Productivity Tip: Turn Off Instant Messaging

January 26, 2010 By 1 Comment

It seems so simple, so innocuous, but in reality instant messaging is one of the most evil sinkholes of productivity. I have a few different programs and websites, to manage the different lists of people I talk to, as everyone seems to have a different preference. I’ve even worked at jobs that had its own Jabber server and network, adding one more to the pile.

The corporate instant messaging platform was so we could turn off the rest, and be able to focus on work, but the reality is that all instant messaging needs to be turned off to really get a good amount of work done. Any interruption to your focus, or what I call my “groove”, will distract you from your goals, stop you from getting things done, and cost you time and energy that could have been put into work tasks. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Communication, Productivity

Choosing the Right Web Host

January 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A basic fact of doing business in this modern technological age is that you must have a web site. Whether you are a corporate leader, looking to promote your own personal brand, or just plan a family reunion establishing your online presence is important, both personally and professionally. In order to have a web site that projects your own personal identity you must start with selecting the right web host; but with so many options available today, where do you begin and how do you know if you are selecting the best web host for your needs? In this guide to selecting the right web host for your web site we will look at ways to select the best host and a review of some of the top choices available to you in order to help you find the best hosting solution. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging, Business, Communication, Online, Organization, Productivity, Review, Technology, Work

What Are Your Arms Giving Away?

November 23, 2009 By 11 Comments

Last month I wrote a post entitled ‘What Are Your Eyes Giving Away’. I’d like to follow this with another body language article looking at what our arm signals are telling other people and what other’s arm signals are telling us.

We all know someone who is very melodramatic, when you think of that person having one of their melodramatic moments do they have their hands in their pocket or are their arms waving about all over the place? More than likely they will be showing their excitement with their facial expressions, their voice and their hand and arm movements.

Our arm movements can tell a lot about how we are feeling. For example if we are bored and feeling down we try and make ourselves smaller and keep our hands hidden and our arms tight into our body, this is the minds way of trying to make our bodies small and unseen. Conversely people who are very confident, particularly men, have their arms sprawled out while sitting down and try to make themselves look as big as possible, this is the minds way of telling the body to look large and intimidating, it’s an animal thing. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Communication

What Are Your Eyes Giving Away?

November 2, 2009 By 44 Comments

Your eyes can tell a lot about you and tell others even more simply by the way you use them.  Eye communication is a great skill to have and eye contact is a great tool to master.  We all use it and we all give away vital clues as to what we are thinking with our eyes.

References are made to our eyes in everyday conversation such as ‘she has bedroom eyes’, ‘don’t give me those puppy dog eyes’, ‘giving me the evil eye’ and many more such phrases.

If you can learn the skill of reading eye signals and mastering the art of using eye contact it can make a huge difference in your personal and business life. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Communication Tagged With: , , , ,

Tips and Advice for Learning a New Language Online

October 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Businesspeople and others who travel to various countries frequently find it desirable to learn a new language and one of the best ways is to learn it through the Internet. Before you spend your hard-earned money on various programs, CDs, or books, it is best to look for free online language learning services first.

Online learning is also very effective because it makes use of text, photographs, audio and video to permit you to both hear and see how the language is actually used. This is very different from reading a book on a certain language in which you are usually limited to the words that you may not know how to correctly pronounce. Language courses offered over the Internet are also interactive in nature so that you can practice your vocabulary and check your grammar. Many of the lessons can also be downloaded into your laptop or MP3 player so that you bring them anywhere you go. This will permit you to listen to the lessons and practice saying the words and sentences while you are doing something else, such as exercising or driving. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Communication, Education and Learning Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Top 5 Ways to Get the Most Battery Life Out of Your Cell Phone

September 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I work all day long with cell phones of all shapes and sizes and because of that, you can bet that I’ve learned a few tricks to keeping a cell phone running all day long. Sure, it’s easy to keep a phone juiced up if you’re not using it very often but what about those of us that are attached to our phones at the hip? Or smartphone users with battery-sucking touch screens that run games and movies and spreadsheets? It’s hard to keep the phone alive long enough to make the bus ride into work let alone the entire work day!

Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your cell phone’s battery life – without breaking the bank or your brain. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Communication, Technology Tagged With: , , , , ,