The Challenge:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).
(Visit my list at http://dayzeroproject.com/?u=ploem)
First of all it’s a question mark in the title, I’m not fired. But if you’re not careful, you could be! It’s been a long time since I started using twitter (http://herebeforeyou.com/ploem) and it’s the first time I’m thinking of protecting my updates. A couple of weeks ago we had a little incident at work which was a consequence of tweets posted by several employees (including me) about a certain suppliers service. Couple of days ago I read two very alike tweets of people who had similar experiences, one which resulted in almost losing the job.
I think everybody should decide for himself whether to protect his twitter account or not. Just know if you don’t…
…your tweets will appear in a public timeline which anyone has access to (and yes, you’d be surprised but suppliers, clients, management,… read these kinda things whether coincidencial or on purpose).
…your tweets can be found months, even years after you posted them
…maybe after you’ve deleted them they were picked up on other sites too (facebook etc).
…they will appear in twitter’s search results so it’s not that hard to find out who said something about anyone/anything
If you choose not to protect your account (maybe after you’ve read L4X9’s article), maybe these tips can help you not to get fired;)
1) never post critics or inside information (or anything that can be interpreted as critics/secret info) about your own work environment (colleagues, managers, products, company,..)
2) in any way don’t ever post something that can jeopardize the company’s or/and your relationships with suppliers, clients, consultants, providers,…
3) Stay positive!! Positive is good. People will even appreciate your support.
(In addition - protect my updates on twitter)
This weekend my sister got married jippii! One month ago she asked me to come up with an idea so they could thank the people for the wedding gifts they received. So I came up with an adjusted version of the speakerdogs we made earlier and created a cute little bride and groom.
I took about 15 minutes per peetje to make them :) we had 180 in total, go figure :p Additionly I printed 2 couples on A2 paper for bigger versions.
If you want to make one yourself here are the templates in pdf format:
Have fun :p
In great honour of Twitter’s Fail Whale we at Televic Education made our own Edumatic Fail Birdies:
This image will pop up every time we are deploying our Edumatic Author tool online. Read the story of Twitter’s Fail Whale here.
Having something to look forward to is very important to feel energized. Longing for something is in most cases even more rewarding then the actual moment itself. It keeps you going because you know a good time is coming. Whether it’s a concert of your favourite band, a romantic dinner, a trip abroad or even a project you always wanted to do at work. Don’t wait till the last moment to decide what you’re going to do, plan things in advance, you’ll feel calm and at ease when everything is already arranged.
At least do something you’ve never done before every six months, be open minded. Let fear guide you to do things you’d never thought you were capable of, later you’ll see these things as the biggest victories of your life.
(Interesting project: http://www.dayzeroproject.com - Plan 101 things in 1001 days)
(Plan ahead FAIL!)
“You really are as thick as clotted cream that’s been left out by some clot until the clots are so clotted you couldn’t unclot them with an electric declotter, aren’t you, Baldrick?” - Edmund Blackadder
You have to get rid of things you don’t need. Even if you have some doubts about keeping some stuff, throw them away anyway. You’ll feel relieved afterwards. If you can’t make those decisions you’re suffering from ‘Disposophobia‘.
After decluttering your desk your focus is direct and prominent. Now we can move onto the next thing: de-clutter your mind. Try to focus on ‘being‘ after work and ‘doing‘ during work. Stop thinking, worrying, wondering about. Keep telling yourself everything will be allright, even if you don’t have the slightest idea it will work out. It will give you a lot more courage and energy to pull through.
Try to break down your work into little parts. See these parts as individual tasks. Mark them on your list when they’re done, you’ll feel satisfied, confident and full of energy to take on the next task. Even when I’m working on a 4 month projects, I split the project up in milestones (4 to 6) and these milestones into tickets (or whatever you want to call it) of half a day to 2 days each which you then again can split up into tasks. Make sure mentally demanding tasks are interrupted by simple actions (answer mail, check up on your colleague, breaks, write a manual, …). You’re going to notice the project isn’t as hard as you thought it was in the first place. Just minimize your goals (finish one task) and see them in perspective (the whole project).
…at least 6 up to 8 hours a day. Try to sleep regular hours, if that’s from 2AM till 10AM that’s fine too! Don’t eat a hot meal just before hitting the sack. Power naps are great but not always easy to do on a daily basis at work unless you do it like this…
If there is more than one electron around the atom, electron-electron-interactions raise the energy level.
Off course, everybody knows that. But instead if getting help from electrons like an atom does what can we do to increase our energy level during a long day at and after work? Here is number one of 5 secrets to survive the next day…
Lazyness … is according to wikipedia: a disinclination to activity or exertion despite having the ability to do so
Ok - you should all recognize this-, when I got home from work around 5.30PM I did this:
- opened the door (you kinda have to if you want to get in..)
- fed my kitten
- ate a rice biscuit
… and jumped with my lazy ass on the couch pressing the power button on the remote control of my tv.
Now, that’s bad. Crashing in front of tv is bad for your energy levels. If you lie down, you tell your body it can rest now. You’ll feel sleepy and energy-less. Your mind is all like “Dude, you should do something”, but it takes a lot of effort and determination to hit the power button again, get up and do something. TV is the number one time-waster and it’s the most passive thing there is. So stop watching fucking LOST! (Gary Vaynerchuk) - get up and do something! The hardest part is not the work you do, it’s to convince yourself you should do it! So stop reading this blog! You have a million better things to do! Go (but please come back tomorrow for another tip, #2)!
