Weekly Round-Up #182: Confidence & Public Speaking, Watches And Remote Working
In this week’s round-up we look at why remote working isn’t the best for your productivity (clue: it’s not you, it’s tech related!), why hot desking is bad for your productivity too (finally, they’ve figured it out!) and how you can build more confidence with your body language and public speaking – oh, and I show off a new watch!
Welcome to this week’s round-up. I hope you’ve had a productive week despite the heat (it was 31°C at 10am in my village the other day – too hot!) but if you’re struggling check out 10 tips on how to stay productive in a heat wave.
Anyway, on to this week’s round-up where we look at why remote working isn’t the best for your productivity (clue: it’s not you, it’s tech related!), why hot desking is bad for your productivity too (finally, they’ve figured it out!) and how you can build more confidence with your body language and public speaking – oh, and I show off a new watch!
The Journey To A Connected Supply Chain – RingCentral
If you’re a small business owner or blogger you might nit understand the importance of a supply chain and how it affects all sorts of businesses. We’re all a part of, and affected by supply chain management so read up on the basics at RingCentral.
I’m getting really interested in supply chains now I’ve started making my own physical products, check them out on my Etsy store.
31 Best Goal Setting Books: My Top Picks For Your Success – SuccessGrid
A while ago we linked to the 100 best selling self-help books of sll time. SuccessGrid think that 100 books to go through is far too many so they’ve done the hard work for you snd whittled the list down to 31 books you must read to help you become a success.
14 Body Language Tricks To Appear More Confident At Work – Work+Money
If you look confident, people will have confidence in you and this in turn will bolster your own confidence in a sort of circular fashion. If you’d like to appear more confident but aren’t sure where to begin then Work+Money’s slideshow will give you some great tips to get more respect and work and feel more confident in your dealings with others.
Keys To Being A Better Public Speaker And Beating Your Anxiety – Masters In Communication
I used to be petrified of speaking in public – whether it was to 1 person or 100, it didn’t matter, the fear was the same.
This was unfortunate as I used to go out with the sales team to provide support if they were asked technical questions. Needless to say having a nervous wreck with them was more of a hinderance than a highlight!
Luckily, my company put us through some public speaking training and it really helped with my confidence. If you’re not able to go on a course then check out Masters In Communication’s great advice which will help you get started and marry those with Work+Money’s tips and you’re all set!
The Ups And Downs Of Cryptocurrencies – 99 Bitcoins
Those of us who can remember the first dotcom bubble bursting will probably view crypotocurrencies with a healthy level of sceptisciscm. If you’re interested in the ups and downs of yhe many variety of cryptocurrency the interactive graph by 99 Bitcoins will tell you all about them.
Remote Working Debacle: The Complex Relationship Between Productivity, Technology And Working Anywhere – Net Imperative
I used to get snowed in a bit over tbe winters. Working for a tech company you would think it would be a doddle… Think again!
I live in a semi-rural area and at the time there was no fibre broadband, couple that with slow servers at the office and you get super-slow VPN connections that would drop at the most inconvienient times. This meant a 30 minute task could often takeover 2 hours which is a big hit to profits, let alone productivity.
Apparently, even 10 years later, it would seem like the situation hasn’t improved much according to Net Imperitive. Do you telecommute? Let us know if it’s as productive as working on site in the comments below.
Hot Desks Go Cold: Rethinking Open Offices – bluenotes
Another office practice thst was supposed to increase productivity but just made everyone feel awkward was hot desking.
Studies are showing that not giving people a permanent base in the office may hamper productivity – probably because it takes at least 20 minutes to get the chair in the right position!
5 Things To Do If You Are Struggling With Time Management – TechJuice
If you just don’t “get” time management then try focusing on these 5 tips from TechJuice. Work on them one at a time and you’ll be a time management master before you know it!
Should You Exercise When Ill? This Is How To Know If You Are Too Sick To Work Out – Huffington Post
I don’t know about you but I hate exercising at the best of times – well okay, “Hate” is a strong word but it does take a lot to get me motivated! It’s even worse when you’re ill, and we’re told that we need to keep to a routine so many try to struggle through illness and keep up with their schedule but could we be doing ourselves more harm than good? The Huffington Post takes a look at when you should give up and just stay in bed.
Laura Vanderkam: How To Gain Control Of Your Free Time – Ted Talk
I’m a big fan of Laura Vanderkam and in this excellent TED talk, she looks at how you can stop overestimating the time you have available and get back some much needed free time.
Xiaomi Amazfit Pace Review: Solid Smartwatch At A Budget Price – MakeUseOf
I am a watch nerd. There, I said it! At my last count I had over 30 (but then I bought a few more) …you can see one of my latest additions below:
One thing that’s put me off buying a smart watch is the price. I don’t use an iPhone so an Apple watch doesn’t make sense, and the Samsung Gear is also expensive. I like to tailor my watch to my mood (and outfit) and a lot of smart watches may look reasonably priced – and then you see how much a replacement strap costs and it’s extortionate.
That’s where the Amazfit comes it – it’s available in the UK for well under £100 and in the US for under $80 so it’s well worth a look (and the straps are reasonable too!)
The Chrome Extensions The Wired Staff Can’t Live Without – Wired
I love playing around with Chrome extensions, and there’s plenty on this list to keep you interested. While I think that “The Great Suspender” would be super-useful, I think I’ll be installing “animatedTabs” as well for a bit of fun!
How To Use Mind Maps To Unleash Your Brain’s Creativity And Potential – Lifehacker
Mind maps are a great way to get all of that “stuff” out of your brain and on to paper. You can organise stuff loosely and then go through it at your leisure later, fleshing out the ideas into more coherent thoughts. If you’re not familiar with mind maps then lifehacker covers the basics behind the technique and what you need to get started.
How To Become Successful: The Real Secret No One Is Talking About – Dumb Little Man
Did you know that you’re a race car? No? Then you better read Dumb Little Man’s article about how your life as a race car can set you up for success. Okay, not a literal race car but the analogy is pretty good!
Have A Great Weekend
I hope you have enjoyed this round-up, as always if you have any links you like to share with me and my readers please contact me through the website or send me a tweet.
Until next week, Stay Productive!
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