Difference Between a Job Board and Search Engine

Difference Between a Job Board and Search EngineDifference Between a Job Board and Search EngineItcan be confusing to tell the difference between a job mainboard and a job search engine, but its wise to know where the job listings you find zugnglich are coming from. Typically, in a cover letter, youll mention how you found the job posting. Put simply ajob boardis a website that posts jobs supplied by employers, whereasjob search enginesscour the web and aggregate job listings from job boards and employer websites. Job Boards With job boards, companies have specifically listed their open positions and often accept job applications directly through the job board. Employers typically pay a fee to the job board to list their jobs on the site essentially, the site warehouses resumes and sells employers access to them. Monster, the largest and best-known job board, is a general board with postings across a broad range of industries. Indeedoffers a wider array of jobs including contrac t positions,work-at-home opportunities, summer jobs, and volunteer work.CareerBuilderis focused more on people with a bachelors degree. Other more specialized boards focus on a particular industry.Dice, for example, is a leading site for tech jobs.Career BankandeFinancial Careersfocus on finance and banking.Variety Careersposts media jobs in television, radio, and production.TalentZoocovers advertising and marketing. Very niche-oriented job focus on highly specific careers a rig engineer would look for work onRigzone.com if youre an expert in natural language processing,NLPPeople.comis the job site for you. Other niche boards cater to a segment of the job market likeentry-level jobs,summer jobs, or internships. Search Engines Indeed andSimplyHiredare two of the most popular job search engines, and they collect millions of listings on their platforms.(Indeed is both a job search engine and a job board.)LinkUpsearches through the websites of small, medium, and large employers with out including input from job boards. Niche job search engines, likeGreen Job BankorJobsOnTheMenu, collect jobs from various industry or career-specific sites. Boards vs. Search Engines You will find a wider variety of job postings on job search engines because they contain listings from multiple sources. However, you may also have to look through duplicate listings and make sure the job vacancy is still available. Also, targeting a broad job search can be difficult. If you search a big company, you might get hundreds, or even thousands, of results. Adding parameters such as location can help narrow the results. If you find an opportunity through a job board, you may have to register on that site, and some even require a fee to join. You may also deal with a lot of spam and advertisements. A Comprehensive Strategy Also, keep in mind that very few hires happen through job boards. In an article on PBS, employers reported that just 1.3 percent of their hires came from Monster an d 1.2 percent through CareerBuilder. To maximize your job search, use both job boards and job search engines along with a variety of sites because no single site searches all job listings. Beyond that, dont restrict your job search to online sources. The vast majority of hires come through networking.At least 60 percent of all jobs are found this way, and some sources cite even higher statistics. To maximize your chances of finding a job, youll love and getting hired for the position, create a multi-prong strategy including niche and general job search engines and job boards andnetworking. Above all, dont keep your job search under your hat (even if your current employment situation means that you have to be discrete on social media and at work). Tell everyone you know that youre looking. Schedule coffee dates with contacts you havent seen in a while, and carry business cards in case you run into a connection socially who might have a lead. Set upinformational interviewswith people who have jobs you want, and ask them how they got where they are today. Remember the goal isnt just to get hired. Its to find a job thats satisfying, at an employer thatsa good cultural fit, and thatpays appropriately for the roleand for your skills and experience. To make that happen, you need to take advantage of every resource at your disposal not just job boards and search engines.

What Japanese work culture can teach us about productivity

What Japanese work culture can teach us about productivityWhat Japanese work culture can teach us about productivityIts important to note that higher productivity doesnt, as a rule, beget better work. The term itself is too often occasioned as the sole reason behind a firms success or failure.Adrian Shephard is a productivity consultant that spent 24 years in the corporate belly of Japan. Theres plenty to unpack from the observations he accumulated but presently the alternative way employers view efficient work stands out to me.Monotony is a frequent feature of any worthwhile work disparaging session. Monday through Friday you go in and perform the same task over and over and over and over again, 264 days a year-routine can be overwhelming. Even if yur job happens to be your calling, 264 days is a lot of time dedicated to doing anything. The salve to this is one that simultaneously breaks the curse of tedium and improves the efficiency of the company at large. Its a matter of perspec tive. Theres this philosophy observed by many workers in Japan called kaizen.Kaizen more broadly translates to improvement. But when applied to business it is defined as the continuous engagement in activities that improve all functions. Whether a CEO or an assembly worker, repletion, attention to detail, and care are the antecedents to efficiency. Kaizen also teaches you to appreciate the value in even the smallest amount of improvement. An improvement that isnt evaluated by its degree is an incentivizes routine. Shepard writes there is always a yearning to achieve more. Ill continue to climb, trying to reach the top, but no one knows where the top is.The productive differences that separate Japan from the west extends beyond the workplace. Shepard found that even the way many Japanese workers conduct themselves and organize their time at home to nourish a focused energized mind. For one thing, in Japan, food, although prepared carefully, is more often seen as fuel. The dishes pres ented serve particular functions. Shepard adds that despite the bounty of dishes that accompany a standard dinner, he never leaves the table feeling full. Eating to be satisfied as opposed to feeling full has made Shepard significantly healthier I almost never have a cold anymore and have more energy than I did in my 20s.What we put in our body isnt the only or even the most profound effect on our mental well being. Our surroundings also play a major role. Because space is so limited in Japan, citizens must exercise extra prudence when determining what they should and should not keep. This makes for generally tidier living quarters. Even corporations make a point to dispose of all unnecessary things. Freeing up space is liberating, and once done can provide a big boost in productivity.Bathing before sleep is much more commonplace in Japan. According to a study previously reported on by Ladders, habitual bathing comes with a slew of mental health benefits.Shepard corroborates stating ever since adhering to a consistent bathing regiment he sleeps like an angel and reaps the benefits.

Resume vs Non-Disclosure Agreement How to Talk About Your Past Projects

Resume vs Non-Disclosure Agreement How to Talk About Your Past ProjectsResume vs Non-Disclosure Agreement How to Talk About Your Past ProjectsMost of us have already signed one but only few of us have bothered to read it. Yes, were talking about the infamous NDA - a formidable document that prevents you from talking too much about your work.In other words, the non-disclosure agreement is a legal contract that helps companies make sure their employees wont leak any confidential information.However, these juicy details may come in extremely handy when writing a resume, creating an online portfolio or getting ready for a job interview. Read on to learn how to cope with the limitations posed by the NDA and make it work towards the outcome you really want.First, pick up your NDA and read itIn fact, adding confidential accomplishments to your resume or online portfolio is not forbidden. It just requires you to think smart and master the art of possible.Even if you had to sign an NDA, ther es no reason to freak out. These documents arent supposed to silence the employees but rather protect the company issuing them. The first thing you should do, then, is bestattungs the copy of your NDA and read it through. Understanding the agreement is your key to be able to push its boundaries. Take your time to study it over and over again until you fully understand it along with the caveats it entails.Different NDAs, different rulesFirst, you need to realise that not every NDA contract is the same. The thing is, NDAs reference the information not to be disclosed as confidential in nature. That generally concerns technical documentation, information which is non-public and which would be detrimental to the company interests if it were to get out. However, NDAs vary pretty widely in whats forbidden to be talked about. Some agreements are extremely restrictive, whereas others are pretty loose and hiding the clients personenname is enough. And some NDAs are even set to expire after a certain time period (go check that first).Most of them wont let you discuss the details of the project but - perhaps except for the CIA - most of them do let you discuss the existence of the said project. As long as you dont slip out any information a competitor might glean an advantage from, you should be perfectly fine.Non-disclosure agreement vs resume Focus on the resultsYou may be thinking everybodys eager to hear about the final product. But, in fact, its not your destination but your journey that reveals the most about your work - your expertise, personality or skills.Remember, those who are reading your resume dont necessarily need to know the project itself. They want to see the results, and as far as you can describe those, youve done your job well.Rather than disclosing any confidential details - such as techniques used or client names - focus on the value that you brought to the process. Describe the lage in terms of technologies, size or objectives and refer to yo ur job responsibilities and achievements. The description of your work, without breaching the NDA, could then sound something like thisLead international business teams that included members from multiple Fortune 100 companies, ensuring successful delivery of multi-year, industry leading projects.Developed and implemented client service program for a leading tech company, which expanded small-to-medium client base 35%.Advised three Fortune 500 companies on database performance issues.Even if your projects happen to be under an ironclad non-disclosure agreement, theres always a way to deal with it.By using adjectives to hint at your employers prestige and including the Fortune ranking lists, youre free to discuss any responsibilities and achievements you deem particularly important.Online portfolio Communicate the value of your workHeres another scenario.Youve just finished your best work to date and realized adding it to your online portfolio would give your career an intergalactic boost. However, NDA has shattered your plans of discussing crucial parts of your project that make your skills stand out.A real bummer, that is. Or maybe not. First, dont let the NDA make you lose heart. Try to explore various different ways to communicate the value of your protected material. Depending on the type of your NDA, you may have to think beyond the project to achieve the same resultsWrite a short blog post about what you learned working for Company XYZ to describe your journey and highlight your expertise.Turn your attention to a side project in which you demonstrate similar skills as in your protected project.Drop the name of Company XYZ in the clients section of your portfolio to show you have collaborated with them or worked for them.Remember, a signed NDA should never be an excuse for an empty portfolio. You need to identify the value of your work and look for alternative ways to communicate the desired message.Dont miss the chance to stir up some dramaJob applicatio ns hardly ever cause recruiters to raise an eyebrow. So why not put in a little teaser to spice things up a bit? Mention the NDA on the margins to let them know you must take extra care to avoid violating the agreement.Its far more interesting to reveal a bit of something and then say that you cannot talk about it any further. Sounds terribly juicy, to say the leastLets throw in an example or two to help you get the ideaEvaluated mission-critical information for a confidential project at industry dominant company (subject to a non-disclosure agreement no further details available)Managed a multi-million budget for a confidential project (subject to NDA, no further details available) at Fortune 100 company.Dont worry, though, your prospective employer will definitely respect the confidentiality of the information. Whats more, they may even appreciate your professional integrity in sticking to the NDA, which in turn may boost your credibility and trustworthiness.And that sounds like a great win-win situation, doesnt it?Share Your Feedback or Ideas in the Comments

Jenny McCarthy spills on The View and its toxic work environment

Jenny McCarthy spills on The View and its toxic work environmentJenny McCarthy spills on The View and its toxic work environmentJenny McCarthy lasted a year on the daytime talk show The View, sitting alongside characters such as Whoopi Goldberg and Barbara Walters. While herbei appearances and opinions (especially about vaccinations) were highly scrutinized, what was going on behind the scenes was next level.The View, as it turns out, may have been a dysfunctional workplace full of office politics and cruel bullying.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreAn excerpt from an upcoming book by Ramin Settodah about the show,Ladies Who Punch The Explosive Inside Story of The View,ran on Vulture, and featured an interview with McCarthy, who said the experience was her worst job in 25 years of working in show business.McCarthys tenure got off to a rocky start.One day on the Hot Topics segment of the show, McCarthy brought up the subject of who singer Katy Perry was dating. During a commercial break, Barbara Walters, looking upset, asked, Who is that youre talking about and why are you bringing her up?McCarthy reminded Walters that shed interviewed Perry just last week.Unfortunately, the reply only embarrassed Walters, who by then was having memory lapses. It was also her last year on the show.I felt everyone kicking me under the table, McCarthy said about her gaffe. The co-hosts dealt with Walters by literally kicking each other under the table you either had the knee hold or the kick.McCarthy then tried to befriend Whoopi Goldberg even visiting her house, but that relationship never bloomed, either. The table is an interesting dynamic because it reminds me a little bit of Survivor, McCarthy said. There were allies, and there werent a lot of people to choose from.She decided to ally with Sherri Shepard because they were both mothers with young boys. This left a power v acuum, with Goldberg and Walters fighting each other, both wanting to be the moderator.It broke my heart when Barbara would shuffle to Whoopi and say, Can I moderate, please? And Whoopi would say no. On air, McCarthy was getting increasingly shut out of the conversation.People dont understand, McCarthy said. Whoopi can knock over anyone in a debate I was able to get a point out in three words - like I dont agree - and thats all I would be able to say. I would be stepped on or interrupted.Meanwhile, Walters developed a fixation on what McCarthy was wearing on the show.Barbara would check out what Im wearing. If she didnt agree with it, or it didnt complement her outfit, I had to change, she said, gauging that in seven months she changed her outfit over 50 times at Walters request.But you had to feel sorry for Walters, who at one point collapsed backstage and had to be taken to the hospital. During the very end of her last year on TV, she asked Goldberg, yet again, if she could mod erate. Goldberg said, yet again, No.Every day I went home and I was miserable, McCarthy said. It really was the most miserable Ive been on a job in my 25 years of show business.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

The ultimate morning routine Take back over 20 hours per week

The ultimate morning routine Take back over 20 hours per weekThe ultimate morning routine Take back over 20 hours per weekThe traditional 9-5 workday is poorly structured for high productivity. Perhaps when fruchtwein work was physical labor, but leid in the knowledge working world we now live in.Although this may be obvious based on peoples mediocre performance, addiction to stimulants, lack of engagement, and the fact that most people hate their jobs - now theres loads of scientific evidence you cant ignore.The myth of the 8 hour workdayThe most productive countries in the world do elend work 8 hours per day. Actually, the most productive countries have the shortest workdays.People in countries like Luxembourg are working approximately 30 hours per week (approximately 6 hours per day, 5 days per week) and making more money on average than people working longer workweeks.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfact ion, Neuroscience, and moreThis is the average person in those countries. But what about the super-productive?Although Gary Vaynerchuck claims to work 20 hours per day, many highly successful people I know work between 3-6 hours per day.It also depends on what youre really trying to accomplish in your life. Gary Vaynerchuck wants to own the New York Jets. Hes also fine, apparently, not spending much time with his family.And thats completely fine. Hes clear on his priorities.However, you must also be clear on yours. If youre like most people, you probably want to make a great income, doing work you love, that also provides lots of flexibility in your schedule.If thats your goal, this deutsche post ag is for you.Quality vs. quantityWherever you are, make koranvers youre there.- Dan SullivanIf youre like most people, your workday is a blend of low-velocity work mixed with continual distraction (e.g., social media and email).Most peoples working time is not done at peak performance leve ls. When most people are working, they do so in a relaxed fashion. Makes sense, they have plenty of time to get it done.However, when you are results-oriented, rather than being busy, youre 100 percent on when youre working and 100 percent off when youre not. Why do anything half-way? If youre going to work, youre going to work.To get the best results in your fitness, research has found that shorter but more intensive exercise is more effective than longer drawn-out exercise.The concept is simple Intensive activity followed by high quality rest and recovery.Most of the growth actually comes during the recovery process. However, the only way to truly recover is by actually pushing yourself to exhaustion during the workout.The same concept applies to work. The best work happens in short intensive spurts. By short, Im talking 1-3 hours. But this must be Deep Work, with no distractions, just like an intensive workout is non-stop. Interestingly, your best work - which for most people is thinking - will actually happen while youre away from your work, recovering.For best results Spend 20% of your energy on your work and 80% of your energy on recovery and self-improvement. When youre getting high quality recovery, youre growing. When youre continually honing your mental model, the quality and impact of your work continually increases. This is what psychologists call, Deliberate Practice. Its not about doing more, but better training. Its about being strategic and results-focused, not busyness-focused.In one study, only 16% of respondents reported getting creative insight while at work. Ideas generally came while the person was at home, in transportation, or during recreational activity. The most creative ideas arent going to come while sitting in front of your monitor, says Scott Birnbaum, a vice president of Samsung Semiconductor.The reason for this is simple. When youre working directly on a task, your mind is tightly focused on the herausforderung at hand (i.e., direct reflection). Conversely, when youre not working, your mind loosely wanders(i.e., indirect reflection).While driving or doing some other form of recreation, the external stimuli in your environment (like the buildings or other landscapes around you)subconsciously prompt memories and other thoughts. Because your mind is wandering both contextually (on different subjects) and temporally between past, present, and future, your brain will make distant and distinct connections related to the problem youre trying to solve (eureka).Creativity, after all, is making connections between different parts of the brain. Ideation and inspiration is a process you can perfect.Case in point when youre working, be at work. When youre not working, stop working. By taking your mind off work and actually recovering, youll get creative breakthroughs related to your work.Your first three hours will make or break youAccording to psychologist Ron Friedman, the first three hours of your day are your mo st precious for maximized productivity.Typically, we have a window of about three hours where were really, really focused. Were able to have some strong contributions in terms of planning, in terms of thinking, in terms of speaking well, Friedman told Harvard Business Review.This makes sense on several levels. Lets start with sleep. Research confirms the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex, is most active and readily creative immediately following sleep. Your subconscious mind has been loosely mind-wandering while you slept, making contextual and temporal connections.So, immediately following sleep, your mind is most readily active to do thoughtful work.So, your brain is most attuned first thing in the morning, and so are your energy levels. Consequently, the best time to do your best work is during the first three hours of your day.I used to exercise first thing in the morning. Not anymore. Ive found that exercising first thing in the morning actually sucks my energy, leaving me with less than I started.Lately, Ive been waking up at 6AM, driving to my school and walking to the library I work in. While walking from my car to the library, I drink a 250 calorie plant-based protein shake (approximately 30 grams of protein).Donald Layman, professor emeritus of nutrition at the University of Illinois, recommends consuming at least 30 grams of protein for breakfast. Similarly, Tim Ferriss, in his book, The 4-Hour Body, also recommends 30 grams of protein 30 minutes after awaking.Protein-rich foods keep you full longer than other foods because they take longer to leave the stomach. Also, protein keeps blood-sugar levels steady, which prevent spikes in hunger.I get to the library and all platzdeckchen-up by around 630AM. I spend a few minutes in prayer and meditation, followed by a 5-10 minute session in my journal. The purpose of this journal session is get clarity and focus for my day.Journaling about your dreams is one of the fastest ways into a peak state.So I write down my big picture goals and my objectives for that particular day. I then write down anything that comes to my mind. Often, it relates to people I need to contact, or ideas related to a project Im working on. I purposefully keep this journal session short and focused.By 645, Im set to work on whatever project Im working on, whether thats writing a book or an article, working on a research paper for my doctoral research, creating an online course, etc.Starting work this early may seem crazy to you, but Ive been shocked by how easy it is to work for 2-5 hours straight without distractions. My mind is laser at this time of day. And I dont rely on any stimulants at all.Between 11AM-noon, my mind is ready for a break, so thats when I do my workout. Research confirms that you workout better with food in your system. Consequently, my workouts are now a lot more productive and powerful than they were when I was exercising immediately following sleep.After the workout, which is a great mental break, you should be fine to work a few more hours, if needed.If your 3-5 hours before your workout were focused, you could probably be done for the day.Protect your morningsI understand that this schedule will not work for everyone. There are single-parents with kids who simply cant do something like this.We all need to work within the constraints of our unique contexts. However, if you work best in the morning, you gotta find a way to make it happen.This may require waking up a few extra hours earlier than youre used to and taking a nap during the afternoon.Or, it may require you to simply focus hardcore the moment you get to work. A common strategy for this is known as the 90-90-1 rule, where you spend the first 90 minutes of your workday on your 1 priority. Im certain this isnt checking your email or social media.Whatever your situation, protect your mornings As Richard Whately said, Lose an hour in the morning, and you will spend all day looking for it.Im blown awa y by how many people schedule things like meetings in the mornings. Nothing could be worse for peak performance and creativity.Schedule all of your meetings for the afternoon, after lunch.Dont check your social media or email until after your 3 hours of deep work. Your morning time should be spent on output, not input.If you dont protect your mornings, a million different things will take up your time. Other people will only respect you as much as you respect yourself.Protecting your mornings means you are literally unreachable during certain hours. Only in case of serious emergency can you be summoned from your focus-cave.Mind-body connectionWhat you do outside work is just as significant for your work-productivity as what you do while youre working.A March 2016 study in the online issue of Neurology found that regular exercise can slow brain aging by as much as 10 years. Loads of other research has found that people who regularly exercise are more productive at work. Your brain is , after all, part of your body. If your body is healthier, it makes sense that your brain would operate better.If you want to operate at your highest level, you need to take a holistic approach to life. You are a system. When you change a part of any system, you simultaneously change the whole. Improve one area of your life, all other areas improve in a virtuous cycle. This is the butterfly effect in action and the fundament of the book, The Power of Habit, which shows that by integrating one keystone habit, like exercise or reading, that the positivity of that one habits ripples into all other areas of your life, eventually transforming your whole life.Consequently, the types of foods you eat, and when you eat them, determine your ability to focus at work. Your ability to sleep well (by the way, its easy to sleep well when you get up early and work hard) is also essential to peak-performance. Rather than managing your time, then, you should really be focused on managing your energy . Your work schedule should be scheduled around when you work best, not around social norms and expectations.Dont forget to psychologically detach and playResearch in several fields has found that recovery from work is a necessity for staying energetic, engaged, and healthy when facing job demands.Recovery is the process of reducing or eliminating physical and psychological strain/stress caused by work.One particular recovery strategy that is getting lots of attention in recent research is called psychological detachment from work. True psychological detachment occurs when you completely refrain from work-related activities and thoughts during non-work time.Proper detachment/recovery from work is essential for physical and psychological health, in addition to engaged and productive work. Yet, few people do it. Most people are always available to their email and work. Millennials are the worst, often wearing the openness to work whenever as a badge of honor. Its not a badge of honor. Research has found that people who psychologically detach from work experienceLess work-related fatigue and procrastinationFar greater engagement at work, which is defined as vigor, dedication, and absorption (i.e., flow)Greater work-life balance, which directly relates to quality of lifeGreater marital satisfactionGreater mental healthWhen youre at work, be fully absorbed. When its time to call it a day, completely detach yourself from work and become absorbed in the other areas of your life.If you dont detach, youll never fully be present or engaged at work or at home. Youll be under constant strain, even if minimally. Your sleep will suffer. Your relationships will be shallow. Your life will not be happy.Not only that, but lots of science has found play to be extremely important for productivity and creativity. Just like your body needs a reset, which you can get through fasting, you also need to reset from work in order to do your best work. Thus, you need to step away from work and dive into other beautiful areas of your life. For me, thats goofing off with my kids.Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play, has studied the Play Histories of over six thousand people and concludes playing can radically improve everything - from personal well-being to relationships to learning to an organizations potential to innovate. As Greg McKeown explains, Very successful people see play as essential for creativity.In his TED talk, Brown said, Play leads to brain plasticity, adaptability, and creativity. Nothing fires up the brain like play. There is a burgeoning body of literature highlighting the extensive cognitive and social benefits of play, includingCognitiveEnhanced memory and focusImproved language learning skillsCreative problem solvingImproved mathematics skillsIncreased ability to self-regulate, an essential component of motivation and goal achievementSocialCooperationTeam workConflict resolutionLeadership skill developmentControl of impulses and aggressive behaviorHaving a balanced-life is key to peak performance. In the Tao Te Ching, it explains that being too much yin or too much yang leads to extremes andbeing wasteful with your resources (like time). The goal is to be in the center, balanced.Listen to brain music or popsongs on repeatIn her book, On Repeat How Music Plays the Mind, psychologist Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis explains why listening to music on repeat improves focus. When youre listening to a song on repeat, you tend to dissolve into the song, which blocks out mind wandering (let your mind wander while youre away from work).WordPress founder, fahl Mullenweg, listens to one single song on repeat to get into flow. So do authors Ryan Holiday and Tim Ferriss, and many others.Give it a try.You can use this website to listen to YouTube videos on repeat.I generally listen to classical music or electronic music (like video game type music). Heres a few that have worked for meOne Moment by Michael NymanMake Love by Daft PunkTearin it up by GramatikTerras theme from Final Fantasy 3Duel of Fates from Star WarsStop crying your heart out by OasisGive up by Eligah Bossenbroek (so beautiful)Heart by StarsThis cover of Ellie GouldingFragile by Daft PunkSon of Flynn by Daft PunkCool by AlessoSun Through the Clouds by Matthew MorganTesting by CKYBorderline by MadonnaEvery You and Every Me by PlaceboMain Titles composed by Alan Menken for The Little MermaidHalcyon On and On by OrbitalThere Goes the Fear by DovesNever Follow Suit by The Radio Dept.Thisarticleoriginally appeared on Medium.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong peopleThe ultimate morning routine Take back over 20 hours per weekThe traditiona l 9-5 workday is poorly structured for high productivity. Perhaps when most work was physical labor, but not in the knowledge working world we now live in.Although this may be obvious based on peoples mediocre performance, addiction to stimulants, lack of engagement, and the fact that most people hate their jobs - now theres loads of scientific evidence you cant ignore.The myth of the 8 hour workdayThe most productive countries in the world do not work 8 hours per day. Actually, the most productive countries have the shortest workdays.People in countries like Luxembourg are working approximately 30 hours per week (approximately 6 hours per day, 5 days per week) and making more money on average than people working longer workweeks.Ladders is now on SmartNewsDownload the SmartNews app and add the Ladders channel to read the latest career news and advice wherever you go.This is the average person in those countries. But what about the super-productive?Although Gary Vaynerchuck claims to work 20 hours per day, many highly successful people I know work between 3-6 hours per day.It also depends on what youre really trying to accomplish in your life. Gary Vaynerchuck wants to own the New York Jets. Hes also fine, apparently, not spending much time with his family.And thats completely fine. Hes clear on his priorities.However, you must also be clear on yours. If youre like most people, you probably want to make a great income, doing work you love, that also provides lots of flexibility in your schedule.If thats your goal, this post is for you.Quality vs. quantityWherever you are, make sure youre there.- Dan SullivanIf youre like most people, your workday is a blend of low-velocity work mixed with continual distraction (e.g., social media and email).Most peoples working time is not done at peak performance levels. When most people are working, they do so in a relaxed fashion. Makes sense, they have plenty of time to get it done.However, when you are results-oriented, rather than being busy, youre 100 percent on when youre working and 100 percent off when youre not. Why do anything half-way? If youre going to work, youre going to work.To get the best results in your fitness, research has found that shorter but more intensive exercise is more effective than longer drawn-out exercise.The concept is simple Intensive activity followed by high quality rest and recovery.Most of the growth actually comes during the recovery process. However, the only way to truly recover is by actually pushing yourself to exhaustion during the workout.The same concept applies to work. The best work happens in short intensive spurts. By short, Im talking 1-3 hours. But this must be Deep Work, with no distractions, just like an intensive workout is non-stop. Interestingly, your best work - which for most people is thinking - will actually happen while youre away from your work, recovering.For best results Spend 20% of your energy on your work and 80% of your energy on r ecovery and self-improvement. When youre getting high quality recovery, youre growing. When youre continually honing your mental model, the quality and impact of your work continually increases. This is what psychologists call, Deliberate Practice. Its not about doing more, but better training. Its about being strategic and results-focused, not busyness-focused.In one study, only 16% of respondents reported getting creative insight while at work. Ideas generally came while the person was at home, in transportation, or during recreational activity. The most creative ideas arent going to come while sitting in front of your monitor, says Scott Birnbaum, a vice president of Samsung Semiconductor.The reason for this is simple. When youre working directly on a task, your mind is tightly focused on the problem at hand (i.e., direct reflection). Conversely, when youre not working, your mind loosely wanders(i.e., indirect reflection).While driving or doing some other form of recreation, the external stimuli in your environment (like the buildings or other landscapes around you)subconsciously prompt memories and other thoughts. Because your mind is wandering both contextually (on different subjects) and temporally between past, present, and future, your brain will make distant and distinct connections related to the problem youre trying to solve (eureka).Creativity, after all, is making connections between different parts of the brain. Ideation and inspiration is a process you can perfect.Case in point when youre working, be at work. When youre not working, stop working. By taking your mind off work and actually recovering, youll get creative breakthroughs related to your work.Your first three hours will make or break youAccording to psychologist Ron Friedman, the first three hours of your day are your most precious for maximized productivity.Typically, we have a window of about three hours where were really, really focused. Were able to have some strong contributions i n terms of planning, in terms of thinking, in terms of speaking well, Friedman told Harvard Business Review.This makes sense on several levels. Lets start with sleep. Research confirms the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex, is most active and readily creative immediately following sleep. Your subconscious mind has been loosely mind-wandering while you slept, making contextual and temporal connections.So, immediately following sleep, your mind is most readily active to do thoughtful work.So, your brain is most attuned first thing in the morning, and so are your energy levels. Consequently, the best time to do your best work is during the first three hours of your day.I used to exercise first thing in the morning. Not anymore. Ive found that exercising first thing in the morning actually sucks my energy, leaving me with less than I started.Lately, Ive been waking up at 6AM, driving to my school and walking to the library I work in. While walking from my car to the library, I d rink a 250 calorie plant-based protein shake (approximately 30 grams of protein).Donald Layman, professor emeritus of nutrition at the University of Illinois, recommends consuming at least 30 grams of protein for breakfast. Similarly, Tim Ferriss, in his book, The 4-Hour Body, also recommends 30 grams of protein 30 minutes after awaking.Protein-rich foods keep you full longer than other foods because they take longer to leave the stomach. Also, protein keeps blood-sugar levels steady, which prevent spikes in hunger.I get to the library and all set-up by around 630AM. I spend a few minutes in prayer and meditation, followed by a 5-10 minute session in my journal. The purpose of this journal session is get clarity and focus for my day.Journaling about your dreams is one of the fastest ways into a peak state.So I write down my big picture goals and my objectives for that particular day. I then write down anything that comes to my mind. Often, it relates to people I need to contact, or ideas related to a project Im working on. I purposefully keep this journal session short and focused.By 645, Im set to work on whatever project Im working on, whether thats writing a book or an article, working on a research paper for my doctoral research, creating an online course, etc.Starting work this early may seem crazy to you, but Ive been shocked by how easy it is to work for 2-5 hours straight without distractions. My mind is laser at this time of day. And I dont rely on any stimulants at all.Between 11AM-noon, my mind is ready for a break, so thats when I do my workout. Research confirms that you workout better with food in your system. Consequently, my workouts are now a lot more productive and powerful than they were when I was exercising immediately following sleep.After the workout, which is a great mental break, you should be fine to work a few more hours, if needed.If your 3-5 hours before your workout were focused, you could probably be done for the day.Protect your morningsI understand that this schedule will not work for everyone. There are single-parents with kids who simply cant do something like this.We all need to work within the constraints of our unique contexts. However, if you work best in the morning, you gotta find a way to make it happen.This may require waking up a few extra hours earlier than youre used to and taking a nap during the afternoon.Or, it may require you to simply focus hardcore the moment you get to work. A common strategy for this is known as the 90-90-1 rule, where you spend the first 90 minutes of your workday on your 1 priority. Im certain this isnt checking your email or social media.Whatever your situation, protect your mornings As Richard Whately said, Lose an hour in the morning, and you will spend all day looking for it.Im blown away by how many people schedule things like meetings in the mornings. Nothing could be worse for peak performance and creativity.Schedule all of your meetings for the afternoon, af ter lunch.Dont check your social media or email until after your 3 hours of deep work. Your morning time should be spent on output, not input.If you dont protect your mornings, a million different things will take up your time. Other people will only respect you as much as you respect yourself.Protecting your mornings means you are literally unreachable during certain hours. Only in case of serious emergency can you be summoned from your focus-cave.Mind-body connectionWhat you do outside work is just as significant for your work-productivity as what you do while youre working.A March 2016 study in the online issue of Neurology found that regular exercise can slow brain aging by as much as 10 years. Loads of other research has found that people who regularly exercise are more productive at work. Your brain is, after all, part of your body. If your body is healthier, it makes sense that your brain would operate better.If you want to operate at your highest level, you need to take a ho listic approach to life. You are a system. When you change a part of any system, you simultaneously change the whole. Improve one area of your life, all other areas improve in a virtuous cycle. This is the butterfly effect in action and the basis of the book, The Power of Habit, which shows that by integrating one keystone habit, like exercise or reading, that the positivity of that one habits ripples into all other areas of your life, eventually transforming your whole life.Consequently, the types of foods you eat, and when you eat them, determine your ability to focus at work. Your ability to sleep well (by the way, its easy to sleep well when you get up early and work hard) is also essential to peak-performance. Rather than managing your time, then, you should really be focused on managing your energy. Your work schedule should be scheduled around when you work best, not around social norms and expectations.Dont forget to psychologically detach and playResearch in several fields has found that recovery from work is a necessity for staying energetic, engaged, and healthy when facing job demands.Recovery is the process of reducing or eliminating physical and psychological strain/stress caused by work.One particular recovery strategy that is getting lots of attention in recent research is called psychological detachment from work. True psychological detachment occurs when you completely refrain from work-related activities and thoughts during non-work time.Proper detachment/recovery from work is essential for physical and psychological health, in addition to engaged and productive work. Yet, few people do it. Most people are always available to their email and work. Millennials are the worst, often wearing the openness to work whenever as a badge of honor. Its not a badge of honor.Research has found that people who psychologically detach from work experienceLess work-related fatigue and procrastinationFar greater engagement at work, which is defined as vigor, dedication, and absorption (i.e., flow)Greater work-life balance, which directly relates to quality of lifeGreater marital satisfactionGreater mental healthWhen youre at work, be fully absorbed. When its time to call it a day, completely detach yourself from work and become absorbed in the other areas of your life.If you dont detach, youll never fully be present or engaged at work or at home. Youll be under constant strain, even if minimally. Your sleep will suffer. Your relationships will be shallow. Your life will not be happy.Not only that, but lots of science has found play to be extremely important for productivity and creativity. Just like your body needs a reset, which you can get through fasting, you also need to reset from work in order to do your best work. Thus, you need to step away from work and dive into other beautiful areas of your life. For me, thats goofing off with my kids.Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play, has studied the Play Histories of over six thousand people and concludes playing can radically improve everything - from personal well-being to relationships to learning to an organizations potential to innovate. As Greg McKeown explains, Very successful people see play as essential for creativity.In his TED talk, Brown said, Play leads to brain plasticity, adaptability, and creativity. Nothing fires up the brain like play. There is a burgeoning body of literature highlighting the extensive cognitive and social benefits of play, includingCognitiveEnhanced memory and focusImproved language learning skillsCreative problem solvingImproved mathematics skillsIncreased ability to self-regulate, an essential component of motivation and goal achievementSocialCooperationTeam workConflict resolutionLeadership skill developmentControl of impulses and aggressive behaviorHaving a balanced-life is key to peak performance. In the Tao Te Ching, it explains that being too much yin or too much yang leads to extremes andbeing wastef ul with your resources (like time). The goal is to be in the center, balanced.Listen to brain music or songs on repeatIn her book, On Repeat How Music Plays the Mind, psychologist Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis explains why listening to music on repeat improves focus. When youre listening to a song on repeat, you tend to dissolve into the song, which blocks out mind wandering (let your mind wander while youre away from work).WordPress founder, Matt Mullenweg, listens to one single song on repeat to get into flow. So do authors Ryan Holiday and Tim Ferriss, and many others.Give it a try.You can use this website to listen to YouTube videos on repeat.I generally listen to classical music or electronic music (like video game type music). Heres a few that have worked for meOne Moment by Michael NymanMake Love by Daft PunkTearin it up by GramatikTerras theme from Final Fantasy 3Duel of Fates from Star WarsStop crying your heart out by OasisGive up by Eligah Bossenbroek (so beautiful)Heart by StarsThis cover of Ellie GouldingFragile by Daft PunkSon of Flynn by Daft PunkCool by AlessoSun Through the Clouds by Matthew MorganTesting by CKYBorderline by MadonnaEvery You and Every Me by PlaceboMain Titles composed by Alan Menken for The Little MermaidHalcyon On and On by OrbitalThere Goes the Fear by DovesNever Follow Suit by The Radio Dept.Thisarticleoriginally appeared on Medium.

Possible Danger Signs on How to Write a Cover Letter for a Resume You Must Be Aware Of

Possible Danger Signs on How to Write a Cover Letter for a Resume You Must Be Aware Of You may ask somebody else to take a read through the whole letter, and a spell check is a must is advisable. Never add contact information you dont use. Asking questions permits you to get in the head of anyone reading the letter. There are a number of important questions to reply. Accounts Assistant Cover Letter Example If youre interested in being an Accounts Assistant then having an excellent working understanding of finance together with good. It is important to understand the value of titel letter for Accounting Assistant as a way to stand yourself different from several other candidates. Want to understand how to write Job Application letter Here are few handy tips which will steer you to easily compose a sample Job Application letter. An Office Assistant cover letter is a crucial document which may increase your probability of securing the job, if written and presented in the right way. What How to Write a Cover Letter for a Resume Is - and What it Is Not Should you need inspiration, here are a few examples of fantastic opening lines to utilize in your cover letter. A good way to customize your cover letter is to produce a relation to the reader. If you would like to set a positive impression from your prospective employer, you need a great resume, a very good interview together with a very good cover letter. At any time you compose a cover letter, it needs to be addressed to a particular individual. Many people believe a cover letter isnt required, while some are bewildered about what should be included in the cover letter. Today, a superb cover letter isnt a full-page letter. You have to absprache with the cover letter to the correct individual. If youre writing a prospecting letter, specify why you could be interested in working for the business. If you mention an organizations name, be certain to spell it right. Dont forget to do an exhaustive research about the organization, their operations, their principal field of business and the role youll be playing in their company. Enaya you understand what the businesss voice is like. You just need to know the simple letter writing format for writing the accounting assistant cover letter, thats exactly like the American small business letter writing format. By the close of the letter, the reader should know that youre a charismatic, insightful expert in your area. Use words just like you and your often as it makes it increasingly personal. You will likewise be able to grasp the format of the letter. Things You Should Know About How to Write a Cover Letter for a Resume Its very easy to find information online. There are definitely a lot of examples online, but all of them look the very saatkorn general and boring. A cover letter is the initial page that the human resource managers will take a peek at when submitting your application, so you must make sure its a nice an d intriguing read in their opinion. It is quite easy to find sample cover letters online in the event youre in need for one to support your resume. The Birth of How to Write a Cover Letter for a Resume Cover letter plays a main function in the hiring process of the candidate. The majority of the moment, clients will truly appreciate that youre decreasing the workload for them and putting all appropriate data in the email in their opinion. Utilizing exactly the same language as those who do a specific job demonstrates that you comprehend the business or field that the employer works in. You can discover the abilities and attributes the employer is searching for in the job posting. Read the requirements in the work description and make it instantly clear to the employer (with the assistance of examples) which you can deliver work according to their expectations. So getting the very best impression on the employer only begins with the ideal cover letter. Job letter of interes t is an official letter to express your interest in a given job is the ideal approach to inform your possible employer that. A well crafted cover letter may be potent job search gives a wonderful chance to introduce yourself to a prospective employer when connecting your. How to Write a Cover Letter for a Resume - the Conspiracy If youre not customizing your cover letters, youre missing a chance to highlight why youd be an excellent fit for the position. Making the very best job application you can isnt nearly standing out but additionally, it is extremely important to constantly think about the requirements of the employer and demonstrate the way your profile fits what they are searching for. Youre going to need cover letter samples which include positions relatively comparable to the job that you have now, along with samples for jobs that are one step up from where youre now. You may even consider developing a letter sample for a position youre actually overqualified for. Get the Scoop on How to Write a Cover Letter for a Resume Before Youre Too Late The third paragraph is a good idea to share a summary on why you want to know more about the organization and share any connections. In the third paragraph, you need to mention, how you are able to lead to the organization. A cover letter is intended to be an overview of your resume, and therefore dont write more than 1 page. In the second paragraph, youve got to mention that youre acceptable for the job.

4 Ways to Hire Better With Video Interviewing

4 Ways to Hire Better With Video InterviewingDid you know that employers can conduct 10 video bewerbungsinterview screenings in the time it takes to conduct one phone screen?The benefits of using video interviews in your hiring process are undeniable. And if youre already using the video interview in your hiring approach, you likely already know how much time and pain it can save in your hiring process.But there are a few ways you can make sure youre getting the most out of video interviewing as a technique rather than just a platform. If youre looking to optimize your video interviews for your hiring process, take a look at a few simple steps that will help you hire better with video interviewing1. Dont forget to ask questions that gauge specialized skills.While video interviews can seem tricky, its actually quite easy to gauge specialized skills by changing the type of questions you ask during your video interview. For example, if your position requires knowledge of a very speciali zed program, you cant necessarily gauge their ability for behauptung things via video. But you can ask specific questions about these more unique job requirements such as, Tell me about your favorite feature of X program and why you find it useful.2. Optimize the questions you ask using behavioral interview questions.As we all know, the questions you ask your job candidate in an interview are very important in gaining an understanding of your applicants skills. But consider optimizing the questions you ask to gauge a few other topics, such as preferred management style, past work environments and experiences, career goals or job expectations.For example, a job candidate might be a serial job hopper and not in the position for the long run. While their resume might tip you off to this, you may find by asking a question about future career goals that your industry and company is exactly where this job hopper has been wanting to hop to. Other examples of behavioral interview questions force the candidate to describe concrete examples of how they utilized their skills in the past.3. Take your time with the one-way interview.Lets face it, were all too busy these days. With traditional interviewing, it takes a lot of time to pre-screen job candidates, ask interview questions and lead the job candidate in and out of your office or building- not to mention job candidates that come late. This all culminates to a large chunk of your day you can never get back.Using pre-recorded video interviews allows you to cut down the time it takes to pre-screen job candidates, the time it takes to ask the interview questions yourself, and completely eliminates the time it takes to conduct phone interviews. You can also start or stop them any time, giving you more flexibility in your hiring process. But if you want to hire better, make sure you are taking advantage of these time-saving tips. Try weeding out candidates within the first few questions if youre not feeling their answers, divide the work with other gruppe members, or even watch the videos over a weeks period whenever you have free time.4. Share the interview with your team.Video interviews are optimized to help your team collaborate on new hires. Whether you choose to conduct Spotlight Interviews or Live Interviews, there are options to easily share the interview with your team. Live Interviews are recorded for you to share with your team or watch again at another time. Spotlight Interviews also offer the same perk, as they are made to be shared with your team as well. These benefits let you get your team involved in the process, encourage collaboration, and even allow you to delegate some hiring tasks.Make the most of video interviewing by taking into account these four tips and enjoying the time-saving benefits of using video in your hiring process.What tips and tricks do you recommend for hiring managers wanting to get the most out of video interviewing?

Sniffing Out Danger

Sniffing Out Danger Sniffing Out Danger Sniffing Out DangerBoth the federal government and the private sector are always looking for better, safer ways to inspect dangerous or challenging terrain, or to look for hidden explosives. One area that engineers and scientists turn to for inspiration is the highly developed sense of smell in animals. Currently, the canine olfactory system is the state-of-the-art sensing system for many engineering applications, including homeland security and medical diagnosis. However, it takes considerable time and resources to train and condition these animals, and field deployment can be challenging.Now, a team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis has turned to insects to develop a mora sensitive detection system, specifically, locusts.Baranidharan Raman, associate professor of biomedical engineering, is working with the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Arlington, VA, to use the highly sensitive locust olfactory system as the basis for dev eloping a bio-hybrid nose. Raman has been studying the insect sense of smell for over a decade. The sense of smell, he notes, being a primitive sense, is highly conserved across different species. There are striking similaritiesboth anatomical and functionalbetween insects and other higher species. It is also one of the hardest systems to replicate.If you ever want to humble an engineer, ask him/her to build an electronic nose that has the same capabilities as the insects, says Raman. This is one of the main projects that I have been working on since my graduate student days, and it is a humbling experience for sure.A small chip connects to the brain of the locust. Image Washington UniversityResearch ApproachRaman has been studying how sensory signals are received and processed in the relatively simple brains of locusts. He and his team discovered that odors prompt dynamic neural activity in the brain that allow the locust to correctly identify a particular odor, even with other odo rs present. Locusts trained to recognize certain odors can do so even when the trained odor was presented in complex situations, such as overlapping with other scents or in different background conditions.We hope to take advantage of a biological solution, Raman says. Even state-of-the-art miniaturized chemical sensing devices have a handful of sensors. On the other hand, if you look at the insect antenna, where their chemical sensors are located, there are several hundreds of thousands of sensors, and a variety of types.To convert locusts into biorobotic chemical sensing machines, three integrated components are requiredA minimally invasive surgical procedure to implant arrays of electrodes into the insect brain (particularly a region called antennal lobe, which is one relay downstream to the sensory neurons on their antenna). This allows the research team to interface with the locusts sophisticated olfactory system and read out signals for odorants in their environment.A low-weigh t backpack to which the electrode arrays are connected. This will allow us to monitor, log, and transmit neural data in an online fashion, says Raman. In addition, we will develop an algorithm that interprets neural activity to determine if a target chemical is present or not.A plasmonic ttowierung made of biocompatible silk applied to the locusts wings will generate mild heat and help steer locusts toward particular locations by remote control. The tattoo will be studded with nanorods to rapidly convert light at a specific wavelength to heat. It will also be used for collecting samples from the region of interest, which can then be analyzed by researchers using more conventional methods to determine chemical composition.PotentialThere is a growing need for safer, cost-effective, non-invasive chemical sensors for biomedical and homeland security applications. Raman fully expects to develop and demonstrate a proof-of-concept, hybrid locust-based, chemical-sensing approach for explosi ve detection. He continues to be surprised and impressed by the elegant, yet sophisticated, approaches nature uses to deal with the many practical challenges in smelling.Think about the smell of a chocolate chip cookie, he says. It is the same whether you smell it in the coffee shop or grocery shop different background odorants, whether you smell it in winter or summer different new age temperatures, on a rainy day or on a sunny day humidity is a killer for chemical sensors, or a windy day or not-so-windy day the temporal plume structure will change. Each of these tasks is by no means an easy feat of engineering, Raman adds. Yet, this is resolved easily by the first few neural circuits in the insect olfactory system. Most engineering problems have already been encountered and solved by biology, although, to be fair, biology does have a lead of a few million years over us.Mark Crawford is an independent writer. For Further Discussion If you ever want to humble an engineer, ask him/he r to build an electronic nose that has the same capabilities as the insects.Prof. Baranidharan Raman, Washington University

The science-backed way to plan the perfect vacation

The science-backed way to plan the perfect vacationThe science-backed way to plan the perfect vacationOh sure, we can plan a vacation - book some flights, a place to stay, a plan on where to eat and drink - but lets admit were all winging it. What does science say about the best way to truly plan a vacation?With a nod to the great minds at TED Ideas, here are scientific ways to make sure your time off is as rejuvenating as can be.Start visualizingyour relaxing trip beforehandThe best part of your vacation may not be anything you do, but the anticipation you feel beforehand while youre planning it. So, while picking flights and imagining yourself in different gasthaus rooms, savor the preparations for a trip.An article in the journal Applied Research in Quality of Life explains why. The researchers studied how vacations and happiness are related. They asked 1,530 Dutch people, 974 of whom went on vacation during the study. The researchers asked the travellers questions on how they f elt beforehand and following the trip).This study demonstrates that vacationers are happier, compared to non-vacationers, the researchers found, unsurprisingly.But, they added, the happiness did not come from the trip itself, usually, unless the trip was extremely relaxing.A holiday trip does not add much to their happiness. Generally, there were no differences between vacationers and non-vacationers post-trip happiness. Only vacationers on a very relaxed holiday trip benefit in terms of post-trip happiness. The pre-trip happiness difference between vacationers and non-vacationers could be an indication of vacationers looking forward to their holiday, the authors wrote.So how do you get happy and extremely relaxed? Read on.Stay entirely detached from workThe American Psychological Association reported in 2013 that according to a survey released by the organization, 49% of respondents ages 18-34 reported looking at work messages at a minimum of once per day during vacation. Thirty-ei ght percent of those 55 and up said they did the same thing.This is a bad idea. Research shows that answering email for longer than an hour while youre on vacation wipes out nearly all your good memories of the trip.Thats why its important to platzdeckchen boundaries.Alex Soojung-Kim Pang writes about detachment in an article on TEDs Ideas website.In referring to research unnamed in the text, Pang writes, detachment also requires being able to escape work-related interruptions. Employees who carry their work smartphones or other devices during non-work hours or who must keep in touch with the office while on vacation show higher levels of stress and work-family conflict.The article wasexcerpted and adapted this information from the book Rest Why You Get More Done When You Work Less by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang (also the author of the article), with permission from the book.Cant fully disconnect? Theres a way to handle messages in a limited way.Martha C. White features advice from Rusty Lindquist, vice president of insights and human capital management strategy at recruiting software company BambooHR, in a 2015 article on TIMEs Money website.If you absolutely have to check emails while youre gone, give yourself a short time period and stick with it, Lindquist says. The key is to keep it quick, and the key to that is being ruthless. If it doesnt say urgent, it goes in the trash folder, White writes.Take more than one vacation a yearVacations refresh our minds and bodies, making us more open to creativity and attuned to the world around us.That cannot happen in only one week a year.Its beneficial for employers to work ample vacation time into employees schedules and to encourage time off. The alternative employee burnout and frustration.The authors of a 2013 article in the journal Organizational Dynamics write about this concept.They write that because the positive effects of vacation often fade out quickly, encouraging employees to take a few days (or more) off more than once a year will help maintain employee well-being in the long term. Furthermore, providing employees with a transition day before and after vacation would allow them to phase in and out of their work responsibilities gradually.Go big before getting homeWhile anticipation before a trip makes you happy, and shutting off work during a trip boosts your relaxation, your memories of the trip will depend on how you end it.A2015 article in The Wall Street Journal explained the concept behind positive time offStudies show people often reflect on an experience, including a vacation, based largely on how it ends, adding that psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman told the publication,do your best to make things end well. If youre going to splurge and fly business class, dont do it on the way there, do it on the way home, Boardman said.The next time you dream about your ultimate trip from the confines of your desk, consider putting these tips into action, ask your boss well in advance andpre pare to go for it.

The scientific secret to performing under pressure

The scientific secret to performing under pressureThe scientific secret to performing under pressureAmelia Boonewas standing in a wetsuit, clutching her knees, the wind whipping against her face on a frigid Chicago winter morning. She was running on Lake Shore Drive, while dunking herself in and out of the icy waters of Lake Michigan. Observers decked out in layers of warm winter clothing assumed that these were the delirious actions of a madwoman. But no, the Queen of Pain - as Boone has come to be known - was getting ready for the Worlds Toughest Mudder.The Worlds Toughest Mudder makes a marathon look like a casual stroll. The race is run for 24 hours non-stop. Participants must fight off sleep while conquering roughly twenty of thebiggest, baddest, most insane obstacles scattered across a 5-mile course. Its survival of the fittest Whoever completes the most amount of laps wins.Some of the obstacles are in water, which can drop down to freezing temperatures. To prevent hypothermi a, all participants run in wetsuits. While on land, the wetsuit helps preserve the bodys warmth since body heat tends to dissipate over the course of the grueling 24 hours.Boone is a corporate attorney at Apple by day. When she first started training, she couldnt do a single pull-up. Shes now a four-time world champion and among the best obstacle racers in the world.Her secret is to subject her body to the same intense conditions that shell experience during the race. You dont race on a treadmill with Netflix in front of you,Boone says, so you shouldnt be doing your training like that.The rain, the snow, the dark, the cold, the wetsuit - they all beckon Boone. By the time the race rolls around, she has been desensitized to the conditions awaiting her. She greets them with a smile that binnenseems to say,Nice to see you again. Lets dance.Theres a name in rocket science for how Boone trains test as you fly, fly as you test. According to the test as you fly rule, tests on Earth must m imic, to the greatest extent possible, the same conditions in flight. Rocket scientists test the spacecraft as the spacecraft will fly. If the test is successful, the flight must take place under conditions identical to the test. In a machine as complex as a rocket, any significant deviance between the test and the flight can result in catastrophe.The same principle applies to the training of astronauts. The day-to-day reality of an astronauts life is vastly different than the glamour you see in Hollywood movies. Astronauts are workhorses, not space cowboys. They dont fly in space for a living. They train and prepare for a living. Ive been an astronaut for six years,writes Chris Hadfield, Ive been in space for eight days.The remainder of their career is spent on preparation. By the time astronauts fly on their mission, theyve flown the route countless times on simulators. These simulators generate crises on Earth, which prepare astronauts for actual crises in space. Astronauts pract ice computer crashes, engine troubles, and explosions, while constantly asking themselves, Whats the next thing that can kill me?Most of us ignore the test as you fly rule. In our personal and professional lives, most practices are superficial dress rehearsals that double as exercises in self-deception. We practice in conditions that are disconnected from reality. We do mock job interviews in our sweatpants with a friend using a predetermined set of questions. We practice a major speech in the comfort of our home, when were fully rested and awake. As a result, on gameday, we are blindsided and we choke.If we applied the test as you fly rule, we would practice our speech in an unfamiliar setting, after downing a few espressos to give us the jitters. We would do mock interviews while wearing an uncomfortable suit and with a stranger ready to throw curveballs at us.Whether its a rocket launch, athletic training, or a job interview, the underlying principle is the same Test as you fly - subject yourself to the same conditions youll experience during the flight - and you will soon begin to soar.Ozan Varol is a rocket scientist turned law professor and bestselling author.Click hereto download a free copy of his e-book, The Contrarian Handbook 8 Principles for Innovating Your Thinking. Along with your free e-book, youll get the Weekly Contrarian - a newsletter that challenges conventional wisdom and changes the way we look at the world (plus access to exclusive content for subscribers only).Thisarticlefirst appeared onOzanVarol.com.