Category Archives: Changing Your Life
June 19, 2013 The Myth of Multitasking
The motive behind multitasking is noble. If we have a lot on our plates, it makes sense to try to take on many tasks at once so we give each task equal time and effort.
The problem is, this doesn’t work. What’s more, multitasking actually lessens the quality of your work.
We multitask to feel emotionally productive, according to a study mentioned in a Huffington Post article, even though we aren’t actually being productive. So while we might feel better about ourselves when we multitask, the truth is it adversely effects our productivity.
Here are a few ways to get yourself out of the habit of multitasking:
1. Prioritize
The worst thing you can do when bombarded by obligations is address them equally and simultaneously, even though we’re naturally inclined to do so. Decide what task is most important, and then do that.
2. Focus and Finish
You might feel yourself getting pulled out of this first, most important task and back into the pile of others things. Don’t get sucked back in! You have one thing to do now; nothing else matters. Do not allow yourself to be distracted until the most urgent task gets checked off the list. Then, move on.
3. Let go of the little things
Under stress, it’s natural to lump a bunch of unrelated stressors into one big, scary beast that wants you to fail. In reality, most of the time you may have 3-5 very important things to do, and then perhaps another handful of not-so-important things to do. By prioritizing, focusing and finishing, you’ll begin to discern between the big things and the little things, and the scary beast will start to evaporate (since it was all in your mind anyway). Then, you’ll be able to let go of the things that merely add to your stress but don’t necessarily need immediate addressing.
If you’re used to multitasking, at first you may feel less productive after adopting a singularly-focused work-style. But soon you’ll get used to it, and see how much more efficient you are when you give one thing your undivided attention.
Huffington Post. “Multitasking Makes People Feel Better, Even Though It’s Not Efficient: Study.” Posted May 1, 2012. Accessed June 17, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/01/multitasking-emotional-feel-better-_n_1467945.html
Tags: Career Coaching, Life Coaching, Lifelong Learning, Margaret Smith, UXL, Work-Styles
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June 5, 2013 Save Money And Gain Knowledge With Online Courses
Paying for college is a drag, and although the job market is much better now than it was when I first began coaching a few years back, it’s still tough to know whether getting another degree is a smart investment.
The good news is Massive Open Online Courses, or “MOOC’s,” are providing people the world over with quality courses, free of charge. These classes are taught by real professors from some top notch schools, and MOOCs take advantage of video chat technology to create a sense of community.
Perhaps the company that’s making the biggest waves is Coursera. Having teamed up with universities like Stanford, University of Pennsylvania and Princeton, Coursera provides five undergrad courses that the American Council on Education has approved to count toward college credit.
What excites me isn’t free college credit, even though this is a big step toward an affordable education. I’m excited about the opportunity this gives anyone who wants accessible, flexible and personal learning. Classes typically run from 6-12 weeks, and you are free to take as many or as few as you’d like. This gives even the busiest of us the chance to advance our education. And we can do it however we want.
If you’ve always been meaning to get caught up on the classic novels, for instance, take a literature course! If you’re crummy at math and don’t want to be anymore, there are math classes as basic as geometry 1. Or, you can develop the skills you apply everyday at work. Coursera offers economics courses, marketing courses and integrated technology courses, to name a few, all of which address real-world needs.
Oh, and did I mention it’s free?
The Next Web. “Online learning goes official as five Coursera courses get approved by the American Council on Education.” Accessed June 4, 2013. http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/02/07/online-learning-goes-official-as-five-coursera-courses-get-approved-by-the-american-council-on-education/
Tags: Career Coach Advice, Career Coaching, How to Boost Self-Esteem, How to Change Your Life, Life Coaching, Lifelong Learning
May 29, 2013 Being Consistent About Being Consistent
Whether it’s achieving a personal goal, boosting your business or developing relationships, perhaps the most important ingredient to success in any of these endeavors is consistency.
That’s all well and good, but what does this look like? How do we attain it? In other words, how does a person remain consistent about being consistent?
Widening the parameters
“One of the problems with temptations,” writes professor of psychology Timothy A. Pychyl, “is that they can seem relatively harmless. It seems so reasonable and seductive to conclude that not running ‘just today’ won’t harm our long-term health goals, and that eating that jelly donut won’t ruin our weight-loss goal.”
It’s true, one jelly donut won’t make you fat. But that isn’t the point, is it? A person becomes unhealthy by repeating unhealthy behavior over time. It’s not the one jelly donut, it’s the very many “just one” jelly donuts. By keeping the parameters strictly in the present, we actually make the problem worse.
A solution is to view your actions on a wider time-scale, as links in a chain which create an overall pattern of behavior. With a broader picture of your actions in mind, it becomes clear that “just this one” is really one of a great many. Change the action at the immediate level on a daily basis, and soon you’ll change the pattern entirely.
Consistency reinforces itself
It’s sobering knowing that one bad action leads to a pattern, but the good news is that this works in the reverse too. Since behaviors come in bundles, we can modify a single action every day knowing that this will soon develop into a bigger life pattern. In other words, don’t worry about taking on a huge self-improvement project. Focus on daily actions and feel good about those.
Speaking of which, I’m sure you’ve found that feeling good about your actions is addictive. And I’ll let you in on a little secret: you don’t need to feel guilty about feeling good about yourself! Use it to your advantage.
Consistency reveals character
We’re familiar with the phrase, “actions speak louder than words.” I’m guessing you’ve also experienced that terrible disconnect between your own actions and words. This is the result of a lack of consistency. In an ideal world, what you believe and what you do should line up perfectly. We don’t live in an ideal world, so you can forget about any idea of perfection. But what you can do is work toward consistency between your inner and outer selves. Act on your principles–little things, everyday. Clean up after the messes you’ll inevitably make, apologize for your inconsistencies, but keep forming new links in positive behavior chain.
One link, everyday!
Psychology Today. “More Effective Goal Intentions: Think Width and Consistency.” Accessed May 28, 2013. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/201011/more-effective-goal-intentions-think-width-and-consistency
Tags: Career Coach Advice, How to Boost Self-Esteem, How to Change Your Life, Insights Discovery, Life Coaching, Lifelong Learning, Margaret Smith
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