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Editorial Reviews

“The Power of Slow is a life-changing book. Far from stating the obvious, Christine Hohlbaum provides new insights and persuasive arguments for reshaping our time and changing our lives for the better. A must read in our over-scheduled world!”–Wendy Walker, author of Social Lives, Four Wives, and Chicken Soup for the Soul – Power Moms

“In the fast-paced world of Blackberrys, Iphones, and Twitter, it’s hard to find one’s footing. In an easy-to-read style, Ms. Hohlbaum has described a process of slowing down that is so very important to our wholeness, balance, and well being. She does so in a poetic and sometimes humorous way. She has captured a heavy topic with a light touch and yet we learn many lessons.  I highly recommend this book to help anyone who wants to stay healthy, sane, and enjoy life more fully.”–Bonnie Michaels, work-life balance expert and author of Solving the Work/Family Puzzle and A Journey of Work-Life Renewal

Product Description

Getting to the heart of our hassled and over-scheduled existence, Christine Louise Hohlbaum cheerfully investigates 101 ways to increase our quality of life and productivity by reevalu ating how we perceive and use time. She claims that everyone has their own personal bank account of time. We cannot control time itself, but we can manage the activities within the time we do have. The Power of Slow gives readers practical, concise directions to change the relationship they have with time and debunks the myths of multitasking, speed, and urgency as the only ways to efficiency.

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Let’s be honest here… in 2009, we’ve got all sorts of technology and tricks to help us “save time,” yet we’re busier than ever. At some point, you’ve likely wished for a way to passively burn calories, have you not? Well, I’m here to point out the potential for fun, fit, healthy living in all of your “routine” activities. Adapt your lifestyle, and you’ll be on your way to looking trim and slim… without that mind-numbing gym workout.

1. Do the unthinkable: shovel something.

Yes, you. Put down that snowblower, or the phone that you were about to call the kid down the street from. Dust off that shovel… you’ve got bending, lifting, scooping and heaving to do! Okay, so I’m writing this in March and chances are it’s done snowing in your area. Well, I’ve got great news for you: there’s still garden soil and landscaping beds that need your attention.

You may think “Oh, but my back…” but the truth is, barring a warning from the family physician, you’re probably not as incapacitated as you think you are. The more often you do it, the stronger your back, arm and leg muscles will become (can I include glutes in this lineup?) and the less stress on your bones anyway. So stop yer bellyaching and get to shoveling!

2. Help someone move.

Ugh… more lifting, you say? These days, it seems like someone is always packing up and heading here or there… why not make yourself available, and offer to play Moving Man or Moving Lady for a day? Yes, even the most waif-like individuals can serve as valuable helpers during a family move. There are always tons of boxes and furniture of varying sizes and weights… there are often stairs to run up and down as you lug this or that object. There are refrigerators to scrub and coats that need transporting… carpets to vaccuum and sheds to empty out… all of this offers quite the entire-body workout.

For the bigger guys, yes, even you may be feeling intimidated by that 300-pound dresser. Let me introduce you to the Back Buddy… an ingenious system that redistributes the weight of whatever you’re lifting, so you and a pal can move proverbial mountains without so much as a peep from your vertebrae.

3. Put down the burrito and head for the stairs.

How is quitting the elevator going to make a difference, you wonder? Well… if you keep up with your current volume and frequency of food consumption, it’s probably going to slim those legs a bit but leave you thick in the middle. So how about having half the burrito (maybe even a third?), taking the stairs during work breaks, and maybe even venturing to a different floor of your office when you need to use the restroom?

Using the stairs, as well as easing up on the amount of lunch you consume, can kick-start your heart to becoming stronger and healthier. You’ll be less sluggish and less likely to pass out at your desk at 3 p.m…. more alert for those impromptu group brainstorms your boss is always dragging you to. Why pay the monthly membership fee to use the stairmaster 3 times a week, when you already have access to a free stairmaster that will get you where you need to go?

4. Master the art of meal balancing.

We all have our eating weaknesses; guys tend to skip the veggies and instead pile on tons of meat, topped with cheese, glorious cheese! Women, we’ve all seen you lose your minds over chocolate in ANY form. I say, hey… indulge every once in a while, treat yourself to something sinfully delicious. But DO practice the art of eating in moderation. Europeans walk everywhere, eat what they want but in small portions, have a little wine and cake with dinner, and generally look and feel much better than us slovenly Americans. (Sure, plenty of Americans eat right, but let’s face it… we’re topping the obesity charts around the globe. So I’m thinking we could stand to learn a few tricks from our leaner friends in Europe and Asia.)

The art of balancing your meals has a lot to do with texture and color. If you’re hungering for a burger, skip the bun and instead pair it with whole grain rice and a colorful salad. Think dark green lettuce, orange carrots, purple cabbage, red tomatoes… the more of a kaleidoscope appearing on your plate, the healthier your choice and the better for your metabolism and your health.

5. Give up “recreational” sugar.

While you’re doing all this bending, lifting, walking and stair climbing without the help of any nautilus machines… remember that refined sugar is not your friend. Sugar adds empty calories, slows down your metabolism, makes your pancreas work extra hard and eventually can lead to diabetes. And refined sugar is also highly addictive!

When I say “give up sugar” you probably think of ice cream and Ring Dings. But did you know that “empty sugar calories” hide in unexpected places like that can of pork and beans… a bottle of ketchup… your salad dressing (yes, even and especially the lowfat one!)… steak sauce… a premade box of frozen creamed spinach… your morning cereal? You can undo the damage that may have already been done by replacing pre-made foods with natural choices that you prepare at home. For example: whip up a tasty vinagrette for your salad using olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh thyme and a clove of garlic (tip: all of this is actually GREAT for you!). There are so many ways to get your tastebuds singing without table sugar. Try it and see how much better you look and feel!

Additional ideas… make a list of hobbies and activities you can take up that will keep you moving… reaching… stretching… running… dancing… bending. Become a Boy Scout Dad. Take up hiking or kayaking. Refurbish old furniture. Whatever you end up doing, pay attention to what’s happening to your body as you engage in these activities. Are you finding the need to bend at the waist more? Is your wrist and arm growing stronger from all the bread kneading you’ve been doing?

It turns out that simply living, doing things that need to be done, as well as make us happy, is what really keeps us fit and feeling great!

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In today’s fast-paced world we often find ourselves waking up earlier, working longer hours, and rushing to catch up.

STOP! We can not allow our hectic schedules to overrun our basic needs of health, happiness, and well being. We need to make time to take care of the essentials. The single most important good habit to maintain, no matter how busy we get, is a good diet.

Think of your body as a machine. Your body is a machine, and your stomach is the fuel tank. For optimal results use the premium fuel.

Your diet impacts your mood, energy level, and overall effectiveness on the job.

When you are running at full bore, you know it. You are humming. Energy abounds, your spirits are high, and things are getting done! Conversely, we all know the feeling of “hitting the wall” around 2:00, or 3:00 PM. We crash and just zone out for an hour or two in a food induced stupor, staring blankly at our humming computer screen. I used to hit that metaphorical wall daily, and I didn’t know why. It all comes down to our diet! Our diet can make us or it can break us.

Try to implement the foods I’m listing below into your workday diet for one week. By Friday, you will be feeling so good that you will not need any more convincing.

Citrus: Orange, Grapefruit.

Try to have at least one orange and one grapefruit daily.

Citrus is an important source of Vitamin C. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient not produced in the human body, rather it must be ingested. Have a pink or red grapefruit with breakfast, and an orange with lunch, and your body will be brimming with Vitamin C all day.

• Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that helps our immune system function properly.
• Vitamin C helps produce collagen which strengthens your bones, muscles.
• Vitamin C may reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, and cancer.

Note: Grapefruit, when cut properly, is not sour, but rather it is sweet, and delicious.

Honey: Unprocessed, Local

Use raw, unprocessed honey, whenever possible, to replace sugar or artificial sweeteners.

There are as many reasons to use honey, as there are to NOT use sugar or artificial sweeteners. Honey is good for your immune system, has anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial properties, and may help control seasonal allergies.

Processed sugar, on the other hand, can elevate blood sugar to unhealthy levels, cause moods swings, and contribute to depression. There is a large volume of research that suggests a strong link between artificial sweeteners and cancer. It makes good sense that you should go, whenever possible, with the natural, unprocessed alternative – like honey.

There are many different floral varieties – and flavor profiles – of natural honey. The healthiest and tastiest (in my opinion) is wildflower honey – produced locally to you. Its pollens are from numerous flowering plants that grow in your area. When ingested regularly, your body will build a natural resistance to the very pollens that aggravate your allergies in the spring and summer.

Tips:

• Use honey in your morning coffee or tea to replace sugar or sweeteners. Do not begin your day by ingesting processed sugars, or artificial sweeteners. Your body will suck them up like a vacuum, as it is starved for nutrients after eight hours of sleep. Let it instead absorb healthy and nutritious honey.

• Use honey to sweeten your oatmeal or cereal – same logic as above.
• If you do not like the taste of honey, then try to use raw, unprocessed sugar whenever possible.

Tea: White, Green, Black

Try to have one or two cups of tea every day.

There are many varieties of tea, and they are all good for you. Tea has long been recognized for its health benefits by countries like China, Japan, and England.

Tea has a variety of ingredients that help promote health, and is recognized as a powerful cancer fighter. Tea naturally contains less caffeine than coffee, and is much easier on the system.

If you drink excessive amounts of coffee (as I once did) each day to keep you going, then please consider replacing most – if not all – of it with tea. It does not take very long to make the transition, and you will very quickly be happy you did.

Yogurt: Active, Good Bacteria.

Yogurt is a quick and easy snack. Have at least one serving every day.

Yogurt is a great source of calcium and Vitamin D. It helps strengthen bones, and can prevent osteoporosis.

Look for yogurt with several “active cultures”. These cultures are very good for your digestive tract. Don’t be fooled by clever marketing, or branding. Look at the ingredients. Good yogurt should have as many as five to seven active cultures – the more the better.

Tip: Use yogurt when making fruit smoothies. It will make them smooth, and tasty, and healthy.

Beans, beans, they’re good for your heart…

We all know the schoolyard song, and I’ll spare you the rest of it. It is true, though. Beans are great for your heart. The high fiber content of these legumes serves as a broom that sweeps harmful cholesterol from your system before it gets absorbed into the bloodstream.

Beans – especially black beans – are nature’s best source of plant protein. They are naturally cholesterol and saturated-fat free, and they contain many important nutrients that promote health.

Tip:

Brown rice and beans are great for lunch. Make a large quantity of rice and beans at home, and package it up to be reheated at work. Add seasoning to taste, and eat with a little hot sauce. The protein will give you energy to last you through the afternoon, and you’ll avoid the afternoon drowsiness that results from eating a big, unhealthy lunch.

…so eat your beans with every meal!

Ahhh, Nuts!

Nuts, while very high in calories, are an excellent source of plant protein, and other important nutrients. Nuts are seeds, and therefore they contain all the ingredients necessary to begin a life. It makes logical sense, then, that they are powerful additions to a healthy diet.

Nuts contain:

• High concentrations of plant proteins
• Antioxidants and phytonutrients such as Selenium and Vitamin E.
• Plant sterols and good fat (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats containing Omega-3)
• Fiber

Nuts are good for you, but remember to eat them in moderation. Overeating nuts will lead to weight gain, and would be counterproductive to your health. Go with a wide variety of dry-roasted nuts for optimal health benefits.

Turkey Lurkey

Turkey is an excellent source of animal protein. Make a turkey sandwich for lunch, and you’ll get plenty of good protein without a lot of unwanted, saturated fat. Your energy level will remain stable, and you will be sufficiently full throughout the afternoon.

Tips:

• Use white, skinless turkey for optimal nutrition.
• Go with mustard on the sandwich instead of mayonnaise.
• Add some Romaine lettuce and a slice of tomato to your turkey sandwich.
• Select whole-grain bread that is high in soluble fiber (5-7 grams per serving). Do not be fooled by clever labels. Many whole grain breads are actually quite low in usable dietary fiber. Read the label!

These are only a few examples of healthy food choices. I highlighted them because of their high nutritional value, as well as their convenience, and ease of use. Remember to fill your tank with the good stuff: plenty of fruits and vegetables, healthy sources of protein, and vitamins and nutrients derived from whole foods.

Starting with these foods, you can replace bad eating habits with good ones, and get yourself on track to be healthier, happier, more energetic and productive. You will have the nutritional foundation to build your life upon, and the strength and health needed to be successful in today’s demanding world.

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Well, go ahead and take a big sigh of relief because I have some good news to share with you. Even though we’re going through a bit of a rough spot doesn’t mean you just have to throw up your hands and deal with it. Learn how to build your own wealth in a bad economy–and realize that it’s about more than what shows on your resume. Take matters into your own hands and take action now.

Start a side business

You’ve always dreamed of being your own boss. And while now may not be the time to quit your job and go 100% on your own, it may be the time to start a side business. It’ll allow you to pursue your dream and make a little extra money while you’re doing it. You’re probably thinking, start a new business when so many businesses are failing? Yes, you heard me right. Think about it for a moment. Even in a bad economy, there are opportunities to be had and you have to grab them. It comes down to the basic supply and demand rule, so think about how you may be able to benefit from a bad situation.

Maybe you’re a marketing manager. In this economy, one of the first cutbacks that a company makes tends to be their marketing department. Fortunately for you, these companies still have to market their products and services. They just can’t afford to employ the marketing people full-time, plus benefits, plus, plus, plus. So what about becoming a marketing consultant to these companies? It’s a win-win. They need marketing services and you have marketing services to offer. You may make enough money on the side to put it all into savings and investments. You may even find that it is lucrative enough to take it full-time.

Take a minute to think about your talents. Then take a minute to think about how you can profit from these talents.

Lower your spending

We all spend frivolously at some point in our lives. Do you really need a Starbucks every day? Or is it really necessary to spend $200 a month eating out at restaurants? The answer to both questions is no. One of the easiest ways to build your wealth is to stop spending it all! Keep tracking of your spending for one month. Then go line-by-line on your spending sheet and see where you can cut. You may find a couple hundred extra dollars, a few thousand dollars, or 20 extra dollars. Whatever the amount, start socking that money away instead of wasting it. And don’t mistake cutting back your spending for giving up living, either. There are plenty of free and low cost ways to entertain yourself and fill your coffee fix (or whatever fix you have).

Don’t make your exit from the stock market… stay calm

If you have money invested in the stock market, the odds are good that you’ve seen it decrease in the past year or so. This is not the time to panic, sell off all your investments, and start stashing money under your mattress. Panic sell-offs are just making a bad situation worse. The market is cyclical and goes up and down. Your wealth will go back up when the market goes back up–and eventually it WILL go back up. This is not to say that you should just sit back and watch your money disappear either. Evaluate your investments once a year and make necessary changes to watch your money grow. Now may be the perfect time to invest in a company that was too expensive before. It’s kind of like the stock market is having a sale. You can get into investments at bargain basement prices.

Even when times are rough, you can take action and turn the bad times into good ones for you. It’s not always about running off and getting a new job to increase your income and increase your wealth. Sometimes it’s about creatively thinking of ways that you can take advantage of the bad economy and turn it into a positive for you.

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We are told to strive for unattainable lifestyles and to model ourselves after unrealistic, airbrushed models.

Sometimes you need to step back from this virtual reality and ponder what life is really about. Will that Mercedes or those anti-anxiety medications really make you happier, or are they only temporary solutions to deeper issues? Examine these five myths about how you should be living your life and start living the way you want to live.

Myth 1: Material Things Prove Your Worth

Someone once said, “One reason it’s so hard to save money is that our neighbors are always buying something we can’t afford.” Keeping up with the Joneses is certainly no way to live, and the desire to do so stems from a belief that material things prove your worth. Extravagant clothing, houses, and cars oftentimes serve as status symbols in today’s society, but when it comes down to it, what you have in your heart and mind is worth much more than what you’ve got in your wallet. Furthermore, comparing yourself financially to your friends and family will only cause envy and strife. Remember that while luxuries may be enjoyable, they don’t make you who you are.

Myth 2: You Should Always Take an Expert’s Opinion at Face Value

How many times have you taken your car in for a simple oil change, only to be told you need hundreds of dollars worth of repairs in other areas? Have you taken the mechanic’s word for it and shelled out the cash or gone in for a second opinion elsewhere? We tend to rely on experts for advice, whether they are doctors, lawyers, financial consultants, or repairmen, but you can’t forget that even though they are experts, they still don’t know everything. You always retain the power to do your own research or seek out another form of advice. You may find that separate individuals offer different yet complementary opinions that allow you to shape a more informed decision on the issue you are having.

Myth 3: When in Doubt, Medicate

It’s hard to make it through a 2-minute commercial break without seeing an advertisement for some sort of prescription drug. The prescription drug industry has exploded in the past decade, and Zoloft, Prozac, and Ritalin are now part of most Americans’ vocabulary. While there is something to be said for the positive benefits medications have to offer, they are certainly not quick fix on the road to happiness. Before asking your doctor about the latest mood-altering drug you saw on television or in a magazine, consider seeking therapy and using self-improvement strategies to alter your moods instead. Even if prescription drugs are a feasible option for your treatment plan, it’s important to remember that they are not a cure-all. Healing takes time and a repertoire of varying strategies in order to truly come about.

Myth 4: It’s Hip to Be Forever Young

The world today is filled with Peter Pans – adults who don’t want to grow up. Whether they are lacking in emotional maturity or in wrinkles, growing old has become a faux pas for a lot of people. Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s great to feel young at heart and to be physically fit, but it’s possible to do so and still age gracefully. Aging with class involves learning from your past. What’s the point of a life long-lived if you want to act like a child and look like one, too? Gray hair, laugh lines, and a cultivated point of view are things to be embraced, not shunned.

Myth 5: You Can Do It All

Society tends to tell us that multitasking and the ability to juggle lots of things at once is a good thing, but when you have too many things in the air, something is bound to get dropped. Ambition is a good thing, but you have to know when enough is enough. Yes, it’s possible to be a wife, a mother, a businesswoman, and the best baker at the church bazaar, but it’s also okay to say no when your best friend asks you to help her plan a charity gala. When you take on more than you can handle, the quality of your projects often suffers. Don’t feel pressured to be a yes-man. Even the best of us can’t do it all.

There are so many self-improvement blogs, magazines, and websites out there these days, everyone has an opinion on the way you should be living your life. It’s important not to focus on the myths flooding the media but to analyze your situations carefully and live the way that is right for you.

NEWSFLASH: I’ve added another chapter to my life by joining C.A.S.T. Recovery, a Los Angeles based national outpatient drug rehab program which specializes in designing highly individualized recovery plans with appropriate professionals to support a client’s health, accountability, and success.

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Suppose someone hands you a five-pound box of paper and tells you that it’s part of a project that’s due next week!

Or what about if you’re creating a business model for your own company – that’s a pretty voluminous project.

Here are some must-have tips for streamlining the work so that things get done right and move forward according to schedule.

Create a plan

A house builder doesn’t just show up at the site and start building. He works closely with an architect, creating blueprints–a plan on how the structure will be created and built. The same holds true for any type of project you’re working on. You need to have a big picture view of the project and then sit down and plan out how you’re going to get from start to finish.

While planning may seem like an extra step when you can just get right to it, it can actually save you a lot of time and mistakes in the long run, making it faster to get from start to finish than if you just wing it as you go along.

Form a team

Teamwork is an ideal way to streamline a project — in fact, many small business owners form teams of freelance professionals to churn out work faster, please clients with their expertise, and pull in more profit in less time.

Each team member should bring something unique to the table, so assign tasks that utilize these talents. Not only will you get the task completed quicker, but you’ll get it done effectively because you’ll have the best people working on what they do best. If you’ve ever attempted to “do it all alone,” you know how disconcerting that can be, not to mention what a time and energy drainer. When you form a team, even if you’re paying money to those people, you’re giving yourself back the gift of time and energy to focus on other important things.

Create a timeline

While a plan lists out the tasks required to get the project done, a timeline adds deadlines to the tasks. Creating a timeline lets everyone know when each task has to be completed, and also gives a sense of cooperation – because you’re depending on another person’s expedience before you can move forward with your portion of the work. Timelines also helps to eliminate procrastination. If everyone involved strives to meet the deadlines, the project begins to take on momentum and a sense of accomplishment – while fuels expedience even more!

Create procedures

Now that you know where you’re going with the project (plan) and when you need to get there, you’ve got to figure out how this will be pulled off. Will you automate certain parts of this by utilizing the appropriate computer programs? Will you outsource to other people who can offer part-time help for less than you would have paid a full-timer? What about communication – is it worth mapping out explicit instructions for people to follow, so that each person takes the shortest distance to success?

Each time you tap into another productive solution, document it and turn it into instructions that other members of the team can use to help move things along. By creating procedures, you’re creating the directions, the road map if you will, on how to get from one task to the next, finally bringing the project to completion. Also – if someone else brings a new idea to the table on how to get something done even faster or more efficiently – hear them out. Procedures should be adhered to, but also offer some flexibility. After all, you want to do what truly works, not what you think will work! This is how great companies continue to innovate new solutions every day!

Keep track of the progress

It’s not enough to just create a plan and run with it. It also streamlines the process if you keep track of how the project’s progressing. As a task is completed, check it off or highlight it before moving on to the next task. If the group reaches a milestone, pump in some fresh energy with a little celebrating and some kudos all around – this keeps spirits fresh and motivation levels high.

If a deadline is looming, make sure that everyone working on the project is reminded of what has to be completed and when — this way, there can be no excuses or oversights. If deadlines are being missed, try to figure out why so that the problem can be corrected and avoided as you move along. Don’t forget to document your solution as part of the procedure or “order of operations.”

Have a back-up plan

Even the perfect plans run into snags, so make sure you have a back-up plan in place. During the planning process, try to anticipate problems or issues that may come up during the project and prepare for how you’ll deal with these snags.

In order to streamline a project, you’ve got to take control. Plan before you jump in with both feet. Form a team and assign tasks to various people to get the job done faster and more effectively. Set deadlines and stick to them. Figure out how you’re going to carry the plan out. In case something goes wrong, make sure you have a back-up plan in place. If you do these six things, you’ll be well on your way to seeing your project finished a lot faster than if you muddle through it as you go.

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While this is not true of all work environments, there are some people in your professional crowd that you definitely want to avoid. Learn the traits of these professional piranhas, and stay out of their treacherous pond at work, so you don’t get eaten alive and watch your career go down in flames.

Idea Thief

The idea thief is the one who takes your great ideas and somehow turns them into his or her own great ideas. He recognizes a good idea when he swipes one, and runs straight to the powers that be to sell them on his grand plan before the creator gets a whiff of what just happened.

How to Deal With Him:

Whatever you do, don’t sell yourself short! Never give away your great ideas for free. Make sure you share them with the appropriate person and not someone who has the opportunity to use your own information against you. Once you identify who the credibility crook is, steer clear!

If you’re forced into a situation where you must work directly with an idea thief, be protective and proactive. Share your work with your boss before the idea thief gets his dirty little paws on it. If you’re brainstorming on email, be sure to CC your boss on all original work created by you. This way, the idea thief will get the hint, and go sponge off someone else’s smarts!

Slacker Steve

These are the workers that sit on a committee or a team, but don’t contribute anything to the project or job task. A group project is the ideal situation for this person, because the rest of the team that has to pick up the slack of Slacker Steve if they want to get the job done. And the worse part is that the slacker gets just as much credit for completing the job task as all of the people who actually worked!

How to Deal with Him:

Nobody likes to be the office tattletale, but if you get stuck bearing the burden of a tough project with only Slacker Steve to offer assistance, take the matter to someone higher up on the food chain. Explain that you feel more comfortable working independently, or perhaps you’d be better paired with someone else in the group who matches your level of industriousness. If that doesn’t work, come right and say that you don’t feel like Steve is pulling his weight. In general, slackers make things draining and frustrating for the rest of us, so stay clear of working with with these toads if you can!

The Control Freak

Next, you have those in the crowd who have to control everything. From what time the meeting is scheduled to assigning tasks to nitpicking the grammar and then changing it back again, the control freak has to have their hands on all aspects of the task at hand. Even when they assign the tasks to a group, the work is never as good as if they had done it themselves, so they end up doing your work for you, or redoing work you’ve already done.

How to Deal With Him:

You have one of two choices when stuck working with the Control Freak. One, you can take a passive role in the project and simply let him micro-manage you. However, this tends to come back and bite you, because if the Control Freak gets out of control, you’ll likely be the one blamed for whatever he messed up. Another option is to somehow finagle a situation where the control freak becomes so engrossed in whatever he’s doing that he can’t possibly have time to pick on your work.

Or, there is always option three, which is to direct his attention to a lesser individual in the group – someone with less experience, who is more likely to actually NEED his constant instructions. In general though, being in the driver’s seat is the control freak’s power feeder, so don’t add fuel to the fire.

Debbie Downer

The power of positive thinking works. If you surround yourself with positive people and have a positive attitude of your own, you’ll go a lot farther than if you hang with a crowd of Negative Nellies. Unfortunately there is always the Debbie or Nellie of the crowd… the one who, if there’s an open parking spot close to the building, will complain that now everyone can watch her as she eats lunch in her car. You all got bonuses, but according to Debbie Downer, it’s not enough… you know the type I refer to! If you get wrapped up in her negativity, she’s going to drag you down.

How to Deal With Her:

If you find yourself stuck under the same raincloud, bring an umbrella! Or, I should say a pair of earphones. Listening to music while working is a great way to drone out the Debbie Downers of the world. Also, make it known (in a polite way of course) that you do not share her pessimistic attitude.

Keep your mind focused on the good things. Use that energy to motivate the rest of the team. Or, at the very least… if Debbie Downer criticizes a certain aspect of work that’s fixable… why not take her advice and work toward improvement! Keep it up, and who knows… you might even get a pay raise for your effort.

Bootlicker Bob

Bootlicker Bob only cares about himself and his success, so he’ll do anything to get ahead. Also known as brownnosers, bootlickers focus all of their energy on making themselves look good and their colleagues look bad. They’re usually the ones trailing the boss, answering to his or her every whim.

How to Deal With Him:

Bootlicker Bob is probably the least harmful out of all the workplace weasles you may encounter. He’s annoying more than anything else – so find ways to avoid him and/or drown him out. If you see that Bootlicker Bob’s sucking up has outed you from a few opportunities to be noticed for your good work, then be the squeaky wheel and make some (positive) noise of your own. If he’s a snitch, keep your nose clean and document everything you do. It’s a good practice to get into anyway, regardless of whether there’s a brownnoser sniffing about.

Backstabber Betty

Similar to bootlickers, backstabbers will do anything it takes to get ahead. They’ll throw you and other colleagues under the bus in a heartbeat, if it means getting that promotion, earning the boss’s praise, or snagging that pay raise.

How to Deal with Her:

Avoid backstabbers like the plague and you’ll avoid becoming one of their casualties in the workplace. Also, play your cards close to the vest, just as you would with the Idea Thief. Keep communication reserved for you and your boss, and try to pair up on projects with someone else, who won’t try to take your credit or steal your thunder. Again, ask if you can go it solo for certain tasks – it will certainly allow you to prove your own competence without old Betty knifing you when you’re not looking, just so she can claw her way to the top!

At work, you have to deal with a lot of different types of people. While there are many good folks that you probably enjoy working with, others can be toxic to you and your career. Stay clear of these six types and you’re sure to soar ahead without any workplace drama.

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One-liners are often meaningful and memorable, but what about the context they were taken from? While it’s great to be remembered for snippets of brilliant conversation, it’s better to be memorable for being a great conversationalist as a whole.

If you’d like to heighten the value of your conversations, here are some tips to consider.

Think Before You Speak

People often have a tendency to blurt out whatever pops into their minds before thinking about the impact it may have on their conversational audience. While flashes of genius may occur occasionally, it’s more likely that a well-thought-out comment will have a greater impact.

Furthermore, when you allow yourself to air your thoughts without consideration to who you’re speaking to or how it may affect them, you can end up saying things you may regret later on, whether it be hurtful comments or simply viewpoints you are not prepared to defend. Instead, take the time during your conversations to carefully consider your remarks. You will find that not only do you become more a memorable speaker, but you won’t have to spend time backpedaling later on comments you didn’t mean.

Know Your Audience

What do you think would be more memorable to a stay-at-home parent – a talk about healthy cooking and recipes for families on a budget or a discussion on the facts and fiction of high-fructose corn syrup? While both topics may contain beneficial knowledge, the former is more likely to keep a parent’s attention and interest because it relates more directly to things a parent may be experiencing.

The point is, to be memorable, you must know who you’re talking to and what will stay with them after the conversation is finished. Whether you are giving an informal lecture to a group of college students or meeting for coffee with your neighbor, being memorable in conversation is all about relating to your audience and talking about things that are of importance to them.

Listen

Contrary to what you may think, memorable conversations do not have to be one-sided. If your conversations become more like soliloquies, the person or people you are speaking to are more likely to tune you out. Great discussions require an even (or close to it) share of the speaking time. That means you need to listen as much as you talk.

When you feel strongly about a subject, it may be hard to take the time to hear what another person is saying, but doing so will allow you to analyze their point of view and respond accordingly, rather than having a one-track mind. If your partner in conversation feels like you acknowledge and understand his perspective, he is also more likely to attribute value to your statements.

Be Sincere

Last but most certainly not least, you absolutely have to be sincere about your topics of conversation in order to be memorable. People are perceptive, and they will know if you are faking it. Conversely, however, they will also know if you are truly passionate and genuine in what you are saying. Everyone appreciates earnest conversation, and they will be more likely to let what you are saying sink in and affect them if they believe you mean it.

Becoming a memorable conversationalist is not difficult, but it does take thought and consideration. Always think about the impact of your statements before they come out of your mouth, and try to know what matters to your listeners so that you can converse about topics that relate to their interests.

Furthermore, be a listener yourself. Don’t allow your knowledge on a subject or fervent feelings about it to overshadow the thoughts and opinions of others. And lastly, always be sincere when you speak. Try these tips and you never know – you just may find your words of wisdom next to those of Eleanor Roosevelt or Albert Einstein on Bartleby.com!

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Maybe it’s not your biological clock that’s keeping the Sandman away. It could be that elements of your life that are in disarray. Check out these six tips for sleeping better if you’re one of the millions of Americans that tosses and turns at bedtime each night.

Know Where You’re Going

The future is always uncertain, but setting goals makes the unknown a bit more tangible. When you have goals to progressively work toward achieving, you then have a map directing you to where you want to be. Although unexpected challenges and bumps in the road are certain to arise, you will sleep better at night knowing that you have a plan.

Bend a Little

Since life is unpredictable, being able to react with flexibility and open-mindedness when a curveball is thrown your way is essential to living — and sleeping — well. Having a plan is necessary, but you can’t react with shock and awe when things don’t go as you expected. Build room into your goals for unforeseen challenges and your worries will no longer be able to keep you up at night.

Make Sound Decisions

You’ve heard of buyer’s remorse – the guilt a consumer feels when he purchases something he later regrets. The truth is, any kind of remorse, buyer’s or otherwise, can affect your sleep patterns. When you feel guilty about a decision you made during waking hours, that decision will certainly haunt you when you lay your head down to sleep. That is why it is important to make sound decisions based on solid logic and reasoning. Impulsive actions are often the ones that cause the most grief, so you should avoid making large leaps on the spur of the moment. Though it is impossible to predict the results of every action, if you take care to think things through before acting, you can feel secure in knowing you did everything possible to ensure a positive outcome.

Don’t Fret About Finances

Money is one of the most stressed-over subjects among career-minded adults, but, as Cyndi Lauper sang, “money isn’t everything.” Being smart about how you manage your money, including knowing when to say enough is enough, is a great way to schedule some surefire z’s. Whether you have the luxury of working only part-time, or whether you must work a 50-hour week to pay the bills, you have to be at peace with what’s in your wallet at the end of the day. Maybe you can’t put a down payment on the house of your dreams just yet, but with diligence and some spending smarts, you might achieve that goal in a year’s time. Meanwhile, don’t let your bank account balance dictate the amount of rest you get.

Cut Out the Drama

There’s a reason Hollywood drama queens need professional makeup artists – to cover up the dark circles under their eyes that result from getting no sleep! High-drama celebrities might be able to last on four hours of sleep per night, but if drama in your life is allowing you only twenty instead of forty winks, it may be time to ask what all the fuss is about. There’s no denying that drama can be exciting, but it is also mentally draining. Seek out the source of your dramatic vibes and seriously consider whether it’s worth keeping in your life.

Put Off Today What Can Wait Until Tomorrow

Fact: There are only 24 hours in a day. If you attempt to spend 20 of those hours being productive or even worrying about how you weren’t productive enough, it’s sure to cause turmoil in your sleep life. When you feel overwhelmed with the amount of things you have to accomplish in a short period of time, that’s when you must prioritize. What must be done immediately, and what can wait? When you decide what can be put off, commit to that decision! Losing sleep over what you haven’t yet accomplished is just as bad as trying to cram too many things into too little time.

Though physical stressors are often the culprits when it comes to lack of sleep, emotional and mental dilemmas can play a huge factor in your sleep life as well. Next time your lavender-vanilla aromatherapy spray isn’t helping you drift off to dreamland, consider evaluating your life using the above factors and attempt to get a better rest the next night.

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The 21st-century world can be a dangerous place. The wide reach of the Internet and other technological developments makes people more interconnected than ever before. Though this interconnectedness can oftentimes be a positive thing, it opens the doors for identity thieves, child predators, and scam artists to take advantage of unsuspecting victims.

Furthermore, when news headlines are filled with stories of morally bankrupt business leaders and dishonest politicians, it makes the path to righteousness seem like an uphill battle. However, you can start the climb and hopefully have an effect on others by buckling down and beginning to live right.

Know Your Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments brought down by Moses from Mount Sinai are often referenced when people cite their personal rules for living. Whether or not you use the Bible as your ethical measuring tape, it is important to have your own code of ethics to live by.

Survey your life and the world around you. What do you believe is right or wrong? Subjects such as abortion and the death penalty are hotly contested moral issues in the public eye, but when it comes to how you live on a daily basis, attempt to formulate guidelines that you feel comfortable with and then put them into action.

Find Your Purpose

If you work full-time, you likely spend over 2,000 hours at your place of employment in one year. Sure, some of those hours are spent eating lunch and chatting with colleagues around the water cooler, but the bulk of your time spent at work is used to contribute to your company’s purpose. When you spend such a huge amount of time on something, isn’t it only natural that you should feel useful in your position?

If you don’t feel fulfilled and like you have a purpose at work, it could be time to seek out a change that will allow you to feel more satisfied. Think of your personal code of ethics and what you value. Do you see these values coming into play in your work week? Having a job that helps you feel constructive and effective in the broader sense of things will certainly help you on your way to living right.

Do Unto Others…

Everyone knows the Golden Rule, “do unto others as you would have others do unto you,” but not everyone lives by it. It’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind and let stress rule your attitude and the way you treat others, but living right requires a determination to override negative feelings and focus on treating others with respect.

So, the next time your server at a restaurant brings you a hamburger cooked medium-well instead of the rare you asked for, or a newly licensed teenager rear-ends you at a traffic light, think back to a time when you got yourself into a situation that required a little grace and channel that energy.

Give Back

Anyone who has spent time volunteering can tell you that to give is better than to receive. No matter what stage of life you are in – rich or poor, young or old – opportunities abound in your community to help those in need. Volunteering can be a one-day, one-year, or even one-hour commitment, but its impact is sure to last much longer.

If you have plenty to give but don’t know where to allocate your resources, try searching the VolunteerMatch website. VolunteerMatch allows you to search by location and also by keyword. You can even search for virtual volunteering opportunities! Whether you choose to donate blood, tutor a child, or build a home, giving back to your community is a surefire way to start living right.

Buckling down and living right is not a fast process, but it certainly is a life-changing one. Don’t underestimate the power of your own resolve and the changes you can make in the world. Begin by analyzing your personal code of ethics and finding a purpose in your work, but continue the process by treating others how you would like to be treated and giving back to your community.

In the end, you will find your own life has been changed and the positive ripples that flow outward from your actions will in turn change the lives of others.

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