NATURAL STRESS REDUCTION

I am being bombarded with books and systems for achieving better personal performance. All of which promise me outstanding achievements in my chosen endeavors. Unfortunately, most of these systems, products, and services do not recognize that people are not always going to perform at peak efficiency and that external systems only add to the noise, stress, and confusion of daily life. 

There are three easy-to-perform tasks that can yield significant improvements in your well-being. 

1.  Disengage from electronic devices ...

Whether your vice is playing video games or communication with cyber-friends using social media platforms, it necessary to step back and give your body a break from the constant need to focus attention on devices which often are time-wasters and proxies for procrastination. 

2. Declutter your environment ...

Whether in our home or our office, extraneous clutter often leads to upset and unnecessary stress as we berate ourselves for not being more organized.

3.  Take a walk for some "me time" ...

Nothing reduces stress or promotes new ideas like a walk without a purpose. Just ambling along and observing nature and your environment. Delighting in children play, people going about their day, and just the fact that you are not hunched over a desk working. 

Reduce the background noise in your life and reap the benefits of natural stress reduction. 
 

SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR CAREER, DON'T WORK AT HOME

Yes, there are some genuine benefits to not dressing up, commuting to the office, not having people watching over you, and being subjected to time-wasting meetings. But are you willing to trade some degree of flexibility and temporary pleasure for the opportunity to advance to the next level? 

The sad truth is that invisible but truly competent people are rarely promoted as they are doing a great job as it is. 

Some of the important factors to consider when you are offered the opportunity to work from home:

• Being visible and able to demonstrate desirable character traits that mark you as competent, credible, reliable, trustworthy, and helpful to co-workers.
• Being a visible a part of the team that allows for both collaboration and stimulation. This also means absorbing and mirroring the company culture.
• Being visible implies that you are more likely to attract a mentor who can provide valuable career advice and might be the one to save your job when others are losing theirs. 

In essence, you are visible – beyond performance metrics on a spreadsheet -- and in the line of sight for recognition and advancement.
 

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