COMMUNICATIONJujitsu Your Insults
If an angry customer abuses you, pause for a second, look at them and ask, “Are you OK?” According to Daniel Goleman, the author of Emotional Intelligence, such a response can throw the insulter off guard, disrupt their negative energy, and often lead to a more constructive conversation. “It also demonstrates emotional intelligence by addressing the underlying issues that may have prompted the insult, rather than escalating hostility,” he says.
PRODUCTIVITYUp and at ’Em
Five AM wake ups, cold showers, early exposure to sunshine … we seem to be in an era of jarring morning routines as advocated by “productivity hackers.” But here’s one you don’t even have to get out of bed for: Simply lie there and rub your palms together vigorously before getting up. “It might sound strange but doing this for a minute or two each morning increases energy levels, helping us to perform with more efficiency. It’s a good starting point for anyone who is feeling stiff or struggling with mobility, Miranda McCarthy, an accessible yoga specialist, told The Guardian.
PRODUCTIVITYGo On an Adventure
“At med school, I started using a productivity technique where you identify your one most important task for the day, to help [you] focus,” says Dr. Ali Abdaal, author of Feel Good Productivity. “But after a while it started to make things feel heavy.” Now, instead, he makes a ritual each morning of asking himself “What is today’s adventure?” This reframed his key task as something fun to explore rather than something to grind on. Simply working from a new coffee shop rather than at your desk or walking a different route to the store will energize you, he says. “Injecting a sense of discovery, however small, will help you feel more positive and avoid procrastination.”
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SELLINGPractice Out Loud
According to sales trainer Brian Tracy, something many sales pros don’t do enough is practice their scripts out loud, saying it’s the best way to gain confidence, improve communication skills and increase conversion rates. “There is something between the connection of your thoughts and articulating that in a stressful situation which you need to practice, ideally with someone else who can give you feedback,” says the author of the bestseller Sales Success.
HEALTHNetflix and No Sleep
Americans don’t get enough sleep and while stress, changing work habits, and health issues are partly to blame, so is the fact many of us simply can’t tear ourselves away from our screens. Not that big tech companies are helping. “The ex-CEO of Netflix said his biggest competition wasn’t Disney+ but sleep,” notes Dr. Neil Stanley, the author of How To Sleep Well. “So, he deliberately shortened the time between episodes from 15 seconds to fewer than seven. We all have a sleep gate — the ideal time for us to go to sleep. Miss it and it may be harder to get to sleep, you may wake in the middle of the night, or you may wake up earlier. Decide when you need to go to bed — and go.”
MARKETINGGoogle Search Dark Arts
Do you ever input keywords into Google to see how your business ranks? If you do, make sure you actually click on your link: “Every time your business appears in the rankings and is not clicked, there is a chance that will actually lower your ranking for that term, since it is assumed your site did not appear to offer what the searcher was looking for,” a contributor told Quirk Media’s Marketing Research Review.
PRODUCTIVITYBuy a Big Desk
In the mood to reward yourself with a gift for all your hard work in the first half of the year? Go buy an L-shaped desk, advises Men’s Health magazine in a collection of productivity tips. “Designate one side for right-now work, the other for later-on work. The L shape prevents you from being distracted by other projects right in front of you and saves time in sorting things out.”
