Saturday, March 14, 2020
11 of the Most Unprofessional Email Habits - TheJobNetwork
11 of the Most Unprofessional Email Habits - TheJobNetworkYou have a good job and your life is off to a successful start. Trouble is, you didnt get the memo that youre supposed to conduct your schmelzglas correspondence like a grown-up. Before you make any mistakes that can get you labeled as unprofessional at work, check over this list of totally unprofessional email habits to avoid at all costs. Whether youre communicating to your boss, a client, or your coworkers, its important that you conduct yourself well. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) 1. RamblingYou dont just say what you need to say, succinctly. You go on and on and on. You back into the point, reiterate the point, say a few things that arent relevant to the recipientand therefore enkoranvers nothing you say will really be digested.Respect your own timeand the time of the person(s) on the receiving end of your email. Be as straightforward and concise as possible. And dont send emails just for the sake of sending them. Make sure you have something concrete and important to convey2. Forgetting the AttachmentEven Gmail will alert you if you write attached anywhere in your email and forget to, you know, attach something. Always double check your messages before sending and try attaching the document first, before drafting the body message.3. Misspelling NamesHow hard is it to spell your recipients name correctly? Its literally right there in front of you. In your sidebar, in your address line, in their signature, in your contacts list Addressing to Philip instead of Phillip or Megan instead of Meghan when the email address is clearly Philip or Meghan is just embarrassing. Do better.4. Faking UrgencyOnly use the urgent function when the message is actually urgent. Dont be the girl who cried urgent or no one will care when you have to send a message that is actually urgent.5. ALL CAPSYou may think youre being charming or funny or underlining a point, but really you just sound like youre coming straight out of a teenage chat room. If you must emphasize in text, use bold or italics or underlining instead.6. Misjudging ToneYou can miss the fruchtmark if you go too casual (Hey yall, So I was thinking) or too stiff (Dear Sirs and Madams, Upon further consideration). Keep it professional, snappy, and do your best to reflect the relationship you have with the recipient(s).7. Reply AllIf what youre about to type isnt absolutely crucial for everyone on the chain to receive, then please restrain yourself and reply only to the person who needs the information.8. The Inappropriate CCIf you dont have someones permission to CC them, you could get in some hot watersay if they dont want someone to have their contact information, or if they feel uncomfortable being put on the spot and looped into a discussion. Make sure never to assume its okay to drag someone new into a conversation. Ask first.9. Subject ShenanigansNo nos 1. using a subject line thats va gue, like Hey or FYI. Put in enough information so your recipient knows what the email will be about, roughly. 2. Starting a sentence in the subject line that you finish in the body of the email. 3. Not including a subject at all.10. Being SnideYou may be annoyed at having to explain something again, or just very busy But theres no need for you to let your snippiness show in your emails, nor to be unnecessarily curtespecially when communicating with respected colleagues and friends. Err on the side of politeness. Say please and thank you. Sign off with a best. Bare minimum.11. SloppinessYou may not think youll be judged on anything but the content/merit of your emails, but you will. Make sure to punctuate, capitalize, spell check, proofread, use correct grammar. And make sure to use a professional font. No goofy cartoonish text or fruity colors. Keep it professional and easy for your recipient to read
Monday, March 9, 2020
Positive Attitude 12 Ways To Get One
Positive Attitude 12 Ways To Get One Have you ever known someone so relentlesslypositivethat its kind of annoying?Someone who responds to setbacks and bad news with stuff like, Everything happens for a reason, or, Theres a light at the end of the tunnel? Someone who always,alwaysbelieves that things are going to work out for the best in the end? Have you ever watched with mild verschlimmerung when things always do, in fact, work out for them?Im kinda that person. Not all the time I certainly have my moments, as my husband and coworkers will attest to. But for the most part, my view on life tends toward the rosy, inspiring side of the spectrum. And theres amazing power in that perspective. But it doesnt always come easy. You might think that some people are simply born positive. But a positive attitude isnt something youre permanently blessed with, like brown eyes. Its mora like a muscle. You might be predisposed to optimism but you still have to throw the weights around to reach yo ur full positivity potential. And, even if youre leid naturally inclined to find silver linings, you can still get better at it with a little training.Can a Positive Attitude Help a Person Be Successful?Research shows that being mora positive can help you manifest positive outcomes. So, yes, being positive in the workplace can help you become more successful.A positive attitude helps you cope more easily with the daily affairs of life, according to a LinkedIn post by Dr. Sanjay Prem. It brings optimism into your life, and makes it easier to avoid worries and negative thinking. If you adopt it as a way of life, it would bring constructive changes into your life, and makes them happier, brighter and more successful.What Is a Positive Attitude in the Workplace?A positive attitude in the workplace is a willingness to do your job without being so down about your responsibilities, colleagues or situations at work. Have a positive attitude at work means that, while you may still recognize some negatives about your job tasks or coworkers or specific situations at work, you perform your best anyway and look on the bright side.Of course, its elend always easy. But there are steps you can take to showing a positive attitude at work.How Do You Show a Positive Attitude?Here are 12 ways to pump up your positive mental attitude (even when your inner Debbie Downer wants to throw in the towel).1. Say I get to more than I have to.One thing that triggers a negative attitude for me is feeling overwhelmed by my responsibilities. My kids. My husband. My home. My career. My various side hustles. Its exhausting to have so much to do for so many people all the time. When I departure to feel like Im drowning in all I have to do, I try to remember that all of it comes from the very best things in my life kids, husband, home, career, hustles. Taking care of them is something I get to do. A privilege...even when its a pain. You can probably say the same about what stresses you out. U2 s aid it best ...in dreams begin responsibilities.2. Worry about your own attitude.Grumbling at the barista who cant be bothered with your super specific milchkaffee order? Hackles rise every time you get an e-mail from that snippy coworker? If you try to out-attitude everyone who doesnt treat you like the queen you are, youre just adding more negative energy to the air that you have to breathe too. So do your best to keep your own attitude in check, even if the people around you arent. 3. Embrace a Tigger for every Eeyore.About that Tip 2 its easier said than done, especially when it comes to people close to you. Attitudes are contagious, both negative and positive. So if all your friends have doom and gloom mindsets, your sunny outlook wont stand a chance of breaking through. Does that mean you have to ditch your dour bestie and befriend a more optimistic camper? Of course not. But be aware of the kind of energy youre going to get from negative people and interact accordingly. I kno w exactly whom to go to in my life when I want rah-rah reinforcement, nurturing encouragement, an open ear with no judgment, and a detailed run-down of the worst possible scenarios in any situation. Guess what? Theyre four different people.4. Bitch, moan, move on.Positive pscyhology doesnt mean being in a perpetually good mood. Crap happens, and you have every right to react to it. I myself have been known to mutter Oh for $% sake at the conference table when a particularly tight deadline or outrageous expectation is presented (and Im from New York, so my muttering is like other peoples talking). You cant stop those feelings from popping up, but you can stop yourself from following them all the way down the dark and stormy path. 5. Blame yourself.So, things didnt work out exactly as you planned. Is it because everyone else sucks, no one understands, and the universe is conspiring against you? Or is it possible that you made some bad moves yourself? It might seem counterintuitive, bu t its better for your psyche to take some responsibility for the bad stuff that happens in your life. Because if you think of life as something that happens to you, if you believe negative occurrences are imposed upon you by forces beyond your control, that puts you in pretty helpless position. And nothing breeds a negative attitude like helplessness.6. Slow the heck down.You ever have one of these mornings? The kids wake up late, your husband takesthe longest shower known to man your four-year-old takes an eternity to put on his socks so youre late and annoyed by the time you leave the house. As soon as you get everyone buckled in their car seats and throw the car in reverse, you realize that you leftyour stupid salad in the fridge and you have to get it because if you dont theres a 96% chance youll get pork belly tacos for lunch instead, which would completely kill your two-day paleo streak. So, you run back in and get the damn salad but youre in such a rush that you forget to set the alarm on the way out and have to go back in again.Now youre in a frenzy, so you dont watch where youre going, trip over a tiny Lego head and knock over the trash can on your way down, covering the kitchen floor with coffee grinds, egg shells and the oatmeal that your two-year-old screamed for and then didnt eat. Ive had entire months like this. Even if you dont have kids or a husband or little Legos always underfoot, youve probably lived through your own version of this morning. Its the product of all our frantic, stressful, overloaded lives. And stress is a positivity and happiness killer. So do yourself a favor. Once in a while, take something off your plate. And it doesnt have to be the pork belly tacos.7. Meditate.Before I started practicing meditation, I thought of it as a tool to clear my mind. But what it really does, at least for me, is help me control my mind, and my mental reactions to things. One of the biggest lessons you learn in meditation is to let things go. You have a singular focus (when youre just starting out, its your breath), but when other thoughts bubble up, you simply acknowledge them and then let them go. You dont resist, you dont try to silence them, you dont beat yourself up for not being Zen enough. You simply let them pass through. It may sound simple to you. But for someone accustomed to following and reacting to all the stimuli in my environment, this technique is fairly revolutionary. And it comes in natel even when youre not meditating. Youre never going to eradicate negative events and emotions from your life, even as a predominantly positive person. But through meditation, you can develop the mental strength to accept things with grace and let them go.8. Get moving.Thats right good old-fashioned exercise. Working out gets the blood pumping and activates endorphins, which are pretty much responsible for all the good feels you ever feel. People who work out regularly arent just happier because they look better in swimsui ts. Theyre happier because theyve got actual brain science on their (love-handle free) sides.9. Consider all the people who are affected by your mood.If you are a partner, a parent, a leader or part of a team in any way, your attitude has a ripple effect on those around you. Take this responsibility seriously. Both positivity and negativity spread like a virus. Youre patient zero, and its up to you whether the people you care about will start foaming out the mouth or spitting rainbows.10. Stop worrying about imaginary situations.We all love to play what if? What if I lost my job tomorrow? What if we hate the new neighbors? What if the car I just bought turns out to be a lemon? What if this blind date turns out to be an axe murderer? Its perfectly natural and advisable to prepare for future events by thinking through a few potential scenarios. But try not to spend too much time wallowing in hypothetical disaster. Researchers have found that over time, thinking about a bad situation over and over again can have as detrimental an impact on your mind as actually experiencing it. In other words, prevent space for a self-fulfilling prophecy by instead devoting that energy to positive thinking.11. Put your heart into things even when you dont feel like it.A friend once told me that the cure for burnout isnt rest, its whole-heartedness. I come back to this advice often. When Im struggling with a tough project, a tough client or just a tough week, its easy to give in to that frustration and those negative thoughts. But nothing gets better when Im stuck in that state. As long as Im spending energy being annoyed at whatever it is Im doing, Im not actually doing it well. And when I dont do things well, well, they dont get done. They hang around, causing ever more stress and frustration. On the other hand, when I finally decide to suck it up and give something my best shot, not only does it feel better in the short term, but it has a better chance of achieving whatever the goal was in the first place. So when those negative emotions start to set in this project is too hard, this client is too demanding, this deadline is too unrealistic, this kid is too much instead of giving in, remember that giving it your all may be your only way out of this mess.12. Be grateful.If I had to write just one positivity tip for this article, this would be it. No matter what kind of hardship youre currently facing, you must have something you can be grateful for. You probably have many, many things. Some youve never even acknowledged. Nows the time. Dont fixate on what you dont have, what you cant do, and what you dont like. The key to maintaining a positive outlook is putting your energy and gratitude toward what you do have, what you can do, and what actually makes you happy. In time, youll start getting more of that stuff in return.--Diane Levine is the Associate Creative Director of the award-winning branding and marketing agency Think Creative. She specializes in writing, branding, marketing and inspiring people to believe in their own awesomeness so they can find more joy at work and in life (she writes more on those topics on her personal blog,
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