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14 Things You Should Do at the Start of Every Work Day
The first few hours of the work day can have a significant effect on your level of productivity over the following eight—so it’s important you have a morning routine that sets you up for success. Here is a list of 14 things all workers should do when they get to work each morning.
1. Arrive on time.
This may be obvious to most people—but some don’t realize that showing up late can not only leave a bad impression, but also throw off your entire day. Getting in on time or a little early helps your mindset for the day and helps promote a feeling of accomplishment.
2. Take a deep breath.
Literally... and do something to focus in on the here and now. Many people come into work harried because they don’t leave enough time at home to deal with “home stuff,” followed by barely surviving another horrendously stressful trip to the office, and then they dive into the workday madness. Slowing down, taking a moment to pause and creating a routine around centering yourself before you start can work wonders.
What your boss can't ask you to do
The workplace is a unique social experience. The manager’s role is particularly important because it can set the balance between professional and friendly and either make everyone tense, or allow employees to be themselves.
But some managers cross the line, and on these occasions, it’s important for you, as the employee, to know that it’s ok to say ‘no’. Of course, your employer can’t tell you to lie, steal, cheat, or do anything that’s illegal, immoral, or unethical, but there are some things that aren’t as clear-cut as that.
Five apps that will save you time
These five great apps will help simplify your life, get you more organised, and most of all, save you time.
1. Remember the milk
Have your to-do-list with you wherever you go. This free app allows you to manage tasks quickly and easily with due dates and priority levels, with reminders through text messages, email, Skype, and a range of other instant message services that you can choose from. You can add as many lists as you like with various tags such as shopping, bills, or office. You can also share and manage tasks with others, plan your time, sync the tasks to your email, tweet them, and locate your tasks according to where you are. It is compatible with most devices.
The Essence of a Woman
Women are extraordinarily hard on themselves. We tend to scrutinize ourselves for flaws. We are preoccupied with all the ways we are not good enough, and twist ourselves into knots trying to fix problems that no one else can see.
We do from time to time forget that we have exceptional skills at problem-solving, creating, inspiring, and relating to others. Despite millennia of being ignored and dismissed, we have refined our strength, breaking social chains that have bound us for generations, emerging as superb leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, and players of the game. Women do much more right than they do wrong!!
10 steps to a stress-free career
Stressed? Feel like there are never enough hours to get things done? According to recent studies, workers are reporting an increase in their stress levels worldwide. While figuring out a way to create a higher tolerance for stress seems like a good idea, the truth is, we should be attempting to lower our tolerance to stress. Sound counter intuitive? It should be.
Why? Well, because it’s time that we all faced the hard truth: we’ve got to stop glorifying stress if we’re ever going to get rid of it. Bestselling author Richard Carlson of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, says we have it backwards in our society when it comes to stress. “We tend to look up to people who are under a great deal of pressure. When someone says “I’ve been working really hard”, or “I’m really stressed out”, we are taught to admire, even emulate, their behaviour.”
According to scientists,
this is the most relaxing tune ever recorded
This eight minute song is a beautiful combination of arranged harmonies, rhythms and bass lines and thus helps to slow the heart rate, reduce blood pressure and lower levels of the stress. The song features guitar, piano and electronic samples of natural soundscapes.
A study was conducted on 40 women, who were connected to sensors and had been given challenging puzzles to complete against the clock in order to induce a level of stress. Different songs were then played, to test their heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and brain activity. The results showed that the song Weightless was 11 per cent more relaxing than any other song and even caused drowsiness among women in the lab. It induced a 65 per cent reduction in overall anxiety and brought them to a level 35 per cent lower than their usual resting rates.
10 tips to make a great impression –
Corporate Image
Why do you wear a suit to a job interview? Why do lawyers make sure that their clients dress neatly and are clean shaven before they appear in court? Do your first impressions really matter?
I believe they matter a great deal. It’s about the “Primacy Effect” the tendency to evaluate others in terms of the first impression they have made on you. Remember that others take you as seriously as you take yourself. So how do you make a positive first impression as well as a lasting one?
Why do women need life insurance?
Discovery Life, July 2014
Have you ever taken a moment to stand back and look at all the things you have accomplished in your life? Are you married with a wonderful family? Perhaps you’ve built up an impressive career in the corporate world or started your own business.
As a woman, being a support structure for those around you is something that comes naturally. But, what if your ability to support and protect the things you care about most was suddenly taken away? This is where life insurance comes in, because it plays an important part in financially safeguarding what you hold most dear –your family.
The Best Advice from Female Bosses
Boost your chances of landing in the C-suite
By Anita Bruzzese
The double-edged sword of the modern day workplace continues: 69 % of senior women say they are confident they’ll reach the C-suite in their careers (yay!), but that’s only compared to 86 percent of their male colleagues (ugh), according to a recent McKinsey and Co. survey.
Women in positions of power is commonplace, but if you dig into the stats, you’ll find that ladies hold only 5 percent of chief executive positions in the world today. The good news: More senior-level women are lending their words of wisdom to other female managers rising the ranks.
Looking for some guidance in upper management? Consider the advice of women who have forged their own paths, sit at the top of massive corporations, or simply know what it takes to score that corner office.
The Journey to Jo'burg Ballet
Ballet has a long history in the City of Johannesburg but Joburg Ballet traces its direct beginnings to the establishment of The South African Ballet Theatre in 2001. In that year, six dancers came together following the closure of the State Theatre Pretoria and its performing companies, including The State Theatre Ballet, previously PACT Ballet, the year before.
With determination and backed by a supportive board but with no public funding, the six dancers gathered a company together and began to present performances for the public. Based initially at the State Theatre Pretoria, the company started on the long and arduous road to becoming an active, professional part of the country’s cultural fabric.
SABT’s founding members were Dirk Badenhorst, Kimbrian Bergh, Karen Beukes, Fiona Budd, Iain MacDonald and Angela Malan and the first Board comprised all founding members in addition to Don MacRobert (Chair), Michael Dove and Mrs. Annzie Hancock.