Project: Respect for The After-Hours

By this title, you probably think I am going to talk about keeping work and home separate. That is to say, keeping your work hours between 9 to 5 (or whatever structure you have set up within the realm of your work enterprise). Then barricading your home and dedicating it solely to its own eat, pray, love existence so that never the two shall meet.

However, no. Today I am talking about the importance of setting yourself apart from the norm and immersing yourself in the hub of another existence, another culture to find fuel. Finding motivation and frankly finding the time to get things done without the interruption of people who know you and those you know.

I am talking about cafés, libraries, sometimes even your own home office. I am talking about working remotely: Stepping outside the comfort of your cubicle and away from your desk to solely focus on the project before you. Whether you have a proposal you have to review, a budget you need to write, a PowerPoint presentation to perfect - it needs to be just you and your work.

2 Tips to Turning The “Remote” On!

• 9-Noon

Ever heard of highway hypnosis? It is when you are driving on one long stretch of seemingly endless road. Like the Energizer Bunny, you keep going and going and going. The danger is your eyes become dangerously accustomed to the yellow and white lines until everything is a blur; blinking does nothing to help. So you become a hazard to yourself and your surroundings because you are slightly numb to the environment, and your reactions are delayed.

Now, translate that to your office. You go and go and go until you are just working repetitively but at the end of the day a little unsure of what you may have done or clocked in - your creativity was delayed. Try working at least 9-noon out of office, Instead of being in the office from 9-5 all day. Give yourself a chance to blink, breath and come back from the highway of the rat race.

• Turn the Tech Off

Sometimes it means…yes, turn the tech off. Maybe just disconnecting from Wi-Fi, social media, email. Maybe it is time you catch up on reading or writing. But turning the tech off in this technologically progressive world seems like a non-conducive day and way to strategically accomplish your tasks, but there are more distractions with notifications than you notice until you quiet their incessant pinging.

So the next time you are feeling overwhelmed, and a project deadline is looming don’t wait until things are too late. Let your creativity loose. Get out there and turn your Remote On!

-The Green Couch

Project: SuPEERiors...Respect in The Workplace

Can your boss be your friend? Or is that bull? Is that just sucking up? Is it just a grown up case of teacher’s pet?

Sure you may see them as your peers and there may even be a sense of genuine camaraderie – he or she is a person whom you trust and can fully rely on both on and off the work campus. You’ve been given the privilege and honor to call them by their first name. You know the family and are invited to the annual Fourth of July BBQ.

But where’s that fine line? How to co-exist with your colleagues who may not have that intimate relationship or turn off that friendship when it comes time to take instructions or maybe reprimands?

R-E-S-P-E-C-T. We know what it means to Aretha Franklin, but what does it mean to you, your company culture and most importantly, your suPEERior?

Here are a few ways to recognize the fundamentals of respect and to implement them no matter the relationship status of any of your peers:

• Remember Your Position: That whole pubescent catchphrase, “You’re not the boss of me?” Yeah, you need to leave that at the door when you enter the building. It is that simple. Remember who hired you, who signs your paycheck, who has ownership of the title and who has the experience. You have never been in their position, so it does not matter whether you think you are right, they have the executive rights.

• Take Responsibility: If you mess up, fess up. It is the lesser preferred avenue of honesty, but it is the type of integrity that will not only keep the relationship strong, but will enable the office momentum to stay strong. Rather than delaying the progress of the project by trying to figure out whodunit, or trying to resolve the aftermath once an issue is found, if you mess up, fess up.

•  Do Not Complain: No one likes it. It makes you look bad, the company look bad, and your boss look bad.

• Read The Employee Handbook and Corporate Emails: There are reasons rules are written, and emails are sent. Maybe some of the mandates are outdated, but being aware of the culture of your company and the history is vital to the representation.

• Ask For Advice: It goes back to that whole experience thing. Whether it is a dissatisfied client, a disruptive inner office conflict or performance review, ask your boss how you can improve the situation and no matter what the cold hard facts are, face them and conquer them

It can be a team of two or two-thousand; no matter how large a company can grow respect is essential to any relationship.

-The Green Couch