In a recent issue of the Hamilton County Business Magazine, Robby Slaughter, founder and principle of Slaughter Development, suggests that viewing every job as a part-time job will help maintain a healthy life and career; “employment is a way to use our skills and knowledge part-time to enable the lifestyle we want and need full-time.”

The full article is reprinted below:

Every Job is a Part-time Job

Usually, the only connection between work and our individual well being is stated in legalese. Employers may provide health insurance, short term disability, contribute to workers compensation or help us save for retirement. There’s something else that can help us to stay healthy while continuing to advance our career, but it’s not a complicated financial instrument or a miracle drug. Instead, it’s just a simple phrase: “Every job is a part-time job.”

That mantra serves many functions. First, it should remind us that we cannot and should not live all our lives at work. The body needs sleep to recharge and the mind needs rest to focus. Our emotional well-being is also influenced by those who love us unconditionally, not just those who need the client report finished by the deadline. To work effectively, we have to also spend time not working.

Second, if every job is a part-time job, your colleagues are also part-time workers. They have lives too. Their friends and family, their health and their personal needs may be supported by their salary, but will and should always take precedence over their duties at the workplace.  You can ask people to turn off their cellphones while serving customers, but you cannot ask them to turn off their mind and forget their own lives. You may punch a clock or arrive at work, but you do not stop being a parent, sibling or friend.

The words “part-time” also imply transience, as if at any moment someone might decide to leave the firm and focus entirely on their own needs.  Of course, this is the case with everyone. Any of us might, for any number of reasons, choose to discontinue our relationship with our current employer. “Part-time” should remind us that we will eventually lose a valued team member. If we are not prepared to transition their duties, the departure will always happen at the worst possible time.

Finally, the part-time nature of all work should put the act of work itself into perspective. We might spend more time at our jobs than we do with our families, but that’s not a sign that we love our jobs more. Rather, employment is a way to use our skills and knowledge part-time to enable the lifestyle we want and need full-time. To quote Fight Club: “You are not your job.” Your job merely enables you to be who you are.

Acknowledging the reality that all jobs are part-time presents the opportunity to design workflow more intelligently. If we assume that an employee will routinely be out of the office during regular business hours, we can make job descriptions, instructional diagrams and operating procedures more robust. If we recognize that life is unpredictable and work hours often need to be flexible, we can rebuild our expectations about effort around results rather than face time. Individually, we can create checklists and project plans with the expectation that someone else might need to finish the task without us.

 Work can be a source of tremendous stress. Our physical, emotional and mental well-being is often dominated by the demands of our jobs. Remember, however, that no matter how many weekends you work and how infrequent your  vacations, your job is still a part-time job. Design your work flow and set your expectations accordingly, so that you can enjoy your full-time life.

Take a look at the short clip below. According to sports columnist Cameron Smith, the footage displays one of the biggest football bloopers ever (direct link):

This video almost seems unreal—as if it belongs in a sitcom rather than real life. And as difficult as the horrific play was for the team, it is a great demonstration of what can happen when mistakes occur faster than they can be processed. 

In the clip, a frantic pass leads to panic. Suddenly the running back is forced to react out of instinct rather than strategy and soon finds himself creating one error after another. We have all been in similar situations on the playing field of our life at work, scrambling to keep moving even though we may be going in the wrong direction!

Just like the unfortunate player, our last screwup is often the worst. When the situation appeared inescapable, he made one final, desperate attempt at redemption: he tossed the problem to someone else and hoped for the best. Yet, as can be seen from the video, his last ditch effort landed in the wrong hands with devastating results.

There is no foolproof way to ensure a project will be perfect. Some failure will always occur.  The best medicine is good planning before the game, and good coaching after the play to understand how to improve. Take the time to truly evaluate how your team manages problems. You may just discover better ways of scoring touchdowns. Contact Slaughter Development today to learn more about how we can help.

Priority Inbox is Google’s attempt to solve the e-mail woes of Gmail power users. At its core, the feature is an algorithm; Priority Inbox uses information such as keywords, the people you e-mail the most and your e-mail habits to select the most pressing e-mails in your inbox. Those e-mails are brought to the top of your Gmail and marked as important so you deal with them first.

At first, this might sound helpful. After all, so many of us overwhelmed by email. A quick glance at a screenshot makes this seem like a friendly and practical new offering from Google:

Plus, Google has a cutesy video explaining the service, complete with a jazzy soundtrack and cartoon emails (direct link):

To explain why I despise this new service, we only need to look at the description from The Official Gmail Blog:

Gmail has always been pretty good at filtering junk mail into the “spam” folder. But today, in addition to spam, people get a lot of mail that isn’t outright junk but isn’t very important—bologna, or “bacn.” So we’ve evolved Gmail’s filter to address this problem and extended it to not only classify outright spam, but also to help users separate this “bologna” from the important stuff. In a way, Priority Inbox is like your personal assistant, helping you focus on the messages that matter without requiring you to set up complex rules.

In essence, Priority Inbox is conflict-avoidance for email. Google recognizes that people “get a lot of email that…isn’t very important.” But instead of encouraging people to actually deal with the real problem (unimportant emails) they just try to hide these messages.

Tragically, reviewers across the web continue to swoon for the darling/juggernaut that is Google. Over at Slate, Farhad Majoo writes:

We also get all kinds of annoying messages that aren’t technically spam. In your inbox right now, you’re likely to find friend requests from people on LinkedIn or Facebook, CNN alerts about breaking news, and a message from someone in your office letting you know there’s cake in the kitchen, followed by several responses letting you know that the cake is gone.

Yes, we do. Hey Farhad, unsubscribe from those email updates already! You’re going to visit Facebook anyway and see new requests, so why get them in your email? And if people are using email to communicate about office cake status, isn’t it time to have a conversation about the role of email?

Being productive with email doesn’t require fancy tricks or advanced filtering software. Instead, we can become more efficient with email by changing our perspective. We should not need Gmail to decide which messages are important. Instead, we ought to use our own judgment about what newsletters and notifications we request and how we communicate with others.

All of this may sound bad, but it gets worse. Email marketers are already talking about how to ensure they get into the Priority Inbox. This is a terrible feature that will only further our codependent relationship with email. Come be back next week when I explain Google what should really should have done instead of creating Priority Inbox.

If you’re ready to move beyond silly hacks like this and take control of your email, join us on October 6 for The Battle For Your Inbox: Managing Email Productively. Register now!

MSNBC.com released an article last week revealing the current conditions on Beijing’s highways.

Below is an excerpt detailing the astonishing 60-mile traffic jam.

Cars and trucks have been slowed to a crawl since August 14 on the National Expressway 110, which is also known as the G110, the major route from Beijing to Zhangjiakou, Xinhua News reported.

Officials expect the congestion to continue until workers complete construction projects on September 13, the report said. 

State media reported that Chinese drivers have become accustomed to the severe delays, noting a similar jam in July that slowed traffic for close to a month.

According to the article, this phenomenon is due to ongoing construction and an increase in trucks on the roads. And as horrific as it sounds, for those stuck in the middle, it’s beyond imaginable. Not only are they moving less than a mile per day and paying the high dollar for food and drinks from temporary road vendors, the estimated wait time is upwards of a month. Yet, the worst aspect of all is the lack of control bestowed upon the highway patrons. Due to circumstances beyond their reach, drivers are forced to buy expensive food and drinks, to miss work, and to spend time away from their families. Sadly, all anyone can do is sit in their immobile cars and wait for someone else to fix the problem.

Although this story is disheartening, it’s certainly one we all can learn from. After all, the best way to create solutions is to examine past challenges, reflect on the core issues and improve upon them. So when it comes to failure, take time to ask the imperative questions:

• What systems are in place when errors and delays occur?
• What can be done to properly support those effected by failure?
• Are stakeholders empowered and knowledgeable enough to remedy issues on their own?
• How will the effects of failure compromise and/or boost our company? Our workflow?

Don’t attempt to create a plan that prevents failure. Instead, create one that anticipates failure. Doing so will help maintain a strong system that acts accordingly and fosters continuous improvement. 

If broken processes in your office are preventing productivity and creating an environment full of gridlocks, contact Slaughter Development today. Our Workplace Diagnostics service will help identify problems in your workflow and will assist in breaking your team free of office jams.

To say I am an inexperienced blogger would be an exaggeration, but I admit my history in this type of social media is relatively new. I began writing for The Methodology Blog in 2008 and chugged along, attempting to create content that was not only timely, but compelling to Slaughter Development’s readers. Needless to say, it has taken me nearly two years to find a niche in this new found world and yet, I can humbly admit: there are still so many ways I can improve.

Knowing there was still so much to learn, I decided that attending BIN2010 would be a good idea. Not surprisingly, it was extremely beneficial. Below is just a snippet of what I learned.

• Be Yourself. In every session I attended this sentiment was a front-runner in content. And though it’s a simple concept, hearing it from industry experts takes on a whole new meaning. Over-thinking and over-obsessing on blog creation can render a person’s work flat or over-worked. By staying true to voice and style, a better perspective can be produced that will not only intrigue readers, but help them relate. 
• Google Alerts should be my new best friend. I have used this tool at times, but quickly learned just how little I truly take advantage of it. Not only can it assist in content development, but it can help keep tabs on SEO usage, assist in reputation management, and even track your personal and company publicity.
• Being brief isn’t a terrible thing. Heather Sokol put it very eloquently: “keep information short and sweet.” When it comes to blogging, HARO queries, or even emails, establishing a balance in information will not only improve communication, but bring a more successful outcome.
• To have fewer headaches, adopt a new approach to content creation. It didn’t take much to be sold on Robby Slaughter’s “Radical Productivity” Plan, which encourages bloggers to stop focusing on one blog at a time. Instead, research, write, edit and schedule in a task-oriented pattern. By researching all blog topics first and creating content afterwards, productivity levels will rise. Blogs can be scheduled well ahead of time, and writers will be relieved of the agony and stress of last minute blogging.

There is no doubt, the knowledge I’ve gained from BIN2010 is priceless. To all the presenters and event staff: Job well done!

Some of the presentations can be viewed online at the Blog Indiana website. Below is the list of presentations I attended.

• Keynote: Paul Poteet, Off The Cuff: Stories From 30 Years of Indiana Radio, TV, and Online Broadcasting
• Presenter: Stephanie Precourt, Mom Blogging (direct link)
• Presenter: Duncan Alney, Online Reputation Management
• Featured speaker: Carissa Newton, No Road is Long With Good Company (direct link)
• Presenter: Heather Sokol, The Blog That Press Built (direct link)
• Presenter: Robby Slaughter, Producting Content Without Agony (direct link)

This year, I decided to throw down the gauntlet. My 2010 presentation was just on one part of productivity and blogging: the agony of producing content. I announced that I’d end the talk with a post written in only five minutes.

Check out the slides below (direct link):

The folks at Blog Indiana recorded all the sessions, so hopefully video and audio will be available soon. But for now, the best way to retrace this presentation is to enjoy the amazing sketch notes by attendee John Uhri. Here’s what he captures from my talk (direct link):

Hope you can make it to Blog Indiana 2011!

In an interview for Blog Indiana 2010, Robby Slaughter had an opportunity to highlight some of his recent success. During the discussion, Nat Finn touched upon Slaughter’s new book, Failure: The Secret To Success, and his BIN2010 session, “Producing Content Without Agony.” A snippet of the interview is below. You can view the entire piece at the Blog Indiana website.

1 – #BIN2010 might be dubbed, “The Year of the Writer.” Congratulations on publishing your book, “Failure: The Secret to Success.” Besides the implied reasons found in the title, what specifically inspired you to write the book?

Thanks! Fear of failure is the most gripping and serious problem we face at work and in life. Making mistakes is essential to learning, yet we seem to be afraid of doing anything wrong. I wrote the book to establish a conversation around what enables us to succeed in our professional and personal world. I hope that it helps others feel inspired to embrace the role of failure.

…

5 – During a session of BIN2009 you claimed you wrote a post in 8 minutes [correct me if that's wrong]. Have you since broken that record?

It was nine minutes and forty seconds. I think I’ve done it much less time, but I don’t usually take out a stopwatch while blogging. The promise for Saturday afternoon is to write one in under five minutes. Come and see if it can be done!

Turns out, Slaughter managed to create a detailed, comprehensive blog only in four minutes and ten seconds. And though he certainly broke his blogging record, he admits doing so wasn’t his main goal. Instead, it was to simply inspire others to adopt similar strategies when it comes to content development and workflow improvement. With all hopes, the session participants can freely attest to his intentions and his results!

To learn more, contact the team at Slaughter Development!

The August 5th edition of the Indianapolis Star printed the following Dear Annie letter:

Dear Annie: In my office, we all have different, unconnected job functions. I am usually busy, and when my work is finished, I take a break. I do not disturb anyone else while I go online, take a walk or do some organizing and other things to pass the time until my next assignment. One of my co-workers makes sarcastic comments about my work ethic. It’s not like I can use my free time to help her, because our jobs are unrelated. The boss knows he can count on me when there is work to be done, but he isn’t going to invent assignments. How do I handle my nosy co-worker, who seems to be watching my every move?

- Looking Busy Enough

This predicament is a hard one to tackle. After all, what type of advice can you give an anonymous reader that will help maintain a well-working relationship without creating rifts in the workplace? According to Annie, the best advice is to adapt amicably. Below is her response:

Dear Reader: Your co-worker is envious that you have finished your work and have time to yourself and she doesn’t. As long as your boss is satisfied, you are under no obligation to please anyone else. You could try “making nice” by offering to bring her a cup of coffee or something along those lines, but otherwise, ignore her barbs. It’s sour grapes and not worthy of a response.

As The Methodology Blog has covered before, the inability to maintain a cohesive work environment can have lasting negative effects on productivity. So, although Annie’s advice to ignore and “make nice” is a calm, non-confrontational plan, its overall effectiveness is questionable since it does little more than prolong frustration.

Instead, why not encourage “Looking Busy Enough” to utilize her strengths in a more effective way? If Slaughter Development were to respond, we would advise the following:

Dear Reader: From the sounds of it, your workflow is not only successful, but meeting—if not exceeding—expectations. Well done! And while your well-deserved free time is yours to spend however you’d like, perhaps it’s time to take your talent for productivity to the next level. After all, your job isn’t just to complete projects, it’s also to be innovative and creative on behalf of the company.

Though your co-worker’s job functions are different, remember that both of you have the same overall goal: to work effectively and generate success. What better reason is there than to take your free time and develop new ways of integrating your work systems into the office? By doing so, you are satisfying three solid things:

• You will have the chance to asssit all your co-workers in their own productivity. Not only will this help boost your office’s overall success, but it will perhaps reduce the rift between you and your co-worker.
• You’ll have the opportunity to showcase your unique skills and work ethic to your boss; highlighting your creativity and leadership.
• You will empower yourself and feel more accomplished, confident and respected.

Seize the moment and use your productivity to your advantage! I guarantee you and your co-workers will be thankful you did.

Improving productivity at work has a slew of advantages: it streamlines projects, frees up time for innovation, helps the functioning of our brains and strengthens collaboration in the workplace.  To learn more about how we can help your company, contact Slaughter Development today!

Originally social networks appeared to be a threat for businesses, whether it was their employees spending too much time on them or employees making inappropriate posts. Yet, it has very quickly become a common trend for people ages 13 (legally) to 104. When Facebook started, it was geared to keep college students in touch when they graduated. Now it’s simply unheard of not to use it. Twitter is very quickly following a similar path. Only in the last year or two have businesses embraced social media, and yours should too.

Social Media will open up a whole new world to your customers and let them contact you and read about you on a more personal level. You might not talk about your kids in front of a customer at your office, but by letting them see a photo or two of your children on Facebook or Twitter, it can open up a whole new conversation the next time you see them.

It is also beneficial when something negative happens. Inevitably, it enables you to control your brand name. Just by getting on social media you are able to start making a good name for yourself in the event that things go wrong. People have a tendency to turn social media into a bad situation. Yet, you will have a heads up on addressing the problem before all of the negativity is exposed.

It is also nice to see that not everyone is perfect. Simply stating your opinion can expose a side of you that the general public might not know about. That’s not a bad thing. After all, you never know who might share the same opinion. By encouraging your employees and your CEO to use social media you are letting others see you are human.

While it is important to keep rules and expectations with employees on social media, at the same time encourage them to use this new platform. Social Media offers a chance for you to get more of your business out on the web and let others get an inside look. If you’re a Fortune 500 company or a mom and pop shop, social media is a tool that you should at least dabble around in. So get out there, enjoy the exposure. What are you afraid of?

Kristin Page is a project manager for Golden Technologies with a special interest in social media and internet marketing. She blogs often on the Golden Tech Blog and can be found on Twitter @kristypage.

Eric Marasco, creator and host of the video blog Espresso To Go, discusses the basic “do’s and don’ts” of networking with Slaughter Development founder Robby Slaughter. Check out the five-minute video below:

Slaughter points out in the video that its important to be memorable when networking. Relay information that not only stands out, but intrigues those you are speaking with. This is a great way to set yourself apart from others and create an easily identifiable connection that will assist in follow-up techniques.

As covered on The Methodology Blog previously, networking is a great tool for gaining and maintaining business relationships. If you are interested in learning more about being efficient and productive in your networking, contact Slaughter Development today.