Consequences of Hasty Words

Hasty words that are carelessly thrown out of your mouth in the heat of a moment can lead to many things, most of which are not good but are (expected you could say,) consequence(s) of your tongue.

1. Lose Friends

Hasty words that are quick to leave your mouth can easily ruin a good friendship. It doesn't take a lot to say regrettable things, and can take a lot longer to get over.
Remember that even though we know that words are just words, we also know the meanings of these words and the power they can have upon impact, otherwise why say them? 

I often hear people say things that they wish they had aired and when apologising say that they never meant any of the things they said...well your words are an indication to what you are thinking so if you don't mean what you say then don't say it - simple. :)
Words can be forgive but not always forgotten.

2. Damage Relationships

This is basically like with losing friends, you can also damage or ruin relationships with others because of a few careless words. Whether this be relationships with family members, partner, work colleagues, etc. 

3. Lose your job

Now this will depend upon your job but is normally true. If you work for a company and you say hasty things to a colleague or customer, if word gets back to your superiors (which in the workplace doesn't take very long) you could very well lose your job. You may not have even thought what you had said was offensive and maybe you was only joking around, but if the person/people on the receiving end don't take it in the same way as you intended it to have been taken, then you could get into some serious trouble.

Don't Give Up

Is there something that you would really like to be good at or succeed in? I'm sure there is when you think about it? Maybe you've always wanted to play a musical instrument, or maybe a renowned artist, or are you wanting to become an author? We all have aspirations of what we would like to do or be good at, however, there always seems to be something that holds us back...ourselves. 

It can be very easy to say that you want to be an astronaut or want to become an artist, but like all things, you will need to put in the work and effort. Don't give up! It can be all to easy to stop when the going gets tough but remember without hard work how are you supposed to improve? It's like someone who goes to the gym and works-out. If that person doesn't put in the effort to making sure his/her muscles are working hard then there isn't going to be much improvement. 
Hard work can be tiring but is something that produces results when you keep it up, and that's what you need to keep in mind - to keep going and pushing yourself forward to your goal, your ambition!

Other people can also play a big part too. If you get people around you who are encouraging you then this will help your morale and aid you in driving onwards. On the reverse if you get people telling you that you are wasting your time and that you are never going to get anywhere with it, this can have a discouraging affect. Interestingly though when people are discouraging to you, this can also act as motivation to assist you, by wanting to prove your critics wrong and showing them that you can succeed. 

If you do find it tough and the road arduous then there will be no doubt that you will feel like quitting along the way, maybe only the once or maybe several times. When I was learning to play the piano there were many occasion that I wanted to give up but am glad now that I didn't, because now It's something that i couldn't imagine not being in my life - it's definitely a hobby that I'm grateful to have.

A thing that I do when working hard at something that has helped keep me going in many a situation is to think of who else I know is doing what I am doing. That person/or people then become my rival(s) in my head and aid in persisting with what I am doing. For example: I have recently started going to the gym, coming up to two months now, and I know a few other people who also go. I can tell you that it is hard work and sometimes I really don't feel like going, but thanks to thinking about the people I know going to the gym and working out, it unleashes my competitive side and drives me to work-out so that I can better them. I do this for a lot of things and it's something that helps me to carry on. 

In conclusion, yes if you are wanting to improve at something or be good a something or get the job of your dreams etc, you are going to have to apply yourself and work hard, just remember: don't give up. 
If you do find it hard with motivation then a trick that might interest you is this: Don't Break the Chain.

Feeling Overwhelmed?

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Feeling like there's too many things to do in the limited amount of time that you have to do them? Or maybe you have a huge task ahead of you (possibly multiple huge tasks) and are just finding that it (or they) is/are just getting on top of you both mentally and physically?
Well whilst it may sound a bit flippant to say don't worry, this feeling of being overwhelmed can cease to exist if you are able to cope with it.

There is a large quantity of people who feel overwhelmed on a regular basis and others that get it from time-to-time, but at one point or another everybody comes to know the feeling of being overwhelmed. Feeling overwhelmed in a seemingly overwhelming situation is not a pleasant experience and can lead not only to hindrance and avoidance but also procrastination and sometimes slight depression. If you are someone who gets worked up in these somewhat stressful situations or/and are unable to remain calm then my previous post 'How to Remain Calm in a Stressful Situation' may be of use to you. :)

Different people will be able to handle life experiences differently from others. There are those who can pile task after task onto their plate and still be firing on all cylinders. Then there are those who feel overwhelmed at some of the most simple of things. These are two different extremes on the scale to how people cope. Depending what type of person you are will determine where-bouts you fit on the scale. Remember though that people do handle situations differently to others, so if you are finding a situation easy whilst another is finding it overwhelming, don't belittle them about it because in another scenario that could be you.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when you feel overwhelmed or are getting into that state of mind.

1. Why am I Overwhelmed?

On the surface this seems like a seemingly simple question and 95% of the time you are going to be able to answer it. Sometimes though there are those times (5%) when you honestly have no idea to why you are feeling things are too much. Ask yourself this and really think about the root cause to this horrible feeling. Once you know the answer you can move on to the next questions.

2. Is it Really that Important?

Once you've figured out what's making you feel overwhelmed, now ask yourself whether it's really that important to be feeling this way. If its not then don't worry about it (easier said than done I know), if it is I'm not saying that you should feel stressed but that you should have an awareness to what actually is important enough to maybe warrant stress or anxiety. It's dealing with stress and anxiety that is the trickier problem.

3. Are you really Overwhelmed?

This may sound like an odd question because if you are feeling overwhelmed why should you ask yourself if you are actually overwhelmed? Well, often we can feel like we have too much on our plate and that we're too busy but actually when you look closer you can see that you aren't really that busy and haven't got as much as first seemed. This is as we can still feel busy even when we haven't got that much to do. So taking this closer look will reveal what does need to be done and how much time it will take. Often once you just get on and start you will find that there isn't that much to do and that you can manage perfectly fine.

4. Am I Alone

It's very easy to feel alone when feeling overwhelmed as you are the only one going through that emotion. However this isn't to say that you are alone. There are often people who you can turn to in these situations not only for advice about how to go about dealing with the situation but also for some practical assistance. It's having people like these to turn to that can turn the situation into something much more manageable. 

Conclusion

When you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed or when you are overwhelmed, try asking yourself these questions to help you look at the situation in a clearer fashion. Feel free to ask yourself other questions that you feel would help you cope with the feeling of being overwhelmed. Just remember that when you are overwhelmed that other people have gone through the same emotions and that you can help yourself get through these experiences.

Idea Vs Opportunity

In a very recent post of mine; Thought Vs Idea, I wrote about idea being the stepping stone from thought to action. Idea being the product of applied thought (where effort is put into achieving a desired result), and action being the product of idea. However, there is also opportunity that fits into the equation. Opportunity, like idea, is a stepping stone. The stepping stone from idea to action, but is not always necessary. 

Opportunity is a situation where something is of a favourable time or occasion to act out. Opportunity is a product of idea and is carried out through action. When your are faced with a situation that you're not sure about, applied thinking is used. Through applied thinking, the brains natural path to problem solving starts to take place, sorting through the good and bad ideas, weighing up pros and cons (this is taking place through applied thought), after this stage a solution may arise that you feel is appropriate for the situation at hand. This is an idea.

Now the idea can go two ways from here, and only two ways. It can either be left untouched and forgotten about, or it can be acted upon. When acting upon an idea, opportunity and action now play their roles. I'm going to explain, but acting upon it is different than noticing the opportunity and then acting upon it. 

Acting upon the idea is as straight forward as carrying it out. Once the idea your brain has presented to you has been accepted, it's just carrying out that idea to get from point 'A' (beginning) to 'B' (the finished product). There's nothing wrong with this, most of our thought-to-decision process is like this. It's an effective way to make decisions. 

Now here's the difference between applying opportunity and then applying action, rather than applying just action. In the paragraph above I explained what I meant when I discussed about applying action without opportunity, now I'll explain what I mean with opportunity. 

Opportunity, as I said at the start, is where a situation is of a favourable time or occasion to act out. Once you have your idea, if you are going to see if it is the opportune time or occasion, some more thinking will be required on your behalf. You will need to think "when is the best time to act this idea out", or "when would be the most optimal time to see the best result". This is where optimal thinking is beneficial. You will need to decide when the most optimal time is or when it will be best for you to carry out this action - it may take time to notice opportunities. 

Not all ideas need opportunity, some can work-well whenever and do not need an optimal time to function. For example, for me to write this blog post, it doesn't make a difference whether I post it in the morning or late in the evening. My traffic flow will still remain consistent, and as there is no known hype about 'idea vs opportunity' in the public eye, it doesn't really matter what time of the year to post it. This would be an action (writing and publishing the blog post) that has come straight from idea (the subject of the blog post).

If however, I was a news blog/website, I would know as all of these websites do, that the most opportune time for a new story to go public - is almost immediately (opportunity). With so many competitors, news corporations know that it is best to get a new story out to the public before any of their competitors. This would be known as the 'opportune time' for them. They know that people don't like to read old news. 

Conclusion

I may have been a bit brief when explaining about idea and opportunity. Really though, this post was meant to be more about the relationship between the two. So to summarise the decision making process (you will need to read my previous posts thought vs action and thought vs idea to get a proper grasp on what I'm talking about): it begins with applied thought, then moves through to idea, which then can either go straight to action or can take a detour to opportunity which can then lead to action.

Benefits of Teamwork

 "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships"

Michael Jordan

Teamwork is an essential skill that will greatly benefit our lives. If you remember just over two week ago I published a post called: 8 Steps to Improve Teamwork Skills. I now think that it would be a good idea to write about the benefits that teamwork brings. These benefits are based off of a fully-functioning team that works well together, however, even dysfunctional teams can experience some of these benefits.

1. Efficiency and Productivity

The saying; "many hands make light work", is definitely a true one when it comes to teamwork. If you have a job that needs doing, having someone else there to give you a helping hand is obviously going to speed the process up - if you have a group of people, then the process will be quickened all the more.

Lets say that you have a job that if you were to attempt on your own would take you, lets say in the region of around 2 hours (for example). If you had one person helping you who didn't need assistance and worked at a similar speed to you, you could have the task done in an hour, 50% of the time. If you was to have three people helping you (four including yourself), you could have it done in half an hour, 25% of the time.

For larger tasks teamwork is essential, and it's through careful planning and team management that aids towards a healthy team, and where efficiency and productivity are relied heavily upon.

2. Support

When working in a larger team, support is going to naturally manifest itself. Support wont always go out to every team-member, but on the whole, when a job is needed to be completed, a team will naturally encourage one another to help keep morale high.

When people know that they have the support and backing of a team, it's amazing what that individual can accomplish within the team.

3. Satisfaction

When you complete a job that takes effort and time, you will experience a feeling of achievement and satisfaction. When working with a team, this feeling is only enhanced. This is as you have people to share your achievement and happiness with. You can have some of the greatest achievements in the world but if you have no one to share them with, will you feel as good as having the chance to share those same achievements with a team, who took the journey with you?

4. Communication

When working in a team, communication will need to be established. If a team can't communicate - it can't and won't work. 

In a team, there are lots of different individuals from different walks of life, being brought-up in different environments. The individuals of any team will have varying personalities, and so working in close proximity with these different characters will get you used to how to communicate with them. As I'm sure you know, what may be okay to say to one person may not be appropriate to say to another. Working in this environment will help to round-off and develop communication.

If you want, I have written a post called: 12 Ways to Communicate Effectively in which I gave some tips how you can improve upon your communication skills. 

5. Participation, involvement and confidence

Being part of a group where good team management is present will mean that tasks will be fairly and evenly distributed to all team members. When this is done, team members will feel like they are properly a member of the team, and when a team achieves what it sets out to achieve, then this feeling will only increase.

Also, by not being sidelined, there is a good chance that your confidence levels will increase as you are being treated equally alongside everybody-else in the group.

6. Innovation

When a team has gelled and is working effectively with one another, innovation will see an all-time high. It's not surprising to see a link between innovation and a good team. Two brains, or in a groups case, a group of brains are better than one - so take advantage of this.

How to Memorise a Speech

Speaking in front of people can be a daunting task. You have to stand alone in front of a group of people, and whilst everyone may be encouraging, you can still feel the nerves eating away at you from the inside out. If you do have trouble speaking in front of people, then you may like to read a very early post of mine: Dealing with Public Speaking.

For other people, speaking in front of others is as natural as breathing and they excel in the spotlight. Having a speech already prepared is a great aid, having a speech memorised though gives the appearance of professionalism and assurance, helping to convince the audience of what you're trying to convey.

However, even the people who are gifted at speaking in front of others can have a hard time memorising a speech, and memorising it to a point where you know you won't forget it whilst in the middle of delivering it.

1. Don't leave it until the night before

You will find posts that tell you that you can memorise a speech the night before, and for smaller speeches this may be true, however for longer speeches, you're not going to be able to get to a level where you can deliver it with the justice it deserves - unless you have an eidetic memory or something. :)

A lot of these websites that exclaim this feat will actually have some good and valid tips about how to memorise a speech, but for a lot of us - not in one night. If we hypothetically say though that we can memorise a whole speech in a night and then are able to deliver it on the day word-for-word; if we can do that in one night, imagine how much better we could get that speech by tackling it in plenty of time before - hopefully leaving everybody else speechless. :)

2. Read through it aloud

Make a point of reading through your speech aloud at a steady pace. This will allow you to get a handle on how to pronounce it and tweak things that will help you to sound less stiff and awkward. Having a better grasp on your speech and reading through it aloud will make the process of memorising all the easier easier.

3. Repetition

The only way you're going to be able to get the speech into your head and for it to stay there is by using repetition. Each time you read it you are re-familiarising yourself with it. Try to read through it aloud 5 or more times a day, every day. You could do one in the morning, one at midday, one in the afternoon, one in early evening, and one in the later evening. Before you know it, you'll be reading parts of it without needing the written version, and eventually won't need it all together. 

4. Memorise sections

If you have a small speech, then you will probably will be able to start memorising the whole thing. However, if you're faced with a ten-page essay - you will need to break it down to more manageable chunks. 

When you have a section that you want to memorise, you will need to read it out loud a number of times through the day (basically the same as point #3). However, what's different from point#3 is that after every time you've read the section, put it to one side and try to remember what you've just read. Try to get as far as you can and don't look. When you can't go any further (even if it's only two words in), pick up your section a re-read through it out loud again. 

Leave it after you've read through it a second time. Later on when you come to re-read it - repeat the whole process. After a day or two, you'll be seeing some results. This is why I said that it would be a good idea to start preparing for your speech ASAP.

5. Mnemonics

A great thing you can do to memorise not just a speech but anything in general, is to use the technique of mnemonics. Mnemonics sees you link something to the thing you're trying to memorise to make it easier to memorise. For example; pictures are often a popular mnemonic as the visual aid jogs the persons memory. You could use visual aid prompts for each section of your speech. Every time you are trying to memorise a section, have that picture in close view to look at, or have pictures in a presentation when you're delivering the speech to help you. You'll be surprised how well mnemonics work if done properly.

Some other types of mnemonics involve using: sounds, pictures, songs, prices, acronyms, stories, numbers, phrases, the method of loci, and much more. 

6. Write it out

This may sound like nonsense but writing your whole essay out will help you when trying to memorise, as long as you are concentrating on it whilst you're writing it out. It may take a while if you have a long speech, but writing it out will help your mind get to grips with it better and will give you a better knowledge of your speech. Some people's minds memorise things better when they write something down, so it's beneficial for them, but it's also beneficial for others also, it's just that bit more beneficial for them. :)

7. Memorise the structure

You don't have to memorise your speech word-for-word, only if you want to. Memorising the structure and layout of your speech is a far easier and quicker thing to do. Then after you've done this, as long as you have a quite in-depth knowledge of your speech and what's included in each part, then you can talk about it when you're in the moment. Of course it would be wise to rehearse it so you become at least familiar with this concept. If you do use this technique then you wont be as rigid when delivering it and it should hopefully be more spontaneous.   

8. Memory cards

Get yourself some cards that are large enough to write sections of your speech in bold clear writing but are yet small enough to fit inside a trouser pocket. At various points throughout the day take out these cards and read through them, trying to memorise them if possible. You can either memorise them word-for-word or just the general outline - whichever is better for you.

When you're performing your speech, you can use them as prompts for certain sections. You just need a quick glance down for you to have read a couple of words, and that should hopefully be enough to jog your memory and allow you to get going with your speech.     

8 Steps to Improve Teamwork Skills

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."

Helen Keller 

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results."

Andrew Carnegie

"The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side."

Margaret Carty 

Teamwork is a critical skill that you as a person will need to learn. Teamwork is a highly regarded ability by many people - especially by employers. 

If a person has good team working qualities it helps to build relationships with others. The funny thing is, some of these tips don't only have to be applied for when working in a team, but can also be used for when communicating with people on a day-to-day basis. 

Hope you enjoy. :)

1. Listening

Teamwork means working with others, so putting only your ideas forward and not listening to others, is not teamwork. You will need to take the time to listen to other people. Having other peoples input and not just your owns is important for making the best decisions, and for the team to respect each other. 

Other team-members may be able to spot flaws in your idea, which will mean improvements can be made. You can also discuss their ideas, looking at the pros and cons. Listening is an essential skill that you will HAVE to learn if you want to improve your teamwork skills.

2. Sharing

Whilst listening to other peoples thoughts and ideas is essential, if no one is willing to share their ideas with each other, the team wont get very far. 

People will have to be willing to share an idea, don't leave it to everybody else, make sure you have some input. It will not only give you more confidence within the team but can also help to encourage others to put forward their ideas. 

Don't hold back because you want the credit for yourself and you don't want others to steal the limelight, it's not the end of the world. Just be more laid back about it and care more about helping the team out, not just yourself.

3. Communication

For a team to work effectively and for team working skills to be made manifest, communication MUST take place, whether we like it or not. Not just communication, but effective communication. It's no good talking about the weather when you need to be dealing with the situation at hand, although it's good you have the confidence to talk. :)

Teams come up against problems and obstacles, but without effective communication how will a team overcome these? - it simply can't. So try to communicate. 

If you have trouble communicating effectively, then maybe you should read a previous post of mine: 12 ways to develop communication skills.

4. Don't let sore relationships affect your input

When working with others, it's not uncommon for people to not get along with each other. Maybe something outside of the team has happened between these people, maybe you just don't get along, however, don't let this put a downer on your input team. 

When you let sore relationships get in the way of making the correct decisions, or you refuse to help the team because of this, you're only hurting the team. Not only that but people will lose respect for you if you can't be mature enough to put it behind you.

Biased decisions can be made and mistakes which could have been avoided are instead, driven straight into. If you want, you can read a previous post of mine: How to make an unbiased decision.

5. Willingness to accept

A good team member will be able to have all of the other qualities on this list, as-well as having the willingness to accept team decisions and roads of development. 

It can be very easy to not run with an idea that was chosen over yours, but having the ability to do so will allow the group to make better progress. Believe it or not, it's also good for keeping team morale up, as things run a lot smoother when all team members are willing to accept and participate in an idea 100%. 

It's no good to have somebody on a team who hinders rather than helps.

6. Support

A good team that works together shouldn't just be a group of individuals working together, but should in a sense form an individual as a whole, made from all of the individual team members. 

Different individuals of the team will have different personalities and characteristics, meaning different levels of encouragement and support will be needed. Being able to recognise when somebody needs encouragement or support is a skill that will come over time, but is great for team morale. It also allows you to become closer to that person or people, showing that you care what is happening to them, further tightening the team together.  

7. Patience

As discussed in previous points, working in a team will require you to work with different individuals. Different individuals will have different personalities, some will be loud and boisterous, others will be quiet and timid. As a member of a team, patience will be needed on your behalf. If you were to lose your patience and become angry at other team members, that could affect team relationships and make it awkward for the group as a whole. 

Patience will be needed for working with everybody; it takes time for a group to find its footing and can take even longer for a team to work and gel together nicely.

8. Hard work

It's great if a team can listen to one another, it's great if a team can share ideas with each other, it's great if a team can communicate effectively, but without hard work - what's the point. 

Hard work is where the ideas presented are put into practice and are tackled head-on. Hard work is great for getting a team to gel together and great for encouraging other team members to do the same. 

I have written an earlier blog post about the benefits of hard work for you to read, if you're interested that is. :)

The Benefits of Hard Work

Work, for a lot of us is a drag, and the prospect of an early retirement or a change of career would be well accepted. 

There are a few lucky individuals who enjoy their work and are very happy with their career.

As so many people complain about work, I thought it would be a good idea to put a post together explaining the benefits of hard work, and why it's good for us, even if we believe that it's a horrible thing.

When I say that work is good for us, I mean hard work. Work is good as a whole, but to really see the benefits, working hard is required. Now just because it's hard work, it doesn't mean that it has to be unpleasant or uncomfortable, it's definitely doable for all of us.

If we want to see the 'fruits of our labour' as it were, then as the major key, learning to enjoy hard work, or at least being able to have a critical appreciative understanding of it is essential.

If we look to history and the things that have come about, we can see that a lot of hard work has been put in. For example: the inventions that came about through various people; Thomas Edison, Leonardo Da Vinci, Henry Ford, etc... All of these people had to put in a lot of hard work.

The point I'm trying to get across is that, if we want to achieve success and our goals, hard work will need to take place.

1. Sense of Achievement

After we've completed a session of hard work, not only is it rewarding to see the end result, but it also gives the sense of achievement, which really it is an achievement. 

It might not be an achievement on the same level as a Nobel prize, but an achievement is an achievement.   

2. It gives us goals and ambitions

When we have a purpose, a meaningful purpose, hard work must be applied no matter what. 

A meaningful purpose allows us to have the ambition and drive that we need to fuel our bodies for work. Having the ambition and drive gives us hope, and having hope can bring rewards. 

Not only can your meaningful purpose be fulfilled, but you'll notice that other goals will start to take shape as progress with working hard.

3. Improves your work ethic

Working hard makes you appreciate it more. You'll realise that things can't just get done on their own, and you can't always rely on other people to do it for you. Having an appreciation for work, and knowing that nothing would ever get done without it, is not only great for a work ethic, but is also good for your development as a person.

4. It teaches you to be responsible and independent 

Working hard will mean that we will inevitably make a mistake. A mistake, is not only a learning curve for our minds, but also a chance for you to be responsible and accountable for the mistake. Thus in turn making you more independent and (hopefully) more reliable in the future.

5. Teaches us about team work

If we're in a working environment where we're in close contact with other people, working hard and effectively is great for getting people to gel together, and become a team. 

It teaches us about different personalities, different habits, different egos. Getting used to this makes it easier for us to work in a group environment.

6. Keeps us productive

The main benefit of working hard is the productivity side of things. The bottom line is; the harder you work - the more you get done, the more you get done - the better you feel afterwards.

7. It gives our life some structure

If we always did what we wanted, not only would we get nothing done, but we wouldn't really have a structure to our life. Work, for the vast majority of people, consumes a large chunk of their weekly life. 

If we didn't have work though, although it would be nice at first, our lives wouldn't have a structure and wouldn't be very well coordinated.

In fact, not only would we not have a structure, but society as a whole would not have a structure and break-down.

How to Create a Relaxing Workplace

Your workplace doesn't need to be a zone of terror and distraught - dingy, cluttered and depressing. 

The layout of your workplace can be quite crucial to dictating your mood and can have an effect on your work also.

That's not to say that all of you will find the layouts of your workplace to be  overwhelming, far from it. In fact some people say that they work better in a high-stress environment and when they can taste the pressure.

Not me. I'm not a fan of stress and feel most productive when I'm relaxed and positive.

I can still be productive when feeling stressed, but I much prefer to feel relaxed, where my productivity comes about from creativity, fun or/and a desire to achieve a result (in a non-stress environment).

1. De-clutter 

When you enter your workplace and see how untidy it is, be strict with yourself and get rid of what you don't need. The key word is need. So if you really don't need something and it's taking up space, and all it ever does is just sit there - throw it.

For the vast majority of the things you throw away, you won't think about tomorrow.

If your working for someone and they notice your workplace is always messy and disorganised, and they also see another employee who has a well organised and tidy workplace, who do you think will be given more responsibilities?

Not only that, but when you look around and see piles of unfinished jobs, it's certainly distracting.

2. Make it bright 

As humans, we naturally work better and feel more positive when it's bright and warm, as opposed to dark and dreary.

If possible try to work in as much natural light as possible which is much nicer than unnatural light. If it isn't possible to do this don't worry, bright coloured walls and surroundings can help a lot too.

3. Fresh air

When I work on this blog, one thing that I find uncomfortable is when the atmosphere around me feels stuffy, and I'm sure a lot of you feel the same way as-well. Having a well ventilated workplace will help create a more desirable workplace. When people advise short regular breaks, it's because they know how beneficial it is for us to get fresh air.

If you don't have access to fresh air in your workplace, try adding a portable fan. 

4. Go green 

I'm not referring to your carbon footprint or to the amount of things you recycle, no, I'm referring to plants.

Plants are great for improving the appeal of your workplace, and while you can't go outside, outside can come into you.

They add to the fresh air and look great, the real ones anyway. Try to avoid fake plants, I feel they give off more of an artificial persona and don't really contribute to brightening up your day.

5. Quietness 

Working in a quiet space is much more beneficial for your mind than that of a noisy one. You have the chance to concentrate, think aloud, and relax in a quiet environment.

I know that working in peaceful conditions for many is an impossible possibility (if that makes sense), but noise cancelling head phones really work well. Although it might look a bit strange when in an office of twenty or more people. :)

6. Get a comfortable chair 

When trying to concentrate on work, there's nothing more uncomfortable than an uncomfortable chair. When you have to keep squirming to get comfy every 5 minutes and having to bend your back into awkward positions, you know there's a problem.

In our house there's one chair that everyone likes to go for and at the moment I'm sitting on it. I've noticed a big difference in the way I work when I'm on this chair...... it is very comfy.

7. Personalise 

The only problem with having a workplace too tidy and too organised, is that it doesn't feel like it's your own.

So give it some features that would make it feel more homely, for example: pictures, little figures; soft toys or the like, a packet of sweets, whatever you like. Just make sure you don't clutter your workplace and become too disorganised as a result.

8. Soft Music 

This works better for some than others. For me I find it not so good when writing, but if I am doing something like drawing I find it fine. Some people love to have soft relaxing sounds of rivers and songbirds, and while I don't disagree that it's nice, I find it a bit off-putting when actually working.

Try it to see what you think.

15 Mistakes to Avoid in an Interview

When lucky enough to be asked to attend a job interview, you have confidence that you were invited for a reason. Out of a group of people, you and a few others have made it this far. 

Now all you have to do is impress the interviewer(s) and you're home and dry with a job in hand... This is what you want to happen, however mistakes are very easily made in a high-pressure interrogation and can cost you the job.

One big, simple error, and you can't take it back. It hangs over you for the rest of the interview, probably causing you to make further and maybe even bigger mistakes.

1. No Research 

Having an understanding of the business you're hoping for employment in is essential. The history, future goals, different branches (if they have any). It shows the interviewer that you have come prepared and that you are serious about wanting to join the company.

2. Inappropriate attire 

How you dress will give a big impression to an interviewer, it will be the first thing they see after-all and whatever people may say, first impressions are lasting ones. So when attending a job interview, dress slightly more on the conservative side than normal, as-well as making sure your clothes are clean.

Jewellery can put people off also, this is not only true of women, but men as-well. 

3. No questions 

Near the end of the interview, nearly every interviewer you will ever see will ask if you have any questions. This is a great chance to make a lasting impression, and sadly is often neglected. Good questions can often lead to a job. (Although it is also dependant on how well your first part of the interview went). :)

If you want an idea on some of the questions to ask, then go ahead and take a look at this previous post: 10 Vital questions to ask in a job interview.

4. No eye-contact 

When the interviewer is talking to you, and you're staring at the floor or at the surroundings of the room, it will come across as rude and will make you look as though you are disinterested.

Practice keeping eye-contact with people you interact with usually, as-well as new acquaintances. (This is something I've had trouble with, and sometimes still do).

5. Lying 

If you're asked about something you don't know about, or the topic of conversation has moved to something that has caught you off-hand, just be honest and say that you don't know.

Employers will be glad of your honesty and hate it when employees lie to them, so don't give them that reason not to choose you for the job.

Besides, you could offer your opinion on the matter and could express what you would do to solve the problem - so it's not as bad as you may think.

6. Mobile phones ringing 

Before you enter the interview room, make sure your phone is off! The interviewer will find it very disrespectful and rude for you to disrupt the interview by having to switch off your phone.

7. Asking about salary early on 

Asking for the salary too early into the interview will reveal that you are only interested in the job for the money. Inquiring about the salary should be done in a gentle manner towards the end of the interview, if at all, to avoid bad impressions.

8. Professionalism 

Most interviewers will want you to feel comfortable and relaxed, but try to remain professional throughout. Don't border over into the personal realm, but give the appearance of someone who your interviewer would want to hire.

9. Prepare answers 

Prepare for obvious staple questions such as: "Why do you want to work here?", or "What skills could you bring to the team?"

Of course there will be some slightly peculiar questions which you will have to face blind, but prepare for the things you can expect to see. Who knows, you might be able to draw some of your answers from these staple questions, into the harder more difficult questions.

10. Punctuality 

Turning up late to an interview is a huge mistake and will almost immediately destroy any possible chance you have of getting the job.
Try reading my post on: 15 Steps to improve punctuality.

11. Checking the time 

Whilst you are inside the interview procedure, try your best (however tempting) to avoid glancing at the clock in the room or your watch. If the interviewer catches you doing this, they will think that you're bored and are wanting to be other places.

12. Fidgeting 

Don't fidget. It's distracting for the employer and can be seen as a result of anxiety, stress and nerves. An employer would rather have a still employee rather than a fidgety one.

13. Speaking about other interviews 

While it's good for you to know that you have more than one possibility of a job, an interviewer will not share your opinion. Why would they want to employ someone, who is likely to or is possibly going to be employed somewhere else.

14. Murmuring 

Murmuring or speaking in a fashion where the interviewer won't be clear about what your saying, can be very off putting. An interviewer will soon get fed up of asking you to repeat yourself, and will want to see the back of you.
If you're interested, I've written a post about developing articulation.

15. Don't over-explain 

When delivering a response, it wants to be straight to the point with no nonsense. Making it as short but as informative as possible is the way to go (unless a question needs a longer answer). Once your point has been made, don't over-explain yourself. It can come across as patronising and could cause you to trip over previous words.

12 Ways to stay organized

Organisation is a great tool that is taught by businesses, professional organisers and the like. The reason for this is because of its effectiveness.

When getting down to the root of what being organised is, is that it is really an instrument for improving time-management and lifting morale.

When disorganisation and clutter becomes a normal obstacle that you have to put up with daily, it can affect your emotions. 

Frustration, stress and mild depression, can be triggered or made worse from total disorganisation.

All you need though, is to have the right guidelines and rules in place for beating this common horror.

1. De-clutter 

Clutter is one of the #1 reasons why it seems like an impossibility to become organized.

It's very easy to convince yourself that you need to keep a useless item, when in fact you wouldn't think about it twice if it were gone. 

Go through one area at a time, and completely remove all unnecessary clutter. You will need to be really strict with yourself, and will be glad because of it afterwards.

2. Make Decisions 

Not making decisions straight away, or not coming back to them, can result in clutter. For example: a t-shirt that should have been put away; a letter that should have been posted; documents that needed to be shredded. It all mounts up, leaving you in a very big hole to climb out of.

3. Plan 

Planning ahead is something that will take a few minutes or more (depending on the scale of the plan), but can save you hours later on. Having the foresight to be able to know what possible difficulties may arise and knowing how to handle them is brilliant for organization.

It could be in the form of a schedule, a planner, a list, a calendar, or of something similar.

4. Allocate items to places 

Now you have to decide which things go where. Put things where they are easily accessible, for example: Washing liquid/powder next to the washing machine; cooking pots and pans next to stove/oven; trainers and shoes by the door; stationary on your desk etc.

This may seem like common sense, but is not the habit for everyone.

Another thing I do, is to put items that I use often, all in one place.

The placement of your items is up to you.

5. Create systems 

Being organized doesn't just mean being tidy, it also means to catalogue and to categorise. So lay out a logical system (in different areas) that enables you to find and/or research something with ease.

For example: Organising books from the largest to smallest, or into alphabetical order; file documents into categories or names, or alphabetically like the books.

Start with the organisation of the most important things, and then work you way around until every area is completed. Your most important, could be files on your computer and your least important, could be your garden. For other people however, this could be completely the opposite.

6. Spare space 

Designate an area that has some spare space (a table for example), for items that you need to put away. This will mean that misplacement will decrease, as you're not forcing yourself to quickly find a spot to put something when you're busy. 

You can come back to it and sort it out when you have spare time. (Rule #12 is a good thing to use).

7. Layout 

Not all things are in your best interest to tuck away, so that you have to spend a couple of minutes just getting to it. 

Some things will need to be laid out (such as stationary on your desk). This is not an excuse however, to allow things to get messy. You can still be tidy and organized when things are laid out, they're purpose is for convenience only.

8. Get productive 

Improve your productivity, allowing you to get more done in a shorter amount of time. If you want to read more on this, then I encourage you to check out two previous posts of mine: 21 Ways to boost productivity and What is time-boxing.

9. Follow-through 

What's the point of having a schedule; planner or to-do list, if you're not going to follow through with them? Remove distractions and obstacles, and get yourself committed to completing your goals.

10. Be conscious of the time 

I talked about this in my last post (15 Steps to improve punctuality), encouraging the awareness of the time. 

Having a knowledge of the time will tell you if you're on schedule, or if you're wasting time. Try placing clocks in areas you are likely to acknowledge them and if you have more than one, set them all to the same time.

11. Replacement 

Once you're organized, a very easy but often a put off thing to do, is to place things back where you got them. Do not let yourself say "it's only one thing, it won't hurt". This attitude will send you back to square one. All these one-off's will mount up and you will be in a big hole for the second time. 

If you do have to leave something out, for you to put away later, then use rule #6.  

12. Maintenance 

One day every week, set aside a period of time in which you can re-establish your organisation. When people are organized, a habit that tends to develop, is letting themselves get back into old habits. I suppose old habits die hard.

This is why having a session every week will help you stay on top of it and not it on top of you. Deal with it while it's a small problem before it becomes an even bigger one.

10 Vital Questions to Ask in a Job Interview

If you're lucky enough to be invited to a job interview, you know that you must have been one of the few that have stood out. Now you have fewer people to contend with, but a higher standard to rise to.

Job interviews are highly competitive, with only the best of the candidates getting there. Your job now is to impress the prospective employer more than anyone else does - this can be tough and so research is needed.

For this post however, I will be focusing mainly on the latter part of the interview - the questions. In whatever job you manage to get an interview for, the chance for you to inquire further, is normally always offered.

Not everyone asks questions because they can't think of one there and then on the spot, and this is what (a lot of employers say) can ruin the chance of getting the job.

A bit of preparation on your part however, can go a long way and will be made manifest during the interview.(Hopefully).

Update: I have now wrote a post about '15 Mistakes to avoid in an interview'.

1. "What exactly would my responsibilities be?" 

Before you accept any job, you should be clear of your responsibilities and roles, as well as the tasks that you would be required to take on.

It is very easy to pick up a false view of what the job is going to be like, so asking about it will either confirm or re-evaluate your assumptions. It also allows you and the interviewer to have a mutual understanding.

If you're still not sure, or they give a vague answer, politely follow up with a few more questions.

2. "What would be your ideal candidate?" 

This will reveal important information to know what is expected. Unlike question #1 though, this will give more of a guideline for the quality of the work and the characteristics of the employee.

A similar question to ask instead of or as well as this one is: "What are the 3 most important things you're looking for in an employee?"

3. "What possible opportunities are there for advancement?" 

This allows you to get an insight to the skills that you may acquire in the future, but also (more importantly) gives the interviewer the impression that you are looking to stay for the long term and have an aspiration in helping the company.

4. "What do you most enjoy about working here?" 

Remember that your interviewer is not just here to belittle or intimidate you, but is a human-being who will understand what it's like to sit where you are. This person or these people, could be the way the window you need to get your foot in the door of the company.

Getting their views and insights to your possible future work placement, will give you more of a feeling for the company and maybe the team morale.

If you wanted, you could address this question from a different view-point. For example: "What would you, if anything, change about the company?".

5. "What qualities would I need to work well with other team-members?"  

Employers really like to see teamwork because of its necessity in the working atmosphere. Showing that you are thinking about this essential skill is great for the interviewer to recognise. 

Instead of asking point #2, you may feel that this one would be better suited, as you are still getting an insight to what is expected of you. Or it could be a follow-up question to #2 - it's up to you.

6. "Do you think I have any possible weaknesses?" 

It might sound a bit direct, but is a fair question to ask. If they don't, then you could ask: "is there any reservation why I wouldn't be offered the job"?

If they do then say a few points of concern, then you have a chance to put their mind at ease. Talk to them about previous experiences that can prove to them that their fears are unnecessary and that you would be totally committed to the job.

If when asking the original question, they do have some issues, then (like above) just go straight ahead and put their issues to bed. 

7. "Can you describe a typical working day?"  

This question will help you to understand the amount of time you are expected to spend on each task, with the insight to what you're expected to do. (Similar to question #1).

8. "How soon do you expect to make hiring decisions?" 

This should be asked nearer the end of the interview, and gives you a time-period in which you can make any follow-up calls.

It's likely that you'll have other job prospects in mind, so knowing when they're likely to be hiring is important. You can then evaluate other job prospects as appropriate.

9. "What are the most challenging aspects concerning this position?"

Getting a look into what the interviewer sees as potential difficulties (or what he knows from experience) is beneficial. If anything, it shows you are wanting to know all you can about the job, but it also opens the floor for you to reassure them that you are more than capable of handling these laborious tasks. 

10. "Can I contact you if I have any further questions?" 

This is a great way to close the interview, normally leaving a lasting impression.

Along with question #8, you can ask these further questions in the time frame he/she has given you regarding hiring decisions.

It's also a chance to give them your contact details again, psychologically leaving a bit more weight to your name.