Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Jon Rhodes

Timeboxing is a clever little technique that I have been intuitively using for years before I even knew it had  name. It is great for helping those who are working for themselves to avoid procrastination and get things done.

In a nutshell, it is giving yourself a deadline in which to complete a task, then doing it to the best you can with the time you have available. Here is an example of how I use this technique with my daughter to encourage her to tidy her room.

Examples Of Timeboxing

My daughter is 13 and not the tidiest of creatures, so her room is often a “tip”. When faced with the task it can understandably be daunting, and she doesn’t want to tackle it. However I have solved this by saying to her I will time her and she has only 10 minutes to make it as good as she can. It’s like a challenge, a sort of a game. I say you don’t need to finish it, just make it as good as you can in 10 minutes.

This makes her happier because she knows that she won’t be spending hours laboriously tidying. It’s only 10 minutes. Plus it makes it more fun as there is a game element to it, plus she will get praise for how much she has accomplished in such a short space of time. Every time we have done this she finished tidying her room and it is immaculate. It’s amazing what you can do with this technique.

Recently my wife got up late (around 11am) and needed to do her college homework, then go into town to buy a Christmas present. She also had college early that evening, so didn’t have a great deal of time to play with. I suggested to her that she does an hour homework right now, then we will go into town together and pick a present, then go to lunch. Although her homework was only half complete, we were eating lunch by 1pm with a present on the floor next to us. By 2.30pm we were home and she had more time to finish her homework. What could have been an unpleasant and stressful day was turned into a nice day with some leisure time, plus she achieved her objectives.  Without this technique she could have instead spent the day worrying, and getting little done.

Applications To Work

You can use timeboxing to help you with almost any given task. If your desk is untidy, then you might give yourself 10 minutes to make it look as good as you can. A big stack of filing can be made into a game if you give yourself 20 minutes to file as many as you can.

You can also use it to write articles, which is what I often do. Of course you want to write high quality articles (or at least I hope you do!), but this is OK. You can give yourself a realistic time line to complete a draft of an article. Somewhere around 2 hours is good. Then once it is finished, you can take a break, or give yourself some sort of a reward, before re-drafting. You may even want to give yourself a time limit for each redraft. I don’t seem to need to do this, as when I have finished an article, I actively enjoy the process of redrafting – sad I know! The point is that we are all different, and as you get to know yourself better, you will use this technique more and more effectively.

Why Timeboxing Works

Timeboxing works because it helps you get started with something, instead of worrying about how you are going to do it. It also helps bypass the pressures of perfectionism, which can hamper us from starting, continuing, and finishing a task. Jobs that at first appear intimidating can seem far simpler with timeboxing.

About the Author

Jon Rhodes is a clinical hypnotherapist, plus a successful internet marketer in the hypnotherapy field. In his blog he shares some of his secrets. Find more of his tips for successful business on his blog Affiliate Help.

* Image courtesy of KWDesigns

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Editor’s note: this is a guest post from Michael Schnippering of Feng Shui at Work.

Feng Shui helps with a variety of different problems. It can even help with problems in the business. They give many tips on how to make a business successful and stay successful.

For example, Andrew was a small business owner who complained about having lost his level of concentration. “It all started quickly after I moved into his new office,” Andrew said.  His desk was split by two different magnetic chi fields resulting in migraines. His loss of concentration was caused by Andrew not sitting in one of his supporting directions. We moved his desk according to the principles of Feng Shui, and shortly after Andrew felt relief from the negative effects which had impacted his energies before.

1. It is good to have good back support for the back in the desk chair. Lack of support creates unneeded stress on your back. This could make a person fill strained and irritable. This could make business meetings and meeting with clients very unbearable. Good back support in desk chairs prevents these problems from occurring.

2. All clutter should be cleared from office space. Clutter brings bad Feng Shui to the office. Clutter creates confusion and chaos. It also creates unneeded and unwanted stress. Everything should be filed away and organized to help make a business successful. This also helps a person remain stress free in the work environment. Being clutter free also helps a person stay on top of their products and businesses.

3. A person should set up their office the way they feel more comfortable. Each person has their own success set up. Many Feng Shui websites tell a person their ideal set up. Having the proper set up will ensure success because the person feels relaxed in their own setting. They are more confident and ready to face everything that comes their way.

4. Placing a small potted healthy plant on the desk is a very good idea. Many healthy plants have been known to absorb toxins that are in the air. Many toxins make a person sick and unable to work. There are many healthy plans that are known as money plants. These plants are believed to ward off negative situations that may come into the person’s office.

5. A person should never set their desk facing someone another person’s desk. This leads to bad Feng Shui. It could also lead to many arguments and complications. This is especially vital to people who share an office. If they want to get along better, they need to remember not to have their desks face each other.

6. It is not a good idea to use brightly lit lights in an office. The bright lights can make a person become irritable. It can also make them work very impulsive. Lights on flat ceilings are better for lighting than ones that are dimensional.

7. A person should always keep their office space and their bedroom space separated. The bedroom is a place to sleep, and mixing it up with office space can cause insomnia or the person to be increasingly sleepy while working. If a person has to set up their office in their bedroom, they should set up a divider between the desk and the bed. This keeps both separate enough to avoid causing any problems.

8. A person should hang crystals around their office. Crystals absorb negative energies in the work space. This ensures many smooth days at work. Putting crystals on the person’s desk makes this outcome more likely.

9. It is best to only use one door in a person’s office. Even if the person has more than one door, they should keep all doors but they one they want to enter closed. This is the Feng Shui method of keeping money coming in, but not leaving.

10. A person should always carry a Jade Cicada around with them, especially in their office. The Jade Cicada keeps away confrontations in the office. It is also known to be a great source of good luck in the office.

There are many other Feng Shui methods that work well in the office space. They can be found anywhere you look online. These are some of the common ones. They are proven to work very well. Feng Shui is also been proven to help more than just office and work problems as well.

Comments? Doubts? Ask us on Twitter @fengshuiatwork

BIO: Michael Schnippering is the founder of Feng Shui at Work. After more than 12 years of practice he is committed to the true art and science of Feng Shui.

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Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Lisa H. (aka RunningBear) of Getting to Zen

If you charge for your work, then you know the dilemma between charging hourly versus charging by the project. There are arguments for and against both. For example, if you charge by the project, you could end up doing a lot more work than the project is worth and if you charge by the hour, you many lose clients to the variability of the cost. Knowing the personality type of the persons you are working with can not only help you in deciding how to charge for your efforts but make your working relationships a whole lot smoother.

The project

When most of my clients ask me to design a web site, I quote them a price, design the site and post it for review a few days later. For the most part, the design elements (layout, font, colors, pictures) are left to me. And so when Tom, whom I had designed four club web sites for in this way came to me and asked me to design one for his company, I quoted a price and off I went.

The players

Tom was happy with the final design, however, Sara, who I had not met and seemed to be in charge of the project, was not. She gave me a few pointers and with that I designed a second site. The same thing happened. Tom was happy with it and Sara once again was not. Now, instead of designing one site for the quoted price, I had designed two and would have to design a third to satisfy her.

The drama

After a phone conversation with Sara, I realized that she wanted the project to be more of a collaborative effort. Not only did she have a specific way that she worked, but she had a specific vision of how she wanted the site to look. Sara wanted to select the layout, fonts, colors, images and image were used and then get input from everyone else in the company.

The awakening

After speaking with Sara, I knew that even after the third site was created there could be several more changes to it. I had already put in double the work I had expected and was beginning to feel taken advantage of.

The epiphany

And then it occurred to me that Sara wasn’t trying to make the project difficult. We worked differently and she was just being herself. In that instant I knew I would needed to change my approach to the work. The next day I sent an email to the company telling them that from now on, I would charge hourly. Problem solved.

The resolution

This way Sara could ask me to make as many changes as she wanted to and I would not mind because I knew that I would get compensated for making them.

What I learned is how important it is to know the personality type of those who you work with. According to the SELF profile by National Press Publications, there are four broad types of personalities in the business world.

I have provided a snapshot of each of them below.

Do you know which one you fit into most? How about your coworkers?

“S” Personalities

Type: creative, enthusiastic, sociable, impatient, gregarious involved

Strengths: original, conceptual, warm, approachable, flexible

Weaknesses: unrealistic, devious, impractical, undisciplined, uncontrolled

Preferences: adventure, fun, excitement, getting to the point

Allow sociable people the flexibility to be creative. They seek recognition. Reward their work with enthusiasm. Make sure they get lots of credit and respect their need to be social.

“E” Personalities

Type: task-oriented, results-focused, action-oriented, workaholic, hard charging

Strengths: pragmatic, assertive, directive, competitive, confident, open to options

Weaknesses: domineering, arrogant, status-seeking

Preference: The bottom line

Take advantage of this personality types need to be in control and clean up messes. When business gets bad, they are the ones to call on.

“L” Personalities

Type: emotional, caring introspection, melancholy, sympathetic, diplomatic

Strengths: persuasive, probing, loyal, warm, sensitive, supportive

Weakness: Impulsive, procrastinating, subjective, overcautious

Preference: no threat or conflict, avoids making decisions or risking offending others

Treat this personality type fairly, supportively and openly. Compromise and strive for consensus. They are team players and want what is best for everyone.

“F” Personalities

Type: analytical, logical, self controlled, detail oriented, aloof, skeptical, conservative

Strengths: perfectionist, well-organized, objective, relational, conceptual, persistent

Weakness: withdrawn, sullen, dull, shy, passive

Preference: facts, figures, proof, thoroughness

Acknowledge this personality type’s expertise. Give them factual data and be consistent. Provide them with well-thought out plans of action.

While reading through the personality types you may have found that you fit into more than one category. This is common. We all have traits of each of the personality types; however, one is usually dominant. Remember, no one personality type is better than the other, they are just different. Keep this article in mind the next time you encounter someone, it will make your relating to them a whole lot easier.

Lisa H. (aka RunningBear) is the founder of Getting to Zen-a personal development blog dedicated to those in pursuit of authentic happiness through purposeful living. You can sign up for her RSS feed or follow her on Twitter.

Image courtesy of Ghostboy.

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Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Barry Demp of Demp Coaching

In the military, rather than waiting passively for the enemy to attack, you attack first – this is called a pre-emptive strike.

The pre-emptive strike isn’t just useful in the military, though: it’s also a powerful technique that I use with my coaching clients in the business world.

You may have certain high-maintenance employees and co-workers who tend to interrupt a lot and ruin your momentum. Maybe you get a phone call, or they pop into your office – however the interruption comes, it breaks your flow. This is when a pre-emptive strike is warranted.

Why Interruptions Are So Disruptive

If you think back to your physics lessons, you’ll remember that something in motion tends to stays in motion – but something that starts and stops loses its momentum. This is exactly what happens to you when your work day is constantly interrupted.

Think of driving a vehicle. If you drive 200 miles without stopping, your gas mileage will be pretty good. But if you drive 200 miles and have to start and stop at lights, because of traffic, and so on … it’ll take much longer and your gas mileage will be much worse.

How to Conduct a Pre-Emptive Strike Against Interruptions

Identify the time thieves of your day, particularly when they happen to be people. Which clients phone you eight times a day? Which colleagues constantly want your advice?

Find out who those folks are and proactively engage them on your timeline. If they usually call at 10:00AM,  consider establishing a time earlier in the day to discuss a mutually agreed upon list of tasks and priorities.

I was coaching a woman who was an executive at a public relations firm and she had a very high-maintenance marketing director at an automotive supplier. Although she spent a good portion of the day working on his project, he would call five or more times a day and interrupt her.

We introduced a pre-emptive strike: she would have a call with him first thing in the morning and tell him in detail what they were doing for him and his account. She’d also ask whether there was anything else he needed from her. After that conversation, he was out of ammunition: there was nothing more he wanted, expected or needed. He was satisfied knowing that his needs – and his whims – were being taken care of.

How the Pre-Emptive Strike Can Help

A pre-emptive strike allows you and your client or colleague to prepare a list of needs  or problems to discuss: instead of having to deal with those things throughout the day, you can ask people to save them for when you’re going to meet.

Many times, your pre-emptive strike strategy will help others to solve their own problems: they may come up with their own ideas rather than turning straight to you.

We’re all time-crunched and pulled in so many directions – let’s have every interaction be as meaningful and effective as possible.

Pre-Emptive Strikes Aren’t Just For Work

You can use pre-emptive strikes in your personal life, too. For instance, if you have family members who call you when you get home and just want to relax, try calling them first, while you’re driving home. That way, Mom or Dad won’t call in the middle of your favorite TV show.

What if Your High-Maintenance Client / Colleague Isn’t Responsive?

You won’t eliminate interruptions by using the pre-emptive strike – but you can create some boundaries and agreements.

For instance, you could tell people “I’m really busy today and won’t be available by phone, but you’re welcome to send a text or email.” If they still interrupt, you can ask them “Can it wait?” and encourage them to work through the issues on their own.

You may need to introduce two or three pre-emptive strikes: first thing in the morning, just before lunch, and at the end of the day for closure. Three phone calls are still better than ten!

By being proactive and using a pre-emptive strike – instead of being reactive and constantly being interrupted – you’re able to take better control of your day.

Do you have a high-maintenance client, colleague or family member? What are you going to do to take back control?

Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan Business and Personal coach. He specializes in helping small business owners, executives, consultants and other professionals to boost their productivity, profitability, and life balance.

Image courtesy of Chris_Britton

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Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Kenneth McCall is director of IT for storage.com.

I love email. It gives me a running record of who said what when. I can write a very business-like email even late at night or early in the morning – look how late he’s working, impressive! I can give bad news gently without having to actually face the person. I get to use passive-aggressive smiley faces. Guess you’ll have that report for me tomorrow instead of today since it’s already 5:30?

But even as email becomes more solidified as the ubiquitous communication vehicle in the workplace, there still doesn’t seem to be an accepted standard of business email practices. With everyone following their own email instincts messages get bungled, feelings hurt, and lots of time is spent going back and forth to clarify, amend, confirm, and respond. Email is supposed to make work life more efficient, but unless it is used thoughtfully and consistently with effective communication practices in place it can prove a time- and brain-drain instead.

Here are some communication practices you may want to incorporate into your work emails to make sure your message is received effectively and efficiently:

Send only to necessary recipients

You don’t want to be that guy whose name shows up in everyone’s inbox and no one ever opens it because you send too many unnecessary emails. To avoid a reputation for over-emailing irrelevant materials, email only those who must be included for that specific message. The same goes for replying. It is not necessary to Reply All on group emails. Reply only to those recipients for whom your reply is necessary.

Make your subject line work

Make people happy by letting them know exactly what your email is about. This way they can prioritize it, know what to expect, and know what the urgency level is for responding. Be specific. Good examples: Important Update to Customer Relations Protocol; Mandatory Meeting for Sales Reps Today; Need Your Help to Plan Conference. Bad examples: Hi; Update; FYI; Ideas?; Sales Reps; Meeting; Conference; Help.

Keep your subject in check

Don’t slip extra information into an email that doesn’t have to do with the subject line. This information could get missed because it is out of context. Instead, send a separate email with an appropriate subject line to that topic.

Address your recipients by name

Nothing gets a person’s attention like calling out his or her name. A guy I know who likes to tell stories calls out people’s names throughout the telling as if to be sure they are paying attention. I was playing golf the other day, Dan, and you know what I saw, Linda? An alligator. That’s right, Bill. An alligator. Yes, it’s annoying in that case, but I will say he does hold everyone’s attention. So start your email by addressing your recipients so they have their ears perked up ready to give full attention to your message. This is especially helpful later in the message with action items for more than one person. For example: Linda, please call corporate by noon tomorrow to get the latest numbers. Dan, review the site analysis one last time and then send to Acme Printing to make twenty copies.

Keep the tone professional

Recently I was in the position of having to break the news to an employee who works remotely that she had made a pretty big mistake. Her response was OMG! Texting acronyms should not be used in a professional email. Younger employees may need a crash course in professional communication, so to avoid unprofessional text talk in company email consider giving new employees a list of email standards.

Let clarity be your guiding force

Even though a friendly demeanor is always appreciated in the workplace, err on the side of cold clarity over casual banter in emails. If your message is cloaked in jokey or chummy language, it will lose its effectiveness. Make your message clear by using specific points broken into small paragraphs with white space in between so your points are quickly and easily digested by your recipient. Be concise so that extraneous stories and wordiness do not detract from your message. If action needs to be taken by the reader, make sure the action is clearly identified as such and is clearly and specifically spelled out, including steps and deadlines if appropriate.

Attach first

Get in the habit of attaching proper attachments before you write your message so that you don’t forget to attach before sending.

Think twice about humor

Like a lot of people, I have a sarcastic side. Sometimes it comes across playfully in emails, but sometimes it doesn’t and instead of looking witty I look like a complete jerk. So much of humor and jaunty sarcasm depends on body language, and when your only recourse for body language is using those emoticons I mentioned earlier you’re a bit limited. So instead of sharing your snarky personality with co-workers via email, save it for the water-cooler when they can tell by your physical demeanor whether you are serious or teasing. Teasing tones are best left out of email, especially work emails. They can so easily be misconstrued and sometimes in an effort to correct them we can put our feet even further in our mouths.

Proofread

Avoid all opportunities for co-workers or clients not to take you seriously and dismissing your message as a result. This includes using correct grammar, spelling, and writing that is clear and concise.

Hopefully these tips will help you love email, too, or at least keep your inbox a little less cranky. When email becomes unwieldy or underlying negativity seems to be lurking between the lines stop the madness of that particular exchange. Pick up the phone or even go see the person face-to-face. The human voice is a powerful thing: it cuts to the chase and keeps folks honest. No matter what mode of communication you are using, always be clear and be respectful or people’s time and efforts and your co-workers will be receptive to your message.

Kenneth McCall is director of IT for storage.com. He builds the systems that help customers find the best self storage units for their needs. Through Kenneth’s and his team’s work customers can find self storage in Philadelphia and other cities. In his spare time, Kenneth likes to bike and participate in outdoor activities.

* Images courtesy of ksablan

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

You may notice that it’s easier to enjoy a certain situation when in a good mood. You aren’t affected by problems as easily. This occurs because your focus is on something that keeps you happy.

Standing in line behind two young women, probably in their early twenties, at the grocery store and they were complaining about their boyfriends. Their groceries were on the conveyer belt waiting to be wrung up. They had bananas, a mango, strawberries, two types of cheeses and crackers. It looked like they were going to eat an amazing snack. They weren’t excited about this wonderful meal they were soon to make, but only worried about their awful boyfriends.

I was so focused on their conversation that I forgot about myself. I was judging them. I felt like they were whining too much. I was doing the same thing they were. I was judging them for only looking for the negative. I had glorious food about to be purchased too. This made me think about my focus at work. Some days my focus is about knocking the work out, so I can get home. This defeats the purpose of work. We aren’t meant to be robots. We were created to feel and be aware of our experiences.

Losing Focus

Last Sunday… I was so caught up in finishing my drawing of a flower with a human face on it talking to a dog about proper mouth hygiene that I missed the point of the exercise – fun, stress relief, and relaxation. Drawing is an enjoyable hobby, but sometimes I lose focus. I need to remind myself why I’m doing it.

As I was finishing my drawing I slowed down and let the moment sink in, the pure joy of creating a white sheet into a story. That’s when I had a mini revelation. I needed to relax my drive and use my focus to experience the moment and the feeling of being productive.

Relationships, Tasks and Emotions

When we’re mad at a co-worker or family member it’s all we can feel. We are so caught up in the hurricane of emotions that we forget that there are other emotions to be felt. By acknowledging the main emotion that is dominating at the moment we can learn to allow it to only suck so much of our energy. Moving the focus toward other parts of the experience we can process through the emotions faster.

Working on tasks is similar to relationships. A certain task may frustrate us, but it’s because we get too caught up in accomplishing instead of experiencing.

When we push ourselves to finish our task we are losing sight of the larger picture. We make more mistakes because we just want to be done with it. The people who allow themselves to experience the fun in the moment as well as knocking the job out will have an easier time being productive. They understand that they choose how to process the task.

Your Perspective

Most of us have seen two opposite types of people working side by side in a retail store. One is smiling and willing to go the extra mile while the other one wonders why she is tortured by life. They are really not that different, but one learned how to divide her time between finding the joy in the work, while the other one sees and endless sea of people who need, need, need.

Your career happiness will depend on your focus. You can choose to find ways to make the experience enhance your career or you can keep complaining that whatever you try only blows up in your face. Your career is all yours, keep your focus on enjoying the moment for what is, nothing more and nothing less, as well as the joy of being productive. You’ll take your work happiness to a level that will astound you and your co-workers.

Your Turn

When working on an email or finishing a report where is your focus? (i.e. finishing the email or getting to the next project)

How do you make time to enjoy the moment?

* Karl Staib is addicted to throwing Twitter Parties. If you want to learn how Twitter Parties can help your business grow click here. You can also follow Karl on Twitter and learn how to build your business by standing on other people’s shoulders.

* I loved this post, A Dick Tracy lunchbox gave me some decent advice, from Havi Brooks of the Fluent Self. The bonus part is it fits nicely with the theme of my post.

If you found this post insightful, you will probably like these too:

• Coworker Trust – Sometimes It’s Better to Give AND Receive
• What Elephants Have in Common with Gratitude

Image courtesy of Blue Square Thing

Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Kole McRae of Office Buddha

I used to be a door to door salesman. I would get up around 6am to spend a 10 hour day selling phone services to people who didn’t really need them. I hated the job and dreaded each morning (I got no days off) but for some strange reason I just kept on doing it.

The money was pretty good. It covered rent and food and it let me go out and have fun whenever I felt like it. I reasoned that I only had to do it for a few years and then I could take a 2 year break and just live off my savings. So things sucked right now, the future would rock.

In reality I was lying to myself. Every since I was a kid it had been beaten into me that you have to suffer if you want something good. You suffer through school to get a good job, suffer through 50 or more years of work to get a good retirement. You’re whole life would be suffering just so you could get maybe 20 years of fun.

This is completely wrong. You can be happy now AND in the future. All you have to do is get your priorities right.

Priorities

Chances are your priorities right now center around money. It’s understandable why they would be. Without money you can’t afford a place to stay, food to eat, nights out with the girls, etc. You think that if you work hard all this week you’ll have enough money to have a fun night out on Saturday.

This is an old way of thinking that used to work incredibly well. Back in the olden days you’d get paid every week for the labour you put in. Do manual labour for 40 hours and you’d be able to party all weekend.

Things have changed though, the work we do isn’t manual any more. Most of us work in an office doing what I like to call ‘high’ thinking. We come up with strategies, use creativity and make managerial decisions.

I have an alternative: prioritize based on happiness.

Right Now

What’s going to make you happy right this second? To tell your boss his haircut looks ugly and that he can take your job and stuff it?

Well, you probably shouldn’t do that.

What you can do is start work on making it so you can. Do you have a business idea burning at the back of your head? How about a novel that you know will be an instant best seller? Do you want to rock out on a stage, guitar in hand?

Why aren’t you working on that?

These days it’s become incredibly easy to make money doing what you love. Look at all the independent authors making millions. So start writing your business plan, start writing that novel. Go and take those guitar lessons you always wanted to do. You’re happiness is far more important than what your boss may want.

You’ll find as you do this that you are already feeling happier. Stress will melt away and you won’t worry about getting fired any more.

Now here is the fun part. Start having fun every day. Don’t worry about working late or doing your work at home. Instead go to a movie or out to the bar. Do something that makes you smile.

The value of money changes every day. One day an American dollar is worth its weight in gold, the next it could be worth nothing. Happiness on the other hand will always be valuable. Plus, to earn happiness, you don’t have to suffer. You just have to smile.

Full Circle

A few weeks after making this realization I was able to walk into my bosses office and tell him where to shove my job. I’d taken the time to apply to college, figure out all the financing (you know if you look hard enough you can go to college for free and make something of yourself).

Walking into his office with a huge grin on my face was the most exhilarating feeling of my life. I was literally shaking with excitement as I sat down and gave him the ‘bad’ news.

I’m a professional writer now and love every minute of my life. I don’t have to worry about dressing up nice or pretending to like someone I don’t. I now value my happiness above any other thing in existence.

How about your priorities? Is family more important than work? How about your health? You do know stress has been linked with heart disease right? That can’t be good for your health.

My Tip

The best advice I can give is to write down all of your priorities. Make a simple list that you can look at every day. Then when you have to make a decision take a look at the list and use it to help.

When you realign you’re priorities you’ll find life gets far better.

Your Turn

Are you living your priorities?

How can you tweak your career so you can live more of your values?

Kole of Office Buddha is a writer and all round nice guy. He was built by a mad scientist with the parts of lesser writers. He was made to destroy the world but ends up just eating ramen all day and writing. His work has been published in newspapers, national magazines, blogs around the world and even on the radio.

* Follow me on Twitter. Join over 3,700 people who get happiness tips, productivity tips, and thought provoking quotes each day.

* I’ve been doing a lot more audio recently and one of my favorite audio editing tutorials is from Pace Smith of the Connection Revolution.

If you found this post insightful, you will probably like these too:

• 7 Ways to Have a Good Relationship With Your Boss
• 6 Tips on How to Have a Productive Day at Work

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Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Lisa of Lisa of Getting to Zen

Have you ever driven to work only to not remember how you got there? You know the route you took, however you cannot remember a single detail along the way. It was like your brain shut off and you went on autopilot-you were there, but you were not there. This happens to us when we are not present. Not being present can cause us to miss out on so much of what is going on in the moment. It puts us in a past or future time which either has already existed or not existed yet.

For example, if while you are taking a shower you are thinking about the next thing that you need to do, like making a cup of coffee or selecting what you are going to wear, you are not fully experiencing the shower. And if while you are drinking that cup of coffee, you are thinking about what you would like to accomplish at work, you are not experiencing the joy of each sip.

1. Slow down

Avoid rushing through your morning routine. That means not sleeping until you absolutely have to get up and then rushing around like mad to get ready for work. You could be stressing yourself out before you even get into the office.

Set your alarm clock so that you have enough time to get up and have a relaxing morning routine. If you need 8 or more hours of sleep, this may mean that you go to bed earlier. Trading night activities or entertainment for a relaxing morning routine is worth it.

2. Pack and go

I have heard many times over the years to pack my lunch and lay out my clothes the night before, yet I have only done it a handful of times. In the mornings I often find myself searching for something to wear (and a lot of the time it need to be ironed) or scavenging through the refrigerator for something to make for lunch. And although I always find something in either of these cases, I often don’t feel good about it. Maybe the shirt isn’t as ironed as well I would like, or the lunch is a bit bland.

Getting yourself ready the night before you go into work will make a bigger difference than you to your ability to stay present in the mornings.

3. Listen to the beat

There is nothing like walking into the office after having a good laugh. Everything just seems so much brighter. In fact, many times I have found myself sitting in the parking lot outside of the office, waiting to catch the last bit of a story that I was listening to. It amazing how such a small act like turning on the radio station can transform your attitude over the course of a commute.

Listening to your favorite radio stations or cd’s are good ways to prepare your mind to stay present for the day’s activities.

4. Ease into it

You begin an exercise program by first warming up your mind and body for the challenge ahead. This is also a good way to start your work day. Begin by following a routine that gently allows you ease into your daily tasks.

If that means drinking a hot cup of tea and performing a mini-mediation, then do that. If that means making small talk with a few of your coworkers, then do that. If you don’t have the luxury of warming up for work while in the office, begin to get your mind ready during your commute, or during one of your early breaks.

Practice

Being present isn’t difficult to achieve, however it does take discipline. It can be a challenge to break our habit of living in the past and future. So if you find yourself going backward or forward in time, try to stay present by reminding yourself gently that the only time is now and that the only place is here. The more you do it, the easier it will become and you will find yourself having more moments where you are completely aware of the details.

Your world will come alive and burst with vibrant color.

Your Turn

What do you do to stay more present in your work?

Do you meditate or take a walk break?

Lisa (aka RunningBear) is the founder of Getting to Zen which includes articles on personal development, enlightenment, consciousness and awareness. You can sign up for her RSS feed or follow her on Twitter. In addition to blogging, Lisa enjoys long distance running, cooking, and sewing.

* Need help leveraging your superpowers? Then check out my Superpower Coaching to see how I can help you become more productive and feel less stressed out.

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Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

The winter is a time for reflection.

I used to be a very bi-polar and unhappy person. It’s why I started writing. I needed to release the crappy thoughts sitting on me like a big stinky turd, so I could move on to projects I enjoyed.

There was nothing medically wrong with me. I was just me.

It’s actually been a beautiful ride so far. I realize this after many hours of yoga, meditation and journaling. My ability to reframe a difficult situation has helped me improve my happiness by leaps and bounds.

I remember the time my first boss called me a monkey. It was a slap in the face. I literally felt the sting of pain when I heard those words.

Opinions

Just the other day that sting came back when someone commented on my YouTube video on the effects of fast food. They called me sickly and pale, but what really hurt was their opinion of me being a mentally slow narrator. There was this brief moment of “was he right?” My arch nemesis began to rip back into my thoughts.

I’m not here to let other people opinions affect how I do my work. I’m tired of trying to align myself with the masses. I tried to do it for over 20 years. Each time I tried, I missed the mark.

I’m here to help people who want my help. That’s it. I can’t waste my time on worrying about what other people think of my work. I can only be as awesome as I can be.

Vulnerability

You can’t do great work until you allow yourself to be vulnerable.  That means taking a stand and not worrying about what other people think. If you are too afraid of the jerks out there, you won’t be creating conversations with people that want to hear about what you really have to say.

You have to release your attachment to what other people are saying. Other people’s opinions aren’t you.

You need to practice letting go of people who like to drop turds on your work, so you can move on to better and bigger projects.

Today I want to start the Chest Clearing Club (CCC) so we can move on to projects that make us happy. I want people to leave comments on things that are bothering them so they can move on to the enjoyable stuff. We can’t let our pasts get in the way.

Your Turn

So what kind of work are you doing that sucks your energy?

What can you do to stop letting other people’s opinions dictate your choices?

It’s not so much creating a solution right now. Let’s identify what sucks about our careers and then figure out how to create a plan and move on to something better.

Side Note: I contributed to a really cool project called “The Great Life Philosophies.” Joe Wilner put the project together and I’m very impressed by the contributions. It’s a collection of 12 well-known bloggers who give their best advice. You can download the ebook for free here.

* Join over 1,400 people who have already subscribed to the FREE 10 part E-Course on Leveraging Your Superpowers. Learn how to discover and leverage your superpowers so you can do amazing work. (Sign up is in the top left corner)

If you found this post insightful, you will probably like these too:

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Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!

Your internal battery needs to be recharged on a regular basis. You can’t continue at break neck speed and expect to stay happy and keep reaching your goals.

The hard part is making your recharge a daily habit. If as many people meditated as much as they drank beer we would not be so stressed out and exhausted.

Drinking alcohol is fun. I enjoy a good dark beer every so often, but I stopped drinking every day because of the drag on my body.

I also stopped relying on vacations to recharge my battery. Needing a vacation is a myth that I want to crush right here. You don’t need a vacation. Yes, it may be nice, but you don’t really need one.

The Reality

In reality a vacation is nice, but I will say that vacations actually make you feel more tired. Think of the last vacation that you went on. How did you feel after you got home?

Tired?

You probably felt tired because taking a vacation takes you out of your element, which is fun but not usually refreshing. Dealing with the packing, double checking reservations, checking in to your flight online, getting to the airport, sleeping in a weird bed, new noises, more drinking than usual, staying up late, and all the other stuff that comes along with traveling it can be exhausting.

The real reason you go on vacation is for some extra excitement not to recharge your battery.

Your Help

I’m putting together an e-course to help you keep your energy at a high level so you can get more done and feel happier doing your work. I need your help. If you could fill out this online survey right here and let me know what you need in an e-course to help you with your energy at work I would be very appreciative. It should take less than a minute to fill out.

The thing is I don’t want to create something that none of you care about, so if this course doesn’t interest you then that’s cool. I’ll move on to a different project.

Your Need for Relaxation

It all comes done to creating habits that will support your energy level. You have to learn how to develop habits that fit into your day. Your body is giving you a lot of cues that you are probably ignoring. The human body isn’t meant to sit for 8 hours at a time.

You have to move around and keep that blood flowing.

Check in and notice how you feel throughout the day. Is your back getting tight or maybe you are feeling anxious. What are you doing to balance out these feelings?

Recharge Tip

You need to make time during the day to recharge your body without having to go for a quick fix like coffee. Drinking coffee at 4 in the afternoon so you can make it til 5 is not the healthiest choice. It’s better to have a routine during the day that helps you sustain your energy without too many spikes.

Every time you are done a project take 60 seconds to check in with yourself. Notice where the energy is trapped. My energy usually gets caught in my neck and lower back. Take 60 seconds to do a back twist, neck stretches or whatever else you need to slow down and release that tension.

By using this transition time to slow down and check in with your body you are more apt to make smarter choices.

Your Turn

What do you do to recharge your battery at work?

How do you check in with your body, so not to let irritability take over?

Side note: Party Time

I’m throwing a Twitter Party with Johnny B. Truant and Pace Smith this Wednesday 2-16 at 8pm ET. We are celebrating the launch of Profitable Idealism. You should join us and hopefully win some free prizes. Over $300 in prizes will be given away. Check out the details and sign up at Party Biz Connect.

* Join the Work Happy Now Facebook Page and interact with other people who are trying to improve their superpowers. It’s very basic right now, but it’s a fun place to visit. We ask good questions, support each other, and laugh. Stop by and hang out.

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• Holiday Stress Relief Tips that Last All Year Long
• How to Stop Interruptions and Be More Productive

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Download the Free eBook Work Happy the Google Way * Post from: Work Happy Now!