Does this look like your normal morning meeting? It seems like these Steller sea lions at the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex have a lot to talk about. Maybe they’re discussing the quality of the fish they’re hunting or the immense size (11 feet long and 2,500 pounds) of the largest males. Each one seems to have an opinion. Which Steller sea lion are you? Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Many millennials and recent college grads are opting for remote working positions. Working remotely provides a better work-life balance for them, along with the freedom to work where and how they please. It offers some great opportunities, too. Millennials can be great assets to remote teams, but managing them can be a difficult task. You have to know how to manage them without stepping on their toes or their fresh perspectives. To help you out, here are some tips for managing millennials in the workplace.
Since a remote position doesn’t require team members to check in daily at the office, job expectations can sometimes be a little muddled. So, once you’ve welcomed a new remote worker to the team, be clear with your expectations right away. Explain the daily tasks you expect to be accomplished, like doing a routine Skype meeting in the morning or summarizing finished tasks at the end of each day. Lay out clear communication plans and processes to make things easier. Be transparent about the opportunities the job can create for your employees. Millennials generally feel uncertain about the future of the economy. They will surely appreciate the idea of having a job that will allow them to continuously pay their bills. Be candid about the experience that they will gain as a remote employee, along with the possible promotions that lie ahead.
See Also: How Millennials Measure Success At Work
Millennials have gotten a bad rap as lazy, entitled, and under-ambitious workers. In reality, however, most of them are just interested in finding a better way to do things. They like utilizing the latest technology and processes to make their efforts more efficient. In fact, Deloitte’s 2016 Millennial Survey found that one of the top considerations of the generation in choosing a career was whether or not the company invested in the latest technology. Millennials are into the freshest and greatest technology available. Many young people welcome innovation and are more comfortable with emerging tech than other generations, especially in the workplace. As an employer, you should understand that millennial workers may prefer to use newer tech over traditional practices. 41% of millennials prefer electronic communication, such as IM’ing or texting than phone calls for work. Many of them are completely comfortable with an entirely virtual office with no pen, paper or filing cabinet in sight. Since remote positions often rely on online tools for the job, integrating technology isn’t so much an issue. If you’re not sure what online tools to invest in, be open to suggestions from your younger team members.
Since remote workers don’t have to check in to the office every day, it can be tempting for them to take advantage of the freedom their job provides. Keeping employees accountable is one of the number one remote management problems for all age groups, not just millennials. However, this generation does tend to seek autonomy and independence over micro-management, so finding the balance can be tricky. One study found that 75% of millennials had no idea whether or not their performance was up to par and 90% wished that their managers would let them know how they were doing. With that, be sure to provide regular feedback on areas of improvement or jobs well-done to encourage millennials to keep up the good work. Using time tracking tools is one way to keep employees more accountable. Using a project management tool that offers specific task assignment and project progression can also help team members and leaders make sure that everything gets completed on time.
Company culture is a huge deal to millennials. The majority of them are even willing to take a $7,600 pay cut for a job with a better workplace environment. While running a remote workplace makes it difficult to achieve that, it is still quite possible. Prioritize in-person meetings as often as possible, along with phone calls and Skype meetings, to create a more concrete connection between team members. Celebrate milestones or accomplishments by acknowledging these things during virtual meetings. Encourage each team member to participate in large meetings and share their inputs and suggestions. Millennials need to feel connected with their co-workers and business, so focus on creating a culture that they can participate in and enjoy.
See Also: Adulting Isn’t Just Instagramming Your Dinner – Soft Skills For Millennials
While millennials certainly don’t need special treatment, keep their concerns and questions in mind. Be open to their suggestions and communicate everything clearly to avoid frustration and confusion. Millennials appreciate genuine concern from their superiors and remote peers. As much as possible, try to create an inviting culture that prioritizes teamwork and personal connection.
The post 4 Useful Tips For Managing Millennials In The Workplace appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
California legislators, and progressive lawmakers in other states, may be acting from the best of motives, but this swath of new legislation rests on a dangerous mistake. I say this as a nonbinary person, one who identifies as genderqueer and uses the gender-neutral pronouns they and them. Adding “nonbinary” to the list of legal gender options does not address the core problem: any legal system that requires a person to record their gender perpetuates government control over our bodies and identities.
In Canada, there are plenty of work opportunities. If you are thinking of becoming a skilled worker in Canada, this article can help you learn a lot about the guidelines and the procedures you have to go through in applying for Canadian citizenship.
One of the main objectives of Canadian migration is to allow people to contribute to Canada’s growing economy. Workers who visit Canada are highly important not just for the country’s economy but its workforce as well. People who have successfully passed the Skilled Worker Immigration project will get a chance to possess a Canadian Visa, which will allow him to bring his family to Canada. You have a lot of options when it comes to processing your application. For example, if you plan to work in Quebec, you can go through the Quebec Skilled Worker Program. You can also go through one of the Provincial Nominee Programs of the country Underneath, you will discover a rundown of the programs you can consider:
Numerous Canadian bosses are currently looking for remote gifted specialists to be with their team as fast as possible. On the off chance that you get an offer, you should consider a quick track Canadian movement application.
Before you actually become a skilled worker in Canada, you need to fit the following requirements:
Once you can show that you fulfill all of those requirements, you can start completing the requirements you’ll need for your application.
You need to download your application form from the internet. For skilled workers, you can download the application from the skilled worker’s application module. Complete the form and answer all the questions truthfully. Avoid all sorts of discrepancies which can make your application invalid. Remember, do not send incomplete forms.
Once you have finished filling your form up, be sure to make the fee payment. If you do not qualify for your application, the fee will be refunded to your account. After fulfilling all the requirements, you have to send your application form to the Canadian centers. You can’t submit your form to the Canadian high commissions of your own country. The total process should not take too long if you meet all the requirements.
For skilled workers, Canada indeed has many opportunities. However, there are specific guidelines which you must adhere to for a successful immigration process. Hopefully, this article helped you understand a bit about the immigration process and how you can get started.
The post Becoming A Skilled Worker In Canada: What You Need to Know Before Immigrating appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
Hard work plays a huge role in the way your career unfolds, but it’s not the only thing that can make you successful. It turns out that social networking and productivity are closely related to a person’s success. How? Here are the four major ways socialization can make one more productive.
“You are what you eat.” You’ve probably heard this saying before. In the context of professional productivity, it carries a great weight. How? Replace “what you eat” with “who you hang out with.” When you build a network of professionals in the same field as you, you’ll have a group of individuals working toward the same goals as you. This can be incredibly motivating. While it’s easy to get burned out in any job, even one that you’re passionate about, having colleagues and friends whose passion remains will help you stay on the right track. And when their motivation wanes, you can do the same for them.
See Also: 4 Cheesy But Effective Tips To Set Goals And Achieve Them
When you’re regularly in touch with other professionals in the field, it makes it impossible to ignore any career-oriented goals that you set for yourself. This makes it important that you actually set aside time for people who are on the same network as you. For instance, pick one or two people to check in with every month. Choose people who have a bit more experience in the field than you do. Ask them to hold you accountable for reaching a goal at work or taking a professional step within a given time frame. When you have someone else cheering you on from the sidelines, you’ll have a much harder time putting off that difficult conversation with your boss about a promotion or stepping back from launching your own business.
Your network of like-minded people won’t only help you meet your goals, but they can also help you make them. If you’re wondering if you should take a new job or make another career move, your peers will be able to offer some advice. Since they work in the same industry as you do, they’ve probably encountered a similar situation already. And if not, they, at least, have a better understanding of the job than you do.
Having a traditional network of colleagues and friends in place can boost your productivity, but did you know that checking Facebook can, too? Some recent studies have discovered that employees who take occasional breaks with social media are nine percent more productive than employees who keep their noses to the grindstone all day. The brief escape from work helps the brain recharge and gives one a boost. Some companies are also starting to use social media networks internally. It’s easier for you to engage with other employees and the company as a whole when you can use a medium you’re already familiar with, like Twitter or Facebook. So, in this setting, social media can help you get involved with and invested in what’s going on at a higher level and that can motivate you to work much harder. With so many positive aspects of networking, it’s impossible to deny that meeting more people in your field positively affects your work. Whether you’re bouncing ideas off a seasoned colleague or taking a break from crunching numbers to check Instagram, the connection between social networking and productivity is undeniable.
The post How Networking Can Make You More Productive appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
You’re reading 5 Easy Steps to Be Happy and Start Living Now, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Do you find yourself moving from day to day just wishing the weekend was here already? Or maybe you think if you could just hit the big lottery numbers you’d be set for life!
Let’s face it, we all have been guilty of working in the present while wishing for the future.
We say things like, “Well, maybe next year I’ll lose some weight.” Or “Next month I’ll stay on my budget.”
But next month and then next year come and go yet nothing ever changes.
Why is that? Why can’t we just be happy and start living right now? Just because there is a saying that “the grass may be greener on the other side” doesn’t make it so!
We do not have to simply let time pass by and hope that one day we finally arrive at the perfect place for us.
No, no, no! We can be happy! We can live a life of abundance! Starting right now!
Let’s look at 10 easy steps to be happy and start living today!
Whenever any of my friends or colleagues travel overseas to a third world country they all seem to make a statement about how content people seemed to be even though they had less of everything.
It seems a mystery of sorts. How can one have so little yet be so happy?
I think it’s because they have learned how to count their blessings. Their easy step is to count blessed what they currently have.
They have a roof over the heads and food to eat, and that is enough!
Life is a constant change of seasons. And get this, no season is a “bad” one or “better” than any other.
Rather, each season is necessary and vital to life. So, if you are in a winter season of life, learn to take it slower and trust that what you’ve stored up will last until spring breaks forth.
If you are in a summer season, push yourself to continue to plant and get ready for a fall harvest.
And a side note, begin to enjoy the actual seasons in the area you live. Is it cold and snowy outside? That’s so wonderful! Is it hot and sticky? Thank goodness for that!
Were you able to wake up, take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and get to work safely? Consider it a victory!
Maybe that’s not good enough for you, so how about this. Did you work out this week at all? Victory! Did you eat some extra vegetables during dinner this week? Celebrate!
There are so many small wins that we need to learn to celebrate instead of only waiting for the really big ones. Big wins come few and far between.
A sports team doesn’t just show up and win the championship. They win each practice, each game played, and take every thought captive to propel them to victory.
A life devoid of loving others is miserable and lonely. Start living now by loving others.
I suggest you start with your immediate family. You only get one physical family, so make sure to love them well!
Then make sure you love your friends and appreciate them. Good friends are indeed a gift and the relationship needs love.
Last, love people you meet regardless. One simple act of kindness can ripple love into eternity and literally bring life to a human being.
Everyone must “fail” at things in life in order to get better. There is no one who comes into this world already the best at their craft or talent.
If failure sounds like a negative word to you, start replacing it with the word growing.
In life, we are always growing or rotting. You get to decide.
I’m Johnny Miller, the founder of Finding Your Fit, a blog about finding margin and career direction in life. Come check out my blog and see how you can begin designing a career roadmap that actually fits your life.
You’ve read 5 Easy Steps to Be Happy and Start Living Now, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
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When we think about the world as we know it, and how humans developed from pre-historic times, inevitably the word Pangea enters the discussion. This supercontinent, formed approximately 335 million years ago, slowly started to break apart around 175 million years ago into the continents we now know. In a day and age where borders are constantly on our mind, just who would have been our neighbors—and how would the world be different—if Pangea existed today?
It’s a question Massimo Pietrobon had on his mind when he created Pangea Politica, a conceptual map demonstrating where modern countries would fall within Pangea if it still existed today. “Joining the world into one piece of land represents a return to unity with the planet and within the human race, in spite of the divisions that make our rulers quite comfortable,” Pietrobon writes.
And so, in Pietrobon’s world, the United States cuddles up to Russia, while Africa dominates the map. Neighboring North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and the Middle East, Africa’s imposing stature reminds us of just how large the continent really is. While the designer notes that the scale of some countries could be better—see this true size map to verify dimensions—for him, it is the concept that counts.
Where do you think we’d be today if Pangea had stayed together?
Massimo Pietrobon: Website | Vimeo
h/t: [Open Culture]
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The post Map Reveals Where Modern Countries Would Be Located If Pangea Still Existed appeared first on My Modern Met.
On January 10, The Washington Post reported that Donald J. Trump passed a milestone that none of his predecessors is known to have attained: just short of the anniversary of his first year in office, he told his two thousandth lie. The path from the first lie to the two thousandth (and now beyond), a veritable Via Dolorosa of civic corruption, has been impossible for even the most resolute citizen to avoid. Trump is in our faces, and our brains, constantly. Yet the barrage is so unceasing that we can’t remember what he did and said last week, or sometimes even yesterday.
Hustle. Work harder. Sleep less, do more. Quit whining and get to work! All of these lines are terrible pieces of advice. I know because I’ve tried them all for myself. I worked 16 hours per day, killing myself to try and grow my business. At the end of the day, my only accomplishment was massive burnout and exhaustion. And then something happened… I discovered the real “secret” to high performance. No one’s talking about it while others laugh at it. For me, however, it helped me transform from being stressed, anxious, and on the verge of bankruptcy into a joyful, happy, and a 7-figure business owner. So, what’s this secret? Read on to find out.
Have you ever watched Nascar or Formula One? If so, then you probably noticed that these high-performance vehicles are forced to stop several times over the course of a race to refuel and replace their wheels. Those cars are some of the most finely tuned, high-performing feats of modern engineering our world has ever seen. Yet, they are forced to stop dozens of times over the course of a race to refuel! This is obvious to most people, but when applied to life, most people would think, “Bah, I can sleep when I’m dead. Life’s for the living baby!” If that’s your attitude, then I want you to listen carefully to what I’m about to say. If you want to perform really well, then you need to get serious about refueling yourself. Just ask any bodybuilder you know. Unless they are hopped up on steroids, they will tell you that proper nutrition, high-quality sleep, and the right supplements are just as important (if not more so) than lifting heavy weights. So, how can you apply the “secret” of refueling to your life? It’s actually pretty simple. Focus on the “Three P’s” of high-performance refueling. Physical, psychological, and personal.
The first part of the “Three P” equation is also the most commonly practiced. Physical refueling. Whether you want to or not, every single one of you reading this has to spend time each day eating, drinking, and sleeping. It’s a requirement if you want to continue living. However, few people fail to do that. So, over the next month, I want to challenge you to do three simple things.
Sleep deprivation can kill you. If you want to perform at the highest level, then you must take your sleep seriously. Here’s a checklist to help you get better sleep tonight.
If you will do these tips, I promise that you will sleep better than you have in months!
See Also: Get Strong, Sleep, Repeat: The Importance Of Sleeping
Many of you might hate me for this one (and I understand) but one of the changes that had the biggest impact on my physical health was reducing my meat consumption (specifically red meat) and increasing my fruit and vegetable intake. I’m not saying that you have to go vegetarian or vegan. I haven’t either. What I am saying is that the quickest way to boost your energy, reduce fatigue, and generally feel better is to eat more whole fruits and vegetables and less meat, dairy, and processed foods.
It’s amazing to me how many of my friends will spend $997 on a brand new business course promising to transform their lives but they won’t pay $45 to get a massage after a long week of work. The final part of the physical refueling trifecta isn’t more exercise (although that’s important); it’s to find small ways to care for yourself weekly. Whether it’s a massage, a salt bath, 30 minutes in a steam room, or simply a long nap, you need to prioritize taking care of your body and doing things that add energy into your life.
While many people excel at refueling themselves physically, they still end up feeling stressed, burnt out, and exhausted (just like I did) because they don’t prioritize refueling their psychological tank. Just because your body is firing on all cylinders doesn’t mean that your mind is keeping up. Here are a few quick tips to help you overcome brain fog and refocus your mind.
Although many experts suggest working in the traditional Pomodoro blocks of 50 minutes, I’ve found that I’m more productive when I only work for 48 minutes. Give it a try for yourself and see how effective you are during the day. First, write down your #1 priority for the next 42 minutes. Then, use e.ggtimer.com and set a timer for 42 minutes. Put your head down and work as hard as you can and then, when the timer buzzes, get up and take a break for 18 minutes.
Ironically, I’ve found that some of the most rejuvenating mental activities are also the most challenging. For example, if I sit down in front of the TV and watch Family Guy reruns for two hours, I will leave feeling drained and mentally sluggish. However, if I used those same two hours to read a good book, practice a new language, or toy around on my guitar, I leave feeling inspired and motivated to take on the day. Commit right now to learning or practicing something new and I promise that, 365 days from now, your life will look completely different.
One of the simplest yet most profound techniques that I’ve ever found for clearing mental fog and refueling your psychology is to build a morning and evening “braindump” ritual. The practice is simple. Take a pen, a notepad, and your brain. Sit on the couch, set a 10-minute timer, and then write down everything that comes to your head. Whether it’s to-do list items, angry feelings about a fight you recently had with your spouse, or inner frustrations about a situation at work, get it out of your head. If you do this every morning and evening for a month, your brain will never feel the same.
Before you check out on me and roll your eyes because I used the “S” word, realize that I’m not referring to anything esoteric, religious, or “woo-woo”. I use the term “spiritually” very loosely, referring to those activities that recharge your “higher self”. Here’s what I mean.
This one simple habit has the power to significantly reduce stress and rejuvenate your mind and body in ways you probably can’t imagine. We evolved to live in harmony with nature. In our fast-paced world, we often forget this and spend days, weeks, or even years without reconnecting to our roots and enjoying the great outdoors. Make it a priority to do something that you enjoy outdoors for at least 30 minutes a day.
This might sound like an odd practice but you’d be surprised at how effective it can be as a refueling activity. In our day to day lives, we’ve seemingly lost the ability to focus on a single task. We’re never just doing one thing. We’ve always got something else going on in the background. So, I want to challenge you to take 15 to 30 minutes a day and just do one thing. Whether you sit and enjoy your morning cup of coffee in complete solitude, enjoy talking with your partner without distractions, or even just do your work without notifications going off in the background, learning to focus on one task at a time will help you conserve your energy and live a more fulfilling life.
The final way to recharge yourself spiritually is to spend time every month in service to others. Go volunteer at a local soup kitchen, clean up the trails near your home or sign up to build a house with Habitat for Humanity.
See Also: 5 Reasons Why You Should Volunteer
Just do something that will help you remember how much you have to be grateful for in your life. You won’t regret it.
The post How to Become Successful: The Real Secret No One is Talking About appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
Sig Nordal 