Tuesday, December 31, 2019

15 things I believe Updated for late 2018

15 things I believe Updated for late 201815 things I believe Updated for late 2018I have taught an introduction to organizational behavior class for more than 30 years to both undergraduate and graduate students. I first taught it at The University of Michigan to undergraduates when I was a doctoral student. And Ive taught an ever-evolving version of the class almost every year since I landed at Stanford in 1983. For years, the last day, especially the final 20 minutes or so, felt awkward and forced as I struggled to look back on what the class had learned, provide some closure, and end on an upbeat note. About 15 years ago, I experimented with an ending ritual I passed out a list of 12 things that I believe, made a brief comment about each one, and thanked the class for their efforts and for putting up with my quirks and imperfections. The list contained many opinions that were related to the class. But they also drew on other work I hadnt mentioned in class and my general perspect ive on life.It worked and it still does. The students like it and it feels authentic. Ive fiddled with different versions of this list over the years - items come and go, it gets longer and shorter, but it still feels like a useful ritual for wrapping up the class. About ten years ago, I put it on my old Work Matters blog and people seemed to like it there too I have continued to tweak the list and update the links that explain my opinions in more detail. This deutsche post ag offers the latest Things I Believe list. I last updated in early 2018 and was inspired to update it by the start of the 2018-2019 academic year.Last year, I updated the silly thinker picture from my old blog with a new picture of the older me sitting at the same spot, next to The Thinker at the Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden on the Stanford campus. (FYI my old Work Matters blog endures at www.bobsutton.org and my All Things Bob Sutton site is at www.bobsutton.net).As with each time Ive revised this list, doing so forced me to think about what is important enough to remain, what I feel compelled to add, and what I best subtract to make room for new stuff (I did cheat a bit and expanded it from 14 to 15 things). Here is the current list- each but the last one has a link if you want to dig into it further. I hope you like it. And I would love to hear your reactions, suggestions, and critiques.1. Sometimes the best management is no management at all first do no harm2. The best leaders have the attitude of wisdom, the confidence to act on their convictions and the humility to keep searching for (and acting on) evidence that they are wrong.3. Indifference is as important as passion.4. The best leaders know what it feels like to work for them. They overcome the urge to focus attention on powerful superiors rather than their followers. They also resist the temptation to believe and reward those who butter them up with flattering bullsh-t (And make it safe for followers to tell them uncomfo rtable truths).5. Fight as if you are right listen as if you are wrong.6. Fear the clusterfk (or clusterfug)those debacles and disasters caused by a deadly brew of illusion, impatience, and incompetence that afflicts too many decision-makers, especially those in powerful, confident, and prestigious groups.7. Big teams suck.8. George Carlin was right. Too many people behave as if my sh-t is stuff, and your stuff is sh-t. It creates a lot of unnecessary friction and frustration.9. Hierarchy is good. Hierarchy is essential. And less isnt always better. Giving people orders, watching them work, and making decisions are things that ought to be done with care, caution, and compassion. But organizations and teams need hierarchy (and other bureaucratic trappings) to function.10. If you are a winner and an ahole, you are still a loser in my book because you are harming so many other people in your lust to build something, make money, or dominate that competition.11. Kurt Vonnegut was right. It is often more constructive to tell yourself I have enough than to keep asking how you can get more and more and more. I dont believe that people who die with the most money, fancy stuff, power, or prestige win the game of life.12. If you are plagued by an ahole or a pack of them make a clean getaway if you can. If you cant, develop a strategy for protecting yourself and fellow victims from the onslaught, for preserving your dignity and spirit, and for fighting back.13. Am I a success or a failure? is not a very useful question. It is better to ask what am I learning.14. Life is always going to be a bit messy, especially if you are doing something interesting and new. Try to create as much simplicity and clarity as you can, but embrace (and enjoy) the inevitable confusion and messiness too.15. Jimmy Maloney was right. Work is an overrated activity.I left this last point unexplained on my published lists and without any links until recently. fruchtwein readers got the message and only a few complained because I didnt explore any nuances or talk about who the heck Jimmy Maloney was to me. But here is the background which I always tell my class.About 20 years ago, I spent many of my weekends and vacations racing sailboats with my boyhood friend Jimmy Maloney. He had a serious and stressful job, but was making good money. He and his wife Loretta still found a lot of time to spend with each other and their three young kids. But Jimmy and Loretta felt oppressed by the rat race. And at the strangest moments 10 seconds before the start of a race, during complicated maneuvers such as tacks or jibes, or even the middle of a capsize Jimmy would start bellowing work is overrated or we are all suckers, most people wouldnt work if they had a choice. It wasnt just hollow talk. Jim and Loretta quit their jobs, sold their house, bought a sailboat, and cruised with their kids for a couple years (Loretta is a schoolteacher, and she was very disciplined about teaching each kid the material required by their California school district). The family eventually landed in New Zealand, where they raised their kids. They work just enough to support a modest but healthy life. All three kids grew up to be great sailors too. In fact, their daughter Alex won a silver medal in the 2016 Olympics and their son Andy sailed on the New Zealand boat that won the Americas Cup in 2017.I like to end my class with that story because I am so focused on the workplace in my writings and research, and the students I teach at Stanford are such extreme overachievers, that it is useful to remind them (and myself), as Jimmy would put it, that work is an overrated activity.P.S. I put my final exam question on the course outline, so students know it from the first day Design the ideal organization. Use course concepts to defend your answer. The quality, range, and imagination of these papers often stuns and delights me.Thisarticlefirst appeared on LinkedIn.

Thursday, December 26, 2019

Why I put Immigrant on my resume

Why I put Immigrant on my resumeWhy I put Immigrant on my resumeIn April 2014, standing in my mothers living room in suburban Virginia, I kept trying to take slow breaths, be calm, and stop my mind from racing. I would have called it a panic attack but it went on for months. To a lesser extent, its dragged on for years. I was overwhelmed by the feeling that I had next to no control. The plans I had for my life, my hopes and dreams, were all in the hands of a bureaucrat somewhere I would never meet who was ready to dictate what would happen with my life over the incorrect use of a stamp.I was applying for a long-term visa in the country that had become my home. This whole experience may bedrngnis be typical for someone with a white middle-class background like myself. But, as it progressed, I came to realize that lack of control and anxiety was a part of who I am.I am an immigrant*.*To be clear, that means I am bedrngnis an expat (a word we should really stop using).That may sound obv ious to some, but for someone who grew up in the United States surrounded by immigrants from all over the world, it felt strange to turn a word so synonymous with other back on myself. But after spending nearly my entire adult life outside of the US, theres no denying that being an immigrant has become at the core of my identity. I am neither here nor there, a foreigner to some extent no matter where I am in the world.Searching for an Identity and a CareerBut my identity wasnt my only concern at the time. I had spent my entire career working to become an academic historian. However, with the future of academia not looking bright, I decided I had to start over. This brought up the question, what skills did I have?When I put together a resume, my academic performance was impressive, but it wasnt clear what practical skills I had. In spite of this, I managed to get a job as a writer. Over two years of working, my skillset slowly came through and I realized where my strengths lay. Unsur prisingly, they largely stemmed from the defining experience of my adult life being an immigrant. I realized I couldSolve problems while communicating through language barriers to do things like figure out what time buses leave or decipher how to pay a water bill.Perceive the subtle contextual differences between cultures. For example, why a joke is funny to one culture and not another or how small changes in how something is worded changes how its understood.Adapt to ever-changing situations comfortably.Have enough patience to spend months and years going through bureaucratic processes and handle the emotional uncertainty that comes with them.These are skills I use at my job every day. But selling them, and myself, to an employer need to go beyond simply listing them as skills. By putting them in context, both my skills and myself become more three dimensional and compelling. So instead of seeing adaptable they see Ive lived, worked, and studied in three countries. Instead of I kno w how to plan and adapt to complex situations, they see Ive mastered the intricate bureaucracy of the visa application process.Related articlesWhat did Microsofts Marketing Manager learn from 3 strengths you can develop only by switching jobsWhat does your day look like? Share with us and winThe Moment I RealizedWhen I first encountered s resume builder, I spent quite a while adapting the simple Word doc Id been using for years. During that process, I spent a significant amount of time just considering what my accomplishments were, and what experiences defined me. That is when it all really came together. I clicked on the Experience section, where one would normally put a list of jobs, and typed the word Immigrant.I smiled and exhaled as a sense of calmness came over me. Yes, I was an immigrant. Yes, that belonged on my resume. In this moment, it became clear that my resume was about more than getting that next job, it was about personal reflection.Frankly, I want resumes and the jo bs they get us to be more about who we are beyond simply what it is we do at work (here are some good examples). But making that change isnt going to happen overnight. We all need to consider the relationship between our identities and careers and let that reflect in how we present ourselves in the office and on the page. If youve had your own experience, Id love to hear about it. You can deutsche bundespost about it in the comments or email me at eric.com.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

How Industry 4.0 Impacts Engineering Design

How Industry 4.0 Impacts Engineering Design How Industry 4.0 Impacts Engineering Design How Industry 4.0 Impacts Engineering DesignIndustry 4.0the combination of digital processes such as the www of Things, automation, robotics, and additive manufacturinghas a disruptive impact on mechanical engineering design. Not only do engineers need to redesign processes and operations to accommodate these new advances, Industry 4.0 impacts how they design products for increasingly smart manufacturing facilities.As Industry 4.0 takes hold, forward-thinking engineers will embrace these digital tools and technologies. This allows them to make higher-quality products more efficiently and react more quickly to shifting consumer demands, building customer loyalty and gaining market share. Millennials, for example, are a rapidly growing bevlkerung that expects tailored products that match their personal preferences.Brands that offer personalized products typically enjoy a 50 percent higher loyalty rat e. Unfortunately, traditional manufacturing methods are designed for mass production, not customization. Companies that can rapidly adapt production lines to exploit consumer trends are more likely to have implemented Industry 4.0. This is confirmed by a 2016 McKinsey and Company study that showed Industry 4.0 factories are better at designing and manufacturing individualized products than traditional factories.What Drives Industry 4.0The following technologies are typically considered key components of Industry 4.0Internet of Thingsuses sensor technology to connect the entire manufacturing ecosystem with real-time communication and data from interconnected machines and devices, tracking operational performanceBig data and analyticsutilizes the Internet of Things to capture, analyze, and store data on every stage of production, from design through productionEngineering simulationrelies on virtual reality and augmented reality to create realistic, perfectly scaled, three-dimensional images or holograms that speed up product design, reduce iterations, and shorten time to marketAdditive manufacturing, including 3D and 4D printingthese rapidly-advancing technologies allow engineers to design and manufacture products that often cannot be made using traditional manufacturing methodsAugmented reality could help shape the way engineers work in Industry 4.0.Each of these Industry 4.0 components has big impacts on engineering design.For You Filling the Talent Gap For example, with the Internet of Things, data can be used to optimize manufacturing processes, often through engineering adjustments. Robotics and automation, also key Industry 4.0 technologies, need to be integrated into manufacturing equipment, often in the form of added material-umgang features. Data-collection features such as RFID can also be designed into parts and products.There will be more consideration for automation and modularity, both for parts and assemblies, and for the machines making and handl ing them, says mechanical engineer Betsy Megas on Quara.com. Manufacturing capabilities, and the rules around design for manufacture and design for assembly, will continue to evolve. PrototypingQuick, production-ready prototypes are essential for efficient manufacturing and speed to market. Modeling/simulation scenarios early in the design process help determine the best possible design for prototyping. Virtual reality and augmented reality programs are rapidly becoming potent visualization and design tools, especially in medical RD. For example, Stryker, an orthopedic implant manufacturer, is using Microsofts HaloLens holographic technology to design the operating room of the future, along with the necessary tools and instruments. 3D printing and other additive manufacturing (AM) technologies can prototype production-ready parts within a matter of hours, giving engineers a part they can hold and examine and even reiterate in the same day. An increasing number of complex products ca n only be made through additive manufacturing. Therefore it is essential for engineers to fully understand the capabilities these machines provide, which also continually evolve.For example, Caterpillar trains its engineers in its own AM Factory, which is stocked with the latest AM equipment. Engineering teams learn how to apply 3D printing to new products, the supply chain, and even operations (for example, making parts and fixtures for their manufacturing equipment). Much of their product research and development is carried out in this facility.Designing for AM is where we will see huge advances in manufacturing technology, says Stacey DelVecchio, additive manufacturing product manager for Caterpillar in Mossville, Ill. Manufacturing companies have spent years training people to design for manufacturability. That means we have parts that are limited by how we traditionally manufacture them. At Caterpillar, we are removing these boundaries from our engineers. Having the capability to design what could never be made before, with features we didnt think were feasible, is tremendously exciting.Data-DrivenWhen companies embrace Industry 4.0, they must also embrace big data and analytics. This sometimes requires hiring their own data-management scientists. Big data is essential for optimizing performance at every stage of development, from design through production. Performance data from the end-use environment can also lead to engineering design changes for future versions. Big data is also needed to identify and analyze consumer trends, which can directly impact what engineers make, and how they make them.Smaller companies can buy data studies larger companies can use the Internet of Things to collect their own data and identify trends to deliver better customer experiences. Internet of Things data by itself, however, is not always useful, comments Jesper Grode, director of product strategy with Stibo Systems, a provider of customer management solutions. Only wh en combined with other data, such as product master data, customer master data, or location master data, will a better understanding of how products are being used ascendthereby paving the way for improvements.Mark Crawford is an independent writer.Read MoreArtificial Intelligence Transforms ManufacturingUltrasound Patch Monitors Critical ComponentsThe Blockchain Gang

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

How to Become a Creative Director at a Top Ad Agency

How to Become a Creative Director at a Top Ad AgencyHow to Become a Creative Director at a Top Ad AgencyIn order to shed some light on the steps you have to take to become a creative director at a top ad agency, the qualities and skills creative directors need to succeed, and the best and worst things about the job, Vault recently spoke with Shawn Gauthier, a Los Angeles-based creative director and copywriterwith more than two decades of advertisingexperience.VAULT What did you study in school?GAUTHIER I graduated from Emerson College in Boston. I majored in advertising and minored in creative writing. The two choices that fruchtwein prepared me for a career in advertising, however, were joining my college comedy troupe and spending a semester abroad traveling throughout Europe.VAULT What got you interested in advertising, and in being a writer/creative director?GAUTHIERSince eighth grade, I knew I wanted to go into advertising. I loved arguing and I loved creative writing. So, even as a 12-year-old I somehow knew that advertising was what I wanted to do.VAULTDescribe what you do in your job.GAUTHIERSimply put, the most essential part of my job is concepting. (Even though my spell check denies that concepting is even a word.) Nonetheless, when a client wants to express X, I figure out the quickest, sharpest, most memorable way to convey X to consumers. Sometimes its with headlines. Often, its with pictures. After conceiving the idea, I have to present it to the client, convince the client to buy the idea and then bring the idea to life. For a TV ad, this involves writing the script, choosing a director, casting actors, choosing a set, wardrobe, music, and finding an editor. As a creative director, I also manage teams of copywriters and art directors as they conceive concepts.VAULTWhat knowledge and skills are essential for the job?GAUTHIERResilience is probably the most essential trait to survive in advertising. Great work is killed on a daily basis. You need t o let work die, get up and start the creative process all over again. Another quality, and one of my favorite words, is sprachgefuhl, which means a feel for language. People with sprachgefuhl have a knack for the subtle differences in word meanings and how words best flow together. When people are first starting to write headlines, I find that they often write what feels like a parody of advertising. The smartest writers I know write the way people talk. The best ads dont feel like ads. They seem like stories or shared morsels of wisdom.VAULTWhat do you like most about the work? What is most challenging?GAUTHIEREvery good day is filled with the thrill of solving an impossible puzzle. It is incredibly rewarding to craft a headline or write a TV or radio commercial that makes someone laugh (or even nod approvingly). To create something that has never before existed is very fulfilling. And, the six greatest words an advertising creative can hear from fellow creatives is, I wish Id thou ght of that. The most challenging part of the job is enduring the many, many, many times the ideas that youve created will die. Also, consider this if you work on, say, a car account and you need to express our car is the best, its staggering to think that for the past 100 years, thousands of creative people all over the world have been working every day on thousands of different cars trying to express the idea that our car is the best. Somehow,youhave to be the one that does it in a way that no one ever has before. Thats hard.VAULTWhat was the most interesting project youve worked on, or what did you work on that youre most proud of?GAUTHIERIve worked on everything from cars to moist toilet tissue. Ive written for hotels, dish soap, beer, coffee, airlines, deodorant, and Pillsbury Toaster Strudel. I find something entirely new and interesting about every project I delve into. For a brief moment, you become an expert on whatever you are focused on so you learn new things about new t hings every year. Heineken was one of my most interesting clients. Its illegal to show someone drinking alcohol in a commercial. Its illegal to use cartoon characters or Santa Claus. You have to talk about drinking without ever, ever implying anything about getting drunk. The limitations are fascinating. And, ultimately, working on Heineken, I wrote my favorite commercial. It featured a priest, a nun, and a rabbi, Satan, a midget, a blind guy, three Polish guys, a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead, and a horse- all walking into a bar. To this day, I feel lucky and ecstatic that I am the one who first thought to do that in a beer commercial.VAULTWhat advice would you give to someone whos thinking about doing this for a living?GAUTHIERStart a collection of ads that blow you away. Aim to create work of the same caliber. Take a class at a portfolio school. Building a solid portfolio is the best way to break in to the ad biz. Share anything else that you think readers would want to know about the job and advertising biz in general. The best way to make money in the business is to create something awesome, get noticed and switch agencies. If you can find an agency that feels like a family, know that that is a very rare and very good thing. And lastly, if you get a job in advertising, know that your mom and your friends will always offer to help you work on projects and then they will quit trying after about two minutes.The above was adapted from the new Vault Career Guide to Advertisting.Follow Vault onTwitterandInstagram.

Thursday, December 12, 2019

The biggest mistakes youll make trying to beat jet lag

The biggest mistakes youll make trying to beat jet lagThe biggest mistakes youll make trying to beat jet lagEvery traveler dreads the side effect of global adventure - jet lag, the imbalance in our bodys internal clock caused by traveling through too many time zone. It spoils your sleep, destroys your mood, ruins your appetite, wreaks havoc on your ability to concentrate, and drags down your energy levels.According to the Mayo Clinic, it takes about a day to recover for each time zone crossed. Unfortunately, too many of us have to return back to work to recover properly from our trips across the globe. Although some of jet lags symptoms may be inevitable, others can be entirely preventable. Heres how you can stop making the biggest mistakes that are going to make beating jet lag harder.1. Dont stay indoorsWhen you get off your flight, you may be tempted to hole up in your room and nap the stress of a long flight away. But if its daytime in your local timezone, it behooves you to get out and catch some rays. Bright natural light is natures jet lag antidote because the sun in our eyeballs helps us regulate our biological clock.Ladders is now on SmartNewsDownload the SmartNews app and add the Ladders channel to read the latest career news and advice wherever you go.If you are going east-to-west youll want to get evening exposure to light. And if youre going west to east, youll want to get morning exposure to light,Stanford sleep expertJamie Zeitzer said about combating jet lag.Once you lie down on your bed in the middle of the day, inertia will take over, and jet lag will have the upper hand. Get up and get moving As one long-haul travelerwrites, Ive found I bounce back better if I keep moving. Walk around the airport terminal as much as possible, get your blood circulating.2. Dont look at screens when you need to be asleepIf jet lag is giving you insomnia, you may be tempted to scroll through your phone or stay up all night watching Netflix. But according to sle ep experts, this will only prolong your circadian disruption.In fact, if you know you need to be asleep on your flight back, avoid the in-flight movie. Why? Because technology is too stimulating for our brains. The blue-spectrum light they emit is very activating and can delay sleep, UCLAs Dr. AlonAvidan warns.3. Dont have that nightcapYou may want to have some wine to ease your journey into dreamland, but alcohol is a big no-no. It not only dehydrates your body which makes you more tired, it also worsens your quality of sleep.And you need all the sleep you can get to battle jet lag. The National Sleep Foundation recommends abstaining from alcohol orcaffeineat least three hours before your desired bedtime if you experience jet lag.4. Dont dwell on it too muchJet lag can drive you crazy if you think about it too much. Instead of cataloging your jet lag miseries, embrace the surreal world you find yourself in - part of overcoming jet lag is changing your state of mind.Try to effect a mental shift and dont compare your time zone to the one you just left, Lonely Planet writer Anita Isalska recommends. Dwelling on the fact that your friends back home are just getting up/going to bed? That way madness lies.

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Whos Worried About Personal Statement on Resume and Why You Should Pay Attention

Whos Worried About Personal Statement on Resume and Why You Should Pay Attention For those who havent started writing, we will start out with a brainstorming session. A summary statement, which is made up of few lines at the start of yur resume that give potential employers an extensive outline of your abilities and experience, is the fruchtwein ideal in case you have years of experience you will need to tie together with a typical theme. Knowing the fundamental steps of writing a good resume does leid indicate you have to write alone. The main aim of a resume is to present an easy and brief overview of your pertinent abilities, education, work experience and strengths that enables the hiring manager to generate a sensible decision in selecting interviewing candidates. Recruiters read a great deal of resumes, so they dont wish to need to devote a lot of time looking over yours. Locating a new job isnt just about the current moment. You most likely have a fairly good idea o f the way to compose a CV. For example its also wise to include some information concerning the forms of roles youre applying for, and why you are doing that. Also, make certain youre using your private contact info, rather than your work. Based on who you ask and the way youre using it, summary statements can be an entire waste of space or an entire game changer. Its critical that your private statement is tailored to the circumstance and role. A personal profile statement is a crucial part of your CV, and its a brief statement outlining your own personal characteristics. Conclustion A personal statement can be written in various ways, but its ultimately your responsibility to pinpoint what skills you would like to highlight for your preferred position. Thus your own personal statement, first of all, should describe your voice. An employer will frequently be inundated with hundreds of resumes per week so grabbing their attention is critical. There is nobody right means t o structure a resume. There are lots of good reasons someone may want to have a career break. The very first thing that you want to do is go back and examine the job which youre applying for and determine your intended audience. Attempt to do a little bit of research on the geschftlicher umgang youre applying to since the majority of the companies have various values. Focus on how youre an advantage to the companynot the way the corporation can help you. Make certain its tailored to not merely the position, but the business too. Before you can discover the job that you want, you must narrow down your preferred industry. Choosing Good Personal Statement on Resume No matter what it is that you are writing, make sure to sound very positive and enthusiastic. A long and boring statement isnt going to have the ability to draw the readers. Its imperative that you discuss the experience youve gained in your own personal statement, to give readers a notion of the job youre comforta ble undertaking. If do not have any time for writing your statement or youre confused about the content, were here to assist you. Our private statement writers would love to present a set of private statement examples for your reference. Besides the samples above, here are a few complete personal statements examples so that you are in possession of a good idea about what yours should look like. The things which you omit from your own personal statement can be equally as crucial as the situations you include. If you are like most other people, you most likely havent given your references much thought. Personal Statement on Resume Secrets That No One Else Knows About After youve written your statement, you might believe that it will work for each application. For instance, if youve never written a personal statement, attempt to come across some examples it is possible to study. Dont forget, your personal statement is meant to sell yourself. Your own private statement will be wholly unique to yourself, but by employing the aforementioned guidelines youll be in a position to create one which shows recruiters everything they require. Personal Statement on Resume - What Is It? One of many tasks youll do as part of your residency application method is write your very own personal statement, a rare chance for you to really make all of it about you. Prior to starting, the very first thing you ought to see is that the personal statement is easily the most significant part your admissions package. Theres no fee to apply. The procedure for ordering our services has been made simple by using simple measures that are simple to follow along with. Writing your resume can be an extremely intimidating experience. Its sufficient to make any professional a modest frustrated. Keep it simple and simple to comprehend. Fortunately, its very simple to get started.

Monday, December 2, 2019

How to Move More in an Office Job - 5 Easy Tips

How to Move More in an Office Job - 5 Easy Tips How to Move More in an Office Job 5 Easy TipsPosted January 9, 2019, by Emily GarbuttWith summer in full swing, we all want to look and feel at our best. However, plum bro jobs often come with the downside of being stuck sitting indoors.Inactivity has a negative effect on our health(itsofficial), and if you arent quite ready to quit the corporate world to becomeaneco-powered-bicycle delivery person, then you might wonder how you can have the best of both worlds and get moving more in the bro? Spicing up your office job with some activities and movement isnt difficult. Sometimes though, the first step is the biggest obstacle. Why not try some of ourtop tips to get started? Before you blink,youll be bouncing up the office stairwell like Rocky (but not quite so sweaty).1 Dont skip the stairsI know, I know, this is the obvious one. Nevertheless,if you give yourself a kick up the butt and use the stairs every time, youll quickly add activi ty to your otherwise sedentary office lifestyle. Start small by aiming to use the stairs once a day. Then, as you get into the habit, build up your stair use until you use them every time. Follow this habit up by trying to increase your speed over time.Using the stairsis a great, easy, and free way to build exercise into your daily life.2 Try to stand moreTry to build more standing into your day. For example, you could take some of your calls standing up. Or why not offer to be the one to bring the coffees for the office. Try to stand up once an hour (set a reminder if you need to), have astretchand shake out your legs. If the whole office wants to get in on the picture and improve the health of the whole team, why not try standing meetings?Standing meetings have many benefitsand have been shown to improve productivity and reduce meeting times.3 Increase the amount of walking you do each dayInstead of sending an IM to your colleague in another part of the building (or even on the other side of the room). Why not get up, walk over, and have a real-life conversation instead? Youll reduce your inactivity and increase the social interactions you have over the day as well (win, win). Try to include walking or physical exercise in your day in other ways. You could park further away from the building so you have a short walk to the office each day. Or if practicality allows, you could use a bicycle to get to work, or a gemisch of bicycle/ walking and public transport. Doing this is better for your health and for the planet tooYou can use an app such asFitbitto keep track of how far yourewalking (or running). Another fun app to try isWorld walking, which tracks yoursteps andhelps tomotivateyou.As you keep going you work towards walking the equivalent of various long-distance world trails like Machu Picchu. Who knows you might feel so encouraged as you progress, you could go on to tackle one of them for real Walking isone of the best forms of exerciseyou can do. And the best thing about it? Walkings easy to do, and doesnt require a huge amount of determination to achieve a lot (like going to the gym and running).4 Involve the whole officeIf you involve the whole office then everyone can benefit from ahealthierlifestyle, and as a bonus, spend time bonding as a team. You could set up a challenge for everyone to complete, with activities to tick off likedeskercises(see 5) or stair-taking competitions.You could hire a trainer to come to the office over lunchtime and exercisetogether outside in a park or even somewhere in the office grounds (make sure you get all the appropriate permissions first). Or look for health/ fitness studios near the office, join as a group and go after work or during lunch breaks together. You can all then keep each other motivated and buildexercisingand bonding into the office culture. Not to mention, when you do behauptung things as a group you can negotiate much better rates than you could if you tried to hire a traine r or join a class alone.5 DeskercisesDoing somedeskerciseswhile you work can help you to improve your productivity. As you allow yourselftostop for a minute to do something physical, then you will find you can refocus on your work better. Deskercises are free, easy to do. And if youve put 4 into action then you dont have to feel too embarrassed in front of your colleagues when you do the more obvious exercises. Check out our top 10 deskercises and get started right awayDont procrastinateNow is the moment. Dont procrastinate and say tomorrow, tomorrow. Today is the day to get moving and to start the new year the way you mean to go on. ResourcesMy first resumeCover letter for my first jobCareer Insider StoriesShelley Lask - Body Positive Health & FitnessInterested in becoming a?Human Resources OfficerGeneral ManagerBusiness ManagerAccountantOffice AdministratorPopular Career Searchesretail job interview questions and answerscareer job search sitesmy new career coursescivil engineering internship job descriptionwhat is the most difficult situation you have faced sample answer CoursesBachelor of Social WorkEnquire Online Enquire OnlineCertificate III in Health AdministrationEnquire Online Enquire OnlineBachelor of Criminal JusticeEnquire Online Enquire OnlineCertificate III in Allied Health AssistanceEnquire Online Enquire OnlineEmily GarbuttRelated ArticlesBrowse moreCharles Sturt University (CSU)MBAHow to Find The One When Choosing An MBAMaking the decision to study an MBA should not be taken lightly, it requires a good amount of time, effort and money, so to help ensure you choose the right MBA weve put together a little checklist.Career AdvisorsJob hunting tipsWhy Should I Hire a Resume Writer?Struggling to land an interview? Your resume could need some attention. A resume writer can help you elevate your resume to a new level. Learn what resume writers do, how they can help, how much they cost, and how to find a good one in this quick read.Career AdvisorsCARE ER INSPIRATIONDear Career Counsellor, who are you?Do you know exactly the career you want and how youre going to get there? No. Youre not alone. In this article, we explore how a career counsellor can help you find a new focus to pursue a career you will love.