I have always loved the idea of working from home. I imagined how great it would be to work in your pyjamas if you wanted to, and just generally make the best of being in your home environment to do your work. Now that I do work from home, I enjoy it very much but have found that there can be headaches to working at home. Here are are a few of the things I have learnt that have helped me to enjoy working from home and be effective: Create A Schedule Like many people, I imagined working from home could mean getting up whenever I wanted to and working whenever suited me. The flexibility is great when it is needed but the reality is that a schedule can help you to get your work done and keep boundaries around your work and home life. Set Boundaries Boundaries are important when working from home, in getting your work done and also ensuring your work life doesn’t leak into your personal life. It might be that the people in your life may think you are always available … [Read more...] about Working From Home: How To Be Effective
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Healthy Habits For The Office
Do you want to stay healthy but find it hard to do so whilst working in an office? If so, here are a few ideas that I use that you may find helpful: 1. Drink Herbal Teas Or Water Staying hydrated is essential for your health. I only drink herbal teas and water at work and this saves on buying milk for tea and coffee, reduces my caffeine intake and ensures I stay hydrated. I have one or two cups of tea and / or coffee after work but by only drinking water and herbal teas at work I have made this a regular habit. 2. Eat Healthy Foods As with what you drink at work, if you can prepare in advance and eat healthy food and snacks at work it will help you to get into a good habit. 3. Take A Break It is so good for your mental and physical wellbeing to take a break each day you are at work. Taking a break means you have some rejuvenation time in your day, it enhances your productivity when you are back at work and can help to reduce the chances of feeling burnout at work. … [Read more...] about Healthy Habits For The Office
How To Get Your Ideas Heard At Work
Do you feel that you have great ideas but are unsure about how to share them at work? Maybe you feel your ideas aren’t getting heard or others are taking the praise for them? Here are a few ideas to help you get your ideas heard: Speak Up For many people, a big reason they don’t get their ideas heard at work is because they don’t share them. It can be daunting to share our ideas and put ourselves out there. We wonder if they are good enough, if people will laugh etc but the reality is that no one can know about your ideas if you don’t tell them. If this is the scenario you find yourself in, bite the bullet and commit to sharing those great ideas with others. Get Confident If you are having trouble sharing your ideas or getting yourself heard, it could be time to get to the bottom of your lack of confidence and give yourself a confidence booster. Working with a good coach can be a great way to see why and where you might be creating obstacles for yourself. … [Read more...] about How To Get Your Ideas Heard At Work
How To Negotiate At Work
Negotiating can be a tricky business. Many of us don’t want to ask for what we want for the fear of being seen as pushy or ungrateful (or whatever label you might use). However, as the old saying goes “If you don’t ask, you don’t get”. Learning to negotiate can help you to achieve more satisfaction and boost your self esteem. Women have also been found to be much less likely to ask for a raise in the workplace. For example, men expect to earn 13% more than women during their first year of full-time work. It is clear that both men and women could benefit from being able to negotiate and ask for what they want and deserve. Here are some suggestions to help hone your negotiation skills... Do Your Job Well To negotiate well at work, make sure you are doing your job well. You will have more leverage in asking for what you want with a boss or colleague if you are on top of your job as much as possible. If the other person(s) can see you are trying your best, it is human nature that they … [Read more...] about How To Negotiate At Work
How To Deal With Bullying Behavior At Work
Bullying isn’t something that just happens to children; many adults are the victims of bullying and the workplace is often a place where it happens. Trust Yourself It can be hard to decide whether someone is bullying you, but if something doesn’t feel right about how someone is talking to you, about you or treating you, listen to those feelings. Many bully’s work by undermining the other person to make them doubt their own judgement. Be Direct Bully’s often get away with their treatment of others because no-one calls them on it. It is worth trying to deal with the issue directly in the first instance. If the other person isn’t aware of how their behavior is affecting you it gives them an opportunity to realize and stop it. If after being direct, it continues then it is worth looking at escalating the issue to your boss or HR department. Approaching the other person in a calm and assertive manner will help you maintain your professionalism and … [Read more...] about How To Deal With Bullying Behavior At Work
How To Get (& Stay) Motivated
Motivation sometimes comes easily and other times it is elusive and hard to find! A new year is often seen as a good time to start afresh in and out or work. Here are a few ideas to help you get and stay motivated: Choose Work You Love The easiest way to feel naturally motivated is to do work you enjoy, as much as possible. That might mean asking for a transfer within your current job or quitting the job you are in and finding something more suitable. What Are Your Values? Knowing what your values are helps you to know what naturally drives you. For one person, it might be security and for someone else it might be making a difference (for example). If you are unsure what motivates you, spend some time thinking about and using the link above to get clear what is important to you. Remind Yourself What difference does your job make? What does it make possible for other people? Reminding yourself of the larger purpose of your job is a great way to tap into that well spring of … [Read more...] about How To Get (& Stay) Motivated
5 Ways To Cultivate A More Positive Attitude About Your Job
"Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so." William Shakespeare 1. Stop Complaining We all get into bad habits sometimes but consistently complaining saps our energy (and other peoples) and can drain our energy and affect our attitude to work. There is of course a difference between letting off a little steam and being a consistent complainer. It is worth noticing how much we complain about things at work and nipping it in the bud if it is a bad habit we have fallen into. 2. Be Proactive Following on from the first point, being proactive and doing something about those things we want to change at work is a healthier approach than complaining. We can turn complaints around by doing something about them. It is easy to complain when something isn’t how we would like it, but taking the initiative and trying to make a change though harder, is more rewarding in the long term. 3. Stop Gossip Gossiping usually makes everyone involved feel worst at some level. Stopping gossiping … [Read more...] about 5 Ways To Cultivate A More Positive Attitude About Your Job
How To Deal With A Difficult Boss
Have you got a difficult boss? Do you find it hard to work with your boss or feel that you cannot do anything right? Having a difficult boss can make life hard. At the end of the day, you want to have a good relationship with your boss as they (directly or indirectly) pay your wages. Here are a few thoughts about hot to deal with a difficult boss: Identify The Problem What specifically do you find difficult about working for your boss? Be specific. For example, do you feel that they never recognize the work you do? Maybe you feel that they never give clear instructions and consequently you find it hard to know what to do to do your job well. There may be many things that you find hard about working for your boss. Getting clear about the problem(s) will help you to find a solution or at least a more satisfactory way to deal with it. Take Responsibility What is your part in the difficult relationship between you and your boss? It is easy to think that “it is all … [Read more...] about How To Deal With A Difficult Boss
How To Deal With A Manipulative Colleague
Manipulative people can be tricky to deal with at the best of times. Dealing with a manipulative person at work can be particularly hard when your job and professional reputation is involved. Here are some tips that can help you to deal with a manipulative co-worker. Trust Yourself Often when people come across a manipulative person at the beginning they give the benefit of the doubt. This isn’t a bad thing in itself, everyone can behave off par at times and we don’t want to not be able to trust anyone. However, if a behaviour or pattern continues and alarm bells are ringing, listen to them! It is possible to be too understanding. Don’t keep giving the manipulator the benefit of the doubt because you don’t want to confront the problem or really believe what is happening. Trust yourself and don’t keep allowing bad behavior. Be Upfront Many manipulators get away with manipulative behaviours because no-one calls them on it. It can be hard to do, but it is worth being upfront … [Read more...] about How To Deal With A Manipulative Colleague
How To Deal With Criticism
Criticism can be hard to deal with especially in the workplace, but if you can learn to handle criticism you have learnt a great skill. If we let it, criticism can help us to learn more about ourselves and how we do things and grow as people. Is It Fair? Is the criticism fair? Being criticized is one of those things that triggers emotions in most people. If you are able to take a step back and look at the criticism alone it will help you to look at the situation in a more balanced way. There is usually a grain of truth in most things, so see what you can take from this feedback. It Is Actually A Compliment? Sometimes, what people criticize you for is actually a compliment! If someone thinks you are too kind (for example), look for yourself and see if it is actually a problem for you. If you do feel out of balance with this area of life, then the criticism can be used as a reminder. However, if you are happy with how you are then you can let the criticism wash over you – it is … [Read more...] about How To Deal With Criticism