Use your time wisely; by slacking off

A recent survey found that the typical American worker wastes slightly more than two hours a day, not including lunch and scheduled breaks. The No. 1 time-wasting activity is surfing the Internet and sending personal e-mails, followed by socializing with co-workers, conducting personal business and just plain "spacing out." All of this loafing is supposedly costing employers $759 billion a year in lost productivity. But guess what, American workers, it turns out, are wasting less time than they did just a couple of years ago - 19% less. And the U.N.'s International Labor Organization recently issued a report that found that the U.S. leads the world in worker productivity - and by a wide margin.

So here is the paradox. "We are a nation of doers, hard workers, yet we are also a nation of ideas, big ideas." It has long been known that idea generation requires idleness, but idleness makes us uncomfortable. These two aspects of the American personality constantly rub against each other. This leads our minds to constantly shift from guilt (for using work time on personal matters) to resentment (for having to work so-damn-much) to boredom. This cycle causes us to misuse a lot of energy when in fact we can accept that there is a healthy balance between work, idleness (and whatever else you do on the job) that each of us can find for ourselves if we look for it.

Email: "Like bleeding to death from a thousand pinpricks"

http://www.slate.com/id/2165452/nav/tap1/

A great article about the role email plays in modern work and life. Is it true that email "eats away at people's time, a minute at a time... [like] bleeding to death from a thousand pinpricks?"

Or is the following description a little more accurate?

"Many people who are addicted to e-mail are more correctly described as addicted to work. Lots of e-mail makes you feel important. E-mail addicts (like me) fear the empty inbox and, strangely, the potential freedom that e-mail provides. A BlackBerry can make you feel accountable at night, but it also lets you say, play golf, while still monitoring any situation that might come up. When business is conducted through e-mail, it shifts the responsibility of actually working off of the physical setting of the office and back onto you. That lack of structure, or the need to provide your own structure, can be uncomfortable. Still, you often find confident people who are immune to e-mail addiction. They just don't understand what the fuss is about. They check e-mail when they need to; they turn it off when they've got stuff to do. It's a tool that serves them. "

Set yourself some boundaries and follow them. Soon email will serve you as it serves many others.

Generation X & Y - What the Future Holds...

I recently attended a conference focused on the unique generational shift that is currently going on. The Baby Boomers (born 1944-1962) are getting old while Generation X'rs (born 1963-1981) are taking their roles as adults, and Generation Y's (born after 1981) are entering the workforce. What does this all mean??? Society is going to change quite a bit.

Interestingly generation X is one of the smallest generations since The Depression, but is sandwiched between two of histories largest generations, the Baby Boomers and Generation Y. This is why you've heard that organizations are very concerned about the aftermath of the Baby Boomer retirement. The fear is that there will be a shortage of quality employees to not only take the roles left empty by exiting Baby Boomers but also the question of who will manage the large group of younger generation Y employees.

This put's Generation X'rs in a very unique position as the intermediaries between two very different groups that have and will shape the world as we know it. How are these groups different? To help you with this imagine each of the following people as representatives to their respective generations (I didn't come up with these):

Baby Boomers - Bill Gates

Generation X - (None, that's why we are signified by the X)

Generation Y - Paris Hilton

Now, you may look at these representations and come to the simplified conclusion that I think those from the Y generation are idiots and that our society is going downhill, but you'd be wrong. Many people actually believe this point of view to be true and justify their concerns with evidence about how Y's are unwilling to work hard, can't focus, and are clueless when it comes to social interaction (e.g. showing respect for their elders). But this is only a shallow view of what this group brings to the table.

The Bad Background: Y's were raised by wealthy, protective, and overworked Baby Boomer parents taking excellent care of them (or at least hiring someone to do so). As a result they have a great feeling of entitlement and little discipline. They don't believe in sacrificing today for happiness tomorrow. They want to be happy today and tomorrow. To go along with this is a deeply ingrained feeling of equality. In there eye's people are people; things like age are not significant or justifications for special treatment (remember these are the kids having temper tantrums in the market, yelling at their parents because they tried to stop them from getting Power Ranger cereal). Again this all sounds negative, but look a bit deeper and you may see things a bit differently.

• When studying spiritual literature one is constantly reminded of the idea of focusing on the moment instead of dwelling on the past or anticipating the unknown of the future. Y's do this naturally.


• Feelings of entitlement combined with equality create a high standard for all to live up to. What I mean is, that someone who feels entitled has high expectations for themselves irrespective of the work they do or sacrifices they make. When this is combined with broadly supported feelings of equality with no thought of age, race, and gender then these high standards are expected for all.

Now, these characteristics don't appear to be as bad as they did before, do they?. When you add to this that Y's are resourceful, creative and fully integrated into the systems that Boomers still can't fully comprehend, and X's barely have a handle on, you find a group that is truly unique and definitely not inferior. That is except in one area: Focus.

It still waits to be seen whether Y's will have problems focusing on anything for long enough to really make any sizable impact. This is where the information overload, lack of discipline and constant connectivity may have hurt our newest generation. Will they be able to focus there energy, attention, etc. for long enough to meaningfully improve the world? I don't have the answer but I'll leave you with these quotes about managing Y's:

"Generation Y doesn't care about how much you know, until they know how much you care."

"Generation Y needs leaders not managers...Managers do things right; leaders do the right thing."

The Newly Rich Cash-Out of Love

"There is no question that a huge infusion of wealth to relatively young people has a disastrous effect on the marriage's stability," says Bern Clare, a Manhattan divorce lawyer.

In the world of hedge fund managers one can become an overnight multi-multi-millionaire. And with this new wealth come drama. High dollar value divorces are becoming more and more common among fund managers and with them, excessive demands. Just take a look at a few:

- "A case in which the dependant spouse insisted that she needed $800,000 a month in child support payments, even though she already had an income of $7 million a year. "The judge listened calmly and found she had plenty to maintain herself. Then he ordered $100,000" a month."

- "In one recent divorce, the entire settlement was hung up on the issue of whether the former wife would be given $500,000 or $750,000 a year to cover first-class air travel."

The reason why I decided to discuss this article is because I believe wealth interferes with many parts of our lives. Wouldn't you think that wealth would improve a marriage? Eliminating so many of the worries most of us have. But this is obviously not the case, and there are countless other areas where wealth damages our lives whether it be parenting, to our own internal happiness. As Dr. Richard Easterlin, one of the world's foremost economists explained: As a person’s income goes up, he or she doesn’t grow any happier in a lasting sense.

The point is wealth can be a vice without the proper foundation... A foundation where one understands that money is not a replacement for love, or a pre-requisite for happiness.

Are Kids Staying Kids for Too Long?

This article, by Camille Paglia of Salon.com, raises a number of interesting points, from politics to pop culture. One however, stuck out in my mind. Are young adults (ages 18-25) revelling in their youth too long? Paglia refers to the recent pop culture debacles of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan as examples of when parents hinder the development of their children but refraining from teaching responsibility.

"What links the Lohan and Hilton cases is the weird behavior of the parents -- either flaky and dysfunctional or overbearing and coddling. The Lohan and Hilton mothers seem to reject aging by trying to keep their daughters in developmental limbo. Paris in particular seems to have become a psychic prisoner, turned into a flash-frozen marzipan doll by her belligerently benevolent mom. Neither family is typical, of course, but are the Hiltons exposing an unhealthy symbiosis in recent American family life? Adulthood keeps getting postponed for white middle-class girls, who even after they arrive at college are obsessively linked by umbilical cellphones to their hovering parents, who want to shield their progeny from all of life's nicks and scrapes."

Although Paris and Lindsay's experiences are hardly American culture's common denominator, there is something to be said for teaching your kids to take responsibility for themselves at an early age, rather than allowing them to rely on you as a parent long as possible. Rather than "postponing" their adulthood, we should teach our children to embrace it, even if it means having our children endure a few of "life's nicks and scrapes" along the way.

If Paris and Lindsay are any indication, "developmental limbo" leads to nowhere - at least in their cases - other than rehab or jail.

Tips on Aspiring Creativity

http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/000932.html

I don't normally link to blogs, but this is good, real good. There is a detailed explanation of each of these tips if you go to the link.

So you want to be more creative, in art, in business, whatever. Here are some tips that have worked for me over the years:
1. Ignore everybody.
2. The idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to change the world.
3. Put the hours in.
4. If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being "discovered" by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.
5. You are responsible for your own experience.
6. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.
7. Keep your day job.
8. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.
9. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.
10. The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.
11. Don't try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.
12. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.
13. Never compare your inside with somebody else's outside.
14. Dying young is overrated.
15. The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not.
16. The world is changing.
17. Merit can be bought. Passion can't.
18. Avoid the Watercooler Gang.
19. Sing in your own voice.
20. The choice of media is irrelevant.
21. Selling out is harder than it looks.
22. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.
23. Worrying about "Commercial vs. Artistic" is a complete waste of time.
24. Don�t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.
25. You have to find your own schtick.
26. Write from the heart.
27. The best way to get approval is not to need it.
28. Power is never given. Power is taken.
29. Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.
30. The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.
31. Remain frugal.

Not so Helpful Self-Help

I was forwarded the quote below by a friend who knew I was interested in these kinds of inspirational, self-help statements. To the average reader this may seem insightful or even profound but I don't see it that way. After reading enough of these statements you come to realize that some of them are empty. They just incite you by stating a variety of issues but leave you hanging with no direction or even suggestion of how to move forward. I believe that most of us are aware that our society, and generally speaking, the world are flawed, so the question becomes "What do we do?" or "How can I better deal with these issues?" At the end of this forwarded message you'll see the following statement: "You can choose either to make a difference, or to just hit 'Skip Ahead'... " I don't see this as providing any substance. Without guidance, or insight it appears that passages like these leave us in a worse place than we started.

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less; we plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but lower morals; we have more food, but less appeasement; we build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill.
It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology has brought this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference, or to just hit "Skip Ahead"...

Quotes on Selfishness

What is being selfish? Some people say everyone is selfish with even the nice things they do for others having some self-benefit. But the predominant belief is that people can be truly righteous, which means that others truly aren't.

Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)

If you think taking care of yourself is selfish, change your mind. If you don't, you're simply ducking your responsibilities.
Ann Richards

The principle of liberty and equality, if coupled with mere selfishness, will make men only devils, each trying to be independent that he may fight only for his own interest. And here is the need of religion and its power, to bring in the principle of benevolence and love to men.
John Randolph (1773 - 1833)

Manifest plainness,Embrace simplicity,Reduce selfishness,Have few desires.
Lao-tzu (604 BC - 531 BC), The Way of Lao-tzu

Sorry Soldiers, No More My Space or You Tube. No Big Deal...Right?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/14/AR2007051400112.html

Imagine that you're a soldier somewhere in the middle of nowhere: Afghanistan, Korea, Iraq. You see some pretty horrible things, are far from those you love, and are often excruciatingly bored. You look forward to your time on the web to communicate with loved ones, see what's going on back home, and just take in a little light entertainment. Sites like YouTube and MySpace surely go a long way in making your stay in a life-threatening environment a bit more comfortable.

But now the Defense Department decided has begun blocking access to YouTube, MySpace, and 11 other Web sites on its computers due to the "enormous amounts of traffic on those sites that could swamp the military's dedicated Internet network and disclose sensitive materials." No big deal, right? Wrong.

ROWE: Results-Only Work Environment

"Work is no longer a place where you go, but something you do."

"The endeavor, called ROWE, for 'results-only work environment,' seeks to demolish decades-old business dogma that equates physical presence with productivity. The goal at Best Buy is to judge performance on output instead of hours. Hence workers pulling into the company's amenity-packed headquarters at 2 p.m. aren't considered late. Nor are those pulling out at 2 p.m. seen as leaving early. There are no schedules. No mandatory meetings. No impression-management hustles. Work is no longer a place where you go, but something you do. It's O.K. to take conference calls while you hunt, collaborate from your lakeside cabin, or log on after dinner so you can spend the afternoon with your kid. The official policy for this post-face-time, location-agnostic way of working is that people are free to work wherever they want, whenever they want, as long as they get their work done."

Created for corporate employees at Best Buy, those who worked in ROWEs were found to be more productive, and happier. To me this just makes sense and is long overdue. I really hope more corporations see the light!!!

Quote on RISK: Robert Anthony

Most people would rather be certain they're miserable than risk being happy.
-Robert Anthony

I think people forget or may never realize that uncertainty is not an inherently bad thing. If the current position of our lives is certain to suck, then opening it up for some uncertainty is not "risk free" but certainly in our favor.

"Praise Junkies"

http://users1.wsj.com/lmda/do/checkLogin?mg=evo-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB117702894815776259.html

Today's young workers called "praise junkies" were raised by parents and coaches who showered them with compliments to build their self-esteem. Now, bosses are finding that they have to keep up with the standard that was set for these now twenty something employees. Giving praise "for little more than showing up," is common. Without it these younger workers "wither under an unfamiliar compliment deficit."

The Many Health Benfeits of Sex

http://love.ivillage.com/lnssex/0,,askmen_bgswkm45-p,00.html

Here's the list. For more of an explanation on each read the article (it's short).

-reduce stress
-improve sleep well
-increase blood flow
-burns calories
-improves self image
-can cure headaches
-boosts your immune system
-repairs tissue
-improves cognition
-keeps skin healthy
-works as an antidepressant
-increases production of sex hormones testosterone and estrogen
-testosterone: helps fortify bones and muscles, and it keeps your heart in good working condition
-estrogen: protects against heart disease
-increases brain power
-increases heart rate
-can help fend off diseases and ailments
-improves self esteem

Survey Reveals Most Satisfying Jobs

According to the 2006 General Social Survey, based on interviews with randomly selected people who collectively represent a cross section of Americans “The most satisfying jobs are mostly professions, especially those involving caring for, teaching and protecting others and creative pursuits.”

Britain has worst drug problem in Europe: study

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070418/hl_afp/britaineudrugs;_ylt=Aiw_moadYtJtuEoFL1xDmkzq188F

"Britain has the worst level of drug abuse in Europe, and the second highest level of drug-related deaths, a report said Wednesday... Drugs are cited in the deaths of 34 people per million of Britain's adult population."

Raising Kids in a Consumerist World

http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/financeliteracy/29568

Copied form the article: "In an affluent society that seems more determined than ever to get more -- more wealth, more possessions, and more of the status that seems to come with those commodities -- values and virtues are more important than ever. Teaching your kids the ABCs of money management is crucial, but sharing your good money values can help make your hard work stick.


I probably don't need to convince you that values are important. Instead, my goal is to help you see how financial values can be taught, and that -- whether you're conscious of it or not -- you're passing your own values to your children through your words, behavior, and actions. "

Let It Go.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darryl_Hunt

http://www.esquire.com/features/the-endorsement/letitgo0407

I am rarely touched by an emotional story on the radio but a few months ago I heard the story of a many who had been wrongly incarcerated for 17 years for crimes he did not commit. Using new DNA tests he was found innocent of the crimes and released. Now I think that any of us would be bitter over this situation. I think I'd be OUTRAGED, but this man wasn't. He was happy and at peace. Simply enjoying his new-found freedom and working to build a better life for himself. Amazing if you ask me... and soon to be the feature of an HBO documentary.

http://www.darrylhuntproject.org/about.html

Music to Learn From...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-shZs2I4E4

I'm sure that many of you know about how great the Gnarls Barkley song "Crazy" is. But have you seen the video???? If you have you may not have realized that it uses the visual theme of the Rorschach Tests that were really big from the 40's until the 80's (and are still used today). If you don't remember these were the ink blot images that could be interpreted as anything. Psychologists would ask patients to tell them what these ambiguous images made them think of. If patients responded with aggressive or negative images the psychologist may have labeled them as "CRAZY."

If you haven't listed to the lyrics closely here they are. They are very insightful if you ask me...

I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind
There was something so pleasant about that phase.
Even your emotions had an echo
In so much space
And when you're out there
Without care,
Yeah, I was out of touch
But it wasn't because I didn't know enough
I just knew too much
Does that make me crazy
Does that make me crazy
Does that make me crazy
Probably
And I hope that you are having the time of your life
But think twice, that's my only advice
Come on now, who do you, who do you, who do you, who do you think you are,
Ha ha ha bless your soul
You really think you're in control
Well, I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy
Just like me
My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on a limb
And all I remember is thinking,
I want to be like them
Ever since I was little, ever since I was little it looked like fun
And it's no coincidence
I've come And I can die when I'm done
Maybe I'm crazy
Maybe you're crazy
Maybe we're crazy
Probably

Society, Answers, & Goals

It says: "I thought being thin was THE answer.

It wasn't and now I'm trapped."

The solution is to gradually become free of societal rewards and learn how to substitute for them rewards that are under one's own powers. This is not to say that we should abandon every goal endorsed by society; rather, it means that, in addition to or instead of the goals others use to bribe us with, we develop a set of our own.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, 1990

If you aren't already familiar with postsecret.blogspot.com you should check it out. It is a hugely successful site where people mail in post cards with their secrets. These post cards are then posted on this website for all to see. You will see that many people share your fears, regrets, etc.

Stress May Cause Cancer Development

http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20070411-14050700-bc-us-cancerstress.xml

It has long been thought that being "hopeful" and feeling other positive emotions helps people recover from illnesses like Cancer or at least live longer with the condition, but now researchers at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine are the first to report that emotional stress might contribute to the development of cancer and might also reduce the effectiveness of cancer treatments. It appears that the production of the stress hormone epinephrine is the cause.