The Myth Of Overnight Success

The Myth Of Overnight Success Story 1 When I wrote my first blog post for JibberJobber, back in 2006, my thought was Im a super writer. Number one, in the bag. A few years later, after writing almost every day, I went back to that first post to see what it was about, and what my style was. I was appalled that the post was so bad. Story 2 I spoke in Minneapolis on my first tour there, and knocked it out of the park. I had multiple engagements and lots of people talked to me after each presentation. I knew I did a super job, and left the area proud of my accomplishments. About three years (and maybe a hundred presentations) later, I was back in the Twin Cities. After one presentation, someone came up and said that was really, really great. I was here three years ago and you are way better than back then! I thought that this presentation was as good as that presentation I hadnt realized I had improved, but the thing that stuck out was that if I was way better then I must have really stunk three years earlier! In both stories I looked at how bad I was when I thought I was really great. I was a bit discouraged, and concerned that I didnt have the self-awareness to recognize I had a long way to go to improve. That is one way of looking at it. The other way to look at it is that I did improve, measurably and markedly. I did not do this overnight. Rather, it happened because I continued to practice my crafts. This will happen for you, too, as you continue to do certain tasks. The more emails you write the better you (should) get. The more calls you make the better you sound, and the more comfortable you are. The more interviews you go to the better you come across to the interviewer. The more you do your thing, the better you get. You may not see it, and you may not recognize the growth you experience, but others will. Keep practicing, keep doing, and reap the benefits of continual improvement. This applies to every aspect of the job search especially the ones you dont like to do! The Myth Of Overnight Success Story 1 When I wrote my first blog post for JibberJobber, back in 2006, my thought was Im a super writer. Number one, in the bag. A few years later, after writing almost every day, I went back to that first post to see what it was about, and what my style was. I was appalled that the post was so bad. Story 2 I spoke in Minneapolis on my first tour there, and knocked it out of the park. I had multiple engagements and lots of people talked to me after each presentation. I knew I did a super job, and left the area proud of my accomplishments. About three years (and maybe a hundred presentations) later, I was back in the Twin Cities. After one presentation, someone came up and said that was really, really great. I was here three years ago and you are way better than back then! I thought that this presentation was as good as that presentation I hadnt realized I had improved, but the thing that stuck out was that if I was way better then I must have really stunk three years earlier! In both stories I looked at how bad I was when I thought I was really great. I was a bit discouraged, and concerned that I didnt have the self-awareness to recognize I had a long way to go to improve. That is one way of looking at it. The other way to look at it is that I did improve, measurably and markedly. I did not do this overnight. Rather, it happened because I continued to practice my crafts. This will happen for you, too, as you continue to do certain tasks. The more emails you write the better you (should) get. The more calls you make the better you sound, and the more comfortable you are. The more interviews you go to the better you come across to the interviewer. The more you do your thing, the better you get. You may not see it, and you may not recognize the growth you experience, but others will. Keep practicing, keep doing, and reap the benefits of continual improvement. This applies to every aspect of the job search especially the ones you dont like to do!

10 Office Hacks to Improve Productivity

10 Office Hacks to Improve Productivity As the nights get longer and the days get shorter, much like the refresh you have with your work wardrobe from summer to winter, it can help to give your work routine a little upgrade. These tips from outsourcing platform Airtasker are essential to killer productivity. Look around your desk right now. Is it organized chaos, or just everyday chaos? A cluttered brain and a cluttered to-do list don’t do much for productivity. Here are ten genuinely useful  office assistance  hacks to help you get organized and do more. 1. Clean between keyboard keys with tape and a toothbrush There have been a few different tests on this, but the consensus is your keyboard has  over 3000 more germs  per square inch than an actual toilet seat. Use some sticky tape to pick up crumbs and even a toothbrush can come in handy to dust between the keys, then an antibacterial wipe to sort those germs out. 2. Stick time slots on your water bottle You’ll have heard just about every fitness influencer stressing about how drinking a minimum of two liters of water a day is a smart choice; however, us mere mortals know this is more difficult to do than it sounds. With the autumn/winter months approaching, all you want is a hot chocolate or a good old builder’s tea. Not only will drinking more water ward off the need for snacking, since  your brain  is mostly  water, drinking it  helps you in many ways, including improving concentration and cognition. The best way to challenge yourself into doing this is to get yourself a refillable water bottle (which we’re sure you own because you care about plastic’s damaging impact on the environment) and mark 1-2 hour time slots on it. You’ll also know at a glance if your water-drinking is behind schedule. 3. Choose a plant for your desk Just because it’s your work desk, that doesn’t mean to can’t add your little personal touch or even a little life to it. Some desks are a bit sad and dreary, even in the freshest and innovative office  spaces. According to the University of Exeter, plants can  improve wellbeing by up to 47%  and enhance creativity by 45%. Searches for ‘air purifying plants’ and ‘aloe vera’ were up a whopping 550% year on year in 2017. Try a peace lily, bamboo, bonsai, or a succulent. The last one hardly needs watering. 4. Learn keyboard shortcuts Keyboard shortcuts can help you screenshot, change your font size, or drag an email back from the jaws of being sent too early. While you’re learning them all, pin a handy chart to the wall in front of you. This cheat sheet is for  both PCs and Macs.  Soon though, they’ll become muscle memory. 5. Schedule time for emails It’s estimated we spend  over 2 hours a day  reading and answering emails. That’s a bit disturbing when you think about how much office admin you can do in 2 whole hours. Considering it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the task when interrupted by something it’s worth also blocking out a particular time of the day that you use specifically for a team meeting and replying to emails. Allocate a specific time of day for answering emails, rather than swapping between tasks and breaking concentration. For immediate stuff, there’s instant messaging, or even a quick chat. 6. Tidy up leads and wires There are lots of ways to keep cables out of view. Two of the simplest involve attaching bulldog clips or plastic picture hangers to the back of your desk. Just fix the wires to the desk legs and feed down to the plug sockets. If you want to go full Pinterest, label tab stickers to identify what each lead is for and where it’s plugged in. 7. Keep a notepad for ideas and reminders Ideas can hit at any time, and  we all know that even if we say we will, we will not remember them the next day.  Buy a small notebook and jot down anything you want to remember or use later. It’s particularly useful when you’re on the phone and madly searching for a post-it. When you’re stuck for inspiration, or want to jog your memory, refer back to it. 8. Ignore notifications. Temporarily… If you need to focus, you don’t need productivity apps or notification blockers. Just turn your phone to silent and put it face down in a drawer. It feels strange at first, but  push notifications continually distract us, and app developers keep giving us more and more to look at. 9. Stand up every hour The NHS advises we “move more, sit less.“ If you’re often at a desk, it could be slowing down your metabolism and weakening your muscles and bones gradually over time. Stand up every hour, even just for a few minutes. Take calls on your feet, walk for 20 minutes at lunchtime, and park further away from the front door. 1o. Remember, multitasking is a myth It’s virtually impossible for a human to focus on more than one thing at once and do them both well. Our brain switches between tasks quickly, pausing one and picking up the other. Have a to-do list, do each task individually, and tick them off. You’ll work through it far faster. We spend a lot of time in the office and at our desk. Make that time count and keep your admin to a minimum. Oh, and once again,  drink more water.

5 FREE Educational Apps and Services Thatll Help You Get Ahead in Your Career

5 FREE Educational Apps and Services Thatll Help You Get Ahead in Your Career Whether you’re just starting out or working your way up the ladder, getting ahead in your career can often be tough on your pocket. However, did you know that there are some educational apps and services around that are absolutely free? These services are designed with people like you in mind and could help you acquire new transferable skills and knowledge you can use. Skills that will prove invaluable in helping you get ahead, secure that promotion and move forward in your chosen career. Here are just some of the free educational apps and learning services available to you. Duolingo If you don’t know about this app already, where have you been? It’s a free language-learning app that teaches you up to ten different languages. The service is designed so that as users progress through the lessons, they simultaneously help to translate websites and other documents. It also offers extensive written lessons as well as dictation, with speaking practice for more advanced users. Learning a second language is extremely beneficial for a variety of careers, especially if you have to deal with foreign businesses or people. It’s a great addition to your CV and will set you apart from the rest when it comes to applying for jobs. You may even get travel opportunities because of it. Code Academy You don’t need me to tell you how technological the world is becoming. Kids are now learning how to code websites as early as primary school. If you don’t know what I mean by that then maybe you should check out this free service. In an ever-evolving world where computers are used for everything, it’s a pretty good idea to know your html from your CSS. Code academy can teach you all there is to know about the mechanics behind websites, and will teach you how to make your own from scratch. It could really transform you career, and add a fresh, relevant set of skills to your arsenal. Mind Tools Mind tools is a website with all the reading you’ll ever need on the basic core skills of working life; from project management, to problem solving and leadership skills there’s material on everything. You may not get a qualification out of it, but it’ll certainly make you better at your job, which may help impress your manager and catch the eye of the big guys at the top. Subscribe and you’ll learn  new career skills  every week, plus you’ll get your  own Personal Development Plan. Alison If you’d prefer to be armed with a recognised qualification, then head to Alison.com. They have an extensive range of free certified courses from the world’s top publishers. Courses include diplomas in accounting and psychology, business and enterprise skills, and certificates in health safety and fire safety among many other essential skills. Courses are self-paced, so there’s no stress involved, and you can fit studying around your own schedule. Just decide what you want to study, get enrolled, take the assessments and get certified. TED Talks If you’re more inspired by people and their stories than reading material, you’ll love TED talks. First and foremost it’s a website, but they’ve also developed an app that does the same thing. TED presents, “inspiring and informative lectures from education radicals, tech geniuses, medical mavericks, business gurus, music legends and other remarkable minds.” You’ll be wowed and amazed, but you’ll also learn a lot from experts in your field, the industry you work in, the world you live in, as well as more academic matters. In fact, there are over 1900 talks to choose from, learn from and put into practice. Also, it’s well tagged, which means you can explore surrounding concepts and watch related videos with ease. If you really want to get ahead in your career or you simply want to learn a new something new, take a look at these before paying big bucks elsewhere. About the Author Kathryn Kearns is a Creative Writing and Media Graduate with a passion for writing.  She currently discusses all things technology and telecoms for  Number Direct. Kathryn also contributes to Tech  Cocktail, Customer Service Guru, The Fuss and Holiday Numbers, and has been published on Vancouver Gadgets and Women’s News.