I feel passionate about how much time we waste comparing ourselves to others. We make assumptions about their lives, rather than recognize that they, too, struggle with their own limiting beliefs, challenges and self-doubts. If we compare ourselves only to the superachievers, we’re always going to walk away thinking we’re not good enough. We need to acknowledge that we are doing our best daily and give ourselves credit for all our efforts.
Consider two administrative assistants within the same company: Tara forges relationships across departmental lines while Max is mainly interested in meeting his team’s needs. When it’s time for company leadership to tap employees to work on a new, interdepartmental project, whom do you think they’ll pick?
Always state your position in positive terms. Say, “I’ll have it to you by 8 a.m. tomorrow,” instead of “I can’t get to that until today.” Or say, “I will complete it in two hours,” not “I’ll get to that ASAP.”
Question: “I can’t seem to find the happy medium between too much work and not enough. Although I’ve been doing training for 20 years, I still spend a million hours on my lesson plans and class materials. My experience should enable me to work much more quickly, but if I don’t spend all my spare time prepping for class, I feel like a slacker. I’d like to nurture my creative side by trying out some new hobbies and activities. How can I stop devoting so much time to my work?” — Too Dedicated
Surina Dixon, former women’s basketball coach at Texas Southern University, has filed a gender discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the school, alleging that it violated Title VII by paying her half of what it paid the coach of the men’s team.
Save up to $250 by shipping your luggage via a carrier rather than checking it at the airport … Focus on the most important 10% of words you speak or write, to make them more memorable … Track your company’s competition with WatchThatPage.com, a free tool that monitors specific web pages.
Katherine Griffin, who writes for the blog “Corporette,” recalls the time she was newly hired and her office liaison called her “Kathy” right off the bat. “He immediately began promoting me to other partners as ‘Kathy’—which made me cringe.” Knowing when to correct someone, and when to let it go, is the first step. Next, you need to figure out how to do it tactfully. Some suggestions from Griffin:
Don’t accept “I need this right away” when taking on an assignment. Always ask the person to specify a date and time for you to complete the assignment, or you may be putting unnecessary pressure on yourself.
Select the right hotel room for business travelers with the help of these online tools, named as some of the best by Travel + Leisure magazine: tripkick.com, raveable.comand tripadvisor.com.
Make your memos, e-mails and announcements easier to read: Never capitalize entire words and phrases. Why? All-capped words are difficult–and annoying–to read for most people.