Motivation

The TV show Friends featured a running joke that despite the closeness of the main characters, nobody quite knew what Chandler did for a living. While speculation makes for amusing television, refraining from discussing your job with those around you deprives them of valuable opportunities to get to know you.

This is especially true with kids. While parents may shy away from work-related discussions because they think children won’t understand or will be bored, such talk introduces them to the world beyond school and helps shape their perceptions of adulthood.

Remember back in science class when you learned that an object at rest stays at rest unless acted upon by an unbalanced force? While Newton may not have been thinking about careers, the same law holds true for many workers. We tend to like the status quo. It’s safe and familiar, and we may even be very good at doing the same tasks over and over. No new energy needed – our job is at “rest.”

Sometimes it is easy to blame others when we’re frustrated at our job. But instead of wishful-thinking statements starting with “If only . . .,” it can be more productive to take a look at one’s own behavior and focus on factors that can be controlled.

Beverly D. Flaxington, author of Make Your SHIFT: The Five Most Powerful Moves You Can Make to Get Where YOU Want to Go, notes that a recent study found that 97% of employees described themselves as guilty of at least one of these five things:

You may not work for yourself, but there are ways that thinking like an entrepreneur or a small business owner can benefit your career. (And, as a bonus, it can help get you better prepared, should the time ever come that you do contemplate starting your own business.)

From fussy clients to unexpected deadlines, workers are accustomed to dealing with factors that affect their productivity. Yet some of the greatest obstacles aren’t external; rather, they are mental blocks that keep people from reaching their full potential.

Moms throughout the nation will be receiving flowers, breakfast in bed, homemade cards, and other tokens of appreciation this Sunday in celebration of Mother’s Day. We all know that the selfless, wonderful things a mother does each day are priceless, but what if there was some way to try to measure her worth in dollars and cents?

Charitable work is not only a great way to help others and raise your own spirits, it can create bonds between colleagues as they come together for a common cause. Perhaps your office has participated in a national event such as Lee National Denim Day, where for a $5 donation to breast cancer research an employee can wear jeans to work. Or maybe your company fielded a team for a fun-run to support a cause.

Sometimes, it can feel like you have been working hard and scrambling all day—and yet still haven’t gotten anything important done. This can be especially true on Mondays, when you might find yourself spending a good part of your day just digging out from the weekend backlog and trying to prepare for the week.

• Ways to Climb Out of a Workplace Rut [US News]
• Signs You Have an Extraordinary Boss [Inc.com]
• Five Ways to Reach for the Perks You Want [Glass Door]
• Constantly Checking Email Just Shortchanges Yourself [Lifehacker]
• Should You Combine Personal and Professional Online Identities? [Mashable]