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#Leadership : #ConflictResolution -Why you should Stop Avoiding #Conflict in the #Workplace

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I was recently hired to help a group of doctors work through their issues and get their business back on a growth trajectory. They aren’t talking much. They’re barely making eye contact. After only a few hours, it’s clear to me what’s wrong. I share my diagnosis: “You need more conflict.”

It’s the last thing they expect me to say. They’re already in agony dealing with the smallest decisions. Each meeting is an excruciating cocktail of trepidation, anger, guilt, and frustration. How could they possibly need more conflict?

What they don’t realize is that they’re mired in all those negative emotions because they’re unwilling to work through them. As long as they avoid the topics that are creating anger, guilt, and frustration, they’re stuck with them. There are many topics that they haven’t discussed for years. They’ve tried every way to go around the contentious issues, but now they need to go through them.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CONFLICT

The doctors are not the only ones who avoid conflict. Most of us have been raised to think of conflict as a bad thing. Conventional wisdom holds that conflict is bad for productivity and corrosive to trust and engagement. But that view is totally at odds with how an organization works.

Conflict isn’t bad for organizations: it’s fundamental to them. After all, you need to be able to work through opposing sides of an issue and come to a resolution in the best interest of customers, shareholders, and customers–whether you’re on the shop floor or the boardroom. Conflict is part of strategic planning, resource allocation, product design, talent management, and just about everything else that should happen in an organization.

Unfortunately, most humans don’t embrace conflicts. Rather, we avoid, postpone, evade, duck, dodge, and defer them. The result is conflict debt.

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CONFLICT DEBT

Conflict debt is the sum of all the contentious issues that we need to address to move forward, but remain undiscussed and unresolved. It can be as simple as withholding the feedback that would allow your colleague to do a better job, and as profound as continually deferring a strategic decision while getting further and further behind the competition.

The doctors I worked with are in conflict debt. Each time they avoid the discussions, debates, and disagreements that they need to have to get their business growing again, they sink further in. Think of it like financial debt–when you use credit to buy things you otherwise can’t afford. You want something, maybe even need it, but you don’t have the cash at the time, so you use credit. You rationalize to yourself that you will pay it off as soon as you get your next paycheck, but if you’re like 65% of American credit card holders, you carry that balance over from month to month. The debt mounts, and over time, it gets harder and harder to get out just from under it.

THREE UNPRODUCTIVE WAYS PEOPLE DEAL WITH CONFLICT DEBT

As with financial debt, conflict debt starts innocently. An issue comes up that’s a little too hot to handle, so you defer it. You promise yourself that you’ll revisit it when things are less busy, or when cooler heads prevail. You buy yourself time and space. But days pass, and no spontaneous resolution materializes. Instead, the issue becomes more contentious. Suddenly, you’re in conflict debt.

You’re feeling anxious, and you find yourself steering clear of your colleagues to avoid having to confront the issue. (Have you ever taken the long way around the office so you don’t run into a disgruntled coworker?) You’re feeling frustrated at the lack of progress, not to mention a little guilty for your role in the stalemate. Conflict debt weighs you down.

Avoiding the issue is only one path to conflict debt. Another is to avoid the opposition. In this case, you broach the topic but exclude people who might disagree or cause tension, surrounding yourself with those who agree with you. You focus on how friendly and productive the discussion is, deluding yourself that your solutions are going to fly with the people who you strategically disinvited. But pretending the opposition isn’t there won’t make it disappear. It will resurface when your opponents kill your plan or, worse, leave it to fail.

There’s a third way to get into conflict debt–avoid the friction. Even if you discuss the difficult subject, there’s still room to get yourself into trouble if you veer safely away from the distressing parts of the discussion. When you make it clear (either intentionally or inadvertently) that nothing antagonistic should taint your conversation, you start to rack up conflict debt. I see this all the time when, just as the discussion gets perilously close to the crux of the matter, someone suggests they “take it offline” to avoid having to deal with the conflict. Everyone smiles and pretends that they’ll actually come back to it at some point–when in reality, they’ve just stifled dissent.

Are you avoiding the conflicts that your organization requires you to work through? If so, you are setting your organization, your team, and yourself up for trouble. When you’re unwilling to work through uncomfortable situations, you stretching your resources thin, stifling innovation, and allowing risks to go unnoticed. On your team, the aversion to prickly conversations forces strong performers to compensate for weak ones and mature people to put up with immature ones. At an individual level, you’re probably burning out from the stress.

When your conflict debt gets too high, it becomes overwhelming. You’re exhausted by the thought of trying to pay it off. You’ve destroyed your credit rating with your boss and your coworkers by letting these issues go unresolved for so long. But don’t give up–there are many things you can do to get out from under your conflict debt. That starts with embracing, and not avoiding, conflict in the first place.

This article is adapted from The Good Fight: Use Productive Conflict to Get Your Team and Organization Based on Track. It is reprinted with permission from Page Two.

#CareerAdvice : #ProductivePeople – 11 CEOs share the Bad Habits they Want to Ditch in 2019. Great Read!

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While you’re busy making lofty resolutions for 2019, it’s important to also think about the things you don’t want to do in the new year. Whether you’re spending too much time fielding emails or reading the news, chances are you could be more productive—or simply happier—by making a few tweaks in and out of the office. We asked a number of CEOs about the habits they hope to kick in 2019.

MULTITASKING IN AND OUT OF THE OFFICE

It’s no secret that your productivity suffers when you multitask—a habit multiple CEOs said they want to cut back on. Hussein Fazal, the CEO of travel startup SnapTravel, notes that people often spend “downtime” checking work emails and messages—and then spend their “work time” looking at personal emails and messages. (Perhaps this sounds familiar?) “It is super important to compartmentalize these time blocks,” he says, “to ensure maximum productivity while working and to minimize work distractions while enjoying downtime.” To that end, Fazal has turned off nearly all notifications on his phone and frequently keeps his phone on “do not disturb” mode.

But even when you don’t let personal agendas interrupt your workday, it can be difficult to truly focus on one task (and one tab!) at a time. That’s why Heidi Zak, CEO of lingerie startup ThirdLove, no longer brings her laptop to meetings. “I’ve found I’m much more engaged and present,” she says. Cheryl Kaplan, cofounder of shoe startup M.Gemi, says that because she often finds herself multitasking, in 2019 she wants to “focus on being present,” whether it’s at work or at home. “Face time is precious, but sometimes it gets difficult to focus on what or who is in front of me,” she says. “My goal is to put all my attention on the conversation or task at hand, instead of trying to give partial attention to a few different things at once.”

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TAKING YOUR PHONE INTO THE BEDROOM

If you’re dreaming of more peaceful sleep in the new year, you’re on the right track. “Stop trying to be a ‘hustler’ who works 24/7 and never sleeps,” advises Peter Shankman, the CEO of The Geek Factory and an author who has written and spoken extensively about living with ADHD. “Take care of yourself first and foremost. You can’t make a million dollars if you’re dead.” Founders like Tara Foley, the founder of beauty startup Follain, plan to make sleeping well a priority in 2019—even if it means not finishing work. “I get a more restful sleep if I get in bed earlier, and I get more done with my day if I’ve gotten enough sleep,” she says. Alana Branston, CEO of the retail startup Bulletin, intends to start going to bed before midnight.

For some CEOs, sleeping more soundly means unplugging. “I am working on creating a phone-free bedroom environment,” says investor Anu Duggal, who started Female Founders Fund. And Ariel Kaye, the CEO of bedding startup Parachute, is already on her way to a bedroom devoid of screens. “This is extremely challenging for me,” Kaye says. “I’ve started using an alarm clock and charge my phone outside of the bedroom. I’m already seeing the benefits—not only do I sleep much more soundly without the blue light from my phone, but I’m now in the habit of reading at night.”

Plus, the better you sleep, the less likely you are to hit the snooze button—a bad habit that Shankman cautions against. “Getting up a half hour earlier will radically improve your life in countless ways,” he says.

STRETCHING YOURSELF TOO THIN

One way to address both multitasking and sleepless nights is to take on less and say no more, as Eunice Byun—the founder of cookware startup Material—hopes to do in 2019. “As an entrepreneur with an under-one-year-old business, I catch myself feeling like we need to be ready to seize every opportunity,” she says. Over time, she has realized that when she is “more purposeful and intentional” about where she spends her energy, it is easier to stay true to her company mission. “It’s fun and exhilarating to be in hyper-growth mode, but saying ‘no’ can be just as important to growing long-term,” she adds.

As a founder, doing less also means delegating effectively—something that can be difficult if you have built a company from the ground up. “The single worst habit I have—that I continue to work on—is micromanagement,” says Zahir Dossa, CEO of beauty startup Function of Beauty. “It isn’t easy to detach from the day-to-day tasks that I was once used to occupying. The most important thing that leads me to let go of things, however, is trust in the people [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][who] now lead these initiatives.”

NOT COUNTING YOUR WINS

Vivian Shen, founder of coding startup Juni Learning, says that in 2019, she wants to focus on creating good habits. One of those is making time to take stock of positive developments. “Given all the negative news throughout the past year, I believe it is more important than ever to practice gratitude,” she says. “We so often focus on what went wrong or what we could have done better. We don’t intentionally take the time to reflect on and truly celebrate the wins at work or in our personal lives. As a CEO, I feel that consistently showing appreciation for our team’s accomplishments needs to be core to our company’s DNA if we’re going to build a successful, long-term company.”

Pavithra Mohan is an assistant editor for Fast Company Digital. Her writing has previously been featured in Gizmodo and Popular Science magazine.

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FastCompany.com | December 26, 2018

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#Leadership : #ProductivePeople – Three Hacks to Help your Brain Learn Stuff Faster…Getting to Know your Basal Ganglia can Help you Waste Less Time Cramming (and forgetting what you’ve learned later on).

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Trying to learn some new skills and improve your current ones? Join the club. Unfortunately, many of us find the learning process slow, tedious, and painful. But the good news is that there are a few brain science–backed techniques to help you acquire and master new skills a bit more speedily. Here’s a look at three of them.

As you attempt to master a skill, intentionally engage in repeated practice sessions that allow you to fail, adapt and try again. It’s this process that will enable you to improve and eventually become competent in the skill.

Related: How to teach your brain something it won’t forget a week later

1. TAP INTO THE SPACING EFFECT

Skill-acquisition isn’t an event, it’s a process. If you truly want to master a new skill, it’s far better to invest small amounts of time over an extended period than a large amount of time all at once. This is what researchers call the “spacing effect,” which refers to the finding that skill-development tends to improve when learning is spaced out over time.

You’re probably thinking, “But wait, wouldn’t this take longer?” Not necessarily. Because the spacing effect has been shown to boost retention, spreading out your learning process over a period of time limits the likelihood that you’ll have to go back to brush up (or start over completely) a week or a month or a year later. Since the late 19th century, psychologists (and anyone who’s ever crammed for an exam) have known that one of the biggest hindrances to learning is forgetting. So, counterintuitive as it may sound, being a little more patient in the short term may help you reduce your overall time spent learning in the long-run.

Related: What it takes to change your brain’s patterns after age 25

 

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2. TRAIN YOUR BASAL GANGLIA

Most of us focus on comprehension when we’re attempting to improve a skill. That may seem sensible enough, but science shown that while understanding is vital to heightening proficiency (it’s hard to improve when you don’t know how), it isn’t enough to obtain mastery. Turning any newly acquired knowledge into an actual skill requires engaging a part of your brain that heavily impacts learning and movement, known as the “basal ganglia.”

There are two things you’ll need to know about your basal ganglia: First, it learns slowly. Unlike other regions of the brain–such as the neocortex, which deals with the executive functions of the brain and learns quickly–the basal ganglia takes much longer to absorb new experiences and information. Second, it learns by repeatedly performing the behavior. For instance, when teaching a kid to ride a bike you can explain how to steer and pedal the bicycle in a few minutes. But while she may understand conceptually how to operate the bike, her initial attempts will probably be pretty unsuccessful. Why? Because riding a bicycle, like all skills, requires training the basal ganglia, which takes repetition and practice.

As you attempt to master a skill, intentionally engage in repeated practice sessions that allow you to fail, adapt and try again. It’s this process that will enable you to improve and eventually become competent in the skill. Because when it comes to training your basal ganglia, repetition is the key to mastery.

Related: No pain, no brain gain: Why learning demands (a little) discomfort

3. STOP TRYING TO STRETCH YOUR ATTENTION SPAN

Learning how to execute any new skill competently takes one crucial factor many of us don’t pay enough attention to: attention. Human attention is complex, with many factors influencing how attentive we can be at any given moment. Still, there’s at least one way to improve your ability to pay attention, and it’s amazingly simple: Just stop trying to stretch your attention span beyond its ordinary limits.

If you find yourself getting distracted while trying to learn something, press pause, then break up the learning process into shorter segments. It’s called “micro-learning,” and neuroscientist John Medina has summed up the concept in what he calls the “10 Minute Rule”; his research suggests that the brain’s ability to pay attention typically plummets to near-zero after roughly 10 minutes. So focus instead on developing a skill over numerous, short sessions. This will can help you give the task your full attention and obtain maximum results in the shortest time possible. Plus, it all but guarantees that you’ll leverage the spacing effect and avoid forgetting everything later.

None of this brain science is especially complicated, but the reality is that each of us often behaves in ways that make it harder for our brains to grasp a particular skill. Short, focused bursts of repeated practice may seem inefficient when you block out all those learning sessions in your calendar. But from your brain’s point of view, it’s the fastest route to mastery.

 

FastCompany.com | July 22, 2018 

#Leadership : Secrets of the Most #ProductivePeople – How to Check Email on Vacation and Still Enjoy Yourself…Smartphones Often Blur the Line Between Professional & Personal Life, so If you Must Check your #WorkEmail , Follow these Guidelines to Set Some Limits.

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Let’s be real. If you’re going on vacation this summer, you’re probably going to check your email. More than 62% of travelers make it a point to check their work-related email and voice mail, according to a new poll by Travel Leaders Group, a travel agency.

Email is a hard habit to break because we’re attached to technology, says Vicki Salemi, career expert for the job site Monster. “In most jobs, we never shut off, so going on vacation can be particularly challenging because you want to instantly disconnect once you put your ‘out of office’ on, but it’s not that easy for most,” she says. “You may feel like you’re missing out, or that a project will fall behind if you’re not constantly checking emails.”

Smartphones often blur the line between your professional and personal life. You may be making reservation plans on your device and convince yourself that a quick perusal of work email to clean your inbox while you’re away won’t be so bad, Salemi adds. “Next thing you know, an hour has gone by, and you’re completely in the work zone when you should be detaching and relaxing instead,” she says.

Related: How to stop checking email on vacation

If you’re going to check it anyway, it helps to plan how it fits into your vacation, and to set limits.

PREPARE

A week before you leave, let colleagues and clients know you’ll be gone, giving them time to get information from you before you leave. Let key players know how to reach you in case of a true emergency, such as calling or texting immediately, to reduce your worries that you’re missing something urgent, says Elaine Varelas, managing partner of Keystone Partners, a career management firm.

“Make sure your out-of-office reminder is set with a note advising that you are away on holiday and will respond to email after your return,” she says. “And advise colleagues that unless the subject includes ‘please respond’ or ‘urgent,’ you will respond after your vacation.”

Delegate your projects and direct people elsewhere during your absence. Be specific in your out-of-office response, says Salemi. For example, “For billing inquires, contact [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][insert colleague’s name here]” or “For technology issues, contact [another colleague’s name here].”

Zapier is a tool that links the apps you use at work, such as Gmail, Asana, and Slack, to automate daily tasks. During vacation use it to automatically push inbound emails into Slack so the team can stay in the loop on external communications while someone is out of the office.

 

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SET BOUNDARIES WHILE YOU’RE GONE

Check emails in the morning before anyone else is awake, says Varelas. “Do it alone, so others don’t feel overlooked or as if they aren’t your first priority during your planned time off,” she says.

Keep it short, says Salemi. “For example, 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening to only respond to emails that require action,” she says.

You may need an accountability partner, adds Salemi. “Make a pact with one of your travel mates that if they see you on your phone responding to a message that’s work-related—and yes, they can ask for you to hand over your phone to check—you owe them a small amount of money, such as $5 or $10,” she suggests.

Also decide where you’re allowed to check emails. “If you’re on a beach, on a boat, in a museum, don’t check emails, enjoy the moment and your surroundings,” says Salemi. “Only check emails when you shouldn’t be in the moment instead, like in your hotel room, on the balcony, or prior to working out.”

Related: A brilliant strategy to avoid checking emails on vacation: auto-delete them

DON’T ENGAGE

Reading email is different than responding to email. “As soon as you engage in any manner, such as forward, reply, or read triggering a message read-return receipt, people will start emailing more, assuming you are online,” says Varelas. “Do not encourage this.”

If you absolutely must respond, do it as efficiently as possible. “And certainly never after any alcohol becomes part of a vacation activity,” says Varelas. “Do not let any negative reaction to work email impact your mood with your vacation pals. They are on vacation, and wish you were, too.”

Related: The out-of-office template you should use this holiday season

PREPARE FOR RE-ENTRY

Organize your email as you scan it. Salemi suggest creating folders and move emails within certain categories into their respective folders such as “follow up,” “budgeting” or “the team.” This will help you handle it more efficiently when you return.

Then block out an hour at the top and bottom of your first day back, says Varelas. “Give yourself time to address the email that piled up while you were gone,” she says.

Unplugging from email—even if you just decreased the amount of time you usually spend—can help you enjoy your time away. “One of the most important things to remember is that studies have shown you’ll be more productive after you return from vacation if you’ve truly logged off to the best of your ability,” says Salemi. “Your boss and company will thank you, especially as your morale and creativity will hopefully be boosted after you’ve given yourself the time you needed to literally reboot.”

 

FastCompany.com | July 3, 2018 | BY STEPHANIE VOZZA 4 MINUTE READ

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#Leadership : Secrets of the Most #ProductivePeople -The Best Way to Use All those 5 Minutes of #Downtime Every Day…When you Have a Few Spare Minutes During the Day, you Probably Default to Checking Email. Here are More #ProductiveWays to use “Found Time.”

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Whether your meeting ended early or that project didn’t take as long as you thought, chances are you’ve got some found time on your hands at some point during the day. If you’re like most people, you default to checking email. If you had a system in place, however, you could use those unexpected minutes to get something done, says productivity consultant Leslie Shreve, founder and CEO of Productive Day.

“Most people don’t know how to jump in and take advantage of time because nothing is prepared and sitting in front of them,” she says. “The key is to proactively plan for those five-, 10-, or 15-minute bits of time that often appear throughout the average workday.”

And there are a lot of them. A study by the staffing firm OfficeTeam found that the average employee squanders 56 minutes every day, which adds up to nearly five hours a week that could be used on meaningful work.

START WITH AN INVENTORY

We’re not being proactive with our time because we’re managing tasks from paper to-do lists, emails, voicemails, conversations, notes, files, and ideas. “Those are tools; not systems,” says Shreve.

What’s necessary is a master list, or inventory, of all of your tasks. Shreve likens it to creating a mission control. Bigger than a brain dump, she suggests going around your desk and recording all of your tasks and projects. Look at files and papers on your desk: Things that are left out are often done so as reminders of what needs to be done, she says. As you note action items, you build your task inventory.

“You have to take time in your busy day to do this, but it can help you save a lot of time in the end,” says Shreve. “To make progress on meaningful work you need small action steps. You cannot get progress without project management. Unless you’re prepared, things will be lost or forgotten.”

Tasks should be small, Shreve says, only reflecting the first action step to get something started, or the next action step to keep something moving forward. “These small but powerful steps can move multi-step tasks, projects, and initiatives forward consistently and with ease,” she says.

Use a digital system, such as a spreadsheet, to record your full inventory of tasks—everything you need to do, no matter the source of the task or when action will take place. A paper to-do list needs to be completed, while a digital list is a system, says Shreve. With all your tasks in one system, you can plan and prioritize for certain days, weeks, and months into the future.

When you have found time, check your inventory and find a task that fits. For example, five minutes is enough time to make a phone call that you know will go to voicemail, schedule an appointment, or knock out a quick action step that will keep a priority or a project moving forward.

“Having an inventory of all tasks in one system allows you to make smart decisions about how to use your time, because all tasks are documented and ready for action,” says Shreve. “You can easily become more proactive and less reactive throughout the day.”

PLAN YOUR DAY

An inventory of tasks also helps you plan your day. When you get to work in the morning, check your task list and get to work. Looking at your inventory, priorities often bubble to the top, and Shreve suggests choosing four to seven items to do that day.

“You can always change it, and make it reflect what you really want or need to do that day,” says Shreve. “Your day and task list is never static.”

Working without a system is like grocery shopping; it’s easy to miss items because there’s often no order to the layout of the store, says Shreve. “You only buy the items you can find or that are in front of you,” she says. “Similarly, you can only do the tasks that you know about or see in your vision, and if you don’t have time to check 10 different places for the possibilities, something will be missed.”

MINUTES DRIVE RESULTS

While they seem inconsequential in the moment, those small amounts of time are essential for achieving results. “Inner work life matters for companies because, no matter how brilliant a company’s strategy might be, the strategy’s execution depends on great performance by people inside the organization,” write Harvard Business School professor Theresa Amabile and development psychologist Steven Kramer in their book The Progress Principle. “When progress happens in small steps, a person’s sense of steady forward movement toward an important goal can make all the difference between a great day and a terrible one.”

Knowing what’s possible allows you to take action on the most important tasks at the right times throughout the day, says Shreve. “You can use your time more wisely and with purpose,” she says. “You stop guessing and start knowing what to do and when to do it. It’s a priceless benefit from having a complete system and a workday strategy that works.”

 

FastCompany.com | May 29, 2018 | BY STEPHANIE VOZZA 4 MINUTE READ

#Leadership : How To Get Better At Saying “No” ….You Don’t Have to Let the Guilty Voice in your Head Get the Best of You.

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You’re running around with a million things to do, and you’ve barely made a dent in your to-do list. Then someone asks you to take on a project you definitely don’t have time for, and you answer “yes” without thinking.

Learning to say “no” is an ongoing challenge, but it’s a skill you can refine every day. Just like you diligently polish your writing and presentation prowess, you need to apply the same level of discipline when it comes to declining a request or invitation.

Related:What Happened When I Avoided Saying “No Problem” For A Month

WHY IT’S SO HARD TO SAY NO

Why is it that saying “no” can feel socially awkward and disingenuous? When Fast Company‘s Michael Grothaus tracked how many times he said “yes” and “no” in a week, he found that he said “no” twice but responded “yes” to over 50 requests. “I say ‘yes’ to everything because I don’t want to come across as mean, lazy, boring, or uncaring,” Grothaus wrote in 2015.

You might feel similarly without even realizing it. Here’s a possible thought you might have (subconsciously or otherwise): “If I say that I can’t help with my team’s annual charity food drive, I’m pushing work onto others who are likely as busy as me.” You’re assuming that if you decline, you’re being impolite, so you really should just help out because others are, and it’s the right thing to do.

The thing is, that “should” indicates that you’re prioritizing being polite over being genuine. You’ve probably experienced that burdened feeling other times you’ve wanted to turn something down. Rather than going with your gut, you say “yes,” and then immediately feel the conflict. It’s sometimes helpful to ask, “If I don’t do this, will it matter in three weeks, three months, three years from now?” This way, you’ll get a more accurate picture of whether your lack of participation is genuinely critical.

It might not feel like it, but you’re largely in control of how busy you are. When you accept a meeting or an assignment that you don’t really have the bandwidth for, you might escape the discomfort of expressing your regrets but you give up the time to think, rejuvenate, and take care of yourself.

Related:These Are The Five Times You Should Say “No” To An Opportunity

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WHEN TO SAY “YES” AND WHEN TO SAY “NO”

It helps to have a definitive system to be able to say “no” in a way that feels right. One thing you can do is create a list of your top priorities, and only say yes to projects that move you closer to them. Personally, I find it helpful to run through a mental checklist before accepting anything. Here are the questions I usually ask myself:

  • Is this urgent, or can it wait?
  • Can someone else besides me do it?
  • If I say “yes” to this, what am I saying “no” to?

If it does become clear that you should say no, remember that you don’t have to provide an explanation. Just be upfront, polite, genuine, and, if appropriate, offer an alternative solution. Here’s a good example: “I wish I could meet, but I don’t have a lot of free time this quarter. Would a quick phone call work instead? Let me know, I’d like to help.”

If you’re prone to overcommitting, this approach can help you determine what to take on and what to decline. I also like to keep in mind the following quote from entrepreneur Derek Sivers: “If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no.” As Grothaus pointed out, the outcome of saying no is seldom as bad as what you think it might be: “The sky won’t fall, your family won’t stop loving you, and your boss won’t fire you–heck, everyone will probably respect you and your time more if you say ‘no’ more often.”

Mikaela Kiner is the founder and CEO of uniquelyHR, providing fast-growth companies including startups and scale-ups with flexible HR services. You can find her on Twitter @uniquelyHR or LinkedIn.

 

FastCompany.com | April 24, 2018 | BY MIKAELA KINER 3 MINUTE READ

#Leadership : 6 Things #SuccessfulPeople Do When they Return From a Long Weekend… An Extra Day Off Makes Snapping Out of Weekend Mode that Much Harder.

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• Some people across the US received some extra time off thanks to Presidents’ Day.

• Business Insider spoke with several productivity and work experts to get tips on how to bounce back from a long weekend.

• They recommended hitting the ground running on your first day back.

Some people around the US receive an extra day off for Presidents’ Day to commemorate the individuals who have served in the White House over the centuries.

There’s a lot to be said about how you should— or shouldn’t— spend long weekends. But it’s equally important to plan out the days that follow a long weekend.

When you’re coming back from some time off and you have a shorter week to get everything done, it usually helps to hit the ground running.

With that in mind, here are six things that successful people do first when they return from long weekend:

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They get to work early

They get to work earlyPhalinn Ooi/flickr

When it comes to some holidays, almost everyone has time off. So you won’t be falling behind by showing up to work at your usual time.

But coming in early is a good idea if you want to be as productive as possible after a holiday weekend.

“That will mitigate the workload avalanche and give you a head start, sans distraction,” Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of “Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job,” tells Business Insider.

They scrutinize their to-do lists

They scrutinize their to-do listsJacquelyn Smith/Business Insider

Productive people know that long, unwieldy to-do lists are essentially useless. There’s no better time to start cutting items from your list than the day you get back from long weekend.

“Now that you’ve spent a good bit away from your desk, you have tangible proof that those tasks you’re always putting off aren’t holding up your ceiling,” freelance reporter Kevin Purdy writes in Fast Company.

They double check their schedules

They double check their schedulesPhil Parker/Flickr

Don’t forget to double check your schedule. Remember, you’ll likely be dealing with a shortened work week. Don’t try to cram too many items onto your weekly schedule, or you might wind up burning yourself out.

They check in with people

They check in with peopleFrancis Kokoroko/Reuters

If you’re back from a national holiday, odds are most of your coworkers and clients will be in the same boat as you.

Still, it’s not a bad idea to check in.

“Take the time to connect with one or two clients to let them know they’re top of mind with you and that you’re back if they need anything,” Michael Kerr, an international business speaker and author of “The Humor Advantage,” tells Business Insider. “It’s a simple customer service touch point that can make a big impression.”

What’s more, if the long weekend ate up a Monday — a popular day for meetings— schedule in some time for your team and direct reports to meet up, even if it’s just for a few minutes. You want to make sure everyone’s on the same page now that you’re all back in the office.

They organize their inbox

They organize their inboxAP/Jerry Lai

Beware of spending too much time responding to the emails you missed over the weekend.

“It’s easy to get sucked into the vortex of responding to every email without considering whether it’s the best use of your time on the first day back,” Kerr says. “Don’t confuse email activity with productive work, so be strategic and only respond to email that are time sensitive.”

They focus on work

They focus on workLeon Neal/Getty

It’s important to be able to shut off your “work brain” over long weekends. You want to enjoy your time off, after all.

It’s equally important to snap back into a work-oriented mindset when you return to the office. Successful people are able to make the switch and avoid any unproductive post-long weekend dillydallying.

DON’T MISS: 11 things unsuccessful people do over long weekends

SEE ALSO: 8 things successful people do after getting back from vacation

 

 

Businessinsider.com | February 19, 2018 | Áine Cain

#Leadership : 10 Bad Habits You Must Eliminate from Your Daily Routine…When it Comes to Productivity, the Little Things Make All the Difference. Quit Sabotaging Yourself with These Bad Habits.

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You are the sum of your habits. When you allow bad habits to take over, they dramatically impede your path to success. The challenge is bad habits are insidious, creeping up on you slowly until you don’t even notice the damage they’re causing.

Free- Biz Man on Cellphone

“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”   — Warren Buffett

Breaking bad habits requires self-control — and lots of it. Research indicates that it’s worth the effort, as self-control has huge implications for success.

University of Pennsylvania psychologists Angela Duckworth and Martin Seligman conducted a study where they measured college students’ IQ scores and levels of self-control upon entering university. Four years later, they looked at the students’ grade point averages (GPA) and found that self-control was twice as important as IQ in earning a high GPA.

The self-control required to develop good habits (and stop bad ones) also serves as the foundation for a strong work ethic and highproductivity. Self-control is like a muscle — to build it up you need to exercise it. Practice flexing your self-control muscle by breaking the following bad habits:

1. Using your phone, tablet or computer in bed.

This is a big one that most people don’t even realize harms their sleep and productivity. Short-wavelength blue light plays an important role in your mood, energy level and sleep quality. In the morning, sunlight contains high concentrations of this blue light. When your eyes are exposed to it directly, the blue light halts production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin and makes you feel more alert. In the afternoon, the sun’s rays lose their blue light, which allows your body to produce melatonin and start making you sleepy. By the evening, your brain doesn’t expect any blue light exposure and is very sensitive to it.

Most of our favorite evening devices — laptops, tablets and mobile phones — emit short-wavelength blue light brightly and right in your face. This exposure impairs melatonin production and interferes with your ability to fall asleep as well as with the quality of your sleep once you do nod off. As we’ve all experienced, a poor night’s sleep has disastrous effects. The best thing you can do is to avoid these devices after dinner (television is OK for most people as long as they sit far enough away from the set).

 

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2. Impulsively surfing the internet.

It takes you 15 consecutive minutes of focus before you can fully engage in a task. Once you do, you fall into a euphoric state of increased productivity called flow. Research shows that people in a flow state are five times more productive than they otherwise would be. When you click out of your work because you get an itch to check the news, Facebook, a sport’s score or what have you, this pulls you out of flow. This means you have to go through another 15 minutes of continuous focus to reenter the flow state. Click in and out of your work enough times, and you can go through an entire day without experiencing flow.

Related: 10 Habits That Will Make You Much Happier

3. Checking your phone during a conversation.

Nothing turns people off like a mid-conversation text message or even a quick glance at your phone. When you commit to a conversation, focus all your energy on the conversation. You will find that conversations are more enjoyable and effective when you immerse yourself in them.

4. Using multiple notifications.

Multiple notifications are a productivity nightmare. Studies have shown that hopping on your phone and e-mail every time they ping for your attention causes your productivity to plummet. Getting notified every time a message drops onto your phone or an e-mail arrives in your inbox might feel productive, but it isn’t. Instead of working at the whim of your notifications, pool all your e-mails/texts and check them at designated times (e.g., respond to your e-mails every hour). This is a proven, productive way to work.

5. Saying “yes” when you should say “no.”

Research conducted at the University of California in San Francisco shows that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout and even depression, all of which erode self-control. Saying no is indeed a major self-control challenge for many people. “No” is a powerful word that you should not be afraid to wield. When it’s time to say no, emotionally intelligent people avoid phrases like “I don’t think I can” or “I’m not certain.” Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them. Just remind yourself that saying no is an act of self-control now that will increase your future self-control by preventing the negative effects of over commitment.

6. Thinking about toxic people.

There are always going to be toxic people who have a way of getting under your skin and staying there. Each time you find yourself thinking about a coworker or person who makes your blood boil, practice being grateful for someone else in your life instead. There are plenty of people out there who deserve your attention, and the last thing you want to do is think about the people who don’t matter when there are people who do.

7. Multitasking during meetings.

You should never give anything half of your attention, especially meetings. If a meeting isn’t worth your full attention, then you shouldn’t be attending it in the first place; and if the meeting is worth your full attention, then you need to get everything you can out of it. Multitasking during meetings hurts you by creating the impression that you believe you are more important than everyone else.

8. Gossiping.

Gossipers derive pleasure from other people’s misfortunes. It might be fun to peer into somebody else’s personal or professional faux pas at first, but over time, it gets tiring, makes you feel gross and hurts other people. There are too many positives out there and too much to learn from interesting people to waste your time talking about the misfortune of others.

“Great minds discuss ideas, average ones discuss events and small minds discuss people.”   — Eleanor Roosevelt

9. Waiting to act until you know you’ll succeed.

Most writers spend countless hours brainstorming their characters and plots, and they even write page after page that they know they’ll never include in the books. They do this because they know that ideas need time to develop. We tend to freeze up when it’s time to get started because we know that our ideas aren’t perfect and that what we produce might not be any good. But how can you ever produce something great if you don’t get started and give your ideas time to evolve? Author Jodi Picoult summarized the importance of avoiding perfectionism perfectly: “You can edit a bad page, but you can’t edit a blank page.”

Related: 9 Bad Habits You Must Break To Be More Productive

10. Comparing yourself to other people.

When your sense of pleasure and satisfaction are derived from comparing yourself to others, you are no longer the master of your own happiness. When you feel good about something that you’ve done, don’t allow anyone’s opinions or accomplishments take that away from you. While it’s impossible to turn off your reactions to what others think of you, you don’t have to compare yourself to others and you can always take people’s opinions with a grain of salt. That way, no matter what other people are thinking or doing, your self-worth comes from within. Regardless of what people think of you at any particular moment, one thing is certain — you’re never as good or bad as they say you are.

Bringing It All Together

By practicing self-control to break these bad habits, you can simultaneously strengthen your self-control muscle and abolish nasty habits that have the power to bring your career to a grinding halt.

A version of this article appeared on TalentSmart.

 

Entrepreneur.com | October 25, 2016 | Brad Bradberry 

#Leadership : 6 Easy Tricks That Will Make You Way More Productive…“Time is What we Want Most, but What we Use Worst.” –William Penn

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When it comes to productivity, we all face the same challenge—there are only 24 hours in a day. Since even the best ideas are worthless until they’re executed, how efficiently you use your time is as important as anything else in business.

Free- Time Mans Watch

I’ve become fascinated by productivity secrets because some people seem to have twice the time, and there’s no better way to reach your goals than by finding ways to do more with the precious time you’ve been given.

It feels incredible when you leave the office after an ultra-productive day. It’s a workplace high that’s hard to beat. In my experience you don’t need to work longer or push yourself harder—you just need to work smarter.

“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” –William Penn

I’ve learned to rely on productivity hacks that make me far more efficient. I try to squeeze every drop out of every hour without expending any extra effort.

And my favorite hack also happens to be the easiest one to implement. It’s so easy and useful you can begin using it now.

1. Never Touch Things Twice

That’s it. Never put anything in a holding pattern, because touching things twice is a huge time-waster. Don’t save an email or a phone call to deal with later. As soon as something gets your attention you should act on it, delegate it, or delete it.

2. Eat Frogs

To pull this off you’re going to have to eat some frogs. “Eating a frog” is doing the least appetizing, most dreaded item on your to-do list. If you let your frogs sit, you waste your day dreading them. If you eat them right away, then you’re freed up to tackle the stuff that excites and inspires you.

 

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3. Fight the Tyranny of the Urgent

You’ll also need to master the tyranny of the urgent. The tyranny of the urgent refers to the tendency of little things that have to be done right now to get in the way of what really matters. This creates a huge problem as urgent actions often have little impact. The key here is to delete or delegate. Otherwise, you can find yourself going days, or even weeks, without touching the important stuff. You’ll need to get good at spotting when putting out fires is getting in the way of your performance, and you’ll need to delete or delegate the things that hinder real forward momentum.

4. Say No

No is a powerful word that you’re going to have to wield. When it’s time to say no, avoid phrases such as I don’t think I can or I’m not certain. Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully and efficiently fulfill them. Research conducted at the University of California in San Francisco shows that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression. Learn to use no, and it will lift your mood, as well as your productivity.

5. Check E-mail On A Schedule

If you aren’t going to touch things twice, you can’t allow e-mail to be a constant interruption. You should check e-mail on a schedule, taking advantage of features that prioritize messages by sender. Set alerts for your most important vendors and best customers, and save the rest until the scheduled time. You could even set up an autoresponder that lets senders know when you’ll be checking your e-mail again.

 

6. Avoid Multitasking

To make my system work, you’re also going to have to avoid multitasking. It’s a real productivity killer. Research conducted at Stanford University confirms that multitasking is less productive than doing a single thing at a time. The researchers found that people who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall information or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time.

Multitasking reduces your efficiency and performance because your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When you try to do two things at once, your brain lacks the capacity to perform both tasks successfully. Never touching things twice means only touching one thing at a time.

Bringing It All Together

We’re all searching for ways to be more efficient and productive. I hope my productivity hack helps you to find that extra edge.

What productivity hacks do you rely on? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

 

Forbes.com | March 15, 2016 | Travis Bradberry

Your #Career : Work From Home? 4 Key Ways to Maximize Productivity…To Help you Tackle the Specific Work Issues you’re Likely to Face, we Tapped 3 Work-from-Home Experts for their Tips on How to Maximize 4 Key Areas of Home-Based Office Life so You can Boost Productivity & Success.

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No morning commute. No open floor plan that makes it challenging to focus on your work. No boss looking over your shoulder or co-worker who insists on showing you photos of his cat every morning. The sweet freedom of working from home can seem like a dream come true for some—and the number of people doing so is growing.

Free- Business Desk

For example, Global Workplace Analytics found that the work-at-home population increased by 103% between 2005 and 2014, with a 6.5% rise in 2014—the largest spike since before the recession. U.S. Census data also show that working from home is more popular than ever. In 2010, 13.4 million people worked at least one day at home per week, an increase of more than 4 million people in the last decade.

Although statistics indicate that the trend is picking up steam, that doesn’t mean it’s easy to work from home successfully. Whether you’re telecommuting to a full-time job or running a home-based business, there are distinct challenges that come from merging your work and home lives.

To help you tackle the specific work issues you’re likely to face, we tapped three work-from-home experts for their tips on how to maximize four key areas of home-based office life so you can boost productivity and success.

Work-From-Home Tip #1: Turbocharge Your Space

Whether you’re working at the corner table next to the couch or have an entire spare room to devote to your home business, it’s important to create a space that helps get you into work mode and keeps your attention there.

• A little separation is a good thing: If you can, carve out a designated space in your home as an office where you can keep your work organized. “A separate workspace makes it easier to set boundaries between your home and office [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][lives],” says Lisa Kanarek, author of “Organize Your Home Office for Success: Expert Strategies That Can Work for You” and founder of WorkingNaked.com, a site that helps people create productive home offices. “When you have a separate space, you can store files, supplies and other business essentials in one area.”

If, however, your home office needs to be wherever you can find a spot to open your laptop, there are other things you can do. Elaine Quinn, a certified professional organizer, consultant for solo business owners and author of “There’s No Place Like Working from Home: Get Organized, Stay Motivated, Get Things Done!,” recommends using your dining table as a desk, especially if you have stacks of paperwork to sift through. If you’re working while your family is around, put on noise-canceling headphones to not only block out distracting sounds but serve as a visual cue to others that you’re on the clock.

• Get your (organizational) act together: Having an orderly desk helps you stay focused, boosting productivity so you don’t lose precious time looking for that critical contract—or whatever it may be—under a messy pile of papers. “Visual distraction is just begging for you not to be able to concentrate,” says Quinn. To minimize clutter, think of your desk as the center of a bull’s-eye. “All of the things you need on an everyday basis should be within arm’s reach,” she says. If you don’t need an item that often, it shouldn’t be on your desk. The next circle out should be items you don’t need more than once a week and can be stored off your desk, like in a nearby filing cabinet. The final, outer ring are items you need or want to hang onto but aren’t using anytime soon, such as old client files and contracts. These should be stored away in a closet or basement, if you have one.

If your office is the kitchen table one day and the back porch another, consider putting your work projects in separate boxes so you can grab the one you need at that time, and then put it away when you’re done.

• And remember, there may be tax benefits to creating a home office:Whether you rent or own your home, if you use part of the square footage regularly and exclusively for business, you may be able to do a home office deduction on your taxes, according to the IRS. The federal government now offers a fairly new (as of the 2014 tax season) simplified way to calculate this, with a standard deduction of $5 per square foot of the home used for business, with a maximum of 300 square feet. Talk with your accountant about the best way to include your home office expenses in your taxes.

RELATED: 6 Killer Morning Moves That Can Really Turbocharge Your Workday

 

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Work-From-Home Tip #2: Stay Connected

When it comes to professional communication, Kanarek says that keeping your work and private lives separate is key. If you telecommute, it may be easier to set these boundaries with a work email that’s tied to your main office. If you have a home-based business, it can be trickier.

• Customize your communication: Instead of handing out your primary personal email for work-related matters, Quinn strongly urges her clients who are small business owners to create a second custom work email address, such as jane@yourcompany.com, for a more professional touch.

“Also, set up a third account that you give out when signing up for newsletters and updates,” Kanarek says. That way, you can stay in the loop without clogging up your business email account.

To better manage your inbox, there are tools that let you schedule emails so they’re sent during business hours, rather than when you’re burning the midnight oil. “If I don’t want to appear too eager to respond to something but don’t want to forget, I use Boomerang for Gmail,” says Quinn. “Or if I have an email that I don’t have to take action on right now, Boomerang can make that email reappear at the top of my list at a future date.”

You can also use apps to schedule texts to go out when you want, rather than pinging someone when you’re working on the weekend. Quinn uses SMS Scheduler, a delayed-text scheduler app on Android.

• Streamline your phone system: Many small business owners have ditched their landlines and exclusively use a mobile phone for business, says Kanarek. But if you use your primary number for work, it can be hard to gauge whether that incoming call is personal or business when you’re on—or off—the clock. To counter that, “some have one cellphone for business and the other for personal use,” Kanarek says. But Julie Morgenstern, time management expert and author of “Time Management From the Inside Out: The Foolproof System for Taking Control of Your Schedule—and Your Life,” prefers a dedicated business landline. “The sound quality can be better than on cellphones,” she says. Or you can use the phone line that often comes bundled with your cable TV subscription service as your business number.

If you’re using your own home phone or cellphone for business and don’t necessarily want your personal number out there, try using Google Voice, which lets you choose a brand new number from Google. “You can keep cycling through to find a number you like,” says Quinn. “Or you can type in words and see if they have the numbers to correlate.” If you’re more concerned with missing a call, you can use your existing mobile number with Google Voice and set it up so that one number rings to all of your phones. The service also provides online voicemail with rough transcriptions, sent to you by email or text, so you can quickly get the gist of voicemails on the go.

RELATED: 5 Productivity Apps That’ll Kick Your Workday Into High Gear

 

Work-From-Home Tip #3: Create a Schedule That Fits Your Life

If you’re telecommuting, your hours may be set by your boss. But if your office is flexible or you run a business out of your home, one of the perks is setting your own hours. While there’s freedom in that flexibility, it’s also easy for work-life balance to get really out of whack. Make sure you create a regular schedule, says Morgenstern. “It’s a hot mess when people work whenever they feel like. People love structure. It’s a forcing mechanism that energizes you and also helps you shut off when it’s time.”

• Block out your days with a hard stop: Morgenstern recommends thinking of your day in three blocks of time—morning, afternoon and evening—and factor in how much energy you have in each time period. “If you’re more productive in the morning, then get up and do your work then,” she says. You should also factor in what time you typically need to interact with co-workers and clients, as well as your family’s schedule.

“You may want to be done for the day when your kids come home from school, for example,” Morgenstern says. That way, your kids’ arrival signals quitting time instead of being a distraction keeping you from working another few hours.

• Be realistic about your time: Anyone can write a to-do list, but completing every action is another feat entirely, especially if you’re overly optimistic about what you can reasonably accomplish in a day. Instead of creating a never-ending task list, Morgenstern advises asking yourself three questions: What do I need to do? How long will that take? When will I do it? Keeping in mind your deadlines for each, prioritize and block out your schedule to tackle these responsibilities during a time window when you can maximize your attention toward them.

Not sure how to prioritize tasks? “Think of your work week as a time budget,” Morgenstern says. For example, “if you’re doing writing, editing, administration and pitching, those are the four categories of your time budget. Then, create a regular routine of when you do each. A little bit of boundaries [between task categories] helps.”

• Don’t forget to schedule breaks: In general, whatever schedule you choose, aim to work no more than 90 minutes at a time before taking a quick break. The combination will keep you productive and give you time to clear your head. “After that time, most people lose focus anyway,” Quinn says. “You’ll work better in 90-minute chunks.” Others, including Quinn, find that working in even smaller chunks—up to 45 minutes, followed by a 15-minute break—is more efficient.

 

Work-From-Home Tip #4: Know That You Don’t Have to DoEverything

It can be overwhelming when you are your own tech support, accountant and executive assistant while working from home. And the truth is, “anyone who is working from home can’t do everything themselves,” Quinn says. So how do you make sure you keep your business running?

• Get your go-to people in place: Luckily, this is easier than ever since there are plenty of businesses geared toward home-based workers that offer tech support, such as Support.com, and billing services, such as FreshBooks, at reasonable prices. “It’s always a good idea to get referrals from others,” Kanarek says. “I use Quicken and I have a Mac tech person who always knows how to solve any tech issues I may have.” Some tech support consultants can even virtually jump into your computer and see if they can fix something easily.

• Go virtual: Quinn recommends using a virtual assistant from theInternational Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA), which connects you with professional independent contractors who can offer administrative, technical and creative support. A virtual assistant can help with various tasks, such as bookkeeping and following up on outstanding invoices, creating a monthly newsletter or doing research for a work project. But if you have simple, straightforward tasks like booking appointments, transcribing notes or faxing documents, Quinn suggests finding a more affordable virtual assistant through services like Upwork or Fiverr. Whichever route you choose, having a virtual assistant saves you from getting bogged down in mundane tasks, allowing you to spend more time focusing on building your home-based business and reaping the rewards.

 

Forbes.com | February 2, 2016 | LearnVest

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