Ever want to buy healthy food at the supermarket, but you didn't have time to look in your recipe books and can't think of what to buy? Get tired of writing the same basic items---eggs, bread, milk---on your list again and again? Keep your kitchen well stocked by hanging a pre-printed shopping list on your fridge. Print a stack of copies at the Self magazine site. Stick one to your fridge each week and check off things as you run low on various items. Then use the list to trigger your thoughts on buying healthy foods for lunches and dinners for the week. … [Read more...]
Walk while you work with a treadmill desk?
Posted on 11/10/2007 by ·
Okay this is just a little funny but maybe a step in the right direction. You know how your bottom gets numb if you sit at your desk in front of your computer too long? Now Steelcase has come up with the "Walkstation," which allows you to walk while you work, co-designed by the Mayo Clinic's Dr. James Levine. I've heard of whistle while you work, which is entirely possible, but I'm just not sure how this concept will work. If I'm walking, how am I going to be able to keep my hands in one place to accurately hit the keyboard keys? And how will my eyes adjust to what I'm typing on the screen if my head is moving about even slightly? I don't see this as something you would be able to use in your main office space, as you can't walk for 8 hours … [Read more...]
Use laughter to boost your productivity and reduce stress levels
Posted on 09/18/2007 by ·
Have you ever had a day that had so many things go wrong, that it eventually started to be downright funny? Your toast burned. Irritating. Your seven-year-old couldn’t find his other shoe, making him ten minutes late for school and you late for work. Irritating. You dropped your briefcase, and the quarterly reports you printed for this morning’s meeting fell in a mud puddle. Irritating. At lunch with a new client, you shake the mustard bottle, the cap comes off, and a big glop of mustard flies right into the middle of your forehead. Hilarious! This is the stuff comedies are made of! Your entire morning is fodder for a sitcom. I was giving a seminar at an environmental engineering firm and was told a story of an engineer … [Read more...]
Time management joke on tracking time via time sheets
Posted on 09/12/2007 by ·
With my thanks for the laugh to Golden Jokes for this great joke on tracking wasted time on a time sheet: Dear Staff, In an effort to maximize productivity in our department I will be implementing a tool used in many industries. You will be tracking your time working on certain activities and sending me a time sheet weekly showing me how your time has been spent. Attached below is a sheet specifying a job code list based on some observations of employee activities. Please begin using this job code list immediately and let me know about any difficulties you encounter. Thank you. Your boss. Code Number Explanation 5316 Useless Meeting 5317 Obstructing Communications at Meeting 5318 Trying to Sound Knowledgeable While in a Meeting 5319 Waiting for Break 5320 Waiting for … [Read more...]
Workers’ Average Commute Round-Trip Is 46 Minutes in a Typical Day
Posted on 08/24/2007 by ·
The results from the Gallup Organization's annual Work and Education survey show the average American averages 46 minutes commuting to and from work in a typical day. If you take out those who work at home, the average increases to 48.1 minutes per day. However, if you have above-average income and work more than 40 hours a week, your commute is greater than the average, and so is your stress level. Since the advice "move, earn less, and work fewer hours" doesn't work, let me instead give you some ideas to make your commute more productive, efficient, and stress-free: Use the phone. Now I’m one of those people who get aggravated while people are chatting away on their cell phones while driving…generally because they’re not, well, driving. Many people have no idea how slowly they’re … [Read more...]
Teleworkers happier than office dwellers, study finds
Posted on 08/22/2007 by ·
A new study of 10,000 workers by Kenexa Corporation found that employees who telework from home at least on occasion were happy than those who had to put in "face time" every day at the office. I hope managers who still insist on measuring employees by the hours in the office vs. results are reading this. Just because they are in the office doesn't mean they are producing anything of value. You can have one employee work an eight-hour day and another work a twelve-hour day, and the eight-hour worker can be FAR more productive than the twelve-hour worker. It doesn't matter how long you're there; it only matters what value you created in that time. If one "loyal" worker toiled the office all day for 12 hours but played solitaire, bought plane tickets for a vacation, checked their … [Read more...]
How to Look Like a Workaholic in a 40-Hour Workweek
Posted on 07/18/2007 by ·
In a perfect world, we would be judged solely on our results, regardless of what others thought about how or when we got our work done. The good news is that this type of “results only” mentality is catching on. Some companies and managers are beginning to realize that there are better ways to manage performance than by counting hours at the office. Organizations are responding to the changing needs of workers everywhere by offering arrangements such as flex-time and telecommuting. The bad news is that, like it or not, corporate mentality is what it is. The 40-hour week is not just an expectation; it’s the minimum, especially for salaried professionals. Self-proclaimed workaholics advertise their twelve hour days like a badge of honor and wouldn’t be caught dead leaving the office … [Read more...]
Finishing what you start
Posted on 07/04/2007 by ·
My 4th of July gift for you: I received this from a friend who knows how much I preach about finishing what you start: "During these crazy days when we're going one hundred miles per hour and stress levels are soaring, I had to stop and tell myself that Laura Stack told me I need some inner peace. I discovered that the way to achieve it is to finish all of the things I have started. I looked around my house to see things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning I finished off a bottle of merlot, a bottle of white zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey’s, a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, a package of Oreos, the remainder of both my Prozac and Valium prescriptions, the rest of the cheesecake, some saltine crackers, and a half box of chocolates. You have … [Read more...]
American Time Use Survey 2006: no wonder women are so tired!
Posted on 07/02/2007 by ·
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the results of its annual American Time Use Survey for 2006 on June 28, 2007, which is actually conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. You can sift through all the data files and accompanying documentation, but let me save you some time and summarize some interesting results. Of full-time workers, men work 8.4 hours a day on average, while women work 7.7. But 52 percent of women cleaned each day, while only 20 percent of men clean each day. 65 percent of women cook each day and only 37 percent of men. Men average 5.7 hours of leisure a day, and women average 4.9 hours. Women spend 1.2 hours a day caring for children, while men spend .4 hours. Men spent more time watching television and participating in … [Read more...]
Reduce the noise
Posted on 06/25/2007 by ·
Feeling overwhelmed? Try this little experiment---turn off your computer volume. Your psyche is constantly bombarded with all the little clicks and dings your computer makes when it performs the smallest operation—simply decide you don’t need it! You only need the volume turned up if you’re watching a file with sound, such as a video. You will be completely amazed at how much more calmness you exude and how much peace of mind you feel if you try this! Encourage your co-workers to turn off their computer volume as well, to minimize the overall background noise in your office. This is especially helpful if you work in an open-space office with several cubicles. To further reduce noise in your life, trying driving with your radio off. You don’t have … [Read more...]
