BEEHIVEBITS -Wisdom with a bit of honey ;)

Anxiety at Work - The Road to Burnout

2010-07-26T14:55:00Z

Written by Adapted by Lyle H. Miller, Ph.D., and Alma Dell Smith, Ph.D.

Feb 19, 2007

Here are the stages of burnout. Especially for people with physical, emotional and mental exhaustion, unrealistically high aspirations and who are rigid perfectionists .

If in the beginning your job seems perfect, the solution to all your problems, you have high hopes and expectations, and would rather work than do anything else, be wary. You're a candidate for the most insidious and tragic kind of job stress--burnout, a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by unrealistically high aspirations and illusory and impossible goals.

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Potential for burnout increases dramatically depending on who you are, where you work, and what your job is. If you're a hard worker who gives 110 percent, an idealistic, self-motivated achiever who thinks anything is possible if you just work hard enough, you're a possible candidate. The same is true if you're a rigid perfectionist with unrealistically high standards and expectations. In a job with little recognition and few rewards for work well done, particularly with frequent people contact or deadlines, you advance from a possible to a probable candidate.

The road to burnout is paved with good intentions. There's certainly nothing wrong with being an idealistic, hardworking perfectionist or self-motivating achiever, and there's nothing wrong with having high aspirations and expectations. Indeed, these are admirable traits in our culture. Unreality is the villain. Unrealistic job aspirations and expectations are doomed to frustration and failure. The burnout candidate's personality keeps him striving with single-minded intensity until he crashes.

Burnout proceeds by stages that blend and merge into one another so smoothly and imperceptibly that the victim seldom realizes what happened even after it's over.

These stages include:

1. The Honeymoon

During the honeymoon phase, your job is wonderful. You have boundless energy and enthusiasm and all things seem possible. You love the job and the job loves you. You believe it will satisfy all your needs and desires and solve all your problems. You're delighted with your job, your co-workers and the organization.

2. The Awakening

The honeymoon wanes and the awakening stage starts with the realization that your initial expectations were unrealistic. The job isn't working out the way you thought it would. It doesn't satisfy all your needs; your co-workers and the organization are less than perfect; and rewards and recognition are scarce.

As disillusionment and disappointment grow, you become confused. Something is wrong, but you can't quite put your finger on it. Typically, you work even harder to make your dreams come true. But working harder doesn't change anything and you become increasingly tired, bored, and frustrated. You question your competence and ability and start losing your self-confidence.

3. Brownout

As brownout begins, your early enthusiasm and energy give way to chronic fatigue and irritability. Your eating and sleeping patterns change and you indulge in escapist behaviors such as sex, drinking, drugs, partying, or shopping binges. You become indecisive, and your productivity drops. Your work deteriorates. Co-workers and superiors may comment on it.

Unless interrupted, brownout slides into its later stages. You become increasingly frustrated and angry and project the blame for your difficulties onto others. You are cynical, detached, and openly critical of the organization, superiors, and co-workers. You are beset with depression, anxiety, and physical illness. Drugs or alcohol are often a problem.

4. Full Scale Burnout

Unless you wake up and interrupt the process or someone intervenes, brownout drifts remorselessly into full-scale burnout. Despair is the dominant feature of this final stage. This may take several months, but in most cases it involves three to four years. You experience an overwhelming sense of failure and a devastating loss of self-esteem and self-confidence. You become depressed and feel lonely and empty.

Life seems pointless and there is a paralyzing, "what's the use" pessimism about the future. You talk about, "just quitting and getting away." Your are exhausted physically and mentally. Physical and mental breakdowns are likely. Suicide, stroke, or heart attack are not unusual as you complete the final stage of what all started with such high hopes, energy, optimism, and enthusiasm.

5. The Phoenix Phenomenon

You can arise Phoenix-like from the ashes of burnout, but it takes time. First of all, you need to rest and relax. Don't take work home. If you're like most, the work won't get done and you'll only feel guilty for being "lazy."

In coming back from burnout, be realistic in your job expectations, aspirations, and goals. Whomever you're talking to about your feelings can help you, but be careful. Your readjusted aspirations and goals must be yours and not somebody else's. Trying to be and do what someone else wants you to be or do is a surefire recipe for continued frustration and burnout.

A final tip--create balance in your life. Invest more of yourself in family and other personal relationships, social activities, and hobbies. Spread yourself out so that your job doesn't have such an overpowering influence on your self-esteem and self-confidence.

Adapted from The Stress Solution by Lyle H. Miller, Ph.D., and Alma Dell Smith, Ph.D.

How "Fresh" are you?

2010-05-16T16:39:00Z

Social Media & Marketing are key buzz words that have many people rushing to set themselves on as many social media sites as they can?! While this is great practice if you want to protect and reserve your brand name you are better off to spend your time & efforts figuring out how to contribute in a way that is fresh and relevant. Yes this has been stated many times over but there are marketing sharks (er, companies) that still have yet to harness how to get social media right and thus the average person who is stuck doing this for their company or trying to establish a personal brand is left screaming with confusion.

Currently many companies and marketing agencies suggest to clients (that's you who wonders what is all this social media stuff anyway?!) that they publish content on a predetermined interval and auto-publish it to the Facebook, Twitter, and the like. For so many reasons this is wrong. While you do want to create a blog that gives relevant content to your circle or network you must also know that you need to do more work than that to develop an online community. The Beehivebits crew has been publishing content in various outlets kept growth small but steady for over a year. Why is this, you may ask? Because there are many self professed experts out there in that online battlefield and charging high fees or dangling carrots out there and calling it "give-to-get marketing" is senseless if it's just done for the sake of marketing.

So what are your options:
1. Find a reputable Marketing technologis t that can show you examples of that to do to establish and more importantly stay current
**If you're struggling to understand what that is run! You need help and fast (lol!).

2. If you're more visual this video might help you take it all in. Watch this if you still don't get social media or you got "stuck" with the job of having create your company's Facebook page?! Take this to your CEO or CMO and watch their eyes light up with amazement...

3. Join all the popular networks and make a commitment to maintain the sites weekly for two months to help you understand that will creating a social media acount is often free the time commitment is demanding and results are often lengthy to realize.

4.Finally -Please realize that if you have a career, a business, or a passion about a cause that you need to participate in social media as it's hands-down the most cost effective way to get recognized & your writing trusted. Important: For a better control of your brand (this mean's you or the company you represent) you must participate in the conversation.

5. Oh and one more thing, there is a darker side to social media, if you're the message giver you don't want to pounce those who just peaked around in your community and and it you're the message receiver you want to wear your "Just looking" button for as long as possible. Here's some comments from Online community guru Chris Brogan .

If you disagree and wish to share your buzz/opinion on this comments are welcome

Spammers Aren’t Courteous!-oh how true?!

2010-04-27T13:10:00Z

Surfing online and an article with an attention grabbing headline, which is becoming rare in this information age. This was written by an business as advice to the MLM professionals but it is truly great advice for those doing digital marketing (ie. social media or email marketing) to promote their product or service. It's truly a faux pas to overload someone that with whom you don't have a relationship with coupons and emails to promote you. Just because commerce online has allowed the door to open for digital marketing doesn't mean you should treat everyone you meet as paying customer before you even learn their first name!

(Photo Credit )

How do “YOU” treat other people? Are you respectful and courteous or is it all about you? Do you treat people like you would like to be treated or are you going to be successful at “ANY COST”?

I can’t tell you how many people we come across in this industry or in life that are not respectful of others. So many times we are in a rush to get to a certain place in life that the attitude seems to be ME ME ME. Generation “X” is a perfect example of this – the I want it FAST and I want it NOW mentality. And why not? They grew up with everything at the push of a button. Can you imagine them using a rotatory phone? If some poor sap had a few “0’s” in their phone number, I bet you that they wouldn’t have any friends now days using that OLD rotatory phone. We are all in a rush these days but we need to step back and analyze how it’s impacting society.

Let take a look at the Good Ole Network Marketing industry. Technology has changed the way a lot of us do business now days. Case in point – The Internet. The internet has created an abundance of people that “ALL” want your products or services. Don’t we all wish this was the case! But it’s not and people need to learn how to use the proper techniques for approaching others.

Picture this! You have a brand new neighbor that just moves in next door. You walk over to introduce yourself. No longer than a couple of minutes go by and you start telling them about how great your business is and if they really want to be SUCCESSFUL in life, they have to join your business. First off, you know NOTHING about these people and what their dreams and aspirations are in life. You didn’t take the time to know them before you called them a LOSER and pushed your opportunity on them. This is no different than floating around social networking sites and spamming an opportunity on everyone you come across PERIOD

If you desire to be successful in your industry you need to drop the ME mentality and focus on being courteous. Using social media is only a tool and you need to be courteous and respect others in the process. Trust me, nobody gets into a person’s business only because of the opportunity. They want to first off relate with that person like a good neighbor and then in time, maybe they will join you on your path to SUCCESS!

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Distraction Alert: Workplace Safety-sort of...

2010-04-15T22:31:00Z

So who says everything needs to be serious?! Sometimes it's good to laugh and leave it to the crazy Canadians to have commercials like these...

After watching tell me what you think

Distraction Alert: Spoofs & Stiff legs

2010-04-08T03:09:00Z

The Gang over at Reality Rehash TV post my comments about Dancing with the Stars every week but they forgot to share this video, it's great comedy of Jimmy Fallon spoofing the train wreck that is Kate Gosselin...

Or if you're feeling brave check out the actual performance from Kate Gosselin:

Click Here to Read the entire post:

Words of Encouragement

2010-03-25T23:05:00Z

Work-Life-Elder Care=Out of Balance

2010-03-25T22:18:00Z

Working full time and the demands of family life is stressful. If you add to that caring for an elderly family member you are a candidate for the Mother Teresa award because maintaining a kind heart, your sanity, & your job/business is tough to do.

Many Seniors want to remain a part of their homes/communities as long as possible and remain fiercely independent even when it's dangerous to do so. This could result in fatal injuries and stress on those giving care. It is very important to strike a balance between assisting with a quality of life and an overabundance of stress on caregivers which unfortunately lead to elder abuse...

In order to identify an individual’s health care needs, it is usuallya good idea to speak with his/her physician. A physician can tell youwhat level of care might be best for the individual on both a short-and long-term basis.Financial hardship often keeps people from being placed in a facility with an appropriate level of care. Contact your local Area Office of Aging for resources near you....

The questions in this guide (courtesy of www.canhr.org ) provide a framework to evaluate theeffectiveness of a person’s formal supports (In-Home SupportiveServices, case management, etc.), informal supports (family members,friends) and care needs. There is no magic formula that determines whenmore formal support services are needed or when out-of-home placementis necessary. Every individual and her/his circumstances differ.However, limited informal supports coupled with high care needs can bestrong indicators for increased use of formal community-based servicesor for investigation of out-of-home placement. This guide can be usedfor yourself or your loved one.

A. Daily Care Abilities and Need

1. How would you evaluate the individual?s abilities in the following areas?
Check all that pertain:

	Needs No Assistance	Needs Some Assistance	Needs a Lot of Assistance
Eating
Toileting
Bathing
Dressing
Grooming
Walking
Transferring

* If an individual "Needs a Lot of Assistance" in 2 or moreof the activities listed above in # 1, it is important to considerincreasing formal support services or even to consider looking intoout-of-home placement options. Professionals use these "activities ofdaily living" (ADLs) to determine appropriateness for a variety ofservices and for triggering insurance payments for care at home or ininstitutions.

2. How would you evaluate the individual’s abilities in the following areas?
Check all that pertain:

	Needs No Assistance	Needs Some Assistance	Needs a Lot of Assistance
Preparing Meals
Shopping
Transportation
Housekeeping
Preparing Medication
Taking Medication
Bill Paying
Using Telephone

*If an individual "Needs a Lot of Assistance" in 2 or moreof the activities listed above in #2, it is important to considerincreasing informal or formal support services. Professionals use these"instrumental activities of daily living" (IADLs) to determineappropriateness for a variety of services.

3. How would you answer the following questions about special care needs?

Is the individual incontinent in bladder?

Yes

Is the individual incontinent in bowel?

Yes

Does the individual wander off?

Yes

Does the individual stay awake during the night?

Yes

Does the individual show combative behaviors, (e.g., shouting, hitting)?

Yes

Does the individual require tube feeding?

Yes

Does the individual require skin care treatment for an advanced stage bed sore?

Yes

Does the individual require frequent assistance in transferring to prevent falls, e.g., going from the bed to the wheelchair?

Yes

*If you checked "yes" for any of the questions above in #3,you may need to increase formal support services. Start investigatingout-of-home placement options.

B. Informal (Family) Support Services

The ability of someone to remain at home often depends on theavailability, quantity and quality of one’s informal supports, (e.g.,services like personal care, shopping, housekeeping, cooking, etc.provided by spouse, family and friends). It also depends on the healthand willingness of the primary informal caregiver to continue toprovide care.

Is there someone who either acts or can act as an informal caregiver for the individual?

Yes No
If there is an informal caregiver available, does he/she live within 45 minutes of the individual?

Yes No
Could the primary support person provide at least 20-30 hours of care each week?

Yes No
Taking the primary support person’s own health and physical abilityinto consideration, would you consider him/her able to meet theindividual’s care needs on a daily basis?

Yes No
Taking the caregiver’s personal life (e.g., family, job, etc.) intoconsideration, would you consider him/her to be willing to provide thecare that the individual needs on a daily basis?

Yes No

*If you are unable to comfortably answer "yes" to thesequestions, you may want to consider looking into formal community-basedoptions to provide the assistance and services that the informalcaregiver cannot provide.

C. Formal (Agency Provided) Community-Based Services

The use of appropriate formal services (e.g., respite care, In-HomeSupportive Services, case management, etc.) can be crucial formaintaining community independence and providing needed backup andrelief to the informal, family support system. Refer to the fact sheetentitled "Community-Based Services for Seniors" for a list of some ofthe formal support services you can access.

If the individual already receives community-based services, it isimportant to evaluate the effectiveness of the combined formal andinformal services in meeting the individual’s needs. If the combinationhas limited effectiveness in meeting the individual’s needs, you maywant to consider accessing different or additional community-basedservices. You may also want to speak with your informal caregiver todiscuss how the help he/she provides can better complement the formalsupport services you receive.

List any services that you believe the individual needs but is not receiving from the formal or informal support systems:

______________________________________

D. Out-of-Home Placement

The individual’s answers to questions #1 and #3 will help gauge whattype of facility is most appropriate to meet his/her needs. It willalso influence the facility’s decision to accept the individual, and itwill definitely impact the amount of monthly payments to the facility.If you are unsure about the care needs of the individual, it is a goodidea to speak with his/her physician, and perhaps a geriatric carecoordinator, to find out what level of care would be most appropriate.

The following are types of residences/facilities that may be able toprovide the level of care and supervision that the individual needs:

Senior Housing or Retirement Communities: Residentsmust usually be independent. These residences provide only room, lighthousekeeping, a meal plan, some social activities and scheduled tripsfor shopping and doctors appointments. Individuals needing even "someassistance" in activities of daily living as indicated in #1 might notbe appropriate for this type of setting.

Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFEs):Often called assisted living or board and care homes, RCFEs arenon-medical facilities that offer room, board and daily assistance withdressing, eating, personal hygiene, health maintenance, transportationand assistance with prescribed medication. RCFEs provide a level ofcare that is appropriate for people who are unable to live bythemselves but do not need the extent of medical care provided by anursing facility. Medi-Care does not pay for care in RCFEs, and theaverage monthly cost for RCFEs in California is about $3,000 per month.

Note: Residential care facilities might accept individualswho "need a lot of assistance" with activities of daily living (#1) butbecome more hesitant to accept persons who answer "yes" to questions in#3, Special Care Needs.

Nursing Facilities: These facilities provide carefor residents who need 24-hour nursing care and are dependent on othersfor assistance with most activities of daily living. Skilled nursingfacilities often provide rehabilitative care for residents aftermedical procedures. Residents who are Medi-Cal eligible can useMedi-Cal to pay for nursing facilities that are Medi-Cal certified.

E. Next Steps

There are a number of factors involved in planning for care andsupport at home or long term care in a facility. These include theindividual’s healthcare needs, financial considerations, mentalcapacity and legal considerations.

6 myths about stress

2010-01-25T14:59:00Z

Image by kelvin255 via Flickr

Part 2 of an Ongoing series about stress:

Stress is a part of our lives and there’s no getting around it. But as much as we all live with it, many of us misunderstand some of the basics about stress and its role in our lives. Why does this matter? Stress has been indicted in many research studies in exacerbating very real physical illnesses — everything from heart disease to Alzheimer’s disease. Reducing stress can not only help you feel better, but also live a longer, disease-free life.

Let’s look at some of the common myths surrounding stress.

Myth 1: Stress is the same for everybody.

Stress is not the same for everybody, nor does everyone experience stress in the same way. Stress is different for each and every one of us. What is stressful for one person may or may not be stressful for another; each of us responds to stress in an entirely different way.

For instance, some people may get stressed out paying the monthly bills every month, while for others such a task isn’t stressful at all. Some get stressed out by high pressure at work, while others may thrive on it.

Myth 2: Stress is always bad for you.

According to this view, zero stress makes us happy and healthy. But this is wrong — stress is to the human condition what tension is to the violin string: too little and the music is dull and raspy; too much and the music is shrill or the string snaps.

Stress in and of itself is not bad (especially in small amounts). So while stress can be the kiss of death or the spice of life, the key is to understand how best to manage it. Managing stress makes us productive and happy, while mismanaging it may hurt us and cause us to fail or become even more stressed.

Myth 3: Stress is everywhere, so you can’t do anything about it.

So is the possibility of getting into an automobile accident everytime we get into our cars, but we don’t allow that to stop us from driving.

You can plan your life so that stress does not overwhelm you. Effective planning involves setting priorities and working on simple problems first, solving them, and then going on to more complex difficulties.

When stress is mismanaged, it’s difficult to prioritize. All your problems seem to be equal and stress seems to be everywhere.

Myth 4: The most popular techniques for reducing stress are the best ones.

No universally effective stress reduction techniques exist (although many magazine articles and pop psychology articles claim to know them!).

We are all different — our lives are different, our situations are different, and our reactions are different. A comprehensive stress management program tailored to the individual works best. But self-help books that can teach you many of the successful stress management techniques can also be of great help, as long as you stick to the program and practice the techniques daily.

Myth 5: No symptoms, no stress.

An absence of symptoms does not mean the absence of stress. In fact, camouflaging symptoms with medication may deprive you of the signals you need for reducing the strain on your physiological and psychological systems.

Many of us experience symptoms of stress in a very physical way, even though stress is a psychological effect. Feeling anxious, shortness of breath, or simply feeling run down all the time can all be physical signs of stress. Feeling overwhelmed, disorganized and having difficulty concentrating are common mental signs of stress.

Myth 6: Only major symptoms of stress require attention.

This myth assumes that the “minor” symptoms, such as headaches or stomach acid, may be safely ignored. Minor symptoms of stress are the early warnings that your life is getting out of hand and that you need to do a better job of managing stress.

If you wait until you start feeling the “major” symptoms of stress (such as a heart attack), it may be too late. Those early warning signs are best listened to earlier rather than later. A change in lifestyle (such as exercising more) to deal with those early warning signs will be far less costly (in time and economics) than dealing with the effects of not listening to them.

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Read this if you’re stressed

2010-01-24T01:51:53Z

Image via Wikipedia

This is part 1 of an ongoing series we’d like to share about stress, especially in the workplace. Feel Free to leave your comments questions …
Jobs and careers are an important part of our lives. Along with providing a source of income, they help us fulfill our personal aims, build social networks, and serve our professions or communities. They are also a major source of emotional stress.

Stress at work

Even “dream jobs” have stressful deadlines, performance expectations, and other responsibilities. For some, stress is the motivator that ensures things get done. However, workplace stress can easily overwhelm your life. You may continually worry about a particular project, feel unfairly treated by a supervisor or co-workers, or knowingly accept more than you can handle in hopes of earning a promotion. Putting your job ahead of everything else can also affect your personal relationships, compounding the work-related pressures.

Layoffs, restructuring, or management changes can heighten anxiety about your job security. In fact, a Norwegian study showed that the mere rumor of a factory’s closure caused rapid increases in workers’ pulse and blood pressure. Research in the U.S. has found that workplace injuries and accidents tend to increase in organizations that are being downsized.

The body reacts to stress

Along with its emotional toll, prolonged job-related stress can drastically affect your physical health. Constant preoccupation with job responsibilities often leads to erratic eating habits and not enough exercise, resulting in weight problems, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol levels.

Common job stressors such as perceived low rewards, a hostile work environment, and long hours can also accelerate the onset of heart disease, including the likelihood of heart attacks.
This is particularly true for blue-collar and manual workers. Studies suggest that because these employees tend to have little control over their work environments, they are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than those in traditional “white collar” jobs.

Your age is also a factor. A University of Utah study found that as stressed workers get older, their blood pressure increases above normal levels. Interestingly, many of the study’s over-60 workers reported that they did not feel upset or unduly pressured by their jobs, even though their blood pressure levels were significantly
higher.

Job stress also frequently causes burnout, a condition marked by emotional exhaustion and negative or cynical attitudes toward others and yourself.

Burnout can lead to depression, which, in turn, has been linked to a variety of other health concerns such as heart disease and stroke, obesity and eating disorders, diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Chronic depression also reduces your immunity to other types of illnesses, and can even contribute to premature death.

What you can do to combat job stress

Fortunately, there are many ways to help manage job-related stress. Some programs blend relaxation techniques with nutrition and exercise. Others focus on specific issues such as time management, assertiveness training, and improving social skills.

A qualified psychologist or other mental health professional can help you pinpoint the causes of your stress, and develop appropriate coping strategies.

Here are some other tips for dealing with stress on the job:

Make the most of workday breaks.
Even 10 minutes of “personal time” will refresh your mental outlook. Take a brief walk, chat with a co-worker about a non-job topic, or simply sit quietly with your eyes closed and breathe.
If you feel angry, walk away.Mentally regroup by counting to 10, then look at the situation again. Walking and other physical activities will also help you work off steam.
Set reasonable standards for yourself and others. Don’t expect perfection.
Talk to your employer about your job description. Your responsibilities and performance criteria may not accurately reflect what you are doing.

Working together to make needed changes will not only benefit your emotional and physical health, but also improve the organization’s overall productivity.

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How to Maintain a Healthy Level of Insanity in the Workplace

2010-01-11T14:59:00Z

(image source)

Part 1: Stop the Insanity

1) Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice.
2) Find out where your boss shops and buy exactly the same outfits. Wear them one day after you boss does. This is especially effective if your boss is a different gender.
3) Make up nicknames for all your coworkers and refer to them only by these names. "That's a good point, Sparky." "No, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with you there, Cha-cha."
4) Send e-mail to the rest of the company telling them exactly what you're doing. For example: "If anyone needs me, I'll be in the bathroom."
5) Hi-Lite your shoes. Tell people you haven't lost them as much since you did this.
6) While sitting at your desk, soak your fingers in Palmolive liquid. Call everyone Madge.
7) Hang mosquito netting around your cubicle. When you emerge to get coffee or a printout or whatever, slap yourself randomly the whole way.
8) Put a chair facing a printer. Sit there all day and tell people you're waiting for your document.
9) Every time someone asks you to do something, anything, ask them if they want fries with that.
10) Send e-mail back and forth to yourself engaging yourself in an intellectual debate. Forward the mail to a co-worker and ask her to settle the disagreement.
11) Encourage your colleagues to join you in a little synchronized chair-dancing.
12) Put your trash can on your desk. Label it "IN."
13) Feign an unnatural and hysterical fear of staplers.
14) Send e-mail messages saying there's free pizza or donuts or cake in the lunch room. When people drift back to work complaining that they found none, lean back, pat your stomach and say, "Oh you've got to be faster than that."
15) Put decaf in the coffee maker for three weeks. Once everyone has withdrawn from caffeine addiction, switch to espresso.

Part 2: Prison vs Work

N PRISON...you spend the majority of your time in an 8X10 cell.
      AT WORK ... you spend the majority of your time in a 6X8 cubicle.
      IN PRISON...you get three meals a day.
      AT WORK...you only get a break for one meal and you pay for it.
      IN PRISON...you get time off for good behavior
      AT WORK...you get more work for good behavior
      IN PRISON...the guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you.
      AT WORK...you must carry around a security card and open all the doors for yourself.
      IN PRISON...you can watch TV and play games.
      AT WORK...you get fired for watching TV and playing games.
      IN PRISON...you get your own toilet.
      AT WORK...you have to share with some idiot who pees on the seat.
      IN PRISON...they allow your family and friends to visit.
      AT WORK...you can't even speak to your family.
      IN PRISON...the taxpayers pay all expenses with no work required.
      AT WORK...you get to pay all the expenses to go to work and then they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners.
      IN PRISON...you spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get out.
      AT WORK...you spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars.
      IN PRISON...you must deal with sadistic wardens.
      AT WORK...they are called managers.

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Overworked

2010-01-10T02:50:23Z

ut....I'm tired because I'm overworked.
      The population of this country is 18 million.
      8 million are retired.
      That leaves 10 million to do the work.
      There are 6 million in school, which leaves 4 million to do the work.
      Of this there are 1.5 million unemployed, leaving 2.5 million to do the work.
      Take from that 1,180,000 people who work for government departments and that leaves 1,320,000 people to do the work.
      480,000 are in the armed forces, which leaves 840,000 to do the work.
      At any time, there are 179,000 people in hospitals, leaving 661,000 people to do the work.
      At the moment, there are 660,998 people in prisons.
      That leaves just two people to do the work.
      You and me.
      And you're sitting at your computer reading jokes!

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Are you Boy wonder secretly posing as batman?

2009-12-30T13:25:46Z

Image via Wikipedia

Back in May I was struggling at my day job, my employers was taking a new direction and hoping it would generate much needed revenue by offering new products & services. Many of my friends using Friendster & MySpace convinced me to join around 2007. A Facebook profile soon followed-so I thought I could proclaim myself to be an “Online Community Expert”-I performed an online search to look like I’d done my homework . The boss and marketing team loved my presentation and gave the green light for me to setup the company and any new clients that requested it on their Social Media site of choice. Wow-talk about giving the keys to Gotham City to Robin and letting him do Batman’s job!- I created personal pages for all business clients and added cheesy graphics that I ripped from the internet. I mucked things up so much that I was verbally reprimanded for this and told “if you claim you’re an expert then you need to deliver quality results” So back to the Internet & the library (yes they still exist) to learn what this thing called social media looks like when done well!

After banging my head and seeing what works…in the words of Oprah “What I know for sure”:

1. Know the difference between personal & business social media profiles.

Take Facebook for example. Its one thing to create a profile with pics of you & your dog or your new car and add all your former classmates and relatives to your list of connections. This is great but this not the same formula for marketing your business. For business you want to create a Fan page and link to your website, stream your blog posts, connect your account to Twitter or last.fm for maximum sharing. Your primary photo should be your logo or feature product-oh and another thing people become “fans” of your company or organization. The fan page/business page is a place where “fans” can interact with your business or other fans of the business. A fan page is good because updates made on the fan page are circulated into the home “feed” of the users. When someone becomes a “fan” of your page, friends of the person who fanned the page can then see that their friend fanned the page, and they then can also fan your page. These are all great offsite promotion but why do it-well Google & other search engines reference this, increased traffic, & hopefully more sales since there are about 300 million users world wide (sounds like a good place to advertise?!)

Click Here for a more detailed explanation of the different uses of Facebook!

2. Leave comments on popular blogs in your niche or any blog that’s cool.

Never underestimate the power of the blogosphere. Start reading and commenting on a few blogs that relate to your industry. You can find such blogs via Technorati or Digg or by visiting professional association and/or trade publication sites that will provide links, as well as site recommendations.

Remember to only leave comments that match the blog’s topic and are genuine. No one wants crappy comments they have to edit or don't make sense.

3. Invest in viral video creation.

Nowadays, web videos are an inexpensive, accessible and easy to distribute media. Create a short (2-3 minutes) video presenting or explaining your site, business, services or industry. When complete, upload your video to YouTube, MySpace or other video sharing sites and direct visitors to your homepage. When you link your videos to your profile pages on social bookmarking sites, you will build a small group of connections that search engines will be able detect. Increased site traffic is crucial to generating more business.

4. Join Twitter- everyone’s doing it! Well not everyone but…

If you’re not on Twitter you should join-don’t delay it’s faster than waiting for coffee at your favorite coffee house! Twitter is a microblogging site that allows you to post a short (140 character) update to those connected to you. You can add your blog, you can advertise in real time if you have a brick & mortar location, you can monitor what people say about you or your business- a great place to be the town gossip.

Click here for more Twitter info (an oldie but goodie from Social Media Guru Chris Brogan), in case you still don’t get it

5. Start a blog.

The hardest thing about blogging is building an audience and finding the motivation to produce strong content on a regular basis (always linking to your firm’s site, naturally). Read this guide on how to launch a blog. The other hardest thing about blogging is to make sure that you do it often enough to keep your audience tuned in. If you would like a report card for you blog try Blog Grader, a tool from the good folks at Hubspot.

Which one are you Batman (the superhero) or Boy Wonder (the sidekick)? If you’ve overpromised and under delivered get reenergized and focused for 2010.

So the Important thing here is to learn to provide content that doesn’t suck!-and at the same time realize that some of your work will suck! It’s ok to emulate (copy) in your industry but be sure to give credit to your source.(I now have learned there are no experts, just veterans who learn to adjust with the many changes that happen often)

In the next decade (haha that’s in a few days) all these metrics may change just be ready for them!

The top 18 ways to confuse Santa Claus

2009-12-17T22:29:00Z

(Image credit)

1. Instead of milk and cookies, leave him a salad, and a note explaining that you think he could stand to lose a few pounds.

2. While he's in the house, go find his sleigh and write him a speeding ticket.

3. Leave him a note, explaining that you've gone away for the holidays. Ask if he would mind watering your plants.

4. While he's in the house, replace all his reindeer with exact replicas. Then wait and see what happens when he tries to get them to fly.

5. Keep an angry bull in your living room. If you think a bull goes crazy when he sees a little red cape, wait until he sees that big, red Santa suit!

6. Build an army of mean-looking snowmen on the roof, holding signs that say "We hate Christmas," and "Go away Santa"

7. Leave a note by the telephone, telling Santa that Mrs. Claus called and wanted to remind him to pick up some milk and a loaf of bread on his way home.

8. Set a bear trap at the bottom of the chimney. Wait for Santa to get caught in it, and then explain that you're sorry, but from a distance, he looked like a bear.

9. While he's in the house, find the sleigh and sit in it. As soon as he comes back and sees you, tell him that he shouldn't have missed that last payment, and take off.

10. Leave a plate filled with cookies and a glass of milk out, with a note that says, "For The Tooth Fairy." Leave another plate out with half a stale cookie and a few drops of skim milk in a dirty glass with a note that says, "For Santa"

11. Take everything out of your house as if it's just been robbed. When Santa arrives, show up dressed like a policeman and say, "Well, well. They always return to the scene of the crime."

12. Leave out a copy of your Christmas list with last-minute changes and corrections.

13. While he's in the house, cover the top of the chimney with barbed wire.

14. Leave lots of hunting trophies and guns out where Santa's sure to see them. Go outside, yell, "Ooh! Look! A deer! And he's got a red nose!" and fire a gun.

15. Leave Santa a note, explaining that you've moved. Include a map with unclear and hard-to-read directions to your new house.

16. Leave out a Santa suit, with a dry-cleaning bill.

17. Paint "hoof-prints" all over your face and clothes. While he's in the house, go out on the roof. When he comes back up, act like you've been "trampled." Threaten to sue.

18. Instead of ornaments, decorate your tree with Easter eggs. Dress up like the Easter Bunny. Wait for Santa to come and then say, "This neighborhood ain't big enough for the both of us."

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4 life lessons from Mr. Oddbody

2009-12-17T13:30:00Z

Image via Wikipedia

The timeless classic movie “It’s A Wonderful Life” can provide some insight on how to live in real life rather running a business or just trying to survive working at your current post.

First a bit of history: The film was actually a box-office flop at the time of its release, and only became the Christmas movie classic in the 1970s due to repeated television showings at Christmas-time when its copyright protection slipped and it fell into the public domain in 1974 and TV stations could air it for free.

Actually a dark, bittersweet post-war tale of a savings-and-loan manager who struggles against a greedy banker and his own self-doubting nature in a small town. Earnest do-gooder George Bailey (James Stewart) recognizes his life as wonderful and truly rich, even in its humdrum and bleak nature, only after suffering many hardships, mishaps and fateful trials (including compromised dreams of youth to leave the town and seek fame and fortune, other sacrifices, dismay, losses and the threat of financial ruin, and suicide). He is given encouragement by a whimsical, endearing, trainee-angel named Clarence (Henry Travers).

1. You don’t have to do something big and important to be important (Didn’t make it to the big city, get that promotion or new job, or approved for your dream house?-it’s ok you still matter People who have real friends know the best there is in life, rather than reaching for rewards and yearnings elsewhere - real riches can be found in the treasures nearby.-cliche but true. This can also be applied to your business efforts-being a great junior customer svc rep is better than being a horrible ceo. Just as ethical marketing to a small client base is better than being a snake oil salesman.

2. Don’t throw your life away- AS2 (angel second class) Clarence Oddbody said "Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives, and when he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he? You see, George, you've really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?”- Remember that if you have something good to share people will want to read your content, dont waste time writing fluff or sharing something you don’t identify with. There are plenty of bad blogs and incorrect information sources out there.

3. Recognize that the answer to your prayers/wishes (whatever is politically correct these days?) don’t always come true in the most obvious ways. Remember George, the film’s main character got into a drunken bar brawl after yelling at his family and thought that was his queue to commit suicide. The angel feigns drowning so he forgets about from trying to end it all so("I knew if I were drowning, you would try to save me. And you see, you did. And that's how I saved you." The old man claims to be the answer to George's prayer rather than the bloody lip.)he see’s his life isnt soo bad -the truth is it really isn’t !

4.Don’t worry about keeping up with what others are doing. It keeps you from focusing on the importance of yourself. George's awakening of consciousness through divine intervention in his experiences, enabling him to be freed from the confines of earthly pressures. He found his own rewards and gifts - life, redemption, and freedom.

Share your “It’s A Wonderful Life” lesson

does positive thinking really work?

2009-12-17T04:41:05Z

Positive thinking is, obviously, something that can have a great impact on a person. What is hard to understand is why positive thinking is so powerful. That involves taking a good look at how positive thinking works.
Positive thinking works in three different ways. First, it works on you and your general attitude. Second, it works on those around you. Lastly, it has a way of influencing your environment. How exactly positive thinking works on these things is, open for debate, though.

Some people believe that positive thinking is related to karma. That whatever you put out there comes back to you. Others believe that positive thinking is a mental thing that triggers positive things. Whatever your beliefs, it is hard to doubt the power of positive thinking.

You will feel how powerful positive thinking is. Once you start to implement positive thinking in your life, you will start to see it work for you. Positive thinking has a way of changing your whole view on life. You will start to find the good in things and that will make you happy. You will be less likely to feel down and instead you will allow positive thinking to guide you to happy thoughts.

You will start to do everything in a more positive way, including how you treat others. This will not go unnoticed. Your interaction with others plays a large part in your life.

Other people are going to be greatly influenced by your positive thinking. You will start to see this because they are going to start treating you differently. Others will sense your positive attitude and they will treat you in a positive way. Someone who is often rude or just inattentive to you will likely start to treat you in a nice way or pay more attention to you.

You will start to find that people are more likely to offer you help when you need it. They will likely do nice things, such as hold doors open or just give you a smile. Your positive attitude may even be contagious. You may start to see people you spend a lot of time with exhibiting your positive attitude and positive thinking.

Positive thinking has a way of even influencing your environment, but it may not be in the way you think. Just because you think positive does not mean that everything will automatically go your way.

However, when you think positively you will be less likely to see the negative in things and therefore your environment will appear to change. You will probably start to notice the little things more than ever before and that will have a nice effect on you. There is positive in EVERY situation. No matter how bad it looks, I guarantee there is positive in the situation and you are just not looking hard enough.

Positive thinking will allow you to believe in yourself. It will allow you to believe that you can accomplish something if you put your mind to it. You will be able to set goals and reach them because you will believe that you can do it. You will not have negative thoughts to hold you back.

Positive thinking is very influential. It is going to start to shape everyone and everything around you. You are going to see the great power it has almost immediately. The power of positive thinking is not subtle.

You have to make an effort to let positive thinking start turning all your thoughts and ideas into positive thoughts and ideas. It is up to you to start pushing the negativity out of your head and let positive thoughts guide you.

When you start to find your thoughts, drifting to the negative it is your responsibility to make an effort to make them positive instead. Go ahead and train yourself to always find the positive in anything. One you do this it will go a long way towards changing your attitude.

The power of positive thinking is that it will shape your life. Positivist is so contagious that it will affect the world around you. You will start to see positive thinking everywhere you go.

Positive thinking has a power that is undeniable. It is something that will not be subtle. It will have such a great impact on you and your life that you will wonder how you ever lived before putting it to work in your life.

The true power of positive thinking is that it allows you to live life to its fullest potential and for all that, it has to offer without letting negativity bring you down. You can’t just turn on the switch and presto, positive thinking will solve the world’s problems. But you can start to think positively and make it habit. After 30 to 90 days, positive thinking will be a habit and you won’t even have to think about it.

The secret is the understanding that there is not one single decision or precise moment which will define success. This is why positive thinking is so important. Success comes as a result of the right attitudes and the right decisions. It’s a compilation of many decisions and positive thinking will allow you to make these decisions are you move forward in life!

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No Copycats Allowed, How to be Original

2009-12-07T05:11:10Z

Be You, Be Original, Don't be a copycat. These are often heard bits of advice-rather it's for writing, landing, being the perfect partner in a relationship, or establishing an online presence (self service PR). But how does one attain these goals . I read somewhere that someone said don't worry about attracting everyone or winning them over just focus on being quirky and authentic to you niche or following? Well what if neither of these is developed?

If you're new to the online community and trying to compete with the attention the heavy hitters in your industry then we have something in common. Who has time to write a blog, maintain a home, deal with a crazy partner, and work 40+ hours a week?!- oh maybe that's just my life but you get the point-life is hectic so how do strike the proverbial balance and still put the effort in to get your name out there?...Those who do the following well become the names we come to recognize for innovation and creativity .

(Image via Flickr)

1. Put your business/personal brand out there-know the difference and implications between doing either or both of these. Word of mouth is always a great way to promote your business. However, society is not as dependent upon this ancient information passing method as it used to be. People today look online to determine which restaurants to eat at, which stores to shop at, and which products they want to buy. If they cannot find you online, then odds are good they won’t find you offline either. Building an informative, targeted, and brand-developed website is no longer a step-up, it is a must have.

2. Don’t just build a website, build the right website. Too many businesses just think that any website should suffice as presenting themselves online. This is just not the case as your website is your one-stop shot for making an impression, and that impression does not last long. The average site is viewed for less than 10 seconds. If you don’t make a graphically appealing statement in that amount of time then you lose numerous potential customers before you even got a chance to present yourself. You know your business is better than others out there, so make sure you give your establishment a better shot by providing something that people or going to look at and more importantly, want to look at. Choose a quality web design company (or do it yourself-I have ideas if you want assistance), to help your business make the right impression.

3. Market your online presence. Just as you would send out fliers, mailers, print ads, and more for your brick and mortar location, you would also do the same for your online location as well. Simply building a website is not enough to get the masses to come flooding through your doors. You must market your website with just as much vigor as you would your regular business. The world of search marketing is constantly evolving and you should do yourself the favor of researching search engine marketing services to help promote your online brand.

One could not say enough how important it is to put a quality online establishment on the web for thousands of potential customers to view. Your website works for your business/self/both even while your are not. A quality online presence can level the playing field for you against other competitors. Where do you stand?

As always the Beehivebits Crew would like to hear your comments and how-to's

Working Together

2009-11-23T00:10:00Z

10 things worst things to do in a meeting

2009-11-21T18:55:07Z

Image by thinkpanama via Flickr

Meetings are often hailed as the No. 1 time-waster in corporate America, and -- unless food is served to offset the boredom -- the most tortuous part of the work day.
Who among us hasn't cringed as the office windbag launched into a self-aggrandizing discourse that was completely off-point? Pitied a meek co-worker who got trounced by the office bully? Or marveled at a colleague's ability to string together an array of buzzwords that mean absolutely nothing?
Yet no matter how mind-numbing things get, don't be lulled into thinking that meetings aren't important. The fact is, they can make -- or break -- your career. Here are 10 things you should never do in a meeting:
1. Show Up Late.
Nothing says "I'm disorganized" like walking into a meeting already in progress. Arriving a few minutes early not only demonstrates that you respect your colleagues' time, but guarantees you get a good seat as well.
2. Be Unprepared.
If you've been given an agenda or materials beforehand, read them. Think of any questions you have or contributions you could make to the subjects being discussed.
3. Monopolize the Conversation.
When discussion ensues, it's protocol to let more senior figures contribute first. Once they've said their piece, concisely make your points. Don't drone on -- or feel compelled to speak at all if you don't have anything purposeful to say. As the old adage goes, "Better to be thought a fool, than speak and remove all doubt."
4. Make Your Statements Sound Like Questions.
Phrasing your statements as questions invites others to say no, argue or take credit for your ideas. Speak in declarative sentences, such as, "Let's do more research on that."
5. Misread Signals.
Try to gauge the needs and mood of those in the room. Listen carefully to what people are saying to discern how receptive they might be to your ideas. You need to make your message relevant to your audience. For example, if everyone is focused on cutting costs and you're angling for a system upgrade, you'll either want to stress how the new software will save money -- or table your request for another day.
6. Get Intimidated.
Unfortunately, some of your co-workers may view meetings as a battleground and themselves as verbal gladiators, sparring for the boss' favor. If you become the victim of a put-down or accusation, calmly defend yourself. If you need to buy time to think, do so with a question that will make your attacker accountable. For example: "Andrew, when did you start thinking I don't care about our sales results?"
7. Chew Gum.
The smacking, popping, cracking and cow-like chewing are annoying. Plus, it's rude and unprofessional. 'Nuff said.
8. Keep Your Cell Phone On.
You turn it off in restaurants and at the movies. Turn it off for your meeting. A ringing phone interrupts the presenter and distracts the audience. And whatever you do, never take a call in the middle of a meeting.
9. Wander Off Topic.
Don't hijack the agenda. Stay focused on what you and your team are trying to accomplish. If you must digress into unrelated areas, make sure it's all right with the others present. A good way to handle important issues not related to the topic at hand is to record them on a flipchart and revisit them at an appropriate time.
10. Skip It.
Sure, you might get more done if you forgo a meeting to stay at your desk and do your actual work. But if the meeting was called by someone higher up in the organization, you'll miss an opportunity to make yourself known. Remember, in the end, meetings aren't just about productivity, they're also about projecting a positive image and building professional relationships.

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can you avoid holiday burn-out?

2009-11-15T16:16:47Z

Image via Wikipedia

So many of us are busy at this time of the year- volunteering, visiting family, or holiday shopping. Very easy to forget something-that something is what time are you supposed to report to work or what event are you to attend? Holiday hours are extended for retail organizations & slow down for most other sectors (i.e. corporations, government). This leaves me thinking about the overworked employee who will struggle to balance time and deadlines. Maybe you work countless hours while others head out for the holiday break or you could use the overtime to pay for that special holiday gift. Someone will want to harness (or pass the buck-depends on how you view things?!) your efforts and load your plate with extra tasks.

This led to research about a concept called the tragedy of the commons. The term applies to any situation where a commonly shared resource gets overused to the detriment of all players, like how overfishing can deplete a pond of fish. The tragedy is that each participant means well, but the collective actions damage a valuable resource.

There are many applications of the tragedy of the commons–here’s an example that involves Thanksgiving.

The First Thanksgiving (view source here)

John Stossel explains the tragedy of the commons in this interesting article:

Because of sharing, the first Thanksgiving in 1623 almost didn’t happen.

…

When the Pilgrims first settled the Plymouth Colony, they organized their farm economy along communal lines. The goal was to share everything equally, work and produce.

They nearly all starved.

Why? When people can get the same return with a small amount of effort as with a large amount, most people will make little effort. Plymouth settlers faked illness rather than working the common property. Some even stole, despite their Puritan convictions. Total production was too meager to support the population, and famine resulted. Some ate rats, dogs, horses and cats. This went on for two years.

Oh, this is too juicy. Pilgrims stealing? Eating rats and dogs? Where was this information during my U.S. history class?

But we know that the Pilgrims ultimately came up with a solution:

The people of Plymouth moved from socialism to private farming. The results were dramatic.

“This had very good success,” Bradford wrote, “for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been. … By this time harvest was come, and instead of famine, now God gave them plenty, and the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many. … ”

Because of the change, the first Thanksgiving could be held in November 1623.

What Plymouth suffered under communalism was what economists today call the tragedy of the commons. But the problem has been known since ancient Greece. As Aristotle noted, “That which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it.”

About the Solution

As Stossel’s example illustrates, the tragedy is a result of improper incentives. Under sharing, good land can be wasted because no one has reason enough to care for it. Under self-interest, good land will be efficiently used and preserved. And by extension of the invisible hand, the whole economy will coordinate to use the resource efficiently.

Stossel explains that property rights were the necessary tool to induce self-interest for the Pilgrims.

What is the analogy to work in the office?

On the job, quality work output is the shared resource among managers. Property rights would amount to an employee being assigned solely to a specific manager and only taking work from that person. That manager would make sure that employee is taken care of to maximize work output during my employment. –does this happen in the real world-absolutely not! Still an interesting read…

Unfortunately, this means the tragedy of overwork will continue during the holidays for those that stick around. So if you are stuck in the office during the holidays, I wish you the best and hope you are not called to fill-in for too many people.

As an added bonus for reading this far here’s a link to a Bi-Weekly Work Schedule Template:

Click on this link- Plan your work week using this work schedule template for Excel. With just a few clicks, you can modify the Year, Month, Week, and Start Time. You can also go a step further and customize the template to suit your needs.

"No Installation, No Macros - Just a simple spreadsheet"

Share how you manage the busy holiday schedule

WHY WHY WHY??!!!!

2009-11-11T22:03:00Z

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are almost dead?

Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they already know there is not enough money?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars; but have to check when you say the paint is still wet?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, 'It's all right?' Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, 'That really hurt, why don't you watch where you're going?'

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

BEEHIVEBITS -Wisdom with a bit of honey ;)

Anxiety at Work - The Road to Burnout

1. The Honeymoon

2. The Awakening

3. Brownout

4. Full Scale Burnout

5. The Phoenix Phenomenon

How "Fresh" are you?

Spammers Aren’t Courteous!-oh how true?!

Distraction Alert: Workplace Safety-sort of...

Distraction Alert: Spoofs & Stiff legs

Words of Encouragement

Work-Life-Elder Care=Out of Balance

6 myths about stress

Part 2 of an Ongoing series about stress:

Myth 1: Stress is the same for everybody.

Myth 2: Stress is always bad for you.

Myth 3: Stress is everywhere, so you can’t do anything about it.

Myth 4: The most popular techniques for reducing stress are the best ones.

Myth 5: No symptoms, no stress.

Myth 6: Only major symptoms of stress require attention.

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Stress at work

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Overworked

Are you Boy wonder secretly posing as batman?

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does positive thinking really work?

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10 things worst things to do in a meeting

can you avoid holiday burn-out?

As an added bonus for reading this far here’s a link to a Bi-Weekly Work Schedule Template:

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WHY WHY WHY??!!!!