Do you procrastinate? Do you tend to wait until the last minute to get a project done, and then work urgently and frantically to get it finished? Do you ever wonder why you do it? Well here’s your chance to get some answers! Take an entertaining look at the mind of a procrastinator in Tim Urban’s TED Talk. (And then get back to what you’re supposed to be doing!)
Humor
What Horror Movies Can Teach You About Work
I’ve watched a lot of horror movies over the years. And yes, most of them are pretty lousy. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn from them. I actually think they provide a lot of helpful information about how to succeed in the workplace!
Here’s just a sampling of what I’ve learned:
- Pay attention to your intuition – Do you feel like something is going amiss on a project that you’re working on? Or do you feel like you really shouldn’t go into the basement of that creepy, abandoned cabin in the woods? Well, you should trust those feelings! If your intuition is telling you that something isn’t quite right, don’t ignore it. Do some investigating and adjust your course of action, if necessary.
- When something goes wrong, don’t panic – If a client suddenly changes a deadline, or if your plan to defeat a vengeful ghost goes awry, try to stay calm. Panicking often causes people to make bad decisions. When something goes wrong, it’s best if you can tackle the issue calmly and rationally.
- Hone your problem-solving skills – Who survives and thrives in tense situations? It’s the people who are good at solving problems! In order to be successful, you need to be able to adapt rapidly to change, exercise good judgment, and solve problems creatively and competently.
- Work as a team – If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from horror movies, it’s that you and your friends/coworkers should stick together. You’re much more skilled, competent, and effective when you combine your talents and work as a cohesive team. Successful teams are empowering and productive. They make any task seem like it can be easily managed.
- Think critically – When you’re presented with a complex, ambiguous problem, think things through carefully. After all, you don’t want to be the kind of person who pokes at a strange alien creature without even putting on a protective suit! (Things never go well for those kinds of people.) Take the time to gather, interpret, and evaluate information, and use it to make effective decisions.
Good luck! And if you have any additional horror movie-related tips, please feel free to share them in the Comments section below!
How to Cheat Your Fitbit
You’re probably familiar with Fitbits. They’re a device that you can clip on your shirt or wear on your wrist in order to count the number of steps you take during the day.
You may also be familiar with “Fitbit Challenges.” More and more workplaces are organizing these competitions to see which of their employees can log the most steps during a certain period of time. Fitbit Challenges are designed to motivate employees to get more exercise and improve their health.
But competitions can sometimes bring out the dark side in some people. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on various ways that employees have cheated their Fitbits, including these ingenious ideas:
- An employee attached the Fitbit to a hamster wheel and let the hamster do all the work.
- An employee attached the Fitbit to a running ceiling fan.
- An employee attached the Fitbit to a running power drill.
- An employee attached the Fitbit to his shoe, and then tapped his foot all day.
- An employee attached the Fitbit to her dog’s collar. (Dogs take about 13,000 to 30,000 steps a day.)
I must admit that I kind of admire these people for coming up with these devious, innovative ideas. But still, they didn’t deserve to win their competitions, and they lost out on doing actual exercise.
So if you’re planning to participate in one of these challenges, remember that walking is beneficial and winning isn’t everything! And if you’re thinking of organizing a Fitbit Challenge at your office and you’d like to encourage people to forgo these types of shenanigans, try the following:
- Reward people for reaching their personal step goals rather than having the highest number of steps.
- Ask people to self-report the distance they walked rather than relying on Fitbit data. They’ll be more likely to be honest about what they accomplished.
Bachman, R. (2016, June 9). Want to cheat your Fitbit? Try a puppy or a power drill. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/articles/want-to-cheat-your-fitbit-try-using-a-puppy-or-a-power-drill-1465487106
Surviving Awkward Moments
Human interactions can sometimes be so complex and awkward! If you’ve ever waved back at someone who wasn’t actually waving at you, or forgotten someone’s name two seconds after the person told you what it was, you know what I’m talking about.
That’s why I particularly enjoyed this list of “The 11 Most Awkward Moments That Happen When You Physically Greet Someone.” (I can especially relate to items 3, 6, and 10!) It includes both handy illustrations and tips on how to avoid or alleviate various cringe worthy situations.
Have you ever experienced any of these situations? Feel free to share your stories (and helpful suggestions) in the Comments section below!
Pyle, N. W. (2014, May 22). The 11 most awkward moments that happen when you physically greet someone. BuzzFeed. Retrieved from http://www.buzzfeed.com/nathanwpyle/the-11-most-awkward-moments-that-happen-when-you-physically#.hcYWx44PXq
Corresponding With Spammers
Today is April Fools’ Day – a day when a few of your coworkers are probably playing dumb, hilarious practical jokes on the rest of the office. So I thought it was the perfect day to share this TED Talk about corresponding (and messing around) with spammers.
We’ve all gotten plenty of spam. They’re the emails that say you’ve won an amazing prize, but you just need to send some money to claim it. Or maybe there’s an exiled member of a royal family who needs your help (and some funds) in order to move large amounts of money into the country. We’ve all learned to ignore these types of emails. But what would happen if you actually responded – and started making your own ridiculous requests?
In this TED Talk, speaker James Veitch plays a prank on a spammer and shows us the results. Enjoy! And happy April Fools’ Day!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QdPW8JrYzQ
Are You Really Too Sick to Work?
It’s February – one of the most popular months to call in sick to work. And I guess that’s not surprising. People are more likely to get a cold or the flu during the winter. But viruses might not be the only reason why people are calling in sick. According to a recent survey by CareerBuilder.com, 38% of people who call in sick are actually perfectly healthy.
So why didn’t these healthy people want to go to work? Most reported that they just didn’t feel like it, or they needed a rest. And the most common excuse that these people gave their bosses was a simple, “I’m sick.”
A simple excuse is probably best. But some people got a little more creative. Managers who were surveyed were asked to submit some of the most memorable excuses that they’ve received. Here are the top 10:
- Employee claimed his grandmother poisoned him with ham.
- Employee was stuck under the bed.
- Employee broke his arm reaching to grab a falling sandwich.
- Employee said the universe was telling him to take a day off.
- Employee’s wife found out he was cheating. He had to spend the day retrieving his belongings from the dumpster.
- Employee poked herself in the eye while combing her hair.
- Employee said his wife put all his underwear in the washer.
- Employee said the meal he cooked for a department potluck didn’t turn out well.
- Employee was going to the beach because the doctor said she needed more vitamin D.
- Employee said her cat was stuck inside the dashboard of her car.
These excuses actually seem pretty legitimate to me! Who would make these things up? But it seems that a sizable percentage of employers aren’t as trusting as I am.
Survey results indicate that 32% of managers check their sick employees’ social media accounts to see if there’s any evidence that they aren’t really sick. So if you’re home sick, but feeling basically OK, you should still restrain yourself from posting a picture of you dancing around or playing badminton in the backyard. A picture of a mug of tea, a box of Kleenex, and your sad face would probably be a better choice!
Things That Movies Get Wrong About Work
Movies are the best. They are fabulous and entertaining. And I think they’ve taught me a lot about work and how to be an effective employee!
But even though movies can sometimes offer some insight into the workings of an office, they often get so many things wrong. In my opinion, here are some of the biggest misconceptions:
- We don’t all work in advertising. People in movies do work in a variety of fields. But an overwhelming number of them seem to be advertising executives. And they always need to make a BIG presentation to an important client by some impossible deadline. Drama!
- We don’t all hate our desk jobs. In the movies, if people don’t work in advertising, they probably work in a cubicle at some crappy desk job, and they hate it. But hey – I’ve worked in a cubicle before, and I thought it was fine! And I bet there are lots of people who feel similarly satisfied with their desk jobs. Desk jobs often provide consistency and cubicles can be very cozy!
- We don’t all have horrible bosses. Movie bosses are the worst! They’re petty, shallow, demanding, and cruel. Maybe some of you are currently working for a person like this. (If so, you have my sympathy!) But I bet there are plenty of people who feel just fine about their bosses. Personally, I like mine a lot.
- We don’t all have an office romance. In the movies, a person is either dating his or her scummy coworker (when the perfect person is right around the corner), or dating some other scummy person (when the perfect person is actually his or her coworker). Either way, romance is in the air! Now I suppose that office romances do happen occasionally. But they definitely don’t happen with the amazing frequency that they do in the movies.
- Sometimes, we actually have to do work. People in movies never seem to actually do work when they’re in the office. (The same phenomena can be seen in movies about college students – they never study or go to class.) In reality, work isn’t all about bantering with your coworkers. Sometimes, we do have to be productive!
So there you go – a brief list of things that movies get wrong about work. But I’m sure I’ve left a lot of important items off this list. So please feel free to provide your suggestions in the Comments section below!
You Can’t Be a Leader Without Followers
At work, you need both leaders and followers. Although leaders often get more attention and praise, followers are just as essential. Leaders can’t exist without followers and organizations can’t run without them.
This point is made in a very entertaining way in a TED talk by Derek Sivers. He dissects a short video of a “shirtless dancing guy” and makes some very salient points about the importance (and bravery) of followers. Enjoy!
Learn From Darth Vader’s Mistakes
Today, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is being released in the U.S. I’m a big geek, so I’m pretty excited. (Oh, I hope it’s good! Come on, J. J. Abrams — don’t let me down!)
In honor of this event, I thought it might be nice to look back on the first three Star Wars movies and consider some of the lessons that can be learned from them – especially regarding leadership. Darth Vader was a formidable opponent, but he (and the Emperor) did make some serious leadership mistakes. They had a lot of strengths, but they weren’t particularly good at guiding, motivating, and empowering others.
So here’s a video that highlights their leadership missteps. It also provides helpful tips on how to avoid them. Enjoy!
Holding Doors – Are You Going Too Far?
I work in a friendly, busy building. People are always coming and going – which means that I’m often holding the door for fellow coworkers. This seems like the right thing to do. If there’s someone right behind you as you’re entering a building, you should hold the door, right? But what if the person is 10 feet behind you? Or 15 feet behind you? What then?
I sometimes struggle with this dilemma – which is why I found this cartoon by Reza Farazmand of Poorly Drawn Lines to be so entertaining. It’s clear that I’m not the only one who has issues!
Unfortunately, I suspect that I often fall into that “Awkward” category. I might need to rethink my door-holding behavior!
Do you have guidelines that you follow when it comes to holding doors? If so, please share them in the Comments section below!