Optimal Work Daily - Career, Productivity and Entrepreneurship

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Episode 2205:

Laura Stack shares five ways to stay out of the line of fire when office politics turn ugly, drawing on her own experience as a newly minted MBA whose plant safety report was buried by colleagues who resented her. Her rules are to refuse gossip in both directions, stay out of other people's causes, avoid griping aloud even to work friends, resist the pull to suck up, and push back on a boss who dictates who to be friendly with. She is direct that none of it guarantees immunity, but that quietly doing the work is still the better bet for a career.

Read along with the original article(s) here: https://theproductivitypro.com/blog/2017/08/ducking-the-crosshairs-five-ways-to-deal-with-office-politics/

Quotes to ponder:

"Avoid gossip. Don't spread it, and don't listen to it."

"Don't gripe aloud at work, even to people you consider friends."

"Even if you keep your head down, there's nothing you can do to avoid office politics if someone wants to target you."

Optimal Work Daily is a daily career advice podcast where we narrate the best articles on productivity, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your career a little more every day.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free.

Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home.

Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com

Episode 2204:

Lisa Jeffs shares an approach to workplace stress that starts with naming its specific source, whether that is an overwhelming workload, a critical boss, worry about job security, or the sense of being stuck with no room to grow. She argues that stress eases once a sense of control is restored, and that the fastest place to reclaim control is outside the office, by planning leisure time with the same seriousness as work time. The rest is boundaries and habits that protect work-life balance: knowing what is expected, learning to say no, and making relaxation part of a daily routine instead of a reward for burning out.

Read along with the original article(s) here: https://lisajeffs.com/how-to-manage-stress-at-work/

Quotes to ponder:

"When we feel that we have control over our stressors, we tend to feel less stressed."

"Your leisure time should have the same importance and focus as your work time and should be planned accordingly."

"Relaxation needs to become part of your daily routine."

Optimal Work Daily is a daily career advice podcast where we narrate the best articles on productivity, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your career a little more every day.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free.

Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home.

Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com

Episode 2203:

Karl Staib explains that co-workers read a set of silent signals, from a look to the way someone walks into a room, and treat people accordingly, usually without either side noticing. He offers two ways to change what those signals say: treat colleagues like family by listening first and giving more than comes back, and mirror the energy of someone who tries to talk over you rather than shrinking from it. He frames both as emotional intelligence, a skill most people build slowly over the course of a career rather than arrive with.

Read along with the original article(s) here: https://digtofly.com/how-you-are-silently-signaling-your-co-workers-to-treat-you/

Quotes to ponder:

"The best way to be liked is to like others."

"The only way to make friends is to give 60% and only expect 40% back."

"Please don't try to change your personality. You need to be you, but following the social rules at your work will help you get the respect that you need."

Optimal Work Daily is a daily career advice podcast where we narrate the best articles on productivity, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your career a little more every day.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free.

Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home.

Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com

Episode 2202:

Julie Morgenstern shares two productivity systems built on the same idea, that nothing gets done until it has a defined place. The first fixes the never-ending to-do list by assigning every task a day on the calendar, grouping tasks into categories to keep an eye on balance, and starting each entry with an action verb and a time estimate. The second borrows the kindergarten classroom as the model for organizing a space, where every activity has its own zone and every item has one obvious home.

Read along with the original article(s) here: https://www.juliemorgenstern.com/tips-tools-blog/how-to-structure-your-to-do-list & https://www.juliemorgenstern.com/tips-tools-blog/-kindergarten-model-of-organizing

Quotes to ponder:

"Your calendar becomes a sort of silent assistant, planning and protecting the time, motivation, and accountability to get things done."

"A to-do needs to be concrete, actionable, and clear. Start all to-do's with an action verb."

"Walk into any kindergarten classroom in the world, and you will behold the perfect model of organization."

Optimal Work Daily is a daily career advice podcast where we narrate the best articles on productivity, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your career a little more every day.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free.

Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home.

Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com

Episode 2201:

Jenny Lee explains why she interviews five of a client's ideal customers before designing anything, and how those hourlong conversations surface wants and frustrations that a numbers-driven market research pass never reaches. She lays out how user experience research differs from market research and argues that entrepreneurs get the sharpest picture of a customer when the two are combined. The payoff is a website built on real language and real problems, which is what moves visitors toward conversions.

Read along with the original article(s) here: https://www.hellobrio.com/blog/user-experience-research

Quotes to ponder:

"User Research helps us create happier visitors, which in turn leads to more sales conversions."

"Jakob Nielsen, UX pioneer, says that research with 5 people will bring out about 80% of the issues."

"Fewer than that, and you get conflicting information. More than that, and you end up hearing the same thing over and over."

Optimal Work Daily is a daily career advice podcast where we narrate the best articles on productivity, entrepreneurship, and work-life balance, read to you by a professional narrator so you can grow your career a little more every day.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices