Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Stop the World. . .

FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING MARCH 26, 2007

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"He who is too busy doing good finds no time to be good."
~ Rabindranath Tagore

ARE YOU A HURRY WART?

There's a new term in the psychological lexicon - "hurry sickness." The phrase was created by Dr. Meyer Friendman, the same guy who gave us the "Type A Personality" (the driven, overachiever type).

What are some symptoms of hurry sickness? Are you irritated when it takes someone more than three rings to answer the phone? Do you interrupt people or finish their sentences? Have trouble sleeping or eating because you're distracted by "what needs to be done"?

In our quest to be more productive, we often relinquish time spent with friends and family, or just ourselves. We begin to fantasize about what it would feel like to just "unplug" ourselves from the world and all its responsibilities. It's high time to turn those dreams into reality.

The fact is that working at double speed or for twice as long does not increase your productivity - it actually reduces it. Working too fast for too long turns us into exhausted and inefficient drones who make mistakes because we're not thinking clearly.

Our bodies and minds remain in a constant state of overstimulation, which makes it just about impossible to relax. Each day turns into a survival course, instead of an opportunity to embrace life and help others.

Our fear of disappointment and failure often leads to hurry sickness. Eric Hoffer wrote that "the feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is, on the contrary, born of a vague fear that we are wasting our life."

So let someone else help, and let go of the fear that if you don't handle it, it won't get done right. Tell someone "no," and let go of the fear that you'll disappoint them by setting a boundary. And for heaven's sake, stop taking the cell phone or PDA into the bathroom (you know who you are)! Jump off the merry-go-round and take a long, slow look at what you've been missing.

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 10:37 PM 0 comments

Back to School!

FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING MARCH 12, 2007

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"A little learning is a dangerous thing."
~ Mark Twain

LESS IS LESS!
The beauty (and humor) of Twain's observation lies in its double-edged irony. On one level, it seems to suggest that a little learning makes us more formidable - more dangerous - than someone with no learning. Then again, it also suggests that the false sense of security that a little learning gives is, in itself, a dangerous thing.

In today's rapidly changing economy, just a little knowledge is indeed scary. The fact is we need education - early and often. According to economists, one of the best returns on an investment occurs when we spend for training and re-training ourselves. This investment in the future allows us to hone our skills, stay on top of changes in our profession, and adapt to changing technologies.

Take the recent trend in outsourcing. Many businesses have found it beneficial to send technology-related services to overseas operations in countries that have invested heavily in technology training. Like it or not, the companies save money, and the overseas employees doing the work are typically among the highest-paid in their communities. If we stop training ourselves, we lose out to those who appreciate the value of continuing education.

Perhaps most importantly for us, investing in ourselves also buys us some time for reflection and assessment. We can't find out where we're going if we can't figure out where we are. We need to commit the time and the resources to take advantage of continuing education opportunities. As retirement age rises and people work longer, we all want to feel good about our jobs. Expertise is often the edge we need. Quite simply, we're worth it.

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 2:35 PM 0 comments