Jeff Davidson's Blog, page 33
October 29, 2014
Greater Affluence, Less Happiness?
Seven years ago, researcher Barry Schwartz observed that "Assessments of well-being by various social scientists, among them David Myers of Hope College and Robert Lane of Yale University, reveal that increased choice and increased affluence have, in fact, been accompanied by decreased well-being in the U.S. and most other affluent societies. It seems that as a society, at least in recent years, grows wealthier and people become freer to do whatever they want, they get less happy."
A Reflection for All Time
A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.
-- John Barrymore
-- John Barrymore
October 24, 2014
Completing Your Work Day
Do you sometimes get anxious in the late afternoon or as you make your way home at the end of the work day? "With emails, TM, IM, voice mail, "snail" mail, memos and reports, your boss, and your peers, in too many offices 4:45 p.m. can be as hectic as 9:15 a.m. Here are some tips for heading home with more energy and peace of mind:
* Each day, before you are about to leave, pause for a minute to acknowledge yourself for what you accomplished or did not accomplish. This simple mental exercise frees you to experience the rest of your day.
* Once inside your car or on the bus, consider that you are already "home." You don't have to wait until you are actually in the door and kicking off your shoes.
* If traffic is slow, stop off at a drug store or hardware store and buy the household items you usually acquire on Saturday.
* If you perpetually bring home work from the office, give yourself a break -- several times a week come home empty-handed.
* Each day, before you are about to leave, pause for a minute to acknowledge yourself for what you accomplished or did not accomplish. This simple mental exercise frees you to experience the rest of your day.
* Once inside your car or on the bus, consider that you are already "home." You don't have to wait until you are actually in the door and kicking off your shoes.
* If traffic is slow, stop off at a drug store or hardware store and buy the household items you usually acquire on Saturday.
* If you perpetually bring home work from the office, give yourself a break -- several times a week come home empty-handed.
Enjoying Life - Mark Twain
"The first half of life consists of the capacity to enjoy without the chance; the last half consists of the chance without the capacity." – Mark Twain
October 16, 2014
Completing Your Work Day get anxious in
Do you sometimes get anxious in the late afternoon or as you make your way home at the end of the work day? "With emails, TM, IM, voice mail, "snail" mail, memos and reports, your boss, and your peers, in too many offices 4:45 p.m. can be as hectic as 9:15 a.m. Here are some tips for heading home with more energy and peace of mind:
* Each day, before you are about to leave, pause for a minute to acknowledge yourself for what you accomplished or did not accomplish. This simple mental exercise frees you to experience the rest of your day.
* Once inside your car or on the bus, consider that you are already "home." You don't have to wait until you are actually in the door and kicking off your shoes.
* If traffic is slow, stop off at a drug store or hardware store and buy the household items you usually acquire on Saturday.
* If you perpetually bring home work from the office, give yourself a break -- several times a week come home empty-handed.
* Each day, before you are about to leave, pause for a minute to acknowledge yourself for what you accomplished or did not accomplish. This simple mental exercise frees you to experience the rest of your day.
* Once inside your car or on the bus, consider that you are already "home." You don't have to wait until you are actually in the door and kicking off your shoes.
* If traffic is slow, stop off at a drug store or hardware store and buy the household items you usually acquire on Saturday.
* If you perpetually bring home work from the office, give yourself a break -- several times a week come home empty-handed.
October 8, 2014
Your Office, Your Nemesis?
is your office, your nemesis? As I wrote in my book Breathing Space, back in 1990, many office arrangements lead to lower productivity, more stress, and decreased job satisfaction. Now and article in the Wall Street Journal confirms all three observations:
October 5, 2014
Too Busy to Exercise?
Author Edwin Bliss once wrote that if you are too busy to exercise, you are too busy. In the hierarchy of values, few items can have higher priority than health, and if you find time for watching television but not for tennis or golf or jogging, it's time to return to sanity: do the most important things first. Best idea?: exercise WHILE you watch TV!
September 24, 2014
Makeover Your Environment
When I moved to North Carolina years ago, one of the first things I wanted to do was visit the Dean Smith Center. Named after the former coach, it is where the University of North Carolina Tar Heel Basketball Team plays its home games.
The 21,572 seats each have a marvelous view of the court. There are no posts, banners, or other obstructions. The sound system is wonderful -- no reverberation or static, just clear, crisp tones of the speaker. The lighting is perfect, as is the scoreboard, the ventilation system, and virtually all other aspects of the facility.
As impressive as this structure is, there's something even more notable, and it hangs from the rafters. I'm talking about the retired jerseys of former UNC basketball greats and the championship banners acknowledging successful seasons. You'd think that having such banners installed would be old hat to a coach like Roy Williams. Yet, whether it's an Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship, tournament championship, NCAA tournament participation, second-round, final sixteen, final eight, semi-finals, finals, or NCAA championship, which happened most recently in 2005 and 2009, everything this team has accomplished hangs from the rafters for the fans to see.
Dean Smith, Roy Williams, and the University of North Carolina athletic department profoundly understand the importance of environment. Those banners, hung chronologically and neatly from the rafters, are continuing psychological boosts to the coach, the team, and all of those who are associated with Carolina basketball. They tell new recruits, "We have tradition here. We are winners, and we will win again."
The 21,572 seats each have a marvelous view of the court. There are no posts, banners, or other obstructions. The sound system is wonderful -- no reverberation or static, just clear, crisp tones of the speaker. The lighting is perfect, as is the scoreboard, the ventilation system, and virtually all other aspects of the facility.
As impressive as this structure is, there's something even more notable, and it hangs from the rafters. I'm talking about the retired jerseys of former UNC basketball greats and the championship banners acknowledging successful seasons. You'd think that having such banners installed would be old hat to a coach like Roy Williams. Yet, whether it's an Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship, tournament championship, NCAA tournament participation, second-round, final sixteen, final eight, semi-finals, finals, or NCAA championship, which happened most recently in 2005 and 2009, everything this team has accomplished hangs from the rafters for the fans to see.
Dean Smith, Roy Williams, and the University of North Carolina athletic department profoundly understand the importance of environment. Those banners, hung chronologically and neatly from the rafters, are continuing psychological boosts to the coach, the team, and all of those who are associated with Carolina basketball. They tell new recruits, "We have tradition here. We are winners, and we will win again."
Incredible Shrinking Offices the Breathing Space?
An article in in BusinessWeek revealed that less than 30% of white-collar workers still have private offices, according to a poll of 9,300 people by office furniture maker Steelcase. However the typical office has shrunk. It was about 16 by 20 feet a few years ago; it's about 8 by 10 today.
So, 320 square feet versus 80 square feet...where is the Breathing Space?
So, 320 square feet versus 80 square feet...where is the Breathing Space?
