How to Get More Done in a Day than Most Accomplish in a WeekHow to Get More Done in a Day than Most Accomplish in a Week
IdeaMarketers creator, author of 20+ titles, and mother of 6 shares her unique method for getting more done in a day than most people accomplish in a week. Enjoy life, accomplish more and earn more while you do so! Learn More
It can seem that 'other people' are the problem. Without them we think we would be more organised, more productive and more satisfied. We would get all the important things done and there would be no distractions.
It is certainly true that we need to be flexible enough to accommodate other working styles and to communicate with people different to us. Yet we do have a responsibility to ourselves to honour what we believe is really important - our true agenda. Blaming other people is a way of ignoring this responsibility.
If this true agenda gets hidden away, we can be very busy without being consciously aware of what has happened. Instead we might feel vague uneasiness, tension or dissatisfaction without knowing why.
On the other hand, if we are aware that our true agenda is on hold, we tell ourselves that we will return to it when we have finished everything else. This approach does not work because we never completely finish 'everything else'.
Balance is critical here, just as it is critical in the natural world. Our physical body moves by dynamic balance: tension in some muscles alternating with relaxation in others. We need a certain balance of sugar in the blood to function but too much sugar will kill us. More broadly, balance is essential in how we spend our finite personal resources: our time and energy (and money) are not unlimited.
At this point we need to be wary of the commitments we make. Commitment is what makes the difference between intention and action. It transforms the mental activity of creation into living reality. Yet committing to one thing inevitably excludes others, so it is wise to choose carefully. How often do you say 'No'?
Here's a practical strategy to apply these principles:
1. Create a list of what you think is really important. This can be single words or phrases, general or specific. Spend as much time as you need to create a list that covers all that is important. Here are some other questions that may help you:
What do you care about? What do you really want? What makes life worth living?
What makes you frustrated or angry? What is it you can't live with? What principles are being violated?
When you have finished, keep your list in a safe place. This is the essence of your true agenda.
2. Against each item on the list put a value between 1 and 10 to indicate how much you currently honour it with your own resources (time, energy, money)
3. Review the list, particularly noting the items with the lower scores. Choose one item (or more if you like) where you want to increase your resources spent on it. What do you want to achieve by doing this?
4. Make a commitment to balance this increase in resources (time, energy, money) by trimming a less important area (preferably one that is not on your list at all!). Give this commitment a time frame and a review date so you can check the balance again then.
You can return to your list anytime you like and repeat steps 3 and 4.
As you regain your true agenda, watch what happens to your motivation.
Jumat, 18 Juli 2008
Senin, 14 Juli 2008
Motivation
Motivation is a piviotal concept in most theories of learning. It is closely related to arousal, attention, anxiety, and feedback/reinforcement. For example, a person needs to be motivated enough to pay attention while learning; anxiety can decrease our motivation to learn. Receiving a reward or feedback for an action usually increases the likelihood that the action will be repreated. Weiner (1990) points out that behavioral theories tended to focus on extrinsic motivation (i.e., rewards) while cognitive theories deal with intrinsic motivation (i.e., goals) .
In most forms of behaviorial theory, motivation was strictly a function of primary drives such as hunger, sex, sleep, or comfort. According to Hull's drive reduction theory, learning reduces drives and therefore motivation is essential to learning. The degree of the learning achieved can be manipulated by the strength of the drive and its underlying motivation. In Tolman's theory of purposive behaviorism, primary drives create internal states (i.e., wants or needs) that serve as secondary drives and represent instrinsic motivation.
In cognitive theory, motivation serves to create intentions and goal-seeking acts (see Ames & Ames, 1989). One well-developed area of research highly relevant to learning is achievement motivation (e.g., Atkinson & Raynor, 1974; Weiner). Motivation to achieve is a function of the individual's desire for success, the expectancy of success, and the incentives provided. Studies show that in general people prefer tasks of intermediate difficulty. In addition, students with a high need to achieve, obtain better grades in courses which they perceive as highly relevant to their career goals. On the other hand, according to Rogers, all individuals have a drive to self-actualize and this motivates learning.
Malone (1981) presented a theoretical framework for instrinsic motivation in the context of designing computer games for instruction. Malone argues that instrinsic motivation is created by three qualities: challenge, fantasy, and curosity. Challenge depends upon activities that involve uncertain outcomes due to variable levels, hidden information or randomness. Fantasy should depend upon skills required for the instruction. Curiosity can be aroused when learners believe their knowledge structures are incomplete, inconsistent, or unparsimonious. According to Malone, instrinsically motivating activities provide learners with a broad range of challenge, concrete feedback, and clear-cut criteria for performance.
Keller (1983) presents an instructional design model for motivation that is based upon a number of other theories. His model suggests a design strategy that encompasses four components of motivation: arousing interest, creating relevance, developing an expectancy of success, and producing satisfaction through intrinsic/extrinsic rewards.
References:
Ames, C. & Ames, R. (1989). Research in Motivation in Education, Vol 3. San Diego: Academic Press.
Atkinson, J. & Raynor, O. (1974). Motivation and Achievement. Washington: Winston.
Keller, J. (1983). Motivational design of instruction. In C. Riegeluth (ed.), Instructional Design Theories and Models. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Malone, T. (1981). Towards a theory of instrinsically motivating instruction. Cognitive Science, 4, 333-369.
McClelland, D. (1985). Human Motivation. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.
Weiner, B. (1990). History of motivational research in education. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(4), 616-622.
In most forms of behaviorial theory, motivation was strictly a function of primary drives such as hunger, sex, sleep, or comfort. According to Hull's drive reduction theory, learning reduces drives and therefore motivation is essential to learning. The degree of the learning achieved can be manipulated by the strength of the drive and its underlying motivation. In Tolman's theory of purposive behaviorism, primary drives create internal states (i.e., wants or needs) that serve as secondary drives and represent instrinsic motivation.
In cognitive theory, motivation serves to create intentions and goal-seeking acts (see Ames & Ames, 1989). One well-developed area of research highly relevant to learning is achievement motivation (e.g., Atkinson & Raynor, 1974; Weiner). Motivation to achieve is a function of the individual's desire for success, the expectancy of success, and the incentives provided. Studies show that in general people prefer tasks of intermediate difficulty. In addition, students with a high need to achieve, obtain better grades in courses which they perceive as highly relevant to their career goals. On the other hand, according to Rogers, all individuals have a drive to self-actualize and this motivates learning.
Malone (1981) presented a theoretical framework for instrinsic motivation in the context of designing computer games for instruction. Malone argues that instrinsic motivation is created by three qualities: challenge, fantasy, and curosity. Challenge depends upon activities that involve uncertain outcomes due to variable levels, hidden information or randomness. Fantasy should depend upon skills required for the instruction. Curiosity can be aroused when learners believe their knowledge structures are incomplete, inconsistent, or unparsimonious. According to Malone, instrinsically motivating activities provide learners with a broad range of challenge, concrete feedback, and clear-cut criteria for performance.
Keller (1983) presents an instructional design model for motivation that is based upon a number of other theories. His model suggests a design strategy that encompasses four components of motivation: arousing interest, creating relevance, developing an expectancy of success, and producing satisfaction through intrinsic/extrinsic rewards.
References:
Ames, C. & Ames, R. (1989). Research in Motivation in Education, Vol 3. San Diego: Academic Press.
Atkinson, J. & Raynor, O. (1974). Motivation and Achievement. Washington: Winston.
Keller, J. (1983). Motivational design of instruction. In C. Riegeluth (ed.), Instructional Design Theories and Models. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Malone, T. (1981). Towards a theory of instrinsically motivating instruction. Cognitive Science, 4, 333-369.
McClelland, D. (1985). Human Motivation. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.
Weiner, B. (1990). History of motivational research in education. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(4), 616-622.
Motivation & Leadership
Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success. - Explorer Ernest Shackleston in a 1890 job ad for the first Antarctic expedition. A person's motivation is a combination of desire and energy directed at achieving a goal. Influencing someone's motivation means getting them to want to do what you know must be done. A person's motivation depends upon two things:
The strength of certain needs. For example, you are hungry, but you must have a task completed by a nearing deadline. If you are starving you will eat. If you are slightly hungry you will finish the task at hand.
The perception that taking a certain action will help satisfy those needs. For example, you have two burning needs - The desire to complete the task and the desire to go to lunch. Your perception of how you view those two needs will determine which one takes priority. If you believe that you could be fired for not completing the task, you will probably put off lunch and complete the task. If you believe that you will not get into trouble or perhaps finish the task in time, then you will likely go to lunch. People can be motivated by such forces as beliefs, values, interests, fear, and worthy causes. Some of these forces are internal, such as needs, interests, and beliefs. Others are external, such as danger, the environment, or pressure from a loved one. There is no simple formula for motivation -- you must keep a open viewpoint on human nature. There is a complex array of forces steering the direction of each person and these forces cannot always be seen or studied. In addition, if the same forces are steering two different people, each one may act differently. Knowing that each person may react to different needs will guide your decisions and actions in certain situations.
As a leader you have the power to influence motivation. The following guidelines (U.S. Army Handbook, 1973) form a basic view of motivation. They will help guide your decision making process:
Allow the needs of your team to coincide with the needs of your organization. Nearly everyone is influenced by the needs for job security, promotion, raises, and approval of their peers and/or leaders. They are also influenced by internal forces such as values morals, and ethics. Likewise, the organization needs good people in a wide variety of jobs. Ensure that your team is trained, encouraged, and has opportunities to advance. Also, ensure that the way you conduct business has the same values, moral, and ethic principles that you seek in others. If you conduct business in a dishonest manner, your team will be dishonest to you, for that will be the kind of people that you will attract.
Reward good behavior. Although a certificate, letter, or a thank you may seem small and insignificant, they can be powerful motivators. The reward should be specific and prompt. Do not say something general, such as "for doing a good job," rather cite the specific action that made you believe it was indeed a good job. In addition, help those who are good. We all make mistakes or need help on an occasion to achieve a particular goal.
Set the example. You must be the role model that you want others to grow into.
Develop moral and esprit de corps. Moral is the mental, emotional, and spiritual state of a person. Almost everything you do will have an impact on your organization. You should always be aware how your actions and decisions might affect it. Esprit de corps means team spirit - it is defined as the spirit of the organization or collective body (in French it literally means "spirit of the body"). It is the consciousness of the organization that allows the people within it to identify with and feel a part of. Is your workplace a place where people cannot wait to get away from; or is it a place that people enjoy spending a part of their lives?
Allow your team to be part of the planning and problem solving process. This helps with their development and allows you to coach them. Secondly, it motivates them -- people who are part of the decision making process become the owners of it, thus it gives them a personal interest in seeing the plan succeed. thirdly, communication is clearer as everyone has a better understanding of what role they must play as part of the team. Next, it creates an open trusting communication bond. They are no longer just the doers for the organization -- they are now part of it! Finally, recognition and appreciation from a respected leader are powerful motivators.
Look out for your team. Although you do not have control over their personal lives, you must show concern for them. Things that seem of no importance to you might be extremely critical to them. You must be able to empathize with them. This is from the German word, einfuhling, which means "to feel with", or the ability to perceive another person's view of the world as though that view were your own. The Sioux Indian Tribal Prayer reads, "Great Spirit, help us never to judge another until we have walked for two weeks in his moccasins." Also note that empathy differs from sympathy in that sympathy connotes spontaneous emotion rather than a conscious, reasoned response. Sympathizing with others may be less useful to another person if we are limited by the strong feelings of the moment.
Keep them informed. Keeping the communication channel open allows a person to have a sense of control over their lives.
Make their jobs challenging, exciting, and meaningful. Make each feel like an individual in a great team...rather than a cog in a lifeless machine. People need meaningful work, even if it is tiring and unpleasant; they need to know that it is important and necessary for the survival of the organization.
Counsel people who behave in a way that is counter to the company's goals. All the guidelines before this took the positive approach. But, sometimes this does not always work. You must let people know when they are not performing to an acceptable standard. By the same token, you must protect them when needed. For example, if someone in your department is always late arriving for work and it is causing disruptions, then you must take action. On the other hand, if you have an extremely good department and once in a while they are a few minutes late, then do the right thing...protect them from the bureaucracy!
Counseling
Counseling has a powerful, long-term impact on people and the effectiveness of the organization. Counseling is talking with a person in a way that helps him or her solve a problem. It involves thinking, implementing, knowing human nature, timing, sincerity, compassion, and kindness. It involves much more that simply telling someone what to do about a problem.
Leaders must demonstrate the following qualities in order to counsel effectively.
Respect for employees - This includes the belief that individuals are responsible for their own actions and ideas. It includes an awareness of a person's individuality by recognizing their unique values, attributes, and skills. As you attempt to develop people with counseling, you must refrain from projecting your own values onto them.
Self-Awareness - This quality is an understanding of yourself as a leader. The more you are aware of your own values, needs, and biases, the less likely you will be to project your feelings onto your employees.
Credibility - Believability is achieved through both honesty and consistency between both the leader's statements and actions. Credible leaders are straightforward with their subordinates and behave in such a manner that earns the subordinates' respect and trust.
Empathy - or compassion entails understanding a subordinates situation. Empathetic leaders will be better able to help subordinates identify the situation and then develop a plan to improve it. The reason for counseling is to help employees develop in order to achieve organizational goals. At times, the counseling is directed by policy, and at other times, leaders should choose to counsel to develop employees. Regardless of the nature of the counseling, leaders should demonstrate the qualities of an effective counselor (respect, self-awareness, credibility, and empathy) and employ the skills of good communication.
While the reason for counseling is to develop subordinates, leaders often categorize counseling based on the topic of the session. Major categories include performance counseling, problem counseling, and individual growth counseling (development). While these categories help leaders to organize and focus counseling sessions, they must not be viewed as separate and distinct types of counseling. For example a counseling session which mainly focuses on resolving a problem may also have a great impact on improving job performance. Another example is a counseling session that focuses on performance may also include a discussion of opportunities for growth. Regardless of the topic of the counseling session, you should follow the same basic format to prepare for and conduct counseling.
Steps for counseling
Identify the problem. Ensure you get to the heart of the problem. The Japanese use a practice called the Five Whys. They ask "why" five times when confronted with a problem -- by the time the fifth why is answered, they believe they have found the ultimate cause of the problem.
Analyze the forces influencing the behavior. Determine which of these forces you have control over and which of the forces the worker has control over. Determine if the force has to be modified, eliminated, or enforced.
Plan, coordinate, and organize the session. Determine the best time to conduct the session so that you will not be interrupted or forced to end too early.
Conduct the session using sincerity, compassion, and kindness. This does not mean you cannot be firm or in control. Your reputation is on the line...the problem must be solved so that your department can continue with its mission. Likewise, you must hear the person out.
During the session, determine what the worker believes causes the counter productive behavior and what will be required to change it. Also, determine if your initial analysis is correct.
Try to maintain a sense of timing of when to use directive or nondirective counseling (see below).
Using all the facts, make a decision and/or a plan of action to correct the problem. If more counseling is needed, make a firm time and date for the next session.
After the session and throughout a sufficient time period evaluate the worker's progress to ensure the problem has indeed been solved. There are two type of counseling - directive and nondirective. In directive counseling, the counselor identifies the problem and tells the counselee what to do about it. Nondirective counseling means the counselee identifies the problem and determines the solution with the help of the counselor. The counselor has to determine which of the two, or some appropriate combination, to give for each situation. For example, "Put that cigarette out now as this is a nonsmoking area," is a form of directive counseling. While a form of nondirective counseling would be, "So the reason you are not effective is that you were up late last night. What are you going to do to ensure that this does not effect your performance again?"
Hints for counseling sessions:
Let the person know that the behavior is undesirable, not the person.
Let the person know that you care about him or her as a person, but that you expect more from them.
Do not punish employees who are unable to perform a task. Punish those who are able to perform the task but are unwilling or unmotivated to succeed.
Counseling sessions should be conducted in private immediately after the undesirable behavior. Do not humiliate a person in front of others.
Ensure that the employee understands exactly what behavior led to the counseling or punishment.
Do not hold a grudge. When it is over...it is over! Move on!
Performance AppraisalsThe performance appraisal or evaluation is one of the most powerful motivational tools available to a leader. It has three main objectives:
To measure performance fairly and objectively against job requirements. This allows effective workers to be rewarded for their efforts and ineffective workers to be put on the line for poor performance.
To increase performance by identifying specific development goals. "If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there" - Lewis Carrol. The appraisal allows the worker to target specific areas for job growth...it should be a time to plan for better performance on the job.
To develop career goals so that the worker may keep pace with the requirements of a fast paced organization. More and more, every job in an organization becomes more demanding with new requirements. Just because a worker is performing effectively in her job today, does not mean she will be able to perform effectively tomorrow. She must be allowed to grow with the job and the organization. A lot of people consider giving performance appraisals as being quite uncomfortable. However, it is not the judging of people that is really uncomfortable, rather it is the judging of bad performance that is uncomfortable. Thus, eliminate poor performance in the first place, and performance appraisals become a lot more pleasant to give. Now of course you are not going to eliminate poor performances completely, however, with a little bit of planning they can be greatly reduced.
Performance has often been described as "purposeful work" -- that is, a job exists to achieve specific and defined results. And what bad performers really do is perform "work activities" (busy work), rather than activities that contributes to effective performance.
The first step in performance planning is to determine the results that you want the performer to achieve. After all, workers generally want to know what they need to do, how well you need them to do it, and how well they are actually doing it (feedback).
In addition, a worker should not walk blindly into a performance appraisal. Past counseling sessions, feedback, and one-on-ones should give her a pretty clear understanding of what to expect from the appraisal. If you blind-side her, you have not done your job as a leader. Helping your team grow is not a once or twice yearly task, but a full-time duty.
The appraisal should be a joint effort. No one knows the job better than the person performing it. By turning the appraisal into a real discussion, rather than a lecture, the leader may learn some insightful information that could help boost his or her performance in the future. Before the meeting, have the worker complete her own self-appraisal. Although you might think they will take advantage of this by giving themselves unearned high marks, studies have shown that most workers rate themselves more critically than the leader would have.
Should Performance Appraisals be Scrapped?There has been some talk of completely doing away with performance appraisals as they sometimes do more harm that they cause. Yet performance appraisals are tools and like any other tool, they can be used correctly or incorrectly. Part of the problem might be with its name -- "Performance Appraisal", which has sort of a judgmental sound to it; perhaps "Performance Planning and Review" might be a better term for it.
Part-time employees at Trader Joe's are reviewed every three months, which is an unusually frequent rate of evaluation (Speizer, 2004). In addition, the part-time employees of Trader Joe's are paid higher wages, as are their full-time workers, than what you will find in the normal grocery store (an average of $16 per hour vs $12).
What is interesting about all of this is that they have been bought three times, and NOT because they are losing money -- they make more money per square foot of business than the average grocery store. The new leadership teams have never said that they need to pay them what the rest of the industry pays. Why? Because they see the value in their workers! Rather than giving lip-service to "employees our are most valuable asset", they actually walk-the-talk.
Yet, one of the arguments for scrapping performance appraisals is that ALL workers' pay should be aligned with the labor market -- they do not deserve annual pay raises as it inflates the wage and salary structure.
Traditionally, roles have remained the same while goals change (Buchen, 2004). Yet, due to the rapid changes that occur on a day-to-day basis, the roles are actually changing, even though they might remained fixed on paper. Performance appraisals often fail to factor in the changing relationships between goals and roles that are often in a high state of metamorphosis. That is, our attention remains fixed on steadfast goals, while ignoring ever-changing roles.
This type of thinking shows up in a lot of industries as they view their workers' jobs as set roles, even though the world is rapidly changing. For example, the 2004 grocery strike in California forced many shoppers to look at alternatives, thus they started shopping at Traders Joe's (who were not part of the strike). And many of these shoppers never went back to their regular stores (who see their employees playing traditional roles) because they enjoy the experience they have at Trader Joe's. Yet Trader Joe's was not always like this -- it started out more like a Seven-Eleven, but because of the competition it went in search of its present niche and recognized along the way that its employee's roles also needed to change. So even though they still deal in the same commodity as the larger grocery stores -- food -- they not only changed the way they bought food (goal), but also in they way they deliver that food to the customer (role).
Thus, the real argument is not really about scrapping PAs, but rather ensuring that once goals are set, that all roles are properly accounted for so that the target can indeed be met.
Reference[Tags: Motivation Performance Counseling ]
Buchen, Irving. Upgrading Performance and Targeting Learning. Chief Learning Officer July 2004.
Craig, Robert L. (1996). The ASTD Training and Development Handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Eliza G. C. Collins & Mary Anne Devanna (1990). The Portable MBA. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Speizer, Irwin Recruiting and Staffing. Workforce Magazine. September 2004, pp. 51-54.
U.S. Army Handbook (1973). Military Leadership. Return
The strength of certain needs. For example, you are hungry, but you must have a task completed by a nearing deadline. If you are starving you will eat. If you are slightly hungry you will finish the task at hand.
The perception that taking a certain action will help satisfy those needs. For example, you have two burning needs - The desire to complete the task and the desire to go to lunch. Your perception of how you view those two needs will determine which one takes priority. If you believe that you could be fired for not completing the task, you will probably put off lunch and complete the task. If you believe that you will not get into trouble or perhaps finish the task in time, then you will likely go to lunch. People can be motivated by such forces as beliefs, values, interests, fear, and worthy causes. Some of these forces are internal, such as needs, interests, and beliefs. Others are external, such as danger, the environment, or pressure from a loved one. There is no simple formula for motivation -- you must keep a open viewpoint on human nature. There is a complex array of forces steering the direction of each person and these forces cannot always be seen or studied. In addition, if the same forces are steering two different people, each one may act differently. Knowing that each person may react to different needs will guide your decisions and actions in certain situations.
As a leader you have the power to influence motivation. The following guidelines (U.S. Army Handbook, 1973) form a basic view of motivation. They will help guide your decision making process:
Allow the needs of your team to coincide with the needs of your organization. Nearly everyone is influenced by the needs for job security, promotion, raises, and approval of their peers and/or leaders. They are also influenced by internal forces such as values morals, and ethics. Likewise, the organization needs good people in a wide variety of jobs. Ensure that your team is trained, encouraged, and has opportunities to advance. Also, ensure that the way you conduct business has the same values, moral, and ethic principles that you seek in others. If you conduct business in a dishonest manner, your team will be dishonest to you, for that will be the kind of people that you will attract.
Reward good behavior. Although a certificate, letter, or a thank you may seem small and insignificant, they can be powerful motivators. The reward should be specific and prompt. Do not say something general, such as "for doing a good job," rather cite the specific action that made you believe it was indeed a good job. In addition, help those who are good. We all make mistakes or need help on an occasion to achieve a particular goal.
Set the example. You must be the role model that you want others to grow into.
Develop moral and esprit de corps. Moral is the mental, emotional, and spiritual state of a person. Almost everything you do will have an impact on your organization. You should always be aware how your actions and decisions might affect it. Esprit de corps means team spirit - it is defined as the spirit of the organization or collective body (in French it literally means "spirit of the body"). It is the consciousness of the organization that allows the people within it to identify with and feel a part of. Is your workplace a place where people cannot wait to get away from; or is it a place that people enjoy spending a part of their lives?
Allow your team to be part of the planning and problem solving process. This helps with their development and allows you to coach them. Secondly, it motivates them -- people who are part of the decision making process become the owners of it, thus it gives them a personal interest in seeing the plan succeed. thirdly, communication is clearer as everyone has a better understanding of what role they must play as part of the team. Next, it creates an open trusting communication bond. They are no longer just the doers for the organization -- they are now part of it! Finally, recognition and appreciation from a respected leader are powerful motivators.
Look out for your team. Although you do not have control over their personal lives, you must show concern for them. Things that seem of no importance to you might be extremely critical to them. You must be able to empathize with them. This is from the German word, einfuhling, which means "to feel with", or the ability to perceive another person's view of the world as though that view were your own. The Sioux Indian Tribal Prayer reads, "Great Spirit, help us never to judge another until we have walked for two weeks in his moccasins." Also note that empathy differs from sympathy in that sympathy connotes spontaneous emotion rather than a conscious, reasoned response. Sympathizing with others may be less useful to another person if we are limited by the strong feelings of the moment.
Keep them informed. Keeping the communication channel open allows a person to have a sense of control over their lives.
Make their jobs challenging, exciting, and meaningful. Make each feel like an individual in a great team...rather than a cog in a lifeless machine. People need meaningful work, even if it is tiring and unpleasant; they need to know that it is important and necessary for the survival of the organization.
Counsel people who behave in a way that is counter to the company's goals. All the guidelines before this took the positive approach. But, sometimes this does not always work. You must let people know when they are not performing to an acceptable standard. By the same token, you must protect them when needed. For example, if someone in your department is always late arriving for work and it is causing disruptions, then you must take action. On the other hand, if you have an extremely good department and once in a while they are a few minutes late, then do the right thing...protect them from the bureaucracy!
Counseling
Counseling has a powerful, long-term impact on people and the effectiveness of the organization. Counseling is talking with a person in a way that helps him or her solve a problem. It involves thinking, implementing, knowing human nature, timing, sincerity, compassion, and kindness. It involves much more that simply telling someone what to do about a problem.
Leaders must demonstrate the following qualities in order to counsel effectively.
Respect for employees - This includes the belief that individuals are responsible for their own actions and ideas. It includes an awareness of a person's individuality by recognizing their unique values, attributes, and skills. As you attempt to develop people with counseling, you must refrain from projecting your own values onto them.
Self-Awareness - This quality is an understanding of yourself as a leader. The more you are aware of your own values, needs, and biases, the less likely you will be to project your feelings onto your employees.
Credibility - Believability is achieved through both honesty and consistency between both the leader's statements and actions. Credible leaders are straightforward with their subordinates and behave in such a manner that earns the subordinates' respect and trust.
Empathy - or compassion entails understanding a subordinates situation. Empathetic leaders will be better able to help subordinates identify the situation and then develop a plan to improve it. The reason for counseling is to help employees develop in order to achieve organizational goals. At times, the counseling is directed by policy, and at other times, leaders should choose to counsel to develop employees. Regardless of the nature of the counseling, leaders should demonstrate the qualities of an effective counselor (respect, self-awareness, credibility, and empathy) and employ the skills of good communication.
While the reason for counseling is to develop subordinates, leaders often categorize counseling based on the topic of the session. Major categories include performance counseling, problem counseling, and individual growth counseling (development). While these categories help leaders to organize and focus counseling sessions, they must not be viewed as separate and distinct types of counseling. For example a counseling session which mainly focuses on resolving a problem may also have a great impact on improving job performance. Another example is a counseling session that focuses on performance may also include a discussion of opportunities for growth. Regardless of the topic of the counseling session, you should follow the same basic format to prepare for and conduct counseling.
Steps for counseling
Identify the problem. Ensure you get to the heart of the problem. The Japanese use a practice called the Five Whys. They ask "why" five times when confronted with a problem -- by the time the fifth why is answered, they believe they have found the ultimate cause of the problem.
Analyze the forces influencing the behavior. Determine which of these forces you have control over and which of the forces the worker has control over. Determine if the force has to be modified, eliminated, or enforced.
Plan, coordinate, and organize the session. Determine the best time to conduct the session so that you will not be interrupted or forced to end too early.
Conduct the session using sincerity, compassion, and kindness. This does not mean you cannot be firm or in control. Your reputation is on the line...the problem must be solved so that your department can continue with its mission. Likewise, you must hear the person out.
During the session, determine what the worker believes causes the counter productive behavior and what will be required to change it. Also, determine if your initial analysis is correct.
Try to maintain a sense of timing of when to use directive or nondirective counseling (see below).
Using all the facts, make a decision and/or a plan of action to correct the problem. If more counseling is needed, make a firm time and date for the next session.
After the session and throughout a sufficient time period evaluate the worker's progress to ensure the problem has indeed been solved. There are two type of counseling - directive and nondirective. In directive counseling, the counselor identifies the problem and tells the counselee what to do about it. Nondirective counseling means the counselee identifies the problem and determines the solution with the help of the counselor. The counselor has to determine which of the two, or some appropriate combination, to give for each situation. For example, "Put that cigarette out now as this is a nonsmoking area," is a form of directive counseling. While a form of nondirective counseling would be, "So the reason you are not effective is that you were up late last night. What are you going to do to ensure that this does not effect your performance again?"
Hints for counseling sessions:
Let the person know that the behavior is undesirable, not the person.
Let the person know that you care about him or her as a person, but that you expect more from them.
Do not punish employees who are unable to perform a task. Punish those who are able to perform the task but are unwilling or unmotivated to succeed.
Counseling sessions should be conducted in private immediately after the undesirable behavior. Do not humiliate a person in front of others.
Ensure that the employee understands exactly what behavior led to the counseling or punishment.
Do not hold a grudge. When it is over...it is over! Move on!
Performance AppraisalsThe performance appraisal or evaluation is one of the most powerful motivational tools available to a leader. It has three main objectives:
To measure performance fairly and objectively against job requirements. This allows effective workers to be rewarded for their efforts and ineffective workers to be put on the line for poor performance.
To increase performance by identifying specific development goals. "If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there" - Lewis Carrol. The appraisal allows the worker to target specific areas for job growth...it should be a time to plan for better performance on the job.
To develop career goals so that the worker may keep pace with the requirements of a fast paced organization. More and more, every job in an organization becomes more demanding with new requirements. Just because a worker is performing effectively in her job today, does not mean she will be able to perform effectively tomorrow. She must be allowed to grow with the job and the organization. A lot of people consider giving performance appraisals as being quite uncomfortable. However, it is not the judging of people that is really uncomfortable, rather it is the judging of bad performance that is uncomfortable. Thus, eliminate poor performance in the first place, and performance appraisals become a lot more pleasant to give. Now of course you are not going to eliminate poor performances completely, however, with a little bit of planning they can be greatly reduced.
Performance has often been described as "purposeful work" -- that is, a job exists to achieve specific and defined results. And what bad performers really do is perform "work activities" (busy work), rather than activities that contributes to effective performance.
The first step in performance planning is to determine the results that you want the performer to achieve. After all, workers generally want to know what they need to do, how well you need them to do it, and how well they are actually doing it (feedback).
In addition, a worker should not walk blindly into a performance appraisal. Past counseling sessions, feedback, and one-on-ones should give her a pretty clear understanding of what to expect from the appraisal. If you blind-side her, you have not done your job as a leader. Helping your team grow is not a once or twice yearly task, but a full-time duty.
The appraisal should be a joint effort. No one knows the job better than the person performing it. By turning the appraisal into a real discussion, rather than a lecture, the leader may learn some insightful information that could help boost his or her performance in the future. Before the meeting, have the worker complete her own self-appraisal. Although you might think they will take advantage of this by giving themselves unearned high marks, studies have shown that most workers rate themselves more critically than the leader would have.
Should Performance Appraisals be Scrapped?There has been some talk of completely doing away with performance appraisals as they sometimes do more harm that they cause. Yet performance appraisals are tools and like any other tool, they can be used correctly or incorrectly. Part of the problem might be with its name -- "Performance Appraisal", which has sort of a judgmental sound to it; perhaps "Performance Planning and Review" might be a better term for it.
Part-time employees at Trader Joe's are reviewed every three months, which is an unusually frequent rate of evaluation (Speizer, 2004). In addition, the part-time employees of Trader Joe's are paid higher wages, as are their full-time workers, than what you will find in the normal grocery store (an average of $16 per hour vs $12).
What is interesting about all of this is that they have been bought three times, and NOT because they are losing money -- they make more money per square foot of business than the average grocery store. The new leadership teams have never said that they need to pay them what the rest of the industry pays. Why? Because they see the value in their workers! Rather than giving lip-service to "employees our are most valuable asset", they actually walk-the-talk.
Yet, one of the arguments for scrapping performance appraisals is that ALL workers' pay should be aligned with the labor market -- they do not deserve annual pay raises as it inflates the wage and salary structure.
Traditionally, roles have remained the same while goals change (Buchen, 2004). Yet, due to the rapid changes that occur on a day-to-day basis, the roles are actually changing, even though they might remained fixed on paper. Performance appraisals often fail to factor in the changing relationships between goals and roles that are often in a high state of metamorphosis. That is, our attention remains fixed on steadfast goals, while ignoring ever-changing roles.
This type of thinking shows up in a lot of industries as they view their workers' jobs as set roles, even though the world is rapidly changing. For example, the 2004 grocery strike in California forced many shoppers to look at alternatives, thus they started shopping at Traders Joe's (who were not part of the strike). And many of these shoppers never went back to their regular stores (who see their employees playing traditional roles) because they enjoy the experience they have at Trader Joe's. Yet Trader Joe's was not always like this -- it started out more like a Seven-Eleven, but because of the competition it went in search of its present niche and recognized along the way that its employee's roles also needed to change. So even though they still deal in the same commodity as the larger grocery stores -- food -- they not only changed the way they bought food (goal), but also in they way they deliver that food to the customer (role).
Thus, the real argument is not really about scrapping PAs, but rather ensuring that once goals are set, that all roles are properly accounted for so that the target can indeed be met.
Reference[Tags: Motivation Performance Counseling ]
Buchen, Irving. Upgrading Performance and Targeting Learning. Chief Learning Officer July 2004.
Craig, Robert L. (1996). The ASTD Training and Development Handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Eliza G. C. Collins & Mary Anne Devanna (1990). The Portable MBA. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Speizer, Irwin Recruiting and Staffing. Workforce Magazine. September 2004, pp. 51-54.
U.S. Army Handbook (1973). Military Leadership. Return
Weight Loss Motivation - Approaching Weight Loss With a Positive Attitude By Jackle Reid
If you are just entering a weight loss program you might find that you are overwhelm with information and not sure where to start but do not be discouraged.
The wealth of information on weight loss is good because it guarantee that you will never be without information to reach your weight loss goal.
Weight loss as with any other thing that you desire, to take on in life but be done with a positive attitude going in. Don't think that you will get on a weight loss program and you will lose weight and you will never have any weight loss challenge.
One of the reasons why some people become a weight loss success is because they plan for the time that they will have a set back and put in the necessary actions in their weight loss plan so that when a challenge comes they are already prepared to deal with it.
However, when you start on a weight loss plan you must realize that you will need some tools to help your along your journey. The first thing that you will need is a weight loss journal. This journal will become your biggest friend. Some of the things that you will be recording in your weight loss journal includes:
1. Take a before picture of yourself. You will never really remember what you looked like before your weight loss journey.
2. Measure yourself. This step is quite important because though you take a picture, a picture will not tell you what the measurement of your waist was before you start your weight loss program.
3. Set a weight loss goal that you want to achieve. For example lose 10 pounds in 3 weeks. Once you have your weight loss goal, give it a start date and an end date
4. Make a commitment to yourself that you will start on the date that you said you would and end on the date that you would. Sign it and date it. You have now made a commitment with yourself
5. Start writing down all the foods that you are eating through the day. Every piece that goes in your mouth.
6. Write down when you are eating, you might find that you might be an emotional eater and eating when you are angry, upset or stressed and not because you are hungry
7. Block out some time to go over your writing and see where you can make improvements on your food choices.
Once you start writing in your weight loss journal you will begin to see patterns in how you eat, what you eat and when you eat. Spend time making adjustment to your eating habits and seek a support system that will get you to lose the weight. Your weight loss journal will be your first buddy system but by joining some type of weight loss support group you will find that you are able to stay on the course and get to that weight loss goal that you desire.
The wealth of information on weight loss is good because it guarantee that you will never be without information to reach your weight loss goal.
Weight loss as with any other thing that you desire, to take on in life but be done with a positive attitude going in. Don't think that you will get on a weight loss program and you will lose weight and you will never have any weight loss challenge.
One of the reasons why some people become a weight loss success is because they plan for the time that they will have a set back and put in the necessary actions in their weight loss plan so that when a challenge comes they are already prepared to deal with it.
However, when you start on a weight loss plan you must realize that you will need some tools to help your along your journey. The first thing that you will need is a weight loss journal. This journal will become your biggest friend. Some of the things that you will be recording in your weight loss journal includes:
1. Take a before picture of yourself. You will never really remember what you looked like before your weight loss journey.
2. Measure yourself. This step is quite important because though you take a picture, a picture will not tell you what the measurement of your waist was before you start your weight loss program.
3. Set a weight loss goal that you want to achieve. For example lose 10 pounds in 3 weeks. Once you have your weight loss goal, give it a start date and an end date
4. Make a commitment to yourself that you will start on the date that you said you would and end on the date that you would. Sign it and date it. You have now made a commitment with yourself
5. Start writing down all the foods that you are eating through the day. Every piece that goes in your mouth.
6. Write down when you are eating, you might find that you might be an emotional eater and eating when you are angry, upset or stressed and not because you are hungry
7. Block out some time to go over your writing and see where you can make improvements on your food choices.
Once you start writing in your weight loss journal you will begin to see patterns in how you eat, what you eat and when you eat. Spend time making adjustment to your eating habits and seek a support system that will get you to lose the weight. Your weight loss journal will be your first buddy system but by joining some type of weight loss support group you will find that you are able to stay on the course and get to that weight loss goal that you desire.
How to Quit Smoking with Motivation, Natural Alternatives, and a Little Help For your Friends By Mike Row
Smoking does not need to be a ball and chain that you have to drag around with you everywhere you go. Even if you have been smoking like a chimney for the past decade or two (or three), you can still quit at any time. And there are a number of great ways to help you accomplish your goal without any of the discomfort that you commonly hear of from people who quit smoking as few as ten years ago. The days where you had to practically give up your sanity if you wanted to stop smoking are long gone. Now there are a number of ways that people like you, who are looking for a good technique for how to quit smoking, can finally do it once and for all.
The process to quit smoking all begins with the desire that you actually want to quit. You will not get very far at all if you have no desire to stop smoking whatsoever. If you like to smoke. If it does not bother your friends or family. Or if you do not have a problem with the fact that you will die years before you should, then by all means keep puffing away. For the rest of you, you need to have the desire to quit in order to stop smoking.
But how can you get the desire to quit? Some people find it inside themselves. Others are told by a doctor or other health professional that they have to quit or they will die in the next couple of years. Still more people are told by their family and friends to "quit or else...," and given an ultimatum. And the last batch of people decide that it is high time to quit because smoking is draining their wallet at an amazing rate.
Once you have the motivation that you want to give up your cigarette habit, you need some help from outside sources. As with the above paragraph, this can be from friends and family, your coworkers, or just about anyone else you place your trust in. Basically, these people are there to help you make the right decisions about quitting your cigarette habits and can help you every step of the way. You're spending a day at the office when you get the urge to light up--one of your coworkers should be there to tell you to think again. Furthermore, your support group should never smoke around you while you are trying to quit.
No matter how much support from friends and family you may have, however, there still comes a time when you need assistance from various anti-smoking products on the market. You may be tempted to turn to nicotine patches and other devices, but studies have shown that the last thing you need in your system as you quit your smoking habit is more nicotine in your system. So instead consider turning to natural anti-smoking alternatives to medicines and synthetic patches. Natural alternatives are much safer for your system and can be more effective in some cases than their laboratory made counterparts.
When it all comes down to it, there are really three things that you need if you are looking for how to quit smoking. You need the motivation to give up your long time habit. You need the support of your friends and family. And, if you feel you can't do it alone, you need some natural remedies to help you forget why you ever smoked in the first place.
The process to quit smoking all begins with the desire that you actually want to quit. You will not get very far at all if you have no desire to stop smoking whatsoever. If you like to smoke. If it does not bother your friends or family. Or if you do not have a problem with the fact that you will die years before you should, then by all means keep puffing away. For the rest of you, you need to have the desire to quit in order to stop smoking.
But how can you get the desire to quit? Some people find it inside themselves. Others are told by a doctor or other health professional that they have to quit or they will die in the next couple of years. Still more people are told by their family and friends to "quit or else...," and given an ultimatum. And the last batch of people decide that it is high time to quit because smoking is draining their wallet at an amazing rate.
Once you have the motivation that you want to give up your cigarette habit, you need some help from outside sources. As with the above paragraph, this can be from friends and family, your coworkers, or just about anyone else you place your trust in. Basically, these people are there to help you make the right decisions about quitting your cigarette habits and can help you every step of the way. You're spending a day at the office when you get the urge to light up--one of your coworkers should be there to tell you to think again. Furthermore, your support group should never smoke around you while you are trying to quit.
No matter how much support from friends and family you may have, however, there still comes a time when you need assistance from various anti-smoking products on the market. You may be tempted to turn to nicotine patches and other devices, but studies have shown that the last thing you need in your system as you quit your smoking habit is more nicotine in your system. So instead consider turning to natural anti-smoking alternatives to medicines and synthetic patches. Natural alternatives are much safer for your system and can be more effective in some cases than their laboratory made counterparts.
When it all comes down to it, there are really three things that you need if you are looking for how to quit smoking. You need the motivation to give up your long time habit. You need the support of your friends and family. And, if you feel you can't do it alone, you need some natural remedies to help you forget why you ever smoked in the first place.
Memory Improvement Skils Can Be yours Today By Adam Eason
Have you wanted to know more memory improvement skills? Does it fascinate you to think that there are memory improvement skills that can be yours today? Want to know how some very simple strategies can enhance your memory beyond belief? Read on...
Have you ever seen someone in town and you knew you should know there name but could not recall it? Have you ever gone to dial a telephone number that you dialled hundreds of times before and just could not remember? Did you ever walk into a room but forgot what you went to do?
In these situations we can sometimes feel useless, distracted and unable to connect with our brain properly. That phenomena that is often referred to as 'tip of the tongue.' Then maybe your memory improvement skills need working on!
In July 1998 the University of Florida published some research findings that showed that elderly people should ignore stereotypes about memory loss.
Older people are much less likely to have major problems with their memory improvement skills if they believe in themselves and work to improve their recall, this University of Florida study finds.
The elderly are more likely than younger people to buy into the stereotype that they can't control their memory, and it affects not only their self-esteem but also how hard they try to remember, said Robin West, a University of Florida psychology professor who did the research.
In the study conducted by psychology graduate student Monica Yassuda, more than 200 older and young adults were divided into two groups. One group was told memory is a skill that can be improved with effort, and the other group that the ability to remember is fixed forever at birth, she said.
"There is some indication in the literature that older people tend to see memory as something they can't control -- you either have a good memory or you don't," West said.
"The results show that we need to encourage older adults to think of themselves as a group that has the potential to have a better memory if they work at it," she said. Other studies, which were conducted by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, have found the belief that people can control part of their lives is a good predictor of whether they age well mentally and physically, West said.
This way of looking at memory improvement skills of course does not have to only be applicable to the older generation, of course it applies to us all.
Let me give you some examples of things people say to me individually or in my seminars:
- "I do not have a good memory."
- "That is too much for me to remember."
- "I have a memory like a sieve."
- "I am afraid my memory is failing now that I am getting older."
My Granddad said something to me recently that really made me think. He and I were in his local village pub and we were joking about the fact that my Nana gave him a hard time for coming to the pub and ordered him not to drink too much, despite over 65 years of marriage.
My Nana has been quite ill for a number of years and she does not go out much and I mentioned to my Granddad that I noticed her struggling for her words every now and then, or struggling to remember a name and he said that it was nothing to do with her age, they are both well into their eighties, but rather it was that she has very little communication with others anymore. That was his opinion.
These quotes I just mentioned are beliefs but too often people say them as if they were facts. There are some very common misconceptions about memory and memory improvement skills: that it is an ability that cannot be changed; that you only have a certain amount; that it relates to age, and declines as we get older.
Memory is not about volume and it is not about content, it is about processes. It is about something we do, not something we have: it is about remembering.
Remembering is dependent on the connections we make between things. Imagine you are constructing an index. If you have referred to a book, or a person, by only one attribute, you will have only one data point and hence only one way of accessing that information. If you have used a number of different data points, each capturing a different aspect, you will have more ways to access this information.
Anyone can achieve enormous memory improvement by focusing on two particular aspects of memory: encoding and storage on the one hand and recall on the other. Today I write about encoding, next week I write about recall.
If you want to improve your ability to encode accurately and store information, you will need to check out your attitudes, beliefs and feelings:
Joan was an in-house business trainer who used to be great at remembering names. Over the past couple of years, she had come to resent an increasing workload and an ever-growing number of delegates. One day she was heard to say to a colleague: "There is no way I'm going to remember the names of all these delegates." Joan's feelings of disappointment and resentment were affecting her beliefs about how much she could remember - yet within her area of expertise she was quite capable of remembering vast bodies of information and new research. She did not actually want to remember the names of all the delegates, because in her view there were too many of them. Not surprisingly, she did find it difficult, though many years ago she had made it a matter of pride to learn all their names. But she had felt differently then.
So, consider how you think and feel about what it is you want to remember.
Feelings can affect encoding and storage in other ways too. Do you remember your first day at school? Many people do, often in considerable detail. But what about the second day? Probably not. The reason for this is that day one at school is a special day: you may have looked forward to it, or dreaded it; you may have a had a wonderful - or an awful - time. The teacher may have been really kind - or expected you to be able to do things that you had not yet learnt. The playground may have been a great place to run around in - or a terrifying place where giants a whole year older than you rushed past you and around you, yelling loudly and playing boisterously. There may have been a lot of feeling - and strong feelings can make for vivid encoding.
Therefore, engage your feelings to make what you want to remember vivid.
Routes to lost information; some memory improvment skills:
1. One way to recover information is to recall the circumstances in which you first gained it. Maybe it was the name of someone at a party? Or something you heard on the radio? Remind yourself of s many details as you can of that party, involving information from all sensory systems. Who did you talk to? Where were you sitting, or standing? What music was playing? And so on. As you fill in the context, you may find the detail you want pops up - or that search processes are triggered so that it pops up later.
2. Are you forgetting because you felt uncomfortable, uneasy or unhappy about something? If you need or wish to recover the information, pay attention to your feelings in the here-and-now and imagine they are like beads on a string. Very similar to the other times you have felt the same, feeling like this now is linked to all of the other times you have felt the same, feeling like this now is linked to all the other times and because the mind stores like things together, your attentiveness to these feelings now can lead you back along the string to the time and circumstances you forgot.
Paying attention as an integral part of your memory improvement skills:
From this day forward, think about how you encode every piece of information and how you experience life each day.
How much attention do you pay to the information you want to store? One of the most striking things about people who claim their memory is not very good is how good they are at remembering poorly! Suppose you are introduced to someone but as you are told their name you are pre-occupied. When later you try to remember their name all you can recall is what was bothering you then and what they looked like. In such circumstances there is nothing wrong with your memory. Your way of remembering - the process of encoding that you employed - has faithfully encoded exactly what was going on.
You were preoccupied and this meant you had your own internal dialogue running. So any additional auditory input - like the person's name - would be competing with your internally generated auditory signal. What they looked like is more memorable partly because visual data is generally easier to recall - it is more vivid - but also that element was less cluttered with internal signals at that moment.
What you attend to will affect what you actually commit to memory. So often, poor encoding is confused with poor memory. Be aware of this when looking to enhance those memory improvement skills.
Have you ever seen someone in town and you knew you should know there name but could not recall it? Have you ever gone to dial a telephone number that you dialled hundreds of times before and just could not remember? Did you ever walk into a room but forgot what you went to do?
In these situations we can sometimes feel useless, distracted and unable to connect with our brain properly. That phenomena that is often referred to as 'tip of the tongue.' Then maybe your memory improvement skills need working on!
In July 1998 the University of Florida published some research findings that showed that elderly people should ignore stereotypes about memory loss.
Older people are much less likely to have major problems with their memory improvement skills if they believe in themselves and work to improve their recall, this University of Florida study finds.
The elderly are more likely than younger people to buy into the stereotype that they can't control their memory, and it affects not only their self-esteem but also how hard they try to remember, said Robin West, a University of Florida psychology professor who did the research.
In the study conducted by psychology graduate student Monica Yassuda, more than 200 older and young adults were divided into two groups. One group was told memory is a skill that can be improved with effort, and the other group that the ability to remember is fixed forever at birth, she said.
"There is some indication in the literature that older people tend to see memory as something they can't control -- you either have a good memory or you don't," West said.
"The results show that we need to encourage older adults to think of themselves as a group that has the potential to have a better memory if they work at it," she said. Other studies, which were conducted by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, have found the belief that people can control part of their lives is a good predictor of whether they age well mentally and physically, West said.
This way of looking at memory improvement skills of course does not have to only be applicable to the older generation, of course it applies to us all.
Let me give you some examples of things people say to me individually or in my seminars:
- "I do not have a good memory."
- "That is too much for me to remember."
- "I have a memory like a sieve."
- "I am afraid my memory is failing now that I am getting older."
My Granddad said something to me recently that really made me think. He and I were in his local village pub and we were joking about the fact that my Nana gave him a hard time for coming to the pub and ordered him not to drink too much, despite over 65 years of marriage.
My Nana has been quite ill for a number of years and she does not go out much and I mentioned to my Granddad that I noticed her struggling for her words every now and then, or struggling to remember a name and he said that it was nothing to do with her age, they are both well into their eighties, but rather it was that she has very little communication with others anymore. That was his opinion.
These quotes I just mentioned are beliefs but too often people say them as if they were facts. There are some very common misconceptions about memory and memory improvement skills: that it is an ability that cannot be changed; that you only have a certain amount; that it relates to age, and declines as we get older.
Memory is not about volume and it is not about content, it is about processes. It is about something we do, not something we have: it is about remembering.
Remembering is dependent on the connections we make between things. Imagine you are constructing an index. If you have referred to a book, or a person, by only one attribute, you will have only one data point and hence only one way of accessing that information. If you have used a number of different data points, each capturing a different aspect, you will have more ways to access this information.
Anyone can achieve enormous memory improvement by focusing on two particular aspects of memory: encoding and storage on the one hand and recall on the other. Today I write about encoding, next week I write about recall.
If you want to improve your ability to encode accurately and store information, you will need to check out your attitudes, beliefs and feelings:
Joan was an in-house business trainer who used to be great at remembering names. Over the past couple of years, she had come to resent an increasing workload and an ever-growing number of delegates. One day she was heard to say to a colleague: "There is no way I'm going to remember the names of all these delegates." Joan's feelings of disappointment and resentment were affecting her beliefs about how much she could remember - yet within her area of expertise she was quite capable of remembering vast bodies of information and new research. She did not actually want to remember the names of all the delegates, because in her view there were too many of them. Not surprisingly, she did find it difficult, though many years ago she had made it a matter of pride to learn all their names. But she had felt differently then.
So, consider how you think and feel about what it is you want to remember.
Feelings can affect encoding and storage in other ways too. Do you remember your first day at school? Many people do, often in considerable detail. But what about the second day? Probably not. The reason for this is that day one at school is a special day: you may have looked forward to it, or dreaded it; you may have a had a wonderful - or an awful - time. The teacher may have been really kind - or expected you to be able to do things that you had not yet learnt. The playground may have been a great place to run around in - or a terrifying place where giants a whole year older than you rushed past you and around you, yelling loudly and playing boisterously. There may have been a lot of feeling - and strong feelings can make for vivid encoding.
Therefore, engage your feelings to make what you want to remember vivid.
Routes to lost information; some memory improvment skills:
1. One way to recover information is to recall the circumstances in which you first gained it. Maybe it was the name of someone at a party? Or something you heard on the radio? Remind yourself of s many details as you can of that party, involving information from all sensory systems. Who did you talk to? Where were you sitting, or standing? What music was playing? And so on. As you fill in the context, you may find the detail you want pops up - or that search processes are triggered so that it pops up later.
2. Are you forgetting because you felt uncomfortable, uneasy or unhappy about something? If you need or wish to recover the information, pay attention to your feelings in the here-and-now and imagine they are like beads on a string. Very similar to the other times you have felt the same, feeling like this now is linked to all of the other times you have felt the same, feeling like this now is linked to all the other times and because the mind stores like things together, your attentiveness to these feelings now can lead you back along the string to the time and circumstances you forgot.
Paying attention as an integral part of your memory improvement skills:
From this day forward, think about how you encode every piece of information and how you experience life each day.
How much attention do you pay to the information you want to store? One of the most striking things about people who claim their memory is not very good is how good they are at remembering poorly! Suppose you are introduced to someone but as you are told their name you are pre-occupied. When later you try to remember their name all you can recall is what was bothering you then and what they looked like. In such circumstances there is nothing wrong with your memory. Your way of remembering - the process of encoding that you employed - has faithfully encoded exactly what was going on.
You were preoccupied and this meant you had your own internal dialogue running. So any additional auditory input - like the person's name - would be competing with your internally generated auditory signal. What they looked like is more memorable partly because visual data is generally easier to recall - it is more vivid - but also that element was less cluttered with internal signals at that moment.
What you attend to will affect what you actually commit to memory. So often, poor encoding is confused with poor memory. Be aware of this when looking to enhance those memory improvement skills.
Your Perfect Day, How Would It Be? By: Van Lint Ineke
The perfect day of your life, how would it look like? How far away do you think you are from this perfect day? What can you do to make this perfect day reality? Let’s find out by doing the following exercice! The right side of your brain has retained the image of that you came here to do on this Earth. Your education and the influence of society have taught you to rely on the left side of your brain, and you have lost contact with the right side. But this contact can be easily restored. Your right side works with images. When you are imagining about your perfect life, the images that pop up come straight from the image archive room in the right side of the brain. These images of the perfect day and what you wish to do, your dreams, are not arbitrary. They are the reflection of your mission, your true task here on Earth. This mission is calling you and encourages you to discover it. Do this revealing exercice on paper : image the perfect day, even as you go about all your daily responsibilities. So it’s not a holiday at the beach! Describe as accurate and detailed as possible what you are doing, how you are doing it, what activities you are involved in, what people surround you, and so on. Let your imagination flow freely and do not limit yourself to the usual restrictions. Remember: this is an exercise of imagination. No need to take reality into account. You are free to fill in the blanks as you wish! Do make sure you are working in the environment of your choice, doing exactly what you like to do. See yourself using your main talents and feeling a deep sense of enthusiasm offering your key talents to other people around you. Visualize how your job gives you total satisfaction. Ask yourself: “If I loved myself, how would I spend my day?” Come up with as many practical details as possible: what time are you getting up, what are you wearing, what are you having for breakfast, do you commute to work or do you work at home, what’s your job exactly, from when to when are you working, where and with whom do you take lunch, etc. Detail the entire perfect day right until the moment you go back to sleep. Write in the present tense, as if you were living the perfect day right now. Do not use negative words like : not, no, without… Important : write down your perfect day, so you can read it over again. Take at least 15 minutes to do this exercice, you are worth it! What have you learned from doing this exercise? Could it be that your mission is already partially accomplished without you noticing it? Since you were able to write down your perfect day, where you use your talents and offer them to others, it must be that you are closer to that reality than you think! This exercise provides you with a clear image of your true mission. Have a look at your notes and make a guess about how close you are to this perfect day. Give it a note from 0 to 10. What can you do right now to get closer to 10/10? What do you need to change in your life to be able to live your perfect day, day after day? What does it need to live as if you loved yourself? What is withholding you? Is it a person, a belief, the circumstances? Don’t forget you create your own life, according to your belief system. If your life doesn’t match your perfect day, make some changes! You are worth it! Do this exercice every 3 to 6 months. Remember you don’t need to undergo circumstances. You are the creator of your life! Write down your perfect day on a regular base and do things to get closer to it. It’s all up to you!
The perfect day of your life, how would it look like? How far away do you think you are from this perfect day? What can you do to make this perfect day reality? Find it out here! Do the exercice and start living your perfect day, day after day.
The perfect day of your life, how would it look like? How far away do you think you are from this perfect day? What can you do to make this perfect day reality? Find it out here! Do the exercice and start living your perfect day, day after day.
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