Interview: Productivity Tool

Interview Productive Work Zone

Inteview: Biggest Productivity Challenge

Isha Giezynska from Vanderbilt OwenBloggers (rss)

I have a mind that likes to get as much data input into it as possible. The result is that if I’m doing research for an Unclutterer post, I’ll get caught up in learning about whatever it is I’m researching and forget about the writing. When I was doing research for a post on fireproof safes, I got lost on the Underwriters Laboratory website for close to five hours. Since that time, I’ve learned that a timer can be a good friend. I set it to go off every half hour or hour based on my needs. When it rings, it forces me to stop and think about how I’ve been spending my time. One of the best and most inexpensive tools I’ve found.

Erin Doland from Unclutterer (rss)

My biggest challenge to productivity is probably myself. I am so easily interested in so many different things, and sometimes just as easily disinterested; I have to contain and restrict my curiosity to get anything done. Feed readers are such an unhealthy addiction – mine has more feeds in it than I care to count – and curiosity probably will, one day, kill this cat.

Joel Falconer (rss)

Good question! My current biggest roadblock is discipline (being able to maintain steady, productive behavior in spite of how I feel). The contributing factors? A bunch including unwillingness to defer gratification, succumbing to distractions (heading down the rabbit hole), working on comforting but low value tasks, and low energy/motivation.

How to fix it? Whew! The patented “IdeaMatt Big Arse Text File” shows over sixty resources on the topic, so I have no excuse not to make progress on this. The one that’s helped so far is removing a major distraction by creating structure that makes it much harder to give in to (removing a program/account in this case).

Matthew Cornell from Matt’s Idea Blog (rss)

Interruptions. Literally, people showing up at my door or calling me.

When I really need to concentrate, I shut my office door, or work where people can’t find me.

Brendon Connelly from BikeHacks (rss)

My biggest challenge to productivity would have to be lack of focus.  I’m still trying to figure out how to overcome it!  Mostly I manage it by scheduling in “lack of focus” time.

Anne from Writers Cabal Blog (rss)

I do all the things that my colleagues, family and friends need me to do first.  Those are people that I count on first, so why not get them what they need first?  I also realized that my life is completely fluid, and always changing.  I relaxed and stopped worrying about getting ahead.  I take care of bills and work-related, money making tasks second.  It’s become more gratifying to me.

John Trosko from OrganizingLA Blog (rss)

Being very creative is both the source of  much joy and much pain for me.
I love generating ideas and options.  I truly hate saying no.   But ultimately, the very definition of focus, productivity, discipline, and accomplishment is saying NO to everything that is not what is important right now.  So I am learning to make peace with saying NO far more often than I say YES.

Ariane Benefit from Neat & Simple Living (rss)

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Interview: Successful Habit

I try to only do things that make me happy. I could make more money working in an office than from cooking or writing, but it would bore me and make me frustrated and angry. So while I might not always want to get up at eight AM to slave in a hot kitchen, knowing that I’ll enjoy the work and have fun with my friends there means I never resent it. And I apply that same mentality to my writing and my studies and everything else I do. It’s only hard work if it’s something that you don’t want to do in the first place.

David Robertson from The Church of Chris Martin (rss)

Getting started.

It’s only by getting started that you progress and learn simultaneously.

Lodewijk van den Broek from How to be an Original (rss)

For many things, I find that the first 10 minutes are the most difficult.

I take risks and keep learning from my mistakes.  I also ask myself a lot of question instead of berating myself.  Like: instead of “that was stupid.”  I say “What could I have done to make  [fillin the blank] better, simpler, easier?

Ariane Benefit from Neat & Simple Living (rss)

Habit: Having a second reason to do something important.

Since none of us can change the amount of time we have (24 hours a day flat), the only way to be more productive is to extract “more value” out of every hour. Suppose you can find a second reason to do something important, you immediately found a way of getting more out of the time you assigned to engage in that activity. Now, stretch your limits and see if you can find a third, fourth and fifth reason to do something important.

Rajesh Setty from Life Beyond Code (rss)

I find that taking a break enhances my work the most. I’m a workaholic, so i don’t have a problem with procrastinating. But when I get too wrapped up in things, being aware that I need to step away refreshes me to work more in the long run!

Kristen Fischer from Creatively Self-Employed

It is easy to get into a rut of working straight through the day at 25% efficiency instead of taking breaks and working less in order to get twice as much done.

The habit of replacing “later” with “now”. Do you have a good idea? Then don’t let it go to waste, put it to good use now and take action. Put together the first draft of a potential business model, talk to a few people who could help you get started, don’t let procrastination get the best of you.

Do you think that successful people have reached their current status because they have had great ideas? You couldn’t be more wrong, they have reached that status as a result of the fact that they have taken things to the next level.

People have more than a few brilliant ideas , yet most of them end up going to waste due to lack of action. Forget about the word “later”, eliminate it from your vocabulary and you will not regret it.

Alan Johnson from TheRatingBlog (rss)

Having a to-do list, online or on paper, has done more for my productivity than anything else.  It’s so basic, but it’s the foundation upon which all my other productivity habits are based.  I used to keep some things in my inbox, others on my calendar, and others still in my mind.  Consolidating all my tasks allows me to prioritize and attack, and it’s also something of a psychological boost ticking items off my list each day!

I also try to minimize the amount of socializing I do at work, which hasn’t done anything for my popularity, but has made me much more efficient and productive than when I spent large chunks of time each day kibitzing with my friends.

Damian Bariexca from Apace of Change (rss)

Making time to read news and information.

Keeping myself well-informed allows me to feel confident about playing an active role in a variety of conversations. It allows me to make my opinion relevant by connecting it to something current that is going on and makes me more authoritative because I’m always thinking about how new information is connecting to what I’m doing.

Keeping on top of the latest trends also helps me develop my own ideas and helps me find helpful opportunities to help me advance in my career.

Bottom line, figure out a system for monitoring information and make sure this is a part of your daily routine.

Jaclyn from The Schiff Report

Setting goals and working in a focused manner

John Richardson from Success Begins Today (rss)

Seriously — if I have an important task, I don’t do anything but that task, letting other must-dos fall by the wayside.  Even if I procrastinate or am uninspired, since I’ve canceled all other activities I manage to get the work done.

Anne from Writers Cabal Blog (rss)

It may sound counter-intuitive as an entrepreneur to say that I miss having a boss, but I do. Mostly I miss the accountability. So in order to stay productive, I have a system of checks and balances so that I can hold myself accountable to my deadlines.

Working at home while ‘nobody is looking’, it’s WAY too easy to let hours… days… even weeks go by in procrastination mode. I hire coaches, have weekly mastermind group calls, and do Monday Motivation every week with my readers so that we can make our goals and tasks public.

This way I feel like a schmuck when I don’t deliver. Schmuckiness is worse than procrastination.

Wendy Piersall from Sparkplugging (Formerly eMoms at Home) (rss)

My perspective on strategy and tactics as published at Lifehack.org recently has probably been the thing that has taken me furthest.

Basically, where many people read Lifehack, Zen Habits, Lifehacker, or any of those other productivity blogs and implement “hacks” or “tricks” to get things done, the strategy and tactics perspective forces you to put those hacks into a framework. Hacks and tricks fall under the heading of tactics, and a strategy unites the tactics, and determines which concepts actually become your chosen tactics in the first place.

By using this system, instead of madly grabbing at whatever magic tricks you can find with the promise of getting more done, and ultimately failing, you must consider what you are trying to do and why, and put some rhyme and reason into your tactic selection.

http://www.joelfalconer.com from Joel Falconer (rss)

Outlook/Exchange – though I consider it more of an addition than anything else.

Having your life, planned out, box-by-box may sound a bit boring but it allows you to plan when you’re sane and guide you on what’s next when you are too busy to retain that sanity.

Particularly if you put in time, usually in the mornings, for creative stuff, it gets the blood pumping to deal with the menush that usually follows at the end of the day.

Jared Degnan from Vanderbilt OwenBloggers (rss)

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Personal Development: How important is college?

While independent learning and personal growth through books, seminars, and networking can significantly bring you closer to your professional career goal, a college education is important for the following reasons.

The exposure to a wide variety of subjects expands your understanding of the world. As an effect, it will help you communicate with individuals from other professional fields down the road, while understanding the interrelationships their work may have on yours.

The college learning experience also includes how to perform research, write effective papers, deliver presentations, work with other individuals in group projects, and how to accept challenging and sometimes mundane activities with integrity.

Mario Vellandi from Melodies in Marketing (rss)

A lot of value from college comes from learning to persevere through difficulties.  I think it is awful that some colleges are required to give tests orally for people who might get confused by reading the questions themselves.  While I sympathize with people who have reading disabilities, etc. a diploma should show people that you know how to work through the things you find hard.

I get this one a lot given that I teach at a university.  It’s very difficult to give a general answer, because it really does depend on what one is getting a college education for and how they go about getting it.  The most valuable component of a college education is that it gives students a chance to reevaluate themselves outside of both the historical family context, which has a tendency to rely heavily on tradition, and the business context, which all too often relies solely upon the bottom line of money.

A proper college education teaches students how to live an enjoyable life rather than just preparing them to enter the workforce.  College is one of the few places where ideas and perspectives are pursued for their own intrinsic value, and people who have never had the opportunity to play with ideas and perspectives this way miss a critical part of a happiness.

That’s not to say that you can’t learn to do that outside of academia, but you find people who have spent their lives doing it inside of academia and thus give the best place to truly play with ideas and perspectives.  So, on the one hand, I think that almost every individual should have at least some liberal education, in the classic sense, but on the other, most people that attend college miss that, anyways.

If you’re not there for that experience, a college education is only as important as the degree to which it bears on your ability to get a job in the career you want, which means for most people it’s not that important.  Practical skills can be learned far quicker outside of academia, which lags behind the rest of the world when it comes to practical skills and provides “distractions” (i.e. general education requirements and such), so if I were choosing between going to college to gain skills and learning them on my own, I would probably go the latter route.  But a lot of young students entering college have no real idea what they want to do and they don’t have self-teaching skills, so it’s a good place for them to learn what they want to do.

Charlie Gilkey from Productive Flourishing (rss)

Learning specific “trade style” skills can e done a lot quicker outside of college.  However, developing the the foundation to easily acquire diverse skills in the future is where college really gives people an edge.  Of course it depends on how you approach your education.  Some people go to college to basically learn a trade and this mindset significantly reduces the benefits they get from the experience.

A college education will mean the world if you are trying to work for other people and climb the ladder in a company. If you climb long enough, you’ll become a manager, maybe make six figures, or earn whatever carrot they are dangling in front of your nose.

On the other hand, what if you could somehow devise a way to earn even more money? If you sat down and thought really hard, could you think of something that you could sell over and over (whether a product or service) and make even more money in less time? If so, education is only worth the things you learned in school, and your degree means little or nothing. In this world, you may be the B student who hires all the A students to work for you.

Jason from World Fitness Network (rss)

Sometimes college can be a good way to quickly gain the diverse life experience necessary to understand the world.

A college education can help, but it’s not the only thing that can.  In some careers, a college degree is necessary just to get in the door.  However, you can and will learn much more in life than you can ever learn in school.  If you can demonstrate your knowledge or life education some other way on your resume or in person, you can probably get away without it.

If you learn well in the school environment, then it’s important and valuable.  What I learned in college I use all the time in my work, but I’m a writer by trade.  I know plenty of people who learn by doing, and for them college was not/is not that important.  College isn’t for everyone.

Anne from Writers Cabal Blog (rss)

I think some places are requiring college degrees for jobs where they shouldn’t be required, but they do this because getting a degree has become so easy that it means very little.  This causes a downward spiral where employers expect degrees, so colleges try to accommodate people who normally wouldn’t have gone to college, which reduces the value of the experience, which reduces the value of the degree, etc.

I think that for many of the professions, having a college education is essential. For example, would you really want someone who has not studied civil engineering to be in charge of building bridges? Or have a doctor that didn’t have an MD? There are aspects of many professions that are not taught outside of the college experience.

I do believe that a college education, if used properly, sets the tone and gives you the skills for a life-long learning pattern. And life-long learning is essential for success.

As a side note, what I see most often in my current position is that the people fresh out of university with degrees in computer science can’t program their way out of a bucket. Once they have a few years of experience, they are usually equal to the people who have the same amount of experience, regardless of the college degree. One of the best programmers I know has a degree in science education, but his quest for new knowledge keeps him on top of the game.

LJ from simpleproductivityblog (rss)

When it comes to programmers, I’ve found that people who didn’t study computer science in college often become very valuable because they have a perspective that pure CS people don’t.  For example, I found that my experiences conducting orchestras was extremely useful in working with teams of developers.

A college degree provides a base set of knowledge commonly discussed and experienced by other people with college degrees. Depending on what field you are pursuing, the ability to have a shared knowledge may or may not be important to your career. I know a number of very successful people who didn’t finish college, and some not-so-successful people with advanced degrees. It ultimately comes down to the career path you choose to take and if having a college degree will be expected and required of you in that field.

Erin Doland from Unclutterer (rss)

Beyond your career, college can give you the experience and education that will let you enjoy life.

The importance of a college education depends on your field. My Harvard degree has real cachet with some of the high-achieving high schoolers and families I work with. Meanwhile, though, many of my most successful friends in tech have no college degree. While others were in school developing a resume, these guys were developing useful skills.

Eva Holtz from College Admissions Secrets (rss)

The downside of focusing on developing useful skills is that those skills may not always be in high demand.  Changes in technology can wipe out entire industries and render skills useless.  There isn’t a high demand for Morse code operators anymore–no matter how good you are at it. However, being able to write clearly, understand statistics, etc. can help you in almost any job.

It’s only important to the extent that it matters to you personally and that it matters to doing the work you love doing.

Education is always important, but for any particular person, college may not be what they really need. There are many ways to become educated.

Ariane Benefit from Neat & Simple Living (rss)

I do think we try to force too many people into college.  Part of the problem comes from making it too easy for people get into college. As the standard for what it takes to get a college degree decline, employers standards go up.  In some situations someone with a college degree today may have skills only equivalent to what a high school graduate would have had 50 years ago.

College is a great learning experience, but like most experiences-it’s what you make it. I finished college in roughly five semesters and didn’t miss a beat.

I didn’t rely on college solely to “educate” me. I sought out opportunities to learn and grow.

The best thing about college is the professors! I created life long relationships with many of them. They are truly fountains of great information-and worth the tuition.

Shama Hyder from After The Launch (rss)

I think this is where a lot of students miss out.  You have to take responsibility for your own education.  College is part of that, but just because you are getting an A in a class doesn’t mean you are reaching your full potential in that area.  You have to know what you are trying to achieve and see college as one of our many educational tools.

College is important, but it isn’t a determining factor to be successful in life. I believe that a good work ethic, a willingness to learn, and honesty will take you a long way. Having said that, I am currently attending college 20 years after graduating high school.

Rolando J from macNwin (rss)

While college doesn’t make you successful, it can often give you a wide range of experience that would be difficult to obtain in other ways. The interactions with people from different backgrounds and cultures can be out of reach for many people outside of a college environment.

Over here in Australia we call it university, and it can be terribly useful. It depends on many factors. Can you teach yourself better than others can teach you? Can you access resources essential to grasping the subject without studying a degree? I left my Bachelor of Journalism to study a Bachelor of Popular Music and I can tell you that the information you get there isn’t readily available on a Google search or in a library, especially when it comes to studio engineering and production techniques.

http://www.joelfalconer.com from Joel Falconer (rss)

I think sometimes having a college degree can help employers be more willing to invest in training you–particularly on thing that will take a long time to develop.

Note: in Canada there’s a difference between “college” and “university”.  University tends to be a four-year degree, e.g., Bachelor of Commerce.  You can get college degrees in a couple of years, and they tend to be more practical, e.g., vet assistant, some nursing, IT support, etc.

I’m referring here to “university” education…

It all depends on what you want to do with your life.  I always knew I was going to get a university degree – my parents decreed it.  But I was the first (and basically, only) person on both sides of my family to get a university degree.  I’ve since gone back and am working on my PhD, but I’ve accepted the fact that I might be overeducating myself.

Personally, I’ve got no problem with people not going to school after high school.  But you have to do something smart with your life.  If I had kids who didn’t achieve high marks, and had no interest in being lawyers, doctors, whatever, I would recommend a trade.  For example, my spouse is an airplane mechanic – I think that is the coolest job and nothing to sneeze at, even if no degree was required.  Plus, we’re getting into a shortage of tradespeople, like plumbers, electricians.  The pay is good, the hours acceptable, and it’s relatively easy to be your own boss if you have the entrepreneurial spirit.

GTD Wannabe from GTD Wannabe (rss)

I don’t know that it is possible to be over-educated.   In my experience, the more  I know the more people are wiling to pay for increasingly smaller portions of my time.

I think there are two important benefits (as far as business educations are concerned):

1. It teaches a ‘way of thinking’
   Although a lot of business is simply common sense, education provides you with a way of thinking that’s aligned with businesses out there in reality.
2. It provides an entry ticket
   The entry ticket is needed to get in. To stay in you have to prove yourself, by showing quality and profitability.

I’m educated in business, so that’s my take. I can imagine that it differs if you study Italian or Art.

Lodewijk van den Broek from How to be an Original (rss)

I think many times a degree just shows you have the vocabulary to talk about a particular area.  What you do after college will determine if you become any good at that area.  But knowing the “language” is a great starting point.

If you‘re young, and unfocused (don’t know what you want to do with your life) get a college education in SOMETHING. I was told many years ago how precocious I was, so smart and charming. So I put off school because I was so excited to get my “adult” life started.Those smarts and charm lasted only for so many years but I had accomplished so much by the time I was 30. But I was warned that my peers would catch up to me by then, and in my mid-30s, they’d be making more money and have better jobs than I had.I think some of that has become true to a certain extent. So no matter how smart or charming you think you are, get a degree in something. So you increase your opportunities later in life.

John Trosko from OrganizingLA Blog (rss)

I have seen people work through exactly what you are describing and they can eventually come out ahead of their peers.  But the same amount of effort with a college degree might have let them leap frog their peers through their mid 30s.

For me my Personal MBA has been invaluable. It consists of listening to over 60 business oriented Audio Books that cover the equivalent of a standard MBA program. You don’t get the diploma, but you learn an incredible amount. And it costs less than a thousand dollars!

You can find out more at http://personalmba.com and http://mbaontherun.com

John Richardson from Success Begins Today (rss)

Interesting.  This comes down to making sure you keep working on your education outside of college.  You can get a great deal of content from college classes for free.

Tremendously important! (I’m an English professor, so you know I’m going to say that.) I will add though that there’s a tremendous difference between getting an education and getting a degree.

The real point of college is the practice it offers in developing the ability to think and feel deeply and learn about the world and one’s possible place in it. Not to learn how to make a living, but to learn how to make a life, as I remember an old professor saying at my freshman orientation, back in the 20th century.

Michael Leddy from Orange Crate Art (rss)

We often overlook that a proper education can help you enjoy life in ways not possible otherwise–even outside of the career benefits.

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Development: Make yourself smarter

Read, read and read. Then act and implement. Rinse and repeat.

Joel from Joel Falconer (rss)

There are few things that are as valuable as a regular plan for reading over your entire lifetime.

Listen, listen, and then listen some more.
Notice the patterns in everything.
Notice what is good before you try to fix what could be better.
Notice the way things work instead of wishing things were different.
Accept what is before you try to change it.
Surrender to what you cannot change.
Truly care about other people.
Seek to first understand before you judge any situation.
Be curious, avoid thinking you already know how people will react to things.

Ariane Benefit from Neat & Simple Living (rss)

It is amazing how much we don’t notice.  One of the ways humans deal with massive amounts of information is to ignore the things that don’t seem important.  By putting a little effort into noticing the things we’ve trained ourselves to ignore, we can see things that no one else does.

Easy: Work a little bit every day on something that you want to be skilled in or want to improve on. Here’s the secret though: It has to be every day. You have to make a conscious effort to work at least for a few minutes every day for your skill. But don’t worry… after a while it becomes a habit.

Glen Stansberry from LifeDev (rss)

It is the tortoise that wins.   15 minutes every day practicing a skill is better than spending a few hours over 2 weeks.  I think we tend to underestimate how much our skills develop when we aren’t working on them.  Working on something every day helps keep the skill active in our subconscious–even when we aren’t actively working on that skill.

I make sure I read every day, and not just blogs, but books, magazines, newsletters and newspapers. I also have the TV on in the background while I work and “watch” TIVOed shows from Discovery, TLC, History Channel, and the like.

I always like to find something that makes me say “I didn’t know that.” There is so much to learn in this world and so little time that I really make a concerted effort to keep learning and growing every day. If you don’t learn something new every day, no matter what it is, you’ll stagnate.

Charlene Anderson from Unravelings (rss)

Personally, I find it very difficult to watch something while doing something else, but Charlene makes a good point about how much information is available if we just take the time to consume it.  I have started trying to move most of my reading offline.  While I still take time to read blogs and some items on the web, I found that it was crowding out time that I would normally spend reading books.

I learned to teach myself. Any topic that has been written about, I can teach myself how to do it on a professional level. This has made me more valuable to my employers and to my clients. I also constantly expose myself to things that I either don’t want to do, haven’t tried, or wouldn’t normally do.

For example, I commonly read business books. I make sure to integrate strong literature in-between business books to open my thinking. I just finished reading “Personality Not Included” and am now reading “Notes from The Underground” before I begin the next business book.

Nathan Snell from The Technopian (rss)

From what I’ve read about how the brain develops, doing something new is about the best way to expand your ability to think.

I like using the car to learn. Because of spending a lot of hours in the car each week, I have found that it is easy to learn by using podcasts and ebooks to enhance your knowledge. It is so easy to learn something in your commute to work. In addition, being willing to attend classes, conferences, seminars, if your employer provides these opportunities, is also valuable to becoming more valuable to yourself and your employer.

Rolando from macNwinblog (rss)

I’ve been amazed at how many people don’t take advantage of their employer-sponsored educational opportunities.  I have left higher paying jobs to take a position that was willing to support more continued education.

I’m a planner and out of the box thinker and am not afraid to try new things.  I’m also pretty good at evaluating processes for efficiency and effective.  On the personal level, planning and trying new things ensures that I’m continually learning and growing.  On the social (valuable level), being able to plan and evaluate allows me to help others achieve their goals.

Charlie Gilkey from Productive Flourishing (rss)

Another vote for trying new things.

Audio books… have revolutionized my life. I try to listen to a new one each week. Business and self development titles rule. And the cool thing is I listen while I’m driving or doing other unproductive stuff.

I’ve learned more in the last year than in many a college lecture. Highly recommended!

John Richardson from Success Begins Today (rss)

I make use of podcasts and audiobooks from iTunes.

In 5 years, I will be the exact same person I am today except for three things:

1. The books I read.

2. The people I meet.

3. The websites I visit.

These three things have helped me become a much more smart individual, but they go deeper than just “smart.” These three things have helped me to become more “wise.” Being smart means that you know facts, being wise means that you know how to use those facts in a beneficial way.

Ron Haynes from The Wisdom Journal (rss)

Good point.  Having the knowledge isn’t of much use if you can’t apply it.  Someone who knows less, but is better at applying information is going to be much smarter in terms of actual results.

To break down and understand how and why I do the things I do; by which I mean that if I have achieved something I know others would like to achieve, breaking down how I did this into a process and logical steps that others can follow is one of the most effective ways of improving your own value and worth to others.

Not only are you then an example and case study of having achieved something, you can also show others how to do it too.

Lea Woodward from Location Independent Living (rss)

Being reflective and asking “why” is extremely valuable and something we don’t usually spend enough time doing.  As Lea points out this is particularly true in the areas where we are successful.  If something works well for you figure out what you are doing that works.

I’ve found that the best way to manage my time (and my stress) has been to focus on things that really matter. It’s about knowing what I absolutely have to do and what can either be postponed, delegated, or done away with altogether. It’s about knowing what to take seriously and what to let slide. It’s about taking care of the big things so the little ones take care of themselves and the really little ones don’t bother me at all.

Why do anything else? Why be one of those people who knows more about Hollywood’s hottest couple than they do about their own family and friends? Why be one of those people who spends hours and hours watching the latest reality show but never has time to take a walk or read a book? Those things aren’t important, so why not spend time focusing on the things that are?

Eugene from Varsity Blah (rss)

Defining your priorities is a very important part of knowing where to invest your time in yourself.

The best way to make yourself smarter is to always step back and look at the big picture and make a wise decision before you start down the wrong path.

Something only has value when it is demanded by another person. The way to make yourself more valuable has everything to do with how much others demand your time or skill. Becoming more skillful brings you much less benefit if you are not perceived as being skillful, regardless of what the reality is. Perception isn’t everything, but perception certainly is powerful.

Jason from World Fitness Network (rss)

Some good advice.  I particularly like Jason’s take on doing things deliberately.

Reading, of all sorts, and paying attention, so that I can to think up good questions and work out possible answers.

Michael Leddy from Orange Crate Art (rss)

Good point.  Just reading isn’t very helpful.  You have to actually pay attention to what you are reading.

I’ve been practicing Transcendental Meditation for 40 years. It has done miracles for me. It has increased my intelligence and made me more creative, healthier, happier, more insightful, more loving, and richer. If interested specifically in TM, you must learn how to do it properly. For that I would recommend visiting www.tm.org to find a trained teacher.

Fred Gratzon from The Lazy Way to SUccess

Interesting point of view.  I’m a bit suspicious of TM, but I do think most people don’t spend enough time reflecting.

I constantly consume podcasts and audiobooks while driving. As an added bonus, I mind the traffic far less!

Eva Holtz from College Admissions Secrets (rss)

This is something I do as well.  It is amazing how many great resources are available for free now days.

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Personal Development: How do you know it is time to look for a different job?

I think when you start counting down — hours to the end of the day, days to Friday, weeks to vacation — it is time to start finding something more fulfilling.  Wishing your life away is no way to live — when you are doing something deeply satisfying, time disappears and each day becomes exhilarating!

Kristen from BOOK CLUB CLASSICS (rss)

I think we underestimate the value of a minute spent doing something we really enjoy.

It’s time to look for a new job when you are spending too much time working to earn money that you will never have the time to enjoy, and trying to earn the respect of people who really don’t care about you. Life is too short to not be lived.

Jason from World Fitness Network (rss)

It is amazing what people will do to impress people they don’t really like.

Jobs are valuable only insomuch as they allow you to do other things.  If you are so physically or mentally exhausted that you cannot do anything else, it’s time to get a new job.  If you find that work gets in the way of you doing what you want to do more than it enables you to do those things, it’s time to get a new job.

The ideal condition, of course, is when work is play since your job is what you want to do.  If you’re happy doing what you want to do, success generally follows.  If you’re not happy doing what you’re doing, success generally will not follow.

The best time to quit your current job, if it meets the conditions specified about, is as soon as you find a better alternative.  There’s never a good time to switch jobs or change careers, but if you know something’s not working out for you, it is better to get off the boat while it’s still in harbor rather than some indefinite time in the future.

Charlie Gilkey from Productive Flourishing (rss)

I see many people getting an education in something that “pays well” without any thought as to what they really enjoy doing.  I think people should put effort into things that they enjoy.  Passion is often as valuable as knowing some well-paying skill. (Although it helps when you are passionate about something that pays well.)

If you don’t look forward to working when waking up in the morning then it’s clear that something is seriously wrong. Work is one of the things which should motivate you to get up in the morning, not make you wish that you were on holiday.

Alan Johnson from TheRatingBlog (rss)

If you wouldn’t prefer to be on holiday, I’d say you don’t know how to take good vacation.   But, good point.  If you wake up with dread instead of excitement, you are doing something wrong.

Good clues it might be time for a job change:  you don’t feel like you are learning anything new; you don’t feel like anyone “gets” you; you examine your job responsibilities and realize that few line up with what you are actually good at and are interested in; you have serious concerns with the leadership or stability of your company; you feel dread when you get up in the morning to go to work; your health is poor due to overwork and stress or finally you don’t see how this job contributes to your long-term career goals.

Pamela Slim from Escape from Cubicle Nation (rss)

Good point on the long term goals.  When I hire people, I always make it a point to find out where they are wanting to be in 5 or 10  years.  I know I can make their work experience much more rewarding if I can help them work toward those goals.

When you don’t have passion for what you are doing anymore!

John Richardson from Success Begins Today (rss)

Although I would caution about jumping around just when things get boring, sometimes it is a sign that you need to talk to your boss and ask for more responsibility.

When somebody you know and trust makes you an offer you can’t refuse, and not before. That said, always be working towards being the person that will be made that offer. Priority number 1, even if you are a CEO, is to know who your boss will be. If that isn’t going to be bettered, with a high degree of certainty, then don’t jump. Never run away from things, always be called forwards. Unless the thing is a lion of course!

Benjamin from WOWNDADI (rss)

I have heard of high-level employees who said they would take a job with the condition that their office was on the same floor as the CEO.  Another employee agreed to take a job as long as he was able to eat dinner with the CEO and other top executives a couple times each year.  Who you work for matters and if you want to really learn from them, you need to make sure you actually are around them.

There are three important factors that cause me to look for another job:

1. The most important factor in my personal  occupational satisfaction is that I enjoy my work. When the work becomes boring, unchallenging, or just pure drudgery and my boss doesn’t seem to care, I start looking elsewhere for employment.

2. Another important factor is that I am  appreciated and valued. How important I am to my organization is evidenced by how I’m paid, how much I’m paid, whether my opinions are valued, and how I’m treated publicly and privately by my boss. If these areas are lacking and the boss doesn’t seem to care, I start looking elsewhere for employment.

3. My third factor is that I want my work to be meaningful and fulfilling on some level. I don’t have to be saving thousands of starving people, but I want to know that my employment results in the betterment of someone’s life. It may be that I help keep a group of people employed and able to feed their families. It may be that I help a struggling customer with setting up a payment plan. When my work seems to become nothing but a meaningless wad or paperwork, I start looking elsewhere for employment.

Right now, I’m looking elsewhere for employment….

Ron Haynes from The Wisdom Journal (rss)

I hope you find a job that you like.  Your three items make an excellent read for managers who are looking at retaining people.  I think a lot of bosses forget to treat people in the way they would like to be treated.

Usually when the business school career center tells us to…

In the past though, it’s always been when you plateau on the learning curve.  If you stop growing and start stagnating, you slowly start to run into those things that really make your time at work stink.

It doesn’t mean you have to quit your company, but it does mean you need to either look for a promotion or for ways to expand your current job description.

Jared Degnan from Vanderbilt OwenBloggers (rss)

Good point.  Before jumping ship, it might be worth looking for ways to make your current job better.  If you are planning on leaving, it gives you quite a bit of leverage.

When you stop arriving an hour early just because you’re excited to start working.

Which would mean most people should start looking.

Joel Falconer (rss)

That is an interesting test.  I agree that if you are showing up an hour early just because you like the work, you probably have a pretty good job–or a horrible social life.

When you have really tried to find the value in what you do, but can’t.  When you feel like you are doing things that are unethical.  When the ONLY reason for doing what you do is to make money.

When you start wondering if everything you do is useless and there is no hope for ever making things better.  If these feelings are present much of the time at work, you are in the wrong job and probably in the wrong career too.

Ariane Benefit from Neat & Simple Living (rss)

Money is a good reason to work, but it is poor as an only reason.

For me, I know that I need to look for a new client when I am bored. If I am not learning and thinking and growing, I am stagnating. It’s time to move on.

LJ from simpleproductivityblog (rss)

This is a good reminder that people working for clients may sometimes need to switch to a new client in order to keep things interesting an fulfilling.

I’m entrepreneurial, but I believe strongly in multiple streams of income–that often includes working for another employer in addition to running my own business.

A year-and-a-half ago I made a career change from working as a Web Programmer to working as a computer Instructor and Courseware Author. I had identified in my 3- to 5-year plan that I needed to improve my public speaking skills and writing skills. Shortly after that, a great job opportunity became available to do just that. I’m loving it!

I’ve lost my share of jobs over the years as well, but each transition also turned into a better opportunity somewhere else.

More than anything, people need to follow their heart. Life is too short to spend it doing something you hate. Do what you love. Don’t be afraid to make a change when your own desires change. Give every job 110%, but don’t take anything so seriously that it ceases to be fun. When all the fun is gone it’s past time to leave.

Ricky Spears from Ricky Spears’ Blog (rss)

When you can see into the future and realize that the fun is going to be gone is a good time to leave.  Better to move on while you are ahead.

Though I don’t qualify for this anymore…three straight days of “I don’t want to go to work at that place” was a clear signal.

Mike Sansone from ConverStations (rss)

It wouldn’t take me many days of waking up like that to come to the same conclusion.  Fortunately, I’ve been able to move on before I got to that point at every job I’ve had.

I find this question difficult, because in a sense I’m always looking for a new job.  I would say the most obvious tell would be stomach aches and difficulty sleeping.  This is not a way to live life.

Anne from Writers Cabal Blog (rss)

If I’m going to get stomach aches and insomnia from my job, I’d rather be working for myself.  If you are going to take that level of stress, you need the associated chance of reward and that just isn’t present in most jobs.

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