Get More Comfortable with Failure

 

Get More Comfortable with Failure

We've all been there: you make a New Year's resolution and...it doesn't stick. Why? It’s often because we don’t allow ourselves to be bad at it at first. We fail a few times and then decide to give up. But adopting any new habit is going to feel clunky at first. The key to taking on something new is to get more comfortable with failure. Here’s how. (1) Start by immunizing yourself against big letdowns by trying out experiments that allow you to fail in tiny ways. For example, if your goal is to write every day, start by committing to one short paragraph each morning. If you don't like what you write, no big deal! It's just a paragraph. Write another one tomorrow. (2) Next, make your goal known to others before your self-doubt creeps in and you chicken out. This layer of accountability will help you actually follow through on your goal — no matter how bad you are at it the first time. (3) And finally, keep a log of your efforts. Over time you’ll notice how far you’ve come. Rather than focusing on the small, inevitable failures, you can appreciate your overall progress.

This tip is adapted from “To Build New Habits, Get Comfortable Failing,” by Sabina Nawaz

Get Better at Holding Yourself Accountable !

 Tue 08 Feb 2022

Get Better at Holding Yourself Accountable ! 

Let’s face it: We all lack motivation at times. To keep yourself on task — and focused on your goals — it can help to build in ways to hold yourself accountable. That way, you’re not depending on willpower alone. Here are some tactics that can help. 

(1) First, enlist an accountability buddy. 

Tell them what your goal is, being specific about what you hope to accomplish, then ask them to check in with you periodically. Knowing that they’re keeping track of your progress will motivate you to up your game. 

(2) You can also try finding a like-minded group of people who share a similar goal and commit to supporting each other. Research shows that working with others toward your goals significantly increases your interest, resilience, and likelihood of success.

(3)  If you’re still struggling to make progress, consider changing your environment. 

This might mean working in a new location or altering your work set-up (leaving your phone in another room, for example). Don’t just lament your lack of progress. Change the circumstances instead.

This tip is adapted from “3 Strategies for Holding Yourself Accountable,” by Diana Kander

Give Your Team Flexibility without Sacrificing Productivity !

 Mon 07 Feb 2022

Give Your Team Flexibility without Sacrificing Productivity ! 

A challenge for today’s managers is how to balance employees’ desire for flexibility while ensuring the team remains productive. The good news is that you don’t have to accept a tradeoff between the two if you think differently about when people work together, who works together, and how to share information. 

(1) First, consider when employees need to work synchronously. For project-based workflows, chart out tasks and timelines, and block out specific days for overlapping work during key phases (for example, at the kickoff, mid-point, and closeout). Schedule important meetings during these times, and make it clear that you expect your team to be available.

(2)  Next, rethink who exactly needs to work together. In other words, could you restructure your team into smaller groups that are empowered to coordinate with each other?

(3)  Finally, design your team's information-sharing systems to make important data more readily available. Long waits for status updates or for questions to be answered can kill productivity. So figure out how to improve information accessibility and reduce needless back-and-forth. These steps can help your team have the flexibility they want without sacrificing productivity.

This tip is adapted from “4 Ways Managers Can Increase Flexibility Without Losing Productivity,” by Margaret M. Luciano

Structure Your Writing Around One Core Idea

 

Structure Your Writing Around One Core Idea

There’s a simple framework that can help you sharpen your writing by presenting your argument in a clear, concise, and engaging way. It’s called the “one idea” rule. In short, every component of a successful piece of writing (a pitch, report, presentation, or even an email) should express only one central idea. To identify what that is, ask yourself the following questions: What do I know about this topic? What inspires me about this topic? What can I say that will be interesting or surprising to others? Use these questions to narrow down your angle.  Next, find evidence (facts, anecdotes, data) that may be useful or surprising to others, and that supports the point you want to make. Also, take note of any evidence that counters your argument. If you’re able to call out and address counterpoints before the reader discovers them, you’ll strengthen your main idea. Only include information that's relevant. Anything else will just be distracting. If all of your examples are obviously related to the main topic, then it will be relatively easy to take the next step: ordering them into a story outline with a beginning, middle, and end.

This tip is adapted from “A (Very) Simple Way to Improve Your Writing,” by Mark Rennella