• Resist the urge to religiously check your emails. It’s a good idea to set up an auto-responder so people will know they’re not going to hear from you straight away. If you really must check emails, schedule a time once a weekday and only respond to the urgent ones.
• Take a sunset to sunset break from your mobile phone. Pick the easiest day when you’re least likely to have urgent calls coming in (although, with my kids, everything is urgent!) and turn your mobile phone off. Really off. Not even on silent or vibrate.
• Give yourself permission to get some headspace, with entire days of work-free thoughts.
• Wrestle the FOMO beast to the ground and have designated social media blackout days – that’s FOMO for ‘fear of missing out’. You won’t, because you’ll be too busy having a life.
• Avoid the vegetative state in front of the television. It’s all re-runs or death, doom and disaster anyway.
• Focus on getting out and getting active. If you can’t get away, explore your city or town like a tourist. Try something you’ve never tried before. After all, life begins at the edge of your comfort zone…

Are the excuses bubbling up in your head? I’m too busy, I have too much on, I want to use this time to catch up on everything, my kids might need me urgently, I can’t…

The truth is, when we die, our inbox will still be full. Isn’t it time to take these few days to switch off and really live?

If this challenge makes you break out in a cold sweat, start small and build up to it, just like you would if you were learning to run. Apparently it takes two weeks to form a habit. So practice switching off this silly season, and you may just be taking some great habits into 2012…

Give up multi-tasking. and get back your focus...

Sometimes I feel a bit like a human tornado – and I’m sure you do too. These days, we seem to equate busy-ness with being a success (if you’re busy, you must successful, right?). And we are busy – taking multi-tasking to a whole new level.  

Some researchers think women are better at multi-tasking than men. Perhaps. One thing is clear from the research – women are better at planning and strategy. Men tend to jump straight in. ABC Science talks about this and we tell you how you can join the experiment later.

But one thing at a time… The truth is, we all really, really suck at multi-tasking – we just don’t realise it. It might feel like we’re getting so much done, but I’ll bet you have a sneaking suspicion you could be more productive.

That email notification that just flicked up in the corner of your screen… it’s going to take you about 30 seconds to re-focus. The twitter feeder? Forget it. You’re just not concentrating on the task at hand – and you’re going to get stressed because you’ll miss your deadline. The phone calls and drop-ins at the office? Yes, they’re important but they’re also stealing your focus.

Fine, but what do we do about it? The first thing is to recognise that you’re multi-tasking. Then you need to start to exercise your ‘focus’ muscles (see our 50-minute focus post). You can block out times to do project work and have a goal. For example, to finish reviewing and commenting on that report, then send it back to the author. Tick!

You’ll be surprised how much you get done when you do one thing at a time.

You could also try being ‘disconnected’ for a set period each day (or at least for one day a weekend). If turning off email, twitter, facebook, your mobile or other social media makes you shudder like a junkie turning up to rehab, you really do need to do it.

When you do, you’ll be surprised how it clears your mind and eases your stress (once you make it through withdrawal). Maybe it’s time for a little retro-connecting – for private lives and catching up over coffee.

Before you go, find out what ABC Science says about our ability to multi-task – or not. And while you’re there, why not test yourself and join the experiment. University of Queensland scientists want to know what makes a good multi-tasker – plus you’ll find out how good you are at multi-tasking.

Take the test …but disconnect from those nagging bells and beeps first. Just for 30 minutes. 

No, it wasn’t our PM, any other politician, or some corporate bod. It was a footy player, covered in mud and sweat and gasping for air.  

Clearly mumbo-jumbo is catching. What’s wrong with saying: “It set us up for the rest of the game”? You’ve got to worry when weasel words hit the footy field.

So leave platforms for bus and train stations, or for standing on to clean the windows of multi-storey buildings (among other things). Use remainders when you’re talking about left over stuff you’re selling off cheaply (or other valid uses).

And for the love of … language (and sanity), forget any phrase involving going forward. For a start, it’s superfluous because it’s clear you’re not talking about going backward. It’s also perfectly fine to talk about the future. Even if the Mayan Calendar runs out next year, most of us are confident we have a ‘future’, so it’s okay to mention the f-word. Or am I just an eternal optimist?

Ditto for forward planning, unless you usually backward plan and you need to make the difference clear.

Let’s all relax – mean what we say, say what we mean, and lose the mumbo-jumbo. Because simple language doesn’t mean you are simple. It means you’re quite clever actually.

It also means people’s eyes won’t glaze over before they work out whether you’re talking about the footy game or fiscal policy.

But what is this comma so many people have never heard of, and certainly won’t mourn? It’s the comma that takes the confusion out of lists within a sentence.

GalleyCat quotes the Oxford PR style guide to explain:  “‘As a general rule, …write ‘a, b and c’ not ‘a, b, and c’. But when a comma would assist in the meaning of the sentence or helps to resolve ambiguity, it can be used – especially where one of the items in the list is already joined by ‘and’ [for example]:  They had a choice between croissants, bacon and eggs, and muesli.’”

Personally, I like the Oxford comma. But its loss is part of our evolving language, and it does eliminate the need to explain that part of my editing process. So it can’t be all bad…can it?

We learned to fear failure, to avoid failure at all costs – and even to deny that we’d failed, by blaming someone or something outside of ourselves.

But some of the world’s greatest success stories were built on failure.

Stephen King threw his Carrie manuscript away because he was tired of being rejected. Luckily his wife fished it out of the garbage bin.

Henry Ford, who crashed out many times before tasting success, said: “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, only this time more intelligently”.

Richard Branson is no stranger to failure either. He believes being unafraid of failure is one of the most important qualities of a champion – in any field.

So you’ve challenged yourself, and fallen short? Here’s the upside of failure:

• You had the guts to try
• You’ll know that burying your head in the sand just gets your butt kicked (well, it’s a clear target, isn’t it?)
• You won’t wait around for a miracle
• You’ll recognise your mistakes and find ways to recover from them
• You’ll hire good help, and collaborate with people you trust
• You’ll be more determined to succeed next time – in fact, next time you’ll plan to succeed 
• You’ll begin to lose your fear of failure – because you WILL survive, no matter how bad it feels at the time
• You’ll find out that you’re stronger than you ever imagined
• And you’ll keep aiming higher, because you’ll get a taste for rising to challenges.

A Newsweek photo series caption puts it best: “If at first you don’t succeed… you’re in good company.” 

Finally, from my most favourite speech by Theodore Roosevelt in 1910: If you fail, at least you will fail “while daring greatly. So that your place will never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory, nor defeat”.

So if you haven’t challenged yourself lately, be inspired. Dare to fail.

It’s an interesting exercise to completely change the look and feel of a website you’re happy with. I made the choice because I wanted content management capability, and there were also technical issues messing with my SEO (search engine optimisation).

But I’ve had it parked for a whole year while I’ve been flat out with work – and, I’ll admit, procrastinating (just a bit). I’ve finally put it out there and I feel so much better – and not just because it was one more thing ticked off my to-do list.

It’s a bit like buying a new car. You loved the old one, but the new one just goes better.

So I’m well aware of how daunting it is to create a brand new website or update an old one – no matter what size organisation you are. It’s something that ends up in the too-hard basket. It sits on our to-do list, sticking its tongue out at us, daring us to ‘just do it’.

My advice to you is if you need help, get it. With the words, the structure, the SEO, getting the URL, the right service provider. Most importantly, decide who your audience is and why they’re coming to your website – and give them what they want.

Not only will you feel better about getting it done – but you’ll reap the benefits of an effective business tool. Trust me, you’ll wonder why you kept putting it off…

Then there are those made-up or misused words that make us smile – like incentivizing something, or disabling as in ‘disabling the operator from opening it’ (which sounds a lot like a safety moment to me!).

So where do we draw the line when it comes to inventing words?

Think about YouTube, Facebook, and other social networking tools. These have evolved from nouns into verbs, as in:

• why don’t I youtube it
• let’s google her
• I’ll skype you
• you can facebook me

Then there are phrases like ‘make it a priority’ that has become prioritize, or ‘taking action’ that, with a prefix slipped in, has become proactive and means anticipating and taking charge of expected situations.

Of course, there are those who take the linguistic high ground, and say ‘it’s just not cricket’. But where did language come from?

If we’d stuck hard and fast to the past, we’d still be grunting on about the latest antelope kill, or waxing lyrical in the flowery prose of our English ancestors.

Language evolves. For example, new words and acronyms are constantly being added to the Oxford English Dictionary — like this year’s selection, which includes hashtag, unfriend, carbon offsetting, TTYL (talk to you later) and LBD (little black dress), among others. Meanwhile, old words take on new meaning, like tweet – or cougar.

So where do we draw the line in creating language? When the words defeat their purpose – communication. 

If you don’t want to be understood, speak ‘in fine print’ – that is, laced with a good dose of jargon and deliberately designed to obscure meaning.

Language, after all, is about being understood. Using the language your audience is familiar with will create connections and understanding.

All I can say is… what’s not to like? TTYL.

He had the vital ingredient when it comes to communication style: authenticity.

So instead of creating a hazy document, muddied with corporate-speak, we were able to put together a clear, simple document that said what he wanted to say and in a way he would say it himself.

He was willing to take a risk, be a little different – be real. I call it a WYSIWYG approach. What You See Is What You Get.

The term is used to describe computing systems that display the text as it will appear in the final output, rather than in code (e.g. HTML).

I use it to describe a piece of writing that clearly conveys the ‘personality’ or ‘voice’ of the person or organisation it is about – no secret codes, no BS. You know what you’re getting.

That’s authentic – and it’s good for business. Your clients and customers can feel comfortable knowing that you mean what you say – and the language and style you use is consistent with who you are. It inspires confidence.

Does the style or ‘voice’ of your content – in websites, reports, and marketing material – reflect who you and your organisation really are? Is your communication authentic?

This is the second in our series of posts about branding. You might also like to read: Is the ‘face’ of your business sending the right message?

The other day, I dropped into a local cupcake shop on the way to a concept development meeting (because eating cupcakes while getting creative is pretty nice really).

One of my dragonflies was with me, and we approached the counter and greeted the sales girl.

Blank stare. ‘Yes?’

We did a double-take but proceeded to choose our cupcakes – which took all of 30 seconds (okay, maybe 40) – while she stood there with her eyes rolled to the ceiling… Clearly we were taking up her valuable time.

When we made our choices, she put them in the box, dumped it on the counter, snapped out the amount, and took my money. She handed back the change, again without a word, and we both stood there gobsmacked. I  wanted to say, ‘I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want the cupcakes anymore’. But I didn’t.

Instead, we both walked out of that cupcake shop with a bad taste in our mouths. I wonder if the business owner realises how much custom the ‘face of his business’ is turning away? 

I’m sure you’ve got your own stories to tell, including great experiences you could talk about.

Talk and tell are the key words here. Because that’s what we do – about the good, the bad, the ugly customer service. 

And that brings me to branding. Businesses will pay a lot of money to build brand recognition, while the human ‘face’ of their business may be undoing all that good work.

Why? Because customers talk, and word of mouth is the best, most cost-effective, and most powerful marketing tool you have at your disposal.

What does the face of your business look like? Are your people’s attitudes consistent with your branding efforts? Do customers get the experience they expect from you – every time?

Customer service expectations need to be clearly communicated. It’s not enough to expect your employees to know how to act, or to know that the way they behave is an important factor in your business’s success (and therefore their jobs…). 

It’s vital to regularly evaluate performance too, and to recognise and reward good performance.

Think about cupcakes. No matter how great those cupcakes are, we won’t be going there again. Which is good for our waistline – but not good for their bottom line.

Is it time to look at the face of your business?

According to an article in the Courier Mail last weekend (Price to pay for overwork, Careers, p5), Australians clock up some of the longest working hours in the developed world. And it’s affecting our stress levels and our productivity!

If you’ve ever had the joy of working undisturbed for any length of time, you’ll know that 5-6 hours productive working time is as good as it gets. Sure, we can put in 10 hour days, but are we really producing our best work or great outcomes? Apparently not – and we’re not doing ourselves (or our bosses) any favours either.

Should Australians adopt shorter working hours? Would we get more done? Would we be more productive? I’m sure we would. After all, we’d have more time to spend with friends and family, more time to exercise, and more time to chill out and regroup. Surely we’d come back the next day more refreshed – and ready to get stuck into our jobs again? 

It may also improve our mindpower…

Sounds to me like shorter working hours are good for us… and good for business.

cheers

Louise