do get out of bed, start your day off on the right foot. How? By having a calm and peaceful morning.

The first way to achieve this is by waking up early enough so that you aren’t literally run out the door. You should have enough time to embark on a morning routine. While this can be whatever you’re into, like exercising, you should definitely include a little meditation.

“I often suggest my clients begin their day with a morning meditation or self-affirming exercise,” says Shelby Castile, a licensed therapist. You could also set a positive intention for the day or repeating a mantra, such as “I choose happiness.”

Benjamin Spall, the co-founder of My Morning Routine, suggests that you also use “waking up as your cue to get out of bed and start doing some light stretching.” You’ll want to follow that up with “some push-ups before transitioning into your favorite yoga pose.”

“Or you can use waking up as your cue to grab a book from your bedside table and read 10 pages before popping on the kettle and starting breakfast,” adds Spall. Personally, I also write in a gratitude journal and review my calendar to know what to expect for the rest of the day.

4. Cultivate deep work.

For the uninformed, deep work is defined by Cal Newport as “the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task.” In other words, these are your most demanding and important tasks. As such, they require 100% of your attention.

Of course, this is a challenge for most of us. We first have to identify what constitutes deep work. After that, we must block out time for this work. And, we also have to build up the discipline not to get distracted.

To accomplish this, Newport recommends that you take the following steps:

  • Schedule deep work. In your calendar, block out the appropriate time for deep work. Ideally, this should be when you’re at peak productivity. If that’s between 8 am and 10 am, then this is when you’ll schedule deep work.
  • Don’t be as accessible. Since you don’t want to get distracted during this time, turn off your phone. Or, at the very least, smartphone notifications. If you have an office, close your door. If not, put on a pair of headphones.
  • Know your work habits. I work best in isolation. Knowing this, when it’s time to get down to brass tacks, I’m like Superman and hiding out in my fortress of solitude. But, I have colleagues who enjoy being around others to get inspired. In short, determine how you work best and work with that as opposed to against it.
  • Keep a scoreboard. Record your deep intervals. And conduct a weekly review of your progress.

Moreover, because deep work can be taxing, you must fill your energy tank. Newport writes that you can achieve this by being lazy and embracing boredom. For example, instead of getting sucked into your smartphone during a break, stare at the window and let your mind wander.

5. Build pyramids.

Are you familiar with batching? If not, it’s quite simple. You group similar activities together, such as checking your inbox at set intervals instead of throughout the day.

While batching is a tried and true productivity technique — you may want to try pyramids. Here you would spend 15-30 minutes tackling easy batching actives. Once you’re warmed up, jump into your main goal of the day. And, finally, end your day on a high note, like organizing your workspace or evaluating your to-do-list.

6. Follow “Ramit’s Book Buying Rule.”

It’s been said that adults make about 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day. The thing is, most of these are unimportant. But, they still can deplete your energy supply leading to decision fatigue.

One simple way to reduce the number of decisions you make per day is to adhere to Ramit Sethi’s book-buying rule. “If you’re thinking about buying a book, buy it, he explains. “Don’t waste five seconds debating it. Even one idea makes it more than worth the price.”

What if you can’t decide between multiple books? Buy them and read them both.

Another way to make pare down decisions would be through meal prepping or having a signature look — President Obama did this by only having gray or blue suits. Whenever possible, find ways to automate, delegate, or outsource less important or redundant tasks.

7. Listen intently.

The cornerstone of any relationship is listening to what the other person has to say. That means giving them all of your attention, asking questions, and remembering key information. As a result, this fosters trust and improves communication and collaboration.

Also, while it may not seem important, this can prevent misunderstandings. Or, it can save time since you and the other party aren’t constantly having to repeat yourself.

8. Sharpen your ax.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” Although that’s often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, which isn’t the case, that’s still an inspiring quote mainly because it highlights the importance of staying sharp.

How exactly can you do that? The most obvious starting point is constantly improving your existing skillset and learning new information. Another way would be to have contingency plans so that you’re prepared for the unexpected.

9. Be a quitter.

If you’re like me, it’s probably been drilled into your head that quitting is bad. Sometimes that’s definitely. For example, walking out on your team when they need you most.

But, I’m talking about throwing in the towel on the things that eat away at your time and productivity. That could be unsubscribing from emails to keep your inbox clutter-free. You may also want to reject new projects or meeting invites if you’re strapped for time.

Whatever you decide to give-up is totally up to you. The main takeaway here is that quit the things that aren’t worth your valuable time and energy.

10. Establish a “shutdown” ritual.

Finally, end your day with a “shutdown” ritual. These are tasks that help you transition from work to home mode while also preparing for tomorrow. Some suggestions would be:

  • Closing loops, like responding to an important email.
  • Sketching out your ideal workday tomorrow.
  • Shutting down your computer.
  • Reflecting on your accomplishments for the day.
  • Setting out tomorrow’s wardrobe.
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