14 Ways to Procrastinate Effectively

It hits the best of us, we are working, or studying, and we just don't want to do it anymore. You take a small break on Facebook. That break can end up taking a couple of hours. It may happen in a different way. You might want nothing to do with work or your homework. You've got it bad, you are procrastinating. Procrastinating is almost never good, but if you must, here are a few ways to procrastinate effectively. 

1. Gym time! If you want nothing to do with studying or work, go to the gym. Exercising will give you a lot more energy, will lower your stress, and if will boost your level of concentration when you do decide to get back to studying.

2. Look up jobs, or scholarships. If you are still in school, start looking for scholarships that you might be eligible. If you are bored with your job, start looking for jobs that will be good for you. 

3. Buy tickets. If you are going home, or you want to go to a concert, start looking up tickets. You might end up finding a great deal! 

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After the Work Project: Lessons Learned

While your project may have come to an end it is by no means time to put your feet up and take a break. If you want to develop as a project manager then this is the perfect time to look back over the now completed project and review it.

The reviewing process is necessary so you can create a list of lessons learned; a list that is vital to stop you making or repeating any mistakes or problems you encountered over the project’s course. It doesn’t matter what project management methodology you use, be it PRINCE2, Agile or anything else, if you keep repeating previous mistakes future projects will suffer. The process of looking back and listing your mistakes highly increases your chances of avoiding them in the future, or at least flag them up early on.

So how can we analyse our projects effectively?

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How Not to Be Discouraged by Failed Interviews

Receiving a rejection letter after what you thought was a great job interview can be discouraging. Even more disheartening is leaving a job interview knowing you failed to provide top notch answers. While not landing a job you really wanted can be disheartening, there are ways to avoid the discouragement and to find the drive needed to continue the job search. The following are a few methods to try.

Assess Your Mistakes

After each job interview, good or bad, review your mistakes. While reliving any awkward answers you gave can be difficult, this review process is essential for avoiding the same mistakes in future interviews. When reviewing your mistakes, consider what you would do differently if given another chance. These changes can then be implemented in future interviews.

Also, consider how you presented yourself during the interview. Review the clothing you wore, the condition of your portfolio or resume and any other factors that may have contributed to the rejection. The assessment of these details will help you find a more appropriate wardrobe for future interviews or improve other details that may have failed to impress the previous interviewer.

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Choose a Career: Becoming a Linux Engineer

Linux is a computer operating system which is based on free and open source software. There are many different varieties of Linux and they are all based on the Linux kernel which was the first operating system to be released on October 5th, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. The popularity of Linux has increased ever since and more and more users are using this alternative software on a daily basis. As this open source software is now becoming a bigger part of our daily life, there has been an increase in Linux jobs, especially when it comes to becoming a Linux engineer.

Linux runs on a wide variety of computer hardware, from mobile phones, tablet computers, televisions, video game consoles, desktop computers and supercomputers. Linux is one of the biggest leading server operating system which runs the 10 fastest supercomputers around the world.

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3 Tips to Determine If Your (Future) Employees are Trustworthy

People who are interviewing potential employees always have one single overwhelming concern: that the person across the table is out and out lying to them.  There's little worse than sinking thousands of dollars in taxes, fees, training costs, and materials into an employee only to have them turn out to be a dud.  Fortunately, there are lots of ways to find out if an employee is trustworthy or not -- some obvious, some devious.

Get Your Facts

If the candidate has passed a few rounds of interviewing and looks quite promising, you can (and should) take the time to contact their previous employers.  Get every bit of information you can about how they were as employees, why they left, and so forth.  Also, call their references and ask for details that might be less than perfect about them.  Then, simply ask them about their previous work experience.

If they don't give you a perfectly honest answer, that's OK -- everyone has a tendency to remember the good and forget the bad -- but if they tell you they left for better pay and their employer says they were fired, that's a red flag. 

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4 Reasons to Consider a Career in Search Engine Marketing

The increased use of the Internet for entertainment, commerce, and sharing information has come so far so fast it is nearly impossible to measure, and search engine marketing (SEM) is a key driver of this growth.

SEM is a complex and exciting field that incorporates several disciplines such as search engine optimization (SEO), paid search (PPC), and social media marketing (SMM). In a nutshell, SEM covers all things that can impact how customers find a web site via search – which is increasingly the life-blood for many companies.

Below are listed 4 reasons why you should consider a career in SEM, but keep in mind that there are a number of other excellent reasons not mentioned here – this is not an exhaustive list by far!

1. Reasonable Barriers to Entry

Generally speaking, SEM is all about improving websites’ positions on search engine results pages (SERPs), both organically and sponsored. While that may sound overly complicated and require a computer science background, technical know-how is actually only part of the usual skill set needed, depending on the area of specialization within SEM.

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Landing a Job During These Competitive Times

As more and more people are losing their jobs or taking redundancy, competition in today’s job market is becoming ever more cutthroat. Millions of young people, many of them graduates, are moving back in with their parents, unable to find work. This raises the question as to whether there is any way to increase your chances in these competitive times.

Firstly, any budding job candidate is going to need a diverse and interesting CV, which demonstrates their capabilities and knowledge. If your CV is looking a little sparse there are some great ways you can spruce it up before sending out copies to potential employers.

Think about doing some volunteering. Not only does volunteering show that you are a considerate person but also shows your willingness to give up your free time to work for something you believe in. On top of this, volunteering will give you experience that will be applicable in the work place, such as learning how to deal with people or organise events.

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10 Ways to Manage Stress at the Office

In today's hypercompetitive business environment, it's common for workers to experience workplace stress. Stress will not only make you less efficient at your job, but it can also negatively affect your health. The following are 10 easy ways to manage workplace stress:

1. Acknowledge the stressor. Sometimes simply acknowledging what it is that is causing you stress at the office can help put it in perspective and reduce the stress.
2. Take a break. When stress gets too much to handle at the office, get up from your desk and take a break. If possible, leave the office completely. Even if it's just for 15 minutes, this break can calm you and give you new perspective.
3. Try deep breaths. Stress results in a physiological response that includes muscle tension, an increase in one's heart rate and faster breathing. Deep breathing can counteract these responses, allowing you to relax and address the stressor at hand calmly and coolly.

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How to Turn Your Talent Into a Career

Growing up I always heard the popular “if you do what you love you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” This is especially frustrating because it’s true. Most people would love to be able to take their hobby and run with it for their entire lives. Unfortunately, this isn’t always easy. I enjoy writing, but if I tried to write a novel worth publishing it would take years (and who has that long to hope something works out?). My brother enjoys playing basketball, but he’s only 5’ 7”. In other words, there are a lot of things that can discourage someone from taking their passion and turning it into a career.

However, many have discovered that it is entirely possible to take a skill and put it to good use. Consider the following steps to help ensure you never have to work again: 

5 Steps to Creating a Job You Will Love

Step #1: Prepare to Be Part Time

Starting an entire career is difficult no matter what the industry. Be prepared to start your company as part time work. Quitting your day job to pursue your dreams is a little bit extreme. Although it has worked for some people, most people find that it’s better to slowly grow the business. This way you will always have a steady income in case something goes wrong and you need to change your approach.

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6 Tips for Creating a More Relaxing Workspace

Sweating under blindingly bright fluorescent lights in a stark white workspace isn’t exactly considered an ideal working condition. Rather, you must feel at ease in your workplace to produce your best results. The following are six tips for creating a more relaxing workspace to help you feel more at ease each workday.

Listen to Music

Music is relaxing and can instantly improve your spirits. Whether you’re annoyed from listening to coworkers in surrounding workspaces or simply work best with some tunage, bring headphones to the office and crank up Pandora or your favorite iTunes playlist.

Adjust the Lighting

Lighting is often a major hindrance to workplace productivity. Working under too bright of lighting can be stressful and irritating while lighting that’s too dim often puts employees too much at ease. If you aren’t happy with your workplace’s current light settings, discuss the possibility of adjustments with your manager. Also, consider bringing in a soft lighting lamp to make specific adjustments within your cubicle.

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