Can you hear a colleague mention your name three cubicles over while in the middle of a task? If so, you can thank your Reticular Activating Center (RAS), which is similar to a big filter at the base of your brain. It’s up to you to program it for its highest and best use.
According to a recent poll, Americans are unsatisfied with their work and their lives. People of all ages, and across income levels, are unhappy with their supervisors and not engaged with what they do. What, if anything, can you do about this dismal state of affairs?
When you’re in a funk, you don’t need negative people dragging you down, so limit your contact with constant complainers and whiners.
Question: “I have a new co-worker who frequently scowls, sighs disapprovingly, and mutters inappropriate remarks under her breath. I try to avoid her because she makes me uncomfortable. Last week, she exhibited the same behavior during a meeting at a client’s office. I was embarrassed by the way she represented our company. When I reported her conduct to our manager, he said that I should “learn to work with different types of people.” His reaction surprised me, because I am a very open-minded person. I thought that my boss would appreciate this information, but he seems to feel that I’m an insensitive tattletale. Was I wrong to report her behavior?” — Mortified Co-worker
Your desk isn’t the only thing that needs occasional decluttering. Our lives could use some decluttering, too, says Gail Blanke, author of Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life. Blanke calls the extra physical and emotional debris “life plaque.”
Follow the “daily” rule: If you don’t use an item every day, store it out of sight.
Make your email more readable by crafting enticing subject lines … Why wait for an annual review to get feedback? Ask for one-minute feedback at every opportunity … Knock out more of your critical to-dos by whittling down your to-do list each day … Go ahead: Ask for a $100,000 salary …
Leave 20% of your schedule clear for unexpected interruptions.
If you have the gift of gab, it can limit your opportunities to move ahead. Communications pro Barbara Pachter offers these tips to rein in loquaciousness:
If you are unable to concentrate because of fatigue, anger or illness, ask a colleague to double-check important work.