Overload & Overwhelm

REFLECTION:  I spent a couple of days last week on the farm where I grew up giving my folks a hand with a household reno project. The stairs from the kitchen to the basement were a bit worse for wear and in need of a spruce up. 

The work flow went like this:

* Pry off the old tiles and linoleum

* Scrape, sand and scrub away the glue and backing

* Apply two coats of paint to the stringers and steps

* Trim and install a new set of vinyl treads

* Stand back and admire the work

Of course, no project ever goes smoothly, and this one wasn’t that straightforward; but still, this was a great experience for a number of reasons.   (more…)

REFLECTION: After months of hunkering, huddling and hibernating, spring has sprung in Saskatchewan. And not just according to the calendar (which rarely ever gets it right), but according to life in the ‘hood. Signs of the season are everywhere. 

Snow all but evaporating under the high-sky sun. Robins singing up a storm, scouting nest sites. Bikes rolling down the streets. Kids swarming the playgrounds.  

If you listen carefully, you can hear the tulips calling to each other:  Wake up! Wake up!  Well – I made that one up – but the rest are true!

And, to top it all off, yesterday I sipped a cup of coffee in my shirtsleeves in the great outdoors. (more…)

REFLECTION: Did that title catch your attention? In challenging economic times, anything related to economizing and budgeting tends to loom large on the radar. But, rest assured I’m not talking about money. 

I am, however, talking about time.

You are probably familiar with Parkinson’s Law: Work expands to fit the time available. I don’t know what kind of experience you’ve had with P’s Law, but I know I’ve experienced it in action again and again. (more…)

Today’s message is a departure from the usual format of your weekly Pause e-zine. So, be forewarned. If you are someone who is offended by even a hint of self promotion (and I know there are some subscribers on every free e-zine distribution list for whom this is the case), just skip today’s message and return next week to our ‘regular programming’.

This message is intended for all those subscribers who are interested in the context for the weekly Pause message and the latest in new developments at my end. 

It’s been almost a year now since I began working on a further focusing of business offerings and the website and materials that represent it all. Those efforts culminated recently with the launch of my newly reincarnated website:  http://www.patkatz.com. I’m delighted to invite you to explore the brand new site, and to think about how my work and message might be helpful in your organization.

Here’s the backstory to what you will see on the site. (more…)

REFLECTION: A recent survey of 956 employed Canadians commissioned by ADP and conducted by Environics found that one in five Canadians are working harder than ever, skipping lunch, and putting in longer hours just to keep up. 

The survey also found that four in ten employees, who are putting in extra hours but not being compensated, are finding creative ways to reward themselves: leaving early, working at a more leisurely pace, faking being sick, taking longer lunch breaks, arriving late, etc. The survey calls these behaviors self-remuneration. 

I firmly believe that finding ways to take care of ourselves in the midst of the busyness is a healthy approach at any time. I call that self-preservation. That said, I’m neither a supporter nor advocate of lies and deception – like faking illness or taking advantage. 

Still, sometimes all may not be as it seems. (more…)

A large number of readers replied to last week’s Pause message titled, Risky Business. There were many thoughtful comments on how to handle the situation between the ‘reluctant to speak up’ employee and the procrastinating boss. Read on for a sampling of the replies, and feel free to add your own comments in response.

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D writes: I wish more people would speak up! Working in HR, I see that so many situations could be made better if the person with a concern/issue/problem would put away the fears (often unnecessary fears) and talk to the ‘offender’. I am outspoken about being outspoken – it has served me well!

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J writes:  I believe there may be another issue here. It sounds as though the boss is a bully and deliberately leaves things until the last minute and because the employee is too fearful of losing her job, says nothing and does the work.

I too work with an individual who has “bully-like” qualities. I have found that standing up to that person and saying that I am not taking it any more has worked. This individual is far from being the boss, but because no one wants to do her job and previous bosses have let her get away with things she has turned into to a bully whom most co-workers tiptoe around so as not to arouse her ire. (more…)

REFLECTION: In a recent discussion about the ins and outs of working with colleagues, one individual described her frustration with the delegation habits of her boss. 

The boss is a bona-fide procrastinator who seems spurred into action only by an imminent deadline, or the end of the week. When 3:00 on Friday afternoon rolls around, he is suddenly inspired to churn his way through the paperwork before the weekend arrives. And, of course, the fallout from his frenzy of activity lands on his assistant’s desk just minutes before closing time – often accompanied by urgent requests that things go out before the weekend. As a result she ends up staying late on Fridays to handle these last minute tasks.

To say the assistant is growing tired of the game is an understatement. Her frustration level is high, but apparently not quite as high as her level of fearfulness. (more…)

REFLECTION: Andrew Cawood, the CIO at Neilsen (the multinational marketing, trend tracking company) started the new year with a burr under his saddle (or a bug in his bonnet) over the efficiency-sapping impact of the Reply All email function. So determined is Cawood to shape up the email misbehaviour of Neilsen employees that he has order the Reply All function to be eliminated from the company’s Outlook software.

Now, most of us have been victims at one time or another of the over zealous copying of messages –  reluctant recipients of missives in which we had little or no interest whatsoever. Still, as tempted as I am to cheer Cawood’s decisive declaration, I doubt whether it will be all that effective.

After all, even without the Reply All option, misguided thoughtless souls can easily continue to torment others by adding them to Distribution Lists and popping the group addresses into the cc or bcc line of the message. For better or for worse, there are always fixes and work-arounds. (more…)

REFLECTION: When I first started writing and speaking about the power of pause and its ability to restore a rhythm of renewal to life, I discovered a couple of common objections.

First, people would immediately assume that pausing meant coming to a complete halt, seeking solitary confinement, and doing absolutely nothing. Wrong. Pausing really means stepping away from what drains your energy and engaging in something that fills your tank. Some times, for some people, solitude and silence do the trick; for others that approach just drives them crazy.

Secondly, people thought they needed to commit a BIG chunk of time to pausing for it to have any significant benefit. Wrong. Even a few seconds to reset the shoulders or the reset mindset can make a major difference in the flow of the day. (more…)

REFLECTION: Whose responsibility is it to create reasonable life and work loads? Yours, mine, ours or somebody else’s?

It’s a good question and one that was raised by a Pause reader who observed that some people deal with overload head on and try to change the situation by talking with superiors. Others believe that overload is just the way things are, and set out to try to do it all.

In the reader’s opinion, it’s a two way street. Others aren’t always going to know you, or know what you are capable of at the moment. So they may test capacity by pushing a certain amount, to get the best out of you, to move you beyond your boundaries. Still, when the load becomes too heavy for too long, its detrimental to performance and relationships.

And that’s when each one of us has to take responsibility and voice when it’s just too much. (more…)