We are living in an age where the advancement of technology has resulted in an ever-changing job environment and technological automation is causing job loss. To excel, one needs to strive to become a lifelong dynamic learner to acquire skills of the future to stay relevant and keep thriving. Those who stop learning and give up on skill development might not be able to survive the technological revolution.
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Writing is a powerful practice. It has various effects including discovering ideas, defining goals, and solidifying steps. The act of writing means you have to organize your thoughts and this is the first key step in accomplishing any goal or dream.
A study done at Dominican University illustrated the difference between students who wrote down their goals and those who did not. Guess which group was more likely to reach their goals? You guessed it – the group who wrote them down. Read more
Multitasking was once touted as the productivity habit of champions. Answering phone calls while typing memos while scheduling meetings while Tweeting, “Liking” and posting may feel like you’re accomplishing many things all at once. You can do all your busy work along with the important tasks by balancing several devices and platforms at the same time. Multitasking seems like a natural evolution in response to the Information Age. Sure sounds like we’ve adapted to our busy lives.
Except that when you look at the actual results that multi-tasking produces, the picture starts to look pretty different.
In fact, there are studies that not only challenge the idea that multi-tasking is productive but suggest that it can be downright damaging not only to your productivity but to your neurons.
Are you looking for ways to be more productive? You’re not alone. Pretty much anyone who has a goal finds productivity to be a challenge. Finishing a project, starting a business, making more money, writing a novel, getting in shape, having more time for your family all require you to make constructive use of your waking hours.
Even writer Victor Hugo had to trick himself into writing his great novels Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by asking his butler to hide his clothes so he couldn’t leave the house and was forced to stay home and write.
While this may not be an option for most of us (since we don’t have butlers and all!), there are ways in which we can enhance our productivity without resorting to such extremes.
Here are my top five favorite productivity hacks: Read more
I am constantly asked by friends and those I work with for productivity tips and tricks. The Pomodoro Technique is one of my favorite and most successful tips. Why? Because it is all about FOCUS.
I use the Pomodoro Technique on a daily basis to write blog posts, complete work projects, limit my time on email, and move my PhD work forward.
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Email provides all of us with many conveniences but it can also increase our burdens. The amount of emails we all receive can be daunting to say the least. The good news is there are several tips you can implement that will reduce your incoming email and also give you some time back to increase your productivity in other areas.
Technology provides all sorts of individuals, professionals as well as homebodies, ease of convenience. Almost everyone has a computer and uses email communication regularly.
Many people avoid telephones as much as possible unless they are texting or on social media. Practically no one today hand writes letters to friends, family, or colleagues. Email is a way of life and one of the most used methods to communicate with others.
While email provides quick communication it can also be burdensome with just the sheer volume of emails you receive on a daily or hourly basis. There are 4 tips to employ that will reduce your incoming email and allow vital time to be productive for more pressing matters.
[guestpost]This is a guest post by Amy Collinsworth who works at Boston University as the Student Outreach Manager for the Center for Career Development and the Educational Resource Center. She holds a bachelor of arts in marketing from Rockford University and a master of science in college student personnel from the University of Tennessee. Amy’s professional background includes working in MBA career management and undergraduate student leadership development. You can connect with her at @AmyCollinsworth[/guestpost]
“Today we will drive to the parking lot at your school, and by using the tool we learned about in the Tony Robbins recording*, you will make the basketball into the basket on your first shot!” dad said. I was not sure what to expect as we drove to the parking lot at Thompson Elementary that breezy spring afternoon, but I was certain my petite 4-foot-tall frame and poor hand-eye coordination would be my down-fall in making the basket. I got out of the car and walked to the hoop, carefully positioning myself a few feet in front of the hoop on the center of the faded white spray painted line.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
The National Center for Education projects over 1.6 million students will graduate with bachelor’s degree in 2014. And according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers Job Outlook 2014 survey, employers plan to hire 8.6 percent more college graduates in 2014 then they did in 2013.
So whether you are a college grad or someone who is starting a job with a new company, let me start off by saying CONGRATS! You got the job. You were the one the company pick over all the other applicants.
Even though you were the one chosen for the job, the company is still wondering if they made the right decision. So now your first day, your first week is getting closer and closer. What can you do to show your new employer, supervisor, and coworkers that your ARE the right person for the job and they didn’t make a mistake when they hired you?
Take a minute and close your eyes. Think about one thing you have always wanted to do. What would you achieve if you had no fear, monetary constraints or obstacles in your way? Envision accomplishing your biggest dream or most outlandish goal. What is that big dream for you?
With your dream in mind, there are hundreds of people who set out last week to turn their dream into reality. Some have been thinking about this dream for years and others for decades. Their dream…to standing on top of the world!
[featured-image single-newwindow=”false”]Photo Credit: Rupert Taylor-Price via Compfight cc[/featured-image]
This first week of April marks the beginning of Everest season. A time of excitement and anticipation. For some, years and months of training and fundraising have ended. And now the hard work begins. Those climbers have arrived in Kathmandu to attempt to complete the dream of a lifetime. So as a tribute to the dream of reaching the summit of Everest (which is something I hope to do one day) here is a 3 step process to get your dreams in order and start accomplishing them. Read more
Check out my recent article for The Student Affairs Feature titled “Five Reasons Everyone Needs to Job Search This Year.”
Even if you are not in the field of student affairs this article is for anyone in any field.
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Photo Credit: stuartpilbrow via Compfight cc
Many professionals in student affairs will begin searching through position announcements and consider job searching or attending a placement exchange in the coming months. If you are thinking to yourself, “I am not looking for a new position this year”, do not be so sure.
Take a moment to answer the following questions:
If you have not thought about these questions in a while, perhaps you should. You might be saying to yourself, “I’m comfortable in my current position. I like what I do.” My question to you is, “Are you going to be in your current position forever?” For most of us, the answer is likely “no.”
You may have some hesitations or limitations about starting a search. For example, you may have only been in your current position for a short amount of time, you have family or a partner to consider, you are bound to your geographical location, your department will not be able to survive without you, it will take you forever to put a resume together, etc. I am not dismissing your hesitations or limitations but believe you can benefit from searching regardless of these hesitations or limitations. Furthermore, searching this year is not only for entry and mid-level professionals, but for those in upper-level administrative positions as well. Everyone can benefit from looking for their next dream job, staying sharp, and refining what should be on their resume.
“JOB SEARCHING SHOULD NOT BE A CHORE – ONLY DONE WHEN YOU DO NOT LIKE YOUR CURRENT POSITION OR THINK YOU HAVE STAYED TOO LONG.”
While there are many personal considerations to searching, below are five reasons everyone should search at the beginning of this year.
1. Searching now could land you your next dream job. You never know when your dream job will come around and if you are not looking, you may never know either. The job you have always wanted is not going to be handed to you or simply appear when you are ready to search. By staying engaged with the search world, you will be more likely to find the dream job you having been working towards.
2. Searching now keeps you sharp. Just like anything else, practice makes perfect. Through the process of looking at positions, job descriptions, and requirements, you will improve your ability to evaluate each position and determine if you could be a competitive candidate. You may start to notice which institutions you might want to work for if the opportunity was presented. Reviewing job descriptions is an excellent way to understand what types of skills should be documented on your resume.
By searching now and staying sharp you will be able to notice trends in the current search environment. This can assist you as you continue to look for the next step in your career and can also help if you are looking to hire.
3. Searching now can help others. When looking for jobs you never know what positions you might come across. Though a position does not align with what you are looking for, it could be perfect for a friend or colleague. Thinking about others will expand your network and it is likely they will do the same for you. There are more professionals than just you searching for their dream job. We can all use the help!
4. Searching now keeps your resume up to date. Certainly, we all have been there – we find a position we want to apply for, but our resume is outdated. Soon, we find ourselves scrambling to add everything we have done over the past few years and tailor our resume to the position description. It is a daunting task. However, if you are continually searching it will force you to keep your resume current, decrease the amount of grammatical and formatting errors on your resume, and allow for more time to have it reviewed.
5. Searching now will help you plan your professional development for the year. This is one of the most important, and often overlooked, reasons you should search this year. Even if you are not currently looking for a new position, knowing what jobs are on the market will empower you. While reviewing position descriptions, you can gain a good understanding of what knowledge, skills, and experience you do not have, but need to gain in order to be successful in your next move. Doing so, will allow you to be intentional when creating your professional development plan for the year. As such, you will be a highly qualified candidate when you do apply for that position.
Job searching should not be a chore – only done when you do not like your current position or think you have stayed too long. Job searching should be a continual process happening each year. Even if you enjoy your current position, you can benefit from job searching by setting your professional development for the year, keeping your resume current, and helping colleagues in their search. If you have questions about this process, feel free to connect with me on Twitter.
What are your reasons for job searching?
What is holding you back from searching?
Let’s discuss.
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