The big banks caused the financial crisis, and are continuing to drag the world economy down the into a black hole. So what are the governments of the world doing to address this core problem? Breaking up the giant banks? Nationalizing them? Holding …
Posts Tagged ‘stress’
Instead of Actually Stabilizing the Economy By Reining In the Giant Banks, Governments Just Launching More Faux Stress Tests as a P.R. Stunt
November 30th, 2010 |
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Instead of Actually Dealing With Rampant Mortgage Fraud, Fed Orders More Faux Stress Tests
November 24th, 2010 |
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Well-known British economic writer Jeremy Warner said yesterday that the European stress tests were a sham:European stress tests weren’t worth the paper they were written on …Most of us said at the time that the tests had been designed for banks to …
New HP, Acer, Lenovo Laptops Stress Lightweight Design
November 16th, 2010 |
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Hewlett-Packard, Acer and Lenovo all introduced lightweight mobile PCs in mid-November. HP and Acer—the top two global PC market share leaders—introduced devices for business users, while Lenovo offered consumers an “ultraportable.” From smallest to largest, the HP Mini 1103 weighs 2.78 pounds, features a 10.1-inch display, is powered by an Intel Atom N455 or N475 processor and starts at $299. The Lenovo laptop, weighing 3 pounds and featuring a 12.5-inch display, is the first of its size with an Intel Core i7 processor; pricing starts at $899. And finally Acer, offering the TravelMate 5542 notebook for on-the-go professionals, pairs a 15.6-inch widescreen display with an AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) dual-core processor and a starting price of $549. Each runs a version of Microsoft Windows 7. According to data from Gartner and IDC, enterprise and government spending on PCs met expectations during the third-quarter, but consumer spending was soft, as non-students and others able to delay purchases took a “wait-and-see” approach, curious about the promised media tablet headed to market for the holidays. While tablets arent intended to compete directly with mobile PCs, their design, features and pricing are intriguing buyers—and even influencing laptop design, as Apple noted during its October introduction of the refreshed MacBook Air. – …
STI off 0.8% at 9:29 a.m.; But Europe bank concern overdone: NRA
September 8th, 2010 |
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Singapore stocks open lower on Wall Street’s retreat driven by renewed concerns over health of European banks, according to Dow Jones.
STI off 0.8% at 3,013.17 at 9:29 a.m., with support at 3,000. Market breadth marginally negative.
“Investors have quickly forgotten the disbelief and skepticism when the US bank stress tests results were released in May 2009,” says NRA Capital Chairman Kevin Scully, noting latest concerns over outcome of stress tests on European banks have been over-rated.
Chip Shot: Intel Social Scientists on Technology and Stress
August 5th, 2010 |
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Intel Scoop will feature social scientists such as anthropologists and pscychologists from Intel on a thoughtful discussion about the relationship between technology and stress – how technology can elevate but also alleviate stress at the same time. Follow and join the discussion here.
Most banks pass EU stress test
July 24th, 2010 |
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The results from the EU’s stress tests on its banks are being seen as positive, even if doubts about the rigor of them have been expressed. The London-based Committee of European Bank Supervisors only found a three and a half billion euro hole between the seven banks that failed, out of the 91 tested. That is a much better than expected result. Critics say that is because the tests were not tough enough.
Malaria-stricken Cheryl Cole advised to take up yoga
July 13th, 2010 |
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Cheryl Cole has received some good news from medics about her illness. They say that she”ll be over her malaria in six weeks. However, medics have ordered Cole to sort out her nutrition and stress levels. They have also suggested that she should take up relaxing yoga and Pilates to reduce her stress levels, reports [...]
8 Ways To Bring Your Creative Passions to Work
June 22nd, 2010 |
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A “creative” person I worked with at a “trucking company” developed a reputation as frustrated and bitter over her 30-year career. At her retirement, I inquired about her plans, particularly since she was relatively young. Asking if she hoped to create more art since she was now freed from cranking out corporate brochures, she told me, “No.” Instead, she was going to work at a garden center, since she loved plants and being outdoors.
While her answer was startling, the next time I saw her confirmed the impact this life change made. She was barely recognizable! Her long white hair was cut short and stylishly, she was tanned, and had a huge smile you couldn’t wipe off her face. All this, a result of finally expressing her creativity as she truly enjoyed.
Makes you wonder why, if your creative passions involved the outdoors and plants, you’d sit in a cube for 30 years working on sales collateral while your bitterness festered? Maybe she felt stuck because she didn’t think a garden center job would pay enough. Yet surely, there were other alternatives.
Many people find themselves in similar situations. You have creative pursuits you enjoy OUTSIDE work, but can’t imagine incorporating them into your day job to make it more enjoyable. If you feel that’s your situation, it doesn’t have to be. Using my “graphic artist in a decidedly non-creative trucking company friend” (let’s call her Betty) as an example, here are 8 ways to incorporate your creative passions into your job:
1. Don’t complain about your situation. Start figuring out how to adapt it.
Betty was all about complaining, which stopped people from wanting to work with her in new, creative ways. Instead of griping, invest your energy in thinking strategically about how you could adapt your work to be more creative. What co-workers, customers, situations, projects, programs, products, and critical business needs might be waiting to incorporate the creative skills you’re truly passionate about using?
2. Map out how your interests could tie to your job.
Step back to generalize and innovate on how your creative passion could connect to your current company’s business. This will start creating potential hooks you can use to attach your passion to your job. In Betty’s case, working with plants at a garden center could be generalized to cultivating and growing things, design, customer interaction, outdoor settings, etc. Once you’ve moved from “working in a garden center” to “what happens at a garden center,” you have the seeds (pun intended) to plant in your regular job for new sources of creativity to spring up.
3. Do some thinking on your own to imagine hidden opportunities.
After thinking about your outside passion, consider your company and where it might need the same talents, experiences, and results related to your creativity. In the trucking company example, Betty’s list could have included: landscaping around our headquarters, design and planning for field facilities, plants in offices and common areas inside our building, sprucing up corporate meetings and conferences, and employees’ club fund raising projects and events. Any of these (and more) could easily have components tied to gardening and design.
4. Put your interests into the language of business.
When trying to introduce creativity, you’ll hit brick walls if you talk in the language of your creative passion. If Betty walked in and announced, “I want to work with flowers here at the trucking company,” her ideas would have been dead on arrival. Instead, consider the language you can use to express your interests. Betty could have used vocabulary related to events and facilities to initiate conversations.
5. Find like minded people.
Ask others about their outside creative interests: “What do you like to do for fun? How do you express yourself creatively?” If the company is of any size and your creative interests are anywhere near the mainstream, you’ll likely discover others who share your passions. Learn what ideas they may have and how they react to your possibilities for bringing your creativity more squarely into the workplace.
6. Volunteer for smart opportunities even if they’re out of the spotlight.
Start expending energy to insert yourself into smart opportunities you’ve identified. In Betty’s case, the first stop should have been the company employees’ club since it offered opportunities to help plan a summer get together (being outdoors), coordinate a holiday party (floral design and decoration), sponsor fund raisers (a plant sale), and at one time, send floral arrangements to hospitalized employees (direct interaction w/ florists). While Betty’s is a specific instance, the same concept applies for you. Map out and implement the plan to seize opportunities (even if they’re small ones) and increase your workplace creativity.
7. Begin doing even more.
Once you start to get a reputation for contributing successfully in innovative ways, the word will spread, and new opportunities will surface. In our company, we ultimately started sponsoring major events for hundreds of customers – both meetings and NASCAR events. New and enhanced creative approaches were always desirable and could certainly have included floral design as an element. Since no one wanted to work with Betty, however, she was never asked to participate. Being able to realize those first small successes, however, can lead to new opportunities to do even more creatively.
8. If it’s not working, don’t stick around and be miserable.
Betty chose to stay 30 years making herself and those around her miserable. If you try this approach, and for whatever reasons it doesn’t work in your particular company, look for another job rather than fuming. In a similar situation, our neighbor was a nurse who also wanted to work at a garden center. One day, she quit her nursing job and made the switch. The garden center only paid about 1/3 of what nursing did, so after a few years of blissful work at a garden center, she went back into another area of nursing. Not only does she have the memories to sustain her, she still works part-time at the garden place, keeps in touch with friends she made, and always knows she can make the switch again in the future. She’s happy, not miserable, realizing she has options.
I used these tips in the same not particularly creative company as Betty to uncover ways to introduce my love for art, music, and speaking into my job to make it much more fulfilling. While it wasn’t always exactly how I wanted things to be, it was so much better than never being able to exercise my creative passions. Whether you try just one tip or use them in sequence as a personal success plan, make sure you get started today!
Image: LastMariner
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Mike Brown leads The Brainzooming Group, helping organizations succeed more rapidly by expanding their strategic options and efficiently implementing innovative plans. He authors the Brainzoomingâ„¢ blog, shares innovation ideas on Twitter, and wrote the ebook “Taking the NO Out of InNOvation.†He’s also a frequent keynote presenter.
Chip Shot: Intel is Taking on Hourglass Syndrome
April 1st, 2010 |
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Waiting for your technology to keep up with you is a life stress no one wants to deal with. At Intel, we’ve dubbed this condition “Hourglass Syndrome” and we’re hoping that this April, National Stress Awareness Month, to bring light to it. Do you suffer? You can find out here. And to help alleviate the stress, enter to win a new Intel Core i5 Wireless Display laptop on the Intel Facebook page. Smarter technology is one great solution.
11 Simple Ways To Avoid Burnout
March 10th, 2010 |
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Are you exhausted, annoyed, and ready to throw in the towel on something that once made you leap out of bed with joy every morning? I know that feeling well. It’s one I suffered from often in the past and still encounter occasionally. It typically signals an impending burnout.
Not the type of burnout you get from dropping your 93 Honda Civic into 3rd gear at 6,000 rpm’s. The type of burnout that makes you avoid work, question the value of your existence, and eat large quantities of Oreo cookies while watching bad television.
How can you avoid burnout and stay in a productive rhythm? Here are 11 ways you can start safeguarding your life against burnout:
1. Schedule regular social activities
Remember when you used to spend time with people you were neither working with nor sleeping with? You watched movies, ate meals, played games, and went on trips. You were active and you had fun!
You can regain some of that emotional fulfillment by contacting some of your old pals and scheduling regular activities. It doesn’t need to be anything crazy. Sure, rafting in Alaska would be fun but a monthly brunch with people you don’t see every day will do just fine. The point of this exercise is to expand your social horizon and crush the feeling that you’re stuck doing the same thing every day.
2. Follow a fitness plan
Why we give up exercise in order to sit in a chair and work for an extra hour at a lower level of intensity is beyond me. I used to do it myself. I dealt with stress by eating and worked instead of working out. The result? Not only did I burn out but I got really chubby, too!
If you want to avoid burnout, resurrect that New Year’s Resolution and figure out what it takes to get you exercising on a regular basis. Apart from all the physical benefits of exercise, you’ll enjoy the mental satisfaction of knowing that you’re taking good care of yourself again.
3. Pursue a hobby
Pick a hobby that has little or nothing to do with what you spend most of your week doing and pursue it with passion! A hobby that uses an entirely different skill set can provide your heart and mind with a satisfying break from the weekly grind and set you on a good path for increased productivity.
You probably won’t even need to worry about picking a new hobby out. The one you abandoned when you sold your soul to the work week is waiting for you to return. Shine up those golf clubs, get out the fishing gear, or buy a new pair of boxing gloves and get moving!
4. Volunteer
Nothing brightens the soul or warms the senses like giving to another for no reason other than to give. If you’re feeling run down by life, I implore you to seek out somebody less fortunate than yourself and work to help them.
Reach out to your local soup kitchen or professional organization and ask for referrals to local places that need your help. They’ll be glad to get you started and you’ll soon forget about badly you thought you had it!
5. Write a manifesto
Have you forgotten what you want out of life? It’s easy to lose track of time and even easier to forget about what makes us glad to be alive. What can you do to bring back that focus? Take a day or perhaps an entire weekend and write a manifesto, a declaration of purpose, for yourself.
The process will give you focus as you put your intentions into writing. You’ll also discover that stepping back and looking at your life as a whole has a way of putting the stresses of the moment into perspective.
6. Ask for help
This is a tough one, especially if you’re a resourceful I’ll-do-it-on-my-own type of person like me. But it’s worth the time it takes to ask for help making sense of something that’s been dragging you down. It’s worth the embarrassment of admitting that you can’t do something on your own to really get help.
Whether your struggle is with a particular part of a project or with something general, like time management, asking for help will get you to a solution faster than you could ever hope to alone. If you want to avoid burnout, you’ll need to swallow your pride on occasion and reach out for help.
7. Make others laugh
Humor keeps us sane even through the most stressful of circumstances. Laughter is fun and a great way to reduce stress. Even better, finding ways to make others laugh doesn’t just reduce stress for all involved. It allows you to begin viewing yourself as a source of fun and laughter in your social or work group.
You’ll find it hard to be glum and entertain unhappy thoughts when the people around you are excited and happy to be near you. There’s no need to be a genius comedian. Start out by learning a few good jokes and add as you go!
8. Make an escape list
An “escape list” is a list of everything you’d need to do in order to escape a situation that’s driving you nuts. In a work context, your escape list might include things like turning in a final presentation or asking for a raise. It might also include smaller things like submitting your resume to a new opportunity or drafting a letter of resignation!
You might never follow up on the items in your escape list but the process of writing one will help clarify in your mind that you are not truly stuck. You have options. Perhaps not the best or most fun options, but you are certainly not stuck.
9. Embrace a morning ritual
Are you starting your day on the wrong foot by waking up late, rushing about, and skipping out the door at the last minute? Try slowing down your morning instead. Set your alarm a few minutes earlier than usual and spend the “extra” time sitting in a sunny spot in your living room with a cup of coffee and a good book.
As you slowly add more to your morning, you’ll develop a fierce attachment to “your” time. Why? Because you’ve chosen to start your day with a focus on taking care of yourself instead of busting out of bed like a bomb squad.
10. Stop making excuses
Is everything that’s dragging you down right now because of something your boss, partner, friend, or client did? Getting caught up in how much everybody else is screwing up will put you on the fast track to gray hair and a stupendous burnout.
The fix? Accept responsibility for your part of the problems that plague you. Then start digging your way out. Once you’ve given up on blaming others you’ll start seeing more of the good in your life and the sordid claws of desperate solitary thought will no longer draw you down.
11. Be accountable
Accountability is something we’re all familiar with but rarely put into useful practice. You can use accountability to drive your personal development and avoid burnout. The trick is find somebody you can trust to give the down and dirty on what you’re trying to do and how you’re moving forward.
For best results, have your accountability partner NOT be a relative or somebody you’re dating. They typically won’t have the capacity for objective review of your progress. People who love you will often make excuses for you and you want to avoid excuses at all costs.
“Accountability breeds response-ability.†~Stephen R Covey
Avoiding burnout is a matter of constant vigilance and regular maintenance. What are you doing to avoid burnout? Do you have any tips to add? I’m glad for your thoughts!
Seth Simonds is an editor here at Lifehack.org. Have a lifehacking tip and want to be featured in a future article? Follow @lifehackorg on Twitter, say hello, and we’ll go from there.
I’m an editor here at Stepcase Lifehack. I know the value of long walks, good books, joyful repartee, and a well-made martini. Say hello in the comments here, find me on my blog or hit me up for a follow on Twitter.
5 Steps to a Calmer Evening
February 4th, 2010 |
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Whether you work outside the house or stay at home full-time, the toughest part of the day is the same: those frantic early evening hours when there are mouths to feed, homework to do, and cranky kids to handle. The trick is to streamline your to-do’s so you can feel calmer and focus on what counts – spending time with your family. Here’s how.
Create a Stress-Free Home: An Introduction to Feng Shui
January 7th, 2010 |
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If I asked you what words come to mind when you think of your home, what would you say? Would you tell me that it brings you peace every time you walk in the front door? Would you say that the items in your home inspire you and bring you joy every time you look at them? Would you describe your household as organized and calm? A peaceful, calm household that is organized and filled with happiness and laughter is the type of home anyone would love to say they own. It is also the best type of home in which to raise a family. So, how do we ensure that we can describe our homes this way? It’s actually easier than you think, but you must take the first step.
Procrastination – NOT a Problem!
December 3rd, 2009 |
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“I’m feeling guilty because I procrastinate too much”
A quick search on Twitter confirmed my hunch. There are a lot of people talking about procrastination, and the tweets I surveyed are filled with feelings of guilt, regret and remorse.
The word “procrastinate” is a heavy one, and I believe that people are trying to solve the problem the wrong way, leaving them with baggage that just won’t seem to go away no matter what they do.
Procrastination: Not a Problem!
Perhaps procrastination simply isn’t the problem we think it is.
Webster’s Dictionary defines the word as follows:
procrastinate: To put off from day to day; to delay; to defer to a future time
Anyone who is skillful at managing their time will tell you that the act of “putting off from day to day,” “delaying” and “deferring to a future time” are required skills in today’s information age.
With technology has come an increased number of demands on our time, and a variety of ways in which we allow ourselves to be interrupted, reminded or prompted to make new commitments. The only smart tactic to take is to put things off until later.
Take the simple example of checking your email Inbox.
In fifteen minutes it’s possible to scan 100 new items, while making 30 instant decisions to take further action. It’s impossible to act on all 30 items immediately. Instead, it’s a much better idea to focus on a single item at a time, rather than trying to split one’s attention between multiple tasks.
In other words, it’s better to “put it off from today,” “delay” or “defer to a future time” than to try to do multiple actions at the same time, in the very next moment.
Why is procrastination deemed to be such a problem if, by its definition, the action is such a benign and even useful one? I suspect that when we call a problem by its incorrect name, we prevent ourselves from seeing clear, common-sense solutions. The word “procrastination” is being used to label the wrong problem.
The Real Problem
To understand the real problem, let’s look at some cases in which actual failures occurred, and why they had nothing to do with procrastination.
Failure #1 – A Missed Due Date: Sam’s homework was due on Monday morning, and she waited until late on Sunday evening to get started. After she started she found out that the assignment required at least 20 hours of work, which she could not complete in time.  The assignment was handed in late, and her tardiness cost her a full letter grade according to the rules stated in the syllabus.
Analysis: Most might call Sam a procrastinator, but I only see that she has a weakness in scheduling her time. The failure started by not properly estimating the size of the task, and continued when she didn’t use her calendar to determine the best time to start the assignment.
In this case what we call procrastination is actually a problem with the discipline that time management experts would call “personal scheduling.”
Failure #2 – Several Delays: Mike has made an internal decision to cut the lawn on Saturday, an activity that he despises. On the appointed day, other events intervene, and he decides to cut the lawn on Sunday instead.
Sunday rolls around and once again he decides to postpone his date with the lawnmower until Wednesday.
On Wednesday he decides that next Friday would be better, and he once again foregoes the much needed chore.
On Friday he finally cuts the entire lawn in one effort.
Analysis: Was Mike procrastinating? Many would say yes, and they might strongly imply that he was just being lazy.
If I add in the fact that it rained on Friday, Monday and Tuesday nights rendering the ground soft and unsafe for a cut, would it be said that he was still being lazy, and procrastinating?
If I add in the fact that his neighbour cut his lawn under similar conditions would you change your mind? And if I add in the fact that the neighbour is known to be a drunkard who sometimes does crazy things help you to change your mind again?
The problem with the way we use procrastination is that it has come to mean much more than the dictionary definition, and now brings with it an accusing tone filled with blame.
If we were to use the dictionary definition of the word we’d conclude that he was simply re-scheduling. The fact is that he deferred the activity, and according to the dictionary, he was procrastinating. According to our common-day usage of the word, it all depends on whether or not he was to blame for the delay.
The charge of being a “procrastinator” that we lay against ourselves and others has a become a way to cast blame.
Solutions
The negative judgements and feelings related to procrastinating don’t come from the delays, the putting off or the postponements. Instead they come from our judgemental minds which have decided that something or someone is to blame. A close look at the examples above reveal that it’s actually the negative thoughts that are producing the guilty feelings and the blame, and NOT the actual rescheduling.
What can we do about these negative thoughts? What can we do if we continue to blame ourselves and others for procrastinating?
There are a variety of approaches that we can use, but this is my personal favorite. Byron Katie’s methods of dealing with stressful thoughts is the method that I have used for the past 4 years. (Her entire approach can be found at her website.)
Her thesis is simple, and is a good match for the problem of blame.
Stress is never caused by life circumstances, but instead it originates in the thoughts that we have, and whether or not we believe them.
In the example above, Sam’s assignment was late (a fact,) but her thought that “I’m a procrastinator” would only cause stress if she believed it.
On Katie’s site, there is a powerful and simple process. It involves dealing with stressful thoughts by first writing them down and then applying 4 questions and what she calls a turnaround statement (an opposing thought.)
The result of using her process on stressful, judgmental thoughts about procrastination is a sense of relief in which statements like “I should stop procrastinating” might still recur, but without the stress that usually comes.
While this kind of habit might not seem to be related to time management, there are so many who struggle with thoughts of procrastination that if they could get past their own thinking, it would help bring peace of mind — which is the goal of every time management system.
So, if you think you have an issue with procrastination, start by separating your actions from your thoughts. Deal with your skill at scheduling if you need to. According to the dictionary, you are probably doing the right thing by procrastinating.
If you find that you have blaming thoughts that keep returning, and that they are causing stress, use Katie’s method to free yourself to be as productive as you can be without this harmful habit.
I own a management consulting firm in Florida, and I recently moved to live in Jamaica. Shortly after arriving, I began to study time management techniques when I found that my old system didn’t work. I eventually coined the term “Time Management 2.0″ for people who create their own, custom approaches.Find out more about Time Management 2.0.I am also the author of the e-book “The 6 Surprising Mistakes that GTDers Make.”
Eight iPhone Apps to Ease Holiday Travel Stress
November 23rd, 2009 |
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While companies like Google are working to make the travel season less stressful by offering free WiFi in airports across the country, Apples App Store is doing its part as well, with applications aimed at keeping travelers occupied and informed as they wait for their sure-to-be-delayed departure time. Here, eWEEK has assembled a selection of travel apps that will allow you to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.
– …
Katie Price fears getting cancer due to stress
October 27th, 2009 |
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Katie Price has said that she is scared she may get cancer because of her stressful life.
In fact, the reality star has in the past suffered from a rare form of the disease called leiomyosarcoma.
The illness, which hit her in 2002, also saw a malignant growth on her finger.
“I”m supposed to have a scan but [...]
More Stress Test Shenanigans
October 23rd, 2009 |
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AFP reports:The Federal Reserve will expand its so-called stress tests of the banking system to ensure they have enough capital during difficult periods, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday. Bernanke highlighted the positive impact of stress te…
How Cuts to Maintenance Costs Can Cause On-the-Job Stress
September 23rd, 2009 |
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Trimming or even eliminating maintenance costs with hardware and software vendors during a recession is a normal trend. But what’s the effect on IT staffs? It can create a negative work environment that is a breeding ground for poor morale and angry technicians and, worst of all, alienate those you need most when times are good: the IT staff.
–
There isn’t an area of technology management where cost is
not a factor.
For many organizations, maintenance costs are a necessary evil, especially when
certain customer-facing systems are crucial to business. But eliminating industry-standard
4-hour turnaround times in most hardware maint…
Iraq troops’ posttraumatic stress disorder rate as high as 35pct
September 15th, 2009 |
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A high volume of military personnel serving in Iraq are expected to seek treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because the rate among armed forces may be as high as 35 per cent, according a research article.
Published in Management Science, the flagship journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), the [...]
Physical Fitness in Stress Management
August 4th, 2009 |
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Physical fitness plays an important role in managing stress. If the person fitness is good he can easily manage their stress. Stress can be developed any time after changing activities or doing some important work in a given timeframe. Whenever a person changes his or her level of activity, risks are involved. This is especially [...]