Etchings on the Attic Wall

Looking for a way to deliver just the right message, so there is no misunderstanding?  The Bureau of Communication web site has a large selection of fill-in-the-blank stationary that you can use to send a formal apology, a statement of gratitude, a declaration of romantic interest, or an airing of grievance.  The site allows you [...]

Highly Effective Work Habits:  Do Your Own Reviews

By this, I mean when it is that time of the year for your workspace review, perform a self-review rather than have someone else do it.  If your department typically does not work this way, suggest it.  I realize this is more work on you, but you [...]

Have a Garmin or TomTom GPS?  PIG Tones (”Politically Incorrect GPS”) has some very funny voices you can download to your device at a small fee.  They even provide a small program that installs it onto your device automatically.  Their TomTom installations are apparently a bit easier than Garmin, but I own a Garmin and [...]

Highly Effective Work Habits:  Keep Track of Your Accomplishments

In many positions out there today, you will often have to multitask amongst several tasks each day.  Over time, it will become more difficult to try and remember what you worked on and how well you did.  It is important to keep track of your accomplishments [...]

Highly Effective Work Habits:  Watch What You Say Around Your Colleagues

Many people make friends on the job.  There is nothing wrong with this at all.  It makes coming to work more enjoyable and helps with team collaboration.  However, you need to continuously sensor yourself and watch what you say, especially if one of your [...]

HootSuite is a social media dashboard.  It is designed for teams to track results from multiple social networks (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Wordpress, etc) using a single interface.  It has powerful tools allowing you to schedule tweets, upload files, manage your followers, run reports, track statistics, advanced search, and much more!  So, if you work [...]

Highly Effective Work Habits:  Archive Your Emails

Whatever email system you use at work, whether it be Outlook, Lotus Notes, or something else, archiving off your old emails is always a good idea.  The only downside is that, over time, it can take up a lot of space.  My Outlook archive file has been running [...]

Highly Effective Work Habits:  Conquer Fear of Failure
I believe the majority of people have an innate fear of failure.  Nobody wants to fail.  Unfortunately, this often results in under-performing employees.  If you let your fear rule you, you’ll never take risks and achieve results.  A good lesson here is that the best way to learn [...]

Highly Effective Work Habits:  Have a Life Outside of Work
People are far too overworked these days.  This leads to increased stress, lower energy levels, and increased tempers.  At some point, you’ve got to step back and realize that work is not everything.  You have got to strike a good balance between work and your personal/family [...]

Highly Effective Work Habits:  Staying Indispensable

Salary.com recently published an article entitled “14 Ways to Stay Indispensable“.  And while there is never a guarantee you will stay indispensable, these tips will certainly help make it less desirable for an employer to get rid of you.  Here is the list they published:

Be noticeable.  Basically, put yourself [...]