Tips to Get Out of A Rut at Work

So you have a great job and you love what you do but for some reason the past few days, weeks, or hopefully not, months, you haven’t been finding your feet and biting more than you can chew to compensate for an unproductive day. Sounds like you? Well, recent research conducted by Harvard Business School in January/February 2012  quotes that “happy employees produce more than unhappy ones over the long term” and the key to happiness is more than just being content with your job and loving what you do- it’s about sustainable performance.

So what is exactly is sustainable performance? It’s the process of utilizing high energy (vitality) and new resources (learning) in an efficient way. You can’t have one without the other when it comes to sustainable performance. The Harvard Business School study shows that high energy and low learning resulted in a 54% decrease in health while high levels in both areas resulted in a higher effective rate of 21%. Below are three tips that are essential in being sustainable and productive to get out of a rut at work:

Tip #1: Vitality and The Energy Factor: In order to get out of a rut, you need to decipher the living from the non-living. It’s great to be an expert in your job but doing the same routine to produce good results doesn’t produce great ones or new ideas. Having high energy in the workforce without the burnout is very essential. Try to set new goals for yourself and focus on the parts of your job that gives you joy and make it better. Oh, and lighten up on the coffee breaks and opt-in for a micro-mediation session every once in a while to clear your mind.

Tip #2: The Learning Curve: The world is moving faster today than ever before as technology spearheads and is incorporated into our everyday life. How do you expect to advance your career without learning something new? It’s a never-ending life cycle, even for well-known industry experts. Learning something new allows you to build your resources, enhance your skills, and increases your marketability in this multi-tasking world.

Tip #3: The Work Environment: Everyone talks about teamwork and engagement but it’s another thing to live and breathe it. Make sure you are taking the time to get feedback from fellow teammates as well as give when needed. Our strongest stem is as weak as our weakest stem and encouraging team collaboration is great for any work environment. Be proactive about it if this is missing at your job.

Citations:

• Harvard Business School on Sustainable Performance
• Organize Positively Blog with article that covers as study on fatigue and energy by Charlotte Fritz, Chak Fu Lam, and Gretchen Spreitzer.

This article was written by Yasleen Dates for Institute For Coaching.

 

Black History Month Celebrates Madam CJ Walker

The mere fact that the world celebrates Black History Month shows everyone how far we’ve come in breaking down racial barriers. The idea is to show everyone how colour and lifestyle barriers were smashed and paved the black community to rightfully play their part and make their mark in the world. There many so many figures who deserve to be highly spoken of but right now we’re going to focus one seriously sassy and determined lady who made life work for her after the abolition of slavery.

Madam CJ Walker

Born in the Louisiana Delta in 1867, Madam CJ Walker – formerly Sarah Breedlove – was born to former slaves. Her introduction to life came two years after the civil war ended. Unfortunately CJ and her were orphaned at the age of 7 and forced to work the cotton fields in order to make ends meet. However, this only served to enforce her determination to overcome adversity. CJ Walker became the first black woman to become a self-made millionaire. Her story is so thrilling and unique that it has been the focus of studies at Harvard Business School. It was not an easy road for her at all but she persevered and has become an icon not only for Black History Month, but in life for everyone regardless of colour.

At the age of 14 CJ met her husband and they had a daughter together. Sadly her spouse passed away shortly after her daughter was born, so CJ moved to St Louis to work for her brothers who owned a successful barber shop. After moving to the city CJ was found to have scalp condition which meant she lost most of her hair. Trying various products she eventually found one made by Anne Malone, another black history month member. The product proved to be exactly with CJ required for her mane and she decided to move to Denver and sell Annie’s products. She moved back to St Louis, married again and started creating her own hair conditioner. Her product proved to be a huge success and she developed plenty of other serums that assisted with problem skins and scalps. She eventually started travelling all over the country giving demonstrations. This seriously brilliant black lady become a huge success and in 1908 she opened a school to train ladies to sell her wares, which now included vegetable shampoos and cosmetics.

Over 100 years down the line Madam CJ Walker still enters our lives every day and many of you don’t even know it. Black History Month is about celebrating and educating. Does “Avon calling” ring a bell for you? Surprised? How is that for an education?

Vida Denning enjoys writing on a wide variety of topics and found that she learned a lot about history when she worked at a serviced office Spain and so much about culture at her time in serviced offices Hong Kong.