Optimum Jundiai

quinta-feira, 28 de agosto de 2014

How to Balance Your Professional and Personal Life

Life can be pretty hectic sometimes! So much so that you fail to find time for yourself, for your loved ones... This hurts the worst when you are a working woman! How do you strike a balance in your professional life and personal life?
STEPS:

When you wake up in the morning, prepare a list of tasks you need to complete for the day both professional and personal. This need not be a physical list of to-do's but can be a list formed in your mind

As you step in the office prioritize your tasks. Plan your work for the day. Plan in a way where you have buffer time left for yourself.

Keep an eye on your schedule, if you are going slow on your tasks, reschedule immediately. Push some tasks for the next day, if the task is too important and has to be completed the same day, then send a note home that you will be late...Sending a note early home will keep them updated! Your coming late won't be a hassle or a surprise for your family.

When you leave the office, wipe your mind! Yes it is pretty difficult initially but over a period of time you will get used to it.

Talk to your family as much as you can. Remember your work in office and the effort and energy you spent in office shouldn't become a punishment for your family.

Make your weekends and holidays memorable. Do something new for your family every time. Prepare good food one weekend, Invite friends the other time, go out for a long drive, go for a movie etc
from: http://www.wikihow.com/Balance-Your-Professional-and-Personal-Life

segunda-feira, 25 de agosto de 2014

The Most Important Part Of Being Successful Can't Be Taught

You have to want it.

You have to desperately crave to be successful.

Like a person who is drowning, you have to flail and fight and exert every ounce of effort within your control to get to where you wanna be.

There are a lot of skills that you need in order to be successful.

No matter what you think of as success — sports, politics, business, math, or science — there are things that you will need to adapt your lifestyle around in order to rise to the top and become a champion.

But one thing you can't learn from a book, a seminar, or a leadership guru, is the will to win.

And it's the most important difference between winners and losers.

Winners want to win.

It's the driving force that consumes their entire being.

They want to win. It is all they think about.

Just like a drowning man so desperately wants one more final gulp of oxygen, winners are consumed with an inner rage to achieve their goals.

It's not something that is nice to have or a recommended option.

It's the most important part of the fight.

It's what determines the final outcome.

There are a lot of people who can tell you how to be successful. They can repeat to you the exact textbook explanation for becoming a champion in whatever goal you set for yourself.

But there's a difference between knowing and doing and craving and struggling.

You need the will to win more than you do any other set of skills.

You need passion more than you do intellectual power.

You have to want it. Deep down in your bones.

It can't be bought or taught or borrowed.

It has to be something that's deep inside you, driving you to do what no one else is willing to do.

Do you want it?

DAN WALDSCHMIDT,

sábado, 23 de agosto de 2014

5 Morning Rituals to Keep You Productive All Day Long

Most of us work long hours: 40, 50 or even 60 hours each week. But chances are, given distractions like online entertainment, office snacking habits and ill-designed time management, we're only churning out high-quality work a portion of each day.

Here are five practical steps to incorporate into any morning routine to optimize your time at the office and maintain productivity all day long:

7 minutes of exercise. Yep, not 10 -- just seven. Why? It's short enough that it won't impact the rest of your morning routine and long enough to shake off any residual sluggishness from the night before -- including that extra glass of wine.

There are endless fitness routines to turn to, but the one I like best is called the 7 Minute Workout (and yes, there's an app for that). In just seven minutes, it works all major muscle groups with 12 total exercises.

Start your day out green. Sure, we've all been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it's pretty easy to reach for a bagel, bowl of cereal, egg sandwich or cup of yogurt to get your metabolism going.

While all of these options are fine choices once in a while, you'll be shocked at the morning lift you can get from a green smoothie. And healthy juicing requires less time in the morning than toasting a bagel and slathering it with low fat cream cheese.

I go quick and easy, blending (for about a minute): one apple, one banana, one orange, a handful of spinach, half of a cucumber, any juice or coconut water on hand, a few cubes of ice and some flax seed. It's cheap, easy and energizing.

Pick 3 wins for the day. While you're waiting for that smoothie to blend, get ahead of the evening's conversation with your significant other -- you know, the one that starts, "How was your day?"

Decide on the three things that you'd like to accomplish in the next 12 hours in order for you to feel like the day was a success. Sure, not every day will be an epic win, but strategizing in this way will help to move the ball forward.

Block your calendar to achieve wins. One of the most common mistakes people make at the office is not turning to-do lists into time-bound, effective project lists. I've found that people who have mastered this hack are far more likely to deliver tasks on time.

It's simple: For each of the big things on your list, block off the amount of time on your calendar that you estimate the task might take -- and then add 33% more time just to be sure.

If a project is multi-day or has dependencies, break it up into digestible chunks. Use one block to plan and a second or third block to accomplish.

This simple method will help hold you accountable and immediately help you refocus on the tasks you've prioritized when you do get distracted. Too often, we let one distraction steamroll an entire morning -- now you don't have to let that client email derail you from your winning plan for the day.

Power up after lunch. Take the 15 minutes right after lunch to refocus on the day -- a kind of professional meditation. Get away from your computer, turn it off, go sit in a conference room and determine what you have on tap for the rest of the day.

Think about how the list you set in the morning is shaping up. Are you ahead of schedule? Behind schedule? You'll find that these 15 minutes help you identify how you got derailed, what's causing you distractions and help you to rediscover a rhythm to be productive all day long.

Give this simple formula a try for a week and I think you'll be pleased with the results.

JAMES REINHART

CONTRIBUTOR

Co-founder of thredUp.com

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230734

quinta-feira, 14 de agosto de 2014

7 Business Apps Every Professional Should Download

Smartphones have given today’s mobile workers the ability to not have to worry about having everything they need before they get moving. Which is great, until they end up in a conference, airplane, or other no-reception zone without the crucial One Thing I Need. Good smartphone and tablet tools don't just provide access – they think ahead and plan for contingencies, like a personal assistant. They’re the tools that can make your job a whole lot easier.

Which apps do this? We happen to have seven of them, linked and ready for installing. The best part: all of them, except one category, are free, and the one that isn’t free is notably less than a hamburger.

1. TRIPIT

TripIt is a personal assistant for travel, especially if you give it access to your email inbox and let it scan for tickets and itineraries. Afterward, you literally don’t have to do anything except open the app to see all the details: your confirmation number, your departure time, the address of your hotel, the distance to the conference center, and the website of the restaurant you’re supposed to eat at Friday night. Open it up at least once before you journey and TripIt will hold your travel details for offline viewing, in case you don’t want to spring for WiFi on the plane. (iPhone/iPad, Android)

2. QUICKOFFICE

There are all kinds of mobile business apps that claim to work well with Microsoft Office documents, but only so many offer only read-only access. Those that do offer editing tools often want to tie you into their own cloud storage schemes. Not QuickOffice. This app was recently acquired by Google, but it still works as a utilitarian open, edit, and save solution for quick views and adjustments. We’ve talked about the importance of information mobility, and this app provides a great way for mobile workers to access documents on the go. (iTunes, Android)

3. POCKET (OR INSTAPAPER)

Which app looks and works better is a matter of taste, but both Pocket and Instapaper do their jobs remarkably well. That job: take blog posts, news articles, and other content on the web (including everything at WorkIntelligent.ly – shameless plug), strip it down to just the text and necessary images, and save them to your device for reading when you have time. Big offices used to have such “clipping services” way back when, but they didn’t let you choose your favorite font. (Pocket: iTunes, Android; Instapaper: iTunes, Android)

4. AGENDA (OR FANTASTICAL)

It’s odd how unhelpful the default calendar on an iPhone or Android can be. With how much design has gone into the OS of each, how can something as simple as a calendar cause so many headaches? Why can’t you just get an agenda view of everything that’s happening today when you start it up? Why does entering the time and date of an event feel like unlocking a bank vault? My own fix is Agenda Calendar 4, which makes smart guesses about when you want to schedule things, shows your day in a well-designed glance view, and generally gives you more information and links from an event than Calendar. If you frequently use the iPhone’s Reminders function, you might instead try Fantastical 2, which ties directly into the iPhone’s alerts and reminders systems. (Agenda: iTunes, Android; Fantastical: iTunes)

5. CHROME

Chrome is Google’s own browser. Your iPhone already has the Safari browser, and your Android phone likely has its own default browser. So why would you bother to install a browser that shows the same web pages as either of these? One big reason: if you use Chrome on a desktop computer and sign in on both your desktop and phone with your Google account, you can see and open any tab you had open on your desktop browser when you left it. Or just start typing in a few words from the page you already went to into Chrome’s search bar, and Chrome should come up with it. It feels magical (and maybe a bit creepy). (iTunes, Android)

6. CLOUDCUBE (ANDROID ONLY)

Maybe you already feel backed up, cloud-connected, and ready to grab your files from anywhere. So cloud-connected, in fact, that you sometimes have a hard time remembering in which cloud you stored that certain file, and where you have room to put that next big one. CloudCube works with all the notable syncing services: Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive, Box, SugarSync, and more. Move files between clouds, see what’s inside each account, and even sync folders between your Android device and your services of choice. (Android)

7. IFTTT (IF THIS THEN THAT) (IPHONE ONLY)

Wouldn’t it be neat if every time you took a screenshot of your iPhone, that screenshot was automatically saved to where you want it? Or if every time you completed a Reminder on your phone, it emailed the appropriate person to let them know, automatically? Or if you could see, on your phone, every photo you’ve been tagged in from Facebook? With IFTTT (short for If This Then That), that kind of two-step, non-thinking action is entirely possible. The hardest part is thinking up the “recipes” that you want for your phone, but after playing with the website a bit, you should get a real sense of just how many things can be done without your having to even think about it. Be sure to install this iPhone app so you can take full advantage of that set-and-forget productivity. (iTunes).

terça-feira, 12 de agosto de 2014

Giving Customers More Than They Asked for Is Too Much of a Good Thing

In business, there is an old adage, “under promise and over deliver.” What a load of nonsense. Why bother setting expectations if you know you can exceed them? Don't over deliver on features, benefits and services. Just tell your customers what they need and provide that. As soon as you start to over promise and over deliver, you create unnecessary additional work for your employees.

Companies often struggle to meet self-imposed deadlines and promises that have no additional value to the customer. Why have a policy to return a customer’s call within 30 minutes if customers are willing to wait two hours? You exhaust resources to make, and sometimes miss, that 30-minute deadline, even though customers don't require it and didn't asked you to. Don't set yourself up for failure trying to meet unnecessarily high customer expectations.

I was recently working with a client who couldn’t figure out why so few customers were upgrading to the new version of their technology. We asked some customers if they valued the additional features. Turns out, customers didn’t perceive any additional value in the upgrade, so they naturally weren’t willing to pay more for it. This scenario happens frequently when organizations believe that they are adding value but there is no additional perceived value from their customers.

Think of QuickBooks, a leading accounting software program designed for small and mid-sized businesses, or Microsoft Excel. There is a great deal of functionality within both of these software programs. However, most customers only use about 10 percent of that functionality.

Think of the effort Intuit and Microsoft put into developing all of that additional functionality that most customers don’t use. Think about the resources that were used and the pressure that was put on those resources to meet deadlines and manage costs. Yet they were building something that most customers didn’t need. They were over promising and over delivering because they thought that’s what was needed to attract customers.

Over promising sounds good in marketing language but if what you are promising has no value to your customers, then language is all that it is. Find an area of your organization where you are over promising and over delivering and stop it. Scale back what you are doing and see what impact it has. Look for areas that require a great deal of time and effort that could be reduced (24 hour customer service, in-person visits, building additional functionality, etc.).

You don’t need to over promise AND over deliver. You just need to tell your customers what they need and provide it to them better than anyone else.

ANDREW MILLER

segunda-feira, 11 de agosto de 2014

WHAT IS SELF MARKETING?

What is Self Marketing?

Self marketing helps individuals improve their image and reputation to advance their careers. Self marketing is sometimes called personal branding because it uses branding tools to create an image around an employee rather than a product (See also Brand Marketing). It gives candidates more opportunities to effectively communicate their values, skills, experiences, and vision to potential employers. Successful self marketing helps employees separate themselves from the hundreds of other applicants who may be competing for the same job.

There are many strategies that job seekers can use to differentiate themselves. Social networking sites allow self marketers to build profiles where they can show off examples of their work, highlight their experiences, and network with employers. Blogs offer users a chance to demonstrate their expertise and comment on industry trends. Professional conferences present opportunities to connect with employers and make a personal impression, while volunteer work makes a positive statement about the employee’s values.

Tips for Self Marketing

Use testimonials – Let the satisfied responses of former clients help to market your services to future clients.
Make self marketing a habit – Treat self marketing just like a second job. Dedicate a portion of every day to working on self marketing efforts.
Utilize social media – Use sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google + to show off samples and network with potential clients or employers.
Post a resume online – Make it easy for employers and clients to find and download a comprehensive resume from the web.
Use online forums – Join the conversation in industry related forums and don’t be shy about highlighting experiences and qualifications.
Use a 'gravatar' – A gravatar is a “globally recognized avatar and is a picture that appears next to blog posts and discussion board comments.” Using one helps to humanize online activities and promote recognition.
Make a case for yourself – Include a section on your personal website that spells out 5-10 explicit reasons why your work is better than others.
Use keywords – Using industry related keywords in blog posts, social media profiles, and personal websites makes them easier for employers to find.
Market with others – If you maintain a blog, offer to recommend the work of a friend or colleague if they mention you on their own blog.

http://www.marketing-schools.org/types-of-marketing/self-marketing.html

quarta-feira, 6 de agosto de 2014

The 5 Secrets of Great Bosses

When you think of your best boss ever, what did he or she do that created an inspiring work environment for you? How did he or she act to enable your high performance and high engagement each day?

I’ve asked thousands of people in my leadership programs and keynote audiences these questions. The answers I hear are consistent. Great bosses do five vital things daily to create workplace inspiration and serve their employees well.

Before I share these five secrets, let me pose a different question: Would your employees, today, say you are their best boss ever? The answer may not be a resounding "yes" from every employee.

Today’s entrepreneurs invest a great deal of time and energy in their businesses. If you’re like many small-business owners, you put greater thought into your products and services than you do into your company’s culture. Thing is, culture -- the quality of your work environment and the relationships you have with your employees -- drives everything that happens in your organization, good or bad.

Related: Factors That Make a Great Boss

Great bosses ensure that their company’s work environment is founded upon trust and respect. Those bosses model trust and respect daily, and they require that team members demonstrate trust and respect in every interaction, with each other and with customers.

So what does it take to be a GREAT boss? It has to do with Growth,Relationships, Excellence, Accountability and Teamwork.

1. Inspire growth: Great leaders help employees build needed skills and toss antiquated ones. They help employees try new approaches that can increase quality and efficiency. Great bosses hold employees to high standards of performance and delivery. They ensure employees see the business from their customers’ point of view so that great service is the norm.

2. Honor relationships: They know that positive relationships based on shared values create trust and respect. They understand that without mutual trust and respect, workplace cooperation disappears. Great bosses demand civility as a minimum standard for treatment of workplace peers and customers, no matter what. They create clear “rules” to ensure fair and kind treatment of everyone.

3. Inspire excellence: They set high standards of performance for themselves and for every employee. They know that their team and organization have made performance promises -- to each other and to customers. Hitting or exceeding these high standards means those promises are kept. Great bosses celebrate goal traction and effort as well as goal accomplishment - every day.

4. Ensure accountability: Top-notch leaders know that consequence management is the path to high performing, values-aligned teams. They craft an environment of both joint accountability (the team delivers on its promises) and individual accountability (every individual delivers on his or her promises). Consequence management means there is consistent and prompt validation of aligned effort as well as consistent and prompt redirection of misaligned effort.

5. Encourage teamwork: They understand that cooperative teamwork among employees maintains trust and respect more than competitive interaction does. Great bosses create incentives for not only individual contribution but for aligned team contributions, too. A mantra of “win as one team” helps create a supportive yet driven environment where team members work together to deliver promised products and services.

By integrating some of these practices in your own work teams, you can become a great boss to your employees -- while boosting performance, service and profits.

Still not sure if you have what it takes? You can take my fast an freeGreat Bosses Assessment. Your rankings on the 30 specific behaviors of great bosses will be added to the global response tally. In the process, you’ll be exposed to the “how’s” that great bosses use to craft workplace inspiration.