Career Burnout
You work hard for long hours that often times encroach on your evenings and weekends leaving you stressed and exhausted both physically and mentally. This happens so often that you have no time for a decent social life and forget about enjoying those hobbies you once looked forward to for peace and solace. You become short tempered with your co-workers and at the end of the day you come home and feel like kicking the cat for getting underfoot. Any achievements you do accomplish at work hold little meaning to you as the pressure is on to produce more in less time. You begin to dread going to work on Monday and it is only Saturday night. Can you relate to this?
Boredom
Your work is so monotonous you could do it in your sleep. Most of the day is spent completing tasks that are just shy of busy work. Your mind is far from challenged and there is nothing new for you to learn. Those sharp pencils in your pencil holder taunt you on a daily basis to jab them in your eye just so you can feel pain in order to be certain that you are still breathing.
Toxic Work Environment
The work atmosphere is so negative you get an attitude just walking through the front door. The people you work with are disrespectful and would sell you out the first chance they get just to move ahead. You avoid contact with most of your colleagues. Maybe you deal with discrimination or harassment but here you remain because you need a paycheck.
What can you do about it? For some it’s easier said than done to get another job so for those who need to hang in there a little longer until a move is possible I offer you the following:
To combat burnout take a vacation no matter how long it is. Two or three days could do wonders if you truly take a break from your job. That means no checking emails, answering calls from work or signing on just to “see” how everything is going in your absence. Another option that I strongly suggest is to prioritize and delegate where you can. Not everything is top priority and if additional manpower is needed to accomplish tasks then request it.
To alleviate boredom you can look for ways to create a new project that will compliment and improve your department. Many companies offer online training. Take advantage of these online classes to improve your knowledgebase and make your department more efficient or for nothing else enhance your skill set in order to move around in the company.
If you deal with a toxic work environment I am sorry to say that you can not change other people. What you can do is improve your own skills in order to move up or out. If you do not have an HR department or at least one that provides any type of relief I suggest taking a few mental health days to plot your escape plan and return with a different outlook. Take classes, if offered, through work or outside of work. Avoid the most toxic people in the office at all costs and if you must interact with them give them no ammunition to work with. Do your job thoroughly and professionally. Do not stoop to their level. If this does not get you noticed and out of the mine field then make your move towards the door.
Showing posts with label Tips and Tricks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tips and Tricks. Show all posts
How To Lose Clients
Most business comes from word of mouth. It’s the most important form of advertising you can get. If your business practices are less than stellar imagine the word of mouth you’ll be getting or worse, the kind you’re NOT getting.
For your convenience I have listed 7 ways a business can lose a client/customer without even trying. This is not an exhaustive list but it’s enough to get you going down the path to lost business.
1. Provide less than quality services or products. Go for that under par software, raw material or pre-made item. Save a few bucks because no one will ever know - especially your clients. So what if the software doesn’t do what your client requested or loses all of your customer data. If the item falls apart moments after they get it home, who cares, what really counts is your bottom line right? Just fall short of the srvice you promissed no one will notice.
2. Ignore your client and potential clients. When you receive your signed contract simply disappear. When your client calls or emails you go ahead and wait a few days to respond. You already have their money so they can wait while you spend it. You can also ignore those that email or call with a request for information on your product or service. You are the only game in town so they will wait - forever!!
3. Leave your potential clients with more questins than answers when they visit your website. Keep them guessing about your services, price, return policy, guarantee, how to contact you with questions, broken links etc.. This is a game they truly love to play.
4. Become a one-person show. As your business grows by all means continue to do it all yourself. Spread yourself so thin you can hardly concentrate on your business. So what if you forget to return a few calls or emails, pay bills to vendors, schedule a meeting, compile your information, confuse clients and provide the wrong service etc.. Your customers are the only ones who will suffer and they will take it on the chin for you because as you know, it’s all about you anyway.
5. Show a lack of confidence in your abilities, services or products. People actually like to spend their time and money to invest in you just to boost your confidence. I can’t tell you how many times I have felt so bad for a sales person because they avoided eye contact or shrugged their shoulders as they explained their services and products to me that I was COMPELLED to spend my money at their place of business.
6. Go for the greed. Give nothing away for free. Not one iota of information, discount or extra product. Don’t do it, not even for your repeat customers. People love to pay for everything. No one likes to receive a special something for being a valued customer - ever! Don’t even think of sending out holiday cards or thank you notes - it will just go to their heads.
7. By all means neve accept responlibility for anything that goes wrong. Blame your inability to return calls, deliver product, miss a meeting and so forth on anything but yourself. Hey, why not blame it on the cutomer, they love to take the fall for your mistakes. It build their character and who are you to deny them that growth.
Ok, Now that I have had some fun with you about how to lose a client, I would like to leave you with some words to run your business by. Customers are the reason for your business they are not an interruption to it. Follow good business practices and keep the lines of communication open with all of your clients, both current and those you have not yet met. What you give has a way of coming back to you ten-fold so always do your best, give of yourself and you will grow in both your business and personal endeavors.
For your convenience I have listed 7 ways a business can lose a client/customer without even trying. This is not an exhaustive list but it’s enough to get you going down the path to lost business.
1. Provide less than quality services or products. Go for that under par software, raw material or pre-made item. Save a few bucks because no one will ever know - especially your clients. So what if the software doesn’t do what your client requested or loses all of your customer data. If the item falls apart moments after they get it home, who cares, what really counts is your bottom line right? Just fall short of the srvice you promissed no one will notice.
2. Ignore your client and potential clients. When you receive your signed contract simply disappear. When your client calls or emails you go ahead and wait a few days to respond. You already have their money so they can wait while you spend it. You can also ignore those that email or call with a request for information on your product or service. You are the only game in town so they will wait - forever!!
3. Leave your potential clients with more questins than answers when they visit your website. Keep them guessing about your services, price, return policy, guarantee, how to contact you with questions, broken links etc.. This is a game they truly love to play.
4. Become a one-person show. As your business grows by all means continue to do it all yourself. Spread yourself so thin you can hardly concentrate on your business. So what if you forget to return a few calls or emails, pay bills to vendors, schedule a meeting, compile your information, confuse clients and provide the wrong service etc.. Your customers are the only ones who will suffer and they will take it on the chin for you because as you know, it’s all about you anyway.
5. Show a lack of confidence in your abilities, services or products. People actually like to spend their time and money to invest in you just to boost your confidence. I can’t tell you how many times I have felt so bad for a sales person because they avoided eye contact or shrugged their shoulders as they explained their services and products to me that I was COMPELLED to spend my money at their place of business.
6. Go for the greed. Give nothing away for free. Not one iota of information, discount or extra product. Don’t do it, not even for your repeat customers. People love to pay for everything. No one likes to receive a special something for being a valued customer - ever! Don’t even think of sending out holiday cards or thank you notes - it will just go to their heads.
7. By all means neve accept responlibility for anything that goes wrong. Blame your inability to return calls, deliver product, miss a meeting and so forth on anything but yourself. Hey, why not blame it on the cutomer, they love to take the fall for your mistakes. It build their character and who are you to deny them that growth.
Ok, Now that I have had some fun with you about how to lose a client, I would like to leave you with some words to run your business by. Customers are the reason for your business they are not an interruption to it. Follow good business practices and keep the lines of communication open with all of your clients, both current and those you have not yet met. What you give has a way of coming back to you ten-fold so always do your best, give of yourself and you will grow in both your business and personal endeavors.
7 Ways to Squeeze Out Extra Time Each Day
If you don’t think you have an extra 5 minutes to yourself each day let alone enough time to pursue your interests you are wrong. Here are a few daily tactics you can employ to put your time to better use and even carve out a few extra minutes, 30 minutes or even an hour or more each day to get yourself moving closer to your goals.
1. Make a time journal. Write down everything you did over the past two days making sure to jot down everything from the time you opened your eyes in the morning to the time you close them at night. Look it over and take notice of all the wasted time spent on unnecessary things. Can you see anything you can knock out? No? Let’s look a little closer at your list. Do you watch the 5pm news then again tune in at 7pm and yet again at 10 pm? Even if you switch stations for each viewing it’s pretty much the same news. If you cut out all but one viewing you could gain about an hour and not miss a thing. While we are still on television how much time do you spend staring blankly at it in the evening? Do you have it on out of habit? Do you spend hours surfing the channels because there is nothing on until the 10:00 news? Think of all of the wasted time you could gain by shutting it off and doing other things. There are only three nights a week where there are actual shows I like to watch. The other nights are channel surf nights. By turning it off on the nights I used to surf I gained valuable time to dedicate to my other goals.
2. Morning time! What time do you get up in the morning? Are you guilty of using the snooze alarm? Here are two more ways to add minutes to your day. By getting up the first time your alarm goes off you can gain an additional 10-20 minutes. Time better spent on planning your day. How about getting up a little earlier each morning? I know, you are thinking, “But Cheryl, I need my sleep.” By getting up even 30 minutes earlier gives you that much golden quiet time before the family, phone and other interruptions happen. You could pack in a quick workout, a 30-minute reading session, painting time or whatever else is on your “To Do” list for the day.
3. Speaking of “To Do” lists make one based on your Itinerary. Do you recall your Itinerary from the MPP series? Yes, that’s the one. Based on these interests you will need to have action items to move you forward to achieving them. Remember, a goal without action is nothing more than a dream that will never materialize. Create action items each day for each of your items on your itinerary. You may need to adjust your Itinerary based on the time needed to complete your action items. You may find that you may want to have more “low intensity” interests and only one “high intensity” interest on your list for better balance. You will need to play around with it until it feels right for you.
4. Focus on one task at a time. When you try to do more there is a tendency to get stressed and you will find yourself struggling to get the job done satisfactorily. You may also find that you fail to accomplish anything. Plan your tasks in time blocks of about 30 – 45 minutes each and then do nothing else for that time period except that task. That means not answering emails or chatting on the phone. These two time stealers can be given there own time block.
5. Delegate non-essential tasks to others to free up much needed time. Let the kids help with chores around the house. Have the hubby or wife pitch in as well.
6. Are you home with kids all day? Hire a babysitter, drop them off at “Camp Grandma’s” for an afternoon, schedule reciprocal play dates with friends to free up some much needed uninterrupted time to get some things accomplished.
7. Do you find yourself waiting? Waiting on lines, in cars or while your daughter is taking ballet? Put that time to good use. While in the car, pop in a positive learning cd or foreign language lesson. Pack a bag with pen and paper handy for taking notes on that book you are writing or reading material for a class you are taking. Keep the bag in your car for those “waiting” moments you find yourself in.
1. Make a time journal. Write down everything you did over the past two days making sure to jot down everything from the time you opened your eyes in the morning to the time you close them at night. Look it over and take notice of all the wasted time spent on unnecessary things. Can you see anything you can knock out? No? Let’s look a little closer at your list. Do you watch the 5pm news then again tune in at 7pm and yet again at 10 pm? Even if you switch stations for each viewing it’s pretty much the same news. If you cut out all but one viewing you could gain about an hour and not miss a thing. While we are still on television how much time do you spend staring blankly at it in the evening? Do you have it on out of habit? Do you spend hours surfing the channels because there is nothing on until the 10:00 news? Think of all of the wasted time you could gain by shutting it off and doing other things. There are only three nights a week where there are actual shows I like to watch. The other nights are channel surf nights. By turning it off on the nights I used to surf I gained valuable time to dedicate to my other goals.
2. Morning time! What time do you get up in the morning? Are you guilty of using the snooze alarm? Here are two more ways to add minutes to your day. By getting up the first time your alarm goes off you can gain an additional 10-20 minutes. Time better spent on planning your day. How about getting up a little earlier each morning? I know, you are thinking, “But Cheryl, I need my sleep.” By getting up even 30 minutes earlier gives you that much golden quiet time before the family, phone and other interruptions happen. You could pack in a quick workout, a 30-minute reading session, painting time or whatever else is on your “To Do” list for the day.
3. Speaking of “To Do” lists make one based on your Itinerary. Do you recall your Itinerary from the MPP series? Yes, that’s the one. Based on these interests you will need to have action items to move you forward to achieving them. Remember, a goal without action is nothing more than a dream that will never materialize. Create action items each day for each of your items on your itinerary. You may need to adjust your Itinerary based on the time needed to complete your action items. You may find that you may want to have more “low intensity” interests and only one “high intensity” interest on your list for better balance. You will need to play around with it until it feels right for you.
4. Focus on one task at a time. When you try to do more there is a tendency to get stressed and you will find yourself struggling to get the job done satisfactorily. You may also find that you fail to accomplish anything. Plan your tasks in time blocks of about 30 – 45 minutes each and then do nothing else for that time period except that task. That means not answering emails or chatting on the phone. These two time stealers can be given there own time block.
5. Delegate non-essential tasks to others to free up much needed time. Let the kids help with chores around the house. Have the hubby or wife pitch in as well.
6. Are you home with kids all day? Hire a babysitter, drop them off at “Camp Grandma’s” for an afternoon, schedule reciprocal play dates with friends to free up some much needed uninterrupted time to get some things accomplished.
7. Do you find yourself waiting? Waiting on lines, in cars or while your daughter is taking ballet? Put that time to good use. While in the car, pop in a positive learning cd or foreign language lesson. Pack a bag with pen and paper handy for taking notes on that book you are writing or reading material for a class you are taking. Keep the bag in your car for those “waiting” moments you find yourself in.
7 Ways To Establish Yourself As An Expert
What do you do when you are just starting out in your chosen career and you want to be seen as an expert in your field but you have just a hair above entry level knowledge? Don’t fret, if you follow these tips you will be well on your way to becoming the one that others will flock to for your expertise.
1. Learn, learn and learn so more. I can’t stress this enough. You can take classes, read up on your subject matter, attend seminars, find a mentor or practice your skills hands on but never stop learning about your business.
2. Share your knowledge. Write well researched articles about your subject matter and post them in online article directories.
3. Build credibility. Post helpful answers to questions relating to your field on discussion groups like Internet.com. Whatever you do, do not self serve with full blown ads soliciting your wares. You should, however, include your web url in your signature.
4. Put yourself out there. Pursue speaking engagements offering to give free seminars and “How To” clinics at local libraries and small businesses. Remember to be prepared and professional. Just as I mentioned in tip #3, do not bombard your listeners with high pressure or endless ads during your speech. Provide quality information that is useful to the group you are presenting to. Have brochures and marketing materials available for them to take if they wish. If you need help in this area I suggest you look into joining your local Toastmasters group. You will not only gain tips and practice in speaking but you will be networking with others.
5. Join a committee in your area of interest and network, network, network. Refer to tips #3 and #4 regarding self serving. There is a Chinese proverb that states “A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study.” Listen when others speak, there is much knowledge and experience in their words.
6. Become a resource for media. Offer interviews and articles to local newspapers, town newsletters and radio stations. You never know, you could gain a regular column in your local newspaper providing helpful tips or maybe even a 15 minute spot once a week on a local radio show called “Ask the ____________.” If you can’t break into big time radio or newspapers look into colleges. Some of them have their own radio station.
7. Create a professional looking website with excellent content. Remember, less is more if the content is good.
1. Learn, learn and learn so more. I can’t stress this enough. You can take classes, read up on your subject matter, attend seminars, find a mentor or practice your skills hands on but never stop learning about your business.
2. Share your knowledge. Write well researched articles about your subject matter and post them in online article directories.
3. Build credibility. Post helpful answers to questions relating to your field on discussion groups like Internet.com. Whatever you do, do not self serve with full blown ads soliciting your wares. You should, however, include your web url in your signature.
4. Put yourself out there. Pursue speaking engagements offering to give free seminars and “How To” clinics at local libraries and small businesses. Remember to be prepared and professional. Just as I mentioned in tip #3, do not bombard your listeners with high pressure or endless ads during your speech. Provide quality information that is useful to the group you are presenting to. Have brochures and marketing materials available for them to take if they wish. If you need help in this area I suggest you look into joining your local Toastmasters group. You will not only gain tips and practice in speaking but you will be networking with others.
5. Join a committee in your area of interest and network, network, network. Refer to tips #3 and #4 regarding self serving. There is a Chinese proverb that states “A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study.” Listen when others speak, there is much knowledge and experience in their words.
6. Become a resource for media. Offer interviews and articles to local newspapers, town newsletters and radio stations. You never know, you could gain a regular column in your local newspaper providing helpful tips or maybe even a 15 minute spot once a week on a local radio show called “Ask the ____________.” If you can’t break into big time radio or newspapers look into colleges. Some of them have their own radio station.
7. Create a professional looking website with excellent content. Remember, less is more if the content is good.
Choosing A Career
Whether you are just out of school or ready for a change; the task of choosing a career to pursue can be daunting. There are so many careers out there to choose from. So how do you choose when you don’t know what you want?
First, you have to begin by learning about yourself. Think about your values, skills and interests. Think of how you currently spend most of your free time. Other people are also an indicator of talents that you don’t see. What do people tell you that you are good at? What do they always come to you for help with? These are all markers of what comes naturally to you and that which is most rewarding for you. Here are two activities you can do right now to help with your self assessment:
1. Take out a piece of paper and write down activities that you do when time seems to fly by, next write down the accomplishments that mean the most to you. Take a look at all you have written to see if there are patterns or common factors. It could be that your activities and accomplishments involve helping people or creating with your hands. Maybe you tend to do your best when working alone or in the great outdoors. Looking at your past can help you determine what is most fulfilling to you.
2. Another way to find what you want to do is to think about your worst possible job. Try this, take out another piece of paper and begin to describe your absolute worst job scenario. I mean detail it down to your work environment, work attire, actual work duties, co-worker attitudes and time constraints. This will shed some light on what you don’t want and by default the exact opposite will tell you what you are looking for in a career.
If the activities above do not work for you there are online career assessment tests both free and with a fee. You may also consider enlisting the services of a career coach who can guide you through the assessment process.
Second, now that you know a little something about yourself and what you want in a career, begin to make a list of careers that encompass those things that mean the most to you.
Third, begin investigating the careers on your list. Go online or search your local library for books on the careers you have chosen. Speaking to someone who is actually doing the work you are interested in will give you a first hand look at the duties involved. By now you may have crossed some choices off of your list. Continue doing research making notes on the skills or training you will need for each career choice. Again, narrow your list to the one that seems to be the best fit.
Fourth, set your goals and make an action plan to obtain the job or start that business. Take classes, shadow someone currently doing the job or enlist a mentor for business startup.
First, you have to begin by learning about yourself. Think about your values, skills and interests. Think of how you currently spend most of your free time. Other people are also an indicator of talents that you don’t see. What do people tell you that you are good at? What do they always come to you for help with? These are all markers of what comes naturally to you and that which is most rewarding for you. Here are two activities you can do right now to help with your self assessment:
1. Take out a piece of paper and write down activities that you do when time seems to fly by, next write down the accomplishments that mean the most to you. Take a look at all you have written to see if there are patterns or common factors. It could be that your activities and accomplishments involve helping people or creating with your hands. Maybe you tend to do your best when working alone or in the great outdoors. Looking at your past can help you determine what is most fulfilling to you.
2. Another way to find what you want to do is to think about your worst possible job. Try this, take out another piece of paper and begin to describe your absolute worst job scenario. I mean detail it down to your work environment, work attire, actual work duties, co-worker attitudes and time constraints. This will shed some light on what you don’t want and by default the exact opposite will tell you what you are looking for in a career.
If the activities above do not work for you there are online career assessment tests both free and with a fee. You may also consider enlisting the services of a career coach who can guide you through the assessment process.
Second, now that you know a little something about yourself and what you want in a career, begin to make a list of careers that encompass those things that mean the most to you.
Third, begin investigating the careers on your list. Go online or search your local library for books on the careers you have chosen. Speaking to someone who is actually doing the work you are interested in will give you a first hand look at the duties involved. By now you may have crossed some choices off of your list. Continue doing research making notes on the skills or training you will need for each career choice. Again, narrow your list to the one that seems to be the best fit.
Fourth, set your goals and make an action plan to obtain the job or start that business. Take classes, shadow someone currently doing the job or enlist a mentor for business startup.
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