Productivity Peaks and Valleys

Productivity Peaks and Valleys Since you’re not a machine, you don’t run at optimum speed and efficiency all day. There are points in the day when you’re sharp, focused and energized, and points where you’re sluggish, mentally and physically. The key to success is working with these natural rhythms during your day, maximizing your peaks and resting during the valleys. Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'EzCSB0QvSkhs9Uoie53eow',sig:'TAyaLQaZuvKH3Az-MtwUzGLDCMg6XSd0o9e405IhIWI=',w:'489px',h:'350px',items:'148194694',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })}); Whether you consider yourself a morning person or a night owl, all humans share a circadian rhythm that is hard to counter, even with copious amounts of caffeine. We’re most alert between 10:00 and noon; after lunch, our energy levels decline, hitting a low peak about 3:30 PM. We get a second wind around 6:00 PM, then it’s downhill until 3:30 AM, when we begin another gentle upward cycle. Some productivity experts recommend a cyclical approach throughout the day, working intensely for bursts of two hours at a time. Then take a break, do something routine or mindless, or have a snack. With practice, you’ll be able to reset your brain and achieve another burst of intensely productive work. Others suggest a 30/30 pattern: focus intensely for 30 minutes, then relax for 30 minutes. This makes sense to me, since the same pattern works for physical endurance as well. Your body can sustain short bursts of intense activity like running, but winds down to exhaustion over long periods (unless you’re a supremely conditioned athlete.) You actually get better fitness results with short bursts of run/walk activity than running miles at a time. I suspect our brains might be wired the same way to conserve energy. Another key to productivity is simplifying your daily plan so you’re working on only the most important things. In 1918, a man named Ivy Lee was asked to help the staff at Bethlehem Steel Corporation, the largest shipbuilder and the second-largest steel producer in America at the time, improve their productivity. Lee spent 15 minutes with each executive to give them this simple plan for getting things done. At the end of each work day, write down the six most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow. Do not write down more than six tasks (you could choose 3 or 5 as well â€" whatever works for you.) Prioritize those items in order of their true importance. When you arrive tomorrow, concentrate only on the first task. Work until the first task is finished before moving on to the second task. Approach the rest of your list in the same fashion. At the end of the day, move any unfinished items to a new list of six tasks for the following day. Repeat this process every working day. The Lee method works because it simplifies your approach to work. Creating simple rules to manage complex work helps you stay focused on what’s important and will reduce the chance that you feel overwhelmed. Most work days include dozens of mental decision points, moments when we ask ourselves what to do next. The Lee system eliminates most decisions â€" you know what to start on next. Researchers have determined that making decisions drains mental energy. Neuroscientists have learned that even tiny, inconsequential decisions tuna or chicken salad â€" take a toll on our ability to Making fewer decisions during the day leaves more capacity for reasoning and creativity. It’s unrealistic to assume that any worker can stay alert and focused for 8 to 10 hours a day. Almost any method you choose for pacing yourself will make you more productive as long as it includes periods of rest between activities. Forcing yourself to sit and grind when you can’t make it work is the worst tactic you can adopt. Your brain will perceive even unproductive, frustrating periods of staring at a blank sheet of paper as work, and you’ll only be more fatigued and less like to produce any quality work. The experts recommend you take a few minutes to watch a cat video. For medicinal purposes, of course.

6 different places to find work experience for psychology students

6 different places to find work experience for psychology students If youre after a rewarding and fascinating career thats different every day, you could do a lot worse than psychology. But as you can imagine with a course that literally teaches you the inner workings of the mind, your skill level needs to be high. To be in with a shout at a graduate job or even further postgraduate study, you need to show that you can demonstrate your psych knowledge. Whats the best way to do this? Work experience. As weve said before, work experience is the gateway to your dream career. It demonstrates commitment to a career path and preps your for the realities of the job like nothing else. Just as there are many routes to nirvana, there are lots of different places to find work experience for psychology students. Here are just a few. The NHS Your first stop is pretty much your one-stop shop for psychology work experience. The many, many different services which make up the NHS are a prime place to get experience relevant for a psychology career regardless of which path you want to follow. Mostly this will be voluntary work, but therell also be paid roles working in hospitals, hospices and care homes. The police Forensic psychology is a crucial part of finding out criminals motives for committing crimes and therefore working out how to prevent them. A number of police organisations such as  NACRO, Victim Support and the Youth Offending Team offer roles where you can pick this up. If not there, then you can get work in the Probation Service, or volunteer with addicts or at-risk youth. HR departments Looking to specialise in occupational psychology? Doing a temporary office job or working in human resources is a great way to get relevant experience. Youll learn the ins-and-outs of the workplace environment, which will serve you well when youre being called upon to resolve disputes and treat burnout. Your local sports team Yes, really. A sports team is the ideal place to get exercise or sports psychology experience. Signing up to coach a team or individual sport is the perfect place to learn the psyche behind the winning mentality and more. If this is not possible, volunteering on a sports or exercise programme is a handy alternative. Head down to you local leisure centre and see what you can do. Afterschool clubs Anyone else go to a lot of homework clubs or holiday clubs when they were a kid? Its just a lot of younguns running around, breaking toys and eating cereal for the most part. Theyre always looking for helpers too, and those looking to specialise in education or child psychology should jump at the chance. Places like Kumon and Explore Learning give you the chance to work closely with children and gain an understanding of how their minds work. All you need is good Maths and English GCSEs. Charities This option can be quite easy to come back and is a surefire way to get experience regardless of what you want to specialise in. All you have to do is choose a charity thats relevant to your interests. Those looking to go into counselling will want to aim for organisations like MIND, For The Record and Samaritans, while addiction and disability charities are good experience for clinical psychology. Its worth a go, if only to put some positive energy back into the world while you get your work experience. Connect with Debut on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more careers insights.

Why Midlife Rocks Your World - Kathy Caprino

Why Midlife Rocks Your World I was speaking today with a wonderful client of mine â€" let’s call her “Carol,” who shared a story about her views of midlife BEFORE she had arrived in midlife, and then what happened when her 40’s came. She shared, It’s funny â€" when I was my early 30’s, and I’d hear about someone having a ‘midlife crisis,’ I’d think to myself, “Wow, I don’t really get that.   I’m focused, doing what I need to, experiencing success, the kids are good, things are moving along well.   I can’t imagine waking up to wanting a whole new life or finding out that what I have I don’t want.” But when I turned 43, something happened.   I awakened somehow â€" after a series of tough events and challenges to wanting more, wanting different.   It’s like I suddenly saw my whole life differently through the eyes of a middle-ager.   The career I spent years rising to the top of, somehow lost its hold on me â€" it felt empty and unimportant, silly almost.   My relationship with my husband had some serious problems too over the years that took a terrible toll on me, but I never allowed myself to stop and look at that â€" I just powered through it all.     Now that my kids are older and I’m not needed in the same, day-to-day way, I find that I truly want a different life â€" a life thats mine based on what I value and what I love.   I don’t want to just push down what isn’t working.  I want to bring it out and resolve it, or let it go.   I get it now â€" a “midlife crisis” isn’t a cliché.   It’s real and it’s powerful.   Carol speaks for thousands of folks who’ve awakened in midlife to realizing that what they’ve created in their 20s and 30s just doesn’t fit who they’ve become. (You can read about my midlife breakthrough in my book Breakdown Breakthrough). Why is midlife a time of major transition? I’ve observed that the following contribute to our re-awakening in midlife and wanting change: 1)    A time of reckoning and re-evaluation  Realizing that your life is potentially more than half over is a jarring experience, and brings with it a sense of urgency to live more authentically, more joyfully.   At 50, we just want different things than we did at 30. 2)    Kids are out of the house â€" Without the pressing parenting responsibilities that can be all-consuming, there’s room to think, room to breathe, and quiet space to hear yourself dream. 3)    Friends start to die â€" My husband and I discussed this just yesterday, that a number of our 50+-year-old friends have died â€" from sudden illness, cancer, heart attack, etc.   When your friends die, you think hard. 4)   Longings won’t be suppressed â€" After working so hard crafting a “successful” life, we get tired of it.   Instead of some outward version of “success,” we long for joy, excitement, passion, peace we want to live life more fully, on our terms. 5) We know how to speak up We wont be talked down to anymore.   Weve lived through that, and weve learned how to stand up, speak up and power up.   We wont tolerate put downs, manipulation or pressure like we used to. 6)    We’ve finally earned it â€" Finally, after all you’ve strived for, accomplished, created, and achieved, you know what you’re capable of.   You won’t stand for less.   You have the confidence and the courage to embrace the idea that’s been skulking around in your mind for years.   You’re ready to admit, “This can’t be all there is.   I know there’s more for me.” So, my friends, if you’re in midlife and wondering why everything looks and feels different, don’t be alarmed.   It’s a natural, normal life progression â€" a stage that doesn’t have to represent hell.   But don’t resist it and break yourself against it like a rock â€" embrace it.   Let yourself look into the deep recesses of your heart, mind, and soul, to find clues of who you want to become now, and what you want to create in this next thrilling chapter.  It’s a new time, waiting for a fuller, more expansive you. Midlife can pave the way to a glorious reclamation of your passion, power and purpose â€" go for it!

Technical Writing Job Resume Objective

Technical Writing Job Resume ObjectiveA high technical writing job resume objective is a vital part of your career and a must. It is the starting point of your career. The job you apply for says a lot about the type of education and experience you have. A writing resume objective, written according to proper etiquette, is the perfect thing to do.There are a lot of things that you should put in the technical job resume objective. You can choose the format that you want. Format, style, content, everything goes into the composition of the objective. You should avoid putting unnecessary words or details.Using such things will not impress the employer but instead will make the person reading it bored. So keep the wording brief and clear. It must have a clear objective. It has to be strong and long. Always be careful to remember your key points.Another important part of a technical job resume objective is to put the school or college that you have attended. You should put the full name of the school. Do not leave out the year of graduation. For example, if you finished college in '71, leave out the year. That is because if the employer wants to search for your diploma or degree, he would have to do it from this year.A very good way to spell it out is 'University of Cincinnati' and leave out the year of completion. This will make it easier for the employer to find you. You can also include your field of studies like 'engineering', 'entrepreneurship' and so on.Some technical job resume objective include your technical skills. The kind of professional you are depends on the technical skills you have. They could be theoretical and practical. Either one can be included depending on the job or the organization.Some organizations prefer to have an engineer who is skilled in one specific skill. So they give preference to those who have a specific technical skill like one who knows how to do a certain program. In this case, you could write that you are a certified programmer, and it should be at the top of your resume objective.A technical writing resume objective should always be well-written, because they are actually an interview question. Just by including what you know about a particular topic will not make your objective look good. So be careful when writing.

Tips For Writing a Resume For Subway Rides

Tips For Writing a Resume For Subway RidesWriting a resume for subway rides can be daunting at first, but with a little help you'll be ready to get yourself that new job. The job market is tough and you need to be organized if you hope to land a position in your area. Below are a few tips that will make it a little easier for you.When you're writing your resume, keep in mind that you are applying for different jobs than you were last year. The way the job market is going, you will have to tailor your resume to the needs of the company. Some positions will not require a certain type of experience, while others will. In any case, be sure to include all of the relevant information to each position. Look for job vacancies posted on their websites.Since you are going to be submitting your resume, you will want to use your personal information to ensure that the company does not see private information. If you send your resume through an online service, make sure that the resume service wi ll not contact you or your family members. Also, be sure that the service will not keep your contact information. By using one of these services, you can be sure that your personal information is safe.The best thing you can do before you start writing your resume is to spend some time thinking about what your skill sets are. What specific things are you best at? Then, think about how you will apply those skills in a different type of situation. Once you have the basics down, then you can begin filling in the blanks.Another important thing to consider when writing your resume is what kind of position you are applying for. Certain situations call for a specific style of writing, while others will allow for more flexibility. So, for example, some areas require the use of the 'traffic cop' style of writing. In this case, you can go into detail about how you have honed your skills as a traffic cop, as opposed to writing only a general summary of your experience. In other words, if you ar e interviewing for a position as a pedestrian cop, your resume should reflect the traffic cop style of writing.Last, when you are writing your resume, consider making connections with other people in your field. Building relationships with people in your field is essential. Once you are sure that you have the right people in your corner, you can let them know about your resume. By this, you can avoid the competition of writing your resume and learning everything you can from reading resumes of other applicants.No matter what career you choose, a great resume will help you land a good job, so take the time to do this. Make sure that your resume reflects your knowledge and experience, and that it includes your personal information.

What Everybody Dislikes About Best Ways to Writing a Attorney Resume and Why

What Everybody Dislikes About Best Ways to Writing a Attorney Resume and Why The New Angle On Best Ways to Writing a Attorney Resume Just Released Firms prefer lawyers that are experienced in various branches like tax, labor or criminal. Furthermore, you can look for attorney jobs on Monster. An attorney is just one of the highest paid professional jobs. There is not only one right method of designing a resume. Be pleased with your extensive career. Your resume needs to make an image of somebody, not merely a set of jobs and education. Best Ways to Writing a Attorney Resume Secrets That No One Else Knows About Unfortunately, it's a task that's often given too little attention, leading to a boring bio page which is but a thinly-veiled rehashing of an old resume. So here are a few methods to take an original look at revising your resume. I. Introduction A good resume is an exceedingly important tool in the work search procedure. A template is a superb way to have some st ructure going. Quality over quantity is particularly pertinent here. A resume is quite a selective body of content. You must always be ready to talk about your grades and position in your class. The Chronicles of Best Ways to Writing a Attorney Resume Write the remainder of your attorney resume first, so you are going to have lots of precedent to draw on. There's no need to include work experience which doesn't have any relevance to the custom of law. Now that you currently have a background on how best to create and what things to include in a power of attorney resignation letter, no matter what special powers you've been granted with by your principal and no matter the kind of power of attorney, you may surely realize a letter that's simple to comprehend and right to the point. If you are practicing law for several years and have many accomplishments below your belt, you don't need to be limited to a single page resume. However gorgeous you're, the hiring partner doesn 't need a photo of you. A well-written resume will show employers what you need to offer and can boost your probability of getting an interview. Whether you're looking for work or not, you need to always try and keep your resume current. Constant job migration isn't ever a great indication to any employer. Reviewing attorney resume samples supplies you with some inspiration about what to include to aid you separate yourself from the remainder of the competition.5. Discover how to compose a legal resume. Most formats for attorney professional documents consist of similar sections, even in the event the order is a bit more different. With the prevalence of the web, emailing a resume is quite commonplace. Your resume is only as great as the info you provide. Bear in mind, it is possible to always work this type of information into an interview if you believe it's vital. It is crucial to exclude all irrelevant info, including experience, employment and superfluous details. Concise, tight writing is a whole lot more compelling and has a larger effect on the reader. You're not writing an essay. Writing a resume isn't a simple endeavour, and as stated by the feedback from our present community, it's really beneficial to check professional resume examples before starting to compose your own. If you're beginning to feel just like you're writing for the interest of writing, stop.

How To Identify Who You Are As A Leader - Work It Daily

How To Identify Who You Are As A Leader - Work It Daily Who are you as a leader? Most people are polite. When we talk about ourselves in our job search, often the listener is politely nodding but really they are thinking “So what?” or “I have no idea what you are trying to say to me.” We walk away thinking we knocked it out of the park and we continue to delude ourselves. Related: 5 Tips For Good Leadership Skills Every month, I facilitate a “power networking” group for Executives in Transition. Not surprisingly, these executives are faced with an intense and highly competitive marketplace that includes larger pools of competing candidates, sparse opportunities, and a talent buyer’s market. I am not sure if its ego or laziness, but time after time, these leaders poorly communicate what they want or need. The most important thing any job seeker, especially a leader, can do to help themselves in the process is take the time to really understand what makes them unique. So often, job candidates don’t have a good grasp on the “Why should we hire you over someone else?” question. In every meeting, we attempt to get the attendees to hone in on exactly that subject. We are almost always met with a boring diatribe that leaves the listener saying “so what?” HR leaders love to say that what makes them unique is that they like to be out among the workers. So? How does that help a company? IT leaders love to say that they understand technology AND business. I have yet to meet a CIO who doesn’t say that. If everyone is saying that, you are not unique. So how do you figure out what makes you different? One of the quickest ways to identify who you are as a leader is to think about 3-5 stories in which you were successful in past positions. Lay them out (on paper) and identify clearly the Challenge you were faced with, the Action that you took, and the Result. We refer to this as the CAR exercise. Frankly, this is a vital step that will help you throughout the job search process. If you clearly understand the value that you can bring to a prospective employer, you will be able to network better, brand yourself better, interview better, and assess your own needs better. Once you do have a handle on what you bring to the table, whittle that down to two or three sentences. A great structure to what you should say is to identify your desired role and then to state what pains you can solve for that employer. It is vital that you be clear and succinct when you are communicating your value statement. I am a firm believer that your 30 second commercial is too long. Know yourself well and state it clearly. A great acronym that we use is the WAIT principle. Why Am I Talking? Another great exercise is to draw a timeline and list out the jobs that you have held. Above the timeline, note what you liked about that role. Below the timeline, note what you disliked about that role. This will help you get a handle on the type of roles you are willing to undertake as well as those you are not. Leaders must be clear on their unique leadership contributions and the types of organizations that respond to it. It’s human nature for any job seeker to take their best strengths for granted and overlook successes. Career transition requires that they take responsibility for re-messaging their core skills to connect to the bona fide and compelling value being offered to the buying audience. Do you have a clear grasp on your value proposition? If not, what is stopping you? I would love to hear your thoughts. This post was originally published at an earlier date. Photo Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!