Who decides how smart you are? YOU, right? It’s about your decision-making skills, and the ability to learn and use what you’ve learned. …to a point. After 40, our brains radically rewire. According to neuroscientists, previously partitioned networks used for different processes become steadily more integrated. As we get older, the number of separate areas declines. Is that good… or bad? A bit [...]
Yes! Your morning coffee boosts alertness. But at what cost? A bunch of recent studies show the good, bad, and… weird(?) ways caffeine impacts our mental health. Since approx. 85% of Americans consume at least one caffeinated beverage each day, let’s look into this! Good things first! Your cup of caffeine makes you more alert, improves focus levels, and makes you better at [...]
We seem to be on a great productivity roller coaster these days, if you listen to the headlines. During COVID-19 shutdowns, the sudden switch to remote work had a silver lining: a heck of a lot of people reported feeling way more productive when working from home. But now, headlines like this late October one in the Washington Post refute that claim: “U.S. [...]
In 2022, in the US alone, there were 2,230,240 Google searches for things like “believable excuses to miss work.” That's bonkers to me. If the number alone does not impress you, know that it has increased by almost 2000% since pre-pandemic times. People are no longer willing to mindlessly show up for jobs they don’t like. So how are you going to keep [...]
The pandemic ruined everything. Or did it? According to Gallup CEO John Clifton, who recently released the book The Blind Spot: The Global Rise of Unhappiness and How Leaders Missed It, we’ve actually been unhappy since before the pandemic. He calls Covid the “strawman” everyone blames for something that was already in motion. Job stress is a huge factor in our collective unhappiness, [...]
The savings of letting your workforce stay remote? $11K per employee, according to an analysis by Global Workplace Analytics. The cost of letting your workforce be remote? Often, a higher IT spend for companies that now have to supply laptops, printers, and remote support where they didn’t before. Also, the average cost of a cyber breach is currently $9.4 million, according to IBM. [...]
“Tim, I think I blew that Zoom interview….” Let’s revisit some important points for virtual interviewing, shall we? First, prep in advance. Find a good, clean background that won’t showcase housekeeping efforts (or lack thereof) or your chaotic roommate situation. Alternatively, you could use one of the canned backgrounds available on Zoom or Teams. If you’re at home, make sure your pets and/or [...]
Steve Jobs passed 11 years ago, but he's still someone people turn to for career advice. Jobs once said, "You can't connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backward." In the context of your career, this can be loosely translated to mean: Trust that what you're doing right now will get you where you want to go. That is [...]
You’ve downloaded the hot new productivity app. You’ve made your to-do list. You’re ready for success… Now what? It can be hard to find an app that helps you do the ACTUAL work. Fast Company writer Jeremy Caplan suggests taking it back to basics with something as simple as the Apple Reminders app. Any old list app will do: Reminders, Google Tasks, and [...]
In L’Oréal’s West Coast HQ, employees can task a “concierge” with picking up their dog at daycare and bringing it back to work for $5 an hour. This is just one of the perks the cosmetics giant grants its workforce. There’s also an onsite garden where employees can pick veggies to take home, not to mention laundry service and people who will fill [...]